This invention provides an air freshener dispenser device which has a taper candle feature. The taper candle consists of (1) a combustible encapsulant ingredient, and (2) a cellulosic matrix (such as cotton or rayon yarn) which has a content of a chemically-bound air freshener constituent such as geraniol, citronellal or menthol. The linkage between the air freshener and cellulosic matrix can be an ether or carbonate ester covalent bond. When the taper candle is ignited, it burns with a flame combustion, and there is a controlled release of the air freshener constituent into the atmosphere.

This invention generally relates to dispensers of vaporizable media. More specifically, this invention relates to a candle-type product for dispensing a fragrance or active ingredient in the form of a vapor for air freshening in an enclosed environment.
Candles have been known and used since early civilization. A typical candle is formed of a solid or semi-solid body of wax such as paraffin wax or beeswax, and it contains an axially embedded combustible fibrous wick.
When the wick of a candle is lit, the generated heat melts the solid wax, and the resulting liquid flows up the wick by capillary action and is combusted.
More recently candles have been developed that appeal to the olfactory as well as the visual sense. This type of candle usually incorporates a fragrance oil in the wax body. As the wax is melted in a lighted candle, there is a release of the fragrance oil from the liquified wax pool.
Conventional fragrance candles have drawbacks because of cost and other considerations. The incorporation of fragrance oil in candle wax is difficult to achieve in a quantity which ensures the release of a suitable level of fragrance into the atmosphere during candle burning. Further, the incorporated fragrance tends to migrate and volatilize from the wax body prematurely. The fragrance also softens the wax body, and there is an undesirable loss of rigidity in the candle structure.
There is continuing interest in the development of improved fragrance and other types of air freshener candle products.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an air freshener dispenser device with a candle means which releases air freshener into the atmosphere only under the pyrolysis conditions of candle combustion.
It is another object of this invention to provide a taper candle product which has a content of chemically-bound air freshener constituent.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a taper candle product which can be produced by a continuous molding process.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention shall become apparent from the accompanying drawings and examples.
Publications of background interest relative to the present invention include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,090,297; 2,379,250; 2,818,615; 2,829,511; 3,332,428; 3,499,452; 3,560,122; 3,705,890; 3,898,039; 4,092,988; 4,568,270; 5,538,018; and 5,569,779; incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,615 describes a deodorizer device in which a combustible cord is impregnated with an air freshener, and the air freshener is released when the cord is ignited.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,829,511 describes a candle wick structure composed of a core strand of cellulose acetate in combination with an outer web of cotton fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,018 describes a flavorant-release additive which is a cellulose derivative that is incorporated into a cigarette paper wrapper.

Air freshener dispenser device with taper candle feature


The design of permanent magnet chucks of desired specified attractive force at the base or working face of the chuck is expedited by the discovery of a general correlation between two specific engineering parameters. The attractive force intensity expressed as force per unit chuck working face contact area correlates with the ratio of area of the iron block surfaces at the working face to the area of the permanent magnet surfaces contacting the iron blocks and providing the magnetic flux path to them.

Strong permanent magnets are useful in manufacturing operations requiring reconfigurable holding and transporting devices for workpieces. For example, manufacturing facilities for high volume vehicle engine production require many pallets for moving engine components and assemblies between machining stations. Magnetic chucks can be used to reconfigure the pallets for different engines. Of course, chucks are also used for holding workpieces in a fixed position during machining. Compact permanent magnet chucks that can be conveniently turned on and off provide a means of providing reconfigurable fixtures for making different engines or other workpieces on the same manufacturing line.
The text and drawings of the specification of the parent application describe a very compact, efficient, and useful arrangement of permanent magnet plates and magnetically soft bodies for a magnetic chuck. The magnetic chuck has two substantially identical layers of an even number of alternating permanent magnet plates and interposed soft magnet bodies. The top surfaces of the two layers are sufficiently alike in the plan views of the permanent and soft magnet elements that one layer can be rotated through a small angle (usually no more than 90°, depending on the number of magnets) from an magnetically inactive position with like overlying shapes to an active position with like overlying shapes. In the active position of the chuck the magnetic field extends above the working face of the chuck and a strong attracting force is exerted on a ferromagnetic workpiece(s) to secure it against the chuck base or working surface.
A specific chuck or group of chucks must be designed to have a working face of specified shape and area and to exert a specified attractive force on a workpiece. It has been difficult to estimate the attractive force obtainable from a new design without building the chuck.
A commercial computer simulation software package for three-dimensional magnetostatics design is available. This software contains a CAD three-dimensional modeler, a material database, a Solver for computational algorithms of the magnetostatics field, and a graphical display capable of presenting the computational results in various parametric forms and solid modeling views. The primary goal of using such magnetostatics software is to shorten the time in the development and validation of any new magnetic chuck concept by not having to actually to build the unit. Still, it is found that the total time required in modeling the various sub-components and their engineering features in a proposed chuck design and in running the Solver to compute the expected magnetic attractive force takes one to three days. This invention provides a method for accurately estimating the strength of the magnetic attraction force given the magnetic properties of the permanent magnet plates and the soft magnet blocks, the clutch face area of the soft magnet blocks, and the contacting area of the sides of the interposed permanent magnet bodies that induce the magnetic field in the enclosing soft magnets.

Method to estimate attractive force in a permanent magnet chuck


An image forming apparatus capable of magnifying a target image to any desired magnification, includes functions for detecting the maximum and minimum densities from limited image information, including a data piece representing a picture element of the target image, functions for determining from the difference between the maximum and minimum densities detected by the detection means, whether the picture element is in a photographic region or a character region, functions for determining a picture element density appropriate for magnifying the target image from the density of the target picture element and that of a picture element close to the target picture element, and functions for outputting the picture element density determined by the density-determining means, in accordance with whether the target picture element is in a photographic region or a character region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus which can perform expansion/reduction processing of a document image including both character and photographic images, while ensuring both a good resolution of a character portion and a good gradation of a photographic region.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a document image processing apparatus which can handle image information as well as code information, binary quantization of document information read by a read means, such as a scanner, is generally performed as follows. With respect to an image information having contrast, such as characters and line drawings, simple binary quantization is performed by using a fixed threshold value. With respect to image information having a gradation, such as photographs, binary quantization is performed by a pseudo-gradation representing means, such as the dither method. Such a means is employed for the following reason. If simple binary quantization is performed with respect to read image information by using a fixed threshold value, no deterioration in image quality occurs in character/line drawing image regions because resolution is preserved, but deterioration in image quality occurs in photographic image regions because the gradation is not preserved.
In contrast to this, if gradation processing such as the ordered dither method is performed with respect to read image information, no deterioration in image quality occurs in photographic image region because the gradation property is preserved, but a deterioration in image quality occurs in character/line drawing image regions because the resolution property deteriorates. That is, if a single binary quantization method is performed with respect to the read image information, high image quality cannot be ensured in regions with different features at the same time. For this reason, when a document on which character and photographic images are formed together is to be processed, a target image is separated into a character region and a photographic region, and the character and photographic regions are processed by selectively or adaptively switching between the simple binary quantization mode and the dither processing mode.
When image information is to be output upon expansion or reduction, multi-value image information input through a scanner or the like is expanded/reduced in advance, and the above-described binary quantization is performed. This is because the expansion/reduction processing after binary quantization is inferior to that of the multi-value image information in terms of the precision of expansion/reduction processing. As such expansion/reduction processing, the linear interpolation method, the projection method, and the like are known.
In these methods, however, since the image information of neighboring picture elements is interpolated, changes in density of an image cannot be faithfully reproduced. In the above-described image region separation method, changes in density of an image are used. Therefore, image region separation cannot be performed with respect to an image which has undergone the conventional expansion/reduction processing. That is, a conventional apparatus cannot perform expansion/reduction processing of a document on which character and photographic images are formed together while ensuring both good resolution of a character portion and good gradation of a photographic region.

Image processing apparatus for variably magnifying image and controlling image density


A graphical display system in which a background graphical image is at least partially visible within a foreground window. Examples of foreground windows include pull-down menus or pop-up dialog boxes. In a specific example embodiment, the background image is digitized waveform data for a digital oscilloscope, and the foreground window is an interactive dialog box for control. Digitized waveforms are at least partially visible in parts of the dialog box. The system has separate memories for the dialog box and the waveform data. A dual-path video controller chip can switch between the two memories for any pixel. The video chip is programmed to switch when the data from the dialog box memory is a particular programmed color. For translucent areas, a checkerboard pattern is defined in the dialog box memory in which alternate pixels in the dialog box memory are the programmed color. As a result, in the translucent areas, digitized waveforms are displayed in half the pixels in a checkerboard pattern. For transparent areas, the pixels in the dialog box memory are the programmed color so that only the waveform data is displayed.

