A retractable roof includes a front roof panel, a back roof panel formed by joining outer and inner panel layers to each other, a lower link pivotally connected to a vehicle body member, an upper link pivotally connected to the front roof panel, and an intermediate link rigidly connected to each of the lower link and the upper link. The intermediate link is placed in between the outer and inner panel layers of the back roof panel.

(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to retractable roofs and vehicles therewith.
(b) Description of the Related Art
For example, Published Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-264658 discloses a retractable roof for a vehicle changeable between an in-use position to cover the passenger compartment and a retracted position in which the roof is stowed in a storage room of the vehicle to leave the passenger compartment open.
The retractable roof disclosed in the above published patent application includes a front roof panel, a back roof panel and a pair of quadric chains disposed on either side of the width of the passenger compartment. Each quadric chain includes a pair of opposite first and second link members that are both pivotally connected to the front roof panel and a vehicle body member to link the vehicle body member with the front roof panel. The back roof panel is fixed to one of the pair of opposite link members.
The above linkage configuration enables the retractable roof to change between an in-use position to cover the passenger compartment from above with the front roof panel and cover it from the rear with the back roof panel and a retracted position in which the front and back roof panels are stowed in vertically overlying relation in the storage room.
However, when the retractable roof disclosed above is in its in-use position, the pair of opposite first and second link members of each quadric chain protrude into the passenger compartment. This invites a problem of disfiguring the passenger compartment.
To eliminate the above problem, it can be considered to hide the pair of opposite link members as with a trim piece. In this case, however, the trim piece is placed more inward than another link member disposed inside the roof panel, which invites another problem that the passenger compartment space is narrowed.


A process for optimal economic efficiency in postal operations generally comprises the steps of conveying objects from a first repository to a second repository and pre-processing a combination from among at least one of said objects based on assigned criteria, such as variable pricing methods, to derive further value from these operations. The pre-processing collects recipient-specific optimized combinations of objects and stores them as deliverables in a storage system. Such pre-processing obviates the need for set ups required under the prior art thereby reducing operational costs, including the indirect costs of equipment “down time”. Pre-processing further achieves the postal discounts offered by the U.S. Postal Service thereby eliminating the need for the additional pre-sorting systems required under the prior art. Moreover, variable pricing methods are employed to optimize the economic potential of these operations.

