Novel aqueous foamable concentrates are disclosed. When mixed with a non-neutral pH aqueous liquid and foamed, the resulting foam is suitable for blanketing and neutralizing non-neutral pH hazardous material spills.

It is known to use a layer of foam as a temporary blanket or cover over hazardous material spills. Persistent foams are taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,192 to suppress the release of hydrocarbon and polar organic vapors during loading of oil tankers, as well as during the transportation, transfer, storage and accidental storage and accidental spillage or crude oil and the like. Aqueous foamable compositions for fighting fires on hydrophobic or hydrophilic liquids are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,489. Each of the two foregoing U.S. patents is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) compositions and other fire fighting foam compositions (such as protein, fluoroprotein and synthetic detergents), referred to here in some cases as aqueous foamable concentrates, are known for these and other applications. Improved compositions are required, however, for treating liquid hazardous waste spills, especially spills of non-neutral pH liquid hazardous materials, that is, spills of acidic or caustic liquids, and especially workplace spills. The paper industry is under pressure to substitute chlorine dioxide for aqueous solution chlorine in paper production processes. Chlorine dioxide is slightly (typically up to about 13%) soluble in water to produce a highly acidic liquid, which decomposes violently, liberating heat, chlorine gas and nascent oxygen. When aqueous chlorine dioxide solution is spilled, noxious vapor of chlorine dioxide gas is readily liberated to the atmosphere. Agitation of spilled chlorine dioxide solution can cause increased release of vapors to the atmosphere. Spraying with water can cause such undesirable agitation and, in addition, can cause an unwanted temperature increase in the spilled material, with consequent increased vapor release, due to heat of reaction released during rapid mixing of the spray water with the acidic chlorine dioxide solution. Likewise, certain aqueous foams breakdown too rapidly over chlorine dioxide spills or other non-neutral pH liquids, thereby causing rapid heating and vapor release. More persistent foams, while avoiding such undesirable heating of the spilled non-neutral pH liquid, may merely blanket the spill and, perhaps, even inhibit effective access for treatment and clean up.
In view of the foregoing difficulties, strongly acidic liquids, such as chlorine dioxide solution spills, cannot always be effectively treated with current methods. Agents such as known aqueous film-forming foams tend to be too rapidly broken down upon application to such spills, potentially causing excessive heating and increased vapor release and requiring application of an undesirable number of additional layers to maintain an unbroken foam blanket over the spill. In addition, treatment employing certain known AFFFs is unsatisfactory, as chlorine dioxide has been reported to have violent reactions with materials frequently employed in such formulations, such as sugar, sulfur, fluorine and difluroamine.
As noted above, foam stability can be an important consideration for treating acidic or caustic spills. Heating of the hazardous liquid due to the exothermic neutralization reaction can be high enough to raise the temperature of the spilled liquid sufficiently to cause substantial increase in vapor release and deterioration of the foam blanket. Three factors have been suggested to control foam stability. In the first stage of foam life, water drainage may primarily control foam stability. As water drains from the foam films or lamellae, the films thin quickly to a small thickness. In a subsequent stage of foam decay, the bubbles slowly begin to collapse or coalesce into fewer, but larger bubbles. Gas diffusion and, more importantly, water evaporation from the foam lamellae may be the primary cause of foam collapse during this stage. In a final or near final stage, foam lamellae becomes so thin that even small pertabations, such as vibrations, shocks or sudden pressure or temperature changes can cause the remaining foam columns to collapse catastrophically, resulting in breaks or breaches in the foam blanket.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide treatment methods and materials to address the problems set forth above. It is a particular object of the invention to provide methods and materials for treatment of hazardous materials spills, especially non-neutral pH liquids, for example chlorine dioxide solutions and other fuming acids and bases. These and other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent from the following disclosure and Detailed Description of Certain Preferred Embodiments.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Aqueous foamable concentrates and methods


A motor driver circuit according to the present invention comprises an edge signal generation means for generating an edge signal indicating the timing of phase-switching according to the values of a plurality voltages induced when driving the motor and a drive voltage control means for controlling the highest value of the drive voltage for driving the motor according to the edge signal. The drive voltage control means includes a first drive voltage control means for controlling the highest value of the drive voltage before the timing of phase-switching and a second drive voltage control means for controlling the highest value of the drive voltage after the timing of phase-switching. With this arrangement, it is possible to realize soft switching control while the motor is driven to rotate at high speed and reduce the noise due to the motor being driven to rotate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the technology of driving a motor to rotate by means of a direct PWM (pulse width modulation) system. More specifically, it relates to a technique of reducing the noise of a motor for rotating a disc by means of a direct PWM system in a disc drive apparatus for driving a disc mounted in it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Noises arise to give rise to problems in apparatus such as portable MD (Mini Disc: tradename) apparatus comprising a rotary drive system for driving a disc to rotate when the spindle motor of the rotary drive system is operated. Particularly, in the case of the PWM (pulse width modulation) system of directly supplying a pulse wide modulation signal to a spindle motor and driving the motor to rotate, noises that arise due to abrupt fluctuations of electric current at the time of a phase-switching action give rise to serious problems.
The applicant of the present patent application has proposed a technique of reducing noises by means of a soft-switching drive (control) system of reducing the electric current flowing to a spindle motor before and after a phase-switching action for the rotary drive control of the spindle motor, using such a direct PWM system (see Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-369575).
The Patent Document 1 of the applicant of this patent application makes it possible to realize soft switching control by means of a digital circuit, which has hitherto been realized only by an analog circuit, by generating an edge signal to indicate the timing of phase-switching according to the voltage that is induced when a spindle motor is driven and controlling the highest value of the drive voltage for driving the motor according to the edge signal.
Additionally, the applicant of the present patent application disclosed a technique of appropriately controlling the revolutions of a spindle motor by selectively supplying a first timing signal indicating a timing that is computationally determined according to the phase differences of a plurality of drive signals for driving the motor and a second timing signal computationally determined according to the cycle period of one of the drive signals to the drive system in accordance with the rotary speed of the spindle motor at the time of driving the spindle motor to rotate by the direct PWM system (see Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-9580).
However, if soft switching control is used when driving a spindle motor to rotate by means of a direct PWM system as disclosed in the Patent document 1 and, for instance, the master clock frequency of the motor control circuit of the motor is held low in order to suppress the power consumption rate while the spindle motor is driven to rotate at a high rate, there arise various problems including that the soft switch control is incomplete and the noise of the motor cannot be reduced significantly and that the PWM control is incomplete and it is not possible to supply an electric current at a rate sufficient for driving the spindle motor at high speed.
While the technique of the Patent Document 2 can be used to appropriately control the operation of driving a spindle motor to rotate by switching the mode of operation according to the rotary speed of the spindle motor (a mode for using a first timing signal and a mode for using a second timing signal), it is accompanied by a problem that it is not compatible with soft switching control for reducing the noise of the spindle motor.

Disc drive apparatus and motor driver circuit


The present invention relates to a method for cultivating cells, in particular tissues, comprising a carrier plate unit, which has at least one access opening, at least one cultivation chamber, and at least one channel connecting the access opening to the cultivation chamber.

