The system in the present invention is an outside air ventilation cooling and room dehumidification system for use in commercial HVAC applications. The system includes a high-efficiency air filter, chilled water or evaporator precooling coil, a refrigeration compressor, an evaporator coil, a heat exchanger for removing heat and moisture from the air entering the evaporator coil and supplying heat to the air leaving the evaporator coil, a condenser coil located in the discharge airstream that reheats the air, and a fan to move the air through the coils. The heat exchanger can be a phase-change heat-pipe-type heat exchanger; a water cooling/heating coil "runaround loop"; an air-to-air plate-type heat exchanger; or a rotary heat exchanger.

It is a common problem in buildings that high humidity occurs as a direct result of the inability of the building's air conditioning system to remove the humidity from the space. Additionally, there are many facilities with air conditioning systems that do not provide sufficient outside air ventilation to relieve the common problems of carbon dioxide buildup, airborne pollutants, and stale odors that frequently occur. When combined in a building, these conditions can result in problems such as mold, mildew, spores, dust mites, high carbon dioxide concentrations, and the presence of various other noxious or undesirable gases and odors, all of which can create health problems for the building's occupants. Recent media attention to facilities with these problems has led to their being classified as "sick buildings."
These "sick building" problems can be further exacerbated by certain general design criteria implemented by the air conditioning industry. For example, most modern air conditioning systems are designed to provide very high efficiencies in accordance with ever-increasing demands for operating cost savings. However, these high efficiencies are often obtained at the expense of the ability of the air-conditioning system to achieve moisture removal from the air, resulting in high humidity levels in the building. As a result of this type of manufacturing design philosophy, the occupants of a building having such a system will often lower the temperature setting of the thermostat in an effort to reduce the humidity in the space. This causes the air conditioning system to run for longer periods of time, increasing the operating cost of the air conditioning system and resulting in the temperature in the space becoming very cold. The net effects are a very cold, clammy (i.e., high humidity) building space having high operating costs.
One conventional solution to this problem is the use of reheat, that is, the addition of heat to the air after it has been cooled. This is done in an attempt to prevent the space from being overcooled and to obtain better control over the humidity. A negative aspect of reheat, however, is that it causes high operating costs because not only must the space load be cooled, but also the reheat load must be cooled, in effect increasing the total cooling load and the power consumed to meet this cooling requirement.
There have been many different approaches to resolving these problems utilizing energy recovery techniques, passive heat transfer, and even different coil arrangements in standard air conditioning equipment. One such example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,116 issued to Kittler, which teaches a dehumidifier system for indoor swimming pools using heat recovery of the refrigeration compressor heat, recovered by positioning the condenser coil in the discharge air stream and reheating the air cooled in the dehumidification coil in an effort to provide reheat without additional operating costs. This approach works very well for enclosed pool environments because the discharge air temperature is approximately 100.degree. F. However, because the air is so warm, this system is unlikely to work efficiently in comfort air conditioning applications because Of the large heat load resulting from introducing 100.degree. F. air into the air conditioning system. Additionally, Kittler's unit is not designed to provide any outside air ventilation cooling to the space, as it only addresses the humidity control aspect and not the fresh air ventilation or the temperature control of the air supplied to the space.
Another technique disclosed by Dinh, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,498, employs a heat pipe phase-change heat exchanger in combination with an evaporator coil, with a precooling coil and a reheat coil placed immediately upstream and downstream of a conventional vapor compression cycle air conditioner evaporator coil, respectively. This system can be a very effective retrofit application for dehumidification. The addition of a heat pipe heat exchanger to an existing evaporator coil has the effect of cooling the air approximately 8.degree. F. by the heat pipe precooling coil prior to introduction to the evaporator coil; this reduces the load slightly on the evaporator coil and allows that coil to cool the air approximately 2.degree. F. more than normal in an effort to remove more moisture from the air and provide better dehumidification of the space. The air leaving the evaporator coil is then reheated by the heat pipe reheat coil by the same amount of precooling, approximately 8.degree. F., so that the air is not too cold when introduced into the space being cooled.
The particular approach disclosed by Dinh may require additional system modifications, however. Because the air being introduced to the space is now warmer due to the effect of the heat pipe, the supply air fan and duct system may require upgrading to increase the supply air flow and maintain the design space temperature.
The efficiency gains produced by the Dinh system from the precooling may be offset by the increased cooling work performed by the evaporator coil in cooling the air to lower temperatures. Additionally, the warmer discharge air temperature caused by the heat pipe reheat coil may result in a larger air flow requirement to handle the sensible cooling load, possibly causing an increase in the fan horsepower requirement. The heat pipes also add static pressure loss to the system that the fan must overcome, again possibly increasing the fan horsepower requirement.
The approach disclosed by Dinh locates the heat pipe as the first coil in the entering air stream of the air conditioning system and thus exposes it to widely varying entering air conditions as the seasons and temperatures change, causing variations in the heat pipe performance. For example, at part load conditions the air entering the first coil of the heat pipe may now be 68.degree.-70.degree. F. or possibly even colder in the winter instead of the 78.degree.-80.degree. F. designed for in the summer. Under these new conditions, the heat pipe may not provide as much precooling and reheating as would be desired, and may possibly reduce the overall dehumidification below that required.
Another type of system that has been used in the Melbourne, Fla. area for several years is a two-stage refrigeration device, called a "latent machine." This design uses two stages of a conventional vapor compression refrigeration cycle with heat recovery to cool the room air to a temperature low enough to maintain the desired humidity control in the space and reheats the air back to room temperature. The process embodied in this design is to cool the room air to 52.degree. F. saturated conditions in the first stage of refrigeration. The heat is rejected to the outdoors via a standard condenser arrangement, and the air is then further cooled to 37.degree. F. saturated conditions in the second stage of refrigeration, then reheated to 75.degree. F. dry bulb, 55.degree. F. wet bulb using a conventional condenser coil in the unit supply air stream that transports the heat of rejection from the second stage of refrigeration into the supply air. The air is thus reintroduced to the room as dehumidified, room temperature air that provides latent cooling only.
This "latent machine" system has proven to be excellent for humidity control and is very efficient on return air systems. It does, however, sacrifice some efficiency on outside air applications in that large amounts of energy are required when used with a supply of warmer and more humid air from the outside.
Another previous system, known as the "Tricoil System" of The Sensible Equipment Company of Orlando, Fla., utilizes a water-based coil "runaround loop." In this system, a water-cooled precooling coil is placed in the entering air prior to an evaporator coil, then a water-heated reheat coil is placed in the air leaving the evaporator coil, with the water recirculated between the precool and reheat coils with a small pump, in effect providing a heat transfer mechanism similar to the heat pipe. This system has the same advantages of the Dinh system with regard to humidity control and system efficiency and can again be a very simple and effective retrofit method for an oversized room air conditioner. The system does allow for a variable amount of reheat to be added to the system for part load humidity control and requires a separate heat source to introduce a false load on the air conditioning system so as to maintain proper dehumidification with some increased operating costs.
It is therefore a desirable objective to provide control of room humidity without the use of reheat, without overcooling the space, and without sacrificing the efficiency of the air conditioning system.
It is also desirable to provide control of the room humidity regardless of the temperature in the space or outside and regardless of the solar load.
Another desirable objective would be to provide adequate outside air for ventilation to benefit occupant health and maintain lower levels of airborne pollutants and fresher air in the building per the latest standards of the air conditioning industry, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 62-1989.
It is also a desirable objective to provide all of these aspects in one system: proper control over the supply and cooling of outside air ventilation, space dehumidification, and high efficiency. Such control would ensure that the building would be maintained in proper operating condition at all times.
It was in an effort to achieve these objectives that the present invention has evolved.

System and method for high-efficiency air cooling and dehumidification


The invention provides apparatus for the transfer of data/command between a master controller and one or more client controllers. The apparatus in accordance with the invention includes a bi-directional data bus for conveying plural bits of data or command between a master controller and one or more client controllers; direction signal controlling the direction in which data or command bits are conveyed on the data bus as between the master controller and a connected one of the one or more client controllers; a pair of ready signals including a transmit ready signal asserted by a source of data or command bits placed on the data bus and including a receive ready signal asserted by a destination for the data or command bits placed on the data bus; and a clock signal for indicating the presence of valid data or command bits on the data bus on a leading or trailing edge thereof. Preferably, a command/data signal is also provided to indicate the type of information placed on the data bus by the source.

