Helicopter landing gear, comprising two skids P each having a longitudinal support stretch 1 for standing on the ground and which are connected to a front cross-piece and a rear cross-piece 2 which are themselves attached to the structure of the aircraft by connecting devices 4, 6, the rear cross-piece 2 being fixed by the ends of its descending branches 2a to the rear part of the said longitudinal support stretches 1. Each of the said skids P has at the front an inclined transition zone T with double curvature C1, C2 orienting itself transversely with respect to the said longitudinal support stretches which stand on the ground, above the plane of the latter, the two transition zones together constituting in this way an integrated front cross-piece offset with respect to the front delimitation of the plane of contact of the said longitudinal support stretches of the skids on the ground.. Application to light helicopters.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to helicopter landing gear, more particularly intended for light helicopters, comprising two skids each having a longitudinal support stretch for standing on the ground and which are connected to a front cross-piece and a rear cross-piece which are themselves attached to the structure of the aircraft by connecting devices, the rear cross-piece being fixed by the ends of its descending branches to the rear part of the said longitudinal support stretches.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, landing gears with skids principally comprise four elements: two cross-pieces connected to the airframe at the top and two skids for contact with the ground connected to the bottom parts of the cross-pieces. Such conventional landing gears are described for example in the document U.S. Pat. No. 2,641,423 and in the document FR 1 578 594.
On landing, the impact energy is absorbed by elastic deformation and then by plastic deformation of the cross-pieces, essentially by working in a flexion mode. In general, the cross-pieces are made of steel tubes and the skids are made of aluminium tubes. The major disadvantage of this concept is the great rigidity of the system, which results in high acceleration factors during landings, difficult frequency adaptation, with respect to the phenomenon known as "ground resonance", and a rather high landing gear weight.
The purpose of the present invention is to overcome these disadvantages of the prior art and to obtain helicopter landing gear with a new design making it possible to reduce the said disadvantages significantly:
approximately 20% reduction in mass, PA1 simplification of the manufacturing and approximately 10% cost reduction, PA1 approximately 10% reduction in the load factor on landing, PA1 elimination of mechanical anti-ground resonance systems. PA1 absorption of energy corresponding to normal vertical impact speeds, PA1 critical landing speed resulting in residual deformation situated outside of the normal operating range, and PA1 sufficient flexibility to avoid the use of an additional anti-resonance system.
For this purpose, landing gear according to the invention, of the type defined at the beginning, is characterized in that each of the said skids has at the front an inclined transition zone with double curvature orienting itself transversely with respect to the said longitudinal support stretches which stand on the ground, above the plane of the latter, the two transition zones together constituting in this way an integrated front cross-piece offset either forwards or backwards with respect to the front delimitation of the plane of contact of the said longitudinal support stretches of the skids on the ground.
The rear part of this landing gear will have the actual function of skids: on landing, it will come into contact with the ground and principally will transmit the differential torsion between the front elements and the rear of the landing gear. The front cross-piece, which is thus integrated with the "skid" section, will contribute to the overall energy balance and will have, thanks to the flexion of the said transition zones, a predominant function of absorption of the forces generated during hard and sliding landings: it will prevent the complete collapse of the landing gear towards the rear when the sliding speeds are very high. It is understood that the general shape of this integrated front cross-piece, which is situated such that it protrudes in front of the skids or such that it is offset backwards, results principally from bendings of the tubes, in two different planes, on both sides of the landing gear (right and left).
The ground resonance behaviour is characterized in particular by the landing gear's roll stiffness. As the landing gear is fixed to the structure, for example by means of a single rear point and two front points, the torsional stiffness with respect to the pitch axis is principally obtained by the flexion of the front cross-piece. The variant according to which the points at which the front cross-piece stands on the ground are offset longitudinally towards the front of the aircraft with respect to the points of attachment to the structure of the latter has the advantage of allowing the roll functioning of the assembly to cause the front cross-piece to work both in torsion and in flexion instead of in pure flexion. A reduced roll stiffness results from this, which improves the ground resonance behaviour of the helicopter in the roll mode and this avoids any divergent phenomenon which would risk causing an accident.
According to another important characteristic of the invention, the assembly of skids and cross-pieces is constituted by aluminium tubes, this aluminium being characterized by an elastic limit of about 75% of the fracture strength and by a relative elongation at fracture at least equal to 12%.
Also, advantageously, the wall thickness of the tubes constituting the said front and rear cross-pieces is degressive between the central section of the cross-piece and its junction with the corresponding skid.
These various compromises make it possible to meet the size requirements of the landing gear and to satisfy the following three criteria:


An LED lighting ball structure includes a spherical shell, a control unit and a plurality of LED lighting units. The spherical shell includes a first segment and a second segment coupled with the first segment to jointly define a housing space. The first segment includes a first housing portion and a first decorative cover plate coupled with the first housing portion. The first housing portion includes a plurality of first assembly holes communicating with the housing space. The second segment includes a second housing portion and a second decorative cover plate coupled with the second housing portion. The second housing portion includes a plurality of second assembly holes communicating with the housing space. The control unit is located in the housing space. The LED lighting units are located in the first and second assembly holes respectively and form electrical connection with the control unit.

The general fans watching ballgames onsite mostly want to catch balls hit by the players, especially the balls that break records or have special meanings. They also want to get the balls signed by the players to make the balls to become collectibles, mementos and valuables. Many fans of the ballgames display the signature balls in the house as decorative items to show off their pride and collection desire.
For the record-breaking balls or those which have special meaning, ballgame players often try to keep for themselves, and offer non-regular balls to substitute the signatures to be collected by the fans as a win-win choice. But such memento balls could lose their value in the event that the ballgame players have suffered significant negative publication or undesirable game records. If such occasions take place the signature balls could lose their value and be thrown away. Moreover, the conventional signature balls are not regular balls and cannot be recycled and used again, hence also create environmental conservation concerns.


The invention provides a method to C-terminally label proteins in a complex sample and identify those proteins, e.g., using mass spectrometry.

A major goal of preventive medicine is to diagnose diseases in which early intervention can alter the outcome of the disease. One example of such a disease is pancreatic cancer, a neoplasm which kills 24 000 people in the United States every year, and whose incidence has increased threefold in the last forty years (Brand 2001). Pancreatic cancer is highly fatal with only 10% of patients surviving one year past the time of diagnosis (Brand, 2001). An exception to this high mortality rate for pancreatic cancer is among patients in whom the cancer is detected early; in rare cases small carcinomas at the head of the pancreas are associated with hepatobiliary obstruction and painless jaundice, prompting radiographic studies that identify the cancer at an early, resectable stage (Brand, 2001). Thus, early detection of pancreatic cancer can have a major impact on the prognosis of the disease. Importantly, early detection of other cancers, such as cervical cancer by the Pap smear, and prostate cancer, with the PSA blood test, have had a substantial impact on the mortality of these diseases. Thus, early detection is a key strategy in the fight against cancer.
However, early detection does not have an impact solely on cancer. Other diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, can be ameliorated with early intervention. Patients with Parkinson's disease show delayed progression following treatment with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (Koller, 1997). Conceivably, early intervention of Parkinson's disease with this class of drugs can delay the onset of the characteristically debilitating tremor, muscle atrophy, and neurodegeneration associated with this disease.
Ten years ago, a major international effort was initiated to sequence the entire human genome, which amounts to 3.2 million basepairs. By mid-2000, a draft of the human genome was announced, comprising a majority of the coding sequences. With the completion of the sequencing of the genomes of yeast (Mewes et al., 1997), Caenorhabditis elegans (The C. elegans Sequencing Consortium, 1998), and Drosphilia (Adams et al., 2001), and the anticipation of the complete human genome being fully sequenced by 2003, there is no doubt that this vast set of knowledge will have a substantial impact on the diagnosis and treatment of human disease.
In particular, the sequencing of the human genome provides data that can be used to identify markers for early stages of disease, e.g., neoplastic and cardiovascular diseases. Once the identity of every protein in the human proteome is known, the levels of each protein can be individually queried in a systematic manner, and compared from blood samples of patients with the disease, and unafflicted patients. Epidemiological studies comparing large numbers of afflicted patients with unafflicted patients can lead to the identification of proteins whose expression level is increased or decreased only in the case of disease. These proteins can then be detected in routine blood assays in the general population, much in the same way that Caucasian men over 50 years and African-American men over 40 years take a yearly PSA blood test to screen for prostate cancer.
A number of methods have been developed to take advantage of the newly generated genomic data, most notably "gene-chip" technology, that provide a way to simultaneously quantitate transcript levels of numerous genes. While this method is useful, for most experimental purposes, quantitation of protein levels is more relevant than quantitation of transcript levels. Indeed, in many well-documented cases, changes in mRNA levels do not correlate linearly with changes in protein levels (Gygi et al., 1999; Anderson et al., 1997); moreover, the levels of some proteins are regulated at the level of protein stability. For example, the cell cycle is crucially dependent on the stability of cyclins, which are regulated by cell-stage-specific ubiquitination. Additionally, some samples, such as serum, which are particularly useful because they are easily collected from patients for diagnostic purposes, are composed of proteins whose transcripts reside in a variety of diverse tissues. Unfortunately, technology to assess protein levels is remarkably underdeveloped compared to DNA technologies.
The principle technique to study protein levels involves subjecting different samples to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and comparing the pattern of spots that arise following staining. The identities of spots with different intensities can be determined by excising the spot, trypsinizing the eluted protein, and subjecting the peptides to MALDI/MS. One major limitation of this approach is that only proteins that are excised from the gels are examined, leaving the identities of non-excised spots unknown. Another limitation is that many proteins, especially those which are highly charged or have transmembrane segments, resolve poorly on 2DE gels. Most importantly, since only a relatively small amount of protein can be loaded onto the gels, most proteins are present at levels below the level of detection by MALDI/MS.
Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique that is capable of generating molecular weight data for peptides and other small molecules, and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is a technique that provides sequence information for peptides. Because full-length proteins do not produce highly accurate data by MS, samples are first digested with proteases, such as trypsin, and the resulting peptide mixture is subjected to MS and MS/MS. Using data from the completed genome sequencing projects, molecular masses and sequence information obtained by MS and MS/MS can be used to identify parent proteins that were present in the original samples.
Although an approach which employs MS is useful, the complexity of the peptide mixture increases as the number of proteins in the starting material is increased. For example, digestion of the yeast proteome, which comprises 6,000 proteins, results in 344,000 peptides. Peaks seen by MS analysis of these complex mixtures often cannot be interpreted because they represent numerous different peptides with similar molecular masses. Additionally, low abundance peptides are often invisible or lie within or adjacent to peaks of higher abundance. Typically, a liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometer can resolve approximately 30,000 peptides (Gygi et al., 1999). Thus, because of the large number of peptides that would be generated, MS analysis does not appear to be feasible for higher eukaryotes using current technology.
Thus, there is a need for a method to simplify complex mixtures so that proteins in complex mixtures can be readily identified.