Microfluidic organ-on-a-chip systems, also called tissue chips, or micro-physiological systems (MPS), in which cells and tissue are cultivated in ultrasmall scale and pharmaceutical or cosmetic substances can be tested, have developed in recent years from a conceptual idea to a disruptive new technology. A high potential as an animal experiment alternative and screening tool in pharmaceutical development, toxicity determination, and personalized medicine is ascribed thereto. The basic principle of organ-on-a-chip systems is the provision of a controlled, micrometer-dimensioned environment for cultivating human and animal organ tissue and cells.
Cells, cell clusters, or tissue components have to be introduced into the micrometer-dimensioned environments for the integration and/or generation of tissue in the organ-on-a-chip systems. To be able to generate physiological cell densities in accordance with the in vivo tissue, especially in the case of non-proliferating cell types, the cells, cell clusters, or tissue components already have to be injected initially in high density. This is often only possible by way of complicated methods having high variability and significant strain of the injected cells.
In most cases, in particular in the case of proliferating cells, the cells are injected in variable density and the desired cell density is thereupon achieved by differentiation and/or proliferation of the cells in the chip. To transport the cells in the culture chambers and/or to achieve initially high cell densities therein, pressure gradients are generated in the prior art, so that cell suspensions are injected with positive pressure into the micro-channels or are suctioned with negative pressure into the channels (PCT/US2014/047482; A. Mathur, P. Loskill, K. Shao, N. Huebsch, S. Hong, S. G. Marcus, N. Marks, M. Mandegar, B. R. Conklin, L. P. Lee, et al., Sei. Rep. 2015, 5, 8883). Alternatively, individual cells can also be applied with the aid of bioprinting directly onto the chip (S. Knowlton, B. Yenilmez, S. Tasoglu, Trends Biotechnol. 2016, 34, 685-688) or preformed spheroids are injected (N. S. Bhise, J. Ribas, V. Manoharan, Y. S. Zhang, A. Polini, S. Massa, M. R. Dokmeci, A. Khademhosseini, J. Control. Release 2014, 190, 82-93; J.-Y. Kim, D. A. Fluri, R. Marchan, K. Boonen, S. Mohanty, P. Singh, S. Hammad, B. Landuyt, J. G. Hengstier, J. M. Keim, et al., J. Biotechnol. 2015, 205, 24-35).
The methods and devices known in the prior art for cultivating cells, in particular for cultivating and providing high cell densities, in particular for producing cell complexes and tissues, are frequently disadvantageous with respect to the cell culture conditions used, which negatively affect the survivability and/or ability to culture the cells, for example, elevated shear forces and/or pressure gradients.

FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.


A system comprising nodes coupled to a network including virtual links in an overlay network provisioned over an underlay network. The system includes a virtual machine (VM) provisioned at a node and coupled to the network. The VM is configured to receive feedback data of link conditions, and use the feedback data to dynamically determine and adapt an optimal route through the network. The VM is configured to control routing of traffic flows using the optimal route. The routing includes split routing of a traffic flow from the node via two or more of the virtual links.

Enterprise applications are moving to a cloud-based environment, referred to herein as the cloud. The dynamic nature of such applications (e.g., Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), etc.), most of which are performance sensitive, means the Internet, as a best effort network, is inherently not reliable enough to support such mission-critical business applications or applications that require high performance and reliability. Hardware-defined private networks (e.g., MPLS), while being very reliable, are complex, inflexible and costly. Therefore, many enterprises currently bear the burden of managing multiple networks, because no single network offers the adequate combination of reliability, cloud flexibility, and internet affordability. Enterprises therefore need an improved core network alternative.

High performance software-defined core network


A motor operator interface assembly allows a large industrial-rated circuit breaker to be manually operated between its ON and OFF conditions as well as electrically driven by a motor operator. The interface assembly includes a motor driver plate that connects and disconnects the circuit breaker operating handle from the motor operator unit to allow either manual or motor-driven operation. A drive pawl and drive plate insure resetting the circuit breaker.

Industrial-rated circuit breakers are fitted with motor-operated devices for turning the circuit breakers ON and OFF either at the circuit breaker site or from a remote location. U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,896 describes a motor operator device that allows the circuit breaker to be conveniently converted from a motor operated-state to a manual-operated state by means of an external pushbutton and interface assembly. When the circuit breakers are engaged for motor operation, and a loss of motor control power occurs during a circuit breaker resetting function, the motor operator must be manually dissembled from the circuit breaker operating mechanism to allow the circuit breaker to be manually controlled.
When a large number of manufacturing processes are protected from a single motor-operated circuit breaker, some manufacturing down-time must occur to allow an operator to manually disengage the motor operator from the internal circuit breaker operating mechanism to manually reset the circuit breaker operating mechanism. The circuit breaker and associated electrical equipment are de-energized to protect the operator and equipment before the circuit breaker internal operating mechanism components are exposed and accessed. The motor operator is then re-connected with the circuit breaker operating mechanism. The circuit breaker automatically reverts to being controlled by the motor operator after the motor control power has been restored to the circuit breaker.
It would be economically advantageous to eliminate the requirement that the motor operator be manually dissembled from the circuit breaker operating mechanism each time such a loss of motor control power occurred. One purpose of the invention is to provide a motor operator unit with an interface assembly that would allow optional manual operation of the circuit breaker regardless of the state of the circuit breaker operating mechanism.

Molded case circuit breaker motor operator interface assembly


One advantageous embodiment of the present invention is a variable-duct support assembly (14) for mounting one or more ducts (12a-12c) thereon. This variable-duct support assembly (14) includes one or more rails (18) each having a groove (40). Each groove (40) has one or more pairs of support brackets (20) positioned therein for supporting a proximal surface (22) of the ducts (12a-12c). The support brackets (20) are coupled to one or more flexible bands (24) and utilized for clamping the duct (12a-12c) between the support brackets (20) and the flexible bands (24). The flexible bands (24) are intended to contact and wrap around a distal surface (26) of the duct (12a-12c) so as to distribute a load substantially across the distal surface (26). Likewise, the support brackets (20) each include support portions (28) for distributing the load substantially across the proximal surface (22) of each duct (12a-12c).

The present invention relates generally to ductwork, and more particularly to a variable-duct support assembly for mounting ducts of various shapes and sizes onto an airframe or other suitable structures.
Aircraft manufacturers are well known for producing aircrafts having HVAC systems or various other systems with ductwork integrated therein. This ductwork typically is comprised of a series of cylindrical tubing or ducts for passing air throughout the aircraft. Typically, each duct requires a plurality of support assemblies for mounting the duct to the airframe of the aircraft. Moreover, each support assembly can be comprised of a substantial number of parts and have a somewhat complex construction. In this way, these support assemblies can result in expensive material costs, lengthy installation times, and high labor costs associated therewith.
Additionally, existing support assemblies can be sized for mounting only specific ducts of certain shapes and sizes. In other words, differently sized or shaped ducts can each require its own separate support assembly for attaching the respective duct to the airframe. This condition can require new tooling and further increase the time required to install the ductwork.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a variable-duct support assembly and method for installing ductwork, which provides for ease of use and common components, as well as a reduction of costs.


The invention provides a compound of Formula (I)

The invention provides a novel class of compounds, pharmaceutical compositions comprising such compounds and methods of using such compounds to treat or prevent diseases or disorders associated with modulation of the glucocorticoid receptor. Modulators of the glucocorticoid receptor are useful in the treatment of certain inflammatory related conditions.
Intracellular receptors (IR's) are a class of structurally related proteins involved in the regulation of gene expression. The steroid hormone receptors are a subset of this superfamily whose natural ligands are typically comprised of endogenous steroids such as estradiol, progesterone, and cortisol. Man-made ligands to these receptors play an important role in human health and of these receptors the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) has an essential role in regulating human physiology and immune response.
Steroids which interact with GR have been shown to be potent anti-inflammatory agents. Examples include the glucocorticoid (GC) agonists dexamethasone, prednisone, and prednisolone. The utility of GC agonists in a chronic setting has been limited however due to multiple serious side effects such as osteoporosis, effects on glucose metabolism (diabetogenic), skin thinning, fluid homeostasis and depression for example. (Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents (2000) 10(1):117). These effects are believed to be the result of cross-reactivity with other steroid receptors such as estrogen, progesterone, androgen, and mineralocorticoid receptors which have somewhat homologous ligand binding domains, and/or the inability to selectively modulate downstream signaling. Identification of a selective glucocorticoid receptor modulator (SGRM) that is efficacious with reduced side-effects could fulfill an unmet medical need.
Selective GR modulators (e.g. repressors, agonists, partial agonists and antagonists) of the present disclosure can be used to influence the basic, life-sustaining systems of the body, including carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism, and the functions of the cardiovascular, kidney, central nervous, immune, skeletal muscle, and other organ and tissue systems. In this regard, GR modulators have proven useful in the treatment of inflammation, tissue rejection, auto-immunity, various malignancies, such as leukemias and lymphomas, Cushing's syndrome, acute adrenal insufficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, rheumatic fever, polyarteritis nodosa, granulomatous polyarteritis, inhibition of myeloid cell lines, immune proliferation/apoptosis, HPA axis suppression and regulation, hypercortisolemia, modulation of the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance, chronic kidney disease, stroke and spinal cord injury, hypercalcemia, hypergylcemia, acute adrenal insufficiency, chronic primary adrenal insufficiency, secondary adrenal insufficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, cerebral edema, thrombocytopenia, and Little's syndrome. GR modulators are especially useful in disease states involving systemic inflammation such as inflammatory bowel disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, polyartitis nodosa, Wegener's granulomatosis, giant cell arteritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, urticaria, angioneurotic edema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, tendonitis, bursitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, organ transplantation, hepatitis, cirrhosis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, uveitis and dry eye. GR active compounds have also been used as immunostimulants and repressors, and as wound healing and tissue repair agents.
GR modulators have also found use in a variety of topical diseases such as inflammatory scalp alopecia, panniculitis, psoriasis, discoid lupus erythematosus, inflamed cysts, atopic dermatitis, pyoderma gangrenosum, pemphigus vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, herpes gestationis, eosinophilic fasciitis, relapsing polychondritis, inflammatory vasculitis, sarcoidosis, Sweet's disease, type 1 reactive leprosy, capillary hemangiomas, contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, exfoliative dermatitus, erythema nodosum, acne, hirsutism, toxic epidermal necrolysis, erythema multiform, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and ocular diseases. Selective antagonists of the glucocorticoid receptor have been unsuccessfully pursued for decades. These agents would potentially find application in several disease states associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), cell apoptosis, and cancer including, but not limited to, Kaposi's sarcoma, immune system activation and modulation, desensitization of inflammatory responses, IL-1 expression, anti-retroviral therapy, natural killer cell development, lymphocytic leukemia, and treatment of retinitis pigmentosa. Cogitive and behavioral processes are also susceptible to glucocorticoid therapy where antagonists would potentially be useful in the treatment of processes such as cognitive performance, memory and learning enhancement, depression, addiction, mood disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, schizophrenia, stroke, sleep disorders, and anxiety.

