An information delivery system including a head end broadcasting a data stream of media objects, the head end being coupled to a broadcast television interface and at least one information service provider and including an encoder for encoding information in the media object is disclosed. The system may deliver and implement a programming guide delineating programming information available on the information delivery system in one or more media objects in the data stream in an encoded fashion by the encoder. A user terminal is coupled to the head-end and receives the media objects. The user terminal has an output and includes a decoder for the media objects. Also provided in one aspect is a user interface, at least partially stored in the user-terminal, which selects a user-defined subset of media objects for provision to the output of the user terminal. Further, an information navigation system for an information delivery system is provided. The navigation system functions with the electronic program guide and includes a user interface having a plurality of icon representations of various functions of the system, and including a broadcast television interface. The navigation system also includes a smart service navigator which interacts with the user interface and the electronic program guide to provide an output to the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the delivery, selection and communication of information in an interactive format, and specifically to the delivery and selection of information delivered to a television user over a cable television system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Television has traditionally been a broadcast medium of entertainment. Service providers, such as television stations and networks, broadcast entertainment and information programming via a communications medium, such as a television network or cable system from the head-end of the communications system to a client or individual user at the receiving end of the system. While in the early days of television, this meant transmission of the broadcast signals through the air, more recently, cable networks have become commonplace. Transmission of the broadcast signals through the cable network provides a much wider signal transmission bandwidth and opens the possibility for the transmission of data in large quantities to the user. Bandwidth is defined as the information capacity of a particular transmission system. This traditional model of one-way communication between the service provider and the user has recently begun to change with the proliferation of interactive communication between the client and the service provider.
The television and cable network communication medium is a particularly advantageous way to transmit a great volume of information from the service providers to the end users, the viewers, and to provide an interactive mechanism for the viewer to utilize services such as video on demand, home shopping, interactive games, and home banking using the television as the interface. However, using television as the mechanism for correspondence between the service provider and the end user requires extensive modification of existing communication hardware to provide one or more of the following: greater signal bandwidth, more powerful head-end servers, and more powerful end-user receivers.
As shown in FIG. 1, a typical cable television system comprises four main elements: the head-end 10, a central originating point of all signals carried, where signals are received from service providers (television networks, special channels, etc.) in process; a trunk system 12, the main artery carrying signals through a community; a distribution system (including trunk bridging amplifiers 14), which is bridged from the trunk system and carries signals to individual neighborhoods for distribution to subscribers; and subscriber drops 16, including individual lines 18 to subscribers' television sets fed from taps (Area 1, Area 2 . . . Area X) in the distribution system. The head-end may include a satellite antenna system, tape processing, live programming cameras, signal-processing equipment, pilot carrier generators, combining networks, and equipment for bi-directional interactive services. The subscriber equipment may comprise end-user terminals, converters, de-scramblers, teletext decoding equipment, and the like, depending on the particular service in place and the sophistication in bandwidth of the given system. The trunk system may be physically composed of open air broadcasts, fiber optic lines, coaxial lines, or a combination of each.
In addition to providing video and music programming, in an interactive system, a significant quantity of information must be transmitted to the viewer as part of the interactive service environment. For example, the interactive environment may include several different interface screens utilizing a "multi-media" format (combining several different types of data, video, and audio), and a pointer or other means (such as a control pad-controlled cursor) for interacting with each of the data, audio, and video elements on the interface screen. As yet, no standard transmission or interaction format for the distribution system has been settled upon, and a number of standards are currently under development by television, telephone, or other communications providers.
A number of commercial services currently exist which provide broadcast programming along with data to a home viewer. Perhaps the most basic of these is commonly referred to as "Teletext," and provides cyclical digital data inserted in the vertical blanking interval of a video signal. (The vertical blanking interval is a standard interspersed period in a video signal which is approximately the black level of the signal, used to accommodate retrace periods of display scanning.) The amount of data which may be supported and transmitted by the Teletext system is limited by the bandwidth of the vertical blanking interval. As such, the data capacity is limited and the net result is usually the provision of this format of a few lines of text at the base of a television screen in the user's home. Teletext services can provide a viewer with a wide variety of useful information which can be program oriented, or completely independent of the program. The viewer uses a remote control key pad to select television images, teletext pages, or a combination of both. Some forms of two-way teletext exist, but these systems usually include an entry keyboard and a return link, via a telephone line, to a database.
A second commercial service to provide data over television transmissions is known as the "Sega Channel." The objective of the Sega Channel is to allow users of the Sega video game system to download software games directly from a broadcast channel for use on the game system rather than requiring the individual user to go to a retail store to purchase game cartridges. The Sega Channel broadcasts game program data on a standard cable channel via a cable network, in a continuous data stream of software games which the user may desire to download. Each game is broadcast at a different time, and broadcast information includes game identification information which is decoded by the game system in the user's home and which identifies the game to the system for downloading. The game system shows the individual user a selection menu on the user's television from which the user can select the particular game he or she wishes to download. When the game is transmitted over the broadcast medium at the appointed broadcast time, the game will be downloaded into the game system and the user may then play the game in the game unit. The Sega channel transmission scheme does not include any provision for "backchannel" information from the user to the information service provider.
Another commercial broadcast system which does provide some backchannel communication, but is limited to smaller broadcast environments, is commercially known as "Spectravision." Spectravision is generally set up in small environments such as hotels, resorts, or other limited areas, and the viewer is provided with one or more screens of information for video on demand, and hotel services such as in-room checkout, room service, and billing queries. The user, through an end-user box and accompanying remote control interface, can request in-room movies through the video on demand interface, request account information, or perform a check out, all through the Spectravision interface. Information which must be transmitted to the user in this system includes the complete video on demand menu (several screens of data), customer services menus and summaries of account information on the customer's charges during the stay in the hotel, and menus which the consumer may scroll through on demand and select to perform such services. This usually represents a fair amount of textual information, however, the backchannel communication for such a system is minimal, thereby limiting user response and choice. A local server for the particular small area which Spectravision services is all that is required. Spectravision also provides the viewer with the ability to switch between dedicated Spectravision services and regular full broadcast television services.
In providing interactive services in larger cable network applications, the main problem which arises is that of server and communications overhead. Allowing each subscriber to browse and navigate through all available services, (such as an electronic program guide for video-on-demand services,) creates substantial processing overhead on the head-end server. This, in turn, requires that the speed and capacity of the head-end server be increased for the system as a whole to be commercially effective, which increases the cost of the system.
As shown in FIG. 2, an interactive delivery system requires a physical delivery system which provides backchannel communication. An attempt to provide a fully interactive television interface on a larger scale will be made by U.S. West, Inc., a telecommunications company, which will conduct a trial of an interactive system in Omaha, Nebr. In the U.S. West example, the network configuration will comprise a broad-band network to provide video and data services. The broadband network is comprised of a head-end broadcasting server 20 providing transmission to a plurality of video switches 24 and nodes 26. The video switch will transmit packets of data continuously or in bursts through the broad-band network. The video switch 24 will deliver signals to a node 26 that will serve from 200 to 2,000 homes. From the video node, dual co-axial cables A,B will be used for distributing video signals to a pedestal that will contain video distribution equipment, video interaction equipment, and an optical network unit. As shown in FIG. 3B, the video portion of the network is a dual co-axial cable design, with a sub-split design "A" cable providing 650 mhz of bandwidth to support 77 analog channels, up to 136 digital channels, and 25 mhz of shared upstream (or backchannel) capacity. The spectrum "B" cable provides 500 mhz of bandwidth to support up to 664 digital channels and 107 mhz of shared backchannel capacity. The split design allows for channel frequency compatibility of the analog channels with existing cable-ready TV sets, while the "B" channel provides backchannel capacity anticipated for the more interactive services expected to use digital channels. A spectrum of the transmission bandwidth of approximately 1 GHz is shown in FIG. 3A. This U.S. West embodiment illustrates how the aforementioned problems will result. The communications overhead on the head-end which will result from backchannel communications and viewer demand, even in the limited service area of the experiment, is quite significant.
When a user is browsing or merely viewing the possible selections available from the head-end, communication with the head-end server is required; however, no revenue for the service provider is created during the browsing events. Thus, activities such as browsing increase the cost for all revenue-generating activity. It would therefore be desirable to reduce the load on the head-end server which is required for any such non-revenue generating activity.
In the aforementioned prior art transmission schemes, the bandwidth allocated from the head-end to the home user is quite large in comparison to the backchannel band-width allocated for viewer communication to the server. Because the total amount of bandwidth through the backchannel which will be required at the head-end at any given time will fluctuate with the use pattern of the subscribers (the number of subscribers making demands on the head end at a given time and the activities of those subscribers), such fluctuation will place unpredictable communication latencies on the system. It is important to determine all communication latencies on the backchannel to determine operating parameters for a commercially viable system and for service providers to configure their programming so that the user is not unduly burdened during the periods of maximum latency in the system.
Additional processing overhead is required during handshaking. Handshaking comprises the interaction with all communications to the server involving a response mechanism to the user which ensures reliable communications between the server and the user. A simplified communications model that does not require, or at least minimize, server intervention in handshaking is desirable.
Congestion within the communications pipeline resulting from large bursts of backchannel communication can impair the quality of service to viewers by resulting in a large latency period. A large volume of backchannel communication or a "connection storm" can occur when large numbers of viewers simultaneously request service, as at the start or end of a popular event, or after a power outage when the users are attempting to re-establish service. This again can result in unpredictable latency times.
Each server has a finite bandwidth, and congestion will occur at the server as the number of requests it must handle increases. Indeed, in large scale implementations, a network of servers will be required to distribute requests and balance the load on the network infrastructure, also increasing the expense of providing service to users.
Any one or more of the aforementioned difficulties could result in the interactive viewing experience being less seamless than the viewer currently experiences with analog television signals. For any system which utilizes digital communication technology to transmit data to a viewer to be commercially viable, the system must make the viewing experience appear as seamless as the viewer's current viewing experience. Viewers have come to expect a minimum level of broadcast quality in television viewing, thereby requiring any new system be comparable to current systems in the manner in which programming and information is presented to the viewer.
Thus, it is desirable to provide an interactive system which will overcome the aforesaid deficiencies in a broadcast communications medium.
One means of disseminating a large amount of data over a network and is the "Data Cycle" proposal and research set forth by Bellcore (Bell Communications Research, Inc.). The data cycle is a proposal for a distributed, shared memory database implemented through use of a storage pump which continuously broadcasts the entire contents of the database over a ring network to a series of access managers which control, for example, SQL-type application access to the data which is broadcast on the network. In the embodiments described in a paper entitled "The Datacycle Architecture: A Database Broadcast System", authors Bowen, et al., a data rate of 52 megabytes per second is supported such that a 32 megabyte database stored on a single storage pump is entirely broadcast every 0.6 seconds. A user seeking to extract data from the database initiates a query through an access manager via one of any suitable number of applications. The access manager then extracts the data and provides it to the application and ultimately the user. The database is continually broadcast over the broadcast channel at a repeating rate, and therefore may be updated via an update manager coupled to the access managers and the storage pump.
As described in the Bowen, et al. paper, the system is useful, for example, in providing a directory assistance database which may be continually updated and provided to the directory assistance operators of a given telephone network.
In consideration of the aforesaid problems, a communications system which reduces the overall overhead at the head-end and still provides complete interactivity and a large quantity of information to the user is therefore desirable.


