A game cart bicycle attachment device is provided that is configured to secure the handle end of a wheeled game cart to the seat post of a bicycle. The device comprises an elongated and angled member that attaches at a first end to the bicycle seat post and at a second end to a game cart. The second end comprises a T-shaped connection, whereby a lateral attachment bar attaches to opposing sides of the game cart and the angled member connects at a third location. The angled member includes a telescoping structure to offset the game cart, while furthermore the lateral attachment bar is telescopically adjustable to accommodate different game cart sizes. The ends of the lateral attachment bar include U-shaped clevises, while a third clevis is adjustably disposed along the angled member. The device therefore attaches to the game cart at three distinct locations along its U-shaped handle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bicycle carts and assemblies for connecting an existing cart to the seat post of a bicycle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a modular and adjustable connector assembly that secures the upper handle portion of a game cart to the rear seat post of a bicycle such that a user can trailer the game cart behind the bicycle when carrying game, equipment, or other supplies.
Removing catch or felled game from the field can be a labor intensive activity, particularly when hunting deer or other large game. After a kill, the animal needs to be removed from the field. This is generally accomplished either using a motorized vehicle or using a non-motorized vehicle, such as a game cart. Game carts are wheeled assemblies that include a carrying frame supported by one or two wheels, whereby the cart includes a handle for the user to lift and haul load placed on the frame through the field.
While removing game from the field can be facilitated using a motorized vehicle, such an ATV or pickup truck, in many areas it may not be possible to drive the vehicle to the required destination. Certain hunting areas are off limits to motorized vehicles, while others are too remote and rugged for the vehicle to travel. To resolve this issue, many hunters employ manual game carts to carry heavy loads, including game and gear. Over extended distances, however, use of a game cart alone can be tedious and require excessive transport time.
The present invention provides an assembly that is configured to secure a standard game cart to a bicycle seat post. The assembly comprises an adjustable structure that secures to the U-shaped handle of most game carts, thereby attaching the handle end thereof to a bicycle for enhanced movement thereof. In this manner, a user can employ a bicycle to transport heavy game or equipment, rather than handling the cart by hand and walking the cart to a desired location. This reduces time in the field, while the structure of the device can accommodate most any existing game cart with a U-shaped handle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to bicycle carts and the like. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These devices generally relate to specific cart structures and those that attach in a diverse manner to a bicycle. The present invention is related to a universal attachment that secures an existing game cart to the seat post of a bicycle. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
One such device in the prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,570 to Lennon, which discloses a bicycle trailer assembly that comprises a frame that supports a trailer wheel and is connected to the rear frame of the bicycle by way of a front yoke. The rear frame is pivotably connected to the front yoke such that it can yaw relative to the bicycle, while the rear frame can support items thereon. The Lennon device, while discloses a device that secures to a bicycle and provides a trailer therefor, connects to the bicycle along the rear axle. The present invention contemplates a modular connector between the seat post of a bicycle and the handle portion of an existing game cart.
Another device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,668 to Ligas, which discloses a trailer hitch and cart for a bicycle, wherein the cart is cantilevered from a yoke that attaches to the bicycle. The yoke secures to an upwardly curved tow bar that pivotably connects to a swivel connector along the rear of the bicycle. Similar to the Lennon device, the Ligas device fails to provide a modular connector between the seat post of a bicycle and a standard, existing game cart having a U-shaped handle portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,541 to Albitre discloses a single-wheel trailer that supports an open mesh cart between the additional rear wheel and the rear wheel of a towing bicycle. A gooseneck tongue extends from the cart and couples to a hitch assembly secured to the seat post of the bicycle. Similar to the aforementioned devices, the Albitre device fails to contemplate a modular attachment member that can secure to an existing game cart and adjust itself to appropriately couple to the dimensions thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,793 to Pryor discloses a hitch device for a bicycle that is configured to support a single wheel trailer from a ball joint supported from the seat post of the bicycle. A draw bar extends rearward from the ball joint and connects to a frame that supports a single rear wheel and a trailer basket. Similar to the above prior art, the Pryor device fails to contemplate the bicycle attachment frame of the present invention, which is configured to adjustably support an existing game cart assembly from the rear of the bicycle.
The present invention provides an elongated, T-shaped member that affixes the U-shaped handle of a game cart to the seat post of a bicycle. The assembly utilizes the wheels of the game cart and its frame as support for carried items, while providing an adjustable assembly that can accommodate different game cart sizes and dimensions. The device pivotably attaches the game cart to a bicycle seat frame and allows a user to deploy a non-motorized bicycle in the field, facilitating transport of supplies, equipment, and felled game.
It is submitted that the present invention is substantially divergent in design elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing bicycle cart attachment devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.


A voltage tolerant bus hold latch comprises a first buffer transistor, a sense transistor, a low voltage latch, a node voltage controller and a pull-up circuit. The low voltage latch is coupled to the input by the first transistor. The node voltage controller is coupled to the input by the sense transistor. The node voltage controller has a pair of additional inputs coupled to the output of the low voltage latch. The output of the node voltage controller is coupled to control the operation of the pull-up circuit. The pull-up circuit is coupled to the supply voltage for the lower voltage circuitry, and has another control input coupled to the output of the low voltage latch. The output of the pull-up circuit is coupled to the input of the voltage tolerant latch. The pull-up circuit is selectively activated to pull the input of the latch to a high voltage level. The node voltage controller acts as voltage divider to maintain a voltage difference across the gate-to-drain of the pull-up circuit within the operating tolerance of the pull-up circuit (Vtp+2*Vtn).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to and transistors and circuits made using transistors. In particular, the present invention relates to a latch formed using metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a bus hold latch that can be coupled to and between circuits having a higher operating voltage without affecting the performance of the latch.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the area of semiconductors, there is a continuing need for integrated circuits that have more transistors, thereby allowing more complicated and elaborate circuitry to be created on a single chip and enabling the chip to provide even greater functionality and computational power than is presently available. There is also a need to have integrated circuits consume less power since the number of transistors included within an integrated circuit is ever increasing. Furthermore, there is a need for increased switching speeds for the transistors since the operational clock speeds of integrated circuits are also ever increasing. These competing needs have caused the generation of mixed voltage integrated circuits where different portions of the circuits have different operating voltages and are created with different processes. For example, present day integrated circuits include mixed voltage scenarios having higher voltage portions operating at five (5) volts and created with a five volt (5V) process, and lower voltage portions operating at 3.3 volts and created with a three volt (3V) process.
One problem with such mixed voltage integrated circuits is connecting portions of the circuit having different operating voltages. The differential in operating voltages causes device failure and inaccurate operation in the transistors connecting ("connecting transistors") the lower voltage portions to the higher voltage portions because of the increased voltage stress placed on the connecting transistors designed for operation at the lower voltage. Typically, the semiconductor fabrication process used to create the lower voltage portions, for example a 3V process, creates devices using thinner layers of semiconductor materials than those used in the fabrication process to create the higher voltage portions of the integrated circuit. In particular, the wells of the transistors are more shallow and the gate oxide thickness are reduced, thus less material is required to manufacture such integrated circuits. The process migration has been driven by the desire for improved performance with circuits that consume less power and have greater switching speeds. The difference in thickness used in these processes affects the leakage current of transistors and in turn the overall reliability of mixed voltage circuits. A 5V voltage difference between gate-drain, gate-source or source-drain can cause sufficient degradation in the performance of the transistors, especially in 3V process transistors.
One prior art approach used to reduce the instances of device failure for connecting transistors has been to increase the thickness of some of the low operating voltage portions of the integrated circuit, specifically the connecting transistors. For example, the prior art has used a "dual oxide" for core areas where the lower operating voltage portions of the integrated circuit interface with the higher operating voltage portions of the integrated circuit. Use of "dual oxide" especially for the gate oxide reduces the reliability problems of the connecting transistors, however, the use of dual oxide creates other problems. In particular, the use of dual oxide makes the manufacturing process more difficult by adding undesirable levels of complexity and cost. Furthermore, the use of dual oxide changes the threshold voltages of the transistors and also degrades the switching speed of the connecting transistors, and creates a bottleneck limiting the rate at which data can be transmitted from in and out of the integrated circuit.
Yet another prior art approach used to reduce the instances of device failure for connecting transistors is the use of a floating well as part of the connecting transistors. A transistor with a floating well is a MOSFET transistor having a well that switches between being coupled to a higher operating voltage (i.e., 5 volts) and a lower operating voltage (i.e., 3.3 volts). The switching between voltages is triggered by the charge and discharge of the well once the higher operating voltage is applied to and removed from the transistor. However, the problem with the use of floating wells is that its is difficult to predict the charging and discharging times for particular wells. Furthermore, the charging and discharging times are highly dependent on the layout pattern and operation of the circuit. Therefore, this prior art approach has not been used extensively because of these timing reliability issues.
One particular type of device commonly used in connecting mixed voltage circuits is a bus hold latch. Bus hold latches are provided to prevent a signal line from floating. When the signal line is floating and goes below a voltage V.sub.OL, a bus hold latch pulls the line low and latches it to zero volts. Similarly, when the signal line is floating and goes above a voltage V.sub.OH, a bus hold latch pulls the line high and latches it to 3.3 volts or the high voltage level for the operating voltage. Between the voltages of V.sub.OH and V.sub.OL it cannot be predicted whether the signal line will be latched to high or low only that it will be latched. This presents a number of problems because bus hold latches presently available operate properly only when the input voltage and supply voltage are the same. Thus, if a higher operating voltage level is applied to the input of a latch having a supply voltage the same as the lower operating voltage level, which is common for the lower operating voltage circuit portions, a number of problems will result. For example, the latch will short out when the higher operating voltage level is applied to the input. Furthermore, because of leakage current for the transistors in the lower operating voltage circuit portions, application of the higher operating voltage can cause device failure for these transistors.
Therefore, there is a continuing need for a latch that can be used in a mixed voltage circuit without the device failure of the prior art. Such a latch must be easy to manufacture and not suffer from switching speed delays.