Mass spectrometry-based identification of proteins


An access port is fixed to a biological membrane, such as the pericardium, in a state in which it penetrates the biological membrane. Provided is an access port including an inner tube and an outer tube fitted together so as to be movable relative to each other in an axial direction, wherein at least one of the inner tube and the outer tube has holding surfaces having substantially complementary shapes that are brought close to or away from each other by relative movement of the inner tube and the outer tube.

A known gastric fistula catheter or trocar in the related art is equipped, at an distal end thereof, with a balloon or a superelastic expanding member that is expandable in a radial direction and that is designed to prevent the catheter or trocar from coming out by expanding the balloon or the superelastic expanding member, in a state in which it penetrates a tissue wall so that the distal end is inserted in a body (for example, see PTLs 1 and 2).


Example embodiments are presented for codebook subset restriction and precoder selection in wireless communications systems. For instance, an example method for codebook subset restriction at a user equipment (UE) is presented. In the example method, the UE can receive, from a network node such as a gNB, codebook subset restriction (CBSR) signaling for a first component common to precoders in a first group of codebooks. In an aspect of the present disclosure, a restriction of the first component maps to a restriction of a second component and the second component is common to precoders in a second group of codebooks. In addition, the example method includes restricting precoders selectable from a codebook in the second group of codebooks based on the second component. Network-side methods are presented, as well as example UEs and network nodes.

Fifth-Generation (5G) air-interface protocols, also referred to as New Radio (NR), are currently being developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The beam-based rank-agnostic CBSR approach used in Long Term Evolution (LTE) cannot be directly re-used for NR as the same beam-based quantity is not a constituent component of the precoders for all ranks. Namely, the precoder codebooks for ranks 3 and 4 in LTE are constructed with a different beam-based quantity than the remaining ranks. An alternative is to use the pre-LTE full dimension multiple-input, multiple-output (FD-MIMO) CBSR approach based on precoding matrix indicator (PMI)-based per-rank CBSR, however this would lead to around 8 times more signaling overhead compared to LTE.
NR codebooks use a generalized co-phasing behavior that is different from prior art codebooks in LTE, as there are now two parameters (φ_n and θ_p) used to co-phase the two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform (2D DFT) beams. The co-phasing behavior depends on the number of Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports used in the codebook and may be different for codebooks of different ranks. Consequently, new mechanisms are needed in NR for codebook restriction of co-phasing and rank.

Enhanced beam-based codebook subset restriction signaling


Disclosed is a television broadcast receiver including: a reception member to receive a television broadcast signal with added time information; an acquirement member to acquire broadcast program information; program information storage member to store the broadcast program information; a time information storage member to store the time information; judgment member to judge whether a time period from interception of a power supply to re-activation is longer than a predetermined time or not, based on time information stored just before the interception and time information received just after the re-activation, the judgment being performed when the power supply of the television broadcast receiver is activated; and acquirement control member to make the acquirement member acquire new broadcast program information when the judgment member judges that the time period is longer than the predetermined time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a television broadcast receiver.
2. Description of Related Art
There have been conventionally analog broadcasting, broadcasting satellite (BS) digital broadcasting, communication satellite (CS) digital broadcasting, cable broadcasting and the like as receivable broadcast media by a television broadcast receiver. Furthermore, in recent years, ground wave digital broadcasting has also participated, and the number of receivable channels has increased more and more.
From broadcasting stations and the like which offer digital broadcasting, broadcast program information called as electronic program guide (EPG) information is also transmitted besides broadcast signals (image data and sound data) corresponding to each channel. And a user of a television broadcast receiver for digital broadcasting is enabled to select a channel suitable for his or her taste among various broadcasts with a program table based on the EPG information displayed on the display unit of the television broadcast receiver.
As television broadcast receivers acquiring the EPG information, for example, a television broadcast receiver acquiring the EPG information of all channels immediately after a power activation (see, for example, JP 2005-033567A), a television broadcast receiver acquiring the EPG information of a channel of which the EPG information should be acquired at a time when the EPG information should be acquired in accordance with a priority order based on a use history (see JP 2005-026810A), a television broadcast receiver which acquires only the EPG information which should be acquired based on the classification and the date of the EPG information and judges whether the EPG information which should be acquired have been able to be acquired without any interruption or not (see, for example JP 3607570B), and the like have been proposed.
Moreover, a television broadcast receiver acquiring EPG information by means of another reception method when the acquirement of the received EPG information has not been completed (see, for example, JP 2005-051613A), a television broadcast receiver displaying a setting screen for setting the information for receiving a broad cast signal on a display unit at the time of a power activation in the case where the information has not been set (see, for example, JP 10-042213A), and the like have been also proposed.
The television broadcast receivers mentioned above are configured to be able to store the acquired EPG information. Moreover, it is known that a time necessary for acquiring EPG information one time becomes long as the quantity of the EPG information to be acquired increases.
For example, as the television broadcast receivers disclosed in JP 2005-026810A and JP 3607570B, the time necessary for acquiring EPG information one time can be shortened in the case of acquiring only the EPG information which should be acquired. However, if the privilege of a user capable of selecting a channel suitable for his or her taste among various broadcasts is limited, the limitation is problematic.
Moreover, as the television broadcast receiver disclosed in JP 2005-033567A, when the EPG information of all channels is acquired immediately after a power activation, a user can select a channel suitable for his or her taste among various broadcasts. However, because EPG information is acquired every turning on and off of a power source even if the turning on and off are very frequently repeated, the EPG information the contents of which are hardly different from those stored in advance in spite of having acquired the EPG information over time. Consequently, the television broadcast receiver has a problem of efficiency.
On the other hand, in the North America Continent, where the ATSC digital television broadcast (hereinafter simply referred to as television broadcast) is performed, large cities are dotted on the plains. Consequently, it is possible to receive the television broadcast signals being broadcast in the suburbs of each city at other cities and middle points between the cities. Because television broadcast signals are transmitted from various directions for a user who receives the television broadcast signals, it is necessary for the user to adjust the direction of an antenna to the direction of a broadcast station from which a program which the user wants to watch is broadcast. Accordingly, multi-directional antennas such as a smart antenna are being put to practical use.
Ground wave digital broadcasting has a feature of being capable of acquiring an image having a fixed image quality by a correction and the like if the intensity of a received digital broadcasting signal is equal to a fixed threshold value or more. Consequently, watching of television broadcasts of many channels becomes possible by using the multi-directional antenna.
In addition, the following technique has been known as an apparatus connected to the multi-directional antenna such as a smart antenna.
JP 10-70502A discloses a technique enabling communications with a plurality of mobile stations with little transmission power and a small repetition frequency by suppressing the radiation of electric waves into the directions other than the direction of a mobile station with which communication is performed to remove the disturbances of the radiation to other base stations and mobile stations. To realize the communications, the technique presumes the arrival of the electric wave from the mobile station with which the communications are performed with arrival direction presumption means using the signals received by a base station to presume the direction of the mobile station, and turns the peak direction of the directivity of the directivity beam of an antenna toward the direction of the mobile station with antenna directivity control means based on the result of the presumption to suppress the radiation.
Moreover, JP 2004-15800A discloses a technique for optimizing the reception direction of an antenna by re-using a previous antenna configuration at the time of the deterioration of the performance of the antenna by a fixed amount when the reception signal after a restart or immediately after a start is smaller than a predetermined bit error rate, or when the intensity of a received signal is smaller than a predetermined intensity.
Moreover, JP 07-87011A discloses a radio communications system, a radio apparatus and a switch for performing communications with a movable body equipped with scanning means for scanning the circumference indirectly, measurement means for measuring the electric field intensity at a spot where the scanning means is located, and change means for changing the direction of a communication beam in the direction in which the strongest electric field intensity has been received by the measurement means.
According to the EIA-909 standard, the smart antenna is prescribed to have a reception direction in each division direction of a circle divided into 16 parts. A digital television broadcast signal reception apparatus receiving digital television broadcast signals is set to be able to adjust the reception direction of a multi-directional antenna to all the sixteen reception directions in conformity with the EIA-909 standard. Generally, the digital television broadcast signal reception apparatus previously performs the reception of a television broadcast signal in all of the sixteen reception directions of the multi-directional antenna for each channel capable of normal reception, and measures the signal reception intensities of the received television broadcast signals to set the direction in which the signal reception intensity is highest as the optimum reception direction of the channel.
Because the antenna on the side of a broadcasting station, i.e. the position of a transmission tower, does not change ordinarily, if the optimum reception direction is once set to each channel, it is unnecessary to reset the optimum reception direction anew. However, in the United States of America or the like, broadcasting stations are dotted in various parts of the country, and consequently the direction in which the signal reception intensity is stronger is not always the optimum reception direction in some paths of the electric waves put on the air from the electric wave towers. For example, a better image may be acquired from a television broadcast signal wave reflected by a high-rise building in comparison with the images acquired from a television broadcast signal wave disturbed by a disturbance wave caused by a power-transmission line or the like, a television broadcast signal wave which has been attenuated by passing through a forest, and the like. The patent documents mentioned above disclose no solutions to the problem.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a television broadcast receiver which can effectively acquire EPG information. Moreover, it is also an object of the invention to provide a television broadcast receiver enabling a user to select the optimum image channel to watch it without adding any special apparatus.