By measuring smooth muscle myosin heavy chain in the blood of a patient using an antibody to the smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, dissecting aortic aneurysm can be diagnosed very easily and rapidly without any special equipment.

1. Field
The present invention relates to an antibody reagent for detecting dissecting aortic aneurysm (recently also called aortic dissection) which comprises an antibody to a smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, and use of the antibody reagent.
2. Description of Related Art
Dissecting aortic aneurysm is a disease with severe chest pains and is caused by disruption of the aortic media by blood entering through a laceration of the luminal vascular wall. Dissecting aortic aneurysm is caused in aorta in most cases but is caused also in branches in some cases. As causes for the disease, there are suggested not only the degeneration and weakening of the intima (e.g. cystic medionecrosis and arterio-sclerosis) but also the extension of aorta, hypertension, etc.
A typical example of disease with chest pains is acute myocardial infarction. Acute myocardial infarction may be diagnosed without much difficulty through electrocardiograph change or biochemical blood testing. By contrast, in the case of dissecting aortic aneurysm, a specific change is hardly observed in an electrocardiograph or blood testing in spite of the high lethality of this disease. Therefore, diagnosis of this disease requires extreme care.
As a method for diagnosis of dissecting aortic aneurysm, echo examination, CT (X-rays computed tomography), DSA (digital subtraction angiography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), etc. have been attempted and have produced rather good results (Common Disease Series 4: Angina Pectoris.multidot.Myocardial Infarction, pp. 310-313, Nankodo K. K.). All of these methods, however, require special equipment, and hence are not always satisfactory as a method for use in an urgent examination wherein the method is required to be always able to be carried out anywhere.
Accordingly, the present invention is mainly intended to provide a method for detecting dissecting aortic aneurysm which is applicable to an urgent examination, and a reagent for use in the method.

Antibody reagent for detecting dissecting aortic aneurysm and uses thereof


An illumination device and method of making the device uses a three-dimensional (3D) substrate on which a number of light-emitting dies are mounted. The 3D substrate is configured to define an interior region. The illumination device includes electrical traces on at least one of the exterior surface and the interior surface of the 3D substrate.

Light emitting diodes ("LEDs") have many advantages over conventional light sources, such as incandescent, halogen and fluorescent lamps. These advantages include longer operating life, lower power consumption and smaller size. Consequently, conventional light sources are increasingly being replaced with LEDs in traditional lighting applications. As an example, LEDs are currently being used in light bulbs, flashlights, traffic signal lights, automotive exterior and interior lights and display devices.
A typical LED includes an LED die mounted on a substrate, such as a leadframe, and encapsulated in a molded transparent lamp package. Since the light output of an LED is limited, the LED die may be mounted in a reflector cup formed on the substrate to collect the light emitted by the LED die and direct the light upward toward the top of the transparent lamp package. Moreover, the transparent lamp package of the LED may have a domed top, which functions as a lens to focus the light emitted from the LED die.
LED-based illumination devices have been developed that use a number of LEDs to produce sufficient light output comparable to conventional light sources. The LEDs are electrically and structurally attached to a printed circuit board (PCB), which includes circuits to provide driving signals to the LEDs. The light from each LED is emitted in a substantially narrow field of view in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the PCB. Thus, the combined light from all the LEDs has a small angle of illumination. However, there is a need for a light source that provides a wider angle of illumination, and even a spherical illumination. Consequently, some LED-based illumination devices include a spherical cover that scatters the light from the LEDs to produce a wider angle of illumination.
However, these LED-based illumination devices can at best produce a hemispheric illumination. Furthermore, the intensity of light from such an LED-based illumination device tends to be non-uniform. Thus, what is needed is an LED-based illumination device that can provide a wide angle of uniform illumination.

Illumination device and method of making the device

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


An optical accessory of the type used by medical professionals is coupled to a clip-on mount, enabling the assembly to be used with ordinary eyeglass frames. The assembly may be used with specialized frames, in which case the clip-on mount may be removed for a more permanent mounting of the assembly directly to the bridge area of the eyeglass frames. In different implementations, optical accessories in the form of ocular loupes, head lamps, and miniaturized video cameras may be accommodated according to the invention.

This invention related generally to optical devices of the kind used in medical, dental and surgical procedures and, more particularly, to apparatus for mounting such devices onto a conventional pair of eyeglass frames.
There does exist ocular/loupe assemblies mounted to eyeglass frames, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,263, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Although such a configuration does provide a stable and multi-adjustable viewing arrangement, it requires the use of dedicated eyeglass frames to receive a particularized mounting structure.
There are also clip-on optical accessories, as known in the art. However, such devices concern general consumer eyewear and not medical or surgical devices. The need remains, therefore, for an optical mounting assembly that may be used with ordinary eyeglass frames, so that medical, dental and surgical practitioners may wear the glasses that they are used to.
In broad and general terms, this invention combines an optical accessory of the type used by medical professionals with a clip-on mount, enabling the entire assembly to be used with ordinary eyeglass frames. In an alternative embodiment, however, the assembly may be used with specialized frames, in which case the clip-on mount may be removed for a more permanent mounting of the assembly directly to the bridge area of the eyeglass frames.
In different implementations, optical accessories in the form of ocular loupes, head lamps, and miniaturized video cameras may be accommodated according to the invention.


An impeller of a rotary machine, in which a direction of flow is configured to gradually change from an axial direction to a radial direction as the flow goes from an interior in the radial direction of a fluid flow passage to an exterior in the radial direction of the fluid flow passage, includes: a hub surface defining at least a portion of the fluid flow passage; a blade surface defining at least a portion of the fluid flow passage; and a bulge being disposed so as to bulge toward the interior of the fluid flow passage at a corner where the hub surface, which is located at a rear half on an outlet side of the fluid flow passage, is in contact with the blade surface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an impeller and a rotary machine, and particularly, to a flow passage shape thereof.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-164781 filed on Jul. 13, 2009, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Background Art
In centrifugal or mixed-flow compressors used for rotary machines, such as an industrial compressor, a turbo refrigerator, and a small gas turbine, improvements in performance are required, and particularly, improvements in the performance of the impeller that is a key component of the compressors are required. Thus, in recent years, in order to improve the performance of an impeller, an impeller in which a recess is provided at a leading edge between tip hubs of the blades to effectively suppress secondary flow or flaking has been proposed (for example, refer to PTL 1).
Additionally, there are impellers (for example, refer to PTLs 2 and 3) in which turbulence is caused in a flow along the hub surface by forming a plurality of grooves in the hub surface between blades such that a boundary layer of the flow along the hub surface is not expanded, in order to improve the performance of a centrifugal or mixed-flow impeller, and in which a plurality of small blades is provided between blades in order to prevent local concentration of a boundary layer.