Heterocyclic nuclear hormone receptor modulators

Abstract: pharmaceutically acceptable salts, pro-drugs, biologically active metabolites, stereoisomers and isomers thereof wherein the variable are defined herein. The compounds of the invention are useful for treating immunological and oncological conditions.


Embodiments relate to fabricating a display device by assembling strips of μLED devices onto a backplane instead of individually picking and placing each μLED device onto the backplane. A strip of first μLED devices is coupled to a set of interconnections on the backplane. Then, the first fabrication substrate is removed from the strip of first μLED devices. A strip of second μLED devices producing another color (e.g., green) is attached to a second fabrication substrate. The strip of second μLED devices is coupled to another set of interconnections on the backplane. The process may be repeated for a strip of third μLED devices producing yet another color (e.g., blue). After attaching the second and third μLED devices, fabrication substrates on the second and third μLED devices are simultaneously removed by laser based lift-off (LLO) method.

This disclosure relates generally to assembling microLEDs (μLEDs), and in particular using strips of μLED devices to fabricate a display device.
A HMD, such as for a virtual reality (VR) system, typically includes an electronic display that emits light to the eyes of the viewer, and an optical block positioned between the display and the eyes. The optical block includes optical components that receive light emitted from the electronic display, and adjust an orientation of the light such that the electronic display appears at one or more particular focal distances from user. Light emitting devices, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) are used in electronic display panels to emit light for image production.
The conventional method of producing μLED arrays involves picking an individual μLED device, placing it on a chip, and binding the μLED device to the chip. Such thin devices require development of a specific micro-assembly flow based on polymer adhesion or stamp which is costly and time-consuming.

Assembling of strip of micro light emitting diodes onto backplane


Systems and methods for managing a mobile communication device group. A communication device sends a message from a member of a sender group and a network transmits the message to the recipient group if the identity of the sender group exists in a communication permission parameter associated with the recipient group. Systems and methods for transmitting a message to a group of communication device users in an identified geographical area. A graphical display presents a geographical representation of an area. A selection tool for identifying one or more communication device users located within a defined area. The network transmits a message from a sender to the users located within the defined area.

It is often very useful to communicate among various public safety organizations as groups. For example, it may be that a dispatcher wishes to communicate with all members of a specified police department in a certain metropolitan area. However, members of other police departments in the metropolitan area might wish to ignore communications not directed to them.
When communicating a message between a sender and a recipient, it is useful to set certain parameters. These parameters can include send and receive and permissions and can be administered from a central location. Without management or administration of communication between groups that permits the filtering of certain communications, important communications could be lost among other communications taking place. This is particularly relevant in the context of public safety organizations where many participants may be attempting to communicate with each other simultaneously.
One object of the invention is to solve the above problem and to provide a method by which a user can communicate with the intended groups of other users and avoid communication with those with whom communication is not intended. While this invention could be used by public service agencies, it could also be used in any situation where an individual user or group of users wishes not to receive communications from certain other groups.

Communications restrictions for mobile group communication devices


Method and apparatus for testing electrical circuits of a recreational vehicle are disclosed. The method incorporates use of a printed circuit board assembly supporting a plurality of vehicle interface contacts; a controller programmed with vehicle diagnostics code that communicates with each vehicle interface contact. Each vehicle interface contact communicates with a corresponding circuit of the recreational vehicle. Each circuit of the recreational vehicle is operatively responsive to an execution by the controller of a corresponding portion of a vehicle diagnostics code. The method includes steps of plugging an electrical-systems utility plug of the recreational vehicle into an electrical system diagnostics device; automatically determining an operative status of a battery of a battery circuit of the recreational vehicle; and confirming that a turn signal circuit of the recreational vehicle, cooperating with the electrical system diagnostics device, operates to provide a flashing hazard warning circuit for the recreational vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diagnostics device for testing electrical circuits. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a diagnostics device for testing electrical circuits of a recreational vehicle including: running lights, including tail lights; brake lights; turn signals; back-up lights; hazard warning lights; and an emergency brake circuit of the recreational vehicle.
2. Background of the Invention
The popularity and use of recreational vehicles has continued to expand over the past few decades. In particular, towable vehicles referred to as "Fifth Wheels" have gained market share. A fifth wheel is a type of recreational vehicle that utilizes the bed of a pickup truck as an attachment point.
Attaching the tongue of the fifth wheel to the bed of the pickup improves: the distribution of the load on the pickup; the stability and handling of the pickup; the ability to maneuver the fifth wheel; and enhances the ergonomics of layout of the recreational vehicle.
During the process of securing the fifth wheel to the bed of the pickup, an electrical plug of the fifth wheel is connected to an electrical interface connector of the pickup. Once the electrical plug is connected to the electrical interface connector of the pickup, the electrical running circuits of the fifth wheel are operative. Included among the running circuits are: turn signals; brake lights; running lights, including tail lights; backup lights; hazard warning lights (which typically comprises the turning signals flashing in unison). However, during typical usage of the fifth wheel, activation, operation, and control of the running circuits dependent on the inputs from the pickup conducted through the electrical interface connector. The result of the dependency of the fifth wheel on the pickup has at least two facets. First, confirmation of the operative status of each electrical running circuit generally entails walking around the recreational vehicle to acquire a visual confirmation of the operability of each circuit following a manual activation of each circuit via controls of the pickup; and second, self activation of the hazard warning lights by the recreational vehicle, is beyond the capabilities of the recreational vehicle. As such, challenges remain and a need persists for improvements in techniques and devices used for confirming the operability of the electrical running circuits of recreational vehicle; and for stand alone operation of hazard warning lights of a recreational vehicle, to which the present invention is directed.

Diagnostics device for testing electrical circuits of a recreational vehicle


A high frequency substrate, on which a high frequency substrate transmission line for connecting a chip carrier transmission line and a package substrate transmission line is formed, is mounted while being inclined with respect to a package, so that each distance between the transmission lines can be reduced. Thereby, the lengths of wires for connecting the transmission lines can be reduced so as to improve frequency characteristics of an optical modulator module.