The invention describes methods for inhibiting angiogenesis in a tissue by administering an antagonist that specifically binds to a proteolyzed or denatured collagen but not to native triple helical forms of the collagen. Antagonists of the invention can target, for example, denatured collagens type-I, type-II, type-III, type-IV, type-V and combinations thereof. Methods utilizing such antagonists for therapeutic treatment of tumor growth, tumor metastasis or of restenosis also are described, as are methods to use such antagonists as diagnostic markers of angiogenesis in normal or diseased tissues both in vivo and ex vivo. Antagonists include monoclonal antibodies referred to as HUI77, HUIV26, and XL313.

Tumor growth and metastasis impacts a large number of people each year. In fact, it is estimated that well over 600,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the coming year in the United States alone (Vamer, J. A., Brooks, P. C., and Cheresh, D. A. (1995) Cell Adh. Commun. 3, 367–374). Importantly, numerous studies have suggested that the growth of all solid tumors requires new blood vessel growth for continued expansion of the tumors beyond a minimal size (Varner et al. 1995; Blood, C. H. and Zetter, B. R. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1032:89–118; Weidner, N. et al. (1992) J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 84:1875–1887; Weidner, N. et al. (1991). N. Engl. J. Med. 324:1–7; Brooks, P. C. et al. (1995) J. Clin. Invest. 96:1815–1822; Brooks, P. C. et al. (1994) Cell 79:1157–1164; Brooks, P. C. et al. (1996). Cell 85, 683–693; Brooks, P. C. et al (1998) Cell 92:391–400. Significantly, a wide variety of other human diseases also are characterized by unregulated blood vessel development, including ocular diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. In addition, numerous inflammatory diseases also are associated with uncontrolled neovascularization such as arthritis and psoriasis (Varner et al. 1995). Angiogenesis is the physiological process by which new blood vessels develop from pre-existing vessels (Varner et al. 1995; Blood and Zetter 1990; Weidner et al. 1992). This complex process requires cooperation of a variety of molecules including growth factors, cell adhesion receptors, matrix degrading enzymes and extracellular matrix components (Varner et al. 1995; Blood and Zetter 1990; Weidner et al. 1992). Thus, therapies designed to block angiogenesis may significantly affect the growth of solid tumors. In fact, clear evidence has been provided that blocking tumor neovascularization can significantly inhibit tumor growth in various animal models, and human clinical data is beginning to support this contention as well (Varner, J. A., Brooks, P. C., and Cheresh, D. A. (1995) Cell Adh. Commun. 3, 367–374). Importantly, numerous studies have suggested that the growth of all solid tumors requires new blood vessel growth for continued expansion of the tumors beyond a minimal size (Varner et al. 1995; Blood and Zetter 1990; Weidner et al. 1992; Weidner et al. 1991; Brooks et al. 1995; Brooks et al. 1994; Brooks et al. 1997).
To this end, many investigators have focused their anti-angiogenic approaches towards growth factors and cytokines that initiate angiogenesis (Varner et al. 1995; Blood and Zetter 1990; Weidner et al. 1992; Weidner et al. 1991; Brooks et al. 1995; Brooks et al. 1994; Brooks et al. 1997). However, there is a large number of distinct growth factors and cytokines which have the capacity to stimulate angiogenesis. The therapeutic benefit of blocking a single cytokine may have only limited benefit due to this redundancy. However, little attention has been directed to other anti-angiogenic targets. Recent studies have suggested that angiogenesis requires proteolytic remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding blood vessels in order to provide a microenvironment conducive to new blood vessel development (Varner et al. 1995; Blood and Zetter 1990; Weidner et al. 1992; Weidner et al. 1991; Brooks et al. 1995; Brooks et al. 1994; Brooks et al. 1997). The extracellular matrix protein collagen makes up over 25% of the total protein mass in animals and the majority of protein within the ECM. Collagen is a fibrous multi-chain triple helical protein that exists in numerous forms (Olsen, B. R. (1995) Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 7, 720–727; Van der Rest, M., and Garrone, R. (1991) FASEB 5, 2814–2823). At least 18 genetically distinct types of collagen have been identified, many of which have distinct tissue distributions and functions (Olsen 1995; Van der Rest and Garrone 1991). Collagen type-I is the most abundant collagen type in the extracellular matrix. Collagen type-I, type-III, collagen type-IV and collagen type-V have been shown to be associated with all pre-existing blood vessels in vivo. Collagens type-I and type-IV are composed of major chains designated α1(I) and α2(I) and α1(IV) and α2(IV) respectively. The mature collagen molecule is composed of two α1l chains and one α2 chain twisted into a triple helix. In vivo, collagen is normally found in the mature triple helical form. Denaturation of the native three dimensional structure of mature triple helical collagen may expose cryptic regulatory regions that control angiogenesis. Antagonism of these cryptic regulatory regions could provide an unrecognized means for the diagnosis and inhibition of angiogenesis.
It has been proposed that inhibition of angiogenesis would be a useful therapy for restricting tumor growth. Inhibition of angiogenesis has been proposed by (1) inhibition of release of "angiogenic molecules" such as βFGF (fibroblast growth factor), (2) neutralization of angiogenic molecules, such as by use of anti-βFGF antibodies, and (3) inhibition of endothelial cell response to angiogenic stimuli. This latter strategy has received attention, and Folkman et al., Cancer Biology, 3:89–96 (1992), have described several endothelial cell response inhibitors, including collagenase inhibitors, basement membrane turnover inhibitors, angiostatic steroids, fungal-derived angiogenesis inhibitors, platelet factor 4, thrombospondin, arthritis drugs such as D-penicillamine and gold thiomalate, vitamin D3 analogs, alpha-interferon, and the like that might be used to inhibit angiogenesis. For additional proposed inhibitors of angiogenesis, see Blood and Zetter 1990; Moses et al. (1990) Science 248:1408–1410; Ingber et al. (1988) Lab. Invest., 59:44–51; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,092,885, 5,112,946, 5,192,744, and 5,202,352. None of the inhibitors of angiogenesis described in the foregoing references target denatured or proteolyzed collagens.

Method and composition for angiogenesis inhibition


An underwater training apparatus is disclosed. The underwater training apparatus may include a barrel. The barrel may contain a plurality of holes disposed across the barrel. Each of the holes of the barrel may pass through a wall of the barrel. The underwater training apparatus may also include a base funnel. The base funnel may contain a plurality of holes disposed across the base funnel. Each of the holes of the base funnel may pass through a wall of the base funnel. The underwater training apparatus may also include a handle. The handle may mechanically couple the barrel and the base funnel.

In many sports the individual with the greatest strength will have an advantage. Current devices and methods that improve strength expose an individual to an increased chance of injury. It is desirable to provide devices and methods that improve strength while limiting the risk of injury. For example, it is advantageous to strengthen the muscles utilized to swing a baseball or softball bat, golf club, tennis racket, or hockey stick. A repetitive motion of swinging a bat through the air lacks significant resistance and increases the risk of injury to an individual. As such, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus that addresses the shortcomings of the previous approaches provided above.