The present application provides a charging system having a charger and a battery. The charging system provides a quick-charging mode and a normal-charging mode. The quick-charging mode may be activated to charge the battery if certain conditions are met and the charging system may also have an indicating device for indicating when the quick-charging mode is finished. More specifically, the charger of the present application provides selective charging modes and provides an ultra-quick charging solution which may be controlled by the changes in the temperature of the battery and which can increase the charging power to quickly provide enough energy to finish a work task.

This invention relates to a charging system for batteries, and more particularly, a charging system for batteries used in power tools. Charging systems for rechargeable power tools generally charge until the battery is fully charged. Often, a user will operate a power tool powered by a lithium ion battery and the battery pack may run out of charge before the work is finished. When this happens, the user may not need a fully charged battery to complete the task, and may only need a battery with a fraction (such as A % of the full battery capacity) of the full capacity to finish the remaining work. For example, a user may require a charging mode for a charger able to charge the battery to 25% capacity within a very short time B, like 3 minutes. Currently, quick-charging chargers available in the market for lithium ion batteries have a very high design cost and have poor mode selectivity and cannot charge the battery to a certain amount to allow a user to finish a certain amount of work in a very short time.

Battery charging system having multiple charging modes


The present invention provides a sheet that has excellent lubricity and good touch feeling under wet conditions and suffers from little drop of the lubricity even if the sheet is used repeatedly. In the sheet of the present invention, a layer of modified polyalkylene oxide obtainable by reacting a polyalkylene oxide compound, a diol compound, and a diisocyanate compound together is directly formed on a surface of a substrate.

There has heretofore been proposed a razor blade cartridge in which a water-soluble resin such as polyalkylene oxide has attached to, penetrated with, or dispersed in a part of the razor blade cartridge made of plastic, in order to reduce the resistance between a part of a razor and a face or the like (Patent Document 1).
Moreover, some composites in which mixing of a water-soluble resin and a water-absorbing resin allows the water-absorbing resin to swell and various auxiliary agents to come off upon immersion in water may also be used as a smoother for wet shaving (Patent Document 2).
Furthermore, a polymer composite containing a water-insoluble polymer and a water-sensitive copolymer produced by polymerizing an alkylene oxide monomer with an epoxy functional monomer has been disclosed as a polymer composite to be used for wet shaving instruments, medical instruments, and the like (Patent Document 3).

Sheet whose lubricity is maintained under wet conditions


A method, computer system, and a computer program product for controlling access to an asset in a blockchain network is provided. The present invention may include encrypting the asset using a target encryption key. The present invention may also include storing the encrypted asset on a ledger. The present invention may then include receiving a start encryption key to access the asset. The present invention may further include traversing a graph of keys beginning with the start encryption key across a plurality of nodes and edges until reaching the target encryption key. The present invention may also include allowing access to the asset based on reaching the target encryption key.

The present invention relates generally to the field of computing, and more particularly to data accessibility. In a blockchain network, the ledger is typically shared by all participants in the network. The blockchain data is immutable. However, the database that stores the ledger data may be available to the shared participants. Data protection may be sought in a blockchain environment.

International Business Machines Corporation


A light source arrangement includes an electric input adapter for electrically connecting with a power source and a light head including a supporting frame and a luminary unit. The supporting frame has a dissipating end and a peripheral surface provided thereon. The luminary unit includes a circuit board provided on the peripheral surface of the supporting frame and electrically connected with the electric input adapter, and at least a luminary element, having two terminal electrodes, which is supported by the supporting frame and electrically connected to the circuit board for emitting light when the terminal electrodes are electrified. Therefore, the heat generated by the luminary element directly dissipates at the dissipating end of the supporting frame so as to prevent the light head from overheating.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a high efficiency solid-state light source, and more particularly to a light source arrangement which can enhance brightness of the emitting light and increase the cooling effect of the light source arrangement
2. Description of Related Arts
Nowadays, the most common light sources for illumination are filament lamp bulb and LED lighting. Due to the remarkable features of low power consumption and instant light emission, LED lighting is specially adapted to be utilized in many electrical appliances, such as the power on-off signal light and instructional signal light of electric equipment, indicating light of electronic clock, and etc . . .
Due to the technology of LED, the LED, nowadays, not only has excellent properties of low power consumption and instant light emission but also provides a relatively high light intensity and lighting emission angle of the LED such that the LED becomes one of the common lighting apparatus applied in some specific area such as traffic light, signboard light, vehicle brake light and signal light, and airport guiding lighting.
Moreover, the generation of LED has been changed from a single bonded diode to a double bonded diode wherein the single bonded diode is that the luminary element has an upper positive charged terminal electrically connected to a negative charged terminal of the circuit board and a lower negative charged terminal electrically connected to a positive charged terminal of the supporting stem. The double bonded diode contains both positive charged terminal and negative charged terminal provided on the upper portion of the double bonded diode in such a manner that the positive and negative charged terminals are adapted to electrically connected to the negative and positive charged terminals of the circuit board. Therefore, the double bonded diode is adapted to carry more than one luminary element having different wavelengths for generating various colors such as blue, green, yellow, red, or even white.
Furthermore, the problem of overheat of the LED can be solved since there is no electrical connection between the luminary element and the supporting stem, such that by incorporating with a heat sink, the heat generated by the luminary element will be directly dissipated by the heat sink. Accordingly, the normal operation temperature of the luminary element is determined by the formula: Tj=Ta+If*Vf*Rth, where Tj is the temperature between the luminary element and the circuit board, Ta is the ambient temperature, If is the operation current passing through the LED, Vf is the operation voltage, and the Rth is the heat resistant coefficient. In order to enhance the light intensity of the LED, especially when a plurality of luminary elements are utilized therewith, a larger current and a larger voltage can be applied to the LED. However, when increasing the current, heat is generated from the LED in such a manner that when the heat cannot be dissipated properly, the heat may bum the LED. Therefore, the heat sink must be incorporated well to efficiently dissipate the heat.
Another problem is that when the LED comprises a plurality of luminary elements, the electrical arrangement of the circuit board is complicated to electrically connect with the luminary elements. Therefore, the circuit board must be increased its size to connect with the luminary elements in order to maintain the lower manufacturing cost of the LED. However, the overall size of the LED will be substantially increased by the size of the circuit board. Thus, for the application of the LED, the electric plug of the electric apparatus must be altered in order to fit the electrical connection of the LED, which is costly.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A device for mounting to the rear rack of an ATV for holding a gun or bow for transport includes a horizontal anchoring member attached the device to the rear rack of an ATV by U-bolts. A corner brace is welded to one end of the anchoring member. The corner brace is provided with a pair of threaded mounting pins which are used to hold a scabbard-type gun boot or a bow adapter for holding a bow. The scabbard or bow is held in place, when mounted on the pins, by threading and tightening a mounting knob on each pin. A bow adapter is made up of a main support member mounted on the mounting pins and secured by the mounting knobs. The support member is provided with a U-shaped bracket and a C-shaped bracket for frictionally holding a bow. A dual mount adapter may be used to mount an additional gun boot or bow adapter. This dual mount adapter includes a mounting plate engaging the mounting pins and secured along with a first scabbard or bow adapter by the mounting knobs. A horizontal bridge member connects the mounting plate to a second corner brace, identical to the first with mounting pins and knobs for mounting the second scabbard or bow adapter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gun racks. More specifically, this invention relates to a device for carrying a gun or a bow on the rear rack of an all terrain vehicle (ATV).
2. Description of the Related Art
Hunters and sportsman often look for secluded locations from which to stalk their prey. This often involves a short journey. To ease the trip there and back, hopefully with game from the day's efforts, a vehicle is used. However, because of the terrain and close quarters, small all terrain vehicles (ATVs) are commonly used instead of full sized trucks. The trade off for this maneuverability is storage space. A typical ATV has a rear storage rack, and nothing more. The hunter is left to hold his gun or bow on his lap, or otherwise tie it to the rear rack of the ATV. This leads to the dangerous situation of having the gun point horizontally, where in the event of accidental discharge grave consequences could result.
To avoid these consequences, it is necessary to point the barrel of the gun toward the ground, as any young sportsman is taught. This however is difficult when trying to steer an ATV through fallen branches, rocks, and streams. It is therefore necessary to have a device that will hold a gun in a safe position while simultaneously freeing the hunter to drive the ATV. The problems multiply if the hunter is carrying two guns, making it nearly impossibly to hold the two through the bumps and turns. A solution for this problem is also needed, as well as to address concerns of carrying bows during appropriate hunting seasons.
Apparatus for carrying a bow or long gun on vehicles have been the subject of previous patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,333, which issued to Boston on Jan. 21, 1997, discloses a rack for carrying a bow or long gun on an all-terrain vehicle. A clamping arrangement engages the limbs of the bow and cradles for holding a gun. The apparatus also has support arms for holding and supporting a hunting seat or tree stand.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,273, which issued to Allen on Apr. 10, 1990, discloses a bow and gun holder for off-road vehicles. A pair of brackets for attaching to the handle bars of an ATV or motorcycle include a spring biased clamp for accommodating a bow or gun.
Other devices for mounting long guns to vehicles include U-shaped brackets for holding the barrel end of the gun and a locking device supporting the butt or stock of the gun. Examples of these devices include U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,491 (vehicle mounted gun rack) which issued to Townsend et al. on Dec. 31, 1974; U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,032 (gun holder for vehicles) which issued to Ramsdell on Sep. 6, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,093 (manually operated vehicle mounted gun lock) which issued to Pinkerton et al. on Oct. 23, 1973.
Other devices designed to make guns easier and safer to use have also been the subject of earlier patents, but are less related to the present invention. These include U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,188 (gun boot) which issued to Hassenpflug on Dec. 19, 1995 and UK Patent document 2,17,994 A (gun security system) published Aug. 20,1986.
Despite previous efforts, there is still a need for a simple, inexpensive, compact device capable of mounting a bow or a gun in a safe position on an ATV.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a gun boot bracket solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Device for carrying a gun or bow on an ATV