Many large companies (called "Communicators" in this application) engage in large scale mailing operations in order to communicate with their customers. These core communications, which can include billing or account statements and other missives required by law, are made regularly to a large number of customers. Credit card companies are an example of one such category of companies. Banks and other financial services companies, telecommunication companies, utility companies, and cable and satellite television companies are examples of other companies bearing high monthly recurring mailing obligations. A credit card company, for instance, typically mails billing statements at the end of every billing period (30 days or so) to its cardholders that used their credit card in the prior billing period or that still had outstanding balances. This is to inform their Customers of the amount of purchases they made using their card and thus owe the company. A Basic Mailing sent out to the Customers consists of the following Postal Objects:                An Outgoing Envelope        A number of pages itemizing the Customer's transactions        A Return Envelope
The credit card company typically pays $0.27 (using the U.S. postal rate changes instituted in July 2002) for postage to mail the above Postal Objects, which generally weigh about 15 grams. However, due to the postal rate structure, the company has actually purchased the right to mail up to 1 ounce (28 grams) of material to that Customer for that same $0.27. That leaves 13 grams of unused or excess capacity. This Surplus Weight could be used for additional material to be mailed to a Customer with no increase in mailing costs. In practice, virtually every Basic Mailing would have Surplus Weight.
Such Basic Mailings represent a marketing opportunity for both the Communicators that have this Surplus Weight available in their core communications to their Customers as well as "third party" Marketers that seek effective and economical ways to gain access to prospective customers. This would be an even more appealing vehicle for many Marketers, if new technology would enhance the ability to customize messages. The Marketers' communications may take the form of a Postal Insert in the Communicators' mailings. A Postal Insert may be a single or multi-panel printed document. Postal Inserts are included in the Customer's mailing, thereby transforming the Basic Mailing into an Extended Mailing. Extended Mailings, like the Basic Mailing, consist of the Outgoing Envelope, a number of Bill Pages itemizing the customer's transactions, and a Return Envelope, but also a number of Postal Inserts.
In essence, the existence of Surplus Weight in Basic Mailings creates a market that can benefit both Marketers and Communicators. Besides various collateral benefits (e.g., credit card companies generate receivables from cardholders charging their card to buy the goods or services), the Communicators can generate additional fee income by offering Marketers the Surplus Weight for which they are paying but not utilizing. The Marketers are able to communicate with the Communicator's Customers at rates well below the $0.27 it would cost to mail directly to these Customers on their own. Consequently, a "Marketing Cycle" exists. The Marketers supply Postal Inserts to the Communicators. The Communicators integrate them with their communications to their Customers. The Customers receive the Postal Inserts, and some respond to the Marketers' offers by purchasing their goods or services thus completing the Marketing Cycle.
The benefits that could be realized by Marketers and Communicators are substantial, so Extended Mailings would be expected to be a common, widespread practice. This has not been the case, however, because the supporting technology and processes have been inefficient. This inefficiency is evidenced, among other things, by the Communicators' chronic and significant under-utilization of available Surplus Weight, and their forgoing the use of demonstrably substantial marketing revenue and other forms of value. The inefficiency is, in large part, due to structural problems in the relations between Marketers and Communicators, and limitations embedded in the prior art technology provided by the firms that supply the machinery and services that perform automated mailing operations ("Transmitters") (see, e.g., the Phillipsburg Inserters summarized by Baggarly U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,873). Further, as a practical matter, these problems cannot be fully rectified until the prior art technology and processes are replaced by the technology and processes presented herein.
In essence, the problem for the Communicators is how to maximize the value that can be realized from the sale or other use of the Surplus Weight in their core mailings at minimum cost. Value is a broad and general measure of benefit. Value often can be defined as pure revenue, in which case the problem is equivalent to maximizing profits. Value also can encompass managerial mandates that may override pedantic profit calculations. The presented invention offers the opportunity for lasting, optimal economic efficiency in many operations related to postal mailings. Other industries faced with complex distribution or allocation problems for goods and services could also benefit from the economic efficiencies derived from the system and method presented. However, since most of the problems of the prior art are indicated in the poor management of Surplus Weight in Postal Insert operations, the discussion of the presented invention will focus on that aspect.
As discussed below, the economic situations of the Communicators and Marketers provide a foundation of the criticism of the prior art. The crux of the problem is that current technology needlessly interrupts Postal Item processing, thereby artificially inflating costs. This would be a serious impediment in and of itself even if value and/or revenue of Postal Insert operations were being maximized. Yet the current technology impedes the economic efficiency of these operations further by simultaneously preventing anything remotely close to value maximization from occurring.
Value/Revenue Side of Postal Insert Operations: Marketer-Communicator Relations
Marketers typically pay a Customer Access Charge for a Communicator to deliver the Marketer's Postal Insert to the Communicator's Customers as part of the Communicator's Extended Mailing. This price clearly must be less than what the Marketer would pay were it to mail directly to the Customer. However, the Marketer is taking a risk. If the Customer does not purchase the goods or services offered then the Marketer suffers a loss of a Customer Access Charge and all other related costs. If the Customer does purchase the goods or services then the Marketer achieves a profit (assuming its profit from the sale is greater than the Customer Access Charge and all related costs).
The economics for determining whether a profit-maximizing Marketer should take the risk of sending a Postal Insert to a Customer is based on the concept of Expected Net Profit and are relatively basic. The Marketer knows what the Gross Profit for the goods or services is: this is simply the sale price minus the production costs. Given that, the Expected Net Profit of offering goods or services via a Postal Insert campaign can be determined.
The Expected Net Profit of mailing a Postal Insert to a Customer is computed as the Expected Gross Profit minus the Total Insert Costs. From the Marketer's perspective, Total Insert Costs are the sum of the Printing Cost, the Customer Access Charge, the Inserting Cost, and any other per Postal Insert costs. The Customer Access Charge is the fee the Marketer pays the Communicator to include a Postal Insert in an Extended Mailing. The related incremental cost of inserting the Postal Insert into an Extended Mailing is typically very low and might not be an explicit itemized charge. As Marketers generally are only concerned with a combined total cost per Postal Insert they might be presented with just a single, combined price per Postal Insert.
Gross Profit is the uncertain result of sending a Postal Insert to the Customer since there is no guarantee that it will act upon the offer. However, there is an Expected Gross Profit: this is the Gross Profit multiplied by the Probability of Success. The Probability of Success is the likelihood the Customer will respond to a Postal Insert by making a purchase.
Expected Net Profit provides the economic measure of whether the risk of sending a Postal insert is justified. Expected Net Profit is the Expected Gross Profit of a mailing minus the Total Costs of the mailing. Customers with Expected Net Profit greater than 0 are "good" marketing bets. Customers with Expected Net Profit less than 0 are "bad" marketing bets. Put another way, marketing campaigns directed towards Customers with Expected Net Profits greater than 0 should yield profits from the sale of goods and services that are greater than all related costs.
Under prevailing pricing policies Marketers incur costs in the form of Customer Access Charges for the right to send a Postal Insert to a Communicator's Customer. This Customer Access Charge is typically fixed and identical for all Customers. The Communicator sets or negotiates a single, constant Customer Access Charge applying to all Customers. The profit-seeking Marketer accordingly seeks to restrict its Postal Inserts to Customers whom they determine to have sufficiently high Probabilities of Success in relation to that cost. This is the only way to insure their Expected Net Profits are greater than 0 given that all other factors affecting Expected Net Profit are fixed. Table 1 gives a side-by-side comparison of two Customers with different Probabilities of Success.
TABLE 1CustomerCustomerDifference12(2 − 1) 1. Probability of Success0.01000.0080−0.0020 2. Gross Profit$5.0000$5.0000$0.0000 3. Printing Cost$0.0050$0.0050$0.0000 4. Customer Access Charge$0.0400$0.0400$0.0000 5. Inserting Cost$0.0010$0.0010$0.0000 6. Other Cost$0.0000$0.0000$0.0000 7. Expected Gross$0.0500$0.0400$0.0100   Profit (1 * 2) 8. Total Costs (3 + 4 + 5 + 6)$0.0460$0.0460$0.0000 9. Expected Net Profit (7 − 8)$0.0040−$0.0060−$0.010010. Expected Net8.6957%−13.0435%−21.7392%   ROI (100 * 9/8)
Customer 1 has a Probability of Success for the Marketer that, given the other components, yields an Expected Net Profit greater than 0. But Customer 2 has a lower Probability of Success for the Marketer that, given the other components, yields an Expected Net Profit less than 0.
Marketers desiring profitable marketing campaigns typically seek to restrict mailings of Postal Inserts to Customers like Customer 1. They may control the recipients of their Postal Inserts by supplying the Communicators with a list of names and addresses of desired Customers. Communicators then perform a "merge and purge" operation that compares the Marketer's list to the Communicator's master customer list to identify which of those desired Customers can be processed through the use of the Communicator's Surplus Weight.
As an aside, there are a number of commercially available databases and information sources that provide quite a bit of information at the customer and household level (approximately 100 million households in the U.S in July 2002). Marketers can obtain a large body of useful information on potential customers to estimate Probabilities of Success. This information includes:                Gender        Age        Ethnicity        Creditworthiness        Household income        Automobile characteristics        Number of children in household        Age distribution of children        Past marketing success by Marketer        Nielsen television classification        OtherProblems on the Value/Revenue Side of Postal Insert Operations: Marketer-Communicator Relations
In a truly economically efficient environment, Marketers would be agreeable to any opportunity that carried an Expected Net Profit greater than 0 and any opportunity that was mutually beneficial to Marketers and Communicators could be offered. Marketers, on the whole, are rationally responding to the pricing conditions presented them by restricting recipients to those with presumed higher Probabilities of Success, and hence, Expected Net Profit greater than 0. Yet Communicators have so far not fostered mutually beneficial relations with Marketers.
Communicators consistently failing to generate any value whatsoever from the many millions of Surplus Weight opportunities they possess, at a given price, should be amenable to lowering the price to any level that remains profitable for them. Unless they do so they will find themselves in a situation of their own making wherein they repeatedly miss out on value/revenue opportunities. Under the prevailing Fixed Pricing scheme they are issuing implicit dictums to Marketers to "take it or leave it" at the set Customer Access Charge. The Marketers' rational response is quite often to "leave it" when their Expected Net Profit falls below 0. However, if the Customer Access Charge were lowered for Customers whose Expected Net Profits are less than 0, then the Marketers' Expected Net Profits would increase. Were the price lowered to a point at which the Marketers' Expected Net Profits were greater than 0 that still was greater than the processing cost then a "win-win" situation would be achieved. Customers who under Fixed Pricing neither offered Expected Net Profit greater than 0 to the Marketers nor generated value or revenue for the Communicators have been transformed: they now offer Expected Net Profits greater than 0 to the Marketers thus warranting a Postal Insert. The Marketers benefit from gaining cost effective, profitable access to a broader universe of prospects. And the Communicators benefit by generating additional value and/or revenue from the available Surplus Weight where previously no value or revenue could be generated. Table 2 shows the same two Customers depicted in Table 1.