In electronic imaging displays, pull down menus, dialog boxes, and other interactive controls typically obscure underlying information. For example, in a personal computer operating system using software controlled display windows, a pull-down menu or "pop-up" dialog box is typically "opaque", completely blocking any underlying information. However, in many cases, it is useful to be able to see underlying information. In particular, if a selection on a menu or dialog box changes what is being displayed in the underlying image, it is useful to see that change before closing the menu or dialog box. For example, in many interactive control situations such as process control, instrument control, and cockpit displays, there may be a need to see the result of a selection before committing to a particular selection. There is a need for superimposed or foreground windows for which some of the foreground information is transparent or translucent, permitting some useful visibility of any underlying information.
A translucent television video image has been implemented as an overlay on a data processing video image. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,202 (Krueger et al). In Krueger et al, within a television video window on a data processing display, selected lines of the video image are omitted and the corresponding data processing lines are visible. Within the television video window, both the video and data processing images are partially visible. In Krueger et al, the television image is written into a shared display memory synchronized with video framing and retrieved from memory synchronized with the display screen. Computer generated menus have been implemented as an overlay on television displays. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,544 (Bertram). In Bertram, individual menu items are opaque, with a television image visible between the individual menu items. For instrument and control displays, a menu may have relatively small text or icons that need to be read by a human operator. Generally, detailed information may be more readable on opaque menu buttons, as in Bertram, than for overlay images where the entire overlay image is translucent as in Krueger et al.
Both Bertram and Krueger et al require compatibility with television video timing. In each, the ultimate result is that a computer generated image is being merged with a television image. In a computer or instrument, where both images are computer generated or where both images are in digital form in display memory, there are opportunities for less complex and lower cost implementations since display timing is of less concern. Instruments have timing concerns, but instrument timing concerns are dominated by timing of events being measured or controlled, not the timing of the particular display technology. It is possible, of course, in a computer or instrument to implement translucent or transparent windows entirely in software. However, in many instrument systems and control systems, a pure software system is too slow to process real-time events that must be displayed. There is a need for systems with software control over static or infrequently changing parts of a display and hardware control over rapidly changing parts of the display, with at least partial visibility of the rapidly changing parts at all times.

Video raster display with foreground windows that are partially transparent or translucent


Apparatus and method for automatic surveillance of a monitored area having one or more regions of interest using a video imaging device are disclosed. The method includes receiving data defining said one or more regions of interest and one or more characteristics of an object of interest; pointing the line of sight of the imaging device at a region of interest selected from said one or more regions of interest; automatically scanning the selected region of interest to detect said one or more characteristics of the object of interest and upon detection issuing an alert; and when said one or more regions of interest includes more than one region of interest, repeating the steps of pointing the line of sight of the imaging device and automatically scanning in a predetermined order of viewing of the regions of interest, and upon detection of said one or more characteristics of the object of interest issuing an alert, for each of the regions of interests.

In order to monitor extended areas, or to acquire reconnaissance data, a video imaging device (hereinafter—video camera) may be mounted on an elevated platform. The platform may be a piloted aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a free-flying dirigible, a tethered balloon, a tower, or any other elevated platform on which a video camera may be mounted. When topographical or other conditions permit, the platform may also be a manned or unmanned ground vehicle, boat, or any other type of platform that is not elevated. The video camera may be any imaging device capable of providing a continuous or truncated video feed, such as, for example, a video camera recording a series of successive frames, or a video camera recording individual frames at intervals. The video camera may acquire images formed by visible light, infrared radiation, or by radiation in any other spectral range. The video camera may transmit the acquired image data to a remote, or local, receiver and display.
At any given moment, the video camera may acquire an image of a scene within the monitored area that falls within the field of view (FOV) of the video camera. The video camera is described as pointing at that scene. The video camera FOV is limited by characteristics of the video camera structure and its optics. In order to acquire an image of a different scene within the monitored area, the video camera is reoriented so as to point at that different scene. The different scene then falls within the video camera FOV. For this reason, the video camera is mounted in such a manner as to allow its orientation in any of a wide range of directions. Often the orientation of a video camera is defined by its pan and tilt angles, or by the direction of its line of sight (LOS).
A video camera operator at a remote location operates the video camera by means of a remote-control console. Alternatively, the video camera may be operated by an automated system. The video camera operator also views the video camera image output on a display associated with the remote-control console. In general, the video camera operator points the video camera at various scenes that require monitoring. Examples of such regions include roads, borders, areas surrounding places of business, forested areas and other areas of interest. The video camera operator views video camera output images to monitor those scenes. While monitoring the scene, the video camera operator may identify a feature in an output image of the scene that requires further attention. The video camera operator may also be able to distinguish between areas where a certain type of feature would require further attention, and other areas where such a feature would not raise interest. For example, vehicle traffic close to a border or in the parking lot of a business that is closed for the night may require further attention, whereas vehicle traffic on an intercity road may not. A vehicle traveling at high speed on a road with a maximum speed limit may require further attention, while a vehicle traveling at similar speed on a road with a different speed limit may not. Similarly, a fire in a forested area or covering a wide area may require further attention, while a fire covering a small area in a designated campground may not. Further attention to a feature may include further examination of that feature via the remote video camera by pointing the video camera at that feature for an extended period of time, or sending an observer to observe the feature from close range.
In general, operating a video surveillance system is a tiresome and eye-straining task. When operating a video camera, a human operator is constantly looking for objects of interest, and must gaze at the monitor for a lengthy period of time. The operator often must search for features with in the display to verify that the video camera is indeed aimed at the intended scene or region of interest. In general, in the absence of obvious and unambiguous visual cues, such verification may be tedious and time-consuming.
When a monitored area is substantially larger than the FOV of the video camera, the operator must also redirect and point the LOS of the video camera at various locations within the monitored area. These locations may cover the entire monitored area or may include separate isolated regions of interest.
Alternatively, the video camera pointing may be controlled by an automated system. Automated video camera pointing systems are generally based on simple, repetitive motions. For example, in a pushbroom system, the video camera is pointed in a fixed direction while the motion of the platform causes the field of view (FOV) of the video camera to scan across the monitored area parallel to the direction of motion of the platform. In a sweeping system, the video camera is caused to periodically rotate sideways, sweeping laterally across the direction of motion of the platform. With such automated systems, the coverage of the monitored area by the video camera FOV is not related to the necessity or interest in covering the area. Thus, use of such systems may result in inefficient use of time, by spending much of the time monitoring regions of little or no interest.
Continued monitoring of similar or repeated scenes tends to be a tedious and monotonous task for a human operator. In general, features that require further attention are relatively uncommon, so that monitoring of the scenes may fail to hold the operator's attention after a period of time. The operator may become fatigued and less alert and, as a result, may fail to point the video camera at a scene that requires monitoring. A fatigued operator may fail to identify a feature requiring further attention. Furthermore, in images of complex scenes, or of scenes that are viewed intermittently, an operator may have difficulty detecting slowly or evolving or instantaneous changes or small changes that might require further attention. Furthermore, as scanning tasks typically include monitoring of several, dislocated, scenes, the operator is also required to manage the scanning tasks and redirect the LOS of the video camera from scene to scene in order to monitor all the required locations following a pre-defined re-visiting schedule. As the operator fatigue is increased, his ability to monitor all the different areas in an efficient manner substantially decreases over time.
Therefore, there is a need for a system that automates the remote monitoring process, automatically and efficiently pointing the LOS of the video camera at regions of interest, assisting the operator in finding and detecting those features in the monitored areas that require further attention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic surveillance system and method that may assist a video camera operator by automating the pointing of a video camera that is mounted on a UAV or other platform. It is a further object of the present invention to assist the operator by automating the detection of features in the video camera output that require further attention.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reading the present specification and reviewing the accompanying drawings.

Automatic video surveillance system and method


A digital compensation filtering technique is provided that enables indirect phase locked loop modulation with a digital modulation data stream having a bandwidth that exceeds, perhaps by an order of magnitude, the bandwidth characteristic of the phase locked loop. A modulation data receiver is provided for receiving from a modulation source digital input modulation data having a bandwidth that exceeds the cutoff frequency characteristic of the phase locked loop frequency response. A digital processor is coupled to the modulation data receiver for digitally processing the input modulation data to amplify modulation data at frequencies higher than the phase locked loop cutoff frequency. This digital processor is connected to the phase locked loop frequency divider to modulate the divider based on the digitally-processed input modulation data, whereby a voltage controlled oscillator of the phase locked loop is controlled to produce a modulated output carrier signal having a modulation bandwidth that exceeds the phase locked loop cutoff frequency. The digital processing of the modulation data can be implemented by adapting a digital FIR Gaussian transmit filter such that its filter characteristic reflects the intended modulation data amplification as well as enables Gaussian Frequency Shift Keyed modulation. With this implementation, no additional componentry beyond the PLL system is needed to implement the digital modulation data processing provided by the invention.

