A driving force control system for a four-wheel drive vehicle. An automatic-mode transmitted torque is calculated based on operating conditions of the vehicle. When lock mode-executing conditions including operation of a lock switch by the driver are satisfied, a lock mode in which the engagement forces of the clutches are set to a lock-mode transmitted torque, including a lockable transmitted torque which can lock the front wheels and the rear wheels to each other. Further, the lock mode transmitted torque is limited depending on a traveling condition of the vehicle such that the lock-mode transmitted torque is held below the lockable transmitted torque. When the automatic-mode transmitted torque is larger than the limited lock-mode transmitted torque during the lock-mode, the engagement forces of the clutches are set to the automatic-mode transmitted torques.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a driving force control system for a four-wheel drive vehicle including a pair of front wheels, and a pair of rear wheels, one of the pairs being main drive wheels, and another of the pairs being auxiliary drive wheels, the driving force control system controlling engagement forces of clutches to thereby control driving forces distributed to the auxiliary drive wheels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
This kind of driving force control system has been proposed by the present assignee, e.g. in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 10-194005. The four-wheel drive vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as xe2x80x9cthe vehiclexe2x80x9d) is provided with left and right electromagnetic clutches for connecting and disconnecting a propeller shaft to and from left and right rear wheels. The vehicle uses front wheels as main drive wheels and the rear wheels as auxiliary drive wheels. Further, the vehicle is provided with a lock switch. The driving force control system controls engagement forces of the respective left and right electromagnetic clutches to thereby control torques to be distributed to the rear wheels, i.e. the auxiliary drive wheels. More specifically, this system operates in an automatic mode for controlling the engagement forces of the left and right electromagnetic clutches in response to signals from various sensors, and in a lock mode for controlling the engagement forces of the clutches to a maximum engagement force which can lock the front wheels and the rear wheels to each other. The lock mode is executed e.g. when the driver operates a lock switch for the purpose of extricating the vehicle from a stuck condition on a snowy road. In the lock mode, the maximum amounts of control currents are supplied to the respective left and right electromagnetic clutches so as to control the engagement forces thereof to the maximum.
However, according to the above conventional driving force control system, after the vehicle gets unstuck from a stuck condition, the vehicle can sometimes enter a traffic-congested traveling condition in which the running of the vehicle is controlled by engine brake or foot brake, with the accelerator pedal being scarcely stepped on by the user, with its lock switch being kept ON. In such a case, since the lock mode continues to be executed, the maximum amounts of control currents continue to be supplied to the respective left and right electromagnetic clutches in spite of the fact that it is almost unnecessary to distribute the driving force delivered to the front wheels to the rear wheels, which results in waste of electric power. Further, since the engagement forces of the respective electromagnetic clutches are each controlled to the maximum engagement force, the fuel economy of the engine is degraded.
It is an object of the invention to provide a driving force control system for a four-wheel drive vehicle, which is capable of properly controlling the engagement forces of clutches such that the engagement forces are neither excessive nor short, in dependence on operating conditions of the vehicle while complying the driver""s intention as much as possible, thereby making it possible to reduce the sizes of the clutches and the driving system and at the same time improve the fuel economy.
To attain the above object, the present invention provides a driving force control system for a four-wheel drive vehicle including a pair of front wheels, and a pair of rear wheels, one of the pairs being main drive wheels, and another of the pairs being auxiliary drive wheels, the driving force control system controlling engagement forces of clutches to thereby control driving forces distributed to the auxiliary drive wheels.
The driving force control system according to the invention is characterized by comprising:
automatic-mode engagement force-calculating means for calculating automatic-mode engagement forces of the clutches based on operating conditions of the vehicle;
input means for being operated by a driver;
lock mode execution means for executing a lock mode in which the engagement forces of the clutches are set to a lock-mode engagement force, including a lockable engagement force which can lock the main drive wheels and the auxiliary drive wheels to each other, when lock mode-executing conditions including operation of the input means by the driver are satisfied;
lock-mode engagement force-limiting means for limiting the lock-mode engagement force such that the lock-mode engagement force is held below the lockable engagement force in dependence on a traveling condition of the vehicle; and
clutch engagement force-selecting means for selecting the calculated automatic-mode engagement forces as the engagement forces of the clutches, when the calculated automatic-mode engagement forces are larger than the limited lock-mode engagement force, during execution of the lock mode.
According to this driving force control system, the automatic-mode engagement forces are calculated based on the operating conditions of the four-wheel drive vehicle. Further, when the lock mode-executing conditions including operation of the input means by the driver are satisfied, a lock mode is executed in which the engagement forces of the clutches are set to a lock-mode engagement force, including a lockable engagement force which can lock the main drive wheels and the auxiliary drive wheels to each other. As a result, during the lock mode, it is possible to lock the main drive wheels and the auxiliary drive wheels to each other, in a manner complying with the driver""s intention as much as possible. Further, the lock-mode engagement force is limited depending on a traveling condition of the vehicle, such that it is held below the lockable engagement force. As a result, when there is little necessity to distribute the driving forces to the auxiliary drive wheels, e.g. when the vehicle is in a traffic-congested traveling condition in which the running of the vehicle is controlled by engine brake or foot brake, with the accelerator pedal being scarcely stepped on, it is possible to limit the engagement forces of the clutches in the lock mode to a smaller value than the maximum engagement force according to the degree of necessity of distribution of the driving forces to the auxiliary drive wheels, thereby minimizing time during which the engagement forces of the clutches are controlled to the maximum. This not only makes it possible to save energy for driving the clutches, but also to reduce the sizes of clutches and the driving system and improve the fuel economy of the engine. Moreover, when the calculated automatic-mode engagement forces are larger than the limited lock-mode engagement force, the engagement forces of the clutches are set to the automatic-mode engagement force. As a result, it is possible to comply with the driver""s intention as much as possible and at the same time distribute the driving force actually required by the four-wheel drive vehicle to the auxiliary drive wheels, such that the engagement forces of the clutches are controlled to be neither excessive nor short during execution of the lock mode.
Preferably, the driving force control system includes means for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle, and the lock-mode engagement force-limiting means limits the lock-mode engagement force such that the lock-mode engagement force become smaller as the vehicle speed of the vehicle is higher.
According to this preferred embodiment, the lock-mode engagement force is limited to a smaller value as the vehicle speed is higher, i.e. as the main drive wheels are less prone to slip. In other words, as the main drive wheels are less prone to slip, there is less necessity of distributing the driving forces to the auxiliary drive wheels, and therefore, the lock-mode engagement force is limited to a smaller value. Thus, the clutches can be operated efficiently according to the driving forces required for driving the auxiliary drive wheels in the lock mode.
Preferably, the driving force control system further comprises driving force-calculating means for calculating a driving force of the main drive wheels, and the lock-mode engagement force-limiting means limits the lock-mode engagement force such that the lock-mode engagement force becomes smaller as the calculated driving force of the main drive wheels is smaller.
According to this preferred embodiment, the lock-mode engagement force is limited such that the lock-mode engagement force becomes smaller as the driving force of the main drive wheels is smaller, i.e. as the driving force required for driving the auxiliary drive wheels is smaller. Thus, the clutches can be operated efficiently according to the driving forces required for driving the auxiliary drive wheels in the lock mode.

Driving force control system for four-wheel drive vehicles


A center of a multi-layer piezoelectric element is an active region and deforms to a greater degree than ends thereof which is an inactive region during driving operation, and is therefore more susceptible to stress concentration and crack development. To address this problem, a multi-layer piezoelectric element includes a columnar stacked body in which piezoelectric layers and internal electrode layers are alternately laminated, and a pair of external electrodes configured to bond to side faces of the columnar stacked body, wherein a side face of the columnar stacked body is configured so that a surface roughness of a center of the side face in a stacked direction of the columnar stacked body is greater than those of ends of the side face in the stacked direction of the columnar stacked body. This makes it possible to relax the stress exerted on the side face of the columnar stacked body, and thereby enhance the durability of the multi-layer piezoelectric element.