TABLE 2CustomerCustomerDifference12(2 − 1) 1. Probability of Success0.01000.0080−0.0020 2. Gross Profit$5.0000$5.0000$0.0000 3. Printing Cost$0.0050$0.0050$0.0000 4. Customer Access Charge$0.0400$0.0300−$0.0100 5. Inserting Cost$0.0010$0.0010$0.0000 6. Other Cost$0.0000$0.0000$0.0000 7. Expected Gross Profit (1 * 2)$0.0500$0.0400$0.0100 8. Total Costs (3 + 4 + 5 + 6)$0.0460$0.0360$0.0000 9. Expected Net Profit (7 − 8)$0.0040$0.0040$0.000010. Expected Net ROI (100 * 9/8)8.6957%11.1111%2.4154%
However, in Table 2, the Customer Access Charge has been lowered from $0.04 to $0.03. In doing so, the Communicator has increased the Marketer's potential Expected Net Profit for Customer 2 from a loss of $0.006 to a profit of $0.004. In terms of Expected Net ROI, Customer 2 actually has become a better marketing bet for the Marketer because its Expected Net ROI of 11.111% exceeds the Expected Net ROI of 8.696% for Customer 1. Expected Net ROI provides direct comparisons between Customers in terms of expected returns per dollar spent. The Communicator now could generate an operating profit of $0.029 (the Customer Access Charge of $0.030 minus its Inserting Cost of $0.001) should it permit the Marketer's Postal Insert to use some of the Surplus Weight. The price reduction has transformed a previously ignored Customer into a profit opportunity for both the Marketer and the Communicator. Lloyds of London, an innovative insurance company, had the motto "There are no bad insurance risks, only bad insurance premiums". The analog for the Postal Insert industry ought to be "There are no bad marketing risks, only bad Customer Access Charges".
Cost Side of Postal Insert Operations: Marketer-Transmitter Relations
Effective leveraging of their Surplus Weight requires the Communicators to negotiate with a multitude of Marketers to achieve multiple Postal Inserts per Customer. Essentially, the different Marketers provide the Communicators with lists of the Customers to whom they would like to send Postal Inserts, and the Communicators must coordinate these various demands for access to their Customers.
Communicators typically sequentially process Marketers' lists in "merge and purge" operations, whereby Customers in the Communicator's mailing list that also appear in the Marketers' mailing lists are identified. Those Customers that are common to both the Communicator's and a Marketer's lists are then assigned the particular Marketer's Postal Insert unless it would violate either the Surplus Weight constraint or a possible Maximum Postal Inserts per Customer constraint.
All Customers will be scheduled to receive from 0 to some maximum number of Postal Inserts (e.g., 4) as a result of this Assignment process. Once the Assignment process has been completed, final processing can take place. Final processing is the Construction process performed by the Envelope Stuffing Machine ("ESM"). In the Construction process, all Postal Objects a Customer is to receive are collected and assembled into a Postal Item ready to be mailed. The ESM that perform this are well described in the Baggarly patent.
The basic unit of direct costs for Postal Insert operations under prior art technology is the "Set Up". Each Set Up requires an interruption of ESM processing operations in order to change the contents of the bins described in the Baggarly patent. Changes in bin contents are required whenever a Customer to be processed has a combination of assigned Postal Inserts that cannot be formed from the contents of the bins as then configured. Set Up costs are practically the only direct Postal Insert operating costs faced by Communicators. These direct costs mainly consist of the cost of a technician's time to change the bin contents.
Problems on the Cost Side of Postal Insert Operations: Marketer-Transmitter Relations
Revenue calculations in the Communicator's Assignment process are straightforward. Whenever a Communicator assigns a Postal Insert to a Customer, the incremental revenue generated is clearly known. It is the negotiated charge for including the Postal Insert multiplied by the number of Assignments for that Postal Insert. The incremental costs attributable to the additional Insert, on the other hand, are essentially unpredictable.
Were a Communicator's incremental cost attributable to the Insert limited to the cost of actual ESM insertion (e.g., electricity usage) then the cost would be predictable. The Communicator's economics would be as simple as the Marketer's economics. The Communicator would only need to compare the incremental value or revenue generated by the Postal Insert to the incremental inserting cost to further refine the Assignment process. Its Assignment policy would be that the addition of the Postal Insert did not violate the Surplus Weight constraint or the Maximum Insert Per Customer constraint, and had sufficient value to cover its incremental cost. In practice, the pure marginal cost of inserting a Postal Insert (electricity needed to insert a Postal Insert) is miniscule and virtually never explicitly accounted for
Unfortunately, under the prior art technology the true incremental cost of adding Postal Inserts beyond the initial Set Up configurations is both complex and practically unpredictable at Assignment time. The addition of a Postal Insert through the Assignment process clearly requires the allocation of an additional bin. Yet, as is explained below, the addition of one Postal Insert generally further requires the allocation of more than that one additional bin.
The core problem under the prior art is its discontinuous economics. Generally, after the first Set Ups are configured for each machine, the Assignment of even one additional Postal Insert to the existing initial set of Inserts mandates the allocation of more than just one additional bin. Moreover, whenever the number of additional required bins exceeds the number of available bins left in the prior Set Up, these additional bins further require a new Set Up.
This unfortunate cost consequence is illustrated by the following example. Suppose an Assignment process has used 10 Postal Inserts, a number equal to the number of bins in a sample Phillipsburg Inserter. Further, suppose that seven Customers groups, each with four Postal Inserts, are produced as a result of the Assignment process. The first group of Customers is assigned Postal Inserts 1 through 4. The second group of Customers is assigned Postal Inserts 2 through 5 , and, so on, up to the seventh group that is assigned Postal Inserts 7 through 10. Lastly, suppose an eighth Customer group is created with just three Postal Inserts: Postal Inserts 8 through 10. Up to this point it is clear that one Set Up, with the 10 Postal Inserts populating the bins, would constitute the total costs for Postal Insert processing. However, were an 11th Postal Insert assigned that added a 4th Postal Insert to the eighth Customer Group above, a total of four additional bins would be required. This is because, under the current technology, the eighth Customer group cannot be supplied Postal Inserts from the first Set Up due to the presence of the eleventh Postal Insert and, therefore, must be supplied its Postal Inserts through a new Set Up. However, because the eighth Customer group also demands Postal Inserts 8 through 10, a total of four additional bins immediately must be allocated in the new Set Up.
Importantly, the additional Assignment of a Postal Insert spawning the need for more than one additional bin can further replicate itself many times in a multi-ESM environment where a large number of Marketers are seeking access to a Communicator's Customers. For example, suppose the Assignment of some first 10 Postal Inserts created the same initial Customer groups as before, and the Assignment of a second set of 10 Postal Inserts (e.g., Inserts 11 through 20) created an analogous eight Customer groups. A 21st Postal Insert used by the Assignment process now might create the need for seven more bins. The 21st Postal Insert would form two new Customer groups with combinations of Postal Inserts that cannot be constructed from the contents of the first Set Ups of the two machines. These are the combination of Postal Inserts 8, 9, 10, and 21 and the combination of Postal Inserts 18, 19, 20, and 21. As the number of Postal Inserts used by the Assignment process increases, this phenomenon can get out of hand quickly. This is because the combination of new Postal Inserts with existing Postal Insert combinations to form new Postal Insert combinations cannot be satisfied by existing Set Up configurations. A simple metric can be used to gauge the problem: divide the total number of bins used in a day's production by the number of Postal Inserts used in the Assignment process. For Communicators that seek to capture significant value from their Surplus Weight this ratio may be quite high, i.e., well above one.
Serious attempts to extract the substantial unrealized value or revenue of Surplus Weight through the Assignment of a large selection of Postal Inserts are likely to have costs exhibiting undesirable increasing returns to scale. Increasing returns to scale in costs means that as the number of Postal Inserts added to the Assignment process increases by a given percent the costs required to process them through ESM increase by more than that given percent. In other words, the processing becomes less profitable as levels of activity increase and can even become unprofitable. Given the increasing returns to scale in costs and constant returns to scale (at best) in value or revenue, the number of Postal Inserts that can be profitably assigned in one day is severely limited. This limit is far below the maximum number of Postal Inserts that could be accommodated by the available Surplus Weight.
Processing dependent on Set Ups also spawns indirect costs. First, each Set Up takes time to perform. High levels of Set Ups per machine necessarily require significant processing interruptions ("down time") for the ESM. These interruptions reduce the amount of Customers that can be processed by an ESM in a given time period because it is idle when bin contents are being changed. Consequently, a Communicator that must have sufficient ESM to insure it meets its peak load (i.e., the daily billing cycle with the highest number of Customers) would need to purchase additional ESM for production. The real but indirect overhead cost of doing so is substantial.
Moreover, direct Set Up costs are sensitive to the order in which Customers are processed through the ESM. Suppose 20 different Postal Inserts, denoted as Insert 1 through Insert 20, were available to the Assignment process and, due to the Assignment process, all Customers fell into one of two groups. The first group contains Customers whose assigned Postal Inserts consist of combinations of Postal Inserts 1 through 10 only; the second group contains Customers whose assigned Postal Inserts consist of combinations 11 through 20 only. The minimum number of Set Ups required to process these Customers is two. One Set Up fills the assumed 10 bins with Postal Inserts 1 through 10.
The other Set Up fills the assumed 10 bins with Postal Inserts 11 through 20. Any order of processing that did not process all of one group before beginning to process all of the other group would necessarily result in more than two Set Ups, and thus increase direct Set Up costs. Still, while this processing order will minimize Set Up costs it is extremely unlikely that it would achieve the highest possible postal discounts.
The U.S. Postal Service offers discounts to high-volume mailers if they deliver their mailings essentially sorted by zip code. Thus, additional indirect costs of the current technology are either that postal discounts must be forgone or that additional systems and personnel to pre-sort the output from the current ESM must be employed. The ideal technology would have the cost-minimizing processing order also be the order that achieves the maximum postal discounts.
Overall, prior art technology needlessly demands that technicians be on hand throughout the day to provide the exact same number and type of Postal Objects in "dribs and drabs" due to the interruptions caused by the Set Ups. The prior art technology has solved the technical problem of adding Postal Inserts to the set of components going out as a Postal Item on a relatively small scale (i.e., with relatively small numbers of Postal Insert combinations existing in the customer base). However, the prior art has not solved the technical problem of doing so on a large scale and in an economically efficient manner.
The system and particularly the method herein may be used in many other applications in which efficiency in the distribution or allocation of objects with assigned criteria, tangible or intangible, is impaired by poor pricing policies and/or lack of comprehensive pre-processing decision procedures. Poor pricing policies can prevent mutually beneficial transactions from taking place. Lack of comprehensive pre-processing decision procedures can prevent optimal sequencing of inter-related decisions from taking place particularly when complex cost issues exist. Such other applications could include distribution or allocation of unsold airline seats within or across airlines, or distribution or allocation of unsold shipping capacity within or across transportation companies.