A flexible printed circuit board is robust to a repeated twisting and consists of a minute circuit printed on a flexible insulated material sheet, and has the bent parts of the opposite edges symmetrical in structure. The bent parts are straightened out when twisting occurs. In the flexible printed circuit board, the opposite edges are longer in length than the middle part such that the tensile deformation at the opposite edges at the time of twisting does not occur or is minimized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible printed circuit board for an electronic, or electrical device such as a mobile phone or a lap top computer, for transmitting and receiving an electric signal between a main body and a second body such as a display which is pivotable to the main body.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flexible printed circuit board is a micro circuit printed on a flexible plastic material sheet, and is developed in response to the recent trend for small-sized, light-weight, and complicated electronic or electrical apparatuses. The flexible printed circuit board can be distributed by high density and three dimensional wire, is highly durable against repeated bending, has no wire distribution error, and can be easily assembled. Therefore, the flexible printed circuit board is widely used for various areas such as a camera, a computer, a peripheral device, a cellular phone, video and audio devices, a camcorder, a printer, a DVD device, a TFT LCD, satellite equipment, military equipment and medical equipment.
FIG. 1 is a view of an example of a cellular phone to which a general flexible printed circuit board is applied. As shown, in the cellular phone 1, a main body 2 and a folder 3 are foldably jointed by a hinge 4. A flexible printed circuit board 10 connects a main board 5 housed in the main body 2 and a sub board 6 housed in the folder 3 for operating an LCD to transmit and receive an electric signal.
Referring to FIG. 2, the flexible printed circuit board 10 comprises a first end part 11 connected with the main board 5 and a second end part 12 connected with the sub-board 6, and at least one horizontal part 13 exists in the hinge 4 between the first end part 11 and the second end part 12. The first end part 11 and the second end part 12 are approximately perpendicular with the horizontal part 13.
The folder 3 can be pivotably closed and opened to the cellular phone main body 2 by the flexible printed circuit board 10 such that an electric signal can be efficiently received and transmitted between the main board 5 and the sub board 6.
When the folder is pivotably closed and opened to the cellular phone main body 2 as described above, repeated bending and twisting simultaneously occurs in the flexible printed circuit board 10. In specific, the bending occurs at the perpendicular part of the flexible printed circuit board 10, and the twisting occurs at the horizontal part 13. Generally, the flexible printed circuit board 10 is robust to the bending but susceptible to the twisting.
When the twisting occurs at the horizontal part 13 as shown in FIG. 2, a stress is generated responsive to the tensile deformation as the edge is extended longer than the actual length. The tensile stress causes fatigue failure such that a minute circuit of the flexible printed circuit board 10 is disconnected and damaged.
To prevent the disconnection and damage of the minute circuit of the flexible printed circuit board 10 by the tensile stress, conventionally, the horizontal part 13 of the flexible printed circuit board 10 was extended longer than required in view of the twisting such that the tensile deformation may be minimized. If this method is used, however, the elongated horizontal part 13 of the flexible printed circuit board 10 sags such that the horizontal part 13 is frictionized with the inside of the hinge 4 and abraded.


A unity gain analog signal amplifier for low voltage applications, with no DC level shifting so as to preserve dynamic range, a large bandwidth, a good driving capability for capacitive loads and a rail-to-rail output voltage range. A differential amplifier composed of matched MOSFETs is biased between current source and sink circuits. The current source is a current mirror which provides equal currents through the two branches of the differential amplifier, while the tail current is sunk by the current sink circuit. The analog input signal drives the gate terminal of one of the MOSFETs and the gate and drain terminals of the other MOSFET are connected together and provide the output signal. An additional current mirror branch driven by the current source and connected to the output terminal provides increased output current driving capacity and output voltage pull up. With two such circuits connected in a symmetrical push-pull configuration, output current sourcing and sinking as well as output voltage pull up and pull down capabilities are realized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to unity gain buffer amplifiers for analog signals, and in particular, to analog signal amplifiers with true unity gain, full rail-to-rail dynamic signal range and symmetrical load current sourcing and sinking capabilities.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that unity gain buffer amplifiers provide an essential building block for analog systems. Ideally, such an amplifier should have infinite frequency response, be capable of driving infinite loads while drawing only minimum power, and have no DC offset. The reality, however, is that there is always a number of compromises which must be made with respect to power dissipation, dynamic signal range, signal frequency response and transient response.
Conventional unity gain buffer amplifiers are typically variations on one of two general configurations. Referring to FIG. 1, one configuration involves an operational amplifier connected in a unity gain topology. This configuration is very common and has numerous desirable features. However, the frequency response is generally quite limited due to the high impedance nodes within the amplifier which form low frequency poles. Further, the group delay within the amplifier causes transient intermodulation distortion which makes it undesirable for high frequency applications.
Referring to FIG. 2, another common configuration involves a source follower. This configuration has good frequency response but has a gain of less than unity (typically 0.8-0.9 in metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) technology), limited dynamic signal range and unsymmetrical load current sourcing and sinking capabilities. Further, there is a voltage shift from the input (gate terminal) to the output (source terminal) of one threshold voltage drop Vt (approximately 1 volt). Such a voltage shift may be acceptable in 5-volt designs but is generally an unacceptable limitation in lower voltage designs, such as 2.5-volt designs.
Accordingly, what is needed, particularly for low-voltage designs, is a unity gain analog signal amplifier with no DC level shift (so as to preserve dynamic signal range), good frequency response, good current driving capability for capacitive loads and rail-to-rail output voltage swings.


Systems and/or methods that enable addition of a designer-created aspect originating from one electronic form template into another electronic form template are described. The systems and/or methods may also, in one embodiment, enable a user to graphically package designer-created aspects of an existing electronic form template into a component capable of being added to another electronic form template. In another embodiment, these systems and/or methods may enable mapping of an existing non-structural designer-created aspect originating from one electronic form template onto a data structure of another electronic form template.

Electronic forms are commonly used to collect information. These electronic forms may enable users to enter data and have that data stored digitally, such as in computer-accessible databases. Data so stored can be quickly retrieved, allowing others to use that data.
Electronic form templates may be designed to collect specific kinds of information or to collect it in particular ways. An electronic form template for recording tire sales, for instance, may be designed to enable entry of a tire salesman's name and employee number, the type of tire sold, the cost of the tires, and customer information. With this recorded information, the tire company may better be able to keep track of its sales, inventory, and customer information.
For consistency across multiple forms or to save time and effort, a programmer may wish to reuse part of an electronic form template when building another electronic form template. A programmer may, for example, want to reuse the part of the tire sales record for recording a customer's information in another electronic form template needing entry of such information. To do so, however, the programmer may have to write code, often requiring substantial time or programming experience.

Designer-created aspect for an electronic form template


A sheet conveying device includes: a conveyor; a stacking surface configured to support a sheet to be discharged by a discharge roller, and a movable member, which is provided downstream from the discharge roller in the discharge direction, is supported so as to be swingable on a swinging shaft, wherein the movable member has a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface is inclined at a first inclined angle relative to the stacking surface so that the first guide surface is inclined towards the stacking surface, wherein the second surface is inclined at a second inclined angle relative to the stacking surface so that the second surface is inclined towards the stacking surface, and wherein the second inclined angle is smaller than the first inclined angle.

Conventionally, there is known a sheet conveying device. The sheet conveying device includes a conveyor, a stacking surface, a first guide member and a second guide member.
The conveyor is configured to convey a sheet along a predetermined conveyance path and to discharge the same in a discharge direction by a discharge roller. The stacking surface is configured to support the sheet discharged by the discharge roller. The first guide member and the second guide member are provided at a downstream side corresponding the discharge roller in the discharge direction. The first guide member and the second guide member are separate members. The second guide member is at an inner position relative to the first guide member in a width direction of the stacking surface. The first guide member and the second guide member are swingably supported around a swinging shaft center parallel with the width direction of the staking surface.
The first guide member and the second guide member are configured to guide the discharged sheet toward the stacking surface. Specifically, when a size of the discharged sheet is so small that it may not be guided by the first guide member, the second guide member guides the small size sheet toward the stacking surface. In this way, the sheet conveying device orderly stacks the sheets on the stacking surface when discharging the sheets having different sizes.
However, according to the sheet conveying device of the related art, since the first guide member and the second guide member are separate members, the number of components is increased and a mounting operation may be thus troublesome. As a result, it is difficult to save the manufacturing cost of the sheet conveying device.


To provide an adaptive equalizer of a recorded information reproducing apparatus capable of securing a desired waveform equalizing accuracy with a small circuit scale. The adaptive equalizer includes first delay means for delaying a read sample read and sampled from an optical recording medium by the first delay time shown below and successively outputting the resulting value, second delay means for further delaying the value output from the first delay means by the second delay time shown below and successively outputting the resulting value, third delay means for further delaying the value output from the second delay means by the second delay time and successively outputting the resulting value, fourth delay means for delaying the value output from the third delay means by the first delay time and successively outputting the resulting value, and an equalizer executes adaptive operations based on the read sample output from the first delay means and fourth delay means, input read sample, and a read sample output from the third delay means. EQU {0.6*(.lambda./NA)/V.sub.L }<first delay time+second delay time<{1.0*(.lambda./NA)/V.sub.L } EQU {0.3*(.lambda./NA)/V.sub.L }<second delay time<{0.6*(.lambda./NA)/V.sub.L } .. .lambda.: a read beam wavelength PA1 V.sub.L : a read linear velocity PA1 NA: a numerical aperture of a objective lens