A multi-layer piezoelectric element comprises: a stacked body in which a plurality of piezoelectric layers and a plurality of internal electrode layers each interposed between the piezoelectric layers are alternately laminated; and an external electrode formed on a side face of the stacked body where the internal electrode layers are led out.
A method for manufacturing the multi-layer piezoelectric element comprises printing an electrically conductive paste for forming the internal electrode layers onto ceramic green sheets that are to be formed into the piezoelectric layers following firing process; forming a stacked compact by laminating the plurality of ceramic green sheets bearing the electrically conductive paste on top of each other in layers; forming a stacked body by firing the stacked compact; grinding a side face of the stacked body in a direction parallel to a stacked direction of the stacked body, or in any given direction for outer shape adjustment; erasing grinding marks by means of blasting or otherwise to finish the article off with great precision in shape; and forming an external electrode so that it is connected to the internal electrode layer led out to the side face of the stacked body. In the multi-layer piezoelectric element thereby produced, the grinding-processed stacked body has a uniform roughness throughout its side.

Multi-layer piezoelectric element, and injection device and fuel injection system provided therewith for enhanced durability


An ultrasonic diagnosis system that generates virtual endoscopic image data on a lumen of an organ of an object based on volume data acquired by three-dimensional scanning of the object, includes: a unit that sets a three-dimensional region of interest for the volume data; a unit that sets a center line of the lumen of the organ in the volume data based on the acquired volume data; a unit that detects a reference point at which a reference plane of the three-dimensional region of interest and the center line intersect with each other; a unit that sets a viewpoint and a view direction based on the reference point; a virtual endoscopic image data generating unit that processes the volume data based on the viewpoint and the view direction to generate the virtual endoscopic image data; and a display unit that displays the generated virtual endoscopic image data.

An ultrasonic diagnosis system acquires biological information by emitting an ultrasonic pulse and receiving a reflected ultrasonic wave from the object tissue. The ultrasonic pulse is generated in an oscillating element in an ultrasonic probe. The reflected ultrasonic wave depends on the acoustic impedance in the object tissue. The ultrasonic diagnosis system requires only a simple operation of bringing the ultrasonic probe into contact with the body surface of the object for displaying image data in real time. Thus, the system is widely used for morphologic and functional diagnosis of various organs.
In recent years, mechanically movable ultrasonic probes which has a one-dimensional array of oscillating elements, or ultrasonic probes which has a two-dimensional array of oscillating elements have enabled three-dimensional scanning of a diagnosis target part of the object. Three-dimensional image data or multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) image data can be generated from the three-dimensional data (volume data) acquired by the three-dimensional scanning and used for advanced diagnosis and treatment.
There have been proposed techniques of observing an inner surface of a lumen of an organ of an object by acquiring volume data concerning the lumen of the organ of the object by three-dimensional scan, setting a virtual viewpoint and a virtual view direction in the lumen of the organ, and producing virtual endoscopic (fly-through) image data representing the inner surface of the lumen of the organ viewed from the viewpoint (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-110973, for example).
According to these techniques, since endoscopic image data is generated based on the volume data externally acquired, invasion of the object during examination is significantly reduced. In addition, since the viewpoint and the view direction can be arbitrarily set in any lumens of organs including small alimentary canals and blood vessels to which an endoscope is difficult to insert, safe and efficient examination can be conducted with precision that cannot be achieved by conventional endoscopy.
By applying the process described in the above document to volume data acquired by an ultrasonic diagnosis system, virtual endoscopic image data can be observed in real time. Meanwhile, according to a common conventional method of setting a viewpoint and a view direction required to generate virtual endoscopic image data for volume data on a lumen of an organ, MPR image data comprising cross sectional images of the lumen of the organ formed by arbitrarily slicing the volume data is acquired, and the viewpoint and the view direction are set based on the MPR image data. However, in order to continuously observe the virtual endoscopic image data by moving the ultrasonic prove on the body surface of the object, the complicated process described above has to be repeated to update the viewpoint and the view direction as the ultrasonic probe moves. Thus, it is difficult to observe the virtual endoscopic image data in real time.
The present invention has been devised in view of the problem described above. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnosis system that generates virtual endoscopic image data based on volume data acquired from an object and ensures constant observation of the virtual endoscopic image data in a preferred direction even when an ultrasonic probe moves, and an image data display control program.

Ultrasonic diagnosis system and image data display control program


A limit stop filter support apparatus for use in controlling fluidic currents and limiting movement of an actuator within a housing, such as in a data storage device. First and second filter retention members extend from a filter support base to confine opposing ends of a filter used to filter fluidic currents within the housing, and a cantilevered limit stop extends from the base to contactingly limit movement of an actuator moveable within the housing. The limit stop preferably comprises a spring member supporting a latch member, the latch member selectively confining the actuator in a parked position. The first and second retention members each preferably include a shroud surface adjacent an outer peripheral edge of a rotatable storage medium to direct the fluidic currents established by rotation of the medium.

Disc drives are digital data storage devices which store and retrieve large amounts of user data in a fast and efficient manner. The data are recorded on the surfaces of one or more rigid data storage discs affixed to a spindle motor for rotation at a constant high speed.
One or more data transducing heads are controllably positioned by an actuator to read data from and write data to tracks defined on the recording surfaces. The heads are configured to be hydrodynamically supported over the recording surfaces by fluidic currents established by the high speed rotation of the discs.
It is desirable to control the flow of the fluidic currents within a disc drive housing and to filter particulates from the currents. Particles can increase the chances to induce undesired and potentially catastrophic contact between the heads and the discs of the data storage device. Additionally, controlling the flow of the fluidic currents promotes a desirable reduction of turbulence in the vicinity of the heads. Turbulence can induce undesired vibrations in the heads, thereby adversely affecting data reading and writing performance.
In providing effective filtering and air flow control, disc drive designers are constrained by a number of factors, including continually reduced form factors and internal clearance issues. Thus, with the continued demand for higher performance data storage devices, there remains a continual need for improved approaches to controlling and filtering recirculating fluidic currents within such devices. It is to such improvements that the claimed invention is directed.


A semiconductor device includes an active device region formed in an epitaxial layer disposed on a semiconductor substrate and a buried electrode disposed below the active device region in a cavity formed within the semiconductor substrate. The buried electrode includes an electrically conductive material different than the material of the semiconductor substrate.

Vertical semiconductor devices often have electrical connections on different sides of the device. The semiconductor substrate on which a vertical semiconductor device is fabricated can be thinned at its backside so that structures such as emitters, metal contacts or other devices can be formed at the thinned backside of the substrate. For example, an epitaxial layer is typically grown on a highly doped semiconductor substrate and various processes are carried out at the frontside to form an active device region which includes e.g. transistors. The backside of the substrate is then thinned and metal is deposited on the thinned backside to form an electrode. However, the silicon material which remains between the active device region at the frontside and the backside metallization adds resistance to the device. In another conventional approach, a dummy substrate is provided on which an epitaxial layer is grown. The active device region is formed in the epitaxial layer and the dummy substrate is thinned. Structures are then formed on the thinned backside. However, inhomogeneities associated with the substrate thinning process influence key device parameters such as breakdown voltage, forward voltage and on-resistance. Yield-critical vertical devices subjected to such backside processing are particularly sensitive to thickness variations in the active area which result due to variations associated with the thinning process.
In other approaches, the electrode structure is formed within the semiconductor substrate instead of thinning the substrate and depositing the electrode on the thinned backside. Conventional buried electrodes are formed within the semiconductor substrate by doping the substrate in a particular region. An epitaxial layer is grown on the substrate and an active device region is formed in the epitaxial layer. A sinker or trench contact is then formed in the substrate so that the buried layer can be electrically contacted. However, the sinker/trench contact and the buried layer structures both add resistance to the device.

Semiconductor device with an electrode buried in a cavity


A device for spraying disinfectant foam into the opening of a garbage disposal is described. The device contains an aerosol propellant container and a substantially cylindrical adaptor. The adaptor is integrally formed, with both an upwardly-extending lip section and a downwardly-extending bottom section. The upwardly-extending lip section contains at least three flange portions separated by slots in which movable tabs are disposed. The downwardly-extending bottom section contains an orifice. The upwardly-extending section may comprise a single continuous flange with internal radial ribs.

Compositions for masking and removing unpleasant odors are well known to those skilled in the art. Thus, by way of illustration, such compositions are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,377 of Steer (which discloses an aqueous based gel air-treating composition comprised of a gel base and a gaseous component), U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,253 of Schleppnik et al. (which discloses that compositions comprised of 4-cyclohexyl-4-methyl-2-pentanone counteract malodors), U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,221 of Schleppnik (which discloses that a specified cyclohexyl compound is a malodor counteractant), and the like. The disclosure of each of the aforementioned patents is hereby incorporated by reference into this specification.
As is well known, garbage disposal units are fertile sources of malodors. Means of combating such malodors in garbage disposal units have been suggested. Thus, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,813, Douglas C. Brackett teaches a device which, in response to the activation of the garbage disposal unit, is propelled against a wall of an interior chamber of the unit. The device of this patent is not very effective and, despite the fact that it has been commercially available for several years, has met with a marked degree of commercial failure.
It is an object of this invention to provide a garbage disposal cleaning device which can readily, effectively, and inexpensively both clean, disinfect, and deodorize garbage disposals.
It is another object of this invention to provide a garbage disposal cleaning device which contains means for being actuated only when it is in a specified position within an opening of the garbage disposal and a specified amount of force is applied.