Process for optimal economic efficiency in postal operations


An apparatus and a method for rapidly generating a plurality of isolated effluents have been developed. A specific embodiment involves screening a plurality of solids through simultaneously contacting the members of the plurality with a fluid, simultaneously sampling the resulting fluids, and processing the resulting fluids to, for example, determine changes as compared to the feed fluid or as compared to other resulting fluids.

Developments in combinatorial chemistry have concentrated on the synthesis of chemical compounds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,002 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,556 B1 disclose a method and apparatus for multiple simultaneous synthesis of compounds. WO 97/30784-A1 discloses a microreactor for the synthesis of chemical compounds. Akporiaye, D. E.; Dahl, I. M.; Karlsson, A.; Wendelbo, R. Angew Chem. Int. Ed. 1998, 37, 609–611 disclose a combinatorial approach to the hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites, see also WO 98/36826. Other examples include U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,826 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,431 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,982 B1, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,927 B1, and WO 96/11878-A1.
More recently, combinatorial chemistry approaches have been applied to catalyst testing in an attempt to expedite the testing process. With the growing number of materials being synthesized combinatorially, more efficient methods of evaluating the materials are needed. Especially needed are combinatorial methods for the evaluation of solids that are designed to keep pace with the speed of combinatorial synthesis. For example, WO 97/32208-A1 teaches placing different catalysts in a multicell holder. The reaction occurring in each cell of the holder is measured to determine the activity of the catalysts by observing the heat liberated or absorbed by the respective formulation during the course of the reaction, and/or analyzing the products or reactants. Thermal imaging had been used as part of other combinatorial chemistry approaches to catalyst testing; see Holzwarth, A.; Schmidt, H.; Maier, W. F. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 1998, 37, 2644–2647, and Bein, T. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 1999, 38, 323–326. Thermal imaging may be a tool to gain knowledge of some semi-quantitative information regarding the activity of the catalyst, but it provides no indication as to the selectivity of the catalyst.
Some attempts to acquire information as to the reaction products in rapid-throughput catalyst testing are described in Senkam, S. M. Nature, July 1998, 384(23), 350–353, where laser-induced resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization is used to analyze a gas flow from each of the fixed catalyst sites. Similarly, Cong, P.; Doolen, R. D.; Fan, Q.; Giaquinta, D. M.; Guan, S.; McFarland, E. W.; Poojary, D. M.; Self, K.; Turner, H. W.; Weinberg, W. H. Angew Chem. Int. Ed. 1999, 38, 484–488 teaches using a probe with concentric tubing for gas delivery/removal and sampling. Only the fixed bed of catalyst being tested is exposed to the reactant stream, with the excess reactants being removed via vacuum. The single fixed bed of catalyst being tested is heated and the gas mixture directly above the catalyst is sampled and sent to a mass spectrometer.
Combinatorial chemistry has been applied to evaluate the activity of catalysts. Some applications have focused on determining the relative activity of catalysts in a library; see Klien, J.; Lehmann, C. W.; Schmidt, H.; Maier, W. F. Angew Chem. Int. Ed. 1998, 37, 3369–3372; Taylor, S. J.; Morken, J. P. Science, April 1998, 280(10), 267–270; and WO 99/34206-A1. Some applications have broadened the information sought to include the selectivity of catalysts. WO 99/19724-A1 discloses screening for activities and selectivities of catalyst libraries having addressable test sites by contacting potential catalysts at the test sites with reactant streams forming product plumes. The product plumes are screened by passing a radiation beam of an energy level to promote photoions and photoelectrons, which are detected by microelectrode collection. WO 98/07026-A1 discloses miniaturized reactors where the effluent is analyzed during the reaction time using spectroscopic analysis.
Some commercial processes have operated using multiple parallel reactors where the products of all of the reactors are combined into a single product stream; see U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,354 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,726 B1. Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,882 B1 teaches an apparatus having a plurality of vessels and valves and conduits for sequentially sampling the effluent of the vessels or a sample probe positioned next to the effluent to transport sampled fluid to a detector.
Applicants have developed a combinatorial method and apparatus particularly suited for the generation of a plurality of independent effluents. The effluents are generated in parallel, but kept isolated from one another. The effluent may be further processed by, for example, analyzing the composition of the effluent, by further reacting the effluent, by further treating the effluent, and the like. One embodiment of the invention is the evaluation of a plurality of solids where the effluents of all the vessels are simultaneously sampled. Multiple solids are contacted with a feed fluid in parallel with the resulting effluents being simultaneously sampled and then analyzed for changes as compared to the feed fluid. The parallel reactions and the analyses provide a means for the high throughput evaluation of multiple solids or mixtures of solids.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus and method for generating a plurality of isolated effluents


An interface device, a vehicle having the same, and a method of controlling the same are provided. The interface device includes a port unit to which the external device is connected and is configured to transmit a first current transmitted from the multimedia player to the external device. A regulation unit is configured to regulate external power into a second current and a selection unit is configured to switch the first current transmitted to the port unit to the second current based on a mode of the external device. Merchantability is improved since an electronic device within the vehicle is rapidly charged using a USB port.

1. Field
The present invention relates to an interface device that performs communication between at least two devices, a vehicle having the same, and a method of controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle typically includes a cluster configured to display driving functions such as a vehicle speed, an engine revolutions per minute (RPM), a fuel level, cooling water, etc. and vehicle information. Further, the vehicle typically includes additional functions for user convenience such as an audio function, a video function, a navigation function, air conditioning control, seat control, lighting control, etc. besides the basic driving functions. The vehicle also includes various multimedia players such as an audio, video and navigation (AVN) device in which a navigation function, an audio function, and a video function are integrated, an audio device, a terminal, etc.
Specifically, a multimedia player plays data stored in each device by connecting a MP3 player, a universal serial bus (USB) storage device, a mobile communication terminal, etc. to the multimedia player within the vehicle. The multimedia player within the vehicle includes an interface device that has a USB port or an auxiliary (AUX) terminal. Further, the interface device of the multimedia player includes a secure digital (SD) slot to which a SD storage device is connected.
The USB port within the interface device does not require a separate power source. In other words, since a portion of power provided from a battery or a head unit within the vehicle is provided to the USB port, no separate power source is required. A USB 2.0 port recently used uses a voltage of 5V and a current of 500 mA. Accordingly, small devices that support the USB 2.0 port are regarded as devices capable of being driven using low power equal to or less than about 2.5 W, and devices requiring power greater than about 2.5 W require power to be supplied from a separate power source. Recently, the mobile interface devices such as a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer (PC) are charged through the USP port, but the charging of the mobile interface devices is substantially slow due to a power limitation of 2.5 W.

Interface device, vehicle having the same, and method of controlling the same


Provided is a medium capable of implementing a large-capacity recording at low cost per bit. A medium including a network of metal wires and recording materials each provided at an intersection of the metal wires. Surface plasmons are made to propagate along the metal wires. Two surface plasmons are made to propagate in two different directions and to collide with each other at a certain position. Multiple-layer recording is carried out by changing the recording materials at the certain position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a large-capacity storage medium and its recording and readout method.
2. Background Art
An increased amount of digital information has been handled year after year all over the world, resulting in a demand for digital storage devices with a larger recording capacity. Semiconductor memories such as flash memories, hard disk drives (HDDs), and optical recording media have been improved in their respective recording densities, resulting in lowering of the cost per bit. The future growth of the amount of digital information to be handled all over the world is expected to be explosive, thus requiring the development of storage devices that have still larger capacities.
The progress in microfabrication techniques allows the semiconductor memories to have smaller-sized memory cells of higher integration, so that both the recording density and the recording capacity of semiconductor memories are increasing. The size of each memory cell depends on the minimum size in fabrication. The fabrication technique of today can handle wires of 45-nm width each, but it is expected that wires of 32-nm width each and of approximately 22-nm width each will be handled in the future. In addition, not only the microfabrication techniques but also multilayer cells have been proposed as an idea of allowing the semiconductor memories to have larger capacities. An example of such proposal is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-184084. The research and development thereof are progressing day by day.
The improvement of the recording density for HDDs has been achieved by making the size of each recording mark smaller. To record the smaller marks accurately, improvements have been achieved in the technique to localize a recording magnetic field produced by a recording head, as well as in the technique related to recording media to reduce variations in the mark shape. In addition, miniaturization of a readout magnetic field due to the smaller recording marks has been dealt with both by shortening the head-medium distance and by improving the sensitivity of the magnetic-field sensor. Moreover, as techniques to achieve a recording density of 1 Tb/in2 or higher, Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 74, pp. 2516-2518 discloses a technique known as "patterned media" in which patterns are formed on the medium in advance. Additionally, another technique proposed, for example, in IEEE Transaction on Magnetics, Vol. 42, pp. 2417-2421, is known as "heat-assisted magnetic recording" in which the medium is locally heated at the time of recording data thereon.
In the field of the optical recording, larger recording capacities have been accomplished by: the improvement in recording density, which is accomplished by using a light source of a shorter wavelength and by improving the numerical aperture of the objective lens; and the development of dual-layer recording media. Further development of multilayer media or of multiplexing techniques, and further improvement in recording density are expected to bring about the development of larger-capacity media. In addition, various ideas of the techniques, including the technique of further improving the recording density, the technique related to multilayer recording media, and the multiplexing technique such as the hologram, to give a CD-size disk of a 120-mm diameter a recording capacity of approximately 500 GB to 1 TB have been proposed, for example, in Optics Letters, Vol. 29, pp. 1402-1404. Particularly, the holographic recording, which is a method of accomplishing the larger-capacity data recording by means of the diffraction of light, is a promising method of accomplishing higher-speed data transfer because the recording data are acquired by using the diffraction images of plural pieces of data, that is, by using what is known as "parallel data processing."    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-184084    [Non-Patent Document 1] Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 74, pp. 2516-2518    [Non-Patent Document 2] IEEE Transaction on Magnetics, Vol. 42, pp. 2417-2421    [Non-Patent Document 3] Optics Letters, Vol. 29, pp. 1402-1404