The present invention relates to an optical modulator module, and particularly to the optical modulator module to be used for a transmitter for optical communications.
An optical modulator module has been required to be downsized. JP-A-2003-318601 provides an optical module having a bended transmission line, in which good frequency characteristics can be obtained when being driven at a high frequency, so as to obtain a degree of freedom of the internal arrangement for realization of a high-density package.
A chip carrier 24, a high frequency substrate 29, and a lens 22 are mounted in a package 28 as shown in FIG. 6 in JP-A-2003-318601. An EA-DFB (Electro-Absorption Modulator Integrated Distributed Feedback) laser diode 21 is mounted on the chip carrier 24. The EA-DFB laser diode 21 is optically coupled to an optical fiber 23 via the lens 22. The chip carrier 24 and the high frequency substrate 29 have a chip carrier transmission line 25 and a high frequency substrate transmission line 27, respectively, which are connected to each other via a wire 31. In addition, a package substrate also has a package substrate transmission line 26 which is connected to the high frequency substrate transmission line 27 via a wire 32. A photodiode mounted on a photodiode mount is generally disposed at the rear (opposite to the fiber) of the chip carrier 24.
In the optical modulator module disclosed in JP-A-2003-318601, in the case where the chip carrier transmission line 25 and the package substrate transmission line 26 are not linearly-arranged, the high frequency substrate transmission line 27 is bent without deteriorating the frequency characteristics so as to realize a high-density package while obtaining a good optical output waveform.
US 2003/0202800 A1 is the U.S. counterpart application of JP-A-2003-318601.
In order to downsize the optical modulator module, the reduction in dimension of components while securing a degree of freedom of the arrangement is of importance. There has been a problem in that the more the dimension of components is reduced, the more the inductance components of a wire are increased due to the following reason. In the case where the width of a signal transmission line is 200 μm or more, there is provided means by which the inductance of a wire is decreased by connecting the transmission lines via a ribbon wire or plural wires. However, in the case where the substrate is made thinner and the width of the transmission line is reduced for the sake of further downsizing, it is difficult to use the ribbon wire as well as to arrange the plural wires, which results in no choice but to connect the transmission lines via one wire. Consequently, the inductance components are increased to cause reduction in transmission band of the transmission line, and as a result, the optical output waveform of the optical modulator module is distorted.
In order to solve the problem, it is effective to reduce a distance of the wire connection by improving the dimension accuracy of components and the assembly accuracy of components. However, this improvement causes a sharp rise in cost of components.


Methods for chromatographically separating materials, including the separation of materials in kinase or phosphatase assays, in microfluidic devices under positive or negative fluid pressure. Devices and integrated systems for performing chromatographic separations are also provided.

Chromatography is a powerful separation technique widely used in various scientific disciplines, including many pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnological analyses and preparative processes. In general, chromatography embraces a diverse collection of techniques for separating closely related components of complex mixtures by passing a mobile phase, which contains the sample to be separated, through an immiscible stationary phase. Mobile and stationary phases are selected such that sample constituents distribute themselves between the two phases to varying degrees. Each individual substance moves as a zone progressing at a fraction of the mobile phase rate. One constituent separates from others because this fraction varies according to the particular substance, depending on their partition coefficients between the two phases. Those constituents that strongly interact with, or adsorb on, the stationary phase advance at slower rates, if at all, than those with weaker molecular interactions do, thus effecting separation. The separated constituents are then accessible for subsequent downstream analysis.
Various characteristics provide a basis for separating materials. For example, ion chromatography generally involves the separation of sample constituents based upon their net charge. This sensitive technique is frequently used to separate organic or inorganic ions and even nonionic substances. It typically entails flowing the mobile phase through an ion exchanger having a net charge opposite from components to be separated from a sample mixture whether it is the material of interest or impurities and subsequently eluting the components from the exchanger. Other chromatographic techniques exploit differences, other than net charge or polarity, among sample components, such as distinguishing binding affinities for a selected stationary phase, and hydrophilic or hydrophobic characteristic variations, among other properties.
Many different chromatographic techniques are generally known and described in the literature, including, e.g., Matejtschuk (Ed.), Affinity Separations: A Practical Approach (1997) IRL Press, Oxford; Scouten, Affinity Chromatography: Bioselective Adsorption on Inert Matrices (1981) John Wiley & Sons, New York; Bickerstaff (Ed.) Immobilization of Enzymes and Cells: Methods in Biotechnology 1 (1997) Humana Press, Towana, N.J.; Hermanson et al., Immobilized Affinity Ligand Techniques (1992) Academic Press, San Diego; Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography: Principles and Methods (1993) Pharmacia; Brown, Advances in Chromatography (1998) Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York; Fallon, Booth, and Bell (Eds.), Applications of HPLC in Biochemistry: Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1987) Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam; Lough and Wainer (Eds.), High Performance Liquid Chromatography: Fundamental Principles and Practice (1996) Blackie Academic and Professional, London; Mant and Hodges (Eds.), High Performance Liquid Chromatography of Peptides and Proteins: Separation, Analysis and Conformation (1991) CRC Press, Boca Raton; Katz (Ed.), High Performance Liquid Chromatography: Principles and Methods in Biotechnology (1996) John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Chichester, England; Weiss, Ion Chromatography, 2nd ed. (1995) VCH, New York; Ion-Exchange Chromatography: Principles and Methods (1991) Pharmacia; Smith, The Practice of Ion Chromatography (1990) Krieger Publishing Company, Melbourne, Fla.; and Bidlingmeyer, Practical HPLC Methodology and Applications (1992) John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
In general, additional chromatographic techniques would be desirable. The present invention provides new methods and devices for performing chromatographic separations that have many significant advantages over current separation approaches. These and a variety of additional features will become apparent upon complete review of the following description.


A rechargeable cordless vacuum cleaner system comprises a hand held vacuum cleaner and a separable charger. The cleaner includes a circuit board assembly having first and second sets of contacts disposed for engagement to first and second sets of mating contacts of a battery pack and the charger. Both sets of contacts are spring loaded for resilient engagement to the mating contacts. A pocket portion is formed adjacent the set of contacts to the charger to avoid direct exposure of the contacts to an operator of the cleaner.

The subject invention pertains to rechargeable appliances, and more particularly a cordless vacuum cleaner storing and recharging system.
The invention is particularly applicable to an electrical connection system for supplying power to the motor of a cordless hand vacuum from a battery pack, and then subsequently recharging the battery pack when stored in the recharger device, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it will be appreciated that the invention has broader applications such as any type of electrical connection system requiring selective connection to either a battery pack or a recharging device and may be advantageously employed in such other environments and applications.
Cordless hand vacuum cleaner systems are well known and have typically comprised a separable vacuum cleaner unit which can be stored and recharged in a charger base provided with an electrical connection system to communicate power, typically from a standard AC outlet, through a step-down transformer to the batteries. Usually, the storing and charging base will include male terminals which extend outwardly of a base surface and are received in an electrical receptacle of the vacuum cleaner. Accordingly, it is necessary that the receptacles be exposed for ready reception of the charging terminals.
Further, hand vacuums have typically employed a battery pack requiring wiring connection to both the cleaning unit receptacles, the motor and a switch. Such wiring connections are normally undesirable in the home appliance industry where simplicity of manufacture and consequent ease in assembly are greatly valued. Such prior art systems thus will usually include some wire and plug arrangement between the charger base contacts and the battery pack, and then further wiring up to the switch and the motor. All of such wiring and plug arrangements are undesirable for cost and assembly reasons.
Another problem identified in prior art systems involve the connection schemes between the vacuum cleaner and the recharging base. Where an exposed receptacle is included to receive male terminals from the recharging base, not only are such exposed receptacle contacts undesirable from a safety point, but they tend to further collect dust and dirt, particularly in a vacuum cleaning operation.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved device which overcomes all of the above-referred to problems and others to provide a new cordless, rechargeable vacuum cleaning system which is simple in design, economical to manufacture, and which provides improved safety over conventional systems.

Rechargeable hand held vacuum cleaner with electrical connections circuit board with spring contacts

2
FSS DIG. 1
FSS DIG. 1
FSS 119 C
FSS 785


A centrifugal clutch assembly includes a clutch cover attachable to a rotatable input member. Friction plates are clamped between pressure plates in response to rotation of the clutch assembly. Rotation of the clutch assembly causes at least one centrifugal weight to move radially outward to force the pressure plates against the friction plates. The radial position of the centrifugal weights is modified to tailor clutch actuation. This modification of centrifugal weight position causes a corresponding change to engagement characteristics of the clutch assembly allowing clutch actuation to be tailored to operating conditions.