A control system includes an input that one of receives and transmits diagnostic data including a fault identifier and a fault status of the fault identifier, and a filter module that filters said diagnostic data based on a comparison of the diagnostic data and a data array, wherein the data array includes a dependent identifier and a corresponding root cause identifier. The control system may be included with one or more of a vehicle control module and a service tool. A related method is also provided.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Motorized vehicles may include a powertrain (e.g., an engine, an electric motor and/or a combination thereof) that produces drive torque that is transmitted through a transmission to wheels of the vehicle. Operation of the powertrain and transmission may be regulated by one or more control modules. The control modules may include self-diagnostic capabilities to detect faults that may affect engine performance, emissions, braking, and other onboard systems of the vehicle. Specifically, the control modules may include diagnostic programs or instructions that may detect faults with driver interface devices (e.g., accelerator pedal), sensors (e.g., manifold temperature sensor), and actuators (e.g., throttle valve) of the vehicle.
When a fault is detected for one of the driver interface devices, sensors, or actuators, the control modules may generate a diagnostic trouble code that identifies the specific fault detected. The control modules may save the diagnostic trouble code in memory. The control modules may also store and update a fault status of each stored diagnostic trouble code. The fault status may indicate whether the corresponding fault has been confirmed by the diagnostic programs. When certain diagnostic codes are generated, the control modules may illuminate a warning light on an information display of the vehicle, such as a "Check Engine" light. Similarly, when certain diagnostic codes obtain a particular fault status, the control modules may illuminate the warning light.
On many vehicles, a service tool may be used to diagnose and repair problems with the vehicle. The service tool may be used to access and retrieve the diagnostic trouble codes stored in memory. Typically, the service tool communicates with one or more of the control modules to retrieve the stored diagnostic trouble codes. The diagnostic trouble codes may then be used in conjunction with the vehicle's service manual and other service procedures to determine which driver interface devices, sensors, and actuators should be tested to fully diagnose the problem. The service tool may also be used to modify or clear the diagnostic trouble codes and related fault status stored in memory.

Control system and method for filtering dependent diagnostic trouble codes


A computer system that includes at least two host agents is provided. The computer system further includes a chipset that includes a resource to be shared by the at least two host agents. The chipset is coupled to the-at least two host agents. The chipset prevents a first host agent, that occupies the shared resource to access the shared resource until a second host agent, has made progress in accessing said shared resource.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to chipsets in computer systems.
II. Background Information
A multi-processor system is a system that includes at least two processors. The at least two processors are coupled to a host bus. The host bus is typically coupled to a chipset that, among other things, may control access to a system memory. The chipset may be coupled to an input/output bus for access to input/output devices. The input/output bus may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.
There are instances when more than one processor desires to perform an access to the PCI bus. For example, assume a case where the multi-processor system included two processors, CPU1 an CPU2, and both processors want to perform a stream of write operations to the PCI bus. In these instances the system uses the chipset, that is coupled to both the host bus and to the PCI bus, in performing the series of write operations. Assuming that a particular device such as a holding buffer is used by the chipset to store portions of data to be written by one of the CPUs to the PCI. When CPU1 does a series of line-writes to PCI, the holding buffer may fill up at a certain point in time. When CPU2 initiates a write on the host bus attempting to perform a write to the PCI bus, the chipset may detect that the holding buffer is full. In this case, typically, the chipset may retry CPU2. By retrying CPU2 the chipset tells CPU2 to try the same cycle (the write cycle to the PCI bus) at a later time because the chipset is not in a position to complete the cycle at the current time. Eventually, the chipset flushes the holding buffer out to PCI thus creating space to receive more data to be written to the PCI. However, before CPU2 may initiate another write cycle, CPU1 may come back and fill up the holding buffer again. This sequence may repeat indefinitely, such that CPU2 may not be permitted access to the shared resource for a certain period of time and livelock may occur in the system.
It is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for sharing a resource in a multi-processor system where the CPUs may share a resource efficiently without being unnecessarily prevented from timely utilizing a shared resource.
The present invention provides a computer system that includes at least two host agents. The computer system further includes a chipset that includes a shared resource to be shared by the at least two host agents. The chipset prevents a first host agent, that occupies the shared resource from accessing the shared resource until the second host agent, has made progress in accessing the shared resource.

Method and apparatus for resource sharing in a multi-processor system


An operation input device includes touch panel, depression time detecting portion, input determination portion, display control portion, sound control portion, vibration portion, and vibration control portion. Touch panel outputs a depression signal according to a depression time when an input region is depressed. The depression time detecting portion detects the depression time based upon the depression signal from the touch panel. Input determination portion determines input content according to the depression time detected by the depression time detecting portion. Display control portion outputs visual information, which corresponds to the input content determined by input determination portion, to a display portion of the touch panel. Sound control portion outputs sound corresponding to the input content determined by input determination portion. Vibration portion transmits vibration to touch panel. Vibration control portion vibrates touch panel by vibration portion according to a vibration pattern corresponding to the input content determined by input determination portion.

The present disclosure relates to an operation input device that can determine an input content from a touch feeling, and an information processing apparatus provided with the operation input device.
A touch panel is used as an operation input device that performs various operation inputs to an information processing apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile device, a scanner device, a multifunction peripheral, a personal computer, and a tablet terminal. In the information processing apparatus of this type, an input process is executed when a user operates each operation key corresponding to each of various functions displayed on the touch panel. However, in the information processing apparatus described above, it is necessary to find and depress a desired operation key, and to confirm whether the input content is correct or not on a display screen. Therefore, a user who is unfamiliar with an operation of the information processing apparatus or a user who operates the touch panel while simultaneously doing another work is sometimes difficult to operate the information processing apparatus.
There has conventionally been known a method of allowing a user to determine an input content from a change in a vibration pattern according to a time when a touch panel is depressed. In addition, there has conventionally been known a method of processing information corresponding to a number of times of vibration of a terminal device from the start of the operation by the user till the end of the operation, according to the number of times of vibration, in order to simplify a user's operation.

Operation input device, and information processing apparatus provided with the same


A steam wand for coffee machines is provided with a steam dispensing head that is centrally provided with a blind axial conduit that feeds one or more dispensing nozzles that end on the outside of the head and are provided with a tangential sloping direction with respect to the cylindrical conduit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present patent application relates to a steam wand for professional coffee machines as well as home coffee machines.
The peculiarities and advantages of the present invention will become evident after a short description of the prior art.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
It is known that all coffee machines, and particularly professional machines used in bars, are provided with at least one "steam wand". Such a term usually indicates a small rigid metal tube that delivers pressurized steam produced by a boiler mounted inside the coffee machine.
As it is known, the forced hot steam jet delivered by such a steam wand is used to instantaneously heat milk or other liquids used to prepare drinks. The main use of the steam wand of any coffee machine is the preparation of cappuccinos, when it is necessary to forth milk in order to obtain a fluffy foam.
However, it must be noted that, in spite of their huge popularity, traditional steam wands are not perfectly satisfactory from the functional viewpoint, given the fact that milk can be correctly frothed only if the operator follows a specific, empiric procedure as illustrated below.
It must be noted that such a procedure largely depends on the operator's experience and skill because traditional steam wands are not able to guarantee excellent milk frothing on a regular basis regardless of the operator.
For a better understanding of the problem, it must be noted that a traditional steam wand usually ends with an enlarged head, whereon one or more steam dispensing nozzles are obtained.
In particular, said nozzles are turned downwards with the same inclination and have a radial direction with respect 5 to the axis of the steam wand, i.e. the axes of the dispensing nozzles intersect the axis of the axial conduit obtained inside the steam wand that is actually used to feed the nozzles.
However, similar nozzles divide the hot steam flow that flows at high pressure inside the steam wand into one or more jets, substantially with the same size.
In case of a similar configuration of a typical steam wand, the operator must follow the procedure illustrated below to froth the milk contained in a metal jug.
The operator must insert the head of the steam wand in the jug, making sure it is immersed deeply into the milk, and then dispense forced hot steam through the steam wand. So the foam will progressively increase the level of milk in the jug; for this reason the operator must lower the jug slowly, while making sure that the head of the steam wand remains always immersed.
This first step of the milk frothing procedure is completed when the milk temperature reaches 35-37° C. It must be noted that the achievement of such a temperature is instantaneously detected by the operator, without using a thermometer, as soon as the operator feels that the temperature of the jug that contains the milk to be frothed tends to exceed the temperature of the hand that holds the handle of the milk jug.
Once this first operation has been completed, the milk foam must be compacted in order to achieve a fine texture and a glossy surface. To do that, while still keeping the head of the steam wand immersed in the milk and dispensing steam, the operator must slightly tilt the jug in order to create a fast whirl in the milk mass that will compact the foam.
The operator must stop dispensing steam as soon as the milk has reached a temperature of 65-67° C. Also in this case, an expert operator can understand that such a temperature has been reached, without using a thermometer, as soon as he feels that the jug is becoming too hot to be held with bare hands.
The best result of such a milk frothing operation is not always guaranteed, it being dependent on the operator's experience and skill.


Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for managing data. The technique includes defining a secondary data set in a primary data set, linking the secondary data set to state information of the primary data set, transmitting the secondary data set to an external entity, receiving a modified secondary data set from the external entity and linking the modified secondary data set to a version of the primary data set stored with reference to state the information. The state information defines the state of the primary data set at the time the secondary data set is defined. The link between the modified secondary data set and the primary data set allows access by a user of a modified primary data set if the primary data set has changed with reference to the state information.

The present invention relates to data processing, and more particularly, to managing data received from external processes.
An important factor in the success of businesses in the current era is the ability to flexibly react to the requirements of the market. Shorter product cycles require decreased product development times and quicker introduction to market while increased customer demands for individual solutions increases the number of variants.
These factors require businesses to be able to proceed simultaneously with the definition of the product requirements and its structure, while participating in collaborative processes with external entities such as subcontractors and development partners. New products must be introduced rapidly to market based on internally and externally defined requirements. In order to do this, different approaches must be considered, and input can be provided by external entities performing external evaluation processes.
External processes can include, for example, verification processes, costing evaluations and crash tests (for automobile production systems).


A double pipe internal heat exchanger including a pipe, a first ferrule, a second ferrule, and a flexible hose. The pipe defines an inner channel. The first ferrule and a second ferrule are mounted to the pipe and spaced apart along the pipe. The flexible hose is mounted to the first ferrule and the second ferrule. The flexible hose defines an outer channel between the pipe and the flexible hose.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
Air conditioning systems, such as those of a motor vehicle, can include a double pipe internal heat exchanger (IHX) to transfer high pressure liquid refrigerant from a condenser to an evaporator, and transfer low pressure gas refrigerant from the evaporator to a compressor. Such double pipe IHX designs often include a rigid inner pipe, and a rigid outer pipe that surrounds and is welded to the inner pipe. The rigid outer pipe is often made of a metallic, such as aluminum for example. One pipe carries the low pressure gas, such as the inner pipe for example, and the other pipe carries the high pressure liquid, such as the outer pipe for example. The liquid and gas pass through the double pipe IHX in opposite directions to permit heat exchange therebetween. As the liquid passes through the outer pipe past the gas, the relatively high temperature liquid is cooled by the relatively low temperature gas.
Because the outer pipe is made of a rigid material, it may vibrate as the high pressure liquid passes therethrough, which can result in undesirable noises being heard in the vehicle passenger cabin. It would thus be desirable to provide a double pipe internal heat exchanger that dampens vibrations and reduces noises that may result from passage of liquid and gas therethrough.


An apparatus and method for melting snow and/or ice on a vehicle comprises a precipitation sensor, a surface temperature sensor, an ambient temperature sensor, a heater, and a programmable controller. The programmable controller comprises a memory unit and a processor to store and execute a cut-off surface temperature Tc, and program modules, respectively. A heater control module is configured to deactivate the heater based on the surface temperature being greater than the cut-off surface temperature. The heater could be an electric heater and a hydronic heater. The electric heater is electrically coupled to at least any one of, an alternator, an onboard power system, and a remote power source, via a relay. Further, the heater control module is configured to activate the heater based on an ambient temperature being lower than freezing point of water and precipitation being present outside the vehicle, thereby melting snow and/or ice on the vehicle.

In cold weather climes, the accumulation of snow and/or ice on the exterior of vehicles can be problematic in many different contexts. Unchecked, such accumulation can slow or even bring to a halt transportation of people and cargo, perhaps at its worst costing lives and/or the loss of significant sums of money.
Indeed, vehicles are often designed with aerodynamic and safety engineering considerations in mind. Companies and their engineers spend significant resources on the aerodynamic and safety design of, by way of example, automobiles and aircraft. Even the smallest amount of snow or ice buildup on the exteriors of such transport vehicles can negatively impact such aerodynamic and safety designs and decrease operability.
Currently the airline industry spends millions of dollars on de-icing compounds to de-ice aircraft before take-off. Application of such needs to be closely monitored and, in case of delays, even reapplied.
Automobile owners, having no such system, are often forced to manually remove snow and ice from their automobile exteriors. Needless to say, such removal is not easy or comfortable. Due to changes in the laws of many cold weather clime States, such snow/ice removal is now mandatory. Drivers who fail to remove snow/ice may be cited/ticketed for failing to remove such snow/ice for creating unsafe driving conditions.
While many vehicles are equipped with automatic snow/ice removal systems for their windows, no such apparatus or methodology currently exists for the vehicle exteriors. Thus, as can be seen, there is a need which as heretofore not been met or resolved.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for the melting of snow and ice from vehicle exteriors


A process for the production of organopentasiloxane represented by the general formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is an acryloyloxy-containing monovalent organic group or a methacryloyloxy-containing monovalent organic group; R.sup.3 is a monovalent hydrocarbon group; X is a hydrolytic group; and the subscript n is 0, 1, or 2; which is characterized subjecting (A) 1-hydroxy-organotetrasiloxane, or an organosiloxane oligomer mixture comprising it as the main component, which is obtained by hydrolyzing 1-acyloxy-organotetrasiloxane or an oganosiloxane oligomer mixture comprising it as the main component; and (B) hydrolytic silane represented by the general formula R.sup.3.sub.n SiX.sub.(4-n) to a condensation reaction.

In the past, 3-acryloyloxypropyl trimethoxysilane, 3-acryloyloxypropylmethyl dimethoxysilane, 3-methacryloyloxypropyl trimethoxysilane, 3-metacryloyloxypropylmethyl dimethoxysilane, and other organosilicon compounds with monovalent organic groups containing acryloyloxy groups or monovalent organic groups containing methacryloyloxy groups and hydrolytic groups bonded to silicon atoms have been used as silane coupling agents and raw materials for the production of crosslinkable polyolefinic resins.
However, due to the fact that the monovalent organic groups containing acryloyloxy groups or monovalent organic groups containing methacryloyloxy groups and hydrolytic groups were bonded to the same silicon atoms, the problem with these organosilicon compounds was that when they were used as silane coupling agents for the surface treatment of inorganic fillers, these functional groups ended up concealed in the crosslinked coating formed via the condensation reaction and hydrolysis, so that the effectiveness of the surface treatment was lower than expected. For this reason, when inorganic fillers obtained by surface treatment using these organosilicon compounds were compounded with silicone rubber compositions, sufficient fatigue durability could not be imparted to the silicone rubbers obtained by curing them. Also, when these organosilicon compounds were copolymerized with various olefins as raw materials for the production of crosslinked polyolefinic resins, these functional groups ended up concealed in the polyolefinic resin, and, as a result, the crosslinkability of the polyolefinic resin was lower than expected.
In the past, the authors of the present invention offered organopentasiloxanes with acryloyloxy-containing monovalent organic groups or methacryloyloxy-containing monovalent organic groups and hydrolytic groups bonded to silicon atoms and a process for their production (see Japanese Unexamined (Kokai) Patent Publication No. Hei 05(1993)-86075). The process for the production of the organopentasiloxane offered in Japanese Unexamined (Kokai) Patent Publication No. Hei 05(1993)-86075 was characterized by subjecting organopentasiloxane having a hydrogen atom bonded to a silicon atom at one end of the molecular chain and a hydrolytic group bonded to a silicon atom at the other end of the molecular chain and an alkene or alkylenoxyalkene containing methacryloyloxy groups to a hydrosilylation reaction.
However, the problem with the process for the production of the organopentasiloxane offered in Japanese Unexamined (Kokai) Patent Publication No. Hei 05(1993)-86075 was that when it was used to produce organopentasiloxanes, various side reactions were generated. When, for example, 1,1,1 -trimethoxy-3,3,5,5,7,7,9,9-octamethylpentasiloxane and allyl methacrylate were subjected to a hydrosilylation reaction, a propene-releasing b-elimination reaction described below would take place, producing the target organopentasiloxane with a 3-methacryloyloxypropyl group bonded to a silicon atom at the end of the molecular chain along with organopentasiloxane with a methacryloyloxy group bonded to a silicon atom at the end of the molecular chain and organopentasiloxane with a propyl group bonded to a silicon atom at the end of the molecular chain as by-products, which decreased the yield and purity of the target product. ##STR2##