Information storage apparatus and information recording method in which recording is carried out by propagating plasmons along a network of metal rods provided in a recording medium


Hemophilia A is one of the major inherited bleeding disorders caused by a deficiency or abnormality in coagulation factor VIII (FVIII). Hemophiliacs have been treated with whole plasma or purified FVIII concentrates. The risk of transmitting blood-borne viruses and the cost of highly purified FVIII are the major factors that restrict prophylaxis in hemophilia therapy. One of the challenges created by the biotechnology revolution is the development of methods for the economical production of highly purified proteins in large scales. The present invention provides improved mammary expression cassettes useful for the expression of genes at high levels in the milk of transgenic animals. In particular, the present invention provides recombinant signal peptide sequences derived from a-lactalbumin and aS1-casein milk genes suitable for leading protein secretion in the mammary gland. These gene cassettes are capable of delivering different transgenic constructs which result in the production of full-length or B domain-deleted therapeutic levels of biologically active human FVIII in the transgenic animals in vivo. Within the scope of the invention are also method for producing the transgenic non-human mammal, such as mouse, rat, rabbit, goat, sheep, pig and bovine species, capable of expressing human FVIII, and methods of making milk and methods of identifying protein from the transgenic milk.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention discloses a method for producing biologically active recombinant proteins in the milk of transgenic animals, characterized in which intact human clotting factor VIII gene and B-domain deleted recombinant factor VIII gene are transferred into the mammal by gene microinjection and embryonic implantation to obtain expression and secretion in the milk of transgenic animals and their offsprings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hemophilia is the most common human bleeding disorder and affects approximately one in 5,000 males, causing lifelong, repeated, and potentially life-threatening hemorrhagic episodes. It results from a deficiency in functional blood coagulation factors, either in a serine protease called Factor IX (hemophilia B) or in its cofactor Factor VIII (hemophilia A). Because hemophilia is caused by defects in single X-linked genes that encode circulating plasma proteins, the development of therapeutic strategies has focused on finding ways to replace the defective or deficient proteins.
Human FVIII is synthesized primarily in the liver and secreted into the circulation at low plasma concentration, approximately 100-200 ng/ml. Analysis of the cloned cDNA for human FVIII (Gitschier et al., 1984, Nature 312: 326-330; Toole et al., 1984, Nature 312: 342-347.) has provided more information about its gene and protein structure. The full length FVIII cDNA contains an open reading frame coding for a polypeptide of 2351 amino acids. This primary translation product contains a 19 a.a. signal peptides and six homologous domains in the order A1-A2-B-A3-C1-C2 (Vehar et al., 1984, Nature 312: 337-342.). The 256-kDa precursor protein is proteolytically processed intracellularly to a metal ion-linked heterodimer of a 90- to 200-kDa heavy chain (A1-A2-B) and an 80-kDa light chain (A3-C1-C2), which circulates in the plasma bound to the von Willebrand factor (vWF).
For the past two decades hemophiliacs have been treated with whole plasma, and more recently with highly purified FVIII concentrates prepared from plasma. Higher concentrates purity allows the administration of effective doses at lower volumes to patients. This therapy is effective in controlling bleeding episodes, however, hemophiliacs may suffer from other complications, compromised by the discovery that these products were transmitting human viruses such as the hepatitis B virus and human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) to patients, many of them later developed diseases (Hoyer, 1993, Methods Enzymol. 222: 169-176).
Since then, plasma screening and viral inactivation procedures have greatly improved the safety of these products, although the potential for transmitting diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease must be considered and has led to sporadic shortages in these plasma products. Nonetheless, when non-blood source products derived from recombinant DNA biotechnology became available, further reducing the viral risk, they were quickly embraced by caregivers and patients, despite their higher cost (Pipe and Kaufman, 2000, Nature Biotech. 18: 264-265). One of the challenges created by the biotechnology revolution is the development of methods for the economical production of highly purified proteins in large scales. Recent developments indicate that manipulating milk composition using transgenesis has focused mainly on the mammary gland as a bioreactor to produce pharmaceuticals.

Transgenic mammal secreting B-domain deleted human FVII in its milk


Disclosed herein are an apparatus and method for processing media in a convergence media service platform. The apparatus includes a media-based sensory effect (MSE) processing unit, an AV processing unit, a sensory effect processing unit, and a media creation unit. The MSE processing unit extracts one or more sensory effects from Audio/Video (AV) media. The AV processing unit separates AV media into an audio and a video, and decodes the AV media based on media format. The sensory effect processing unit adds the extracted sensory effects in synchronization with the waveform of the separate audio, and edits the attributes of the added sensory effects. The media creation unit creates convergence media by adding the added sensory effects to the AV media.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for processing media in a convergence media service platform and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for processing media in a convergence media service platform, which provide convergence media into which one or more sensory effects have been inserted based on media and user interaction feedback.
2. Description of the Related Art
A convergence media service is a service that adds one or more sensory effects to conventional media including audio and video and then provides convergence media to a user. That is, a convergence media service is capable of providing one or more sensory effects, such as lighting, a smell, vibrations, and/or the like, to a user while media is being played back. An example of conventional convergence media service-related technology is a technology for creating single ne-media by adding sensory effect metadata to single media, which is disclosed in the paper "Architecture of the SMMD Media Service System," E-ACTIVITES, 2007. Single ne-media is authored in the form of a single file and then stored in a home server. The home server reads the ne-media file, extracts sensory effect metadata, and controls devices for providing sensory effects in synchronization with media, thereby maximizing the sensory effects.
Furthermore, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2008-0016393 (entitled "SMMD-based Ubiquitous Home Media Service Apparatus and Method and Home Media Service System and Method using the Same" and published on Feb. 21, 2008) discloses an SMMD-based ubiquitous home media service apparatus and method, which create media having a new structure (ne-media) that enable device control and synchronization information to be added to existing media, including moving video, audio and text, in order to provide a sensory service. Sensory effect representation information suitable for one's personal preferences and a surrounding device environment is input to the created ne-media and then the ne-media is sent to surrounding devices, so that surrounding devices having a variety of functions can be autonomously converged via the ne-media regardless of the physical location of a user, such as a home, an office or a public area, and provide a sensory media service to the user.
However, the conventional convergence media service-related technologies are problematic in that a separate authoring tool is required to add sensory effects desired by an author to previously created media. That is, in the conventional technologies, an author should author convergence media in which media and sensory effects have been converged by using a separate authoring tool, fetching media, manually adding sensory effects to the media, and directly inputting the attributes of the sensory effects (the types, locations, directions, intensities and values of the sensory effects), so that the conventional convergence media service-related technologies are problematic in that it takes an excessively long time to create convergence media.
Furthermore, in the conventional convergence media service-related technologies, a representation system is used to parse and analyze ne-media created by the authoring tool, perform mapping to one or more devices, create device control instructions, synchronize the devices, and control the devices. Accordingly, the conventional convergence media service-related technologies are problematic in that insufficient sensory effects are provided because only preset sensory effects are provided and thus user interactions cannot be incorporated into the sensory effects.

Apparatus and method for processing media in convergence media service platform

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) includes a first and a second n-type transistor, a first and a second p-type transistor, a first and second capacitive element, a bridge connecting (1) the ground-facing connection of the first n-type transistor and power-facing connection of the first p-type transistor to (2) the ground-facing connection of the second n-type transistor and power-facing connection of the second p-type transistor, a first inductive element, a first capacitor bank, a second inductive element, and a second capacitor bank.

A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is a key component in systems that receive, transmit, or digitize signals. An oscillator has certain specifications that need to be met depending on the application. There are requirements for the frequency range, phase noise or jitter, KVCO, frequency variation due to temperature, power and area. One type of VCO known as an LC tank based VCO has attained widespread use due to its low phase noise characteristic. However, it would be desirable if LC tank based VCO circuits could be further improved, for example with respect to reduction of phase noise at the VCO output.