This invention relates to parallel peripheral interfaces associated with digital computers. More particularly, the invention concerns a compact high-speed bi-directional hardware interface between a master controller, e.g. a computer, and one or more client controllers, e.g. peripherals.
The invention provides apparatus for the transfer of data/command between a master controller and one or more client controllers. The apparatus in accordance with the invention includes a bi-directional data bus for conveying plural bits of data or command between a master controller and one or more client controllers; direction signal controlling the direction in which data or command bits are conveyed on the data bus as between the master controller and a connected one of the one or more client controllers; a pair of ready signals including a transmit ready signal asserted by a source of data or command bits placed on the data bus and including a receive ready signal asserted by a destination for the data or command bits placed on the data bus; and a clock signal for indicating the presence of valid data or command bits on the data bus on a leading or trailing edge thereof. Preferably, a command/data signal is also provided to indicate the type of information placed on the data bus by the source.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the pair of ready signals includes a bidirectional transmit ready signal and a bi-directional receive ready signal corresponding to each one of the one or more client controllers, and wherein the functions of the transmit ready signals and the receive ready signals within the interface are modified by the state of the direction signal, whereby under a first state of the direction signal a transmit ready signal is asserted by the master controller to select one of the one or more client controllers as a destination for the data or command bits placed on the data bus and a corresponding receive ready signal is asserted by the one client controller to indicate that the one client controller is ready to receive the data or command bits placed on the data bus and whereby under a second state of the direction signal a transmit ready signal is asserted by the one or more client controllers to indicate the one or more client controllers is ready to transmit data or command bits placed on the data bus and a corresponding receive ready signal is asserted by the master controller to acknowledge receipt of data or command bits placed on the data bus by the one client controller.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment which proceeds with reference to the drawings.

Abstract: In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the pair of ready signals includes a bi-directional transmit ready signal and a bi-directional receive ready signal corresponding to each one of the one or more client controllers, and wherein the functions of the transmit ready signals and the receive ready signals within the interface are modified by the state of the direction signal, whereby under a first state of the direction signal a transmit ready signal is asserted by the master controller to select one of the one or more client controllers as a destination for the data or command bits placed on the data bus and a corresponding receive ready signal is asserted by the one client controller to indicate that the one client controller is ready to receive the data or command bits placed on the data bus and whereby under a second state of the direction signal a transmit ready signal is asserted by the one or more client controllers to indicate the one or more client controllers is ready to transmit data or command bits placed on the data bus and a corresponding receive ready signal is asserted by the master controller to acknowledge receipt of data or command bits placed on the data bus by the one client controller.


A method for correcting a fracture model of a reservoir includes receiving a seismic signal from seismic events due to a plurality of stimulated reservoir stages to provide detected seismic event information and estimating a number of undetected seismic events and a magnitude for each of the undetected seismic events to provide undetected seismic event information for each stage. The detected seismic event information and the undetected seismic event information provide corrected seismic event information for each stage. The method further includes calculating a scaling factor for each stage using a scalar property of the corresponding stage and a reference stage scalar property, applying the scaling factor for each stage to the corrected seismic event information to provide scaled seismic event information for each stage, and correcting the fracture model with the scaled seismic event information for each stage to provide a corrected fracture model.

To enhance the flow properties of a reservoir, a common practice is to inject fluid to create hydro-fractures or to enhance connections between existing fractures. This process is called stimulation. Microseismic monitoring using geophones is one of the few observational tools that provide information on this process. From the interpretation of the microseismic data, one can derive information on the in-situ stresses, the stimulation efficacy and the stimulated rock volume as well as other properties. Additionally, it is also common to interpret the geometry and extent of a fracture or fracture network from the microseismic event spatial spreading. Since the production of hydrocarbons can be expensive, it would be well received in the oil and gas industries if a method could be developed that would improve the accuracy of interpreting seismic monitoring data, such as for generating an accurate fracture model, and calculating a stimulated reservoir volume. Other industries such as the geothermal industry may also benefit from this method and apparatus.

Corrective scaling of interpreted fractures based on the microseismic detection range bias correction


A high-availability computer system includes a plurality of computer nodes for parallel data processing, wherein each computer node has at least one data processing component and a main memory. The computer system furthermore includes a plurality of storage nodes, wherein each storage node has at least one non-volatile mass storage device. The plurality of computer nodes are partitioned into a plurality of computer groups, wherein each of the plurality of computer groups has at least one redundant computer node. Each computer group has a local connection structure allocated to the respective computer group, the structure connecting the storage nodes allocated to the respective computer group to the computer nodes of the respective computer group.

High-availability computer systems are generally understood to be computer systems in which some or all components are designed as redundant so that, if at least one single component of the computer system fails, a task required by a user can continue to be performed on the whole. Computer systems of this type are used for particularly important and/or time-critical tasks in the field of electronic data processing.
One possible application consists of parallel data processing of the type that occurs, for example, in in-memory databases, i.e., in database systems which store at least a large part of the data to be processed in one or more main memories of the computer system. Databases of that type are in some instances also known as main-memory-resident databases and are characterized, inter alia, in that the data are optimized for storage in the main memory and not, as in conventional databases, irrespective of the size of the data, for storage in a permanent storage device, in particular a hard disk drive.
Known arrangements of computer systems for parallel data processing with a plurality of computer nodes normally have at least one redundant computer node which, if any given computer node fails, can take over the work of the failed computer node. The redundant computer node then essentially provides the same computer performance as the failed computer node so that, from the perspective of a user, the high-availability computer system still has the same overall computer performance. However, the problem with an arrangement of that type, particularly where in-memory databases are used, is that considerable delay times can occur due to the loading of the data previously processed by the failed computer into the main memory of the redundant computer node.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a high-availability computer system of the aforementioned type, the performance and availability of which are further improved. A reduction in the waiting time in the event of failure of an individual computer is preferred. A high-availability computer system of this type should be suitable, in particular, for the fast and high-availability implementation of in-memory databases.

High-availability computer system, working method and the use thereof


A light-responsive control device of an electrochromic rearview mirror system is disclosed. The light-responsive control device includes a downward ambient light sensor and a, discriminating circuit for generating a first and a second reference levels provided for daytime and nighttime glaring determination, respectively. By providing a photo-sensor for each rearview mirror, and individually comparing the outputs of the photo-sensors with the first or the second reference level, the color-change degrees of different rearview mirrors can be individually controlled. By providing a variable resistor for the drive circuit, the initial reflection rate of the rearview mirror can be adjusted optionally.

Glare is one of the troublesome factors when driving a vehicle. Many efforts have been made to solve the glaring problem. One of the most effective ways is to provide an electrochromic unit for the rearview mirror of the vehicle. The electrochromic unit deepens the color and thus reduces the reflection rate of the mirror accord to the degree of the glare, thereby minimizing the glaring effect. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a conventional electrochromic rearview mirror system. The rearview mirror system includes an interior rearview mirror assembly 1 inside the vehicle, two exterior rearview mirror assemblies 2 and 3 by two sides of the vehicle, respectively, and a control device 4. Each of the rearview mirror assemblies 1, 2 and 3 includes an electrochromic unit EU1, EU2, EU3 which performs color change of the mirror under the control of the control device 4.
Further referring to FIG. 2, the control device 4 includes a forward light sensor S1, a rear light sensor S2, a voltage source 141, a micro-controller 142 and a drive circuit 143. The sensors S1 and S2 are disposed at the forward and rearward sides of the interior rearview mirror assembly 1 for detecting the intensities of the forward light and rear light, respectively. First of all, the micro-controller 142 determines whether it is daytime or nighttime according to the forward light intensity detected by the sensor S1. For example, when the intensity of the forward light is detected to be greater than 50 Lux, it is determined to be daytime, and the micro-controller 142 disables the drive circuit 143. On the contrary, if the forward light is no greater than 50 Lux, the micro-controller 142 further determines whether a glaring situation occurs in response to the light intensity difference detected by the sensors S1 and S2, and controls the drive circuit 143 to apply a suitable voltage to all of the three electrochromic units EU1, EU2 and EU3 to change the color of the mirrors to a relatively low reflection rate when a glaring situation occurs.
The drive circuit 143 receives a voltage from the voltage source 141 which is the ignition or the vehicle battery voltage. The voltage is reduced to a level suitable for the electrochromic purpose, e.g. a voltage ranged between 0 and 3.5V, and provided for the electrochromic units EU1, EU2 and EU3 under the control of the micro-controller 142. The higher the voltage level is applied to the electrochromic unit, the deeper the color of the mirror is, and the lower the reflection rate of the mirror becomes. The reflection rate is lowered from an uncolored initial level, e.g. 55% in general.
The conventional electrochromic rearview mirror system as mentioned above, in spite of solving some glaring problems, cannot solve the problems thoroughly. For instance, in addition to the headlight of an oncoming vehicle, sunrise or sunset sunlight is another important glaring source. The rear sunlight results in powerful stimulation for eyes. The above-mentioned electrochromic mechanism does not work in daytime, so the glaring effect resulting from sunlight cannot be avoided.
On the other hand, when a glaring situation occurs, the three electrochromic units are activated simultaneously. In other words, when the sensor S2 at the interior rearview mirror detects a high intensity headlight from an oncoming vehicle right behind the user's vehicle, all the three mirrors change colors. Meanwhile, if the user would like to change to a right lane or a left lane, the colored exterior mirrors will have adversely effect on the observation of the other lanes. On the contrary, when a vehicle with a high intensity headlight is approaching the user's vehicle at the right or left side, it is possible for the sensor S2 to detect no glare so that all the three mirrors remains highly reflective. However, in fact, the right or left rearview mirror has been bothered by the glare.
Furthermore, the uncolored initial reflection rate 55% is generally suitable for the daytime viewing, but a little insufficient for some people with weaker sight in the dark. When the mirrors are darkened by the glare, the night-vision problem is even more serious.
The use of the forward light sensor S1 to detect the ambient light for determining whether it is the daytime or nighttime may result in an erroneous result. Due to the "forward" arrangement, as shown in FIG. 3, the light sensor S1 may detect in the nighttime the headlamp light of a coming car in opposite direction as the ambient light, and thus wrongly determine that it is the daytime. As a result, the anti-glare function would be improperly disabled.