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adaptive equalizer of a recorded information reproducing apparatus for reproducing the recorded information from a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
To correctly read recorded data from a optical disk in which digital data is recorded as a bit sequence, it is necessary to correctly apply an information-reading optical beam applied on the disk onto bits.
However, if an optical disk 1 is distorted, it may be set with a tilt in the read direction of a pickup 3 (hereafter referred to as tangential skew) as shown in FIG. 1A or 1B.
Therefore, an information read beam emitted from the pickup 3 is tilted with respect to the disk surface. In this case, a wave front aberration mainly consisting of a coma aberration increases and the waveform of a read signal is distorted.
Therefore, a recorded information reproducing apparatus for reproducing the recorded information from the optical disk is provided with an adaptive equalizer using an FIR (finite impulse response) filter in order to electrically equalize the distorted waveform of the read signal to an ideal waveform.
FIG. 2 is an illustration showing the structure of the adaptive equalizer.
In FIG. 2, a read sample obtained by sampling a read signal read from an unillustrated optical disk is supplied to a system comprising n cascade-connected unit delay elements D.sub.1 to D.sub.n. The unit delay elements D.sub.1 to D.sub.n provide a time delay equal to the sampling cycle of the read sample and the output of one unit delay element serves as an input one sampling period before. The read sample and the output of each unit delay element are supplied to an adaptive arithmetic circuit comprising coefficient multipliers M.sub.0 to M.sub.n, coefficient control circuits C.sub.0 to C.sub.n, and an adder A. Each of the coefficient control circuits C.sub.0 to C.sub.n comprises a multiplier and an integrator. For example, a multiplier m.sub.0 of the coefficient control circuit C.sub.0 supplies a value obtained by multiplying the value of a supplied read sample by an error value obtained by a subtracter S to an integrator i.sub.0. The integrator io supplies a value obtained by averaging the multiplied value to the coefficient multiplier M.sub.0 as a multiplication coefficient. According to the above structure, the respective coefficient control circuits C.sub.0 to C.sub.n update the multiplication coefficients to be supplied to the coefficient multipliers M.sub.0 to M.sub.n so that the error value obtained by the subtracter S may be 0.
The coefficient multiplier M.sub.0 supplies a multiplication result obtained by multiplying the read sample by a multiplication coefficient supplied from the coefficient control circuit C.sub.0 to the adder A. The coefficient multipliers M.sub.1 to M.sub.n multiply values output from the unit delay elements D.sub.1 to D.sub.n by values supplied from the coefficient control circuits C.sub.1 to C.sub.n and supply multiplication results to the adder A, respectively. The adder A computes the sum total of the multiplication results of the coefficient multipliers M.sub.0 to M.sub.n and outputs the sum total as an equalized read sample serving as an output of the adaptive equalizer. The equalized read sample is also led to the subtracter S. The subtracter S computes the difference between the equalized read sample and a reference value and supplies the difference value to the coefficient control circuits C.sub.0 to C.sub.n as the error value described above. The reference value supplied to the subtracter S is set to a value for bringing the overall transfer characteristic in the adaptive equalizer and its input system into an ideal or a desired transfer characteristic.
As described above, the adaptive equalizer equalizes the waveform of the read signal to an ideal waveform which ought to be by updating each filter coefficient of the FIR filter at all times.
However, an adaptive equalizer having the structure shown in FIG. 2 has a problem that the circuit scale is increased because the adaptive equalizer requires numbers of coefficient control circuits C.sub.0 to C.sub.n and coefficient multipliers M.sub.0 to M.sub.n corresponding to the number of the unit delay elements D.sub.1 to D.sub.n.

Adaptive equalizer of recorded information reproducing apparatus


A hole is formed in an elbow through the steps of: forming a starting hole in a material, the starting hole having an undercut remaining on a hole surface; finishing an inner diameter of the starting hole (11−3) on one end side by revolving a side cutter (II) including an arc-shaped cutting edge and having an outer diameter smaller than a finishing hole diameter while rotating the side cutter (II) in such a posture that the side cutter (II) is inclined in a predetermined direction relative to the material (12), the revolving being carried out so that the side cutter moves along a hole surface to be finished; and finishing the inner diameter of the starting hole (11−3) on another end side by revolving the side cutter (II) while rotating the side cutter (II).

As examples of metallic elbows for a pipe, there are known a casted elbow formed with a die, an elbow formed by bending a straight pipe, a welded elbow formed by integrally but-welding two halved bent pipe materials obtained by pressing a metal plate, and a machined elbow formed by cutting a metal material.
Of those, the machined elbow is given in, for example, Patent Literature 2 below. Further, Patent Literature 1 below describes the elbow formed by bending and the welded elbow.

Elbow formed by cutting and method for manufacturing same


An arrangement structure for a fuel cell system in a vehicle including a fuel cell box which holds a fuel cell, a sub-frame which holds a fuel gas tank, and a fuel gas dilution box. The sub-frame is placed so as to be aligned with the fuel cell box, and the fuel gas dilution box is disposed between the fuel cell and the sub-frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement structure for a fuel cell system in a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
In a fuel cell vehicle including a fuel cell system which supplies power to an electric motor for driving the vehicle, a structure capable of absorbing energy generated when the vehicle collides is adopted as in other various types of vehicles. For example, in Japanese Patent Application, First Publication, No. Hei 8-192639, a structure is disclosed in which a side member is made into a shape that can be easily bent and deformed in an upward direction and a fuel cell box which holds a fuel cell disposed on the side member is also made into a shape that can be easily bent and deformed in an upward direction so that energy generated by a collision can be absorbed by bending and deforming the side member and the fuel box and further rupturing the fuel cell.
However, in the above collision energy absorbing structure, the cost of repairing the vehicle after the collision would high since the collision energy is absorbed by rupturing fuel cells which are expensive.

Arrangement structure for fuel cell system in vehicle


Disclosed is a new and improved apparatus primarily developed for use in dispensing powder to a media surface comprising a mounting means, a hopper tube, a porous hopper feed roller, a vortex chamber, a plurality of two primary air manifolds, and a plurality of two air bars. The hopper tube contains the porous hopper feed roller in rotatable manner. The porous hopper feed roller controls the quantity of powdered particulate material being discharged into the vortex chamber. A variable speed motor is provided and provides for 1/2 to 25 RPM rotational speed of the porous hopper feed roller. The vortex chamber receives the desired quantity of powdered particulate material from the hopper tube. The vortex chamber has an air pressure receipt means creating a vortex of rotating air within the vortex chamber. The vortex of rotating air within the vortex chamber receives the powdered particulate material from the hopper tube. The vortex chamber has an air pressure discharge means. A plurality of two primary air manifolds are provided receiving a measured amount of air pressure from an outside air pressure source. A plurality of two longitudinal air bars are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to powder coating, and more particularly, to an apparatus for use in dispensing powder to a media surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Apparatuses for dispensing powder to a media surface are known in the prior art. More specifically, powder dispensing apparatuses heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
The present invention is directed to an improved apparatus for dispensing powder to a media surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,830 to Matsunaga et al., describes an apparatus and method for supply and transport of powder particles. More specifically, Matsunaga et al. teaches a powder particle supply and transport apparatus and method including a hopper filled with powder particles, an ejection chamber spaced from the hopper and a movable conveying member with a plurality of cavities formed therein. The conveying member moves the cavities between the hopper and the chamber, and the cavities are filled with powder particles at the hopper and emptied of powder particles at the chamber. An ejector nozzle sprays pressurized air into the chamber toward an aligned outlet creating negative pressure in the chamber to draw powder particles from the cavities as the cavities are moved therethrough, and to transport powder particles through the outlet to a spray gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,063 to Baker et al. describes a method and apparatus for dispensing powder in a printing press. More specifically, Baker et al. teaches a powder delivery system for use in dispensing powder to a printing press, including an agitator system for the powder reservoir, a wiper block for use with a curved feed roller, a split air flow amplifier which is openable for cleaning, a flow-through rotary manifold for distributing powder to press and a powder spray block.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,695 to Coulon et al. describes a process and apparatus for coating a substrate. More specifically, Coulon et al. teaches a process and apparatus for coating a substrate, particularly a glass ribbon, with a pulverulent product, by the implementation of a distribution nozzle that sprays the pulverulent product in suspension in a gas, and a suction device for evacuating the resultant waste of the decomposition of the pulverulent product from a coating zone.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,198 to Schmoeger describes a printing press with an air assist sheet delivery and powdering system. More specifically, Schmoeger teaches a standard offset printing press having the delivery end thereof modified with an air nozzle that is disposed above an underlying sheet travel path and which is designed to direct a continuous stream of pressurized air against the paper's top surface as it emerges from the printing press and is directed into a stacking area about the delivery end.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,533 to Greenberg describes a method and apparatus for making material with a fusible backing. More specifically, Greenberg teaches making a material with a fusible backing by bringing a substrate into contact with the outside of a rotatable printing screen having fine fusible polymer dust supplied to its inner side and then bringing the substrate out of contact with the screen and heating it from below to fuse the polymer to the substrate. The amount of dust falling out of the screen onto the substrate after the substrate leaves the screen is controlled by suctioning off a portion of the falling dust.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,969 to Lund describes a pneumatic precipitating powder applying apparatus. More specifically, Lund teaches an anti-offset powder dispensing apparatus for distributing powder on an object to be protected comprising an elongated powder container having opposed blade members defining a powder dispensing opening, a cylindrical feed roller having a roughened metallic surface and positioned parallel and adjacent to said container as said opening and which is adapted to hold powder, means for driving said roller through said container opening whereby powder is removed onto said roughened surface and a plurality of jet means positioned closely adjacent to and extending along said roller to transfer the powder from said surface to the object to be protected.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,570 to Paasche describes an anti-ink offset powder assembly. More specifically, Paasche teaches an apparatus for spraying a finely atomized powder on freshly printed sheets to prevent ink offset from one freshly printed surface to the next superimposed surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,817,310 to Ponzini describes air-actuated devices for producing and dispensing comminuted solids in suspension. More specifically, Ponzini teaches compressed-air-actuated devices for spraying powder in suspension.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,093,995 to Blow describes a method of preventing offsetting of freshly printed surfaces. More specifically, Blow teaches one or more gun or discharge nozzles so mounted and disposed as to discharge the protecting agent from an air-pressurized container over the surface of the uppermost sheet in a stack.
The powder dispensing apparatus according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so, provides for an apparatus for use in dispensing powder to a media surface which is economical and easily used.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new apparatus primarily developed for use in dispensing powder to a media surface which is economical and easily used. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
As illustrated by the background art, efforts are continuously being made in an attempt to develop new apparatuses for use in dispensing powder to a media surface. No prior effort, however, provides the benefits attendant with the present invention. Additionally, the prior patents and commercial techniques do not suggest the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed and claimed herein.
The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objects, and advantages through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, with the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and by employing only readily available materials.