A loudspeaker assembly includes L loudspeakers, each being substantially the same size and having a peripheral front surface, and an enclosure having a hollow cylindrical body and end closures, the cylindrical body and end closures being made of material that is impervious to air. The cylindrical body comprises L openings therein. The L openings are sized and shaped to correspond with the peripheral front surfaces of the L loudspeakers, and have central axes. The central axes of the L openings are contained in a radial plane, and the angles between adjacent axes are identical. The L loudspeakers are disposed in the L openings and hermetically secured to the cylindrical body. L is equal to or greater than 2. A higher-order loudspeaker system comprising such a loudspeaker assembly and a beamforming module.

Sound reproduction systems aim to reproduce an arbitrary desired sound field within a region of space. The desired sound field may be generated using the Kirchhoff-Helmholtz integral, or cylindrical or spherical harmonic decompositions (higher order Ambisonics). The accuracy of sound reproduction is governed by the wavelength and the size of the region over which reproduction is required. Hence, large numbers of loudspeakers are required for the reproduction of high frequencies over significant areas. For example, reproduction over 0.1 m radius at 16 kHz requires 60 loudspeakers. In the three-dimensional case the required number of loudspeakers is significantly higher. A further limitation of reproduction in rooms is that commonly the loudspeakers produce an undesired reverberant field which corrupts the desired sound field within the array. This reverberant field can partly be cancelled using calibration and pre-processing but such techniques require accurate measurement of acoustic transfer functions and significant computing power. If, however, loudspeakers with omnidirectional and radial dipole directivity characteristics (responses) are used, it is possible to produce a first order directional sound field within the loudspeaker array and hence less disturbing exterior field results. Furthermore, higher order variable polar responses may produce further improvements in sound reproduction, since with higher orders, i.e. even more directive loudspeaker arrays, an even lower degree of unintended exterior sound field will be created during the course of establishing the desired wave field within the array. Thus, loudspeakers or loudspeaker assemblies with highly directive characteristics, such as those made available by combining an omnidirectional directivity characteristic and a radial dipole directivity characteristic to form first order directivity characteristics or higher order variable polar responses (higher-order loudspeakers) are highly appreciated.


A power charging socket according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure is inlaid in a supporting body. The power charging socket includes a power socket module and a panel. The power socket module includes a power port exposed out of the panel. The power charging socket further includes a USB charging module and a baffle plate. The USB charging module includes a charging port exposed out of the panel. A wireless charging transmitter is located inside the baffle plate. One end of the baffle plate is rotatably connected with a bottom of the panel, and another end of the baffle plate is detachably connected with the panel. The baffle plate closes the panel to cover the power port and the charging port.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to sockets, and especially to a power charging socket for charging a storage battery of an electronic device directly.
2. Description of Related Art
With rapid development of electronic technology, most of portable electronic devices, such as smart mobile phones, digital cameras, portable chargers and Global Position Systems (GPS) have brought great convenience to people's daily life, and becomes more and more popular with consumers. When the electronic devices require battery charging, chargers corresponding to the electronic devices are generally required to insert into a standard power socket, and then the electronic devices are connected with the chargers. However, when the consumers go out, it is necessary for the consumers to carry on the chargers for battery charging of the electronic devices, due to the storage capacity of batteries embedded in the electronic devices cannot maintain the use of the electronic devices for a long time. As a result, when the consumers go out, the consumers are generally required to carry on the chargers for battery charging of the electronic devices, which results inconvenience for the consumers.
Therefore, a need exists in the industry to overcome the described problems.


An x-ray analysis system with an x-ray source for producing an x-ray excitation beam directed toward an x-ray analysis focal area; and a sample chamber for presenting a fluid sample to the x-ray analysis focal area. The x-ray excitation beam is generated by an x-ray engine and passes through an x-ray transparent barrier on a wall of the chamber, to define an analysis focal area within space defined by the chamber. The fluid sample is presented as a stream suspended in the space and streaming through the focal area, using a laminar air flow and/or pressure to define the stream. The chamber's barrier is therefore separated from both the focal area and the sample, resulting in lower corruption of the barrier.

X-ray analysis of samples is a growing area of interest across many industries such as medical, pharmaceutical, and petroleum. The use of x-ray fluorescence, x-ray diffraction, x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray imaging, and other x-ray analysis techniques has led to a profound increase in knowledge in virtually all scientific fields.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,934,359 and 7,072,439, incorporated by reference herein in their entirety and assigned to X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc., the assignee of the present invention, disclose monochromatic wavelength dispersive x-ray fluorescence (MWD XRF) techniques and systems for the analysis of liquid samples. Moreover, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,277,527 (also included by reference in its entirety) entitled "Movable Transparent Barrier for X-Ray Analysis of a Pressurized Sample" addresses a particular problem inherent in moving sample streams as discussed further below.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is an analytical technique by which a substance is exposed to a beam of x-rays to determine, for example, the presence of certain components. In XRF, at least some of the chemical constituents of the substance exposed to x-rays can absorb x-ray photons and produce characteristic secondary fluorescence. These secondary x-rays are characteristic of the chemical constituents in the substance. Upon appropriate detection and analysis these secondary x-rays can be used to characterize one or more of the chemical constituents. XRF techniques have broad applications in many chemical and material science fields, including industrial, medical, semiconductor chip evaluation, petroleum, and forensics, among others.
As one particular example, these patents disclose techniques for the determination of the level of sulfur in petroleum fuels, and a commercialized analyzer (SINDIE) is now in widespread use for this measurement at petroleum refining, pipeline, and terminal facilities.
XRF techniques can be used for this application (as discussed above and throughout the above-incorporated patents). The basic technique involves exciting a fuel sample with x-rays and examining the fluorescence emitted. Each element emits a unique spectral signature. A detector then measures the wavelengths of the emitted x-rays, and software can reduce this measured spectrum to a weighted composition of the sulfur in the sample.
XRF fluid testing can take place off-line, i.e., using a bench-top, laboratory-type instrument to analyze a sample. The material is removed from its source (e.g., for fuel, from a refinery or transportation pipeline) and then simply deposited in a sample chamber. Off-line, bench-top instruments need not meet any unusual operational/pressure/environmental/size/weight/space/safety constraints, but merely need to provide the requisite measurement precision for a manually-placed sample. Moreover, off-line instruments can be easily maintained between measurements.
In contrast to off-line analysis, on-line analysis provides "real-time" monitoring of sample composition at various points in the manufacturing process. For example, all fuel products are subject to sulfur level compliance—requiring some variant of on-line monitoring during fuel refining and transportation in pipelines. On-line analysis of fuels in a refinery and in pipelines, however, requires consideration of numerous operational issues not generally present in an off-line, laboratory setting. A fully automated fuel sample handling system is required—with little or no manual intervention or maintenance. Also, since fluids are usually under pressure in pipelines, any sample handling system must account for pressure differentials. This is especially important since certain portions of XRF x-ray "engines" (discussed further below) operate in a vacuum. Also, the instrument's electronics require packaging in an explosion-proof housing—separate from the sample handling system.
In this application, therefore, one of the most critical components is the sample barrier(s) which allow photons of x-rays to excite sulfur atoms in the fluid, and photons emitted from the atoms to be counted at the engine's detector, while at the same time maintaining the vacuum in the x-ray engine and the pressure of the fluid. X-ray stimulation creates sulfur ionization and adsorption at this interface over time and on certain types of barrier materials—leading to undesired sulfur residue and degradation of the barrier's x-ray transparency. More generally, many XRF applications require a barrier to protect the engine from any number of adverse interface effects from the sample material and/or the measurement environment.
The barrier system of above-incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 7,277,527 offered a very important and successful solution to these problems in the form of a moveable barrier advanced at programmable intervals to clean portions of a window roll. This technique, though successful and very functional in the field, has certain limitations, including the need to advance rolled, barrier material periodically using a mechanical system of rolls, motors, and controls.
What is required, therefore, is a lower cost and lower maintenance barrier technique and apparatus for an on-line x-ray analysis system, which protects the x-ray engine from adverse sample and environmental effects, while maintaining the integrity and transparency of the interface to the sample for accurate measurements without excessive moving parts.