Apparatus and process to create, expand, and localize the population of stem cells in adult tissues by placing a foreign body either in omentum or in the subcutaneous tissue. The apparatus 1) traps the granulation fluid, cells a fluid rich in a myriad of growth factors, 2) mobilizes and concentrates free-floating stem cells in the granulation fluid, and 3) stimulates the growth of a new tissue around the apparatus, which provides another source of stem cells. Stem cells obtained by this process can be used as freshly isolated or after culturing, which can be used for wound healing, treating diseases, and regenerating organs in animals and humans. The granulation fluid could substitute the stem cells in many of their applications and offers the convenience of an injectable medicine for treating animal and human diseases.

Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is currently the gold standard in regard to a natural fluid that is rich in a mixture of growth factors. As such FBS is used as an essential ingredient for tissue culture of all types of mammalian cells. The most important commercial uses of FBS are in research and manufacture of viral vaccines for human and animal health. It is obtained from the fetuses of pregnant cows at the time of slaughter. Since the serum is derived from a rapidly growing tissue it is unique in its high content of tissue growth factors and a host of differentiation factors which are responsible for maintaining the natural properties of cells in culture. Even though a reagent of choice, the use of FBS involves the risk of transmission of the mad cow disease via the FBS harvested from infected cows during times of disease outbreak. Further, the method of obtaining FBS by slaughtering unborn calves has raised serious ethical problems, restricting the supply of this essential biomaterial. It is important that a substitute be found that could be less expensive, and avoid slaughtering unborn fetuses.
The cell culture industry is responding to these needs by developing specialized formulations containing manufactured growth factors and other proprietary ingredients tailor-made for culture of specific cells. Despite the addition of known factors, these formulations also contain FBS, albeit in lesser amounts. Presently, such formulations are three to four times more expensive than media made from FBS.
As commonly understood, stem cells are 'mother' cells that can multiply and differentiate to many different types of cells that make up the many organs and tissues. Such stem cells are derived from the blastocyst, a small tissue formed days after conception. Although multipotent, the use of these cells, because of their fetal origin, is opposed by many societies in the world on ethical grounds. Even though their potential power to regenerate all tissues is exciting to researchers their clinical use is at present fraught with safety concerns. The main safety problem with these cells is that when injected these cells become tumors because, at present, the natural cues which exist in a developing fetus cannot be replicated in a patient. Adult stem cells, on the other hand, are derived from adult organs such as bone marrow, fat, hair and other tissues in which they lie in a dormant state. This is currently an active area of research and investigators are finding such cells in more and more tissues. These cells are safer to use because they do not form tumors when injected. Their potency to form other tissues is at present limited to fat, cartilage and bone. Whether they can form other tissue is debatable. However, they have been shown to improve healing and repair damaged and diseased organs. Such knowledge of their potency has mainly come from studies of the bone marrow derived stem cells. It is unclear how the different stem cells obtainable from the various organs compare in their potency to heal and repair damaged tissue. It is therefore important to search for newer sources of adult stem cells because it is possible that an adult stem cell, either lying dormant in a tissue or inducible by experimental means, may be found that could be comparable to the embryonic stem cells in potency and yet be safe to use.

Fluid associated with adult stem cells for medical, cosmetic, and veterinary use


There is provided a molded product 1 which is formed by placing an insert 3 in a molding space 12 formed by an upper die 10 and a lower die 11, followed by an injection process of molding material to form a molded body 2. The insert 3 is comprised of an insert body 4 which is embedded in the molded body 2 and a removing part 5 which is integrally formed with the insert body 4 via a thin part 6 at one end while the other end is projected to expose at a non-front surface 9 side. The removing part 5 functions to prevent the insert body 4 from moving from its proper position as the other end is firmly held between the upper die 10 and the lower die 11 during a molding operation. The removing part 5 is removed from the insert body 4 by cutting the thin part 6 after released from the die mold.

There has been formed a molded product by placing an insert in a molding space created between an upper die and a lower die followed by a process of injecting melted rubber in the space. The molded product includes such, for example, as a molded part of a weather strip for a car which is made of rubber comprising a resin made insert embedded therein.
In this prior art, there was a drawback in the molding operation: that is, the resin made insert often moved from its proper position while the melted rubber is injected in the molding space for such reasons that the insert is lightweight, etc., thereby exposing itself out of the molded product.
In order to overcome such drawback, there was projectingly provided a pin 24 at a front surface (exposed surface) side 8 of an upper die 10 for contacting with an insert 22 (see FIG. 6 and 7), or there was provided a projection 23 at the front side 8 of the insert 22 for contacting with the upper die 10 (see FIG. 8 and 9), thereby preventing a movement of the insert 22 during the injection molding of the melted rubber.
However, according to a molded product 20 formed by the former prior art wherein the pin 24 was provided at the front surface 8 side of the upper die 10, there formed a groove 7 at a portion of a molded body 21 where the pin 24 had originally located, thereby impairing an appearance of the molded product.
Further, according to a molded product 20 formed by the latter prior art wherein the projection 23 was provided at the front surface 8 side of the insert 22, an appearance of the molded product was impaired like the former prior art as the top end of the projection 23 exposed at the front surface 8 side of the molded product.
Especially, when the color of the insert 22 differs from that of the rubber (black), the exposed part was emphasized and the appearance of the molded product was further impaired.
Moreover, according to the former prior art, the movement of the insert 22 was prevented merely by a contact force generated by the pin 24 and the insert 22, whereas according to the latter prior art, it was done so merely by a contact force of the projection 23 and the insert 22, therefore there was still a risk that the insert 22 moves from its proper position.
At the same time, in the former prior art, there needed to enlarge a diameter of the pin in order to expand a contact area between the pin 24 and the insert 22, so that the groove 7 became larger in size and which was a cause to further impairing the appearance of the molded product.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a molded product which is good in appearance by providing a structure capable of preventing a formation of a groove at a front surface side of a molded product and an exposure of an insert, while providing a structure capable of firmly holding the insert in a molding space.

Method of producing a molded product comprising an insert


A steel sheet containing 0.004 to 0.02% C, 1.0% or less Si, 0.7 to 3.0% Mn, 0.02 to 0.15% P, 0.02% or less S, 0.01 to 0.1% Al, 0.004% or less N, 0.2% or less Nb, by mass %, optionally Ti, Bi or at least one element selected from the group consisting of Cr Mo, Ni and Cu, and the balance being Fe; the Nb content satisfying a formula of(12/93)×Nb*/C≧1.0,wherein Nb*=Nb−(93/14)×N, and wherein C, N and Nb designate the content in mass % of carbon, nitrogen and niobium, respectively; and a yield strength and an average grain size of the ferritic grains which satisfy a formula ofYP≦−120×d+1280,wherein YP designates yield strength in MPa, and d designates an average size of ferritic grains in μm.