A storage shed for providing easy access to tools and related items. Such shed includes a vertical imperforate back wall positionable at an elevated location with respect to a recipient surface such as the wall of a house. In association with the back wall are a front wall and parallel vertical side edges. A top edge is positionable parallel with the top edge of the back wall. The front wall has at least one large rectangular opening therein. Side walls couple the front and back walls. At least one door is positionable over a respective opening in the front wall. A pair of vertical side braces are located in the space formed between the front and rear walls and secured to the lateral side walls. The braces have horizontal slots at spaced elevations for shelf-receiving purposes, the slots being positioned in facing relationship in the braces. A plurality of shelves with lateral edges are received in the slots of the braces. A plurality of horizontal U-shaped rail sections have free ends in contact with the back wall and are located between opposed braces. The rail sections have horizontally aligned apertures along their lengths.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage shed and, more particularly, pertains to providing easy access to tools and related items through a system of shelves and holders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of sheds and storage areas of various designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, sheds and storage areas of various designs and configurations heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of providing access to tools, gardening items and like objects through various methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,925 to Ratzloff et al. discloses a wheelbarrow and garden tool storage rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,228 to Arnold discloses a garden equipment support rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,343 to O'Brien et al. ad discloses collapsible supports with storage shed utility purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,324 to Larson discloses a tool holder for pegboard.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 329,705 to Forsyth discloses an ornamental design for a shed.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 329,707 to Embree et al. discloses a slotted wall strip.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,891 to Bertrand discloses a folding building structure.
In this respect, the storage shed for providing easy access to tools and related items through a system of shelves and holders according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing easy access to tools and related items through a system of shelves and holders.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved storage shed for providing easy access to tools and related items through a system of shelves and holders which can be used for providing easy access to tools and related items through a system of shelves and holders. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.

Storage shed for providing easy access to tools and related items through a system of shelves and holders


A mosquito misting system is described having a liquid reservoir that is operably associated with a fluid pump and motor and fluid conduits to transmit a fluid insecticide to one or more dispersal nozzles. A controller is used to control the frequency and duration of dispersal. An agitator device is preferably associated with the fluid reservoir to adequately agitate the insecticide mixture within the reservoir during or just prior to dispersal of the fluid insecticide. The controller is interconnected with a level sensor assembly to provide a graphic indication of the level of fluid insecticide remaining in the reservoir. Additionally, the misting system is provided with a fluid pressure switch that detects a rupture in the fluid conduit and prevents further flow of fluid from the reservoir. In further aspects, the system is provided with remote control and, optionally, a remote monitoring feature that allows improved service and maintenance for the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to devices and systems for dispensing pesticides.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mosquitoes and other flying pests are a significant problem in most parts of the United States. These insects not only create a hazard for livestock and farm animals, but also for humans in residential areas. Mosquitoes are, for example, the primary carriers of West Nile virus. Personal sprays and citronella candles and torches are often used to combat the pests. However, such measures are often inadequate during certain times of the year when mosquito activity is high. Propane-based attractor devices are also known, but their effectiveness is debatable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,881 issued to Cunningham et al. describes a system for dispensing pesticides, typically in animal husbandry facilities. Cunningham employs a fluid reservoir that contains a liquid insecticide mixed with water. The reservoir is operably interconnected with a pump and motor that draws the water/insecticide mixture from the reservoir and transmits it along conduits to several nozzles, where the mixture is dispersed into and around chicken coops and the like.
Cunningham's system has a number of drawbacks. The system relies upon a return conduit to create turbulence within the reservoir so that the insecticide will be adequately mixed with the water within which it is suspended. In practice, however, such an arrangement is insufficient to create adequate turbulence and mixing. Even with an increase in pump capacity and tubing size, the line losses along the conduits create such a drop in fluid velocity, that the fluid reentering the reservoir is slowed too greatly to be effective in mixing. As a result of the inadequate mixing, the insecticide mixture that is dispersed from the nozzles may be too diluted to be effective in controlling the insects. At the very least, the mixture will be inconsistent throughout use. Because of the inadequate mixing problem, the concentration of insecticide needed for the system to be effective is quite high. There is, therefore, some waste of this somewhat costly insecticide. Further, Cunningham's system is not suitable for use with fluid mixtures that contain microencapsulated insecticides, which are fluid insecticides that contain small capsules or pellets (microcapsules) of insecticide agent in suspension. Inadequate mixing leaves a significant amount of the microcapsules inside the fluid reservoir and does not effectively transmit them to the nozzles. Microencapsulated insecticides have additional benefits that cannot be realized by a system that is incapable of effectively dispensing them. Other fluid insecticide distribution systems have similar drawbacks.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the problems of the prior art.


A mattress or bed for pets is stuffed with material treated with white cedar oil. Preferably the stuffing comprises cedar shavings and conveniently a washable, removable outer cover is provided over an inner mattress. The cedar oil is environmentally safe, reduces pet odor and acts as an insect and pest repellent.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mattresses for pets filled with white cedar shavings or other materials suitable as stuffing treated with white cedar oil which acts as a pest and odor repellent and is safe for domestic animals, humans and the environment.
2. Acknowledgement of prior art
Pet mattresses or beds are used to provide comfort and odor protection for domestic animals. These have traditionally been manufactured with polyurethane fillings or other fillings such as red cedar chips, which are uncomfortable, unsafe for the animal or are unable to provide parasite repellency and/or offer enhanced deodorizing characteristics.
Studies done by Proctor & Gamble reveal that red cedar contains a poisonous substance which is harmful to animals. Therefore, oil from red cedar is undesirable to treat the mattress.
Although polyurethane fillings and other fillings such as hay or straw may provide the necessary comfort for the pet, they do not exhibit any notable insect repellency characteristics which are at least desirable in a pet mattress.
Many insect repellents have been developed using toxic or noxious substances such as moth repellents for furs and woollen goods. These may be unsuitable for mattresses for domestic animals due to their toxicity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,622 describes a topical pest repellent made of a mixture of natural oils of citronella, cedar and wintergreen in a non-toxic carrier such as olive oil. The mixture is non-toxic and is effective against diverse species, including mosquitoes and ticks The mixture's effectiveness however, was tested on humans only.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,986 describes a flea treatment composition, of which the major component is inert. The active fraction is made of pennyroyal, eucalyptus oil, cedar oil, citronella oil and oil of rue. The substance was designed for use on animals previously infected with fleas.

Pest repellant pet bedding of white cedar shavings treated with white cedar oil


The present invention relates to a continuous in-situ process for reducing the viscosity, corrosivity and density of heavy oils comprising the steps of (a) contacting a heavy oil with an anhydrous alkaline earth, Group IIA metal hydroxide and low pressure hydrogen at a temperature of about 380.degree. C. to about 450.degree. C. for a time sufficient to form the corresponding alkaline earth metal sulfide, recovering the reduced sulfur feed and regenerating the alkaline metal hydroxide for recycle to treat additional feed. Beneficially, the process removes heteroatoms (sulfur and nitrogen).