This invention relates to frequency synthesis techniques that employ a phase locked loop, and more particularly relates to techniques for modulating a phase locked loop frequency synthesizer.
Modern communication transmitters traditionally employ a phase locked loop for frequency synthesis of a communication carrier signal modulated with transmission data. The phase locked loop enables the carrier signal frequency to be precisely controlled and accordingly enables the data on which the carrier signal modulation is based to be reliably transmitted at a stable, known frequency. In such a phase locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) produces the output carrier signal at the desired frequency based on a VCO frequency control signal. In a simplified PLL configuration, this control is achieved by a feedback loop, with the VCO output signal coupled via the feedback loop to a phase-frequency detector which compares the VCO signal phase or frequency to that of a fixed-frequency reference signal and produces a frequency control signal corresponding to the phase difference between the VCO signal and the fixed-frequency signal. This frequency control signal is smoothed by a low pass loop filter and then applied to the VCO such that in its steady state the VCO output signal frequency matches that of the fixed-frequency reference signal.
Typically, a frequency divider is included in the PLL feedback loop to enable division of the frequency of the VCO output signal to a frequency that is a multiple of that of a fixed-frequency reference source. The output of the frequency divider is compared by the phase-frequency detector to the fixed-frequency source for controlling the VCO phase. In this way, the frequency of a carrier signal produced by the VCO is constantly controlled such that it is "phase locked" to a multiple of that of the fixed-frequency reference.
There exist a wide range of techniques for modulating a PLL-synthesized carrier signal. In a first general class of such techniques, hereinafter referred to as direct open-loop modulation, a modulation data stream is directly applied to the VCO, or to an appropriate node in the PLL that enables access to the VCO, for a time period during which the PLL feedback loop is broken, for adjusting the VCO frequency control signal to account for the modulation In this direct open-loop PLL modulation scenario, the PLL sets the carrier frequency during times that modulation is not performed, to control carrier frequency accuracy. But the required break in the PLL feedback loop during modulation limits this modulation technique to only burst mode communication because the PLL feedback must be periodically closed to permit this carrier frequency realignment by the closed PLL feedback. This modulation technique is further limited in that while the loop is open, great care must be taken to achieve high isolation of the VCO input from undesirable perturbations, and the leakage current must be minimized to achieve a desirable level of drift.
There has been proposed a second general class of PLL modulation that overcomes many of the limitations of a direct open-loop PLL modulation technique. In this second class, hereinafter referred to as closed-loop modulation, a modulation data stream is directly applied to the VCO or a node in the PLL enabling access to the VCO, or is indirectly applied to the PLL by way of the PLL frequency divider, in either case without breaking the PLL feedback loop, for adjusting the VCO frequency control signal to account for the modulation. For example, Washburn, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,649; Vandegraaf, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,257; and Mutz, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,676; all describe closed-loop PLL modulation techniques in which a modulation signal is directly applied to the VCO frequency control signal in a closed feedback loop for modulating the VCO output signal. Riley, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,531; Hietala et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,802; and Shepherd et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,768; describe application of a digital modulation data stream to a closed-loop PLL frequency divider for modulating the divide value of the divider and thus the PLL.
Direct or indirect closed-loop PLL modulation is recognized to be primarily limited in that the frequency response of a given PLL imposes a bandwidth constraint on modulation data to be applied to the PLL in a closed-loop configuration. For example, the bandwidth of closed-loop direct modulation to the VCO is impacted by the high pass nature of the PLL components effecting the VCO, while the bandwidth of both closed-loop indirect modulation and closed-loop direct modulation at a point ahead of the low pass filter are impacted by the low pass nature of this filter. In this second scenario, the bandwidth, and corresponding data rate, of the modulation data stream must be of the same order or less than the bandwidth of the PLL, in its basic configuration, to enable the PLL dynamics to fully accommodate the data stream, i.e., to ensure that the data stream is not attenuated by the characteristic low pass nature of the transfer function of the PLL. But while a PLL is typically characterized by a bandwidth up to about the kilohertz range, many communications applications require a modulation data stream bandwidth in the megahertz range.
In an effort to mitigate this bandwidth discrepancy, there have been proposed various modulation compensation circuits designed to compensate for relatively low PLL bandwidth and enable wider bandwidth closed-loop PLL modulation. For example, Washburn, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,649; Druker, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,209; and Vandegraaf, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,257; describe analog operational amplifier circuits designed for use in direct closed-loop PLL modulation techniques to impose on the modulation data an additional transfer function having a frequency response that tends to counter that of the PLL transfer function. Mutz, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,676, alternatively proposes generation of an analog compensation signal, based on a given modulation data signal, to be applied to the PLL fixed-frequency reference signal for causing the PLL dynamics to accommodate the modulation data bandwidth.
Like these compensation circuits, the many other techniques proposed for reducing the modulation data-PLL bandwidth discrepancy of closed-loop modulation scenarios generally require additional, specialized analog componentry beyond the PLL componentry, and thus are subject to tolerance variation and are sensitive to process and temperature variations, due to their analog nature. In addition, analog compensation circuits that pre-amplify analog modulation data also amplify undesired noise and thus degrade the PLL performance. The analog compensation circuits also generally require additional power beyond that required of the PLL, and present challenges in producing a PLL system that is entirely integrated. But for many PLL communication applications such operational and manufacturing complications are impractical, due to, e.g., performance, packaging, and power requirements inherent in the application. As a result, strict bandwidth limits must be imposed on the modulation data to be handled by the PLL modulation systems for these applications.

Digital compensation for wideband modulation of a phase locked loop frequency synthesizer


An assembly for retaining a cutting insert in a pocket of a tool holder includes a locking pin, a spring disposed in the bore of the tool holder, a locking plate disposed in the bore between the spring and the locking pin, and a set screw for retaining the assembly. The locking plate is biased against a ledge of the bore to cause the locking pin to draw and retain the cutting insert in a direction such that the cutting insert is held in a secured position against the pocket of the tool holder. To release the cutting insert, a force is applied to the assembly to counteract the biasing force of the spring. The locking pin or the locking plate may include a flat surface that cooperates with a flat surface on the bore to act as a key to proper orientate the assembly in the bore.

One problem encountered with conventional tool holders is that of holding the cutting insert securely in the pocket of the tool holder. At the beginning of a cutting operation, the sudden transition from no load to extreme pressure load on the insert can cause the insert to shift position in the holder and thereby affect the accuracy of the planned cut. At the end of the cutting operation, the sudden disengagement of the cutting insert from the workpiece causes the pressure load suddenly to be removed from the insert. This sudden change in load can cause the insert to shift and distress any repeatable dimensional accuracy, which is essential for most tool holders, especially cutting inserts used in Numerically Controlled machines, to meet.
During the cutting operation, loads of up to 35,000 pounds may be encountered on the cutting insert which, if the insert is not precisely located and firmly held in the holder to begin with, can also cause shifting of the insert during the cutting operation. It is, therefore, important to provide a tool holder that can precisely and securely seat a cutting insert and then securely hold the cutting insert in location during all phases of the heavy duty cutting operation.
When taking a heavy duty cut, such as described above, the efficiency of removing the metal from a workpiece is, thus, to be maximized. The rate of metal removal rate from a workpiece is, however, only one part of the efficiency factor. When using indexable cutting inserts, there comes a point in time when the cutting edge becomes worn and must be replaced with a fresh cutting edge.
To change a cutting edge, the cutting action must be stopped and the machine operator must index the cutting insert to a new cutting edge or replace the cutting insert altogether if all of the cutting edges thereof have become worn. The time it takes the operator to make this change directly affects the efficiency or metal removal rate of a particular machine.
The operator, having stopped the machine after some very heavy duty cutting, now has the situation that the insert the operator is about to change or index is extremely hot; in fact, too hot to be handled without gloves, rags, or other protection by the operator. Most gloves and other protection worn by the operator are cumbersome to them and, therefore, any system used for locating and seating a cutting insert in a tool holder, should recognize that a minimum of tools should be used at this point, or that if tools are used, they should be of sufficient size and utility to be used by the operator while using gloves or other protective equipment.
Most of the pin type holders of the prior art may be defective in that the pin-type clamp merely holds the insert down in the pocket without insuring that the insert is positioned or held back against one side wall of the pocket, or the pin-type holders mainly hold the insert back against a side wall of the pocket without holding the insert down in the pocket and, therefore, did not prevent fluttering of the insert during extreme operating conditions.

Assembly for retaining a cutting insert in a pocket of a tool holder


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory includes a storage area including of a plurality of data blocks and a management block which stores management information related to a storage medium in a lump. The storage area is divided into a plurality of areas and each area has a data block containing a particular page which stores information indicating whether or not the management block is present in the area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory card in which a nonvolatile semiconductor memory card is mounted, and in particular, to a memory card in which a nonvolatile semiconductor memory having a particular erase block size is mounted, and a method of controlling a semiconductor memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some of various memory cards, a nonvolatile memory such as a NAND flash memory comprises a management block in a predetermined area to manage various information related to the memory card (e.g., information to be transmitted to a host, information required to create an address conversion table, and information on defective blocks).
When such a memory card is powered on, the management block is retrieved and the information is read from the management block and used.
For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-198884 (FIG. 1 and the like) discloses a flash memory having a management block storing card management information related to a memory card.
If a nonvolatile memory such as a NAND flash memory has a storage area of a small number of blocks, the management block can be retrieved in a relatively short time. However, as the number of blocks increases consistently with the storage capacity of the nonvolatile memory, a longer time is required to retrieve the management block. Consequently, a response to a host or the like is delayed. This may prevent temporal restrictions specified for the memory card from being met.
It is thus desired to be able to quickly retrieve the management block stored in the memory.