Sample module with sample stream spaced from window, for x-ray analysis system


A device may be configured to enable a user to select a language, and may fulfill resource requests from applications by selecting, from among resources respectively associated with a language, a resource associated with the selected language of the user. However, this resource selection process may be inadequate if the user selects multiple languages; if a resource associated with the selected language of the user is unavailable, but resources associated with related languages are available; or if the user and/or the application specifies an ordering for the selection among the languages. Presented herein are techniques for performing the resource selection by, for respective languages selected by the user, calculating a weight representing a suitability of the language for the resource request; generating a selection order of the selected languages according to the weights; and selecting a resource based on the position of the associated language in the selection order.

In the field of computing, many scenarios involve a computing environment configured to communicate with a user in a natural or artificial language. The selection of a language may alter many aspects of the computing environment, such as the language of texts presented to the user; the types of user interfaces presented to the user (e.g., an on-screen keyboard may present a character set and key layout matching the user's language); and the formats of data presented to the user (e.g., various ways of displaying dates, such as mm-dd-yyyy or dd-mm-yyyy; different units of measurement, such as imperial vs. metric units; and monetary value presented in a local currency).
Language settings may be utilized by many applications, including the operating system of the device, and in many contexts. In particular, a language selected by a user may direct the selection of resources from a resource set. For example, an application may initiate a resource request for a particular resource associated with a language (e.g., a translation or formatting of a string, an image, a video, an audio recording, a date, a measurement, or a currency value), and the device may endeavor to fulfill the resource request by selecting and providing a resource from a resource set that is associated with a language selected by the user.

Language lists for resource selection based on language text direction


Electrical connectors are generally discussed herein with particular discussions on spring clip connectors for connecting wires to electronically link a first audio component to a second audio component. The connectors provided herein incorporate at least one push button, at least one cam, at least one conductor, and at least one biasing member inside a housing. The at least one push button is configured to translate when depressed to then rotate the at least one cam to open a receptacle for receiving a wire. The wire is then placed in contact with the at least one conductor when the at least one push button is released.

There are a variety of connectivity products that can be used to connect wire from audio equipment, such as tuners, amplifiers and equalizers, to speaker equipment. The most common types of connectivity products are binding posts, banana jacks and plugs and spring clips. Spring clips are particularly desirable when used with large gauge stranded wire favored by audiophiles for clarity of signal transmission because the clips crush the strands of the wire, placing as many strands as possible in direct contact with a conductor. Connectivity products are typically provided in pairs, one being marked red and the other being marked black, to identify and aid maintenance of proper polarity in the wiring connections between the output component and the speaker component.
Banana jacks and binding posts are often available as modules, i.e., with the red and black connections as separate components. These multi-port modular solutions involve the mating of the banana jack or binding post module into a faceplate port without the use of solder or screws. Despite the popularity of spring clips, spring clips are only available in a few varieties or types, including a duplex type with two connections mated into a common housing. Some of these duplex modules may be mounted onto faceplates to provide a fixed or pre-configured solution. Another spring clip connector is shown in U.S. Publication No. 2004/0266275, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, and is commonly own by the Applicant. However, there is a need for spring clips to be provided as modules so that screws or other attachment means requiring installation tools are not required to install them onto a faceplate.
The faceplate port and modular insert concept was developed with the idea of producing a flush face when a voice or data jack was inserted. However, with the expansion of products to include modules that protrude beyond the faceplate, the ability to negotiate the module through the port of a faceplate becomes more difficult. Thus, there is also a need to provide a modular spring clip connector that, while protruding from the port of a faceplate, is easy to install and provides a secure connection.

Audio connector with a push button engaging a cam

International Connectors & Cable Corporation


A portable a hand-grip device having a base member overlaid by a flexible pad having its opposite ends releasably secured to the base. The pad includes an adhesive-covered surface which may be attached to a flat surface. A plurality of closely-spaced elongated rigid members are arranged side-by-side across the back of the flexible sheet to reinforce the flexible pad. The ends of these reinforcing members project beyond the opposite sides of the base and flexible pad. A selectively-operable mechanism on the base member releasably captures the outer ends of the reinforcing members and secures them when the pad member is attached to a flat surface and provides a load path between a handle on the base and the flexible pad. The selectively-operable mechanism is further arranged to selectively release the reinforcing members so that the device may be progressively peeled away from a wall surface.

1. Field of the Invention
Situations may arise in outer space where an astronaut must make an unscheduled extra-vehicular trip outside of an orbiting space vehicle. Emergencies can arise, for example, where an astronaut must travel along the smooth surfaces of a space vehicle to reach a remote faulty device.
The general purpose of this invention is to allow an astronaut to move along the outside of the Orbiter while in space. In an emergency situation an astronaut might need to translate along the outside of the Orbiter in order to gain access to failed hardware. For example, if the Orbiter External Tank doors fail to shut properly, an astronaut would need to travel from the Payload Bay, down the side of the Orbiter, around the wing, and to the External Tank doors located on the underside of the Orbiter vehicle. Except for the translation handles in the payload bay, the outside of the Orbiter is smooth and has essentially nothing for the crew members to grasp and propel themselves along with. This invention provides a way for astronauts to stick handles to the outside of the Orbiter and to build a translation path to any area on the Orbiter vehicle.
2. Background Art
Heretofore so-called "EVA" or extra-vehicular activities which have been made by astronauts outside of an orbiting spacecraft have been typically carried out by using special devices such as hand-carried propulsion devices or back pack rocket systems to control their movements to and from remote areas of the spacecraft. Although travel inside of a space vehicle is less arduous, it is nevertheless difficult for crew members to move freely back and forth within the crew cabin or the cargo bay of a spacecraft such as the orbiter unless there are various devices or equipment along the intended travel path of the astronaut which may be grasped.

Extra-vehicular activity translation tool

The United States of America as represented by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration


A hydraulic control system for a vehicular drive system including a hydraulically operated belt-and-pulley type continuously variable transmission and a hydraulically operated frictional coupling device engaged for running of a vehicle, the hydraulic control system including: a first solenoid valve for regulating a belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure for tensioning a belt of the transmission, a second solenoid valve for regulating a transient coupling hydraulic pressure to be applied to the frictional coupling device in the process of an engaging action, a line-pressure regulating valve for regulating a line pressure used for hydraulically operated devices of the mechanism, and a hydraulic-circuit switching device operable to apply a control pressure of the second solenoid-operated valve to the line-pressure regulating valve after the frictional coupling device has been placed in a fully engaged state, and to apply a first control pressure of the first solenoid-operated valve to the line-pressure regulating valve while the frictional coupling device is in the process of the engaging action.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a hydraulic control system for a vehicular power transmitting mechanism, and more particular to a hydraulic control system including two solenoid-operated valves for controlling a belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure for applying a tension to a belt of a continuously variable transmission of a belt-and-pulley type, a transient coupling hydraulic pressure of a frictional coupling device for establishing a power transmitting path, and a line pressure used for operating various hydraulically operated devices.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
JP-2002-181175A discloses an example of a hydraulic control system for a vehicular power transmitting mechanism including a continuously variable transmission of a belt-and-pulley type the speed ratio of which is continuously variable, and a hydraulically operated frictional coupling device which is engaged, for running of a vehicle, to establish a power transmitting path a portion of which is defined by the belt-and-pulley type continuously variable transmission. This hydraulic control system includes a single solenoid-operated valve for controlling a belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure for tensioning the belt of the continuously variable transmission, a transient coupling hydraulic pressure applied to the frictional coupling device for engaging the frictional coupling device, and a line pressure used for operating various hydraulically operated devices.
Where the same solenoid-operated valve is used for controlling the belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure and the transient coupling hydraulic pressure, as described above, these hydraulic pressures must be controlled such that a torque capacity of the belt of the continuously variable transmission is larger than a torque capacity of the frictional coupling device placed in the engaged state, in order to prevent slipping of the belt. Accordingly, when the transient coupling hydraulic pressure of the frictional coupling device is relatively high, the belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure of the continuously variable transmission may be unnecessarily high, giving rise to a risk of an increase of a load acting on the belt, consequent deterioration of durability of the belt, and reduction of power transmitting efficiency of the continuously variable transmission. The line pressure which is also controlled by the same solenoid-operated valve must be controlled on the basis of a higher one of the belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure and a transmission-shifting hydraulic pressure. The graph of FIG. 6 indicates an example of changes of the belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure Pout, a transmission-shifting hydraulic pressure Pin and the line pressure PL in relation to change of a speed ratio γ of the continuously variable transmission. When the speed ratio γ is relatively low, that is, when the continuously variable transmission is placed in a relatively high-gear state, the transmission-shifting hydraulic pressure Pin is generally higher than the belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure Pout. Where the relationship between the line pressure PL and the belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure Pout is determined on the basis of the transmission-shifting hydraulic pressure Pin when the speed ratio γ is relatively low, the line pressure PL tends to be unnecessarily high when the speed ratio γ is in a medium-to-high range in which the belt-tensioning hydraulic pressure Pout is higher than the transmission-shifting hydraulic pressure Pin, that is, when the continuously variable transmission is placed in a medium- to low-gear state, as indicated by one-dot chain line in FIG. 6. This tendency results in reduction of energy efficiency of the hydraulic system, and deterioration of fuel economy of the vehicle. The hydraulic characteristics indicated in FIG. 6 vary depending upon the specific configuration of the belt-and-pulley type continuously variable transmission.