A printing apparatus includes a holder configured to hold an expendable supply attached thereto, a print engine configured to perform printing using the supply, a display configured to display information regarding the supply, and a controller configured to determine whether a supply-consumed status amount of the supply attached to the holder has reached a first threshold, the supply-consumed status amount representing how much the supply is consumed, and when determining that the supply-consumed status amount of the supply attached to the holder has reached the first threshold, cause the display to show supply-related information related to a contract concluded on the supply used for the printing.

Heretofore, a technology has been known in which expendable supplies (e.g., cartridges used in a printer) are automatically ordered and delivered to a predetermined ordering destination in order to reduce time and effort for a user to purchase the supplies. Specifically, in the technology, the supplies are automatically ordered when a remaining quantity of the supplies (e.g., a remaining amount of printing agent in a cartridge currently in use) have become equal to or less than a particular threshold.

Printing apparatus, print processing system, and computer-readable medium to provide supply-related information based on supply-consumed status


Disclosed is a display of a particular size that may be perceived as larger than the particular size as a result of light emitted by one or more light guides adjacent the perimeter of the display. The display may also be perceived as brighter. In particular, the display is configured to output a changing image. A light guide is disposed adjacent at least a portion of the perimeter of the display and coupled to a multicolor LED. A controller of the electronic device is configured to analyze the changing image to determine the color content. The multicolor LED is driven to emit light according to the color content of the changing image. The light guide is configured to couple light from the LED in a direction parallel to the display viewing surface, and to couple light out of the light guide in a direction away from the display viewing surface.

Manufacturers of electronic devices in particular, mobile communication devices, constantly strive to reduce costs of production while improving their products. Moreover, there is also a trend toward smaller mobile communication devices, at least in part based upon customer demand. Accordingly, manufacturers are inclined to keep the size of a display device to a minimum. Even though a user may prefer a smaller device, a user may also prefer a display with a bigger look.
There may be a trade-off between the desire of consumers toward smaller devices combined with manufacturers' desire to reduce costs with smaller displays, and users' preference for bigger and brighter displays. It may be beneficial if it were possible to satisfy both concerns so that a smaller display may have an extended or bigger look.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

Devices and methods for synchronized illumination


A wheel enhancing apparatus comprising a center cap and a wheel mounting assembly for mounting the center cap on the center cone of a wheel such that the center cap will rotate independently of the wheel.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,219,391 discloses a revolving wheel disk cover for a vehicle wheel. The disk cover is attachable to and removable from a vehicle wheel in the same manner as a hubcap. As the vehicle moves, the resulting air flowing past the vehicle causes the disk cover to revolve independently of the wheel itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,944 discloses a display hubcap apparatus including a cylindrical hubcap disk which is rotatably mounted on a wheel axle by means of a bearing. The hubcap disk includes a message display which rotates with the wheel during vehicle movement but is realigned in horizontal position when the vehicle stops. In order to provide for the realignment of the message display, the hubcap disk includes: a first metallic sphere captured within the outer portion of the hubcap disk; an elongate cylindrical slot diametrically aligned with the first metallic sphere opposite the axial center of the hubcap disk; and a second metallic sphere positioned within the elongate cylindrical slot. During wheel rotation, the second sphere is directed to an outer portion of the elongate slot. However, when the vehicle stops, the second sphere is repositioned in the elongate slot such that the hubcap disk rotates until the message display is horizontally aligned.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,946 discloses a hubcap which includes a rotatable outer wire assembly. The outer wire assembly is adapted to continue to spin after the vehicle comes to a stop.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,955,735 discloses a safety hubcap assembly which is positionable on a wheel hub having a threaded outer end. The safety hubcap assembly includes: a hub cover which is threaded onto the hub; a bearing assembly which is positioned around the hub cover; and a rotatable convex safety hubcap which is positionable over the bearing assembly such that the hubcap will rotate independently of the wheel.
In addition to the above, U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,344 discloses a hubcap assembly which includes an outer hub and an inner hub, the inner hub being freely rotatable relative to the outer hub; U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,601 discloses a motorized assembly which is attached to a wheel and rotates independently of the wheel; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,906 discloses a hubcap having an ornament rotatably attached thereto.


An image display apparatus for displaying a plurality of objects in a space using a simplified and efficient structure. The apparatus includes a first storing section having areas for scanning lines, and for each scanning line, has an area that stores the object numbers of the objects having that scanning line as the display start scanning line for the objects. In addition, other sections store a display end scanning line and an object information set for each of the objects. A display end determining section reads the object numbers of the current scanning line, and reads the display end scanning line for the objects of the read object numbers to determine whether the current scanning line is the display end scanning line for these objects. For each such object, if the current scanning line is the display end scanning line for an object, then no operation is performed; while if the current scanning line is not the display end scanning line, then the display end determining section adds the read object number to the area in the first storing section that stores the object numbers of the next scanning line. In addition, a display data generating section generates a display image for the current scanning line, and a display displays the display image.

1. Field of the Invention
A present invention relates to an image display apparatus to display a plurality of objects in a space as a 2-dimension image.
2. Description of the Related Art
In computer graphics and so on, when a plurality of objects are displayed on a screen as a 2-dimension image on which shading is performed, the following processes are performed.
(1) Each of the plurality of objects is approximated by polyhedrons. The vertex coordinate of each of the vertexes of each of the polygons that constitute each of the polyhedrons is transformed to a coordinate on a coordinate system of an image space in which a depth coordinate is added to the 2-dimension coordinate of a projection plane. Then, a column (x) address and row (y) address of each vertex on the screen and a coordinate value in a depth direction of the vertex are determined. Also, a brightness value of each vertex of each polygon is determined based on the position of a light source, the viewpoint and so on. Further, information of each of the sides of each polygon is determined from the values of the vertexes of the polygon. PA1 (2) When a scanning line in a row direction intersects with one of the polygons, column addresses and depth values of the intersection points of the scanning line with the polygon and brightness values of the intersection points are determined for every scanning line. A depth value and a brightness value of each of the pixels between the intersection points of each scanning line with the polygon are determined from the above-mentioned values of the intersection points. These determined values are stored in storage areas which are referred to as a Z buffer and an I buffer. PA1 (3) In order to erase a hidden plane in this method, each of determined depth values and the value that is stored in a buffer are compared with each other. If the determined depth value is smaller than the stored value, the values of the Z buffer and the I buffer are rewritten by the determined depth value and brightness. PA1 (4) The above-mentioned processes are executed for each of all the polygons for the objects to be displayed. In this manner, an image is generated and displayed.
In this method of displaying an image, the Z buffer for one screen is necessary in addition to the I buffer for storing the brightness value of each of the pixels on the screen. Also, in this method, many memories are necessary for the X buffer. Further, it is necessary to use a high-speed memory to access the Z buffer at high speed.
In order to solve these problems, a method is known in which each of the objects is displayed every scanning line of the screen, as shown in Japanese Laid Open Patent Disclosure (JP-A-Heisei 2-281386). FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the conventional example.
Referring to FIG. 1, in the conventional example of an image display apparatus, an object number is set for every object by an object number generating section 110. Then, an object information set of each of the objects is stored in an object information storing section 114 in correspondence to each object number. On the other hand, when the scanning line is scanned on the screen in order starting from the top line, the scanning line when the object is displayed on the screen for the first time and the scanning line when the display of the object is ended on the screen are determined for every object by a display start/end scanning line determining section 111. These scanning lines are referred to as the display start scanning line and the display end scanning line, respectively. Then, the display end scanning line of each object is stored in a display end scanning line storing section 113 in correspondence to the object number of the object. Also, the object number of the object is stored in a table storing section 112 for every object in correspondence to the scanning line which is the start scanning line for the object. In this manner, the object number of each of the objects can be stored in correspondence to the display start scanning line of the object. A FIFO buffer section 130 in which a plurality of object numbers are stored is initialized to "0".
Next, an image is generated in order from the first scanning line for every scanning line and is displayed. For this purpose, all the object numbers of objects having the first scanning line as the display start scanning line are read out from the table storing section 112 and added to the FIFO buffer section 130. Then, all the object numbers stored in the FIFO buffer section 130 are sequentially outputted one by one, and the following processing is performed to each of the read object numbers.
That is, the object information set corresponding to the outputted object number is outputted from the object information storing section 114. Then, a display image for displaying the object corresponding to the outputted object number on the first scanning line is generated from the object information set by a display information generating section 116. On the other hand, the display end scanning line corresponding to the outputted object number is outputted from the display end scanning line storing section 113. Then, whether or not the display end scanning line for the object is the first scanning line is determined by the display end determining section 115. Thus, the determination of the display end on the object is performed.
At this time, if the current scanning line is not the display end scanning line of the object, the outputted object number is returned to the FIFO buffer section 130. However, when the first scanning line as the current scanning line is determined to be coincident with the display end scanning line, the object number is not returned to the FIFO buffer section 130.
The above processing is performed to all the object numbers stored in the FIFO buffer section 130. The display image on the first scanning line is displayed by an image display section 117.
Next, a display image is generated for the second scanning line and is displayed. The method is substantially the same as with the first scanning line. However, the object numbers of all objects having the second scanning line as the display start scanning line are outputted from the table storing section 112 and are added to the content of the FIFO buffer section 130, which has been formed through the processing with the first scanning line, that is, to the object numbers of the objects which the display of the objects is not ended on the first scanning line but is continued on the second scanning line. Then, as in the first scanning line, all the object numbers are sequentially outputted from the FIFO buffer section 130 one by one, a display image on the second scanning line is generated and the image of the second scanning line is displayed. At the same time, if the display end scanning line of the object for the outputted object number is not the second scanning line, the outputted object number is returned to the FIFO buffer section 130 to form the content of the FIFO buffer section 130 that will be used by the third scanning line.
Thereafter, the same processing as in the second scanning line is repeated to the third scanning line, and subsequent scanning lines and an image of the objects is generated and displayed on the screen.
In the above-mentioned conventional method of displaying objects, there is a problem in that the storing sections must have a large capacity and the control of each of the storing sections is complicated. This is because a large amount of storing sections are required such as the FIFO buffer section 130 for temporarily storing the data read out from the table storing section 112 in addition to the display end scanning line storing section 113, the object information storage section 114, and the table storing section 112. Further, the FIFO buffer section 130 needs the capacity by which all the object numbers for one screen can be stored therein in a worst case scenario.
Also, there is a problem in that processing speed for determining the display information is slow because processing is sequentially performed for every scanning line, and is performed while accessing to the storing sections each time the sequential processing is performed.