Method for preparation of organopentasiloxane


A device is provided, including a housing having a cavity that is open to an exterior of the housing; an electrical element positioned inside the housing; and an actuation system configured to actuate the element and including a thermoelectric module including first and second electrically insulating plates substantially parallel to one another and each bear electrically conductive terminal blocks, and semiconductive pillars that extend between the respective blocks of the first and second plates, the module housed inside the cavity such that the second plate is positioned against walls of the cavity and the first plate is accessible from outside the housing, and an electronic transmission circuit linking at least two of the blocks of the second plate to the element, and where the system extends beyond the exterior of the housing in a direction perpendicular to a plane aligned with a surface of the exterior of the housing.

It is known practice to activate an electrical element of a device by actuating a pushbutton. For example, it is known practice to activate means for illuminating the dial of a watch by actuating a pushbutton located on the outside of the case, to activate an antenna for transmitting a remote control command via a remote control button for example in order to control an audiovisual device or a lamp. The actuation of the pushbutton causes electrical contact to be made between an energy source (generally a battery) and the electrical element (a light source, generally a light-emitting diode, an infrared optical or radiofrequency transmission element, etc.).
However, this system requires the use of an exhaustible electrical energy source (the battery).

Watch provided with a thermoelectric button

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd


This invention provides methods of using ion-detecting microspheres containing an ionphore and a chromoionphore in clinical laboratory instrumentation such as flow cytometry for sample analysis. In one embodiment, the microspheres are contacted with a flowing stream of a sample under conditions that allow the ion-selective ionophores to complex with the ions in the sample, and to cause deprotonation of the chromoionophore. The complexes are then exposed to an excitation wavelength light source suitable for exciting the deprotonated chromoionophore to emit a fluorescence signal pattern. Detection of the fluorescence signal pattern emitted by the deprotonated chromoionophore in microspheres containing the complexes allows for determination of the presence of the target ions in the sample. In one embodiment, lead ion-detecting microspheres are provided that can detect nanomolar levels of lead ions with response times on the order of minutes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to systems for detecting target ions in a sample, and more specifically, to ion-detecting microspheres and methods of use thereof in clinical laboratory instrumentation such as flow cytometry for sample analysis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Throughout this application, various references are referred to within parentheses. Disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. Full bibliographic citation for these references may be found at the end of this application, preceding the claims.
The analysis of complex biological fluids, such as whole blood, serum, and urine, is of paramount importance in clinical chemistry. Electrolytes such as sodium ions and potassium ions are routinely assessed using carrier-based ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) (1–2). With more than one billion ISE measurements being performed annually world wide in clinical laboratories, this class of chemical sensors plays a crucial role in laboratory diagnostics. Trends in analytical chemistry continue to move toward the development of miniaturized systems, and there is a great interest in streamlining all available assays into one common method. One approach towards achieving this goal is the use of optical readout methodologies.
Several approaches have been developed for ion analyses that use fluorescence transduction (3–17). This is primarily due to the high signal-to-noise ratio afforded by this detection method, making it an attractive choice for creating sensors of reduced size. Most ion-selective optical sensors use the same carriers previously developed for use in ISEs, and they obey bulk extraction principles consistent with traditional optode theory (2).
Typically, an optode membrane is composed of a plasticized poly-(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix, an ionophore that selectively binds the primary ion, ionic sites that facilitate mass transfer of ions from the aqueous sample to a hydrophobic sensing phase, and a hydrogen ion-selective fluorescent chromoionophore (fluoroionophore), which is responsible for signal transduction. Other approaches for ion determinations utilized particle-based technologies. Lubbers et al. have reported optical nanoprobes for measuring the pH and pO2 of physiological structures (10). More recently, Kopelman et al. reported both acryl amide and PVC-type nanometer-sized sensing spheres that have proven to be quite useful in interrogating intracellular environments (3, 4, 5, 19). Bakker and group have prepared micrometer-sized particles by various methods, including heterogeneous polymerization (13), solvent casting (17), and very recently, with the use of a sonic stream particle casting apparatus (16). Spatial and spectral characterization of the particles was performed by fluorescence microscopy/spectroscopy. However, the use of this technique has not been described for high throughput screening applications prior to the present invention.
In an attempt to increase the throughput of ion determinations, Kim et al. have described a 96-well plate-format absorbance-based optode that requires micro volume samples and that could be read using existing clinical laboratory instrumentation (20). An even more promising technique, however, that offers rapid, high-throughput analyses with multiplexing capabilities is flow cytometry. Microspheres have been used for flow cytometric applications for more than 25 years (21), and they are commonly used for multiplexed analyses. It has been demonstrated that as many as 64 different analytes can be screened simultaneously using microsphere-based technologies (20–24). With large surface area available for attaching numerous molecular recognition chemistries (6) and a core that can be impregnated with encoding dyes (25), microspheres have played an important role in the development of suspension array technologies (26). Numerous biologically relevant analytes have been detected using microsphere-based cytometry (7, 8, 11, 12, 24, 27–29). Electrolytes, however, are a class of analytes that have never been assessed with this technique.
Lower detection limits, smaller sample volumes, faster response times and high selectivity are among the many requirements that must be met in the trace level analysis of complex samples. Towards this end, optode films based on neutral ionophores have proven to be a highly promising technology for the analysis of heavy metal ions. Over the past decade, an increasing number of cation-exchange based systems including those for Pb2+, Cu2+, Hg2+, Ag+, UO22+, have been reported (30–34).
For the analysis of lead ions, optode systems that incorporate highly selective ionophores have been used. Those that may contain sulfur coordinating functionalities, like a calixarene bearing a —SH pending group or a di-thioamide derivative, have demonstrated increased success in polymer membranes of ISEs where they have been shown to exhibit detection limits that extend even to picomolar levels with electrodes that are carefully tailored (35, 36). In optode systems, selective ionophores incorporated with a lipophilic chromoionophore and required anionic sites have been examined with view to their use in environmental monitoring (30). As for all conventional cation-exchange based systems, lead optodes follow predicted theory as given by the associated equilibrium of transfer of the lead analyte species and hydrogen ions into the plasticized PVC optode phase. In particular, the lead complexing agent 3,6-dioxaoctanedithioamide derivative, that is, ETH 5435, in conjunction with the absorption changing properties of chromoionophore ETH 5418, was found to exhibit excellent selectivity against all relevant alkaline and alkaline-earth metal ions, thus allowing lead measurable concentrations to extend to the sub-nanomolar range.
Antico et al. (37) have reported on optode films incorporating the ionophore ETH 5493, which is a mono-thio oxodiamide derivative of ETH 5435. While the use of such an ionophore offers less good selectivity with respect to the alkaline-earth metal ions Ca2+ and Mg2+ than the di-thioamide ligand, no irreversible sensing film poisoning upon exposure to Ag+ or Hg+ ions does occur.
These papers on ionophore-based optodes have shown that the selectivity and detection limits are sufficient to reach sub-nanomolar detection limits. However, a significant drawback is the high sensing volume of the optode film, which requires typically on the order of 10 μmoles of ions to be extracted from the sample in order to achieve the desired optical response. Consequently, massive volumes of sample (many liters) and very long response times (many hours) in a continuous flowing system have so far been required to accurately measure low levels of heavy metals in aqueous samples. A drastic miniaturization of the sensing element should be able to alleviate this important problem.

Ion-detecting microspheres and methods of use thereof


An electrical connector assembly for providing quick and easy release of a mated plug in the event of unintentional physical interference with the plug and/or connector. The quick release safety connector is made of a resilient material for providing a secure yet flexible grip on the plug sufficient to maintain an electrical connection, while at the same time facilitating immediate and reliable release between connected devices in the event of accidental interference with the connecting cord and/or either of the connected devices.