Industrial fields of automobiles and household electric appliances request for the reduction of production cost and the increase in productivity. Particularly in a press-forming process, the productivity increase has been promoted through the shortening of cycle time by speed increase and the extension of operation time. In that high level productivity, since the temperature increase in mold induces variations of press-forming conditions, there appear problems of generation of cracks and wrinkles, thus increasing in press-rejection rate.
As for the steel sheets for automobiles, occupied by press-forming steel sheets, there has been increasing the requirement to satisfy both the strength increase of steel sheets for improving safety and the work-saving in press-forming process including the reduction in the number of parts through integration of parts. To respond to the request, the steel sheets for press-forming are also required to have sufficient allowance in press-forming as well as the high formability.
To increase the press-formability and to increase the allowance, cold-rolled steel sheets using Ti—Nb-base very low C steels were developed, as disclosed in JP-B-7-62209, (the term "JP-B" referred to herein signifies "Examined Japanese Patent Publication"), and JP-B-47796, which sheets have already been supplied to automobile manufacturers. Along with the improvement of material qualities, however, the forming conditions of the manufacturers have become stricter than ever. As a result, under recent press-conditions, steel sheets of the above-described Ti—Nb-base very low C steels give a problem of generation of press-rejection rate. With high strength steel sheets, also the frequency of press-rejection increases along with the widening of application components of that kind of steels.
In addition, the high strength galvanized steel sheets which undergo press-forming are requested to have deep-drawing performance and to have non-aging property to suppress generation of stretcher-strains. In the past, to improve the deep-drawing performance and the non-aging property, there were developed high strength steel sheets based on IF steels in which the contents of C and Mn are minimized, and Ti, Nb, and the like are added to fix harmful C and N as carbo-nitrides. The IF steels, however, have a problem of high sensitivity to the secondary working brittleness. Furthermore, since the grain boundary strength relatively decreases with the increase in the strength of the steel sheets, the secondary working brittleness likely occurs. Accordingly, the development of high strength steel sheets having excellent deep-drawing performance should emphasize the improvement of resistance to secondary working brittleness as a critical issue. There are several technologies to increase the resistance to secondary working brittleness while maintaining the characteristics almost equal with those of IF steels, as disclosed in JP-B-61-32375, JP-A-5-112845, (the term "JP-A" referred to herein signifies "Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication"), JP-A-5-70836, and JP-A-2-175837.
However, the steels of JP-B-61-32375 and JP-A-5-112845 increase the resistance to secondary working brittleness by leaving solid solution C therein, so that there is a problem of aging when the steels are allowed to stand in a relatively high ambient temperature, such as in summer, for a long period. The steels of JP-A-5-70836 increase the resistance to secondary working brittleness by the addition of B. Boron, however, segregates in grain boundaries to suppress the crystal rotation during cold-working, which hinders the development texture favorable in attaining high r value, and degrades the deep-drawing performance. The steels of JP-A-2-175837 increase the resistance to secondary working brittleness owing to the addition of Nb to bring the grain boundary shape in a saw-teeth shape, thus making grain boundary fracture difficult. Those types of characteristics, however, make the working difficult.
As for the press-formability of cold-rolled steel sheets, investigations have been conducted mainly from the standpoint of deep-drawing performance and of stretchability. Regarding the deep-drawing performance, increase in r value is focused on, as described in JP-A-5-58784 and JP-A-8-92656. When, however, the cold-rolled steel sheets described in JP-A-5-78784 and JP-A-8-92656 are applied to side panels which are formed mainly for stretching, the punch-shoulder portion where a flat deformation stretch forming is conducted may induce fracture owing to insufficient propagation of strain. To that type of fracture occurred during that kind of stretch-forming, no appropriate action can be given because the increased strength of the materials does not allow to give evaluation by the total elongation and the n value, which are applicable in conventional mild materials.


A system and method are disclosed for reliable communications in a packet network. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a network management system (NMS) having a controller programmed to establish between first and second customer edge (CE) routers in a full mesh packet network first and second logical data tunnels conforming to an isolation protocol, synchronize packet data in the first and second logical data tunnels, enable packet data exchanges between the first and second CE routers over the first logical data tunnel, direct the first and second CE routers to duplicate the packet data exchanged between them over the second logical data tunnel, and direct the first and second CE routers to synchronously switch to the second logical data tunnel upon detecting a fault in the first logical data tunnel.

Consumers such as law enforcement agencies, banks, financial institutions and so on in some applications require reliable communications with preferably no interruptions or minimal loss of data transport. Much of the communications infrastructure used by these consumers is based on an Internet architecture which generally does not support the aforementioned reliability demands.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for reliable communications in a packet network


A technique includes sensing a wireless charging station that includes a wireless charging transmitter and determining a status for the machine based at least in part on the sensing of the wireless charging station. The technique also includes assisting with a process to wirelessly transfer power to the machine, where assisting includes causing the machine to provide guidance to the user based at least in part on the determined status.

One way to charge a battery of a portable electronic device (a smartphone, a notebook computer, a tablet, and so forth) is to physically connect the device to a cable, which communicates power from a Universal Serial Bus (USB) hub, AC wall adapter, and so forth. Another way to charge a portable electronic device's battery is to wirelessly transfer power to the device from a wireless charging station.

Assisting wireless transfer of power to a machine

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method for hydraulically fracturing a subterranean formation comprises introducing into the formation a cross-linking composition which comprises a zirconium triethanolamine complex, a tetra(hydroxyalkyl)ethylenediamine, water, a cross-linkable organic polymer, and optionally, a polyol. The method can be used for cross-linking organic polymers over a wide range of pH. By varying the composition and optionally adding a delay agent, the method provides flexibility in rate of cross-linking.

The production of oil and natural gas from an underground well (subterranean formation) can be stimulated by a technique called hydraulic fracturing, in which a viscous fluid composition (fracturing fluid) containing a suspended proppant (e.g., sand, bauxite) is introduced into an oil or gas well via a conduit, such as tubing or casing, at a flow rate and a pressure which create, reopen and/or extend a fracture into the oil- or gas-containing formation. The proppant is carried into the fracture by the fluid composition and prevents closure of the formation after pressure is released. Leak-off of the fluid composition into the formation is limited by the fluid viscosity of the composition. Fluid viscosity also permits suspension of the proppant in the composition during the fracturing operation. Cross-linking agents, such as borates, titanates or zirconates are usually incorporated into the composition to control viscosity.
Normally, less than one third of available oil is extracted from a well after it has been fractured before production rates decrease to a point at which recovery becomes uneconomical. Enhanced recovery of oil from such subterranean formations frequently involves attempting to displace the remaining crude oil with a driving fluid, e.g., gas, water, brine, steam, polymer solution, foam, or micellar solution. Ideally, such techniques (commonly called flooding techniques) provide a bank of oil of substantial depth being driven into a producing well; however, in practice this is frequently not the case. Oil-bearing strata are usually heterogeneous, some parts of them being more permeable than others. As a consequence, channeling frequently occurs, so that the driving fluid flows preferentially through zones depleted of oil (so-called "thief zones") rather than through those parts of the strata which contain sufficient oil to make oil-recovery operations profitable.
Difficulties in oil recovery due to high permeability of zones may be corrected by injecting an aqueous solution of an organic polymer and a cross-linking agent into certain subterranean formations under conditions where the polymer will be cross-linked to produce a gel, thus reducing the permeability of such subterranean formations to driving fluid (gas, water, etc.). Polysaccharide- or partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide-based fluids cross-linked with certain aluminum, titanium, zirconium and boron-based compounds are also used in these enhanced oil recovery applications.
Cross-linked fluids or gels, whether for fracturing a subterranean formation or for reducing permeability of a subterranean formation, are now being used in hotter, deeper wells under a variety of pH conditions, where rates of cross-linking with known cross-linking compositions may be unacceptable. Rather than developing new cross-linking agents for these new conditions, the oil well service companies may add delay agents that effectively delay the cross-linking of a particular metal cross-linking agent under these conditions.
A number of patents disclose the use of various delay agents in combination with particular cross-linking agents for which they are effective. These patents typically specify adding one or more ingredients to a cross-linking composition or specify particular operating conditions, such as a narrow range of pH. There are only a limited number of disclosed delay agents suitable for titanium and zirconium cross-linking agents. Thus, use of delay agents with titanium and zirconium cross-linking agents has limited flexibility for use by the oil well service companies to stimulate or enhance recovery of oil or gas from a well or other subterranean formation.
There is a need for a more effective method for a cross-linking composition which is effective in oil recovery applications, such as hydraulic fracturing and plugging permeable zones and leaks. There is also a need to be able to modify a cross-linking composition for in oil recovery applications so that a range of cross-linking rates and may be achieved under a range of pH conditions. The present invention meets these needs.