Light-responsive control device of electrochromic rearview mirror system


Disclosed is a stuffed animal toy that is structured for being projected through the air, the toy body having a flexible outer layer with a fur-like exterior, head, neck region, trunk and an elongate tail projecting rearwardly from the trunk, the tail being provided with a plurality of annular folds therealong which allows it to be extendable to a substantially greater length, and an elongate elastic element is mounted entirely within the body of the toy, and extends, in its relaxed condition, from the tip of the tail where one end of the element is secured, to the underside of neck region where the other end of the element is secured. A thumb-grasp is also secured at the underside of the neck region. After grasping the ring with one hand and the tail end with the other hand, the elastic element may be stretched, which action extends the length of the tail. The toy can then be launched through the air by releasing the tail.

1.Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toys specifically designed to be propelled through the air. More particularly, the invention relates to a toy stuffed animal that is adapted to be propelled through the air.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various toys have been designed for being thrown through the air as a form of amusement, and these have been primarily in the area of air-foil equipped devices such as toy and model airplanes, and gliders. Such toys are usually fairly rigid structures of wings and fuselage, although the prior art includes non-flying devices such as the self-propelled dart of U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,444, and the throwing toy of U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,304. In some cases toys are in the form of a living creature and utilizes the power of a compressed spring to simulate the jumping or springing of the creature into the air. A stuffed animal that can be enjoyed both for its cuddly and aesthetic aspects as well as being propelled through the air has heretofore not been available.


This application describes a nuclear magnetic resonance inspection apparatus. In this apparatus, a nuclear magnetic resonance signal detected by a detection coil is wirelessly transmitted to a signal processing system. In another embodiment, the nuclear magnetic resonance signal is stored in a memory medium provided to the detection coil. This memory medium can be separated from the detection coil. The signal processing system reads out the nuclear magnetic resonance signal from the memory medium separated, and processes the signal.

This invention relates to a nuclear magnetic resonance inspection apparatus and its method.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging (hereinafter referred to as "MRI") apparatus for visualizing a density distribution of nuclei, a relaxation time distribution, etc, by measuring nuclear magnetic resonance (hereinafter referred to as "NMR") signals from hydrogen, phosphorus, etc, inside a living body, and specifically to a radio frequency (RF) coil for generating or receiving an RF magnetic field.
To begin with, the function of this RF coil and signal transmission means will be explained with reference to FIG. 1 which is a block diagram showing the construction of an MRI apparatus according to the prior art.
A coil 18 generates a static magnetic field having a predetermined field intensity in a predetermined direction (z-axis direction) inside a space by a current supplied thereto from a power supply 19. Three sets of gradient magnetic field coils 12, 13, 14 are driven by gradient field magnetic field coil drivers 15, 16, 17, respectively, and provide gradients in the z direction and x and y directions orthogonally crossing the z direction to the intensity of the static magnetic field. An RF coil 8 formed on a cylindrical bobbin is disposed in these coils. A movable bed is fitted to a support couch 22, and an object 20 to be examined is inserted into the RF coil 8 while lying on the bed 21. The output of an RF transmitter 6 is amplified by an amplifier 7 for transmission and is then applied to the RF coil, so that the resulting RF magnetic field is irradiated to the object 20. A controller 5 controls the driving timing of each gradient magnetic field coil and the generation timing of the RF magnetic field in accordance with a programmed sequence, and excites the nuclear spins of the object. RF signals resulting from nuclear magnetic resonance of the object are detected by the RF coil 8, and is guided to a signal processor 11 through a reception amplifier 9 and a quadrature phase detector 10. The signal processor executes processing of the reception data which are sampled, and converts them to an image. In this way, the function of the RF coil 8 is to excite the nuclear spins of the object and to detect the NMR signals emitted when the excited nuclear spins return to a steady state.
A signal transmission route at the time of the irradiation of the RF magnetic field extends from the generation of the irradiation signal by the RF transmitter 6 to the amplification of the signal by the transmission amplifier 7 to several kilo-Watts and the transmission of the signal to the RF coil. On the other hand, the signal transmission route at the time of the reception of the NMR signal extends from the detection of the signal emitted from the object 20 by the RF coil to the amplification of the detected signal of several micro-Volts by the reception amplifier 9 and to the transmission to the quadrature phase detector 10. Signal transmission between the members 6 and 7, between 7 and 8, between 8 and 9 and between 9 and 10 is carried out through coaxial cables. The difference between the irradiation operation and the detection operation lies in that whereas a thick cable for large power must be used for the irradiation cables, a thin cable can be used for detection.
Two kinds of transmission/reception systems are available for the RF coil. One is a single coil system which performs both irradiation and detection by one RF coil, and the other is a cross-coil system which separately performs irradiation and detection by two RF coils. The RF coil shown in FIG. 1 is the single coil system. The single coil system is ordinarily used for the whole body coil, and the coil is installed inside a magnet, while the cross-coil system is used for the head coil, the surface coil, and so forth.
However, the prior art example described above is not free from the following problems.
First, if a coaxial cable is connected to a detection RF coil or to an RF coil for both irradiation and detection, the coaxial cable itself plays the role of an antenna and an external noise is more likely to be caught i.e., experienced therein. As a result, a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of an image drops. When a part of the coaxial cable is grounded to an electromagnetic shield so as to reduce any external noise, the mode of electromagnetic coupling of the electromagnetic shield and the RF coil becomes different, and the characteristics of the RF coil change unavoidably.
On the other hand, the detection RF coil of the cross-coil system is disposed in close contact with the object, or in such a manner as to encompass the object, in order to receive the NMR signals emitted from the object. Therefore, the detection RF coil must be moved in accordance with an imaging portion. If the coaxial cable is connected to the RF coil in this case, not only movement becomes difficult but also the possibility occurs that the coaxial cable is clamped between movable portions. The RF coil must be exchanged in many cases in accordance with the imaging portions and in such a case, the coaxial cable must be removed and be connected once again. Accordingly, the possibility of erroneous connection or inferior connection develops.
A system for solving these problems is described in JP-A-1-223943 and JP-A-63-194648. However, these prior art references essentially include the connection between the coil and the cable, and cannot completely solve above-mentioned problems.

Nuclear magnetic resonanace inspection apparatus and its method


An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a first coupling part and a second coupling part that is connectable to the first coupling part. A connection part connects the first coupling part to the second coupling part and includes an upper end portion, a lower end portion that is connected to the upper end portion, and a wire part that is disposed between the upper end portion and the lower end portion.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to an electronic device, and more particularly, to an electronic device having a flexible cable and a method of manufacturing the electronic device having the flexible cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wearable devices, e.g., an earphone, a headset, a smart watch, a smart glasses, etc., which are used in conjunction with one or more types of electronic devices, e.g., smart phones, table PCs, etc., have been developed.
Cables that can be used with the wearable devices for connecting the wearable devices to an electronic device have a constant cross-sectional area. Accordingly, the cable is sometimes not consistent with design and functional requirements of the wearable device.

Electronic device having flexible cable and method of manufacturing the same


Systems and methods for switching between manual-mode steering and autonomous-mode steering, including a steering wheel assembly sending a signal to an autonomous driving electronic control unit, to engage autonomous-mode steering, in response to an autonomous interface steering wheel of the assembly having been moved from a first position to a second position.

There are presently several problematic issues for vehicles incorporating semi-autonomous and fully autonomous driving systems. One issue with many systems is that the classic steering wheel rotates vigorously while the vehicle is in autonomous mode. This can be distracting and cause confusion for the driver. Another issue is that the transition from vehicle controlled steering (autonomous mode) to driver controlled steering (manual mode) is difficult. There is at present no clear and easy way for a driver to assume manual control or allow autonomous control. There is no clear interface for switching between manual and autonomous steering modes.

Steering wheels for vehicle control in manual and autonomous driving


The disposable speculum with included light and complementary mechanisms for examination and gynecological surgery is a device used for medical and surgical procedures in the vagina, neck level and the uterus. It has two separate sheets joined in their own handles; the upper sheet has three cuts to evacuate the gases and smoke produced on the surgery area. It also has a light bulb to give clarity on the surgery area, to optimize the visibility with aluminum reflexive cover; the lower sheet has three cuts connected among themselves for an internal central channel, to evacuate the blood and fluids coming from the surgical area; the upper sheet""s handle has some buttons to activate an opening and close mechanism of these sheets.