This invention relates generally to a centrifugal clutch assembly, and specifically to a centrifugal clutch assembly including features for modifying a rotational speed at which the clutch assembly engages.
Typically, a centrifugal clutch assembly includes a rotating input member such as a flywheel and one or more friction disks. The friction disks are forced against pressure plates that rotate with the flywheel. Centrifugal weights are pivotally mounted to rotate radially outward against a biasing spring in response to rotation of the centrifugal clutch assembly. As the rotational speed of the centrifugal clutch assembly increases, rollers on the centrifugal weights cause clamping engagement between the pressure plates and the friction disks to transmit torque to an output shaft.
Disadvantageously, a centrifugal clutch assembly begins actuation only within a substantially fixed and limited range of engine speed. In some circumstances, it may be desirable to begin actuation of the centrifugal clutch assembly outside this limited range, such as when heavy loads are carried up an incline or when a lightly loaded vehicle is moving down an incline. It is known to vary the biasing force exerted by the biasing spring to change the point at which the clutch assembly begins actuation. Other known devices adjust a backplate position to change compressive forces exerted by the centrifugal weights relative to engine speed. However, such devices require complex and costly controls and may not adapt easily to existing driveline assemblies.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a centrifugal clutch assembly including simple, reliable and adaptable features for modifying the rotational speed at which the centrifugal clutch assembly engages.

Variable engagement centrifugal clutch assembly


A method for controlling a charge process of a solid-state battery having a sulfur-based positive electrode is provided. The method includes monitoring and storing a temperature of the solid-state battery and a predetermined interval, when the temperature exceeds a threshold temperature, monitoring the temperature of the solid-state battery and/or processing the stored temperature data of the solid-state battery, for an indication of sulfur sublimation, and terminating a flow of charge current upon detection of the indication of sulfur sublimation.

Lithium-based batteries are part of a family of rechargeable battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and from the positive electrode to the negative electrode when charging.
There are various types of lithium-based batteries, and interest has arisen in solid-state type batteries in recent years. In such batteries, an electrolyte of the battery, previously a liquid or gel, is replaced by a solid material. For example, JP 2011-028883 discloses a secondary battery with a lithium-ion-conductive nonaqueous electrolyte. Such solid state batteries tend to have improvements in performance as a temperature increases.
It has been demonstrated that batteries, e.g., a lithium-ion battery in which the positive electrode comprises sulfur (S), have a promising energy density that is higher than many other types of lithium-based batteries. Further, because of the abundance and relatively low cost of sulfur, these batteries can be produced with significant savings over other battery technologies.
For example, JP 2004-095243 discloses a lithium-based secondary battery, where sulfur functions as the positive electrode active material, the whole solid-state lithium battery being designed to operate essentially at room temperature.
However, during a charging process of a lithium-ion battery having a sulfur-based positive electrode, sulfur (S) is produced at the positive electrode. In addition, temperature increases during a charging process and sulfur begins to sublime at 102° C., and melts at 115° C. If, for example, as a result of puncture or overcharging, the battery begins to overheat, the sulfur may sublime and/or melt to a liquid. If fluidized sulfur reaches the negative electrode, an exothermic reaction can occur, thereby resulting in battery damage and/or additional undesirable consequences.

System and method for charge protection of a lithium-ion battery


A method, computer program product, and program for originating a billed transaction at an origin telephony device are provided. A request to originate a billed transaction is received from an origin device. The identity of a callee answering a call originated by the origin device is authenticated. Responsive to receiving an acceptance of the call by the callee, an account accessed by the authenticated identity of said callee is billed to complete said billed transaction, such that the origin device is enabled to initiate the billed transaction charged to the callee. In particular, a service associated with the billed transaction may only available for a particular callee or selection of callees. In addition, the callee may elect which account to charge for the billed transaction. Further, the identity of the caller originating the call at the origin device is forwarded to the callee.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to telecommunications and, in particular, to voice identification. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to originating a billed transaction for an origin telephony device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telephone service has created communication channels worldwide, and those channels continue to expand with the advent of cellular and other wireless services. A person can simply take a telephone off-hook and dial a destination number or press a send button and be connected to a telephone line around the world.
Today, the public switching telephone network (PSTN), wireless networks, and private networks telephone services are based on the identification of the wireless telephone or wireline that a calling party uses. Services are personalized according to wireless telephone or wireline telephone number, where services associated with one telephone number are not accessible for another telephone number assigned to the same subscriber. For example, there is typically a first set of service features and billing options assigned to a home line number, a second set of service features and billing options assigned to an office line number, and a third set of service features and billing options assigned to a cellular telephone number. The networks process calls to and from each of these different subscriber telephones based on a separate telephone number.
One feature of telephone switching systems is the availability of service numbers. Service numbers may be subscribed to by businesses and individuals who are interested in providing a service via the telephone. For example, fortune tellers may subscribe to a service number. Service numbers typically utilize a distinct area code, such as A900″ to indicate that additional charges may be incurred if dialed.
When an individual dials a service number, that individual is agreeing for a charge to be applied to the billing plan for the line number from which the call originates. For example, if an individual dials the service number for a fortune teller, the line number from which the individual dialed may be charge for each minute of service.
One problem with service numbers is when children or other unauthorized individuals utilize a line number to call service numbers, racking up charges on a line number account. Another problem with service numbers is that an individual must call the service number for a charge to be added to the line number from which a call originates. A call could be made from the service number, but no charges would incur to the line number at which the call is answered.
Some businesses have found it productive to offer subscriptions to services, such as a daily stock review or news updates. Individuals receive a bill, typically monthly and separate from a telephone service bill, to receive an automated, personalized report via telephone. However, a limitation of such subscription services is that any person answering the line number utilized by the subscription service may listen to the personalized report. Thus, the subscriber will pay for the reports whether the subscriber or another individual listens to the reports. Another limitation of such subscription services is that the subscription service cannot initiate a billed transaction with the subscriber.
Therefore, in view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide a method, system, and program for originating a billed transaction from a device that originates a call, where the device that answers the call is billed. Further, it would be advantageous to detect the identity of the individual answering a call prior to completing a billed transaction. Moreover, it would be advantageous to bill the transaction to the individual actually answering a call, rather than the line number from which the call is answered.

Originating a billed transaction for an origin telephony device

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus and method for exposing a container to a controlled environment. The apparatus includes an elongated rail with first, second, and third manifolds positioned in substantial alignment with the container. The first, second, and third manifolds are adapted for providing flow of a gas therethrough. At least one gas flow regulator is operably attached to the first, second, and third manifolds. At least one nozzle is positioned adjacent the second manifold. The at least one nozzle is adapted for providing a composite gas stream exiting through the second manifold. The method includes providing an elongated rail with first, second, and third manifolds positioned in substantial alignment with the container. A flow of a gas is regulated through the first, second, and third manifolds. A composite gas stream is provided exiting through the second manifold.