Hydraulic fracturing methods using cross-linking composition comprising zirconium triethanolamine complex


An asymmetric flood light includes a reflector comprised of a hydroformed continuous metal form which defines a lamp space adapted to receive a lamp. The reflector has a forward opening for outputting light generated by the associated lamp. The reflector further includes a rear reflector section arranged rearward of the lamp space and adapted to reflect backward-directed lamp illumination forward in a crossing pattern, a forward reflector section disposed forward of the rear reflector section and adapted to reflect lamp illumination forward in a crossing pattern, and a plurality of planar surfaces that connect the forward and rear reflector sections. The hydroformed reflector is adapted to cooperate with the lamp to produce a substantially rectangular area of substantially uniform illumination that is asymmetrically disposed relative to the reflector.

The invention relates to the lighting arts. It is especially applicable to providing substantially uniform rectangular flood lighting of vertical walls or other flat vertical structures, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and will also find application in other flood lighting tasks, such as the illumination of non-flat vertical objects, perimeter illumination of outdoor surfaces such as parking lots, football fields, and the like, and uniform illumination of indoor flooring using wall-mounted flood lights.
Flood lighting is typically used in parking lots, athletic fields, and other areas to provide illumination for convenience and safety. Similarly, architectural features such as building walls are advantageously uniformly illuminated at night. Flood lighting is designed to illuminate large areas, preferably with relatively uniform illumination across the area. To appropriately distribute the light output, the electric lamps that produce the light are typically coupled with a reflector. The reflector geometry for transforming the essentially point light source distribution of a conventional incandescent lamp, halogen lamp, or metal halide lamp into a wide-area, spatially uniform flood light illumination is typically rather complex. This is particularly the case for asymmetric flood lighting in which the flood light is not located symmetrically directly above the surface to be illuminated, but rather is located at a side, such cases arising for example in lighting parking lots from the perimeter, lighting athletic fields from the sidelines, lighting tall buildings from flood lights positioned relatively near ground level, and the like. Additionally, in such situations a substantially rectangular illumination of a substantially flat surface is typically desired, which further complicates the geometric requirements of the flood light reflector.
In the past, these complex geometric requirements have been met using multi-faceted segmented reflectors. These reflectors are assembled from multiple strips of pre-finished reflective metal, sometimes having various finishes. Segmented reflectors are relatively simple to manufacture since the required shaping can be accomplished using conventional and low cost sheet metal shaping techniques. However, these prior art reflectors have several disadvantages. They require labor-intensive assembly of the multiple parts, either at the factory or in the field, e.g. by the customer. The multiple-component fabrication introduces potential failure mechanisms at the interconnections. The multiple segments can have various types of surface finishes and segment interconnections of varying optical quality, producing lighting non-uniformities and other optical degradation.
Single-piece reflectors, which are typically machine-pressed from a single sheet of aluminum or other metal blank, are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,694, which has the same assignee as the present invention and is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a hydroformed symmetrical flood light reflector that produces a square light distribution. However, because of their more complex reflection geometry, asymmetrical flood light reflectors have in the past been produced in multi-segmented fashion rather than as single-piece reflectors.
The present invention contemplates an improved reflector that overcomes the above-mentioned limitations and others.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an asymmetric flood light reflector is disclosed. A hydroformed. continuous metal form defines a lamp space that is adapted to receive an associated lamp. The metal form has a forward opening for outputting light generated by the associated lamp. The metal form further includes a rear reflector section arranged rearward of the lamp space and adapted to reflect backward-directed lamp illumination forward in a crossing pattern, a forward reflector section disposed forward of the rear reflector section and adapted to reflect lamp illumination forward in a crossing pattern, and a plurality of planar surfaces that connect the forward and rear reflector sections. The hydroformed continuous metal form is adapted to cooperate with the associated lamp to produce a substantially rectangular area of substantially uniform illumination that is asymmetrically disposed relative to the reflector.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a flood light is disclosed, including a light source and an asymmetric reflector. The asymmetric reflector comprises a single, continuous, reflective metal sheet that is formed to include a plurality of reflective sub-surfaces. The reflector cooperates with the light source to produce uniform lighting over a rectangular area located asymmetrically relative to the flood light.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method is disclosed for flood lighting a rectangular area in a substantially uniform manner. Light is generated at a spatial point asymmetrically located relative to the rectangular area. The generated light is reflected onto the rectangular area using a single metal sheet that has a pre-selected deformation shape adapted to reflect the generated light into the rectangular area with varying light intensity to provide substantially uniform illumination throughout the rectangular area.
In accordance with still yet another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for manufacturing an asymmetric flood light reflector is disclosed. The apparatus includes a punch element that is adapted for use with a hydroform press. The punch element conforms with the inner surface of an asymmetric flood light reflector.
Numerous advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description.

Asymmetric flood lighting reflector and apparatus for making same


A non-aqueous laundering machine for laundering fabric with a non-aqueous wash liquor and a select rinse fluid. The non-aqueous laundering machine includes a container for a fabric load and means for the controlled application of a non-aqueous wash liquor to the fabric load, the removal of part of the non-aqueous wash liquor from the fabric load, and application of a select rinse fluid to the fabric load as well as means for applying mechanical energy to the fabric load.

As defined by Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 7th edition, liquid extraction is a process for separating components in solution by their distribution between two immiscible phases. Such a process is also referred to as Solvent Extraction, but Solvent Extraction also implies the leaching of a soluble substance from a solid.
The present invention relates to a program of events and ingredients that make it possible to produce a non-aqueous laundering machine that is self contained, automatic and relatively compact that can be used in the home as well as commercially. The machine would offer the consumer the ability not only to launder their traditional fabrics (cotton, polyesters, etc.) at home, but also have the ability to handle delicate fabrics such as dry-clean only fabrics as well. There have been numerous attempts at making a non-aqueous laundering system; however, there have been many limitations associated with such attempts.
Traditional dry-cleaning solvents such as perchloroethylene are not feasible for in-home applications because they suffer from the disadvantage of having perceived environmental and health risks. Fluorinated solvents such as hydrofluoroethers have been posed as potential solvents for such an application. These solvents are environmentally friendly and have high vapor pressures leading to fast drying times, but these solvents don't currently provide the cleaning needed in such a system.
Other solvents have been listed as potential fluids for such an application. Siloxane-based materials, glycol ethers and hydrocarbon-based solvents all have been investigated. Typically, these solvents are combustible fluids but the art teaches some level of soil removal. However, since these solvents are combustible and usually have low vapor pressures, it would be difficult to dry with traditional convection heating systems. The solvents have low vapor pressures making evaporation slow thus increasing the drying time needed for such systems. Currently, the National Fire Protection Association has product codes associated for flammable solvents. These safety codes limit the potential heat such solvents could see or the infrastructure needed to operate the machine. In traditional washer/dryer combination machines, the capacity or load size is limited based on the drying rate. However, with the present invention, the capacity of the machines will be more dependent upon the size of the drum than the size of the load.
The present invention uses some of these aforementioned solvents to clean fabrics without the drying problems associated with these solvents. This is accomplished by using a select rinse fluid that solves many of these drying problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,266 describes a method using petroleum-based solvent vapors wherein perfluorocarbon vapors are admixed with petroleum solvent vapors to remove the solvents from the fabrics and provide improvements in safety by reducing the likelihood of ignition or explosion of the vapors. However, the long-term stability of these mixtures is unknown but has the potential of separating due to dissociating the separate components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,588 describes a method for washing, drying and recovering using an inert working fluid. Additionally, this application teaches the use of liquid extraction with an inert working fluid along with washing and drying. This new patent application differs from U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,588 in that it describes preferred embodiments to minimize the amount of rinse fluid needed as well as recovery methods, apparatuses and sequences not previously described.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,432 describes the use of a pressurized fluid solvent such as carbon dioxide to avoid the drying issues. In accordance with these methods, pressures of about 500 to 1000 psi are required. These conditions would result in larger machines than need be for such an operation. Additionally, this is an immersion process that may require more than one rinse so additional storage capacity is needed.
US20030084588 describes the use of a high vapor pressure, above 3-mm Hg, co-solvent that is subjected to lipophilic fluid containing fabric articles. While a high vapor pressure solvent may be preferred in such a system, US20030084588 fails to disclose potential methods of applying the fluid, when the fluid should be used and methods minimizing the amount of fluid needed. Finally, this patent fails to identify potential recovery strategies for the high vapor pressure co-solvent.
Various perfluorocarbons materials have been employed alone or in combination with cleaning additives for washing printed circuit boards and other electrical substrates, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,681. Spray cleaning of rigid substrates is very different from laundering soft fabric loads. Moreover, cleaning of electrical substrates is performed in high technology manufacturing facilities employing a multi-stage that is not readily adaptable to such a cleaning application.
The first object of the present invention is to devise a complete sequence of non-aqueous laundering operations using a combination of materials that can be economically separated and used over and over again in a self contained non-aqueous laundering machine.
It is a further object of the invention to describe specific processes for introducing the select rinse fluid.
It is an object of the invention to describe techniques and methods for minimizing the amount of select rinse fluid needed and the time that the select rinse fluid should be in contact with the working fluid and fabric articles.
It is a further object of the invention to describe a low temperature drying process that would result in improved fabric care and lower energy requirements for such a non-aqueous laundering machine.
It is still another object of the invention to disclose the advantage of increasing the size of the load to be dried without significantly increasing the drying time as is common with traditional aqueous-based machines and non-aqueous machines using some of these methods.
It is another object of the invention to describe recovery methods and techniques not only for the select rinse fluid, but also additionally for the working fluid and wash liquor.
It is a further object of the invention to describe apparatuses designed to complete the select rinse fluid application, low temperature drying and recovery methods.
It is a further object of the invention that the soils removed are concentrated and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
It is a further object that the materials used are all of a type that avoids explosion and manages flammability hazards.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from the following description of the drawings and preferred embodiments that follow:

Fabric laundering apparatus adapted for using a select rinse fluid


This invention provides a method for a method for optimizing the regimen for the administration of chemotherapeutic agents. The method comprises administration of a selenium compound to an individual, monitoring the modulation of tumor vessel maturation (TVM) to identify an optimal time for administration of a chemotherapeutic agent. This invention also provides a method to determine whether or not a tumor is likely to be a responder to chemotherapy. The method comprises administration of a selenium compound to an individual and determining whether or not an increase in TVM is observed. An increased TVM following administration of selenium is an indication that the tumor will likely respond the chemotherapy.