The disposable speculum with included light and complementary mechanisms for gynecological examination and surgery, is a medical instrument that gives positive advantage compared with others which are used now in this health branch.
The vaginal speculum is a medical device, which is introduced through the introito to the vagina separating its walls, to be examined and making the medical or surgical proceedings easier at the vaginas neck level by sight or guided by colposcopya and of the uterus by the endoscopya.
The speculum upper sheet external face is convex, with flat surface and rounded edges to avoid pinches, that happen frequently using disposable speculas with sharp sides.
The internal face of the same sheet is concave and it has three semicircular cuts with certain distance between them, and they are connected amongst themselves for a pair of internal and lateral channels, that end in the upper right part of the proximal end which will serve to evacuate with a special vacuum (available at the market), the smoke and gases generated when any sort of gynecological surgery is practiced for vaginal tract, when cauterius are used with mono or bipolar electrodes, radio frequency or laser, this protects the medical doctor and close staff of possible contamination, making the procedure easier and shorter, because there is a better visibility.
The vertical branch or upper sheet handle has some prongs, that insert in the vertical branch or lower sheet""s handle, that has some foremasts where the saw prongs will rest when the speculum is open to make the visual and the examination area bigger. In order to make the speculum opening smaller, it is necessary to press on a button that makes the prongs come out and move away from the foremast, sliding the upper sheet""s vertical branch on the lower sheet""s vertical branch, and to close the specula and remove it without pain, pressure has to be made on the other button to unblock the upper sheet.
The lower sheet""s external face is convex with flat surface and rounded edges, too. The internal face of the same sheet is concave, and it has three semi-circulars cuts with certain distance between them, connected amongst themselves for an internal oval flat channel, which ends in the lower extreme of the sheet""s descendant branch, where it turns into a round channel where the blood, that is originated from the surgical area through a vacuum designed for this proceedings, is evacuated, making them more comfortable easier and faster, avoiding the dryness and the clearing of thief sloped place where the blood is accumulated. If this end is not connected to a vacuum, it can also be connected to make the blood flow through gravity. Joined to the previously described, and to optimize the visibility of surgical and examination area, in the upper sheet""s internal face, in the center, and on the space between the two first cuts, there is a light bulb, which given its nearness to the surgical area, will offer clarity and because of its localization will not interfere with the surgical proceedings. The light bulb is protected to avoid damage by the instrumental, and it has a thermal isolation to avoid heat up of the speculum upper sheet, which would cause injuries on the vaginal mucous. The internal face of the anterior portion close to the light bulb has an aluminum reflexive cover (a metal covering vacuum technique with aluminum) which will offer an excellent lighting. The speculum has to be made of dark non-reflective material when used in laser proceedings.
Convinced by my personal experience as a gynecologist, that many patients don""t attend appointments of this specialty and don""t take a cytology, because they are afraid to be hurt when the speculum is used; in some cases problems are created due to the designs of some disposable speculum and reusable metal specula that make their use difficult, not practical for the medical doctor and uncomfortable for the patient, in many cases producing small injuries that cause discomfort for the patients which give a bad reputation to these devices.
The vaginal speculum is a device which is introduced through the introito to the vagina separating its walls to be examined and making the medical or surgical proceedings easier at the vaginas"" neck level by sight or guided by colposcopya and of the uterus by the endoscopy.
Some speculums have ungentle edges and their surface is rough causing sometimes pinches of the vaginal mucous and on the smaller and bigger lips. Others have their sheets separated which makes them unstable when they are introduced in the vagina, causing discomfort to the patients and not allowing the specula to open on their distal end if it is required, to expand the surgery field and examination area. Some of them have the handle""s lower end of the lower sheet with a forward curvature, being this the support point to handle and open the speculum, which allows the contamination of the gloves due to their closeness to the anal and perianal area, besides to cause discomfort to the patients. The same happens with the other ones that have a mechanism to open the sheet""s that consist in a curve piece with prongs on the upper sheet""s handle, which introduces itself in a cut of the lower sheet handle, producing similar effect as the previous one. In both previous cases if the medical doctor doesn""t take precautions to change his gloves and proceed to practice a vaginal tact like a complement of the examination, he would be contaminating the patient with possible anal pathology to the vaginal area, and with possibilities of propagation to the pelvic area, with their consequences sometimes irreversible from the medical point of view, like for example, pelvic inflammatory chronic illness, infertility caused by tubary obstruction among others and they seem expensive from the economic point of view.
The speculum proposed by me, has rounded edges and fat surface and has an opening mechanism comfortable and fast for the upper sheet, the same works to enlarge the distance, between the both sheets, giving wideness to the surgery or examination area. The lower sheet""s handle has in its distal end an elbow shaped handle to avoid discomfort to the patients in the anal and perianal area, and therefore with out contamination.
In regards to the portable lighting which come from the light bulbs, which are located on the speculum upper sheet and which after each examination are removed and used again with other patients, open the possibility for contamination even with precautions. The same would happen in other prototypes of reusable lighting, where the light is attached to the upper sheet""s internal face with adhesives used for these cases.
The lighting proposed by me, would be included in the disposable speculum upper sheet internal face through a small light bulb localized between the two first cuts, and it will be feed through a plug located on the back end and upper right of the speculum upper sheet. The light bulb has a thermal isolation to avoid injuries of the vaginal mucous membrane, and also because of its proximity to the surgical area, it will give an excellent lighting that will help to make the procedures easier. The internal face in the front part at the light bulb has an aluminum reflexive cover (aluminum metal vacuum technique) which will have effect on an very good lighting. When the speculum is used in proceedings with laser, it has to be made with a dark and no reflexive material.
There is a pipe system for the smoke and gases suction which are generated in specific gynecological methods through vaginal via, but its surface is not too big.
Thinking about the high incidence of bacterial, micotical and viral illness in the gynecological area, and that some of these are involved in the feminine cancer etiology, and that in many cases the practice of methods using cauterius, radio frequency or laser, is necessary, generating smoke and gases that can be sources of contamination, the speculum described has in the upper sheet""s internal face three cuts (to a certain distance each one) separated one of another by a certain distance and internally connected by a pair of channels designed to evacuate them through a special vacuum, also improving the visibility, having as a result a less time investment.
The cut""s surface of the speculum proposed by me, is big because of it semicircular form, and because they are distributed along of the upper sheet and bilaterally and internally connected will have a bigger absorption surface, a bigger utility and effectiveness.
It also has three cuts on the lower sheet""s internal face that will drain the blood and liquids originated from the surgery area, whether vaginal, cervical, or when they practice uterine endoscopes, making faster proceedings, avoiding the drying and cleaning at intervals of the surgical area, specially in these last ones, where large amounts of liquids are used. To make the speculum use faster and comfortable, some bottoms have been designed, which by pressing make the opening and closing of it easier.
The ideal would be a prototype of speculum, which would have included all the necessary mechanisms for examination and gynecological surgery through the vaginal tract, and easily disposable later, because this area sometimes is highly contaminated by sexual transmission illnesses, bacteria, fungus, and virus, some of these involved in the feminine genital cancer etiology.
The prototype of the disposable speculum created by me, offer and join these advantages.
It is about a disposable speculum with included light and complementary mechanisms for examination and gynecological surgery; which offers positive advantages compared with the ones which are actually used in this health branch.
As a gynecological medical doctor, I am concerned for practicing an excellent exam, looking for the patient""s and our comfort, which will have optimum results that will change the preconceived negative mentality of our dear patients for this type of exams and procedures, making them more agile and that using the specula is not traumatic, I decided to propose a prototype of a plastic transparent disposable speculum, which includes several requirements for such purposes.
The speculum upper sheet external face is convex, of flat surface and having rounded edges to avoid pinches, which are so common with the disposable speculum that does not have delicate edges. The internal face of the same sheet is concave and has three semi-circulars cuts at a certain distance between them, and connected through a pair of lateral internal channels which end in upper right area of the proximal, which will serve to evacuate with a special vacuum (available in the market) the smoke and gases produced when any kind of gynecological surgery through the vaginal tact is practiced, where cauterys are used, monopolar or bipolar electrodes, radio frequency or laser, protecting de medical doctor and near staff of possible contamination, making the procedure easier and shorter and offering a better visibility.
The external face of the lower sheet is convex with a flat surface and has it also has its rounded edges. The internal face of the same sheet is concave and has three semicircular cuts at a certain distance amongst themselves, connected between them by an internal oval, flat channel which ends in the lower end of the descendent branch of the sheet where it becomes in to a round channel through which the blood produced on the surgical area is evacuated through a vacuum used for this procedures, making them easier and faster and avoiding the drying and the cleaning of the places where the blood is accumulated. If this end is not connected to a vacuum, it can be connected to a container through a hose and the blood will flow by gravity. The vertical branch or upper sheet""s handle has some prongs in it and they fit in the vertical branch or lower sheet""s handle which has some foremasts where the saw prongs are inserted when the specula is opened to expand the visual and examination field. In order to reduce the specula""s opening, pressure is made on a button that forces the prongs to go out and separate from the foremasts sliding the vertical branch of the upper branch into the lower sheet""s vertical branch; to close the speculum and remove it without discomfort pressure has to be made over another button that unlocks the upper sheet.
Joined with the previous, and in order to optimize the examination area or surgery area visibility, on upper sheet""s internal face, centrally and in the space between the two first cuts, there is a small light bulb which, given it nearness to the surgical area, will give clarity and because of its localization, will not interfere on the surgical procedure. The light bulb is protected to avoid damages with the instruments and has a thermal isolation to prevent the specula""s upper sheet to be heated because it would create injuries on the vaginal mucous.