Memory card, nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and method of controlling semiconductor memory


Antimicrobial or non-antimicrobial compositions, sanitizing compositions and other compositions combining use of a propoxylated EO/PO block copolymer surfactant and/or propoxylated polymer in combination with at least one additional anionic and/or nonionic surfactant to provide concentrated compositions having a desired viscoelasticity at an active level of at least 18% are disclosed. Non-antimicrobial applications combining use of a propoxylated surfactant and/or propoxylated polymer in combination with at least one additional anionic and/or nonionic surfactant to provide compositions having a desired viscoelasticity are also disclosed. Methods of using concentrated and use compositions having desired foaming enhancement and stabilization are also disclosed.

Heavily soiled wares can require multiple cleaning steps to remove the soils from the surfaces of the wares. Pots and pans used for prepping, cooking, and baking ware in full service restaurants can be particularly difficult to clean in a dish machine due to the caramelized soil baked on to the surface of the ware. Some full-service restaurants have attempted to overcome this issue by using, as a pre-step to washing the pots and pans in the dish machine, a 3-compartment sink for soaking the pots and pans. Exemplary soaking solutions include water, pot and pan detergent solutions, or silverware presoaks. Components of these compositions typically include metal protectors, surfactants, alkalinity sources and the like. Surfactants are the single most important cleaning ingredient in cleaning products. The surfactants reduce the surface tension of water by adsorbing at the liquid-gas interface. They also reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water by adsorbing at the liquid-liquid interface. When dissolved in water, surfactants give a product the ability to remove soil from surfaces. Each surfactant molecule has a hydrophilic head that is attracted to water molecules and a hydrophobic tail that repels water and simultaneously attaches itself to oil and grease in soil. These opposing forces loosen the soil and suspend it in the water.
Surfactants do the basic work of detergents and cleaning compositions by breaking up stains and keeping the soil in the water solution to prevent re-deposition of the soil onto the surface from which it has just been removed. Surfactants disperse soil that normally does not dissolve in water. Environmental regulations, consumer habits, and consumer practices have forced new developments in the surfactant industry to produce lower-cost, higher-performing, and environmentally friendly products.
Antimicrobial agents are chemical compositions that are used to prevent microbiological contamination and deterioration of products, materials, and systems. Antimicrobial agents and compositions are used, for example, as disinfectants or sanitizers in association with hard surface cleaning, food preparation, hospitality services, hospital and medical uses, and hand soaps. There remains an ongoing need for antimicrobial compositions having the capability to be more concentrated while having foam stabilization for use compositions. Many cleaning compositions include a foaming agent to increase contact time on surfaces to be cleaned. Such compositions are presently used in many applications, such as retail, industrial and institutional including grease cutters, clinging lime scale removers, shower wall cleaners, bathtub cleaners, hand sanitizing gels, disinfectant gels, hand-soaps, teat dips, coatings, stabilized enzymes, structured liquids, and the like.
There remains a need highly active non-antimicrobial and antimicrobial compositions for various applications of use. However such formulations present challenges for foaming profiles and desired viscoelasticity less than about 900 cPS or preferably less than about 500 cPs, including compositions having an actives level of 30% or greater.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the claimed disclosure to develop concentrated and use liquid compositions and methods of using propoxylated compounds, including propoxylated surfactants and polymers, for various applications, including for example, soil removal applications to provide desired antimicrobial efficacy.
Still further, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide enhanced soil removal in non-antimicrobial applications employing propoxylated surfactants and polymers for foam stabilization in highly active compositions. In each aspect of the disclosure suitable foam stabilization is desired while providing safe, environmentally friendly and economically feasible compositions for various applications of use.
Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Use of propoxylated surfactant or polymer in foaming applications to control viscoelasticity in highly active liquid formulations


With the invention, a method and a device for explosive forming of a tubular work piece, which comprises a multipart forming die almost fully enclosing the work piece in the closed state, and in which a plug is provided in the area of at least one end of the forming die, is to be improved, in that forming of a tubular work piece is possible in a simple method that promotes fewer individual work steps and is therefore cost-effective. This task is solved by a method and a device for explosive forming, in which a seal between the forming die and the plug is formed when the plug is inserted, in which the work piece end is mounted between the forming die and deformed.

Different devices and methods exist for forming of a work piece. During hydroforming, for example, a tubular work piece is filled with a liquid, generally water, and sealed. By increasing the liquid pressure, the work piece is widened and gradually comes against the contours of the forming guide surrounding the work piece. In this method, relatively high forces must be applied to deform the work piece and to keep the forming die applied over a longer period. In order to obtain good results, the trend of the forces, over time, must be precisely controlled.
Hydroforming can also be operated by explosion energy. This widespread method utilizes a liquid, like water, as transfer medium for the pressure waves formed by the explosion. The work piece, generally a sheet metal plate, is positioned on the cavity of a mold and lowered into a water bath. A vacuum is generally created in the cavity beneath the work piece. By introduction of an explosive charge into the water bath and then ignition, the sheet metal plate is forced into the mold and thus acquires its final shape. This method is used, for example, in shipbuilding. It is generally used to produce flat objects to be formed from a flat plate.
An explosive forming method of the generic type just mentioned without liquid is described in EP 592 068. To produce a camshaft, a lower mold half is equipped with the already prefabricated cam. After a camshaft, hollow on the inside, has been introduced through the openings of the individual cams, the upper mold half is placed on the lower one. The individual cams are separately supported by holding arms guided through special openings in the die halves. The ends of the closed mold are sealed by sealing elements running radially to the camshaft through the side walls of the die. A plug-like spark plug, extending into the camshaft, is screwed through one of these end plates. After the shaft has been filled with combustible gas, it is ignited by means of the spark plug. Because of the abrupt increase in gas pressure in the interior of the shaft, it is widened and forced into the openings of the individual cams. These are therefore connected axially and splined to the camshaft.
This method, although it gets by without any liquid, is relatively complicated and time-consuming to handle. The mold must be initially pre-equipped with finished parts and the camshaft then threaded with precise fit through the openings of the individual cams. The side surfaces must then be applied with precise fit and mounted. Feed lines for the gas must be provided, as well as a spark plug. All these are time-intensive individual working steps. The end plates or side surfaces must be resealed either during each deformation process or provided with a sealing element. However, the latter is a part subject to wear, which causes additional costs. This complicated handling results in high time expenditure and therefore costs. This method, consequently, has not gained acceptance industrially.
It would be desirable to provide a method and device that overcome at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art.


A power supply device in a semiconductor memory includes a power control means and a power generation means. The power control means divides a self-refresh section into an active-precharge mode and an idle mode depending on an operation characteristic of the semiconductor memory, and generates a control signal for controlling power strength applied to the semiconductor memory during operation in each mode. The power generation mode generates a different power level in response to a power control signal from the power control means to provide to the semiconductor memory. Meanwhile, the power supply device according to the present invention provides relatively strong power to the semiconductor memory a predetermined time period in advance of the active-precharge mode.

In the rapidly developing field of portable devices, it is an important consideration to minimize power dissipation, in order to extend the time period of portability. Accordingly, various devices and methods have been developed to reduce power dissipation in portable devices.
The increasing use of DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) in portable devices has highlighted the need for reducing power dissipation in the DRAM. Recently, several design methods of the DRAM have been actively investigated in order to reduce power dissipation in the refresh operation of the DRAM.
Refresh operations involve a series of operations that maintain data in semiconductor memories such as the DRAM. Generally, DRAM devices employ capacitors as the basic storage cell structures and DRAM devices determine the status of data according to whether charge is stored in a given capacitor cell. However, as time passes, charge that is stored in a capacitor becomes gradually discharged as a result of leakage current, thereby resulting in eventual data loss. To prevent this problem, data is preserved in the DRAM by periodically recharging the capacitor cells. This operation is referred to as a refresh operation.
A refresh operation is performed as follows. Data in the cells are read and amplified and then the data are restored in the original cells. One example of the refresh operation is a self-refresh. In a self-refresh operation, a refresh operation is performed without an external refresh command at a regular periodic interval while the DRAM is in a long-time waiting mode or in a low-power consumption mode. In the self-refresh operation, the refresh operation is continuously performed until an externally generated refresh end command is received.
Meanwhile, power supply devices provide the DRAM device with a direct current voltage level required to perform the DRAM operations. However, as mentioned above, the self-refresh operation is performed while operating in a mode when data input/output operations are not performed (e.g., in a long-time waiting mode or in a low-power mode), and therefore offers the advantage of relatively low power consumption as compared to normal operating mode. Therefore, the DRAM power supply device provides relatively weaker power levels during the refresh mode as compared to normal mode. In this manner, power consumption by the DRAM is reduced.
FIG. 1 illustrates the input and output signals for a self-refresh operation in a general power supply device used in conventional semiconductor memory. FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram of signals of the conventional power supply device shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional power supply device 100 continuously provides relatively weak power levels to a DRAM during a self-refresh operation section (an SR section A) as compared to a normal operation section in response to a self-refresh clock signal Pself input from an external source and a predetermined reference voltage Vref. At this time, the power supply device 100 may be embodied to include a differential amplifier (not shown). This is understood by those skilled in the art, and description thereof is thus omitted.
In another approach, as shown the waveform diagram of FIG. 2, the DRAM self-refresh operation may be subdivided into an active-precharge mode B and an idle mode C during the SR section A. In the active-precharge mode B, an actual refresh operation is performed. For this reason, the active-precharge mode B requires relatively strong power as compared to the idle mode C being a waiting state. However, the power that is supplied to the power supply device 100 controlled by the self-refresh clock signal Pself during the SR section A is relatively weak as compared to the normal operation section. As a result, the possibility exists that the power provided for the active-precharge mode of the self-refresh operation is insufficient. In addition, unnecessary power is consumed during the idle mode C.