Solid tumor malignancies accounts for 85% cancer mortality that in 2004 was responsible for 23% of all deaths in US. Current approaches for the treatment of solid tumor malignancies with established agents and with the new targeted agents used alone and in combination are limited, in part, by inability to deliver cytotoxic agents selectively to the tumor tissue in sufficient concentrations critical for tumor cell kill that translate into meaningful and durable responses. Evidence of this limitation is derived from the following: 1) response of solid tumor malignancies to existing therapy are relatively poor and don't provide long and sustained cures; 2) drug concentration used in vitro (in culture in test tube) to produce significant growth inhibition that correlates with inhibition of specific target and/or pathways is difficult to achieve in tumor cells in vivo (whole organism—animal or human) at their recommended doses without significant organ-specific toxicity; 3) effective modulation of molecular and genetic profile by cytotoxic agents that can be easily achieved in vitro but not in vivo; 4) treatment with cytotoxic agents can produce significant toxicity against normal organs, but not against tumor tissues. These results clearly indicates that though blood cytotoxic concentrations are achieved with the recommended cytotoxic doses; the delivery to tumor tissues represents a major therapeutic limitation regardless of the molecular profile of tumor cells.
It is now well established that tumors need continuous supply of nutrients and oxygen in order to grow. This is typically achieved by formation of new tumor vasculature. Therefore, antiangiogenic therapies have been considered in the treatment of tumors. Current antiangiogenic agent use, however, is fraught with various problems and new antiangiogenic techniques are needed. Another important determinant of tumor aggressiveness is tumor microvessel density. However, chemotherapeutic agents are often used without a consideration of the role tumor microvessel density (TMD) plays. Thus, there is a need in the field of cancer therapy for therapeutic approaches which take into consideration the modulation of tumor vasculature.

Method for optimizing cancer therapy by monitoring maturation of tumor associated vasculature by selenium


The present invention provides a three-dimensional camcorder comprising a three-dimensional imaging system acquiring the three-dimensional image information of an object and a three-dimensional viewfinder displaying three-dimensional image using at least one variable focal length micromirror array lens.

Camcorders (video camera recorders) receive video information and convert it to electronic video signal, which is recorded on the storage medium in analog or digital formats. While most conventional camcorders record and display two-dimensional video images, some camcorders are capable of recording particular information required for stereoscopic viewing. When human eyes see a scene, right and left side eyes have two different perspectives due to their separation. The brain fuses these two images and assesses the visual depth. Three-dimensional camcorders need to provide two perspective images for each video frame. In order to provide different viewing angles simultaneously, they usually use two cameras which are separated at a certain distance as human eyes are. FIG. 1 depicts the schematic illustration of a prior art using a pinhole or thin lens model. Cameras 11 and 12 have identical focal length and their image planes are coplanar in space. The distance between optical centers 13 and 14 is 2d. Two cameras have different perspectives for an object 15 and provide a pair of stereoscopic images, which allows three-dimensional viewing. However, these devices tend to be large and heavy, and come at huge cost due to multiple camera systems and their optical axis separation requirement.
Conventional three-dimensional display devices use two perspective images of a scene and provide methods to let each eye see an only intended perspective. While conventional three-dimensional display devices require special glasses for a viewer to see a three-dimensional image from two perspective images, autostereoscopic display devices do not require special glasses. Autostereoscopic devices display two different perspective images concurrently and use barriers to let each eye see the intended image as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,849 to Moseley. Usually, these devices have several viewing areas and the scene appears to leap out of the screen, which provides a virtual-reality environment. These autostereoscopic display devices can be built in the three-dimensional camcorders as electronic viewfinders like normal LCD screens in two-dimensional camcorders in order to find and focus views in the three-dimensional space and replay recorded three-dimensional images or movies.


A scanning fiber device of one aspect may include an actuator tube. An optical fiber may be inserted through the actuator tube. The optical fiber may have a free end portion outside of the actuator tube. A first bead may be around the optical fiber. At least part of the first bead may be within a distal portion of the actuator tube. An adhesive may be adhering the first bead to the distal portion of the actuator tube. A second bead may be around the optical fiber. At least part of the second bead may be within a proximal portion of the actuator tube. An adhesive may be adhering the second bead to the proximal portion of the actuator tube.

1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to scanning fiber devices. In particular, embodiments of the invention relate to attaching optical fibers to actuator tubes in scanning fiber devices.
2. Background Information
Various different types of scanning fiber devices are known in the arts. Scanning fiber devices commonly include a single, cantilevered optical fiber that may be vibrated or scanned in one or two dimensions according to a scan pattern.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of one example of a known scanning fiber device 100. The scanning fiber device includes a housing 102. A piezoelectric tube 104 is included in the housing and attached to the housing with an attachment collar 106. A portion of an optical fiber 108 is inserted through the piezoelectric tube. A free end portion 110 of the optical fiber is within the housing and attached to an end of the piezoelectric tube. The free end portion is flexible and may resonate at a frequency that depends in part upon its length. The piezoelectric tube has electrodes 112. Wires 114 are electrically coupled with the electrodes. The electrodes may be driven to move the free end portion of the optical fiber according to an expanding spiral or other scan pattern. Dashed lines are used to show that the free end portion of the optical fiber may move during operation.
The movement of the optical fiber according to the scan pattern may be used to construct an image. Constructing an image may include displaying an image on a target area and/or acquiring an image of a target area. In displaying or forming an image on the target area, the light emitted from the end of the optical fiber may be modulated during the scan pattern depending on the pixel position in order to form a desired image on the target area. In acquiring an image of the target area, the scanning fiber device may scan an illumination spot through an optional lens system and over the target area in the scan pattern. Backscattered light may be captured, for example by a photosensor, in time series.

Attaching optical fibers to actuator tubes with beads acting as spacers and adhesives


A driving device of a display panel and a display device are provided. A source driver expands display data of a low-resolution image to be displayed in a first working mode, and cooperates with the source driver to receive and processes display data of a high-resolution display image in a second working mode, which makes the driving device of the display panel has good compatibility.

Currently, for high-end liquid crystal display device products, such as high refresh rates or high-resolution products, a timing controller that can process high-resolution display data is required. However, cost of the timing controller that can process high-resolution display data is relatively high.
Therefore, it is necessary to propose a technical solution to solve a problem of excessively high cost of the timing controller of the high-end liquid crystal display device.

Driving device of display panel and display device


The disclosure is directed to systems, apparatus, and methods for layered execution pre-boot configuration. In one example, a system includes a local computer, a base operating system, a layered execution environment, and a layered environment manager. The system may further include an environment update service and one or more layered environment data store(s). The system may, before booting the base operating system and layered execution environment, perform such modification operations as applying an operating system patch, applying a program patch, changing a layer activation property, disabling a program, replacing a program, changing a configuration file, and installing a driver.

A traditional view of virtualization involves executing one or more virtual machines on a server, with each virtual machine running one or more applications. Often, each application is presented with its own operating environment via a dedicated virtual machine. The virtual machines that execute on a computing system prevent conflicts between applications as well as between applications and an operating system.
Virtual machines alleviate some of the compatibility problems between applications and associated libraries and drivers, but because of their complexity may require additional maintenance from IT personnel. Not only is there the base operating system to be maintained, but also the infrastructure of the virtual machines and potentially incompatible programs.

Layered execution pre-boot configuration systems, apparatus, and methods


A mobile workstation with adjustable height of the present disclosure may comprise a top assembly, an adjustment assembly, and a bottom assembly. Adjustment assembly may comprise telescopically engaged segments. One or more pulleys or pulley assemblies may be disposed within one or more of the segments to allow for withdrawing and retracting segments from one another at the same rate. Actuation of the raising or lowering of the overall height of the mobile workstation may be realized through either a manual actuation or an electronic element such as a linear actuator.