The quality of residuum feeds, particularly heavy oils, suffers from high levels of heteroatoms (nitrogen and sulfur). Such feeds are also high in naphthenic acid contents (measured by Total Acid Number--TAN) which presents corrosion problems in handling (e.g., refineries). These are highly viscous crudes that also possess relatively high densities or low API gravities. Transporting such heavy oils typically requires the blending with costly diluent which reduces the viscosity for pipelining.
Much work has been done utilizing molten caustic to desulfurize coals. For example, see "Molten Hydroxide Coal Desulfurization Using Model Systems", Utz, Friedman and Soboczenski, 51-17 (Fossil Fuels, Derivatives, and Related Products, ACS Symp. Serv., 319 (Fossil Fuels Util.), 51-62, 1986 CA 105(24):211446Z); "An Overview of the Chemistry of the Molten-caustic Leaching Process", Gala, Hemant, Srivastava, Rhee, Kee, Hucko, and Richard, 51-6 (Fossil Fuels, Derivatives and Related Products, Coal Prep. (Gordon and Breach), 71-1-2, 1-28, 1989 CA 112 (2):9527r; and Base-catalyzed Desulfurization and Heteroatom Elimination from Coal-model Heteroatomatic Compounds", 51-17 (Fossil Fuels, Derivatives, and Related Products, Coal Sci. Technol., 11 (Int. Conf Coal Sci., 1987), 435-8, CA 108(18):153295y).
Additionally, work has been done utilizing aqueous caustic to desulfurize carbonaceous material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,980 discusses desulfurizating, deasphalting and demetallating carbonaceous material in the presence of molten potassium hydroxide, hydrogen and water at temperature of about 350.degree. C. to about 550.degree. C. U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,965 discloses a method for removal of nitrogen and sulfur from oil shale with a basic solution comprised of one or more hydroxides of the alkali metals and alkaline earth metals at temperatures ranging from about 50.degree. C. to about 350.degree. C. U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,470 requires a high pressure (500 psi, 2,070 kPa to 5000 psi, 20,700 kPa) hydrogen, high temperature (500.degree. F., 260.degree. C. to 2000.degree. F., 1090.degree. C.) to decrease sulfur, remove heteroatoms and upgrade a feed, and therefore, teaches away from the expectation that low temperature low pressure hydrogen treatments would be successful.
Methods also exist for the regeneration of aqueous alkali metal. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,043 discussing regeneration of aqueous solutions of Na, K and/or ammonium sulfide by contact with Cu oxide powder yielding precipitated sulfide which is separated and re-oxidized to copper oxide at elevated temperatures and an aqueous solution enriched in NaOH, KOH or NH.sub.3. Romanian patent RO-101296-A describes residual sodium sulfide removal wherein the sulfides are recovered by washing first with mineral acids (e.g., hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid) and then with sodium hydroxide or carbonate to form sodium sulfide followed by a final purification using iron turnings to give insoluble ferrous sulfide.
The costs for handling such feeds can be high. Hence, reducing viscosity, heteroatom and naphthenic acid content have become critical targets. Thus, there is a need for low-cost processes which upgrade oils to reduce the dependence on diluent addition and to produce more profitable feedstocks.

Process for upgrading heavy oil using lime


A packet transfer apparatus switches and transfers cell or frame signals. The apparatus efficiently routes cell or frame signals that are made from packet data based on Internet protocols. The apparatus has a switch for making a connection path among a first node, a second node, and a routing device, a memory for storing outgoing route data, and a shortcut controller. The shortcut controller monitors outgoing route data contained in a cell or frame signal coming from the routing device, stores the outgoing route data in the memory, checks an input cell or frame signal to see if outgoing route data contained in the input cell or frame signal is equal to the outgoing route data stored in the memory, and if they are equal to each other, controls the switch to form a shortcut between the first node through which the input cell or frame signal has been received and the second node from which the input cell or frame signal is going to be sent out and transfers the input cell or frame signal from the first node to the second node through the shortcut.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for switching and transferring cell signals and frame signals, such as an ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) apparatus and a frame relay apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to a packet transfer apparatus for efficiently routing cell signals and frame signals that carry packets based on Internet protocols.
There is a requirement for improving the speed of Internet communications made through ATM networks and frame relay networks. IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force), which is a group solving technical problems related to the Internet, and ATM forum, which is a group energetically making ATM specifications and promoting the use of them for ATM-WANs (ATM wide area networks), are studying the standardization of ATM networks and frame relay networks. Such standardization needs intricate, large-scale structures involving address management systems and servers. It is necessary to provide a simple, high-speed communication processing technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ATM network or a frame relay network involves routers. The network switches and transfers cell signals or frame signals that carry IP (Internet protocol) packets, and the routers route the packets. The speed of Internet communication in the network is slowed down by inefficient processes carried out between the network and the routers.
FIG. 1A shows a prior art for transferring packet signals in the ATM network, and FIG. 1B shows another prior art for transferring packet signals in the frame relay network.
In FIG. 1A, the ATM network has ATM switches (AS) 11-1 to 11-3 that are provided with routing devices (RD) 10-1 to 10-3, respectively. Each of the routing devices 10-1 to 10-3 has a router for routing a packet signal that carries IP packets.
A source terminal (S) 13 transmits a cell signal made from a packet signal. The cell signal is received by the switch 11-1, which transfers the signal to the routing device 10-1 that is fixedly or semi-fixedly connected to the switch 11-1 through PVC (permanent virtual channel) or SVC (switched virtual channel). The routing device 10-1 reconstructs the packet signal from the received cell signal and determines an outgoing route to a destination terminal (D) 14 according to a destination address contained in the signal.
The routing device 10-1 decomposes the packet signal again into a cell signal having VPI and VCI (virtual path identifier and virtual channel identifier) corresponding to the outgoing route and returns the cell signal to the switch 11-1. According to the VPI and VCI, the switch 11-1 transfers the cell signal to the switch 11-2 that is in the outgoing route. The switches 11-2 and 11-3 and routing devices 10-2 and 10-3 operate in the same way to transfer the signal up to the destination terminal 14.
The prior art of FIG. 1B works in the same manner. The frame relay network has frame relay switches (FR) 12-1 to 12-3 that are provided with routing devices (RD) 10-1 to 10-3, respectively. The routing devices 10-1 to 10-3 route packet signals in the frame relay network. A source terminal (S) 15 transmits a frame signal made from a packet signal. The frame signal is received by the switch 12-1, which transfers the signal to the routing device 10-1 that is fixedly or semi-fixedly connected to the switch 12-1.
The routing device 10-1 reconstructs the packet signal from the frame signal and determines an outgoing route to a destination terminal (D) 16 according to a destination address contained in the packet signal. The routing device 10-1 converts the packet signal again into a frame signal having DLCI (data link connection identifier) corresponding to the outgoing route and returns the signal to the switch 12-1. According to the DLCI, the switch 12-1 transfers the frame signal to the switch 12-2 in the outgoing route.
In this way, the prior art of FIG. 1A must reconstruct and decompose an ATM cell signal at every ATM switch, to increase the transfer time. Although original aims of the ATM technique are to improve a transfer rate and expand a bandwidth, the prior art of FIG. 1A is unable to fully demonstrate the advantages of the ATM technique due to the poor performance of the routing devices.
Similarly, the prior art of FIG. 1B must reconstruct a packet signal and convert it into a frame signal at every frame relay switch, to increase the transfer time. Although original aims of the frame relay technique are to improve a transfer rate and expand a bandwidth, the prior art of FIG. 1B is unable to fully demonstrate the advantages of the frame relay technique due to the poor performance of the routing devices.
In the prior art of FIG. 1B, each frame relay switch must dedicate itself to completely process a received frame. If the transmission rate of a frame signal that carries frames is high, the frame relay switch will be unable to follow the signal, thereby causing congestion in the network.
To solve these problems and improve transfer speed, the IETF has proposed NHRP (next hop resolution protocol), and the ATM forum has proposed MPOA (multiprotocol over ATM).
Each of these proposals employs a shortcut technique that makes a direct connection in a network when transferring IP packets. Making a shortcut, however, involves some problems. For example, it involves intricate control and special protocols that need a client-server system and requires every routing device to have a server function.


A method for adapting a language model for a context of a domain, comprising obtaining textual contents from a large source by a request directed to the context of the domain, discarding at least a part of the textual contents that contain textual terms determined as irrelevant to the context of the domain, thereby retaining, as retained data, at least a part of the textual contents that contain textual terms determined as relevant to the context of the domain, and adapting the language model by incorporating therein at least a part of the textual terms of the retained data, wherein the method is performed on an at least one computerized apparatus configured to perform the method and equipped for communication with the large source, and an apparatus for performing the same.

The present disclosure generally relates to textual terms recognition, and more specifically to speech recognition using a language model adapted with external data.
Some attempts to extend data for training a model for speech recognition are known in the art, as exemplified in the following publications.
WO1999/050830 which reports language model used in a speech recognition which has access to a first smaller data store and a second, larger data store. The language model is adapted by formulation an information retrieval query based on information contained in the first data store and querying the second data store. Information retrieved from the second data store used in adapting the language model.
EP2273490 reports a speech recognition device that may adapt or otherwise modify a generic language model based on a retrieved corpus of text.
WO2006/099621 reports forming and/or improving a language model based on data from a large collection of documents, such as Web data. The collection of documents is queried using queries that are formed from the language model. The language model is subsequently improved using the information thus obtained and the improvement is used to improve the query.

Language model adaptation based on filtered data


A headlamp for motor vehicles has a reflector, a gas discharge lamp, a front plate covering a light exit opening of the headlamp, and a filter arranged in a beam path of light beams reflected by the reflector and light beams transmitted directly to the front plate and at least partially absorbing light in a UV wavelength region.