Power supply device in semiconductor memory


A process for manufacturing an aqueous composition of a peracid by reacting an acid anhydride with concentrated hydrogen peroxide. Preferably the aqueous peracid composition is further converted into an emulsion having improved stability wherein said emulsion contains a surfactant having an HLB above 11 and a surfactant having an HLB below 11.

A great variety of cleaning compositions have been described in the art. Indeed, compositions comprising hydrogen peroxide, and/or water soluble sources thereof including peracids are widely used. In order to provide such compositions comprising peracids, it is common practice to use peracid precursors as a source of said peracids. Indeed, peracids are not commonly commercially available, and if available may not be used satisfactorily, as said peracids are not stable and tend to decompose dramatically during storage, this even before their incorporation into a composition. Compositions containing such peracids can be made by a variety of methods employing reactions between hydrogen peroxide and the corresponding peracid precursors, i.e. the corresponding acids. However, such methods are not fully satisfying. Indeed, there is a need for the development of processes for manufacturing aqueous compositions with better productivity in several respects, e.g. formulators are looking for a process which allows to incorporate higher amounts of peracids in a finished product, starting from a given amount of the corresponding precursors.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a process for improving the efficiency of producing peracids.
We have now found that this object can be efficiently met by reacting a concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution with, as the precursor of the peracid, the corresponding anhydride instead of the corresponding acid. Indeed, it has been found that a faster preparation as well as a higher yield of said peracid are achieved when reacting with a concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution, the corresponding anhydride, as compared to reacting with said concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution, the corresponding acid instead of said corresponding anhydride, as said precursor of said peracid. In other words, it has been found that a process which comprises the step of reacting the corresponding precursor being in an anhydride form with a concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution leads to faster preparation of compositions comprising a higher amount of said peracid, starting from a given amount of said precursor.
An advantage of a process according to the present invention is that it allows for great flexibility in formulating and provides compositions comprising peracid suitable to be used in the most efficient manner by the consumer. Indeed, such a composition can be a raw material composition, or can be a fully formulated detergent composition comprising additional ingredients such as those commonly used in the detergent field. Preferred herein is a process which allows to provide compositions with high amounts of peracids, said compositions being in the form of emulsions. Indeed, an advantage associated with the emulsions obtained according to a process of the present invention is that such compositions not only incorporate a higher amount of a peracid, starting from a given amount of the corresponding anhydride but also allow to provide a finished product having improved stability during storage, i.e. in emulsions the rate of decomposition of peracids contained therein is reduced, as compared to compositions being not in the form of emulsions.
Processes for the preparation of compositions or even emulsions comprising a bleach have been disclosed in the art. For instance, EP-A-598170 discloses the use of emulsions to formulate compositions comprising H.sub.2 O.sub.2 and a hydrophobic bleach activator (ATC), wherein the bleach activator is kept separate from H.sub.2 O.sub.2. This patent application also discloses the possible use of a water-soluble source of H.sub.2 O.sub.2 including peracids but no indication is given about how to provide them. Indeed, although a general process for the preparation of emulsions is disclosed, none of the process steps disclosed therein indicates how to incorporate peracids, or to use peracid precursors in their anhydride form.
WO 93/0516 to Interox discloses a process for the preparation of a dilute aqueous solution comprising an hydroxyaliphatic peroxycarboxylic acid having no more than 7 carbon atoms in which in a first step a concentrated aqueous solution of said peroxycarboxylic acid precursor, i.e. an hydroxyaliphatic carboxylic acid, is mixed with a concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution in presence if necessary of a strong acid as a catalyst, in a second step the mixture is stored until the concentration of said peroxycarboxylic acid has approached its maximum; then the mixture is diluted in water. WO 93/0516 does not disclose the use of any peroxyacid precursor being in its anhydride form.
EP 188 025 mentions that the peroxymonosulphuric acid used in the compositions disclosed therein are commercially available in an aqueous solution as Caro's acid prepared by addition of concentrated hydrogen peroxide to concentrated sulphuric acid. Thus, the peracid precursors disclosed are the corresponding acids whereas in the present invention the corresponding anhydrides are used.

Process for manufacturing aqueous compositions comprising peracids


A communication cable includes at least one twisted wire pair formed by twisting a plurality of insulation-coated wires; a sheath surrounding the twisted wire pair; and a protrusion formed on an outer surface of the sheath. This communication cable may prevent alien crosstalk particularly at high-speed transmission so that transmission characteristics of the communication cable may be stably kept.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication cable, and more particularly to a communication cable having an improved configuration capable of high-speed transmission by restraining an alien crosstalk phenomenon between cables.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a so-called UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable is widely used as a communication cable. For making the UTP cable, wires composed of a conductor made of copper or the like and a coating for insulating the conductor are twisted to make a wire pair (see FIG. 1), and about four wire pairs are collected and the coated.
Such a communication cable is classified using an identifying symbol, named Category (or, Cat.) depending on its signal transmission capability. For example, Cat.3 enables 16 MHz signal transmission, Cat.4 enables 20 MHz signal transmission, and Cat.5 enables 100 MHz signal transmission. As a higher modulating frequency is used, a greater amount of information may be transmitted. However, as a higher modulating frequency is used, crosstalk in a cable and crosstalk between cables are generated, which makes it difficult to separate signals at a receiver. Due to the reason, information transmission capability of the UTP cable has been limited to the level of about 155 Mbps (Megabit per sec).
However, along with the development of transmission equipment technique, signal degradation caused by crosstalk in a cable can be compensated by means of a compensation or cancellation method using DSP (Digital Signal Processing) or the like. Thus, Cat.5e cable may allow 1000 Mbps (or, 1 Gbps) transmission, and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Standards Committee has formally standardized 1000 Base-T as an Ethernet standard in 1999.
Accordingly, a high frequency is much more used for increase of transmission capability. However, as a higher frequency is used, insertion loss and crosstalk between wires around a cable are much increased in proportion thereto. Furthermore, recently, there have been attempts to use a high frequency band over 400 MHz, particularly in the range of 500 to 650 MHz, so as to obtain a Shannon capacity of 20 Gbps or above in theory, and actually up to 10 Gbps. In this case, alien crosstalk between cables becomes a vital issue.
In order to overcome the difficulty on signal separation caused by the crosstalk, a compensation equipment such as DSP and a shielded cable having an improved cable structure were conventionally used. First, in case a compensation equipment such as DSP is used, crosstalk generated in a cable may be solved, but alien crosstalk is generated, so transmission signals of adjacent cables are interfered with each other due to the effect of electromagnetic wave according to high frequency transmission, thereby making signal separation impossible.
Meanwhile, the shielded cable is basically designed for usage under poor environments, namely in a place seriously influenced by electromagnetic wave. Such a shielded cable is configured in a way that a metal film having excellent electromagnetic wave shielding characteristic is inserted therein, so that a signal to be transmitted is less influenced by crosstalk caused by electromagnetic wave even in a place where signal crosstalk is serious. FTP (Foiled Twisted Pair) cable and STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) cable are used as the shielded cable. STP is configured so that pair and sheath are respectively shielded using an aluminum film, and FTP is configured so that only sheath is shielded. In case of having an electromagnetic wave shielding characteristic by means of winding of a metal film, the cable does not cause alien crosstalk by electromagnetic wave during high frequency transmission in the range of 500 to 650 MHz, so it may allow 10 Gbps transmission in a technical aspect. However, there are following problems in replacing an existing UTP cable with FTP cable or STP cable.
First, in Europe, at least 95% of subscriber networks employ UTP cable, and STP cable is used for special purpose. Since at least 95% of relevant industries and engineers possess or study UTP cable network technique, so they have no choice but to prefer UTP cable. In addition, since STP cable has low tolerance in installation, its characteristics are seriously changed depending on installation skill of engineers and the characteristics of the system itself are seriously deteriorated even by a minute carelessness, which makes STP cable not agreeable to general users.
In addition, seeing other drawbacks related to replacement difficulty, in case a metal film is used for shielding like FTP structure, there are problems of an increased density causing increase of weight, bad flexibility, easy corrosion, and difficult processing. In addition, separate processes should be inconveniently added during cable production.