Disposable speculum with included light and mechanisms for examination and gynecological surgery


A sand bag filling device comprises a trailer having a vertical post with a distribution head at a top of the vertical post. This distribution head is attached to a plurality of filling spouts which extend downwardly and outwardly from the head to positions surrounding the head. A rotatable chute is positioned at the top of the head for receiving sand from a conveyor and for supplying that sand to each in turn of the filling spouts. Emergency personnel can move a sand bag to each spout in turn with the amount of material being controlled so that the bag is filled before the distribution head moves the supply to the next adjacent filling spout.

This invention relates to an apparatus for use in filling sand bags.
Sand bags are often used in military situations or in flooding situations to provide a structurally stable embankment formed from readily available materials.
In most cases of use of sand bags the locating of the sand bags is generally of a temporary nature but requires to be implemented relatively quickly. Thus in the military situation the embankment formed from the sandbags is provided for protection of personnel and equipment and must therefore be quickly deployed so that the personnel and equipment are not left exposed. In the flooding or water control situation, again it is often desirable to deploy the sandbags very quickly since flooding can arise and subside within a few hours.
Up until now the technique generally used in the field for filling of sandbags is a very crude system based upon manual labor using simply shovels and the manual support of the bag so that one person shovels while a second person holds the mouth of the bag open. This is of course very slow and tedious process and thus involves the second person holding the bag open for an extended period of time which is of course tiring.
Machines have been proposed for use in filling sandbags but these have achieved little success in practice and therefore have not been widely adopted.
The old U.S. Pat. No. 121529 (Lum) from 1871 simply discloses a funnel system and stand which assist in supporting a bag for filling but do not significantly increase the speed of filling or the efficiency of the operation so that sand bags can be filled and located much more quickly.
The very similar U.S. Pat. Nos. 3552346 (Garden) and 4044921 (Caverly) disclose sand bag filling systems in which sand is supplied on a hopper of a truck and is discharged from the rear of the truck into a single bag which is positioned at the required location for receiving the sand. In both cases the rate of filling bags is very slow since only a single bag at a time can be filled and then must be moved away from the filling location before a second bag can be filled. This provides a very slow operation which is unlikely to provide bags at a sufficient rate for an emergency situation even when large numbers of persons are available for manual labor.
The patent of Garden requires manual operation of a filling valve and this is of course disadvantageous in that the operator must remove one hand from the bag to operate the valve with the danger of spilling.
The patent of Caverly discloses an arrangement which is relatively complex including a conveyor and filling control system. The device is therefore relatively expensive and is dedicated solely to the purpose of filling bags. It cannot operate at the very high rate required for emergency use and hence is of little value in such a situation.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,463,085 (Byberg) discloses a bagging system for harvested crops in which the crops are discharged into a hopper and each bag in turn moved by a carrying chain system from a bag attachment station, through a filling station to a discharge position. The unit is mounted upon a trailer system so that the unit can be carried across the ground for bagging harvested crops such as onions, potatoes and the like. The system again is relatively slow and does not make efficient use of the large number of persons available in an emergency situation, nor does it fill bags at a rate which would enable the large number of persons available to be efficiently occupied in filling and locating the bags.
U.S. Pat. No. 2548222 (Kindseth) discloses a system for filling bags with a powder material such as flour in which bags are moved past filling stations. This system is of little relevance for the rapid filling of sand bags.


A process in which a mixture including phenol, cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol is fed to a point intermediate the top and bottom of a distillation column, an overhead stream comprising cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol is withdrawn from a point adjacent the top of the column and a bottoms stream comprising phenol is withdrawn from adjacent the bottom of the column. By feeding additional cyclohexanone to a point below where the mixture is fed, the cyclohexanone content of the bottoms is reduced. The process is useful in separating chemicals used in producing cyclohexanone from phenol for manufacturing caprolactam, a polyamide monomer, or for other purposes.

The present invention relates to the distillation of cyclohexanol from phenol and especially to the separation of mixtures of cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone and phenol into an overheads fraction comprising cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone and a bottoms fraction containing phenol, cyclohexanone and a minor proportion of cyclohexanol. Such mixtures are found in the product of the hydrogenation of phenol to produce cyclohexanone, and especially in the bottoms from a product distillation which removes the major portion of the cyclohexanone from such hydrogenation product. The bottoms from the product distillation contains a minor proportion of cyclohexanone, the unreacted phenol and the cyclohexanol which has resulted from the overhydrogenation of phenol.
Cyclohexanone is produced commercially in large quantities for manufacturing caprolactam and other purposes by a variety of processes, with the reduction of phenol and the oxidation of cyclohexane being the most common. In the hydrogenation of phenol, the cyclohexanone must be recovered from a mixture which generally includes unreacted phenol and cyclohexanol resulting from the overhydrogenation of phenol. The mixture may also contain various impurities less volatile than phenol (hereinafter called high boilers) and various solvents such as cyclohexane, benzene or hexane which are more volatile than phenol.
Since cyclohexanone is the lowest boiling major component of the mixture, it is normal to first distill the major portion of the cyclohexanone from the reaction mixture leaving a bottoms fraction comprising phenol and cyclohexanol, and usually also cyclohexanone and a minor proportion of high boilers. Conventionally, this bottoms fraction is fed to a second fractional distillation column, either in batch operation or continuously, which is designed with sufficient numbers of distillation trays or equivalent contact devices such as packing and a sufficient reflux ratio to produce an overheads fraction containing the net cyclohexanol produced, some cyclohexanone and no more than trace quantities of phenol such as below 10 ppm, preferably below 1 ppm. The bottoms stream from this second column conventionally contains substantially all of the phenol and high boilers, some cyclohexanone and substantial amounts of cyclohexanol.
In the conventional second distillation, the bottoms stream cannot be reduced in cyclohexanol content below that of the maximum boiling azeotropic mixture of cyclohexanol and phenol. In actual operations, the cyclohexanol content of the bottoms stream significantly exceeds that of the azeotropic mixture. Since this second bottoms stream is normally recycled throughout an overall cyclohexanone recovery system (e.g. by subjecting this bottoms stream to further distillation, such as extractive distillation, and returning the overhead stream to a first, product column), an incentive exists for reducing the amount of cyclohexanol in the second bottoms stream, and thereby reducing the load and energy requirements of the overall system.
The operation of the second column is normally designed to assure that the phenol content of the second overheads is minimized. While it is desirable to also minimize the cyclohexanol content of the second bottoms stream, normal manipulation of distillation conditions has limited effectiveness in reducing the cyclohexanol content of the bottoms. This is due to the attractive forces between the phenol and cyclohexanol molecules that can result in the formation of a maximum boiling azeotrope under the conditions of the second distillation. In general, the feed to the second column, which is the bottoms from the first column, is to a point intermediate between the top and bottom of the second column, and generally somewhat below the midpoint of the second column. Thus, for example, in a thirty tray fractional distillation column, the feed can be to the tenth tray from the bottom. Because cyclohexanone is the most volatile of the three major components of the mixture, it generally is found in increasing quantities going up the column and decreasing quantities going down the column. Conversely, phenol, being the least volatile of the three components is conventionally found in increasing quantities going down the column and decreasing quantities going up the column. In order to minimize phenol content in the overheads, the column is run under conditions that cause the phenol content to reach negligible amounts at the top tray. Cyclohexanol, being intermediate in volatility, is distributed along the column in a manner satisfying the overall material balance. While the exact overall distribution of the cyclohexanol in the column has not been well understood, it has been known that a significant concentration of cyclohexanol is found in the bottoms stream.
Phenol mixes with cyclohexanol and with cyclohexanone in such a manner that the intermolecular forces cause the total vapor pressure of the mixture to be lower (at equilibrium) than the level that would be present if the mixture behaved ideally. This phenomenon, referred to as a negative deviation from ideal mixing or a negative deviation from Raoult's Law, is significant enough to result in a first azeotrope (a maximum boiling binary azeotrope) between phenol and cyclohexanone (at least throughout the common pressure range for this distillation) and to result in a second azeotrope (a maximum boiling binary azeotrope) between phenol and cyclohexanol.
Several processes have been proposed to recover phenol from cyclohexanone and/or cyclohexanol by extractive distillation: adding an extraneous component to break one or both azeotropes. Such processes have the disadvantage that the extraneous component must subsequently be separated from the desired components (i.e. cyclohexanone, phenol and/or cyclohexanone) or vice versa before the desired components can be used. Such processes also generally involve adding a less volatile component to the top of a column.