Various products including food products, semiconductor products, medical products, and any other product that can have an adverse reaction to air, may be packaged in a controlled environment. Various attempts have been made to efficiently package these products in controlled environments using vacuum and/or controlled environments.
Various food products, including bakery goods, meats, fruits, vegetables, etc. are packaged under atmospheric conditions. Many of these products are presented in supermarkets, for example, in cartons or cardboard containers with a plastic or cellophane wrap covering the product.
One problem with this type of packaging is that the goods have a minimum limited shelf life, which for many products is only several days to a week. With bakery goods for example, mold may begin to grow after a few days under atmospheric conditions. Such products obviously cannot be sold or consumed and must be discarded.
Another problem arises with respect to many fruits and vegetables, which continue to ripen and continue their metabolic process under atmospheric conditions. For example, within a few days a banana can become overripe and undesirable to the consumer.
The space available for gassing operations is often limited at many facilities. In general, existing controlled environment systems are often expensive, bulky, and require three phase power, and, accordingly are impractical for use at many of these facilities.
In an effort to alleviate these problems, various attempts have been made to package food in a controlled environment by injecting controlled environment directly into filled containers. A high velocity flow is often necessary to penetrate into the food product. In general, most of these attempts have drawbacks. With bakery goods, for example, the high velocity jets can pull in air and re-contaminate the product, thereby failing to reduce the oxygen to levels that would prevent the normal onset of mold.
Various techniques for removing air in food filling processes are known in the art. Such processes are used, for example, in the packaging of nuts, coffee, powdered milk, cheese puffs, infant formula and various other dry foods. Typically, dry food containers are exposed to a controlled environment flush and/or vacuum for a period of time, subsequent to filling but prior to sealing. The product may also be flushed with a controlled environment prior to filling, or may be flushed after the filling process. When the oxygen has been substantially removed from the food contents therein, the containers are sealed, with or without vacuum. Various techniques are also known for replacing the atmosphere of packaged meat products with a modified atmosphere of carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen, and/or other gases or mixtures of gases to extend shelf life.
One strategy for removing oxygen from food containers includes a conveyor belt that carries open top containers in a direction of movement directly below a gas flushing device. The gas flushing device supplies a controlled environment to the containers in two ways. First, a layer or blanket of low velocity flushing gas is supplied to the entire region immediately above and including the open tops of the containers through a distributing plate having a plurality of small openings. Second, each container is purged using a high velocity flushing gas jet supplied through a plurality of larger jet openings arranged side-by-side in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the food containers. As the containers move forward, in the direction of movement, the steps of controlled environment blanketing followed by jet flushing can be repeated a number of times until sufficient oxygen has been removed from the containers and from the food contents therein.
One consideration of this strategy is that the flow of gas in a container is constantly changing. The high velocity streams are directed through perpendicular openings in a plate, which may create eddies near the openings causing turbulence which pulls in outside air. As a container moves past the perpendicular row of high velocity jets, the jets are initially directed downward into the container at the leading edge of the container's open top. As the container moves further forward, the flushing gas is directed into the center and, later, into the trailing edge of the open top, after which the container clears the row of jets before being exposed to the next perpendicular row of jets. The process is repeated as the container passes below the next row of jets.
This strategy is directed at flushing empty containers and, in effect, relies mainly on a dilution process to decrease oxygen levels. One perpendicular row of jets per container pitch may be inadequate to efficiently remove air contained in food product.
Constantly changing jet patterns in such prior art devices may create turbulence above and within the containers, which causes surrounding air to be pulled into the containers by the jets. This turbulence may also impose a limitation on the speed at which the containers pass below the jets. As the containers move faster beneath the jets, the flow patterns within the containers change faster, and the turbulence increases. Also, at high line speeds, purging gas has more difficulty going down into the containers because of the relatively shorter residence time in contact with each high velocity row. The purging gas also has a greater tendency to remain in the head space above the containers. In addition, a perpendicular arrangement of jets relative to the direction of container travel causes much of the jet to be directed outside the containers, especially when the containers are round. Moreover, the spacing apart of the perpendicular rows may further vary the flow pattern and pull outside air into the containers.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a strategy for exposing a container to a controlled environment that overcomes the aforementioned and other disadvantages.

Apparatus and method for exposing a container to a controlled environment


In a receiver for receiving a recording medium discharged from a recording apparatus, a pivotable receiving member receives the recording medium. A pivotable supporting member supports the receiving member so as to place one of a plurality of pivoting angles of the receiving member respectively associated with a plurality of using modes of the receiver. The receiver is provided in the leg section of the recording apparatus which is arranged below a discharging section from which the recording medium is discharged.

The present invention relates to a receiver for receiving a recording medium which has been discharged from a recording apparatus, and also relates to a recording apparatus provided with this receiver.
As a printer which is a kind of recording apparatus, there has been a large size printer which can form print on a recording medium having a relatively large size, for example, rolled paper used for printing and having a width of an A0 size or B0 size according to the JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) standard. In case of such a large size printer, the rolled paper on which printing has been performed is usually received by a discharged paper receiver which is located below a printer body. This discharged paper receiver is constructed in such a manner that the rolled paper which has been cut to have a relatively short length may be received behind the printer, because the cut sheets can be stacked, while the rolled paper which has been cut to have a relatively long length may be received in front of the printer body so that the cut sheets can be immediately taken out.
The discharged paper receiver as described above is provided in a form projecting forward and backward from the printer body, in order to cope with the rolled paper of a relatively large size. For this reason, the discharged paper receiver may become an obstacle when the printer is to be moved, and therefore, on occasion of transporting the printer, it has been necessary to dismount the discharged paper receiver from the printer, which has been annoying. On the other hand, there has been a discharged paper receiver of such a type that a cloth may be spread or folded according to modes for use, and further, locking positions of rod members for forming a framework of the cloth may be varied. However, this type of the receiver has had a complicated structure and has required annoying works.

Recording medium receiver and recording apparatus incorporating the same


A planetary limit switch contains a front transmission module, at least one following transmission module, and at least one micro switch. The front transmission module couples with an external power source and includes a first planetary gear carrier and plural first planetary gears for matching with the first planetary gear carrier, a front driving gear meshes with the plural first planetary gears and connects with a driving shaft so as to be driven by the driving shaft. Each following transmission module includes a second planetary gear carrier and a plurality of second planetary gears, and the plurality of second planetary gears meshing with a following gear, wherein the second planetary gear carrier has a cam portion arranged on an outer peripheral side thereof. The at least one micro switch is fixed below at least one following transmission module and touched by the cam portion of the second planetary gear carrier.

A conventional switch gear disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,984 contains a housing 2, and the housing 2 has a rotatable driving gear 6 for driving a drive shaft 5, a sun gear 9, and a clutch gear 10, wherein a coaxially hollow gear 13 and an inner gear 14 mesh with at least one planetary gear 12 and two cam discs 15, wherein a number of inner teeth 16 of each cam disc 1 is larger than a number of teeth of the inner gear 14, and the each cam disc 15 has two controlling cams 17 for touching an electrical switch. However, such a conventional switch gear cannot be adjusted at a larger velocity ratio and has complicated structure.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


A method and device for mapping a spatial stream to a space-time stream, and a method and device for transmitting data are provided in the disclosure. The mapping method includes: determining, according to a space-time encoding indication bit in a network, whether to adopt space-time encoding (S102); if it is determined to adopt space-time encoding, mapping M OFDM symbols carried by the nth spatial stream to OFDM symbols carried by the (2n−1)th and 2nth space-time stream respectively, n=1, 2, . . . , N, N is the total number of spatial streams in the network, M is the number of OFDM symbols carried by each spatial stream, and M is an even greater than zero (S104). Applying the disclosure, the problem that there is no specific method for mapping spatial stream to space-time stream using space-time encoding in a typical 802.11ac ultrahigh throughput WLAN system can be solved.

Wireless local area network (WLAN) is a network architecture which can realize intercommunication and resource sharing by interconnecting computer devices using wireless communication technologies. IEEE802.11 is one of mainstream technologies of the current wireless local area network, which protocol mainly specifies specifications of the physical layer (PHY) and the media access control (MAC) layer.
WLAN has undergone a development course from 802.11 to 802.11b and to 802.11a/g and then to 802.11n and finally to 802.11ac. With the increase of the demand of the user to wireless networks, the requirements for the information capacity of the wireless communication system are continuously increasing.
For a typical 802.11 ac ultrahigh throughput WLAN system, up to 8 streams can be supported for data transmission. If it is desired to improve the performance, space-time encoding can be adopted by setting a space-time encoding indication bit in the system, and at this moment, an even of space-time streams (i.e. the number of the space-time streams is 2, 4, 6 or 8) can be applied to perform data transmission. However, for the typical 802.11 ac ultrahigh throughput WLAN system, there is still no specific method for mapping a spatial stream to a space-time stream adopting space-time encoding currently. Therefore, how to map a spatial stream to a space-time stream adopting space-time encoding in a typical ultrahigh throughput WLAN system is a problem urgent to be solved.
For the problem in the related art that there is still no specific method for mapping a spatial stream to a space-time stream adopting space-time encoding for a typical 802.11 ac ultrahigh throughput WLAN system, there is still no effective solution being proposed.

Method and device for mapping spatial stream to space time stream, and method and device for transmitting data


In an embodiment A package includes a casing having an opening and enclosing a cavity, a die accommodated in the cavity and a membrane attached to the casing, the membrane being air-permeable, covering and sealing the opening, wherein the membrane is configured to allow only a lateral gas flow, and wherein a blocking member is configured to block a vertical gas flow through the membrane into the cavity, the blocking member tightly covering a surface of the membrane at least in an area comprising the opening.