The electrical connections between devices (e.g., a computer and a peripheral device) are usually difficult to disconnect, i.e., it is difficult to separate most cables with connecting plugs from their corresponding sockets, unless intentionally designed to do so. Moreover, most computers, video game consoles, and other connectable host devices come with one or more Universal Serial Bus (USB) port connections. Peripheral devices (e.g., printers, scanners, modems, etc.) connect to USB ports of host devices through the use of USB connectors, but such connectors are difficult to separate from USB ports of host devices.
USB based ports and connectors are extensively used because a multitude of devices may be connected to a host device at the same time. This feature of USB connections presents a safety issue in the event of, for example, unintended physical movement that causes either a host or peripheral device to be dislocated due to an unexpected pulling of a connecting cord. Since it is unlikely that the pulled cord will disconnect from a port in the event of such an accident, bodily injury may result because the pulled cable could drag a connected host device off a shelf, striking a user or a bystander. Injury may also occur when a connecting cord becomes entangled around a user's toot or leg, as to trip that person. In addition, damage to the host and/or peripheral device, as well as to the connecting cable and/or connector itself can result during such accidents.
Accordingly, an easily installed electrical connector apparatus that provides a secure connection when connected to a host device and also affords a reliable quick release of a cord from connection to a host device in the event of an accident, due to unintentional disruption of the cord, is desirable.

Apparatus for a quick release safety connector assembly


The present invention relates to methods and pharmaceutical compositions for inhibiting influenza virus replication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a compound selected from the group consisting of Gemcitabine, Obatoclax Mesylate, Docetaxel, HA-14, Alsterpaullone, GSK3B inhibitor VIII, GSK3B inhibitor XV, Indirubin 3′-monoxime, L glutathione reduced, Fluocinolone acetonide, Tirofiban, Topotecan hydrochloride, Clofarabine, Vinblastine, Menadione Crystalline and derivatives or analogues thereof for use in the treatment of an influenza infection in a subject in need thereof.

Influenza viruses are one of the most ubiquitous viruses present in the world, affecting both humans and livestock. Influenza results in an economic burden, morbidity and even mortality, which are significant.
The influenza virus is an RNA enveloped virus with a particle size of about 125 nm in diameter. It consists basically of an internal nucleocapsid or core of ribonucleic acid (RNA) associated with nucleoprotein, surrounded by a viral envelope with a lipid bilayer structure and external glycoproteins. The inner layer of the viral envelope is composed predominantly of matrix proteins and the outer layer mostly of host-derived lipid material. Influenza virus comprises two surface antigens, glycoproteins neuraminidase (NA) and haemagglutinin (HA), which appear as spikes, 10 to 12 nm long, at the surface of the particles. It is these surface proteins, particularly the haemagglutinin that determine the antigenic specificity of the influenza subtypes. Virus strains are classified according to host species of origin, geographic site and year of isolation, serial number, and, for influenza A, by serological properties of subtypes of HA and NA. 16 HA subtypes (HI-HI6) and nine NA subtypes (N1-N9) have been identified for influenza A viruses. Viruses of all HA and NA subtypes have been recovered from aquatic birds, but only three HA subtypes (HI, H2, and H3) and two NA subtypes (N1 and N2) have established stable lineages in the human population since 1918. Only one subtype of HA and one of NA are recognised for influenza B viruses.
Influenza A viruses evolve and undergo antigenic variability continuously. A lack of effective proofreading by the viral RNA polymerase leads to a high rate of transcription errors that can result in amino-acid substitutions in surface glycoproteins. This is termed "antigenic drift". The segmented viral genome allows for a second type of antigenic variation. If two influenza viruses simultaneously infect a host cell, genetic reassortment, called "antigenic shift" may generate a novel virus with new surface or internal proteins. These antigenic changes, both 'drifts' and 'shifts' are unpredictable and may have a dramatic impact from an immunological point of view as they eventually lead to the emergence of new influenza strains and that enable the virus to escape the immune system causing the well known, almost annual, epidemics. Both of these genetic modifications have caused new viral variants responsible for pandemic in humans.
Influenza viruses cause epidemics almost every winter, with infection rates for type A or B virus as high as 40% over a six-week period. Influenza infection results in various disease states, from a sub-clinical infection through mild upper respiratory infection to a severe viral pneumonia. Typical influenza epidemics cause increases in incidence of pneumonia and lower respiratory disease as witnessed by increased rates of hospitalization or mortality. The severity of the disease is primarily determined by the age of the host, his immune status and the site of infection.
Elderly people, 65 years old and over, are especially vulnerable, accounting for 80-90% of all influenzarelated deaths in developed countries. Individuals with underlying chronic diseases are also most likely to experience such complications. Young infants also may suffer severe disease. These groups in particular therefore need to be protected. Besides these 'at risk'-groups, the health authorities are also recommending to vaccinate healthy adults who are in contact with elderly persons.
Current treatment options for influenza include vaccination, and chemotherapy or chemoprophylaxis with anti-viral medications. Vaccination against influenza with an influenza vaccine is often recommended for high-risk groups, such as children and the elderly, or in people that have asthma, diabetes, or heart disease. However, it is possible to get vaccinated and still get influenza. The vaccine is reformulated each season for a few specific influenza strains but cannot possibly include all the strains actively infecting people in the world for that season. It takes about six months for the manufacturers to formulate and produce the millions of doses required to deal with the seasonal epidemics; occasionally, a new or overlooked strain becomes prominent during that time and infects people although they have been vaccinated (as by the H3N2 Fujian flu in the 2003-2004 influenza season). It is also possible to get infected just before vaccination and get sick with the very strain that the vaccine is supposed to prevent, as the vaccine takes about two weeks to become effective. Further, the effectiveness of these influenza vaccines is variable. Due to the high mutation rate of the virus, a particular influenza vaccine usually confers protection for no more than a few years. A vaccine formulated for one year may be ineffective in the following year, since the influenza virus changes rapidly over time, and different strains become dominant.
Antiviral drugs (e.g. neuraminidase inhibitors or M2 inhibitors) can also be used to treat influenza, but viruses can develop resistance to the standard antiviral drugs. Thus, there is still a need for drugs for treating influenza infections, such as for drugs with reduced sensitivity to viral titer.

Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for inhibiting influenza viruses replication

Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)


The present invention includes an injection molding factory system and an associated facility that comprises a building having a series of injection molding machines array on a first floor with the resin supply placed on a mezzanine level. The injection molding machines are arranged with automatic product conveyors to move injection molded product from the injection molding machines without the need for human operators or separate vehicles.

Injection molding machines are expensive to purchase, require expensive factory space and substantial quantities of electrical power.
The operation on an injection molding plant typically involves the use of an array of injection molding machines (often of varying capabilities) that are very expensive, precision equipment that typically require technicians and/or operators directly involved in their operation. Normally, operators will use hand trucks, forklifts and hoists to supply the machines with resin, to change mold sets and to remove molded product from the machines for further processing, testing, packaging and shipping.
Typical injection molding plant floor set-ups provide an array of machines that define required and relatively wide thoroughfares for persons and heavy lifting and transport machinery. Injection molding plants normally require a great detail of space to permit the storage, movement and injection of resin, as well as to permit the installation and replacement of mold sets, and the removal and packaging of the finished product for shipment. The continuous movement of persons, heavy machinery and mold sets, resin bins and product containers around expensive injection molding machines results in the constant risk to workers and the machines themselves.
In addition, injection molding plants typically also require active lighting to facilitate the movement of operators, equipment, resin and finished product.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an injection molding system and method of operation that is substantially more cost effective to manufacture and operate.
Additionally, it is desirable for such a system and method to be less dependent upon operator input and to be capable of being operated/carried out in the absence of active lighting and/or that can be remotely monitored based upon operational parameters.

Injection molding factory system and manufacturing method


An embodiment disclosed herein relates to a communications module. The communications module includes a body composed of a plastic resin and a plurality of conductive traces and contact pads defined on a portion of a surface of the body. The module also includes at least one substantially vertical ridge defined on the body surface, and at least one pocket defined on the body suitable for receiving an electronic component. The communications module may also include a body composed of a plastic resin and conductive features defined on a surface of the body configured to render the communications module operable without implementing a printed circuit board as part of the body. Additional embodiments relate to systems and methods for attaching one or more optical transmit assemblies to the communications module and for electrically connecting conductive traces in a temporary fashion on the surface of the body of the communications module.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communications modules. In particular, the present invention relates to a communications module, such as an optical transceiver module, that is integrally fabricated so as to reduce part count and simplify construction and design.
2. The Relevant Technology
Traditionally designed optical transceiver modules typically include several components, including one or more optical subassemblies, a printed circuit board with associated electronic circuitry, and a shell supporting the printed circuit board. Though proven, this design nevertheless compels various compromises to be tolerated, due to limitations inherent in the above-mentioned components and their respective interconnections. In light of this, a need exists in the art for a communications module, such as an optical transceiver module, that includes improvements that provide simplification of design and part count reduction while improving device reliability.