Enhanced distillation of cyclohexanol from phenol with additional cyclohexanone feed


This invention relates to a process for increasing the combustion effect in an oil burner.. According to the process, a mixture of oil, atmospheric air, and added oxygen is projected through a jet into the combustion chamber of the oil burner at a pressure several times greater than 0.5 atmospheres, the outflow aperture of the jet having a diameter which is in the region of 1/10 to 2/10 mm.. Because of the high pressure, a stream which is power-charged and enriched with considerable oxygen and by which combustion is advantageously influenced and oil consumption reduced, leaves the jet. Atomization is advantageously effected at a pressure of 2 atmospheres.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for increasing the combustion effect in an oil burner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Atomization of oil-air mixture which is fed to an oil burner has taken place up to now at a pressure of approximately 0.5 atmospheres. Oil consumption is, however, incomplete, which is attributable to insufficient interspersing with oxygen of the atomized fuel which is produced. With present-day high oil prices and with problematical oil supply being prophesied in the future, better oil combustion is of great economic significance.


A toy facsimile machine has a hollow case for housing a rotatably mounted roll of paper, transfer roll members that frictionally engage the paper to unroll it, a plate positioned between the roll and the transfer roll members to support the unrolled paper so that the user of the toy may write and draw on the paper, a motor for activating the transfer roll members, an integrated circuit for generating tone signals, a speaker for converting those signals into sound, and a battery for operating the motor and integrated circuit. A window frame formed in the case exposes the paper so that the user may write and draw on it. A delivery port is formed in a leading end of the toy and operation of the transfer roll members feeds the paper out of the hollow interior of the toy through that port. A cutting device is positioned at the port so that the discharged paper may be cut off by pulling up on it. Further features include a model telephone head set cradled by the case and a manually operated rotatably mounted spool for taking slack out of the roll of paper.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toy which makes it possible to enjoy playing at the operation of a facsimile apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Toys which are so constructed as to make it possible to enjoy playing at the operation of facsimile apparatuses have not been seen heretofore.


A multi-functional transfer connector for connecting with different receptacles includes a first insulative housing (11), a first plug (12) and a first receptacle (13) retained in the first insulative housing, a base insulative housing (31), and a base plug (32) retained in the base insulative housing. The base insulative housing defines a peripherally closed receiving space (310) to receive the first insulative housing, the first plug, and the first receptacle. The first plug and the first receptacle are located at the opposite sides of the first insulative housing. A cable (4) is located at opposite, outer sides of the receiving space with respect to the base plug. The cable includes individual wires electrically connecting in parallel to the first plug, the first receptacle, and the base plug directly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-functional transfer connector, and more particularly to a multi-functional transfer connector for connecting with different receptacles.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,852 issued on Oct. 17, 2006 discloses a connector structure comprising a body, a first (plug or receptacle) connector at one end of the body, a rotating element pivotally connected to the body, and a second (plug or receptacle) connector pivotally disposed with respect to the body by the rotating element. An optional multi-linking-movement switch, through specific rotation angles thereof, is capable of controlling electric conduction of the first connector and the second connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,473,141 issued on Jan. 6, 2009 discloses a multi-functional transfer connector including a first insulative housing, a first plug and a first receptacle both retained by the first insulative housing, a second insulative housing, and a second plug retained by the second insulative housing. The first insulative housing has two pivotal side arms for effectuating a relative movement between the first and second insulative housings. The first plug and the first receptacle are connected electrically. The second plug is located in the front of the second insulative housing. The first plug and the second plug are of different kinds for connecting with different receptacles of a variety of electronic devices. When the second plug is used, the second plug is inserted into the receptacle of the device directly. When the first plug is used, the first receptacle receives the second plug first, then the first plug is inserted into a device receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,550,856 issued on Oct. 8, 2013 discloses a transfer plug assembly which includes a first plug, first flexible link, second flexible link, and a second plug. Respective first ends of the first flexible link and the second flexible link are connected to two lateral sides of the first plug. Respective second ends of the first flexible link and the second flexible link are connected to two lateral sides of the second plug. Through the linking of the first and second flexible links, the second plug will hang around the first plug and is accessible nearby.
Hence, an improved multi-functional transfer connector is desired.

Multi-functional transfer connector for connecting with different receptacles


A side mount garage door operator capable of being positioned on either the ceiling or end wall of a garage at either side of the garage door on a frame unit, the operator providing a clutch for disengaging the drive motor from the garage door in the absence of electric power and having a manual graspable handle operated by a solenoid when power is present and operable manually in the absence of power. Novel limit means having limits which is on the end of an axially movable bar which is moved by a follower riding in a spiral groove in the base of a disk such as a gear connected to the drive shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for opening and closing garage doors of the side mount type, and more particularly to door opening and closing apparatus capable of being utilized with either roll-up or one-piece garage doors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Present garage door openers are normally of either the center drive type wherein the motor and drive apparatus is mounted midway between the sides of the door on the ceiling of the garage, or the side mount type wherein the motor and driving apparatus are mounted at one side of the door and driving is accomplished through a sprocket chain assembly.
Such garage door openers sometimes become inoperative because of power failures, motor failures, track breakage and the like. In such circumstances it is still necessary that the garage door be opened and closed and that provision be made for doing so manually. In order to accomplish manual opening and closing, it becomes necessary to disconnect the drive motor from the door support mechanism. Otherwise, the mechanical characteristics of the motor and gears offer such resistance that manual opening and closing of the doors becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. Typically, known side mount door operators are provided with a clutch mechanism between the drive motor and the drive shaft which can be disengaged by various mechanisms so as to disconnect the motor from the drive shaft and thus allow the door to be manually opened or closed. An example of such device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,910 issued to KiYoshi Iha on Sep. 25, 1984.
An example of a clutch mechanism is shown and described in applicants' co-pending patent application No. 07/556,614, which utilizes a sprag clutch. Other examples of such clutch mechanisms may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,729 issued to Glenn P. Gessell on Dec. 4, 1962; U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,302 issued May 19, 1970 to Bernard J. Sivin; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,108 issued Aug. 12, 1986 to Bernard Monot.
The above-listed patents are believed to be relevant to the present invention because they were adduced by a prior art search made by an independent searcher, and a copy of each of the above-listed patents is supplied to the Patent and Trademark Office herewith.
Prior art side mount garage door operators are capable of operating either a solid door or an articulated, segmented roll-up door, but not both.


A vehicle mirror assembly for mounting a mirror to a vehicle body includes a connection head, a positive lock assembly, and a holder. The holder and the connection head are attached to one or the other of a tie bar and a mirror support arm and rotatably secured together. Methods of assembling and using the vehicle mirror assembly are also provided.

Conventional external mirror arrangements for vehicles include a holder extending from and fastened to the side of the vehicle body. The holder is often a U-shaped bracket equipped with a lower and an upper, horizontally running support arm. The bracket and its free ends are pivotally linked to the vehicle body. One or more external mirrors are installed on the U-shaped bracket. The mirrors may be a flat main mirror and a convex, wide angle mirror. A drawback with these conventional mirror arrangements is that due to their relatively large dimensions and the correspondingly heavier mirror, especially for commercial vehicles, it is difficult to make the holder both highly stable and vibration-free.
One attempt to stabilize the conventional holder is to use a tie-bar support as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,895. This tie-bar support is coupled on one end to a mirror mounting arm at an external point spaced apart from a swivelable attachment point on the vehicle. The tie-bar support is swingably attached to the vehicle body on another end behind the point where the mirror mounting arm is installed. Thus, with the mirror mounting arm coupled to the tie-bar, a rigid triangular reinforcement structure is formed to stabilize the holder.
In certain situations, the mirror holder must be folded in to the vehicle body to drive the vehicle through a very narrow passage, for instance, or when the vehicle is undergoing a lengthy maintenance period. Thus, folding the mirror back in such situations protects the mirror from damage. Additionally, it is desirable for the mirror holder to be deflected inwardly if contact is possible with oncoming vehicles.
In order to both stabilize and fold back the mirror, the coupling between the tie-bar and the corresponding support arm must be releasable. When the coupling is released, the added support for the holder is removed and the holder can swing inward toward the vehicle body.
Certain known releasable couplings between the tie-bar and the support arm are often heavy and troublesome to recouple. Other releasable couplings such as the arrangement provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,895 are made of plastic and rubber components, which frictionally engage each other and are thus vulnerable to weather and wear.