In prior art packages comprise a casing and a die enclosed in the casing. Typically a waterproof membrane is connected to an inner surface of the casing. In some sensor applications, e.g. microphones, the membrane is placed in front of the sensor die. If a higher level of protection is required dies are protected by silicone gel or steel membranes. This level of protection is for example required for pressure sensors.
Patent document DE 102017115405 B3 discloses a MEMS microphone comprising a carrier board and a MEMS die mounted thereon over an opening acting as a port. A filter chip comprises a bulk material with an aperture covered and closed by a mesh. The mesh comprises a layer of a filter chip with parallel through-going first holes structured in the layer. The filter chip is arranged in or on the carrier board such that the mesh covers the opening.
Patent document DE 102009019446 B4 discloses a sensor based on a MEMS die. The sensor is arranged on a carrier board wherein a required media access opening is provided. An integrally filter mesh covers said opening. The mesh is applied in unstructured form over the whole surface of the carrier board. Then, a structuring is performed to produce preferably at the same time a perforation forming the filter mesh.
Especially for sensor dies more or less direct contact to the environment is required. Typical applications are pressure sensors, gas sensors, humidity sensors and microphones. These devices may be integrated in various consumer products like mobile phones, smart watches or navigation devices. The mentioned devices may exposed to harsh environments during use thereof.
Therefore protection against dust and water is desirable. Typically membranes or polymer meshes are used to guarantee a required water resistance. However sealing the casing causes a considerable additional expenditure in the production. Additionally a possible repair may become difficult as an injury to the membrane at any point affects the tightness of the whole casing. Furthermore the sensitivity and the response time of the sensor may deteriorate compared to an assembly without sealing.


A synthetic, low maintenance bocce court with a surface comprising (a) a force-reduction layer comprising a open or closed cell foam material having a density with Shore A Durometer hardness of about 25 or more; (b) an embedding resin; (c) a bonding layer between the force reduction layer and the embedding resin, wherein the bonding layer comprises a non-woven mesh embedded in a polymer resin and, optionally, fused to a polymer wear layer; (d) elastomeric particles embedded in the embedding resin; and (e) a finish layer over the elastomeric particles and embedding resin; as well as a method of manufacturing same.

Bocce is traditionally played on courts of clay, sometimes with sand or crushed oyster shells as a surface layer. These traditional bocce courts require constant maintenance and proper hydration to remain playable. Frequent raking, rolling and hydrating is needed to keep the playing surface level and smooth, and to remove grooves and indentations left from previous rounds of play. The rigorous maintenance requirements of traditional bocce courts have led others to employ synthetic materials, particularly artificial grass, as a surface for bocce courts. Conventional synthetic surfaces, however, do not provide the proper ball bounce, rolling speed and resistance, or other characteristics of traditional bocce courts. Thus, there remains a need for improved low-maintenance bocce courts.


The instant invention is directed in general to combustors for gas turbines and, more specifically, to a hybrid can-annular combustor for axial staging in low NOx Combustion. In a preferred embodiment, the instant invention uses premixing stages at different axial positions to carry out axial staging of the heat release for increased operability, where the combustor has a first premixing means for injecting a fuel-air mixture into a can-type configuration for providing the advantages of a can-type combustor for low-load and/or low-temperature conditions and a second premixing means for injecting a fuel-air mixture into an annular-type configuration for providing the advantages of an annular-type combustor for high load and/or high temperature conditions.

The instant invention is directed in general to combustors for gas turbines and, more specifically, to a hybrid can-annular combustor for axial staging in low NOx Combustion.
Over the past ten years there has been a dramatic increase in the regulatory requirements for low emissions from gas turbine power plants. Environmental agencies throughout the world are now requiring even lower rates of emissions of NOx and other pollutants from both new and existing gas turbines.
Traditional gas turbine combustors use nonpremixed diffusion flames in which fuel and air freely enter the combustion chamber separately. Typical diffusion flames are dominated by regions which burn at or near stoichiometric conditions. The resulting flame temperatures can exceed 3000.degree. F. Because diatomic nitrogen rapidly disassociates at temperatures exceeding about 3000.degree. F., diffusion flames typically produce unacceptably high levels of NOx emissions.
One method commonly used to reduce peak temperatures, and thereby reduce NOx emissions, is to inject water or steam into the combustor. However, water/steam injection is a relatively expensive technique and can cause the undesirable side effect of quenching carbon monoxide (CO) burnout reactions. Additionally, water/steam injection methods are limited in their ability to reach the extremely low levels of pollutants required in many localities. More frequent combustion inspections and decreased hardware life are additional side effects that can result from the use of water/steam injection methods to reduce NOx emissions from combustion turbines.
Lean premixed combustion is a much more attractive method of lowering peak flame temperatures, and correspondingly, NOx emission levels. In lean premixed combustion, fuel and air are premixed in a pre-mixing section, and the fuel-air mixture is injected into a combustion chamber where it is burned. Due to the lean stoichiometry resulting from the premixing, lower flame temperatures and NOx emission levels are achieved.
Several types of low NOx emission combustors are currently employing lean-premixed combustion for gas turbines, including can and annular type combustors.
Can combustors typically consist of a cylindrical can-type liner inserted into a transition piece with multiple fuel-air premixers positioned at the head end of the liner. Such an arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 1. Although this system is practical and easy to assemble, it has several inherent disadvantages for achieving ultra-low emissions and maximum operability.
Can combustors are relatively lengthy and provide a long combustor residence time. During low load and/or low temperature operation, the levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbon are minimized due to the long combustor residence time.
However, during high load and/or high temperature operation, diatomic nitrogen begins to rapidly disassociate, and NOx emissions grow in time. Therefore, the large residence time of the can combustor results in high NOx emissions during high-load and/or high temperature operation.
Annular combustors are also used in many gas turbine applications. Annular combustors typically consist of multiple premixers positioned in rings directly upstream of the turbine nozzles in an annular fashion. Such an arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 2. The annular combustor is short in length and accordingly, has a relatively short combustor residence time.
During high load and/or high temperature operation, the levels of NOx emissions are low due to the short combustor residence time in the short annular combustor.
However, during low load and/or low temperature operation, the levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) are large due to the short combustor residence time of the annular combustor, not allowing complete CO and UHC burnout.
Additionally, combustion instability poses serious limitations upon the operability of premixed combustion systems. The strength of such instabilities can be substantially reduced by spreading the combustion out within the combustor such that the process is not concentrated in one location. Accordingly, significant improvements in operability can be accomplished if the combustion is distributed along the axis of the combustor. This distribution is termed axial staging.
Therefore, it is apparent from the above that there exists a need in the art for a combustor which uses premixing stages at different axial positions to carry out axial staging of the heat release for increased operability, where the combustor has a first premixing means for injecting a fuel-air mixture into a can-type configuration for providing the advantages of a can type combustor for low load and/or low temperature conditions and a second premixing means for injecting a fuel air mixture into an annular type configuration for providing the advantages of an annular type combustor for high load and/or high temperature conditions. It is a purpose of this invention, to fulfill these and other needs in the art in a manner more apparent to the skilled artisan once given the following disclosure.

Hybrid can-annular combustor for axial staging in low NOx combustors


A module interfaces a programmable controller to several serial communication networks for the exchange of data carrying messages. A central processor controls the transfer of data between the module and other programmable controller components. The module has a separate port circuit for each of the networks permitting communication using different protocols. Messages received through one port circuit can be routed to another port circuit or other programmable controller components as specified by routing data stored in the module. The module also can be configured to detect when a given sequence of data is contained in a received message or to parse a section of data from the message. In these cases, an indication of whether the data sequence was found or the parsed data is routed to a designated output of the module.