Hydraulic control system for vehicular power transmitting mechanism


An electromagnetic relay has a base with a contact arrangement and a rocker armature mounted on the base. Above the base, a magnet system with a coil, a core and two yokes is provided, this system working together with the rocker armature. At least the coil with the core is embedded in the insulating material of a basic body which surrounds the base in box-type fashion with side walls that are integrally formed downwardly, and forms a sealed contact chamber. By means of the basic body surrounding the coil, a high insulation strength of the relay between the coil and the contact system is ensured, as is a high stability of the construction.

The invention relates to an electromagnetic relay having
a base made of insulating material, whose floor side defines a basic plane and in which are anchored bearers for fixed contacts, as well as contact terminal pins, PA1 an armature arranged pivotably over the base, PA1 a coil arranged above the armature, with an axis parallel to the basic plane, PA1 a core arranged axially in the coil, with yokes directed downward at both ends, perpendicular to the basic plane, which form working air gaps with the armature, and PA1 a contact spring arrangement connected with the armature, which works together with the fixed contacts of the base, corresponding to the armature movement.
A relay of the type named above is specified in WO 94/22156. corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,066 incorporated herein by reference. There a coil body is set immediately on the base, which body, in addition to the coil winding and the core, also bears the yokes and a permanent magnet, and which is connected directly with the base in side areas. A cap covering the coil body is connected with the base for the formation of a closed housing. This known construction is designed for conventional solder connection technology; however, the connection structure of base and coil body is not designed for stronger mechanical or thermal loads. However, since surface mounting technique (SMT) and connection technology with press-fit pins are also increasingly desired for the equipping of circuit boards in addition to conventional contacting via solder terminal pins, relays should be constructed so as to be able to withstand, as much as possible, the mechanical or, respectively, thermal loads that occur with these technologies, without worsening of the precisely set characteristics of the relay. In addition, from WO 94/13002 a relay of similar construction is known in which a coil block and a terminal arrangement are together extrusion-coated with insulating material, creating a one-piece basic body unit. An armature with movable contact springs is set on this basic body unit, and the relay thus formed is closed with a covering cap. Since, however, in this case the basic body unit forms the lower part of the housing with respect to the terminal plane, and the armature is located in the upper region, the contact terminals must be guided downward laterally next to the coil. The terminals thereby not only become very long, but also require additional space, which, together with the required intermediate insulating walls, increases the width of the relay. Moreover, the solder terminal lugs located there cannot be replaced with other terminals, e.g. press-fit posts, without a modification of the construction.


In a scroll air compressor as a scroll fluid machine capable of being downsized with an increased cooling effect, cooling air entering through a fixed inlet of a fixed cooling passage provided at the rear of a fixed scroll, and an orbiting inlet of an orbiting cooling passage provided at the rear of an orbiting scroll, is allowed to flow out of an fixed outlet and an orbiting outlet, respectively. Thereafter, the cooling air is guided to an outer periphery of the other end of the casing through a side duct and a guide duct, and then sucked into an inner peripheral side of a centrifugal fan to be discharged outwardly from an exhaust port provided in a fan cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scroll fluid machine usable in an air compressor, a vacuum pump, an expansion machine, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, a scroll fluid machine includes a scroll fluid machine main body provided with: a cylindrical casing; a fixed scroll mounted on one end of the casing; an orbiting scroll provided in the casing to form plural compression chambers between the fixed scroll and the orbiting scroll; a driving shaft with a crank formed at one end thereof connected to the orbiting scroll in the casing and with the other end thereof protruding outward from the other end of the casing; and a cooling fan provided on the other end of the driving shaft outside the casing. Furthermore, the related art scroll fluid machine includes a cylindrical cooling duct totally surrounding the scroll fluid machine main body (see Japanese Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. H5-78988).
One side of the cooling duct surrounds the outer peripheral side of the fixed scroll and the outer peripheral side of the casing through an annular space. The cooling duct is reduced in diameter at the periphery of the other end of the casing so as to conform the outer shape of the other end of the casing, and thereafter, increased again in diameter at the outer peripheral side of the cooling fan to surround the cooling fan through the annular space. Also, on one end of the cooling duct, an inlet is formed in a portion of the cooling duct opposed to the center of the fixed scroll. On the other end of the cooling duct, an upwardly opening outlet is formed in a portion of the cooling duct on the outer peripheral side of the cooling fan.
In the related art scroll fluid machine having such a structure, when the driving shaft is rotated by an electric motor, the orbiting scroll is allowed to perform an orbiting motion with respect to the fixed scroll, and the cooling fan is rotated, so that cooling air is sucked into the cooling duct through the inlet of the cooling duct. And then, the cooling air flows through the outer peripheral space of the fixed scroll and the casing formed within the cooling duct, and is compressed by a portion reduced in diameter of the cooling duct at the periphery of the other end of the casing to be sent to the inner periphery of the cooling fan. Finally, the cooling air sent to the inner periphery of the cooling fan is discharged from the outlet formed on the outer peripheral side of the cooling fan.
In the above-described scroll fluid machine according to the related art, since the scroll fluid machine main body is totally surrounded by the cooling duct, there has been a problem that the scroll fluid machine is increased in size.

Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd.


A method and apparatus for simultaneously performing chemical reactions and determining molecular transport dynamics on a plurality of samples such as thin film samples. The apparatus of the present invention is capable of containing multiple samples in individual sample holding positions in a sample holder within a housing and maintaining those holding positions in chemical isolation from each other. Under control of a computerized controller, the apparatus positions the sample holder so that each sample holding position may be positioned adjacent to one or more ports connected to a distribution manifold. The apparatus exposes each sample to one or more fluids in liquid or gas phase, thereby carrying out a chemical reaction and/or determining molecular transport dynamics under controlled temperature and pressure conditions. The sample holding positions may be positioned in an analytical measurement station within the housing so that the resulting chemical compound or mixture may be characterized.

Screening candidate materials for chemical activity, for molecular transport, or for potentially catalytic properties is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. Obtaining information concerning reaction rates at various compositions and process conditions, such as different temperatures and pressures, requires systematic investigation and the performance of many experiments.
An apparatus that could at least partially automate the process of simultaneously carrying out multiple reactions and simultaneously or sequentially making spectroscopic measurements to obtain information about reaction and molecular transport dynamics is considered to be advantageous. The present invention provides such an apparatus.

Method and apparatus for performing chemical reactions in a plurality of samples


According to one embodiment, a composite product includes: a matrix material including hexagonal boron nitride and one or more borate binders; and a plurality of cubic boron nitride particles dispersed in the matrix material. According to another embodiment, a composite product includes: a matrix material including hexagonal boron nitride and amorphous boron nitride; and a plurality of cubic boron nitride particles dispersed in the matrix material.