Molded communications module having integrated plastic circuit structures


A protective shoe for birds accommodate toes and/or pads of a bird's foot and includes a shoe body having an upper surface and a sole, and defining bird toe covers corresponding in number to the number of front toes of the bird's foot. An ankle cuff is connected to the shoe body and has an ankle closure system formed to secure about an ankle of the bird's foot. A closure tab is connected to the shoe body and has a closure system formed to tighten the shoe body to the bird's foot.

Poultry and other multi-toed birds are prone to foot injuries that lead to "bumblefoot," an infection that is difficult to cure and often leads to infection of the foot bone and death. A device is desirable to establish a level of protection for the bird against bumblefoot and afford prompt healing to existing foot wounds while providing grip and a range of motion necessary for mobility, roosting, and perching. However, no device exists that is worn to protect a bird's foot and is adapted for protecting the feet of birds that perch, climb, or roost. Single shoe devices shaped and configured for affixture on the leg of a large bird such as an emu, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,722 to Jones, are not intended to provide the protection and cushioning necessary for inhibiting and healing of bumblefoot, do not facilitate healing of wounds on toes or pads of feet, and lack the flexible configuration necessary to provide mobility to multi-toed birds who perch, climb or roost.
Thus, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art systems, designs, and processes as discussed above.

Crazy K Fram Pet and Poultry Products, LLC


Systems and method for monitoring and generating key pad status messages in a telecommunications network. A resistor ladder network is provided to generate distinct DC-level analog voltage signals in response to the pressing of any one of a plurality to keys of a key pad. A combiner circuit is employed to combine the DC-level analog voltage signals with an analog voice signal received from an audio transducer to form a composite analog signal, and a coder/decoder circuit is provided to convert the composite analog signal into a composite digital signal. A digital signal processing circuit executes a subtractive sample delta filtering algorithm to determine whether data indicative of a key press is included within the composite digital signal, and generates status messages indicative of a key press upon determining that a key has been pressed.

The field of the present invention is telecommunications systems and, more particularly, systems and methods for generating and transmitting key press status messages within telecommunications systems and/or networks.
Recently, substantial attention has been directed toward the field of digital telecommunications systems and, in particular, toward the development of digital wireless telecommunications systems. To obtain and transmit key press status information conventional telecommunications systems generally employ a microprocessor and associated firmware to continuously monitor a key pad grid to detect when a key on an associated key pad has been depressed. Upon detecting a key press, the microprocessor generates a key press status message and, in many instances, causes a dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) signal to be delivered to an associated coder/decoder (CODEC) circuit. The analog DTMF signal is then converted by the CODEC circuit to a digital signal for transmission within a frame of data to be transmitted over the communications network. The key press status information is provided by the microprocessor to a digital signal processing unit that arranges, for example, digital voice, status or control data, and sync data to be transmitted within each frame.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the provision of a microprocessor in a handset solely for the purpose of monitoring a key pad grid and generating status messages upon the detection of a key press adds substantially to the cost of a handset. In addition, the provision of such a processor in cellular or wireless handsets adds substantially to the mass of circuitry provided in the handset.
Thus, it is believed that those skilled in the art would find a system and method for monitoring and detecting key press status without the use of a dedicated microprocessor to be quite useful.

Systems and methods for generating key press status messages within telecommunications systems or other networks

Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.


The present disclosure relates to devices, implementations and techniques for task scheduling. Specifically, task scheduling in an electronic device that has a multi-processing environment and support network interface devices.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Parallel computing is a typical solution to improve efficiency of multiple computing processes. The easiest type of parallel computing is the bag-of-tasks parallelization that allows computing nodes to share a list of target processes and to pick them one by one from the list, until the list is exhausted. However, such simple parallelization can't exploit the full capacity of core architecture of modern central processing units (hereinafter "CPU") and heterogeneous network interface devices. As the utilization of multi-core CPU chips, multi-core GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) chips, multi-core CPU architecture embedded devices, and the like, are continually increased, the need for techniques to effectively utilizing these chips increases.
Modern smart devices, such as smart phones, support multiple and heterogeneous network interface devices supporting protocols such as 3G, LTE, GSM, Bluetooth, ZigBee, UWB, IrDA, and Wireless-USB, as will be understood to those skilled in the art.

Parallelizing heterogeneous network communications in smart devices based on selection of task allocation strategy


A device and a method for selective control of fluid flow between a flow pipe (14) of a well and surrounding rocks (12). The flow pipe (14) is provided with at least one flow-through particle filter (16) placed externally on the flow pipe (14) and between the flow pipe (14) and the rocks (12). The filter (16) is connected in a flow-through manner to the flow pipe (14) via a flow channel (38). The characteristic of the invention is that the flow pipe (14) is provided with an imperforated pipe wall inside of and vis-a-vis said flow channel (38) when installing the flow pipe (14) in the well. Then the flow pipe (14) may be perforated selectively inside of the flow channel (38) for one or several filters (16) along the flow pipe (14), whereupon fluids may flow through the flow channel (38) and the filter (16) via perforation apertures (54) in the flow pipe (14).

The invention bears on the fact that often, particularly in open-hole-completed, sand-screen-provided wells, it is difficult to selectively determine, hence control, the fluid flow paths between the flow pipe of the well and the surrounding rock zones.
This type of control of the fluid flow paths is particularly useful when the flow pipe of the well penetrates rocks of dissimilar flow properties, for example rock zones of dissimilar permeability. In a vertical well, such rock zones may consist of layered rocks. In a horizontal well, lateral variations in the flow properties of the rocks may also exist. Moreover, such variations may exist even when the horizontal portion of the well penetrates one rock type only.
Under such conditions, frequently there is little or no pressure- and fluid communication between adjacent rocks having dissimilar flow properties. Among other things, this may cause uneven fluid drainage of, possibly fluid injection into, said rocks, leading to further known technical disadvantages and problems related to the well, the reservoir and/or the production.
In connection with, for example, petroleum production from a reservoir having zoned rocks of said type(s), it therefore is desirable to undertake successive drainage of individual production zones. Producing as much as possible oil and/or gas from a first reservoir zone, allows this to be carried out. In practice, the production is maintained until the formation water content (water cut) of the outflow assumes a certain maximum limit, after which the first reservoir zone is shut off. The same steps then are carried out for a second reservoir zone, etc.

Device and a method for selective control of fluid flow between a well and surrounding rocks


Technologies described herein offer a contextually aware schedule service technology. User-related activity is monitored to detect a future event related to the user. Information is extracted from the monitored user-related activity information. The extracted information about the future event can be evaluated to determine whether it is related to another future event associated with the user. When a particular future event for the user changes, a set of related events may be utilized to determine a related event is affected by the change. For example, a user may be notified to cancel or modify the future event. Additionally, service providers associated with the affected event(s) may be notified, or a personal assistant service may facilitate automatically rescheduling the affected events.

Often people have plans that include multiple, related events. For example, a business trip to another city might include flights, car rental, hotel reservation, meetings, and dinner reservation events; an offsite day might include multiple breakout meetings, a motivational speaker, a lunch reservation, and team-building activities; or a family's vacation might include a series of sight-seeing stops and hotel reservations along a cross-country drive. Sometimes one of the events changes, for instance a flight may be delayed or cancelled. This can have a cascading impact on other related events. For example, if the user misses her flight, then she may be unable to pick up her rental car, or check into her hotel. Or she might catch a later flight and still be able to check into her hotel, but miss her dinner reservation. When a user's circumstances change, such as a delayed flight, not only can this frustrate the user, but it can require undertaking a burdensome effort by the user to identify which other events in the user's plans will be impacted by the change and require a modification, such as a rescheduling or cancelation, which can lead to further frustration.