The present invention relates to a headlamp for motor vehicles.
More particularly, it relates to a headlamp which has a gas discharge lamp and a front plate which covers the light exit opening of the headlamp.
Such a headlamp is disclosed in the German Offenlegungsschrift 35 19 611. This headlamp has a reflector into which a gas discharge lamp is inserted as a light source. The light exit opening of the headlamp is covered with a front plate. Apart from visible light, the gas discharge lamp also transmits light in the UV wavelength region of high intensity. This UV light is, on the one hand, noxious and, on the other hand, can destroy plastics and glass. The heat radiation of the gas discharge lamp is substantially smaller in comparison with an incandescent lamp so that moisture which has penetrated the headlamp or has been precipitated on the front plate does not dry and moisture which has frozen onto the front plate does not thaw. In addition, under certain circumstances the light transmitted by the gas discharge lamp has an excessively high blue fraction.


A simple and economical spin fixture which is specially designed to be integrally molded, implanted or otherwise embedded within a solid composition ball, for example, a polymerized thermoplastic foam basketball. The fixture rotatably seats one's fingertip inside the ball to allow effortless fingertip spinning. The gripping action is secure, and yet the frictional contact surface between the rotating and stationary parts is minimized to improve the spin quality.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to novelty balls, and more particularly, to a solid composition ball having an embedded spin fixture to allow fingertip spinning of the ball.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent improvements in molding methods have engendered a wide variety of novelty balls formed of polymerized thermoplastic foam. For example, numerous solid foam footballs are commercially available in various precision-molded shapes and sizes, and such balls enjoy widespread commercial popularity.
Lately, the popularity of such balls has been propagated by new and imaginative novelty features. For instance, the capability now exists to precision-mold such balls with helical grooves to facilitate throwing, and/or central air passages to improve the aerodynamics. U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,422 issued to Ma. shows an exemplary polyurethane foam throwing-ball with non-uniform grooves for altering the flight path.
It is also possible to mold such balls with embedded solid structures. Solid support frameworks, weights, whistles, and numerous other plastic structures are now commonly implanted or integrally molded within the balls. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,466 issued to MacDonald et al. discloses an aerodynamic football having a constricted air passage formed centrally through the ball. A pair of disks 32 and 34 are integrally molded within the body of the ball to provide support and stabilizing weight.
With state-of-the-art molding methods, the possibilities for other novelty features are limited only by the imagination. A particularly promising novelty feature had its origin in a different context, namely, inflatable balls. U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,016 issued to Bodor discloses a spin fixture for an inflatable ball which simplifies fingertip spinning. Fingertip spinning of a basketball is a very popular stunt. However, it is an extremely difficult maneuver using a conventional basketball. Bodor '016 attempts to solve this problem by incorporating a novelty spin fixture in a conventional inflatable basketball. The fixture includes a rotator 4 which sits on an annular bearing 6 which is in turn seated within a housing 3. The fixture is inserted through a perforation in the wall of the ball and is seated flush therewith, the wall being fused around the housing 3. The rotator 4 remains exposed to provide a seating for the fingertip. In addition, both rotator 4 and bearing 6 accommodate insertion of an air needle for inflation of the ball.
It would be greatly advantageous to provide a spin fixture to be implanted or integrally molded within a solid composition ball, for example, a polymerized thermoplastic foam basketball. Unfortunately, the Bodor '016 fixture is not well suited for this type of ball. The flange of housing 3 would be inappropriate for anchoring the fixture within a solid ball. In addition, the Bodor '016 device also has a large area of frictional contact between the bearing 6 and rotator 4. This contact surface is insignificant in a heavy conventional basketball where the resulting friction is overcome by momentum. However, in a lighter solid composition ball the friction would seriously interfere with the spin quality. Furthermore, the rotator 4 of Bodor '016 is shallow and provides minimal support on the fingertip.
There would be great commercial promise in a solid composition ball with spin fixture which avoided the above-described drawbacks.


The present invention is directed to an ultrasound imaging system and method for Doppler processing of data. The ultrasonic imaging system efficiently addresses the data computational and processing needs of Doppler processing. Software executable sequences in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention determines the phase shift and the auto-correlation phase of filtered image data. In a preferred embodiment, the system of ultrasonic imaging also includes a sequence of instructions for Doppler processing that provides the functions for demodulation, Gauss Match filtering, auto-correlation calculation, phase shift calculation, frame averaging, and scan conversion implemented with Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) or Multiple Instruction Multiple Data (MIMD) instructions.

Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment has become an indispensable tool for clinical use. For approximately the past twenty years, real-time B-mode ultrasound imagers are used for investigating all soft tissue structures in the human body. One of the recent developments within medical imaging technology is the development of Doppler ultrasound scanners. Doppler ultrasound is an important technique for non-invasively detecting and measuring the velocity of moving structures, and particularly to display an estimate of blood velocity in the body in real time.
The basis of Doppler ultrasonography is the fact that reflected and/or scattered ultrasonic waves from a moving interface undergoes a frequency shift. In general the magnitude and the direction of this shift provides information regarding the motion of this interface. How much the frequency is changed depends upon how fast the object or moving interface is moving. Doppler ultrasound has been used mostly to measure the rate of blood flow through the heart and major arteries.
There are several forms of depiction of blood flow in medical Doppler imaging or more generally different velocity estimation systems that currently exist: Color Flow imaging, power Doppler and Spectral sonogram. Color flow imaging (CFI), interrogates a whole region of the body, and displays a real-time image of mean velocity distribution. CFI provides an estimate of the mean velocity of flow with a vessel by color coding the information and displaying it, super positioned on a dynamic B-mode image or black and white image of anatomic structure. In order to differentiate flow direction, different colors are used to indicate velocity toward and away from the transducer.
While color flow imaging displays the mean or standard deviation of the velocity of reflectors, such as the blood cells in a given region, power Doppler (PD) displays a measurement of the amount of moving reflectors in the area, similarly to the B-mode image's display of the total amount of reflectors. A power Doppler image is an energy image in which the energy of the flow signal is displayed. Thus, power Doppler depicts the amplitude or power of the Doppler signals rather than the frequency shift. This allows detection of a larger range of Doppler shifts and thus better visualization of small vessels. These images give no velocity information, but only show the direction of flow. In contrast, spectral Doppler or spectral sonogram utilizes a pulsed wave system to interrogate a single range gate or sampling volume, and displays the velocity distribution as a function of time. The sonogram can be combined with the B-mode image to yield a duplex image. Typically, the top side displays a B-mode image of the region under investigation, and the bottom displays the sonogram. Similarly, the sonogram can also be combined with the CFI or PD image to yield a triplex image. The time for data acquisition is then divided between acquiring all three sets of data, and the frame rate of the images is typically decreased, compared to either CFI or duplex imaging.
The current ultrasound systems require extensive complex data processing circuitry in order to perform the imaging functions described herein. Doppler processing for providing two-dimensional depth and Doppler information in color flow images, power Doppler images and/or spectral sonograms require millions of operations per second. There exists a need for an ultrasound imaging system that provides for compute-intensive systems and methods to efficiently address the data processing needs of information, such as Doppler processing.

Abstract: In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasound imaging system of the present invention includes a processing module; and memory operable coupled to the processing module, wherein the memory stores operational instructions that cause the processing module to map serial data to vector representation, calculate an auto-correlation function of the data, calculate a phase shift of the auto-correlation function to generate a monotonic function covering all values of the phase shift corresponding to a range of Doppler velocities and display the resultant images, for example, as color images.


An ink recording apparatus is operable to eject ink to a medium transported in a transport path in a transport direction. An ink head includes a nozzle on a bottom surface opposed to the transport path, and is operable to eject the ink from the nozzle to the medium. A holder is adapted to hold the ink head and to cover the bottom surface, and includes a first opening corresponding to the nozzle. An absorber is adapted to cover a part of the holder which is opposed to the transport path and is adjacent to the first opening, and includes a second opening corresponding to the nozzle. The second opening is adjacent to the first opening. A mask is adapted to be arranged between the absorber and the transport path, and includes a third opening corresponding to the nozzle. At least one of an end portion of the second opening and an end portion of the third opening protrudes greater than an end portion of the first opening at least in the transport direction and an opposing direction opposed to the transport direction.