Communication cable having outside spacer and method for producing the same


An apparatus aims at detecting an angle of a rotating shaft as a train of bits. A first signal including a train of pulses corresponding to angle intervals of a rotation of the rotating shaft is inputted to the apparatus, and a second signal including a train of clock pulses whose clock cycle is a positive integer submultiple of a pulse cycle of the first signal is inputted to the apparatus. In the apparatus, a first counter is indicative of a higher-order of the train of bits, and counts up or down in synchronization with the pulse cycle of the first signal. A second counter is indicative of a lower-order of the train of bits, and counts either up or down in synchronization with the clock cycle of the second signal. The second counter is cleared in synchronization with the pulse cycle of the first signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for detecting an angle of a rotating shaft, such as a crankshaft of an engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional engine control units utilize input signals supplied from various sensors, such as a crankshaft sensor, a coolant temperature sensor, and an air temperature sensor, to perform engine controls, such as fuel injection control and ignition timing control, thereby operating an engine under optimum conditions.
The input signals include a crank signal outputted from the crankshaft sensor. The crank signal consists of a train of crank pulses corresponding to angular positions of a crankshaft as it rotates. The pulse cycle of the pulse train corresponds to a predetermined angular interval of the crankshaft rotation.
One example of the conventional engine control units is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,628B2 corresponding to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-271700.
The engine control unit disclosed in the publication is operative to multiply the frequency of the crank signal, thereby generating a multiplication clock signal. For details, the multiplication clock signal consists of a train of clock pulses whose clock cycle is a positive integral submultiple of the pulse cycle of the crank signal. The engine control unit is also operative to increment a crank counter indicative of a rotational position of the crankshaft, in other words, a crank angle thereof, in response to the multiplication clock signal to control the engine based on the count value of the crank counter. That is, the engine control unit is configured to control the engine in synchronization with the engine speed. The configuration makes it possible to grasp the crank angle with a resolution higher than that of the crank signal.
This type of engine control unit determines a guard value for each significant edge of each crank pulse of the crank signal. The guard value represents a value that the crank counter should take at a timing of the next significant edge of each significant edge of each crank pulse of the crank signal. Even if the engine accelerates or decelerates, the engine control unit would accurately determine, based on the guard value, the count value of the crank counter at the timing of the next significant edge of each significant edge of each crank pulse of the crank signal.
An example of the operations of the engine control unit will be explained in FIGS. 30 and 31. In this example, it is assumed that the crank counter is incremented in response to the multiplication clock signal whose frequency is 32 times that of the crank signal, in other words, the number of multiplication of the multiplication clock signal is set to "32". It is also assumed that, as shown in FIG. 30, a part of the crank signal is represented as a train of crank pulses Pm−1, Pm, Pm+1. In this assumption, during a current pulse time interval Tm between the temporally adjacent crank pulses Pm+1 and Pm, the crank counter is incremented every time that is one-thirty second ( 1/32) of a previous pulse time interval Tm−1 between the temporally adjacent crank pulses Pm and Pm−1.
Assuming that the engine speed is constant, the crank counter is incremented at regular time intervals during any pulse interval in the crank signal. For example, as shown in FIG. 30, when the significant edge of the crank signal, in other words the leading edge, is generated every crank angle (CA) of 10 degrees, the crank counter is incremented with a resolution of the crank angle (CA) of 0.3125 degrees, which corresponds to LSB (Least Significant Bits). This is because the frequency of the multiple clock signal is 32 times that of the crank signal.
When the engine suddenly accelerates so that a pulse time interval of the crank signal becomes short, a next significant edge may be generated before the count value of the crank counter is incremented by 32. This may result in that the count value of the crank counter may be shifted to be small from the value of "32". Similarly, when the engine suddenly decelerates so that a pulse time interval of the crank signal becomes long, the count value of the crank counter may be shifted to be large from the value of "32".
In order to prevent the count value from being shifted from the multiplication value, such as "32", as shown in FIG. 31, the guard value is set every significant edges of the crank signal. The guard value represents a value that the crank counter should take at a timing of each significant edge of each crank pulse of the crank signal.
When the engine suddenly accelerates during, for example, the current pulse time interval "Tm", the count value of the crank counter is forcibly incremented at the next significant edge (the start timing of the next pulse time interval "Tm+1") in response to an internal clock signal whose cycle is short from that of the multiplication clock signal. This allows the count value of the crank counter to be reached up to the guard value set at the current significant edge (the start timing of the current pulse time interval Tn).
It is assumed that the engine suddenly decelerates during, for example, the previous pulse time interval "Tm−1". In this assumption, when the count value of the crank counter gets to the guard value set at the previous significant edge (the start timing of the previous pulse time interval "Tm−1"), the increment of the crank counter is forced to be terminated until the next significant edge (the start timing of the current pulse time interval Tm) is generated.

Method and apparatus for detecting an angle of a rotating shaft


The disclosure relates to a check rail for a wheel suspension of a wheel in a vehicle, wherein the wheel suspension may include a wheel carrier configured to support a wheel of a vehicle, the wheel carrier may include an elastic check rail body that may include a fiber-reinforced composite material with a first check rail end and a second check rail end, wherein the first check rail end is configured to be fastened to a structural body component of the vehicle, wherein the first check rail end is constructed without a bearing; and a pivot bearing on the second check rail end and configured to be rotatably fastened on the wheel carrier.

The present disclosure relates to a check rail with a pivot bearing for a wheel suspension in a vehicle, in particular a transversal check rail with a pivot bearing.
Check rails for a wheel suspension of a vehicle are usually constructed a sheet check rails, elastomer hybrid check rails or aluminum check rails in strand-pressed or extruded form. A check rail is typically realized by a check rail body with a bearing receptacle for receiving a bearing on at least one end of the check rail body.


The present invention relates to a method of non-covalently binding a compound to a sensor surface. The method comprises adsorbing a hydrophobin-like substance to at least a part of the sensor surface, such as an electrode. The invention further provides a sensor having a surface, at least a part of which is provided with a coating of a hydrophobin-like substance that comprises a non-covalently bonded compound.