Paper jams and damage to a printing medium resulting from movement of a print head carriage are prevented in a printing apparatus in which the print head unit moves orthogonally to the direction in which the printing medium, which may be slip form, is transported through a transportation path to the printing unit for printing. A pair of transportation rollers are supported on opposing sides of the transportation path in a manner enabling the transportation rollers to close and open. The transportation rollers are closed to hold and transport the slip form in the transportation path to the printing unit. A driver is controlled to open and close the transportation rollers according to a control command. When a non-print control command involving print head movement is received, the driver is controlled to close the transportation rollers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus in which the print head travels orthogonally to the direction in which the printing medium travels in order to print to the printing medium. More specifically, the present invention relates to a printing apparatus having a novel means for preventing paper jams accompanying movement of the print head, a control method for the printing apparatus, and a data storage medium storing the control method of the invention.
2. Description of the Related Art
Impact printers, thermal printers, inkjet printers, and other printers that print by moving a carriage-mounted print head orthogonally to the direction in which the printing medium travels are widely used and commonly available. Most printers used in conjunction with cash registers and point-of-sale terminals for printing slip forms are of this type. This category of printers includes printers requiring the user to place the printing form at a particular location in the printing unit. Such printers have an openable/closable transportation roller for clamping and holding the form for printing. When the user then initiates printing and a print command is sent from the host device to the printer, the transportation roller closes to clamp and hold the form. The transportation roller is then driven to advance the form into the printing unit, and printing begins.
As taught by Japan Unexamined Utility Model Publication (jikkai) 5-68989, this type of printer can automatically eject any medium present in the transportation path when the power is turned on as a means of preventing paper jams.
When a xe2x80x9creturn homexe2x80x9d or similar command is received from the host after the power is turned on and a form is set in the printing unit, the carriage in this type of printer moves across the form to the standby position, known as the home position. The form, however, may be wrinkled, have folded corners, or otherwise be raised off of the platen and interfere with print head movement at this time because the form is not clamped by the transportation roller. The carriage may therefore catch on the form or tear the form, resulting in a paper jam.
This is a particular problem in printers having a straight transportation path for printing to slip forms. In printers with a curved transportation path the curves in the transportation path increase the stiffness of the printing medium, and help to keep the printing medium away from the carriage path. This is not the case in printers with a straight transportation path, and the loose printing medium thus tends to wander into the path of the print head carriage.
There is therefore a need for a printing apparatus whereby paper jams and damage to the printing medium can be prevented by either constantly clamping the printing medium with a transportation roller when the print head carriage moves, or ejecting the printing medium before carriage movement.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems.
It is a another object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus that includes a transportation roller mechanism that holds the printing medium whenever the carriage on which a print head is mounted moves to prevent the printing medium from protruding into the path of the carriage and causing paper jams and/or damage to the printing medium.
The present invention addresses the above-noted need by providing a printing apparatus for printing to a printing medium by moving a print head orthogonally to the direction in which the printing medium is transported along a transportation path to a printing unit. More specifically, a printing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a transportation roller pair selectively movable between an open position and a closed position in which the transportation roller pair holds and transports the printing medium along the transportation path to the printing unit, and a driver to open and close the transportation roller pair based on a control command. When a control command involving print head movement is received, the driver is controlled to close the transportation roller pair. As a result, the printing medium is always held by the transportation roller pair when the print head moves.
Control commands involving print head movement (simply xe2x80x9ccommandsxe2x80x9d below) include, for example, a return home command moving the print head to a standby position, and printer initialization commands.
The printing apparatus according to the present invention can further comprise a medium detector to detect if the printing medium is inserted in the transportation path. In this case, the driver is controlled to close the transportation roller pair only when insertion of the printing medium has been detected by the medium detector as being correctly positioned. The transportation roller pair is thus not closed when the printing medium is not present in the transportation path, and noise accompanying transportation roller operation can be reduced.
The driver can be further controlled to open the transportation roller pair after closing the transportation roller pair and executing a control command involving print head movement. This enables the user to remove and reinsert a printing medium as necessary or desired.
The printing apparatus according to the present invention can further comprise a medium position detector to detect if the printing medium is correctly positioned in the transportation path. In this case, the driver is controlled to not open the transportation roller pair when the printing medium is correctly positioned after closing the transportation roller pair and executing a control command involving print head movement, and to otherwise open the transportation roller pair. Whether the printing medium is correctly positioned or not can be determined using a medium leading edge detector to detect the leading edge of the printing medium, and a medium side edge detector to detect the side edge of the printing medium.
The printing apparatus of the invention can be further comprised to drive the transportation roller pair and eject the printing medium after closing the transportation rollers. In this case, the printing medium is preferably ejected to the open insertion side of the transportation path.
By thus controlling the driver to open the transportation roller pair after ejecting the printing medium and implementing a control command involving print head movement, the user can reinsert the printing medium as necessary or desired.
The present invention is particularly suited to printing apparatuses having a relatively straight printing medium transportation path.
The present invention further addresses the above-noted need by providing a control method for a printing apparatus. The printing apparatus in this case prints to a printing medium by moving a print head orthogonally to the transportation direction of the printing medium, and comprises a transportation roller pair selectively movable between an open position and a closed position in which the transportation roller pair holds and transports the printing medium to the printing unit, and a driver to open and close the transportation roller pair based on a control command. The control method comprises controlling the driver to close the transportation roller pair when a control command involving print head movement is received, and moving the print head according to the control command.
The invention further provides a control method for a printing apparatus for printing to a printing medium by moving a print head orthogonally to the transportation direction of the printing medium. The printing apparatus comprises a transportation roller pair selectively movable between an open position and a closed position in which the transportation roller pair holds and transports the printing medium to the printing unit, a driver to open and close the transportation roller pair based on a control command, and a medium detector to detect if a printing medium is correctly positioned in the transportation path. The control method in this case comprises detecting whether the printing medium is inserted in the transportation path using the medium detector when a control command involving print head movement is received, controlling the driver to close the transportation roller pair when the printing medium is correctly positioned and detected, and moving the print head according to the control command.
The control method of the invention further preferably comprises controlling the driver to not open the transportation roller pair when the printing medium is correctly positioned based on the detection result of the medium position detector, and otherwise controlling the driver to open the transportation roller pair.
The control method of the invention yet further preferably comprises ejecting the printing medium using the transportation roller pair after controlling the driver to close the transportation roller pair.
The control method of the invention can also be provided as a control program for controlling a printing apparatus, and the control program can be recorded and stored on any computer-readable storage medium. The control program can also be provided over the Internet or other computer network for downloading and storage to a storage medium in or connected to the user""s computer or printing apparatus from which the program is used.
Other objects and attainments together with a fuller understanding of the invention will become apparent and appreciated by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Printing apparatus and control method for same, and a data storage medium recording the control method


A three dimensional spatial imaging system (10) for generating a three dimensional model of a scanned space includes: a laser rangefinder (42) that obtains spatial data by measuring distances to a plurality of target points within the scanned space; a rotating mirror (46) placed in a path of a laser beam (43) emitted from the laser rangefinder (42), the mirror (46) deflecting the laser beam (43) to varying degrees as the mirror (46) is rotated; a digital camera (52) that obtains image data from photographs of the scanned space; a rotating head (30) on which the laser rangefinder (42), mirror (46) and camera (52) are all mounted, the head (30) rotating up to 360 degrees about a central axis of rotation (64) that is substantially normal to a plane in which the head (30) is rotated; and, a data processor that maps color information from the image data obtained by the camera (52) to the corresponding target points of the spatial data obtained by the laser rangefinder (42).

For various reasons, an individual may desire to obtain a model of an actual space, e.g., an interior of a room. More specifically, an individual may wish to capture and/or display 3D image data from any subset of a bounded or partially bounded space. 3D spatial imaging, e.g., finds application in model building, reverse engineering, creation of virtual environments, "as built" site evaluations and/or other applications.
Various approaches to 3D imaging have been previously developed. These approaches, however, have been lacking in one way or another. For example, some previously developed approaches do not provide suitably realistic renderings of the imaged space. However, in some instances, it is desirable to obtain a photo-realistic model, e.g., including the color and/or texture of surfaces. Moreover, many prior art approaches tend to be complicate, time consuming and/or labor intensive. For example, in accordance with some prior art approaches, there may be multiple steps within the imaging process, with each step requiring a separate equipment set-up. Additionally, many prior art systems have limited fields of view and hence cannot map an entire space without moving and repositioning the equipment. Therefore, multiple scans must be taken from various positions in the space, and an experienced operator must then register these scans in order to generate a complete 3D representation of the entire space.
Accordingly, a new and improved system and/or method for 3D spatial imaging is disclosed that overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.

Three dimensional spatial imaging system and method