Mobile workstations have become an important component of the modern hospital setting by increasing flexibility and portability as staff care for patients. Workstations that have computers can be shared between health care professionals to save money and space as well as promote interprofessional collaboration. Naturally, different individuals using the mobile workstation prefer different heights for the tabletop area of the workstation and/or the monitor. Thus, vertical adjustment may be provided in some mobile workstations. However, this vertical adjustment is often not provided with sufficient adjustment range to accommodate the varying heights of different users. Also, if not properly designed, vertical adjustment may result in a mobile workstation that is shaky and mis-balanced while raising and lowering of the top assembly and which, in turn, may shake loose or otherwise disrupt the contents of the top workstation surface and/or the computer system. Thus, a need in the field exists for a mobile workstation which provides a broad range of vertical adjustment and also smoothly and steadily raises and lowers to fit the needs of a user.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.

Mobile workstation with adjustable height


Disclosed are an apparatus and a method for changing an operation mode of a dual mode terminal by synchronizing a radio frequency identification (RFID) system with a terminal RFID reader and/or a terminal TFID tag. The RFID system includes an RFID tag and/or an RFID reader is installed in a specific area, or in a predetermined area or an entrance/exit of a building provided with a WiFi service. The terminal RFID reader and/or the terminal RFID tag are installed in the dual mode terminal providing a WiFi service and a mobile communication service. Accordingly, the present invention provides advantages of saving power consumption and improving user convenience.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for changing an operation mode of a dual mode terminal, and in particular, to an apparatus and a method for automatically changing an operation mode of a dual mode terminal between a service provided in a specific area (for example, a WiFi service) and a mobile communication service.
2. Description of the Prior Art
WiFi (wireless fidelity) is an alias of a wireless LAN, and connotates that a wireless network can be used as conveniently as a high-fidelity (HiFi) audio system. The wireless LAN may provide a communication service such as the Internet to wireless terminals (for example, a personal digital assistant and a notebook computer) located within a predetermined distance from a wireless access point. The service range of the wireless LAN was initially as small as 10 meters, and has been extended up to 50 to several hundred meters. Additionally, a data transfer rate of the wireless LAN has been increased up to 4 to 11 Mbps, and thereby has enabled transmission/reception of large size multimedia content. Accordingly, the wireless LAN is used to provide a high-speed data service to clients located in a building such as a school, airport, and hotel.
As the wireless LAN service is commercialized, dual mode terminals providing a WiFi service and a mobile communication service are being developed to provide the wireless LAN service. That is, the dual mode terminals are being developed to provide both WiFi and mobile communication services.
The dual mode terminal includes a WiFi module for a WiFi service and a mobile communication module (for example, a CDMA module) for a mobile communication service. When inside a WiFi service area, the dual mode terminal operates in a WiFi service mode. When outside the WiFi service area, the dual mode terminal operates in a mobile communication service mode. In order to accomplish this mode change, a user must manually change the operation mode of the terminal whenever entering or leaving a WiFi service area.
Additionally, in the case of a dual mode terminal including a plurality of operation modes, power must be supplied to all the devices related to individual operation modes so that the operation mode can be changed by identifying movement from one service area to another service area. This raises issues of wasted power resources. For example, when WiFi and mobile communication modules are both switched on in the dual mode terminal supporting the WiFi and mobile communication services, a great amount of power is needed to operate both modules.

Apparatus and method for changing operation mode of dual mode terminal


A method and apparatus for performing storage and retrieval in an information storage system is disclosed that uses the hashing technique with the external chaining method for collision resolution. In order to prevent performance deterioration due to the presence of automatically expiring data items, a garbage collection technique is used that removes all expired records stored in the system in the external chain targeted by a probe into the data storage system. More particularly, each insertion, retrieval, or deletion of a record is an occasion to search an entire linked-list chain of records for expired items and then remove them. Because an expired data item will not remain in the system long term if the system is frequently probed, it is useful for large information storage systems that are heavily used, require the fast access provided by hashing, and cannot be taken off-line for removal of expired data.

This invention relates to information storage and retrieval systems, and, more particularly, to the use of hashing techniques in such systems.
Information or data stored in a computer-controlled storage mechanism can be retrieved by searching for a particular key value in the stored records. The stored record with a key matching the search key value is then retrieved. Such searching techniques require repeated access to records into the storage mechanism to perform key comparisons. In large storage and retrieval systems, such searching, even if augmented by efficient search procedures such as the binary search, often requires an excessive amount of time due to the large number of key comparisons required.
Another well-known and much faster way of storing and retrieving information from computer storage, albeit at the expense of additional storage, is the so-called "hashing" technique, also called scatter-storage or key-transformation method. In such a system, the key is operated on by a hashing function to produce a storage address in the storage space, called the hash table, which is a large one-dimensional array of record locations. This storage address is then accessed directly for the desired record. Hashing techniques are described in the classic text by D. E. Knuth entitled The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 3, Sorting and Searching, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1973, pp. 506-549.
Hashing functions are designed to translate the universe of keys into addresses uniformly distributed throughout the hash table. Typical hashing functions include truncation, folding, transposition, and modulo arithmetic. A disadvantage of hashing is that more than one key will inevitably translate in the same storage address, causing "collisions" in storage. Some form of collision resolution must therefore be provided. For example, the simple strategy called "linear probing," which consists of searching forward from the initial storage address to the first empty storage location, is often used.
Another method for resolving collisions is called "external chaining." In this technique, each hash table location is a pointer to the head of a linked list of records, all of whose keys translate under the hashing function to that very hash table address. The linked list is itself searched sequentially when retrieving, inserting, or deleting a record. Insertion and deletion are done by adjusting pointers in the linked list. External chaining is discussed in considerable detail in the aforementioned text by D. E. Knuth, in Data Structures and Program Design, Second Edition, by R. L. Kruse, Prentice-Hall, Incorporated, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1987, Section 6.5, "Hashing," and Section 6.6, "Analysis of Hashing," pp. 198-215, and in Data Structures with Abstract Data Types and Pascal, by D. F. Stubbs and N. W. Webre, Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, Monterey, Calif., 1985, Section 7.4, "Hashed Implementations," pp. 310-336.
Some forms of information are such that individual data items, after a limited period of time, become obsolete, and their presence in the storage system is no longer needed or desired. Scheduling activities, for example, involve data that become obsolete once the scheduled event has occurred. An automatically-expiring data item, once it expires, needlessly occupies computer memory storage that could otherwise be put to use storing an unexpired item. Thus, expired items must eventually be removed to reclaim the storage for subsequent data insertions. In addition, the presence of many expired items results in needlessly long search times since the linked lists associated with external chaining will be longer than they otherwise would be. The goal is to remove these expired items to reclaim the storage and maintain fast access to the data.
The problem, then, is to provide the speed of access of hashing techniques for large, heavily used information storage systems having expiring data and, at the same time, prevent the performance degradation resulting from the accumulation of many expired records. Although a hashing technique for dealing with expiring data is known and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,495, issued Jun. 9, 1992, that technique is confined to linear probing and is entirely inapplicable to external chaining. The procedure shown there traverses, in reverse order, a consecutive sequence of records residing in the hash table array, continually relocating unexpired records to fill gaps left by the removal of expired ones.
Unlike arrays, linked lists leave no gaps when items from it are removed, and furthermore it is not possible to efficiently traverse a singly linked list in reverse order. There are significant advantages to external chaining over linear probing that sometimes make it the method of choice, as discussed in considerable detail in the aforementioned texts, and so hashing techniques for dealing with expiring data that do not use external chaining prove wholly inadequate for certain applications. For example, if the data records are large, considerable memory can be saved using external chaining instead of linear probing. Accordingly, there is a need to develop hashing techniques for external chaining with expiring data. The methods of the above-mentioned patent are limited to arrays and cannot be used with linked lists due to the significant difference in the organization of the computer's memory.

Methods and apparatus for information storage and retrieval using a hashing technique with external chaining and on-the-fly removal of expired data


A serial bus network includes a voltage regulator, a plurality of power switches, and a voltage monitor. The voltage regulator provides power to a plurality of serial buses. Each of the serial buses provides power from the voltage regulator to a device coupled to the serial bus. Each of the power switches switches power from the voltage regulator to one of the serial buses, and includes an input terminal coupled to a voltage regulator output, and an output terminal coupled to one of the serial buses. The voltage monitor is coupled to the voltage regulator and to the output terminal of each of the power switches. The voltage monitor compares bus voltages at the output terminals of the power switches, identifies a lowest of the bus voltages, and adjusts the voltage regulator output voltage such that the identified lowest of the bus voltages is within a predetermined operational voltage range.