Hydrophobins are a class of small secreted cysteine-rich proteins of fungi or proteins of bacteria that assemble into amphipathic films when confronted with hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces. Some hydrophobins form unstable, amphipathic films and others form extremely stable, amphipathic films. By assembling at a cell wall-air interface, some hydrophobins have been shown to provide for a hydrophobic surface which has the ultrastructural appearance of rodlets as on aerial hyphae and spores. Some hydrophobins have been shown to assemble into amphipathic films at interfaces between water and oils, or hydrophobic solids, and may be involved in adherence phenomena. It appears that hydrophobins are among the most abundantly produced proteins of fungi and individual species may contain several genes producing divergent hydrophobins, possibly tailored for specific purposes.
Hydrophobins have been implicated in various developmental processes, such as formation of aerial hyphae, fruit bodies and conidia, and may play essential roles in fungal ecology including spore dissemination, pathogenesis and symbiosis. Hydrophobins fulfill a broad spectrum of functions in fungal growth and development. For instance, hydrophobins are involved in formation of hydrophobic aerial structures (e.g., aerial hyphae and fruiting bodies) and mediate attachment of hyphae to hydrophobic surfaces resulting in morphogenetic signals. The mechanism underlying these functions is based on the property of hydrophobins to self-assemble at hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces into amphipathic films.
Hydrophobins secreted by submerged hyphae diffuse in the aqueous environment and may self-assemble at the interface of the medium and the air. This is accompanied by a drop in water surface tension, enabling hyphae to breach the interface and grow into the air. On the other hand, hydrophobins secreted by hyphae that contact a hydrophobic environment will self-assemble at the hyphal surface. The hydrophilic side of the amphipathic film interacts with the hydrophilic polysaccharides of the cell wall, while the hydrophobic side becomes exposed to the hydrophobic environment. Thus, aerial hyphae and spores become hydrophobic, while hyphae that grow over a hydrophobic substrate firmly attach to the hydrophobic substrate. Hydrophobins are, thus, active in the environment of the fungus and at the hyphal surface. Moreover, the hydrophobins also function within the matrix of the cell wall where the hydrophobins somehow influence cell wall composition. In this case, monomeric hydrophobins, rather than self-assembled hydrophobins, seem to be involved.
The best characterized class I hydrophobin is SC3 of Schizophyllum commune, but as far as is known by testing, other members of this class have similar properties. Upon contact with hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces, SC3 monomers self-assemble into a 10 nm thick amphipathic film. The hydrophilic and hydrophobic sides of the SC3 membrane have water contact angles of 36° and 110°, making these sides moderately hydrophilic (comparable to carbohydrate) and highly hydrophobic (comparable to TEFLON), respectively.
Interfacial self-assembly of SC3 involves several conformational changes. β-Sheet rich monomers initially adopt a conformation with increased α-helix (α-helix state). SC3 is arrested in this intermediate state at the water-TEFLON interface, but at the water-air interface, the protein proceeds to a form with increased β-Sheet. Initially, this so-called β-Sheet state has no clear ultrastructure (β-Sheet I state), but after a few hours, a mosaic of bundles of 10 nm wide rodlets is observed (β-Sheet II state). This ultrastructural change is not accompanied by a detectable change in secondary structure. The transition from the α-helix state to β-Sheet state can also occur at a water-solid interface, but has to be induced by increasing the temperature and by adding detergent.
Upon self-assembly, the properties of hydrophobins change. Hydrophobins in the β-Sheet state are highly surface active, while monomers have no detectable surface activity. Moreover, lectin activity is increased. In addition, the α-helix state form appears to be less stable than the β-Sheet state. Although both forms strongly adhere to hydrophobic surfaces, the α-helix form can be dissociated and converted to the monomeric formation by treatment with cold, diluted detergents. In contrast, the conformation of the β-sheet form and its interaction with the hydrophobic solid is not affected by this treatment.
Known hydrophobins (see for example WO 96/41882 which also provides guidance to obtain genetically modified hydrophobin-like substances) commonly are proteins with a length of up to 125 amino acids, with a conserved sequence Xn-C-X5-9-C-C-X11-39-C-X8-23-C-X5-9C-C-X6-18-C-Xm (SEQ ID NO: 5) wherein X, represents any amino acid, and n and m independently represent an integer as disclosed by Wessels et al. (ref. 8).
Most classical hydrophobins contain the eight conserved cysteine residues that form four disulphide bridges. However, when the disulphide bridges of a hydrophobin are reduced by chemical modification and the sulfhydryl groups are blocked with, for example, iodoacetamide, the protein assembles in water in the absence of a hydrophilic-hydrophobic interface. The structure is indistinguishable from that of native hydrophobin assembled at the water-air interface. Apparently, the disulphide bridges of hydrophobins keep monomers soluble in water, e.g., within the cell in which they are produced or in the medium, allowing self-assembly at a hydrophilic-hydrophobic interface but are not necessary to provide for its amphiphatic character per se.
Class I and class II hydrophobins are known, each being about 100 amino acids in length and having characteristic hydropathy patterns. Most, but not all, hydrophobins contain eight conserved cysteine residues that form intramolecular disulphide bridges. Hydrophobins may be glycosylated, but the characteristic amphipathic properties of these proteins can be solely attributed to their amino acid sequences. Although the amino acid sequences of class II hydrophobins are relatively well conserved, those of the class I hydrophobins show a low homology. It would be difficult to design universal primers to pick up class I hydrophobin genes by, for example, polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Indeed, all hydrophobins that have been physically isolated self-assemble at hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces into amphipathic membranes. One side of the hydrophobin membrane is moderately to highly hydrophilic (water contact angles below 90°, for example, ranging between 22° and 63°), while the other side exposes a surface with water contact angles essentially above 90°, for example, ranging between 93° and 140°, for example, as hydrophobic as TEFLON (polytetrafluorethylene) or paraffin (water contact angle at about 110°). The contact angle may be determined by a Drop Shape Angle Analysis System, for example, the DSA10MK2 supplied by Krüss.
The membranes formed by class I hydrophobins (e.g., those of SC3 and SC4 of S. commune) are highly insoluble (resisting 2% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) at 100° C.), but can be dissociated by agents such as formic acid (FA) or trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). In contrast, membranes of the class II hydrophobins cerato-ulmin (CU) of Ophiostoma ulmi and cryparin (CRP) of Cryphonectria parasitica readily dissociate in 60% ethanol and in 2% SDS, while assembled CU is also known to dissociate by applying pressure or by cooling.
Self-assembly of hydrophobins is accompanied by conformational changes. Monomeric class I and class II hydrophobins are rich in β-sheet structure. At the water-air interface, class II hydrophobins attain more β-sheet structure (called the β-sheet state), while at the interface between water and a hydrophobic solid, a form with increased α-helix is observed (the α-helical state). The α-helical state seems to be an intermediate of self-assembly, whereas the β-sheet state is likely the stable end-form. At the water-air interface, monomers of class I hydrophobins attain the α-helical state within seconds, but the conversion to the β-sheet state is much slower and takes minutes or even hours. At the water-solid interface, the protein also readily attains the α-helical state, but is thought to be arrested in this intermediate state. The β-sheet end state can be reached by applying a combination of heat and diluted detergent. Both forms of the assembled hydrophobin have an amphipathic nature and can be dissociated with TFA, which unfolds the protein.
After removing the solvent and dissolving in water, class I hydrophobins refold to the same monomeric structure that was observed before purification or TFA treatment. However, self-assembly and disassembly of class II hydrophobins can also be repeated even after dissociation of the membrane by TFA. This shows that both classes of hydrophobins are highly resilient to this type of treatment. The membrane of class I hydrophobins is characterized by a mosaic of bundles of 5-12 nm-wide parallel rodlets. In contrast, rodlets have not been found at surfaces of the assembled class II hydrophobins CFTH1 of Claviceps fusiformis, CRP of C. parasitica, and HFB1 and HFB2 of Trichoderma reesei. Whether the absence of rodlets or the differences in rodlet diameter has any functional significance is not yet known.
The rodlets of the class I hydrophobins, SC3 and SC4, of Schizophylum commune are very similar to the fibrils formed by amyloid proteins. The rodlets of the class I hydrophobins consist of two tracks of 2-3 protofilaments with a diameter of about 2.5 nm each, have a high degree of β-sheet structure, and interact with the fluorescent dyes Thioflavine T (ThT) and Congo Red. Both dyes may be used as probes to discriminate between the α-helical state and the β-sheet state, each having a high propensity for β-sheet state, but no or lower propensity for α-helix state or soluble hydrophobin-like substance.
In addition, SC3 and amyloid proteins self-assemble via intermediates and only above a critical concentration. It was suggested that amyloid fibril formation is common to many, if not all, polypeptide chains. However, because formation of amyloid fibrils is accompanied by loss of function or even disease (e.g. Alzheimer's disease), evolution would have selected against the propensity to form such fibrils. Yet, one or two mutations in a protein suffice to considerably increase the tendency to form amyloid fibrils. To our knowledge, hydrophobins are the first example of functional amyloids with multiple functions in fungal development. Recently, it was found that the four disulfide bridges of the SC3 hydrophobin are essential to prevent the protein from forming the amyloid structures in the absence of a hydrophilic-hydrophobic interface. When the disulphide bridges were reduced and the sulfhydryl groups blocked with iodoacetamide, the protein spontaneously assembled in water. The protein's structure was indistinguishable from that of native SC3 assembled at the water-air interface. Apparently, the disulphide bridges of hydrophobins keep monomers soluble in water (e.g., within the cell or in the medium) and, thus, prevent precocious self-assembly. This would explain why most hydrophobins have eight conserved cysteine residues in nature.
Hydrophobins belong to the most surface-active molecules. With a maximal lowering of the water surface tension from 72 to 24 mJ m−2 at 50 μg ml−1, SC3 is the most surface-active protein known. Other hydrophobins are also highly surface active. Their surface-lowering activities are at least similar to those of traditional biosurfactants. In contrast to these surfactants, surface activity is not dependent on a lipid conjugate, but is solely caused by the amino acid sequence. Moreover, while the maximal lowering of the surface tension by the traditional surfactants is attained within seconds, it takes minutes or even hours in the case of class I hydrophobins. This is explained by the fact that hydrophobins lower the water surface after self-assembly that is accompanied by conformational changes in the molecule.
Despite the fact that hydrophobins have diverged considerably, their gross properties are similar. This flexibility is also illustrated by the fact that removing 25 out of 31 amino acids preceding the first cysteine residue of the SC3 hydrophobin to generate truncated SC3 by genetic engineering only affected the wettability of the hydrophilic side of the assembled hydrophobin. A most remarkable hydrophobin is the trihydrophobin CFTH1 of C. fusiformis. It contains three class II hydrophobin-like units, each preceded by a Gly-Asn-rich repeat and still behaves like other class II hydrophobins. Because of the interfacial self-assembly into amphipathic protein films, hydrophobins can change the wettability of surfaces.
One method to measure wettability is by estimating or measuring the contact angle that a water drop makes with the surface. A large contact angle (>90°) indicates a hydrophobic surface; a small contact angle (<90°) indicates a hydrophilic surface. Furthermore, in gas/liquid or liquid/liquid systems, such as in vigorously shaken water or in oil-in-water or water-in-oil dispersions, air bubbles or oil droplets in solution of hydrophobin become coated with an amphipathic film that stabilizes them.
Solid/liquid interfaces show the same stabilization. For example, a sheet of hydrophobic plastic, such as TEFLON (contact angle 110°), immersed in hydrophobin becomes coated with a strongly adhering protein film that makes the surface completely wettable (contact angle 48°), even after SDS extraction (contact angle 62°), and hydrophobin monomers dried down on a hydrophilic surface make the surface hydrophobic.
The classical hydrophobins are typically isolated from fungi like Schizophyllum commune (ref. 8), but can also be made recombinantly; or comprise a polypeptide having at least 40% identity and at least 5% similarity to at least one polypeptide selected from the group consisting of amino acids 29-131 of SEQ ID NO: 1 and amino acids 29-133 of SEQ ID NO: 2. Such a protein may originate from a filamentous bacterium, in particular, a bacterium capable of forming aerial hyphae, such as an Actinomycete, and, more specifically, the filamentous bacterium may be a Streptomyces species. A Streptomyces species, from which the protein may be isolated using standard procedures for the isolation of hydrophobins, is a Streptomyces species which has been transformed with a construct that can be isolated from an E. coli strain deposited on 14 Mar., 2000 under accession number CBS 102638 with the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (Oosterstraat 1, P.O. Box 273, 3740 AG Baarn, the Netherlands). This is disclosed in PCT/NL01/00268.
In particular, Wessels et al. (Advances in Microbial Physiology, 38, pp. 1-45 (1997)) suggest attaching small ligands to a layer of hydrophobin via covalent binding or coupling of amino groups to aldehyde groups on mannose residues (Id. at p. 35). The only example given relates to coupling a protein molecule onto a layer of hydrophobin present on a gold surface. However, coating the surface with a hydrophobin may reduce the sensitivity of the sensor as less surface area is available or reactions to be detected take place at a greater distance from the sensor surface.