Image display apparatus that reduces necessary memory capacity for operation


A floral arrangement assembly according to the present invention embodiments provides protection and maintenance of a floral arrangement during display, transport and/or shipping. The floral arrangement assembly includes a floral retaining structure, a base to secure the floral retaining structure and a cover. The floral retaining structure includes a floral holding material secured to a platform via a suitable adhesive. A plurality of prongs may further be secured to the platform and utilized to engage the floral holding material. The floral retaining structure may further include a plate secured to the assembly base with the platform secured to the plate via a plurality of ties. Alternatively, the floral retaining structure may be secured directly to the assembly base via the plurality of ties. The floral arrangement assembly may be placed within a water proof bag or other containers, where optional cooling and absorption materials may be placed underneath the assembly.

1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to display and transport of floral arrangements. In particular, the present invention pertains to a floral retaining structure for display of a floral arrangement and a transport container employing the floral retaining structure to maintain the floral arrangement intact during transport and/or shipping.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Generally, flowers may be arranged in various fashions for an aesthetically pleasing appearance (e.g., bouquets, etc.). However, these floral arrangements tend to be delicate and may easily become disarrayed during handling. This problem is exacerbated with respect to shipping the floral arrangement by a common carrier (e.g., shipping services company, governmental postal system, etc.). For example, shipping a floral arrangement via the common carrier typically requires the floral arrangement (and the container including the floral arrangement) to withstand vibration, impact and various orientations (e.g., sideways, upside down, etc.) during shipping. Since conventional packaging solutions for floral arrangements do not provide an adequate solution that is practical for shipping, florists or other floral professionals are limited to hand deliver the floral arrangements, thereby limiting their market reach to the delivery area around them. Even with employing the hand carry delivery approach, the floral arrangements are still delicate and special care is preferably employed to maintain the arrangements intact.
Moreover, some floral arrangement structures employ holding materials to secure flowers thereto. However, these types of floral arrangement structures tend to place the material into a container that may significantly limit the useable surface area of the material, thereby restricting the design and quantity of flowers that may be secured. Floral arrangements that do not employ a container for the holding material may create problems during shipping since there is generally no manner to attach or fasten the material to the packaging or shipping container, thereby enabling the floral arrangements to become disarrayed during shipping and handling. Thus, the conventional display and shipping configurations described above are inadequate to maintain the floral arrangements intact under the conditions accompanying handling of the configurations, especially for floral arrangements that utilize substantially the entire floral holding material and need to be presented on a flat surface, such as a plate.

Method and apparatus for displaying and transporting floral arrangements


An apparatus for the manufacture of sheets of corrugated board of variable size comprises a cross cutter for severing the entire web of corrugated board disposed, in the conveying direction of a web of corrugated board, downstream of at least one longitudinal cutting arrangement, of cutting devices for cutting lateral margins and of discharge devices for the margins cut off, and upstream of at least one cross cutting arrangement for cutting sheets of corrugated board.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for the manufacture of sheets of corrugated board of variable size, comprising at least one longitudinal cutting arrangement having longitudinal cutters adjustable at right angles to the conveying direction of the nondivided web of corrugated board for cutting sectional webs of corrugated board of differing format width, cutting devices adjustable at right angles to the conveying direction of the web of corrugated board for cutting lateral margins of the web of corrugated board, discharge devices for margins that have been cut off, and at least one cross cutting arrangement for cutting sheets of corrugated board from the sectional webs of corrugated board.
2. Background Art
In an apparatus of the generic type known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,294, the at least one longitudinal cutting device is preceded by a cross cutting device for the margins. In the case of a change of size, i.e. in case the longitudinal cutting devices are adjusted to another format width of the sectional webs of corrugated board to be cut, then a cross cut is performed from both sides of the web. To this end, a corresponding cross cutting device is disposed upstream of the at least one longitudinal cutting device--referred to the, conveying direction of the web of corrugated board. The two lateral cross cuts exceed the widest margin to be severed. There is no cross cutting of the complete web upstream of the longitudinal cutting devices. The web of corrugated board can be conveyed without cross cutting in the conveying direction as far as to the cross cutter for the the sheets of corrugated board, the guidance and accurate conveying motion thus being maintained. The cuts of transverse and longitudinal extension are performed precisely and with positional accuracy. The portion of the corrugated board web that has overlapping formats during the change of size is cut out as waste by the cross cutter located at the end of the apparatus and discarded. It is of disadvantage that the margins must be cross cut and led anew into the discharge devices for every change of size, which may cause malfunction, given the high conveying speeds of the web of corrugated board. With this design, the cross cutting device used at the end for cutting the sheets of corrugated board from the sectional webs of corrugated board can only be a simplex cross cutting device, i.e. the individual sectional webs of corrugated board must have the same format length.
If sheets of corrugated board of different format length are to be produced, such an apparatus for the manufacture of sheets of corrugated board of variable size is configured such that--referred to the conveying direction--the at least one longitudinal cutting device is preceded by a cross cutter, by which the corrugated board web is divided over the entire width of the web. The remaining web is accelerated for a certain number of sheets so that a gap forms between the leading web and the following web of corrugated board. For a sufficiently long gap to result, a transfer table of corresponding length must be available between the cross cutter and the at least one longitudinal cutter. When, because of the gap, the leading web of corrugated board has left the longitudinal cutting device and the following web has not yet reached the latter, the longitudinal cutting devices and, if necessary, corrugating devices are adjusted to the new format width or widths, respectively. This has the disadvantage that the corrugated board web following in the conveying direction is not exposed to any traction and, therefore, not sufficiently guided. This may result in inaccuracies of cut by the cross cutter and inaccuracies of cutting by the longitudinal cutting device. Unnecessary waste and possibly malfunction in operation will result. This is especially troublesome with webs of corrugated board which are printed and must be cut true to size. Moreover, the acceleration of the leading web required for the gap to form will cause inaccuracies of cut.

Apparatus for the manufacture of sheets of corrugated board of variable size

BHS Corrugated Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH


Methods and systems for managing secure communications are provided. An external client establishes secure communications with a secure site. During the secure session, the external client attempts to access potentially insecure references. These potentially insecure references are inspected before being made available to the external client. In some instances, the potentially insecure references are translated into secure references, which suppress normally occurring security warning messages that are issued to the external client. In other instances, the potentially insecure references are processed by a proxy on behalf of the external client and appear to the external client to occur within the secure session.