A container for an ink jet head having a discharge opening therein includes an openable containing member for containing the ink jet head and permitting removal of the ink jet head when opened, and a discharge recovery member for discharging ink from the discharge opening of the ink jet head in response to removing the ink jet head from the container, in response to opening the openable containing member, or in response to pressing against a wall of the container member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packing or wrapping member (referred as "container" hereinafter) for an ink jet recording head, and move particularly relates to the packing member for an exchangeable ink jet recording head.
The present invention also relates to a container of an ink jet head with which an ink tank is made integral and attachable to or detachable from the ink jet recording apparatus, and relates to a recovering method printing quality of the ink jet head.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, ink jet recording apparatuses have come into wide use as the output apparatuses of office computers, personal computers and word processors or the like.
An ink jet recording apparatus causes ink liquid in ink path of a recording head to discharge to thereby fly by the pressure generated by a piezo-electric element or the like to thereby effect recording on a recording medium, and has advantages such as low noise, low cost, capability of high-density recording and excellence in coping with colors.
Now, one type of ink jet recording apparatus is a the recording head interchange type recording apparatus. A predetermined usable time period exists in a recording head and therefore, a head which has reached this time period is exchanged for a new head to thereby ensure the reliability of the ink jet recording apparatus.
Among ink jet recording apparatuses, there is known one using an ink jet head (referred as "ink jet head cartridge") in which an ink tank containing therein ink which is a recording material and an ink jet head element (referred as "ink jet head unit" or "tank discharge portion") having the function of discharging the ink are made integral with each other. In such an ink jet head, there is adopted a method of exchanging the ink jet head itself together with the ink tank at a point in time at which the ink in the ink tank has been consumed by printing or when the discharge condition is aggravated for some reason or other and does not improve. Accordingly, discretely from a printer body, an integral ink tank type ink jet head removably mountable with respect to the printer is singly packaged for sale.
The transportation and preservation of such an integral ink tank type ink jet head have heretofore been accomplished with the integral ink tank type ink jet head 21 being contained in a housing 20 as shown in FIG. 1 and then a lid 22 being closed up tight by heat welding, or as shown in FIG. 2 with the ink jet head 21 being contained in the housing 20 with a tape 23 or the like attached to the discharge surface of the ink jet head 21 in which ink discharge openings 24 are disposed, and a lid being closed up tight by head welding. The increased viscosity of the ink caused by the evaporation of the ink solvent and the adherence of dust to the discharge opening portion are prevented by such a container.
Apart therefrom, in this recording head of the interchange type, during the first mounting of a head onto the recording apparatus or during the exchange of the head, a new head is mounted on the recording apparatus and a power source switch is closed to thereby effect the confirmation of printing and when discharge is unsatisfactory, a series of poor discharge recovery operations are effected. Also, when mounting a new head on the recording apparatus during the first mounting for the starting of the use of the recording apparatus or during the interchange of the head, it has often been the case that the new head requires the performing of the poor discharge recovering operation for the reason that new head has been in custody for long period of time.
Further, for the poor discharge recovering operation, a recovery mechanism has been discretely disposed in the recording apparatus or provided at the home position or the like of a carriage. FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings shows an example of this, and the recovery mechanism 61 is provided at the home position of the carriage 62. When the carriage 61 comes to the home position, the cap 63 of the recovery mechanism 61 covers a discharge opening surface of recording head 64 mounted on the carriage and by operating a suction pump 65, ink liquid is sucked and discharged from the discharge opening of the recording head. Numeral 66 denotes a platen, 67 denotes a recording sheet, and 68 denotes a guide for the carriage 62. Thus, the ink jet head is provided with a mechanism for causing ink to flow out of the ink jet head by sucking the ink toward the printer body or pressurizing the ink when the ink jet head causes unsatisfactory printing, to thereby improve the printing condition, i.e., a so-called recovery mechanism.
However, in the above-described example of the prior art, when an attempt is made to take an ink jet head out of a new container and use it, the viscosity of ink in the discharge opening portion of the ink jet head may increase because of evaporation or the like of the ink solvent from the discharge openings of the ink jet head while the ink jet head is preserved in the container, or the stable discharge condition of the ink from the discharge openings may not be maintained, and there is no guarantee that the printing condition during the arrival of the printer is good. Also, as the time a printer is preserved increases, the frequency of the unsatisfactory printing upon the arrival of the printer becomes higher.
In other words, in the example of the prior art described above, once the lid of the package is peeled off, the air-tightness with respect to the external environment is lost. Even if the integral ink tank type recording head is again returned to and preserved in the package when the printer is not used for a long period of time, hermetic sealing cannot be secured. As a result, the viscosity of the ink increases and dust adheres to the discharge openings because of evaporation of the ink solvent and unsatisfactory printing occurs when the recording head is then mounted on the printer. There is also the disadvantage that where the lid of the package is unsatisfactorily welded to the housing and there are holes or cracks in the lid and housing or where the recording head is left unused for a long period of time and preserved in the package, solidification of the ink in the discharge openings occurs. In order to solve these problems, printer bodies are provided with an ink recovery mechanism, but they have the disadvantage of a high cost.
Accordingly, even a new ink jet head sometimes requires the cumbersome operation of operating a recovery mechanism provided in the printer body when the printer arrives. Also, in this case, the recovery mechanism must be provided on the printer body side of the apparatus, and this has led to the increased cost and bulkiness of the printer body. Further, if the recovery mechanism is provided on the printer body side of the apparatus, the production of waste ink produced after the recovering operation requires a large waste ink reservoir (an ink absorber) on the supposition that a large amount of waste ink will be produced from the ink jet head used during the term during which the printer is guaranteed, and this has led to the problems of the contamination and increased cost of the printer body.
To summarize, the operation of effecting a poor discharge recovering operation on a new recording head by a recovery mechanism to thereby achieve stability of discharge is rather cumbersome, and to provide such a recovery mechanism in the recording apparatus, a space therefor must be provided in the recording apparatus.

Container for ink jet head and recovering method of ink jet head using container


A remote control device includes a signal generating device for supplying signals to a processor device, to actuate the processor device to generate and to output a low signal and a high signal, an initializing device including a transistor coupled to the processor device, a diac coupled to the collector of the transistor, and an oscillating device having two or more transistors coupled between the diac and one or more halogen lamps, for energizing the halogen lamps alternatively. The diac may be actuated with different operating times in order to adjust the brightness of the halogen lamps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable or control device, and more particularly to a remote control device for coupling to and for controlling the halogen lamps and for adjusting the halogen lamps to different brightnesses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical transformer or control devices have been developed for coupling to and for controlling the halogen lamps. For example, the typical control devices may include a number of parts or elements for forming an oscillating circuits, in order to actuate the halogen lamps. However, the control devices may not be used to adjust the brightness of the halogen lamps.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional control devices for halogen lamps.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a remote control device for coupling to and for controlling the halogen lamps.
The other objective of the present invention is to provide a remote control device for adjusting the halogen lamps to different brightnesses.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a remote control device comprising a processor unit, means for supplying initialization signals to the processor unit, to actuate the processor unit to generate and to output a low signal and a high signal, an initializing unit including a first transistor coupled to the processor unit and having a collector and an emitter, and a diac coupled to the collector of the first transistor, at least one halogen lamp, and an oscillating unit coupled to the initializing unit, and including a second transistor and at least one third transistor coupled between the diac of the initializing unit and the halogen lamp. The first transistor is de-energized when the processor unit output the low signal to the first transistor, the low signal may then be transmitted through the collector of the first transistor to the diac in order to actuate the second and the third transistors to energize the halogen lamp, and the emitter of the first transistor may be energized when the processor unit output the high signal to the first transistor, for preventing the diac from being actuated by the high signal.
A transformer unit may further be provided and coupled between the halogen lamp and the oscillating unit.
The initialization signal supplying means includes a receiver unit coupled to the processor unit, for receiving and sending the initialization signals to the processor unit.
The initialization signal supplying means further includes a signal generating device coupled to the processor unit, for sending the initialization signals to the processor unit.
The signal generating device includes a comparator coupled to the processor unit, a power unit having an output terminal, a capacitor and a first resistor coupled between the comparator and the output terminal of the power unit.
The comparator includes a first input terminal coupled to the capacitor, and a second input terminal coupled to a second resistor which is then coupled to the first resistor.
The processor unit includes a processor device, the initialization signal supplying means may further include an oscillator coupled to the processor device for supplying the signal to the processor device.

Remote control and adjustable device for halogen lamp


A composite roll for hot rolling wherein the outer layer portion of a composite roll comprises a steel comprised of, in terms of % by weight, 1.5 to 2.4% of C, 3 to 6% of V and 10 to 20% of at least one element selected from the group consisting of Cr, Mo and W and optionally at least one element of 0.05 to 0.20% of Al and 0.02 to 0.10% of Ti as an inoculation material, with the balance comprising Fe and unavoidable impurities, the outer layer portion comprising a metallic structure which has a crystal grain diameter of 30 to 150 .mu.m and is surrounded by a eutectic carbide crystallized in the grain boundary or a metallic structure wherein a primary crystallized carbide is further dispersed and crystallized in a matrix structure of the crystal. It is excellent particularly in the surface roughening resistance.