Boron nitride (BN) exists in three crystalline forms: hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a soft form similar to graphite; cubic boron nitride, a hard zincblende form similar to cubic diamond; and wurtzitic boron nitride (wBN), a hard hexagonal form similar to hexagonal diamond. Hexagonal boron nitride is the softest and most stable of the boron nitride crystalline structures, and is routinely used as a lubricant. Cubic boron nitride has a hardness second only to diamond, and therefore has wide application in machining, grinding, drilling and polishing fields. Moreover, cBN rather than diamond is often preferred when working with ferrous materials, as iron catalyzes the decomposition of diamond at elevated temperatures and carbon can change the phase of many iron alloys. The thermal and chemical stability of cBN is also superior to diamond.
Methods for forming hBN and cBN are known in the art. For example, known methods for forming hBN typically involve heating under a protective atmosphere, e.g. in a nitrogen flow, amorphous boron nitride at temperatures above 1500° C. Additionally, known methods for forming cBN typically involves subjecting hBN to similarly high temperatures (e.g. temperatures above 1200° C.) and concurrent high pressures (e.g. pressures above 2 GPa), often in the presence of one or more catalysts or fluxing agents.
As mentioned above, the hardness and chemical and thermal stability of cBN, makes cBN well suited for use as abrasive particles in cutting, grinding, polishing, and drilling media (e.g. tool inserts, twist drills, circular saws, grinding wheels, lapping belts, polishing pads, cutting tools, etc.). Further, cBN monocrystalline particles (e.g. single crystals of cBN) may be bonded together to form a cBN compact, also known as polycrystalline cBN (PCBN). Some or all of the single cBN crystals in a cBN compact may be self-bonded, bonded together with the aid of a bonding medium, or a combination thereof. Suitable bonding media may generally include a metal such as aluminum, cobalt, iron, nickel, platinum, titanium, chromium, tantalum, etc. or an alloy or mixture thereof. Further, a cBN compact may be bonded to a substrate material, such as cemented tungsten carbide, cemented titanium carbide, cemented tantalum carbide, etc.
While cBN and PCBN are widely used to machine materials such as cast iron, powder metal components and other similar materials that are difficult to machine, the cost to fabricate pure cBN and PCBN may be cost prohibitive. For example, the fabrication of both pure cBN and PCBN traditionally requires high temperatures and high pressures. Consequently, metal bonded, polymer bonded, and ceramic bonded cBN components have emerged.
Metal, polymer and ceramic bonded cBN components are generally implemented as grinding and polishing media, typically as coatings on a backing layer. However, polymer bonded cBN components generally suffer from low operating temperatures, and therefore are only capable of providing low material removal rates. Metal bonded cBN components may be capable of higher operating temperatures and therefore higher material removal rates, yet suffer from potentially damaging contamination from the metal binder.

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC


The present invention relates to a closure assembly (1, 1′) for closing a connecting link (100) of a tire chain, comprising at least one closure element (10, 10′) that has at least one leg reception member (14, 14′) configured to receive therein, at least sectionwise, a leg (101) of the connecting link (100). In addition, the present invention relates to a connecting link (100) for connecting at least two links of a tire chain, comprising two legs (101) that are interconnected via a yoke (108) as well as to a tire chain, in particular a tire protection chain. In order to allow the closure assembly (1, 1′) to be secured to the connecting link (100) easily and in a repeatedly releasable manner, the closure element (10, 10′) according to the present invention comprises a rotary lock reception member (11, 11′) connected to the at least one leg reception member (14, 14′) and including a rotary lock (50, 50′), which is arranged therein at least sectionwise and which, in its closed position (S), projects into the at least one leg reception member (14, 14′) so as to lock the closure element (10, 10′) in position on the leg (101), and at least one of the two legs (101) according to the present invention is provided with an engagement portion (104), which is configured for cooperating with a closure assembly (1, 1′) according to the present invention.

Closure assemblies for closing connecting links of tyre chains as well as connecting links for connecting at least two links of tyre chains are known from the prior art. In the known closure assemblies the connecting link is provided with a kind of shoe as a closure element. The shoe defines between two jaws, which are formed at the respective ends thereof, a leg reception member for receiving therein a normally flattened end portion of the leg of the connecting link. The jaws of the leg reception member of the shoe as well as the flattened ends of the connecting link are provided with holes for receiving therein pins or bolts. In most cases, one end of the connecting link is permanently held through a connection pin in a leg reception member of the shoe in a pivotable manner. For closing the connecting link, the shoe is pivoted to its closed position where the holes in the jaws of its leg reception member are in alignment with the hole in the end of the leg. Subsequently, a clamping pin is driven into the aligned holes of the leg reception member and the leg end by means of a hammer.
The closure assemblies and connecting links known from the prior art are problematic when the clamping pin is hammered in, insofar as the tyre to be provided with the tyre chain does itself not offer any suitable base for supporting the connecting link so as to adequately take up the forces occurring during hammering. This may have the effect that the connecting link, after having been hit by a blow, may spring back from the tyre and assume a position that is unsuitable for the next blow. Closing the connecting link may thus be rendered more difficult and time consuming, and the clamping pin may get damaged if hit unfavorably by the hammer. Although a tyre iron may be placed below the connecting link or annular lock during hammering so as to provide a firm base for supporting the connecting link or annular lock on the tyre, however, his course of action is troublesome and unable to prevent a displacement of the connecting link during hammering and, moreover, it normally requires at least four hands.
Problems in addition to those arising during closing of the connecting link may arise during opening of the connecting link, which necessitates a removal of the clamping pin from the holes in the leg reception member and the leg end. On the one hand, removing the clamping pin may be rendered difficult by the fact that the clamping pin has been jammed-in or deformed due to mechanical loads and that, consequently, very high push-out forces have to be applied, which, due to the above-mentioned insufficient support of the connecting link, are hard to apply. On the other hand, the clamping pin and/or the hole accommodating said pin may be corroded. This corrosion may primarily have the effect that the pin gets stuck in the hole, whereby the forces required for knocking the pin out will be further increased. In addition, the pin may be weakened through corrosion such that it gets deformed during knocking out, whereby such knocking out will be rendered still more difficult or even impossible.
If it should no longer be possible to knock out the pin, the connecting link will have to be cut open, e.g. by means of a cutting torch. Cutting the connecting link open by means of a cutting torch will, however, entail the risk of causing damage to the tyre through the resultant heat. Such cutting open can therefore only be regarded as an emergency measure, if all the other efforts to open the connecting link by removing the pin should have failed.

Closure assembly, in particular for tyre skid chains


A composite mat and sheet structure for installation atop a subfloor to underlie a layer of hardenable, cementicious material such as gypsum concrete or Portland concrete that is poured atop the composite structure to harden in situ. The composite structure includes 1) a mat of substantially uniform thickness defined by an array of entangled, intertwined polymeric filaments that twist and turn at random, that are spaced from each other along a majority of their lengths, that preferably are bonded at their randomly located intersections, and that cooperate to give the mat an open-space character well suited for venting vapor from an area beneath the layer of hardenable cementicious material during hardening or curing thereof; and 2) a sheet of barrier material that overlies the mat, is bonded to the mat, and is pervious to water vapor but impervious to water in liquid form, thereby to permit water in vapor form to escape from the hardenable material through the barrier sheet into the mat and to be vented through the open-space area of the mat while the barrier sheet protects the subfloor from damage by water in liquid form that should be confined atop the barrier.

In flooring applications, it is known to pour hardenable cementicious materials such as gypsum concrete, Portland concrete containing lightweight aggregate, and the like over a subfloor or other flooring material to harden or cure in situ after being poured.
It is known, for example, that the transmission through floors of noise, such as low frequency noise from impacts, can be diminished in plural story buildings by pouring and curing, in situ, a layer of about 1.0 inches to about 2.0 inches of a hardenable, cementicious material such as gypsum concrete or Portland concrete atop a plywood subfloor. A problem with pouring hardenable cementicious material such as gypsum concrete or Portland concrete or mortar over a subfloor is that, if no steps are taken to prevent liquid moisture from soaking into the subfloor during curing or hardening of the cementicious material, water from the hardenable material will soak downwardly into the subfloor to cause deterioration of the subfloor and may also damage other underlying structure including the ceilings of rooms located beneath the water soaked subfloor. Such moisture also may contribute to mold or other fungal material at or in the flooring, subflooring and underlying ceilings over time.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,668 issued Jan. 2, 2001 to Fine et al, it is proposed that a thinner layer of cementicious material can be poured over a subfloor or other flooring material to harden or set in situ if the relatively thin layer is reinforced with a fiberous mat underlaid by a flexible membrane. The mat/membrane composite serves as a crack preventative and reinforcement structure that can be stapled to the underlying subfloor. The open-space area of the mat is substantially filled with cementicious material when a layer of cementicious material is poured atop the mat. As the cementicious material hardens, cures or otherwise sets up, liquid and vapor from the cementicious material may pass through the membrane.
Floors that incorporate the mat and membrane arrangement proposed in the Fine et al patent make little, if any, use of the open-space area of the mat to vent vapor, such as water vapor, from the hardenable cementicious material during hardening or curing thereof. This lack of venting lengthens the time required to complete the hardening or curing process, and leaves the poured layer of hardenable material wetter than is desired for longer than is desired, which may delay the installation of other flooring materials atop the hardened or cured layer. The membrane of Fine et al is not a barrier that selectively permits water vapor to escape therethrough while selectively confining water in liquid form to the area atop the membrane; and, the open-space area of the mesh or mat of Fine et al is not utilized for venting vapor, but rather is employed to reinforce the layer of hardenable, cementicious material.