Computers and other electronic devices commonly use serial interfaces to provide for transfer of data between connected devices. The universal serial bus (USB) is one of a variety of serial buses used to interface electronic devices. A USB system generally consists of one or more host devices and one or more peripheral devices connected in a tiered-star topology. Host devices include, for example, computers, smartphones, video game consoles, and other computing devices. Peripheral devices include, for example, flash drives, printers, keyboards, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various other devices. USB operational standards are defined in a series of specifications (e.g., USB 2.0 specification, USB 3.0 specification, etc.)
USB interfaces can supply power to peripheral devices, and many devices connected to a USB interface are powered via the serial bus rather than via a power source associated with device. A USB compliant interface provides 5 volts (V) to connected devices through the connecting cable. To facilitate provision of power and data, a USB connecting cable typically includes a power line, a ground line, and differential data lines.


A rotating anode X-ray tube includes a fixed body having a radial sliding bearing surface and a channel therein through which a coolant flows, a rotor including a discoid large-diameter portion, which has a recess fitted with one end portion of the fixed body with a clearance therebetween and constitutes an anode target, and a small-diameter portion, which has on an inner surface thereof a radial sliding bearing surface which faces the aforesaid radial sliding bearing surface with a clearance, and is united with the large-diameter portion at one end portion thereof, a lubricant filling the clearances, a cathode arranged opposite to the anode target, and a vacuum envelope which contains the fixed body, the rotor, the lubricant and the cathode, and fixes the fixed body at another end portion of the fixed body situated opposite the one end portion of the fixed body fitted in the recess.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rotating anode X-ray tube.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, X-ray tube assemblies are used in medical diagnostic systems, industrial diagnostic systems, etc. An X-ray tube assembly comprises a rotating anode X-ray tube that emits X-rays, a stator coil, and a housing that contains the rotating anode X-ray tube and the stator coil. The rotating anode X-ray tube includes a fixed shaft, a rotor provided for rotation around the fixed shaft as an axis, an anode target disposed on an end portion of the rotor via a joint portion, a cathode arranged opposite to the anode target, a vacuum envelope that contains these elements, and a coolant that fills the vacuum envelope. A clearance between the fixed shaft and the rotor is filled with a liquid metal.
In an operating state of the X-ray tube assembly, the stator coil generates a magnetic field to be applied to the rotor, so that the rotor and the anode target rotate. Further, the cathode emits an electron beam to the anode target. Thereupon, the anode target radiates X-rays as it is struck by electrons.
During the operation of the X-ray tube assembly, the anode target is heated to high temperature by heat input to the anode target. Specifically, the anode target is heated to high temperature when it is irradiated with the electron beam. In particular, an electron impact surface (focus) that is struck by the electrons is heated to high temperature. Accordingly, the temperature of the electron impact surface must be lower than the melting temperature of the material of the anode target.
To meet this requirement, a technique for cooling the anode target has been developed. For example, a technique for cooling an anode target by using a liquid metal as a heat transfer fluid near an electron impact surface is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,975 and DE644719. Use of this technique enables high cooling of the anode target.
In the disclosed technique described above, however, a seal portion for the liquid metal is formed near the electron impact surface. Since heat generated from the electron impact surface is transmitted to the seal portion, the seal portion is inevitably heated to high temperature and deformed. Since a clearance between a rotor and a fixed shaft is deformed, it is difficult to maintain a clearance for the sealing performance of the seal portion to be fully displayed. In consequence, the X-ray tube may possibly be rendered defective by a leakage of the liquid metal.
Techniques for preventing the seal portion for the liquid metal from being heated to high temperature is disclosed in, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 63-13302, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-258691, and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-144395.

Toshiba Electron Tubes & Devices Co., Ltd.


A flyback converter has a main switch coupling a primary winding of a transformer between supply terminals, a duty cycle of the main switch controlling an output of the converter derived from a secondary winding of the transformer. Soft (zero voltage) switching of the main switch is facilitated by a snubber capacitor in parallel with the main switch. An auxiliary circuit coupled in parallel with the snubber capacitor and main switch includes a series-connected auxiliary switch, capacitor, and inductor coupled via another inductor to a full wave rectifier arrangement for recovering energy from the snubber capacitor. Resonant circuits provided by the auxiliary circuit facilitate soft switching of the auxiliary switch for low power loss and high frequency operation. The switches can be MOSFETs with reverse-poled diodes in parallel with their drain-source paths.

A generally preferred form of soft switching, also referred to as lossless switching, is zero voltage switching (ZVS), in which a switching device is turned on and off at times when there is little or no voltage across the device. Another form of soft switching is zero current switching (ZCS), in which a switching device is turned on and off at times when its current during the switching is very small or zero. In each case, power losses due to the switching are relatively very small. Soft switching provides the advantages of increased efficiency and reduced power losses of the converter, and reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI). Consequently it becomes possible to operate the converter at a higher switching frequency, enabling the use of smaller components.
"A zero voltage switching flyback converter topology" by Y. Xi et al., IEEE PESC '97 Record, pages 951-957 describes a flyback converter which includes an auxiliary circuit to facilitate ZVS of the main switch of the converter. The auxiliary circuit includes a snubber capacitor in parallel with the main switch, two coupled inductors forming an auxiliary transformer for recovering energy of the snubber capacitor, and an auxiliary switch. However, in this converter energy associated with leakage inductance of the auxiliary transformer is not recovered, and turn-off of the auxiliary switch is not under ZVS or ZCS conditions, so that there are still power losses which limit the operation of the converter at very high frequencies.
Objects of this invention are to provide an improved flyback converter and an improved method of operating a flyback converter.

Flyback converter with soft switching using auxiliary switch and resonant circuit


A recirculating fume scrubber system in which fume is evolved from an aqueous bath in a process vessel, such as an HCl pickling tank, and the evolved fume is scrubbed with water and then the scrubbed gas is divided into two portions, one of which is released to a stack vented to atmosphere and the other portion is recirculated to the scrubber.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for recirculating a portion of the fumes evolved from a chemical process and, more particularly, to a metal pickling process evolving fumes, such as hydrogen chloride, in order to improve the cleanliness of fumes exhausted to the atmosphere.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior to the present invention, fumes produced in a pickling tank were captured and processed through a scrubbing tower, with water, to remove acid fumes from the transporting air. Such scrubbers have a fixed efficiency (1-fume concentration out/fume concentration in) based on the incoming acid concentration, gas flow through the scrubber, and scrubber water concentration, as well as other scrubber design details. A typical scrubber efficiency is between 90% and 99.5%.
A significant limitation of such systems is that the incoming gas is cleaned to near the same concentration of acid as that in the water in the scrubber so that the scrubber no longer can absorb more fumes, and its efficiency is thus effectively capped. Also, higher scrubber efficiencies require more fresh water which, being contaminated with acid, must be treated for acid removal before disposal.

Danieli Wean, Division of Danieli Corporation


During the several seconds of delay time that it takes for a digital set top box (“STB”) that is connected to a television or other display device to switch channels and display the next target program, other information or data can be displayed to a viewer of the television. This other data (“zap page”) can include, for example, advertising, information about the next/target program, a window showing a segment of the next/target program that is transmitted over the next/target channel, personal information associated with the viewer (e.g., notification that one or more electronic mail messages have arrived, stock prices of securities in the viewer's portfolio, etc.) and potentially based on the viewer's profile (e.g., recipes for cooking enthusiasts, news clips from preferred sources, advertisements of particular interest, etc.), and/or local and regional information (e.g., weather forecasts, etc.). The zap page also can include interactive elements that enable one-way and two-way transactions with the viewer. The zap page is pre-rendered and stored within the digital STB so that when the viewer requests a switch in channels, the zap page is displayed substantially immediately. The zap page is displayed until the channel switch has been completed and the next/target program is displayed. However, if the viewer engages in an interactive session, the display of the next/target channel is suspended until the viewer disengages the interactive session.

Television broadcasters and transport companies, such as cable companies or Digital Broadcast Satellite (DBS) companies, transmit media streams to a customer's receiver for subsequent display on a display screen of, for example, a television. The receiver typically is separate from, but coupled to, the television or other device having the display screen. The receiver can be capable of receiving media streams containing compressed digital programs in the MPEG-2 format, and such a receiver typically is referred to as a digital set-top box (STB). In general, a system supporting the transmission and reception of digital media streams includes a server computer (located, for example, at a cable headend) and "thin-client" that runs software on a customer's digital STB. The server and the digital STB typically communicate via a two-way network, but they also can communicate to a limited extent via a one-way network.

Method and apparatus for using delay time during switching events to display previously stored information elements


A directional coupler provides at least two coupled lines, at least three ports and at least one inductor. A high-frequency signal is transmitted from the first coupled line to the second coupled line. The circuit is constructed in stripline technology. In this context, the second coupled line provides a forward path and a return path, which are connected to a port. An inductor is connected in series to the return path.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a directional coupler for directional transmission of high-frequency signals.
2. Related Technology
With regard to the prior art, reference is made, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,694, wherein a directional coupler is described, which is constructed in stripline technology on a substrate plane. The frequency response of the directional coupler is influenced by ohmic resistors and inductors. However, a superposition of signals for the exploitation of interference does not take place.

Directional coupler with inductively-compensated sharpness of directivity