Method of binding a compound to a sensor surface


A foldable canopy, primarily for baby strollers and the like. The canopy comprises a top member, a rear n,,ember and a pair of side members formed from a unitary planar foldable material such as cardboard, plastic and the like. The material is cut and scored to provide a preselected pattern which when folded into its fully assembled configuration, provides a convenient means for attachment to a stroller for blocking sunlight, rain, snow and other inclement environmental conditions which might otherwise reach the child in the stroller to which the canopy is connected. The canopy is configured to be installed at a position above and separated from a child in the stroller so that it does not otherwise interfere with the safety and comfort of the child.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to accessories for baby strollers and more specifically to a portable, foldable canopy that may be readily attached to most standard baby strollers for protecting an infant or older child against sunlight or rain and the like.
2. PRIOR ART
The prior art is rife with disclosures of inventions relating to canopies for protecting the user against incident sunlight or rain and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,161 to Boggs, et al, is directed to a detachable canopy for a child carrying device. The canopy has a frame section and a covered section which can be a form of a lightweight material such as fabric or plastic. The frame legs are detachably mounted to the handlebars. This reference does not provide for a disposable type of system made out of cardboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,952 to Biven is directed to a sun shield for backpackers. The canopy includes body members which give body to the side flaps and the front flap. Thus, this is a cardboard type canopy system which, although not particularly foldable, is formed of a disposable type of material such as cardboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,711 to Hermanson is directed to a disposable umbrella made up of a paperboard material. This provides both a disposable and foldable canopy of paperboard material. This is not, adapted particularly for a canopy to be used with a stroller.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,546 to Garner is directed to a baby stroller and a canopy in combination with the canopy frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,369 to Hermanson is directed to a disposable rain and weather protector and as can be seen in FIGS. 6-8 is foldable. This is particularly directed to an umbrella 1 which includes the canopy and is die cut.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,258,291 to Ezquerra is directed to an infant supporting device and includes the canopy which is removably mounted to the back of the chair. The canopy is believed to be formed of a fabric material.
Unfortunately, nowhere in the prior art known to the applicant is there any disclosure of a portable, foldable canopy that is adapted for easy storage in a flat configuration while also being adapted for simple and expedient unfolding and attachment to standard baby strollers for protecting a baby or older child against sunlight and other external elements.

Portable, foldable canopy for baby strollers


A self-contained hydroponic plant system which can be easily packaged as a kit containing a plurality of plant seeds, at least one plant cube for holding seedlings within, a germination tray to allow the plant cubes having seeds within to germinate, a vertically collapsible reservoir for holding water and nutrients therein having an open top end and a sealed bottom end, a solar powered aerator for circulating oxygen to the water in the reservoir through a flexible hose, and a net pot supported by the top end of the reservoir having a slotted bottom wall for supporting the plant cups with germinated seedlings within, whereby the plant's roots grow and access the plant nutrients within the aerated water-filled reservoir. The kit further includes a media to support/stabilize the plant cup within the net pot, a frame assembly sized to hold the reservoir, and support hangers to suspend the frame assembly and reservoir.

Gardening, the practice of growing and cultivating plants known as hydroculture, is a popular backyard activity among homeowners. Ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance while other plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits and herbs, are grown for consumption or for medicinal or cosmetic use. Gardening is considered to be a relaxing, pleasurable activity for many people. Until now, apartment and condominium dwellers, as well as the handicapped, young and elderly, were often denied the opportunity to experience the personal satisfaction inherent in planting, growing, and enjoying the results of their efforts.
Plant growing systems in the form of flower pots, which a person must water, are very well known. Automatic systems for watering plants are also well known. However, recent technology has advanced the art of hydroponics, a subset of hydroculture and method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Use of this process enables apartment dwellers, condominium residents, handicapped people, young and the elderly to experience the satisfaction inherent in gardening. The plants can be grown solely in water with their roots suspended in the nutrient solution, in the air with the nutrient solution cascading among them, or in a growing medium that supports the roots while ensuring contact with the nutrient solution. The growing medium can be either man-made or organic, and can include various materials such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, coconut husk, vermiculite, clay pellets, sand, moss, insulation, saw dust, lava rock and the like. Generally, the type of medium selected may be based on the amount of aeration and draining required for the plant during growth. The nutrient solution is typically circulated in order to maintain continuous or regular flow of the nutrient solution to the plant roots, and thereby contribute to optimal growing conditions for the plants.
There are distinct advantages to using various applications of hydroponics to grow plants. First, the water remains in the system as it is circulated, as opposed to the continual need to add water as required with soil planting, which can lead to substantial production cost savings. Plant yields are found to be higher and more uniform than with soil-planted plants, and, perhaps more importantly, the plants can be grown in areas where in-ground gardening or agriculture is not possible. Furthermore, diseases can often be more readily treated or addressed due to the ease of plant removal and washing, as well as the ease of changing the fluid which nourishes the plant.
As noted above, a key advantage to using hydroponics is space saving. Hydroponic growing normally utilizes small containers which take up much less space than the larger area required when growing a comparable amount of plants with soil-based agriculture. In other words, due to the continual delivery of nutrients to the roots in hydroponics, the amount of volume/area required is minimized. Using a hydroponic system, homeowners can improve plant production from the garden space available to them, and apartment/condominium dwellers that do not have access to soil are still afforded the experience of gardening.
A number of hydroponic planting methods have been developed that hold plants in place while suspending their roots directly in the nutrient solution. One such method is typically described as deep water culture. Deep water culture is a hydroponic method of plant production where the plant roots are suspended in a solution of nutrient-rich, oxygenated water. Traditional methods favor the use of plastic buckets with the plant contained in a net pot suspended from the center of the lid and the roots suspended in the nutrient solution. An air pump powered aquarium airstone oxygenates the nutrient solution. If sufficiently oxygenated, the plant roots can remain submerged indefinitely. Once the plants are ready to bloom, the level of the nutrient solution is gradually reduced to expose the roots to the air. Plants absorb more oxygen directly from the air than from the oxygen dissolved in water. Deep water culture allows plant roots to absorb large quantities of oxygen, while also allowing the intake of nutrients. This leads to rapid growth throughout the life of the plant.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,805 to Ware is an example of a conventional vertical hydroponic system including a nutrient supply module with one or more columns radially disposed about a central axis. The columns include a plurality of growth sites. U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,972 to Freitus discloses a self-contained plant growth system including a three-compartment plant growth chamber having an upper compartment for holding soil or vermiculite, an intermediate reservoir compartment for storing fluid (such as a plant growth solution), and a lower compartment housing a pump and electric power source. U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,896 to Carl teaches a hydroponic apparatus composed of a series of tubes that support a plurality of plants maintained in individual planting cups. Slot-like apertures permit the roots of the plant to extend within the tubes. Sterile liquid is isolated from the direct flow of the nutrient fluid. U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,647 to Blackford discloses a self-contained hydroponic plant growing system having a horizontal tubular chamber capped at each end, the chamber having a series of holes along its top for supporting a plurality of specially constructed flower pots or cups having holes in their bottoms to enable root growth outside of the pot or cup to access the plant nutrients, whereby a water pump, which can be solar powered, circulates water and other nutrients from a reservoir system through a spray means inside the tubular chamber based on a timer set to deliver the water and other nutrients at optimal times to maximize growth. U.S. Publication No. 2014/0290137 to Nagels et al. discloses a vertical indoor plant growing system including a base defining an interior compartment, a mast extending upwardly from the base, a first arm extending outwardly from the mast, a cable hanging downwardly from the first arm, one or more pots engaged on the cable, and a water delivery system connecting a water supply and the uppermost pot. U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,482 to Bradley teaches a modular plant growing apparatus utilizing a nutrient solution reservoir and a plant supporting structure comprising inner and outer walls. A pumping system delivers the nutrients to the plants within the structure.
Despite the availability of a wide variety of hydroponic planting units, they are mostly bulky, cumbersome, sold in individual parts, difficult to setup or use, and often not energy-efficient. There remains a need for a hydroponics planting system that can be easily transported and/or stored, requires minimal effort to setup, and is easy to use. The hydroponic planting system should be sold as a kit which includes every element needed to begin growing beautiful flowers, aromatic herbs and tasty veggies immediately. The hydroponic planting kit should be solar powered, thus allowing the kit to be assembled and used anywhere there is sunlight. Portions of the kit should be collapsible to allow compact storage and shipment. The compact configuration of the kit should also allow for retail sales as an end cap or shelf item without the need for large containers. Thus, what is lacking in the prior art is a virtually self-contained hydroponic planting kit having collapsible/expandable components, requiring only the occasional addition of water and/or other nutrients which may be used by individuals to grow a plurality of similar or different flowers, vegetables and other plants at an indoor or limited outdoor location.