Composite tangled filament mat with overlying liquid moisture barrier for cushioning and venting of vapor, and for protection of underlying subfloor


A method for the manufacture of an ester by transesterification allows the transesterification reaction to proceed within a short reaction time and under a pressure of the order of normal pressure. It was found that transesterification proceeds when a starting material ester and an alcohol are brought into contact with a catalyst comprising (A) an amorphous zirconium oxide and (B) an oxide of a Group II element, an oxide of a Group V element, and/or an oxide of a Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium. In this method, it is preferred that the starting material ester in a liquid-phase state and the alcohol in a vapor-phase state be brought into contact with a solid acid catalyst comprising the above components (A) and (B), the starting material ester be an oil or fat, and the alcohol be methanol or ethanol. An oxide of titanium, silicon, germanium, or tin is the preferred oxide of the Group IV element other than zirconium and hafnium.

Transesterification is used for the manufacture of fatty acid esters, for example, by using oils and fats which are esters of fatty acids and glycerin. Alkali catalysts such as caustic soda, zinc catalysts, and lipase can be used as catalysts. Furthermore, it was also suggested to conduct the reaction in a supercritical state, without the addition of a catalyst (Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 9-235573A, 7-197047A, and 2000-143586A).

Method for manufacture of esters by transesterification


To permit a user to produce application programs easily, a plurality of object names and objects linkage information is specified as external specification data, the plurality of objects are related to each other based on linkage information stored in an objects linkage information storage, transmission and reception of data between the plurality of objects are controlled, and processes in which the plurality of objects constituting the application program are linked are executed.

The present invention relates to a device for building programs employing objects linkage information intended to improve the efficiency of the development, maintenance and functional enhancement of application programs.
The advancement of computers in recent years has been striking, and in terms of hardware, processing speed has increased greatly and processing capacity has been enlarged dramatically.
Also, in terms of software, improvements in the man-machine interface are progressing to provide computer operating environments which are amenable to the users using these computers, in other words user-friendly.
Object pointing is one way of improving and advancing this man-machine interface.
The term object pointing refers to, for example in the development of an application program (AP, hereinafter), subdividing the computer program into units known as objects (components) which have certain functions and data, and producing the required AP by coding the linkage relationships between these subdivided objects (components) in a source program.
In the past, the source program which defines the objects (components) has held the functions and data of these objects, and held the linkage relationships between these objects; and thus when the linkage relationship between objects are altered, it is necessary to revise the source program, compile to translate the source program and generate the object code, and link the object code.

Device for building programs employing objects linkage information


A direct current controlled differential base voltage generating circuit, applicable to a gain control of an RGB video amplifier for controlling a contrast by a voltage generating circuit in which an input control signal has a voltage within a set range, has a high input impedance. Since a differential base voltage is controlled by an input control signal applied thereto through bases of PNP Darlington-connected transistors, the circuits high input impedance can provide operation when a voltage of the input control signal is about 0 volts. Therefore, the direct current controlled differential base voltage generating circuit can easily interface with a computer controlled alignment system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit for generating a direct current (DC) control differential base voltage. More particularly, the present invention relates to a DC controlled differential base voltage generating circuit applicable to a gain control of an RGB video amplifier for controlling a contrast by a voltage generating circuit in which an input control signal has a voltage within a set range so that it can easily interface with a computer controlled alignment system and so that it has a high input impedance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, all kinds of video signal processing devices including a television receiver, has a contrast control section at an output terminal of an RGB video amplifier. In such video amplifier for controlling a contrast, a gain variation thereof causes a contrast of a video signal to change. In order to control a gain of the video amplifier for controlling a contrast, a conventional method controls a voltage fed back from an output to an input by adjusting a variable resistance so that the gain of the video amplifier is changed.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional differential base voltage generating circuit for controlling a gain of a video amplifier in order to control a contrast by using a variable resistor.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional differential base voltage generating circuit includes a differential amplifier having transistors Q5, Q6, Q7 and Q8 and resistors R6, R7 and R8, which receives a difference voltage between both bases of the sixth and seventh transistors Q6 and Q7, that is, a differential base voltage .increment.V.
A potential divider 5, constituted by a first resistor R1 and a second resistor R2 is arranged between a driving voltage Vcc and a pair of diode-connected transistors Q1 and Q2, where Q2 is grounded, and the connection of the R1 and R2. A pair of diode-connected transistors Q1 and Q2, for maintaining a constant voltage from the ground, is connected in series with the base of a transistor Q6. Therefore, a constant voltage is always generated between first resistor R1 and second resistor R2 of the divider 5 and is applied to a base of the third transistor Q3 so that the third transistor Q3 is turned on. In consequence, a voltage across an emitter resistor R4 of an emitter-follower transistor Q3 is applied to a base of an emitter-follower transistor Q4. Accordingly, transistor Q4 is turned-on.
A voltage across an emitter resistor R5 of transistor Q4 is applied to a base of transistor Q6 of differential amplifier 1. Therefore, first, second, third and fourth transistors Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4, first resistor R1, second resistor R2, third resistor R3, fourth resistor R4, and fifth resistor R5 constitute a reference voltage generating section 3 and; serve to supply a reference voltage to base of the sixth transistor Q6.
An emitter of a feed back transistor Q8 is connected to a base of the seventh transistor Q7, a base thereof is connected to a collector of the seventh transistor Q7, and a collector thereof is connected to a driving voltage Vcc through a third resistor R3. A seventh resistor R7 is connected between the base of the seventh transistor Q7 and a ground. A variable resistor R.sub.V is connected to a collector of the seventh transistor Q7 through a ninth resistor R9.
A differential base voltage .increment.V of differential amplifier 1 constructed as above is calculated by means of an expression (1) which will be described as follows. EQU .increment.V=V.sub.BE6 -V.sub.BE7 =V.sub.T 1nI.sub.6 /I.sub.s -V.sub.T 1nI.sub.7 /I.sub.s EQU =V.sub.T 1nI.sub.6 /I.sub.7 ( 1)
As described in expression (1), the differential base voltage .increment.V is determined by currents I.sub.6 and I.sub.7 flowing through the sixth and seventh transistors Q6 and Q7, respectively. The current I.sub.7 is the sum of a current I.sub.8 flowing through an eighth resistor R8 and a current I.sub.9 flowing through a ninth resistor R9. Therefore, the conventional differential base voltage generating circuit controls the variable resistor R.sub.V to adjust the value of I.sub.9 so that the differential base voltage .increment.V can be generated.
Currently, in high quality video systems, the video control is performed by a computer. However, since the conventional differential base voltage generating circuit controls the variable resistor R.sub.V to adjust the value of I.sub.9 so that the differential base voltage .increment.V can be generated, the conventional differential base voltage generating circuit has a low input impedance and cannot easily interface with a computer controlled alignment system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5140181(issued to Hiroshi Yoshino on Aug. 18, 1992) discloses one example of a direct current differential base voltage generating circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,181 relates to a reference voltage source circuit used in a bipolar monolithic integrated circuit such as an audio circuit. According to the reference voltage source circuit, the emitters of the transistors constituting a difference amplifier are biased by a constant current source. A current mirror circuit is connected to the collectors of the transistors constituting the differential amplifier. A reference potential circuit for generating a reference potential is connected to the base of one of the transistors constituting the differential amplifier, and an output current from the current mirror circuit is fed back to the base of the other transistor. Therefore, the reference potential generated from the reference potential circuit is applied to the base of the other transistor. The reference potential applied to the base of the other transistor is applied to the base of a transistor of Darlington-connected transistors which receives an input signal, and the reference potential serves as a bias power source voltage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,181 has a high current gain and low distortion, but does not have a high impedance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,205, (issued to Kazuyoshi Yamada on Apr. 14, 1987) discloses another example of a direct current differential base voltage generating circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,205 relates to a reference voltage generating circuit wherein a temperature characteristic of an output voltage is set as desired. The reference voltage generating circuit is constituted by a source of a constant current, a power supply having high and low voltage terminals, an emitter follower circuit connected across the high and low voltage terminals and the output terminal of the source of constant current and the other ends connected to the input terminal of the emitter follower circuit, a third resistor with one end connected to the high voltage terminal and a diode with its anode electrode connected to the other side of the third resistor and its cathode electrode connected to the output terminal of the source of constant current. U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,205 has a temperature characteristic not influenced by the temperature characteristic of the driving voltage of a constant current source, but does not have a high impedance which can easily interface with a computer controlled alignment system.

Direct current differential base voltage generating circuit