The present invention relates to programmable controllers which are employed to control the operation of one or more pieces of manufacturing equipment, and more particularly to modules which interface the programmable controller to remote devices using a communication link.
Programmable controllers, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,101, typically are connected to industrial equipment, such as assembly lines and machine tools, to sequentially operate the equipment in accordance with a stored control program. The control program includes instructions which are read out in rapid sequence and executed to examine the condition of selected sensing devices on the controlled equipment, or to energize or deenergize selected operating devices on the controlled equipment contingent upon the status of one or more of the examined sensing devices.
Many types of sensing devices have been devised for detecting various conditions on the controlled equipment and providing an input signal to the programmable controller. The simplest of these types of devices are switches which send a DC or an AC signal to the programmable controller. Other devices, such as temperature or pressure sensors provide a four to twenty milliampere signal having a magnitude which corresponds to the magnitude of the condition being sensed. Similarly with respect to the operating devices, the programmable controller must be capable of providing a variety of electrical output signals either DC, AC or analog current signals for driving the different types of operating devices on the controlled equipment. In order to provide a programmable controller which can be interfaced to the different types of input and output electrical signals, modularized controllers have been developed which allow the user to place different combinations of input and output modules into the programmable controller to interface with signals for the specific industrial equipment being controlled.
As industrial processes became more complex, a more elaborate sensing and control system was required. In many instances, the simple voltage or current input to and output from the programmable controller was insufficient to communicate the data to and from the processing equipment. In many instances, more sophisticated sensors were devised to provide detailed data about the individual workpieces being handled by the controlled equipment. For example, automobile assembly lines use radio frequency transponder tags mounted either on the automobile or the assembly line carriage for the automobile. As the automobile passes a work station, a transceiver interrogates the RF transponder tag to acquire data about the specific automobile being processed. Such data, for example, identifies the model of car as well as the options and features to be incorporated. Once the transceiver has interrogated the transponder tag, the data regarding the automobile is provided to a programmable controller at the work station over a serial communication link.
A large assembly line is typically controlled by a number of programmable controllers. In which case, serial communication networks also interconnect the programmable controllers allowing them to exchange data regarding the operation of the assembly line. In addition, a central host computer often is coupled to the network to receive assembly line status information from the programmable controllers and issue commands to them. In such installations, sensor data received by one programmable controller may have to be passed on to other programmable controllers or the host computer. For example, rather than locating an RF tag transceiver at every work station, the transceiver can be coupled to the programmable controller for one work station and that controller sends the data read from the tags onto other programmable controllers at adjacent downstream work stations.
Heretofore, serial communication modules for a programmable controller received data from a external device and supplied the data to a central processor module for the programmable controller. If that data was to be forwarded to another programmable controller or a host computer via another communication link, the central processor module had to devote some of its processing time to transferring the data back to the same or a different serial communication module which interfaced to that link. Since the primary role of the central processor module is executing a control program to operate the industrial equipment, handling communication tasks took time away from this role.
Furthermore, a sensing device may provide a long stream of data to the programmable controller, while only a small portion of the stream was needed to carry out the control function. For example, an RF tag system provides detailed information regarding the options to be incorporated in an automobile being assembled, whereas a given work station might only need the model designation. In previous systems, the processor module had to devote part of its processing time to parsing the RF tag data to obtain the model number. This parsing function also took processing time away from the primary machine control function.

Programmable controller communication module


A method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving data in a wireless communication system that supports a relay node are disclosed, wherein an open-loop mode is provided between the relay node and a user equipment. A method for transmitting data from a relay node to a user equipment comprises the steps of receiving information on a first condition related to transmission of the data from a base station; receiving first data including a plurality of sequential codes from the base station; and transmitting second data corresponding a part of the first data to the user equipment in accordance with the first condition if decoding of the first code of the plurality of codes is successfully performed.

FIG. 1 illustrates a relay node (RN) 120 and user equipments (UE) 131 and 132, which exist within one base station (eNodeB; eNB) 110 in a wireless communication system 100. The relay node 120 may forward data received from the base station 110 to the user equipment 132 therein and forward the data received from the user equipment 132 therein to the base station 110. Also, the relay node 120 may extend a high data rate region, enhance communication quality at a cell edge, and support communication inside a building or a zone beyond base station service coverage. In FIG. 1, a user equipment (hereinafter, referred to as macro-user equipment (Macro-UE or M-UE)) such as the user equipment 131, which directly receives a service from the base station, and a user equipment (hereinafter, referred to as relay-user equipment (Relay-UE or R-UE)) such as the user equipment 132, which receives a service from the relay node 120, are shown.
A wireless link between the base station 110 and the relay node 120 will be referred to as a backhaul link, a link from the base station 110 to the relay node 120 will be referred to as a backhaul downlink, and a link from the relay node 120 to the base station 110 will be referred to as a backhaul uplink. Also, a wireless link between the relay node 120 and the user equipment 132 will be referred to as an access link. A link from the relay node 120 to the user equipment 132 will be referred to as an access downlink, and a link from the user equipment 132 to the relay node 120 will be referred to as an access uplink.
Furthermore, in the case that the relay node 120 is operated in such a way to control a cell by itself, the user equipment 132 may recognize the relay node 120 as a normal base station.

Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving data in a wireless communication system that supports a relay node

RESEARCH & BUSINESS FOUNDATION SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIVERSITY


A new and distinct Echinacea plant named ‘Dixie Sun’ characterized by an amazing number of inflorescences starting in the first season, very long bloom time with excellent rebloom, a very upright, compact habit, bright orange yellow young ray florets that mature to yellow, numerous, strong stems, and excellent vigor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea and given the cultivar name 'Dixie Sun'. Echinacea is in the family Asteraceae. The new cultivar is part of a planned breeding program for a landscape series with compact habits and profuse inflorescences. The exact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed, proprietary interspecific hybrids bred from Echinacea paradoxa, Echinacea purpurea, and Echinacea tennesseensis.
Compared to Echinacea 'Sunbird' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,631), the new cultivar has ray florets that are more yellow, a flatter inflorescence, and a shorter narrower habit.
Compared to Echinacea 'Cleopatra', US Plant Patent applied for, the new cultivar has darker yellow ray florets that mature to medium yellow rather than yellow ray florets that lighten to cream.
This new Echinacea cultivar is uniquely distinguished by:                1. an amazing number of inflorescences starting in the first season,        2. very long bloom time with excellent rebloom,        3. very upright, compact habit,        4. bright orange yellow young ray florets that mature to yellow,        5. numerous, strong stems, and        6. excellent vigor.
This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.


A facility for navigating within a body of data using one of a number of distinct browse graphs is described. Initially, a navigation request is received. Based upon information contained in the received navigation request, the facility selects one of the plurality of browse graphs. In response to user input, the facility browses the body of data using the selected browse graph.

As computer use, and particularly the use of the World Wide Web, becomes more and more prevalent, the volumes of data that are available for access using a computer system grow larger and larger. In order for a user to be able to find and make use of particular data, the body of data in which the particular data is contained must be effectively organized.
One way in which a body of data can be organized is by providing a browse graph onto the body of data. A browse graph is a structure, or a "map," for navigating the information contained in the body of data. A browse graph is made up of nodes between which the user may move to access different portions of the information in the body of data. The user begins at a first node, called a "root node." At the root node, the user may choose from a number of different categories. By selecting one of these categories, the user moves to a different node, where the user may view a portion of the information in the body of data pertaining to the selected category and/or select from among a new set of categories to move to another node in the graph. In this manner, the user may move from node to node, viewing the information corresponding to each node.
As an example, an online merchant may provide a browse graph onto information on a large number of items that it is offering for sale. In order to find information on Pez candy dispensers for sale using such a browse graph, a user begins at the root node of the browse graph, and there chooses "COLLECTIBLES" from among a list of high-level categories including "ARTS & ANTIQUES," "BOOKS," "CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES," "COINS & STAMPS," and "COLLECTIBLES," among others. By choosing the "COLLECTIBLES" category, the user moves to a lower-level node in the graph. There, the user chooses "PEZ" from among a list of lower-level categories that are all subcategories of "COLLECTIBLES," including "AUTOGRAPHS," "BOTTLES &,CANS," "LUNCHBOXES," and "PEZ," among others. By choosing the "PEZ" category, the user moves to a yet-lower-level node in the graph, where the user can view information on Pez candy dispensers offered for sale by the online merchant.
Such browse graphs, while generally useful, can be disadvantageous when they are poorly adapted to a particular user. For example, where a browse graph locates information that a user is particularly interested in at a level "deep" in the browse graph, thereby requiring a large number of selections to reach the information, that browse graph becomes cumbersome for that user to use. On the other hand, where a browse graph provides access to information that a user does not wish to see or is prohibited from seeing, that browse graph is over-inclusive with respect to that user.
Accordingly, a facility for providing browse graphs that are customized to their users would have significant utility.

Method and system for navigating within a body of data using one of a number of alternative browse graphs