The present invention relates to an ink recording apparatus, and particularly to an ink recording apparatus which ejects ink from an ink head onto a medium according to printing data thereby to perform printing.
An ink head used in an ink recording apparatus is characterized in that miniaturization can be facilitated, a high accurate image can be recorded at a high speed, and the image can be recorded on plain paper without requiring special processing. Therefore, the ink recording apparatus is applied to various apparatuses such as a printer, a scanner in-printer (built-in-printer), and the like.
However, the ink ejected from the ink head does not attach onto the whole of the surface of a medium, but a part of ink splashes round and ink mist is produced. In the ink recording apparatus, occurrence of mist, nozzle stain, and mask stain due to this ink mist is not avoided, which obstructs improvement of printing quality. The mist means that the ink which has become misty attaches to other portion than the desired portion thereby to cause difficulty in seeing a print image. The nozzle stain means that the ink which has become misty attaches to a nozzle gradually thereby to drop from the nozzle onto paper. The mask stain means that the ink which has become misty attaches to a mask surface and transfers to the paper, whereby the paper is stained with the ink.
It is said that the mist, the nozzle stain, and the mask stain are caused by static electricity. This static electricity is caused, for example, by friction between paper and a transport roller, and friction between paper and a transport guide. The ink that has been ejected and become misty is caught by this static electricity, and attaches to the paper, the nozzle, and the mask, thereby to cause the mist, the nozzle stain, and the mask stain respectively.
Therefore, many technologies for preventing occurrence of the stains due to static electricity have been proposed. For example, a technology has been proposed in which a charge member that is electrically insulated is provided inside a recording apparatus, the static electricity is generated in the charge member during recording, and ink mist produced during recording is attached to the charged charge member, whereby stains on other points inside the recording apparatus are prevented (refer to JP-A-10-264412).
In the usual ink recording apparatus (ink jet type printer), the stains due to the ink mist can be effectively prevented by measures for static electricity.
However, according to the investigation by the present inventors, in a printer of a type in which printing (recording) is performed while transporting paper (medium) at a high speed (hereinafter, referred to as a high-speed type), such as a scanner in-printer, it has been found that the following characteristic problems are produced.
Namely, in the high-speed type printer, the stains due to the ink mist cannot be effectively prevented only by the measures for static electricity, and it has been found that the stains due to the ink mist are caused not only by the static electricity but also by blow produced by transport of the paper (medium) (hereinafter, referred to as transport blow). Namely, in case that the paper (medium) is transported at a high speed, the transport blow is produced with this paper transport, and a droplet (shot) of the ink that has been ejected and become misty flows by this transport blow and attaches to the paper, the nozzle and the mask, whereby the mist, the nozzle stain, and the mask stain are caused respectively. Further, in the high-speed type printer, since the paper (recorded medium) is transported at a high speed, a large amount of static electricity is also produced. Therefore, it is been found that measures for static electricity which does not conflict with the measures for transport blow must be taken.


A powered toothbrush is provided and includes a handle portion having a neck formed at one end and a head coupled to the neck. The handle portion is adapted to receive a pair of batteries therein. The head includes a base, and one or more carriers coupled to the base. At least one of the carriers is operatively connected to a drive for moving the one or more coupled carriers in respective directions. The one or more carriers have bristles, elastomeric cleaning members, or a combination thereof extending outwardly therefrom. The pair of batteries are positioned at a predetermined angle relative to a face of the carrier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to powered toothbrushes, and more particularly, to a toothbrush having a unique handle and a unique relative positioning of conventional batteries to provide a more comfortable and easier to grip handle resulting in additional oral health benefits to the user.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Toothbrushes provide many oral hygiene benefits. For example, toothbrushes remove plaque and food debris to help avoid tooth decay and disease. They remove stained pellicle from the surface of each tooth to help whiten the teeth. Also, the bristles combined with the brushing motion massage the gingival tissue for stimulation and increased health of the tissue.
Powered toothbrushes have been available for some time. Powered toothbrushes have advantages over manual (non-powered) toothbrushes in that they impart movement to the bristles at much higher speeds than possible manually. They also may impart different types and directions of motion. These motions, generally in combination with manual movement of toothbrush by the user, provide superior cleaning than manual toothbrushes. Typically, powered toothbrushes are powered by disposable or rechargeable batteries that power an electric motor that in turn drives toothbrush head.
Known powered toothbrushes include a brush head with a bristle carrier portion that rotates, oscillates or vibrates in some manner so as to clean the teeth. The bristles, which typically comprise bristle tufts, are generally uniform with one end fixed into the bristle carrier portion and the other end free to contact the surface of the teeth while brushing. The free ends of the various tufts present a surface envelope that is capable of some deformation when the bristles bend. When in contact with the surface to be brushed, the bristles may deform so that the surface envelope tends to conform to the complex surface of the teeth. Human teeth generally lie in a "C" shaped curve within the upper and lower jaw, and each row of teeth consequently has a convex outer curve and a concave inner curve. Individual teeth often have extremely complex surfaces, with areas that may be flat, concave, or convex. The more precise conformation between the bristles and the tooth surface, the more effective toothbrush may be in cleaning, whitening and/or stimulating.
Known powered toothbrushes typically arrange the bristles in a compact conical or cylindrical pattern on a generally circular, disk-shaped bristle carrier. The powered toothbrush heads are traditionally compact, generally oval in shape and heads are produced with a flat trimmed bristle pattern. Alternatively, other head shapes and bristle patterns are available.
One example of a powered toothbrush is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,916 to McDougall, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Toothbrush shown in McDougall has a disc-shaped bristle carrier. The bristle carrier, and thus the bristles, are driven in a vibrating or oscillating manner. This type of toothbrush is described herein with reference to FIGS. 1A-1C. A toothbrush 5 includes a handle portion 10 at a proximal end of toothbrush 5 and a head 11 at a distal end of toothbrush 5. Handle portion 10 has compartments for containing a powered motor 14 and batteries 15 and 16. Head 11 includes a generally circular bristle holder (carrier) 13. A rotatable shaft 12 extends from the motor 14 to head 11. A shaft coupling 17 may be located along the shaft 12 and configured to provide for the shaft 12 to be separated at a point between the motor 14 and head 11. This permits the shaft to be removed from toothbrush 5, e.g., for cleaning, servicing, or replacement.
Head 11 includes a post 18 that provides a rotational pivot axis for the bristle holder 13 containing bristle tufts 19. The distal end of the shaft 12 has a journal or offset 20 that is radially displaced from the longitudinal axis of the shaft 12, which may be integrally formed therewith. The bristle holder 13 has a slot 22 that receives the offset 20. The offset 20 and slot 22 are configured so as to be oriented toward the intersection of the shaft 12 axis and the longitudinal axis of the post 18. When the motor 14 rotates the shaft 12, the motion of the offset 20 defines a circle about the shaft 12 axis and drivingly engages slot 22 such that the bristle holder 13 vibrates or oscillates about the post 18 axis through a rotational angle A. The rotational angle A is defined by the displacement of the offset 20 from the shaft 12 axis relative to the diameter of the bristle holder 13.
Although powered toothbrushes such as those described immediately above provide advantages over manual toothbrushes, they are subject to various limitations. Providing sufficient power for the toothbrush to operate requires substantial battery power, and consequently size. Typically, these batteries have been provided as a pair of batteries positioned one on top of the other in a coaxial relationship. While this configuration results in a thin handle portion, the handle portion may become unduly long, thus making it difficult for a user to handle the toothbrush.
One attempt to overcome the limitations associated with this battery configuration is to place the pair of batteries in the handle side by side, either along a plane positioned perpendicular to the face of the bristle carrier, or along a plane coplanar with the face of the bristle carrier. Such configurations are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. Such configurations, however, limit the ability to shape the handle into a shape that is comfortable to the user and assists in allowing the user to properly grip the handle of the toothbrush. Therefore, a toothbrush including such a restricted battery positioning limits the overall effectiveness of the toothbrush.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a powered toothbrush with a more advantageous handle structure to improve the overall effectiveness of such a toothbrush. There is further a need for such improved toothbrushes to be comparable in manufacturing and purchasing costs as known powered toothbrushes.


Apparatus and methods for capacitively coupled device input/output are disclosed. In one embodiment, a connector module includes a first member having at least one first conductive lead disposed therein. A dielectric portion is coupled to an end portion of the at least one first conductive lead. A second member has at least one second conductive lead disposed therein. The first and second members are coupled such that respective end portions of the first and second conductive leads are operatively positioned and spaced apart by the dielectric portion. The dielectric portion is adapted to capacitively couple the respective end portions of the first and second conductive leads and to allow signals to be transmitted therethrough.

Off-board connections (e.g. backplane connections) and off-module connections (e.g. boxface connectors on an aircraft module, or video connections on a modem PC) are typically achieved either with copper (or other metallic contacts), or with fiber optic contacts. Examples of such typical prior art connections include, for example, the plug-in connections taught by U.S. Pat. No. RE37,182 issued to Fasullo et al., the contact connections taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,430 issued to La Rue, the meshed connections disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,526 B1 issued to Chinnaswamy et al., and the cable connections taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,640272 B1 issued to Hartwell et al.
Although desirable results have been achieved using such prior art systems, there is room for improvement. For example, for systems operating in harsh, outdoor environments, the contacts of such prior art systems may be susceptible to contamination by dust and other debris and substances. When such foreign substances become lodged between the physical contacts, the operability of the system may be adversely affected. Thus, a need exists for improved apparatus and methods for off-board and off-module connections that are less susceptible to contamination by dust and debris becoming lodged in connection modules.

Apparatus and methods for capacitively-coupled device input/output