A high alloy chromium cast iron having suitable wear resistance and cracking resistance and comprising 2 to 3.2% of C, 12 to 18% of Cr, 2% or less of Ni and 2% or less of Mo or a high alloy grain cast iron comprising 3 to 3.4% of C, 0.4 to 1.5% of Cr, 2 to 5% of Ni and 0.2 to 1.0% of Mo has hitherto been used as a roll for hot rolling (see "Tekko Zairyo no Mamo (Wear of Steel Material)", Joint Society on Iron and Steel Basic Research, page 16 (1984)). Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 58-87249 has proposed a wear-resistant cast iron roll material comprising 2.4 to 3.5% of C, 6.1 to 14% of V and alloying elements, that are Cr, Mo, W and Co, for improving the wear resistance.
With respect to a technique for producing this type of roll, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 59-19786 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 61-60256, a technique is known wherein a cooling die is provided around a core material preheated by means of a preheating coil, introducing a molten metal into the cooling die while heating the molten metal by means of a heating coil to form an outer layer welded to around the core material.
Wear resistance and crack resistance are important to properties required of the rolling roll of the type described above. Smaller wear contributes to an improvement in the accuracy of sheet thickness of the rolled product and, at the same time, reduces the frequency of replacement of rolls, which in turn contributes to an improvement in the working efficiency.
When the crack resistance is insufficient, cracking occurs due to the application of thermal or mechanical load during use, which gives rise to a major problem trouble. Therefore, it is strongly desired for the rolling roll to have both the wear resistance and the crack resistance.
In this connection, as compared with the conventional high chromium cast iron and high alloy grain cast iron, a wear-resistant material proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 58-87249 has been confirmed to have better wear resistance. In this material as well, it is necessary to further improve the crack resistance.
Surface roughening resistance and roll surface roughness are other properties required of the rolling roll. Specifically, the smaller the surface roughness of the roll applied to the rolling, the better the appearance of a product formed by rolling through the use of such a roll. For this reason, an improvement in the surface roughening resistance through a reduction in the surface roughness of the roll has been strongly desired in the art.

Composite roll for rolling and process for producing the same


The invention pertains to the use of one or more of uridine and cytidine, or salts, phosphates, acyl derivatives or esters thereof in the manufacture of a composition for treating, preventing or reducing the risk of occurrence of white matter lesions, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), Leukoaraiosis or periventricular white matter disease in elderly not suffering from a neurodegenerative disorder, preferably non-demented elderly and elderly not suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. It was found that with the compositions according to the invention Nogo-A protein levels could be controlled, particularly suppressed or reduced.

During the last decennium, uridine, choline and omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA have attracted attention as active components in treating cognitive dysfunction and age-associated memory impairment (AAMI), see e.g. WO2007/089703 (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and WO 2009/002165 (N.V. Nutricia). These compounds are rate-limiting precursors for membrane phosphatide synthesis. According to the above applications, by improving the membrane phosphatide synthesis, it is believed to improve cognitive or memory function. The effects on membrane phospholipids have been associated with enhancement in specific pre- and post-synaptic proteins.
WO 2013/066165 and WO 2013/066167 (N.V. Nutricia) disclose a product comprising (i) one or more of uridine and cytidine, or salts, phosphates, acyl derivatives or esters thereof, and (ii) a lipid fraction comprising at least one of docosahexaenoic acid 5 (22:6; DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5; EPA) and docosapentaenoic acid (22:5; DPA), or esters thereof, recognition and executive functions like speed of information processing, cognitive and mental flexibility, attention, scanning, and cognitive set shifting can be improved, in particular in a Alzheimer's or dementia patient. WO 2012/125020 discloses a similar product for use in the prevention or treatment of neurotrauma, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury.
In the art, focus of attention has been on subjects suffering from or at immediate risk of developing dementia and/or Alzheimer's Disease [AD]. As for instance addressed in EP 1.800.675 [N.V. Nutricia], dementia and AD are associated with shrinkage of the brain volume and in particular of the volume of the white matter. Neurodegeneration associated with the above neurodegenerative disorders typically results in death of neurons and a generalized form of cerebral atropy and volume loss, while damaged neurons, including their myelinated axons will be removed from the brain. Such pathology is therefore characterized by a generalized localization and a generalized loss in volume or mass (brain "shrinkage"). The neurodegeneration is commonly associated with the formation of protein agglomerates, which manifest themselves as amyloid plaques or Lewy bodies. When applying brain imaging of such affected brains one typically observes less white matter but also larger ventricles and morphological changes in the grey matter, and optical representations of the protein agglomerates. Volume loss of white matter is recognized to be a pathology that differs from the rather localized hyperintensities around the lateral ventricles in brain, which are frequently observed in elderly, even when they do not experience neurodegeneration.
Multiple sclerosis is also considered to affect white matter, due to a fierce reaction of the immune system on the myelin sheaths of neurons, either present centrally or in peripheral tissues. Such white matter pathology is characterized by a general nature in localization and a consistent decrease in quality of the myelin sheath during the progression of the pathology, caused by a progressing decrease in thickness of the myelin sheaths. The loss of quality can be assessed by measuring for example the speed of transmission of nerve signals. Again, it is pathologically distinct from WMH, Leukoaraiosis or periventricular white matter disease.
There remains a need to target age-associated white matter lesions, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), Leukoaraiosis or periventricular white matter disease in the art.

Method for reducing white matter lesions, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), leukoaraiosis or periventricular white matter disease in elderly


A light weight molding compound comprises an inner layer constituted by a thermosetting resin including a hollow filler, cloth layers constituted by woven or non-woven fabric adhered on the both surfaces of the inner layer, and surface layers constituted by a thermosetting resin including reinforcing fiber and integrally connected to the both surfaces of the inner layer by way of the cloth layers. The light weight sheet molding compound has superior surface quality to be painted after molding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light weight sheet molding compound.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Recently, two-layered sheet molding compounds comprising a layer including reinforcing fiber and a layer including no reinforcing fiber have been used for an engine hood and outside plates of an automobile, for example, a rear spoiler, a roof, a hood and so on. These sheet molding compounds include a hollow filler in order to reduce the weight.
The light weight sheet molding compounds are produced as follows: Resin paste for compounds including a hollow filler is applied on two polyethylene films respectively at a predetermined thickness. Then, roving glass fiber is cut and scattered uniformly on one spread resin paste, thereby placing reinforcing fiber. Then, the other resin paste applied film is laminated thereon to make the laminated layers into one integral sheet. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, a conventional sheet molding compound 30 comprises an inner layer 31 including reinforcing fiber, and resin layers 32 including a hollow filler 33 and disposed on the both sides of the inner layer 31.
The viscosity of the sheet molding compound 30 varies with the heat for molding and hardening the compound 30. At that time, the filler 33 which has been dispersed in the resin paste and which has a smaller specific gravity than the base resin tends to move upward and concentrate on the surface. A part of the hollow filler 33 breaks or cracks by shearing force applied during molding the compound 30. These broken materials and the gas which has been contained in the filler 33 are scattered on the surface of the sheet molding compound 30. Therefore, the surface to be painted is not always smooth, and a paint film formed on the compound 30 often develops coating defects such as blisters. After-treatment such as repair of coating defects is required and productivity is decreased.
As an attempt to remove these disadvantages, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 193940/1988 proposes a low specific gravity sheet molding compound in which one resin sheet layer in contact with the other resin sheet layer by way of reinforcing fiber includes no hollow filler, and a low specific gravity sheet molding compound in which one resin sheet layer includes a smaller amount of a hollow filler than the other resin sheet layer.
In the above sheet molding compounds in which the resin sheet layer on the surface side includes no hollow filler or a smaller amount of a hollow filler, however, only short fiber exists as reinforcing fiber between the one resin sheet layer and the other resin sheet layer including a larger amount of the hollow filler, and the filler can easily pass through the reinforcing fiber. Therefore, when the resin viscosity is lowered during heating for hardening the resin, it is difficult to inhibit the low specific gravity filler from passing through the reinforcing fiber and transferring to the surface side of the resin sheet layer. Further, it is sometimes hard to hold the resin layer including a smaller amount of the hollow filler on the upper side. Therefore, the sheet molding compound surface to be painted is difficult to be kept smooth, and appearance defects such as blisters are often developed in a paint film formed on the sheet molding compound surface. The coating defects necessitate repairing steps. Accordingly, productivity enhancement by removing steps of repairing the paint film is required to be used as panel component parts.


A bookmark strap fits through a book and has one end connected to an eyeglass case. At the other end of the bookmark are VELCRO.RTM. circular patches or rectangular sections so that when the bookmark strap is placed onto the page where a reader has stopped reading, the rest of the extended length of the bookmark strap can be wrapped around to the front of the book and be connected to the back of the eyeglass case to a corresponding VELCRO.RTM. patch. This will lock the bookmark and eyeglass case around the book, with the eyeglass case conveniently positioned on the top cover page of the book.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combination bookmark eyeglass case in which a bookmark strap fits around and through a book, with one end of the strap permanently fastened to one end of an eyeglass case and the other end of the strap releasably attached to another end of the eyeglass case.
2. The Prior Art
The Gonot, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,800 discloses the combination of an elastic bookmark and a holder for writing instruments which permits the bookmark to be attached to a variety of different books, and which will also releasably hold a writing instrument. The bookmark consists of a loop of elastic material which may be either seamless or it may be joined together with a seam.
This reference, however, fails to show an eyeglass case in combination with the bookmark, whereby it would be possible to adjust the length of the bookmark very substantially. In addition, Gonot does not suggest that the use of a holder could also function as part of the adjustable attachment means.
The Jacobsen U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,107 shows a removable page marker for a book.
The Grodsky U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,216 shows a combination bookmark and pencil holder which merely rests in between the pages of the book and does not actually fold completely around and encase the book.
The Larson Design Pat. No. 325,929 shows a design for a combination bookmark and pencil holder which is similar to Grodsky as discussed above.