Increasingly, individuals are accessing resources over the World-Wide Web (WWW) using Internet browsers. In many instances, these communications are made in an insecure fashion using non-secure protocols, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). In other instances, these communications are made in secure fashion using secure protocols, such as HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) referred to as HTTPS.
Secure access is often needed when the resources are subject to security access policies. For example, an enterprise's Intranet website which includes internal enterprise resources and information is normally only available to employees through secure Internet communications, such as HTTPS. The employees authenticate to the Intranet website and then remotely communicate with the resources of the Intranet via the Internet using HTTPS.
During secure sessions with a secure site, an individual can use a browser to perform a variety of transactions. These transactions can reference links to internal or external information or can reference links to internal of external sites. External information or external sites may or may not be within the control or purview of the secure site. Thus, there is a potential that when a transaction attempts to access external information or an external site that the access attempt may create a security issue or security hole during the secure session.
As a result, traditional Internet browsers are equipped with logic to detect these situations and to generically issue security warnings via browser interfaces. However, in many instances, these messages are not correct, that is, the information or site that is attempting to be accessed is often not a security problem. Moreover, in many instances, these messages are not particularly informative to the individuals as to the true security risk associated with the information or site that is attempting to be accessed.
Thus, individuals experience numerous service interruptions during a secure session which requires them to manually inspect and disregard any unnecessary security warnings. Moreover, these security warnings are often too generic to provide individuals with any meaningful assessment as to the true security risk associated with access attempts to potentially insecure information or sites. Accordingly, these service interruptions affect an individual's overall efficiency and comprehension of information during the secure session and are not desired or useful.
Therefore, there is a need for improved techniques for managing secure communications, such that unnecessary security warnings are suppressed and security threats are more meaningfully communicated.

Techniques for managing secure communications


A flow control valve includes a pressure compensating valve and a first switching valve. The pressure compensating valve is configured to enlarge an opening area of a variable orifice between a load pressure line and a compensating pressure line when a pressure of working fluid of the compensating pressure line is smaller than a first set pressure, and narrow the opening area of the variable orifice when the pressure of the working fluid of the compensating pressure line is larger than the first set pressure. The first switching valve is configured to switch between a meter-out operation and a neutral operation by an external operation, wherein the working fluid of the compensating pressure line is drained in the meter-out operation, the working fluid of the compensating pressure line is not drained in the neutral operation. The load pressure line guides the working fluid to be supplied to an actuator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flow control valve. More particularly, the present invention relates to a flow control valve for controlling the oil pressure applied to a hydraulic actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A forklift for driving a fork that holds a load by using oil pressure has been well known. The forklift includes a lift cylinder for driving the fork that holds a load along with a flow control valve. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the conventional flow control valve. The flow control valve 101 includes a direction switching valve 102 and a check valve 103. The flow control valve 101 further includes a plurality of lines for guiding hydraulic oil to transmit oil pressure. The plurality of lines is composed of a pump pressure line 111, a pump pressure line 112, a load pressure line 113 and a drain line 115.
The pump pressure line 111 connects the direction switching valve 102 to a pump not shown and leads hydraulic oil supplied by the pump. The pump pressure line 112 connects a check valve 103 to the direction switching valve 102. The load pressure line 113 connects the check valve 103, the lift cylinder 104 and the direction switching valve 102. The drain line 115 connects the direction switching valve 102 to a tank 106 and the oil pressure of the drain line 115 is substantially zero (0).
The check valve 103 prevents hydraulic oil from flowing from the load pressure line 113 to the pump pressure line 112. That is, the check valve 103 connects the pump pressure line 112 to the load pressure line 113 when the oil pressure of the pump pressure line 112 is larger than that of the load pressure line 113, and does not connect the pump pressure line 112 to the load pressure line 113 when the oil pressure of the load pressure line 113 is larger than that of the pump pressure line 112.
The lift cylinder 104 is an actuator for lifting and lowering the fork of the forklift. That is, the lift cylinder 104 lifts the fork of the forklift when hydraulic oil is supplied from the load pressure line 113 and lowers the fork of the forklift when hydraulic oil is discharged into the load pressure line 113. At this time, the oil pressure of the load pressure line 113 varies depending on the weight of a load held by the fork of the forklift and becomes larger as the load is heavier.
The direction switching valve 102 can occupy one of a neutral position, a meter-in position and a meter-out position. That is, operated by the user, the direction switching valve 102 is switched from the neutral position to the meter-in position, from the neutral position to the meter-out position, from the meter-in position to the neutral position and from the meter-out position to the neutral position.
At the meter-in position, the direction switching valve 102 connects the pump pressure line 111 to the pump pressure line 112, closes the load pressure line 113 and closes the drain line 115. At the meter-out position, the direction switching valve 102 closes the pump pressure line 111, closes the pump pressure line 112 and connects the load pressure line 113 to the drain line 115. At the neutral position, the direction switching valve 102 closes the pump pressure line 111, closes the pump pressure line 112, closes the load pressure line 113 and closes the drain line 115.
The tank 106 stores hydraulic oil flowing through the drain line 115 therein. The hydraulic oil stored in the tank 106 is supplied to the pump pressure line 111 by a pump not shown.
Operations of the flow control valve 101 include a meter-in operation, a neutral operation and a meter-out operation. The meter-in operation is an operation performed when the direction switching valve 102 is switched from the neutral position to the meter-in position by means of the user's operation. The neutral operation is an operation performed when the direction switching valve 102 is switched from the meter-in position or the meter-out position to the neutral position by means of the user's operation. The meter-out operation is an operation performed when the direction switching valve 102 is switched from the neutral position to the meter-out position by means of the user's operation.
In the meter-in operation, hydraulic oil is supplied from the pump pressure line 111 to the lift cylinder 104 through the direction switching valve 102, the pump pressure line 112, the check valve 103 and the load pressure line 113. When the hydraulic oil is supplied, the lift cylinder 104 lifts the fork.
In the neutral operation, since the switching valve 102 closes connection between the pump pressure line 111 and the pump pressure line 112 and between the load pressure line 113 and the drain line 115, no hydraulic oil of the lift cylinder 104 is supplied or discharged and thus lifting or lowering of the fork is stopped. At this time, the load pressure varies depending on a load held by the fork of the forklift and becomes larger as the load is heavier.
In the meter-out operation, hydraulic oil is discharged from the lift cylinder 104 to the drain line 115 through the load pressure line 113 and the direction switching line 102. When the hydraulic oil is discharged, the lift cylinder 104 lowers the fork.
Even when the operation quantity of the direction switching valve 102 is identical, the higher the oil pressure of the load pressure line 113 is, the higher the hydraulic oil flows from the load pressure line 113 to the drain line 115. That is, in the forklift to which the flow control valve 101 is applied, even with the same operation quantity, the heavier the held load is, the faster the folk is lowered. A forklift with a fork having high operability has been desired.
In conjunction with the above description, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application JP-A-Heisei, 08-100804 discloses a pressure compensating valve which only varies a set pressure of a relief valve without exchanging a piston, etc. The pressure compensating valve includes: a valve for opening and closing an inlet port and an outlet port; a piston for pressing the valve in the closing direction with a load pressure within a pressure chamber; an intermediate pressure chamber connected to the inlet port through a small cavity for pressing the valve in the closing direction; and a variable set pressure relief valve for relieving pressure oil in the intermediate pressure chamber to the outlet port through the small cavity.

Flow control valve having pressure compensating valve


In an actuated valve assembly, the valve includes a valve body defining a fluid passageway, an annular valve seat disposed on the valve body surrounding the fluid passageway, and a valve closing member movable between a closed position sealing against the valve seat and a fully open position spaced apart from the valve seat to permit flow. The actuator includes an actuator housing and an actuating mechanism movable within the actuator housing, by operation of the actuator, between a closing position in which the actuating mechanism holds the valve closing member in the closed position, and an opening position in which the actuating mechanism permits movement of the valve closing member toward the fully open position, the opening position being defined by engagement of the actuating mechanism with a stop portion of the actuator. The actuator is threadably adjustable on the valve to adjust a position of the actuator stop portion with respect to the valve seat, such that the opening position of the actuating mechanism may be selected to limit the valve closing member to a partial flow position between the fully open position and the closed position.

Many linear control valves (e.g., diaphragm valves, bellows valves) utilize fluid driven actuators (e.g., pneumatic actuators) to control valve operation between open and closed conditions. A typical pneumatic actuator includes one or more pistons that are coupled to an actuating mechanism (e.g., piston/stem) to move a valve closing member (e.g., diaphragm) against a valve seat to close the valve. Pneumatic actuated valves can be normally closed (i.e., actuator is pressurized to open the valve), normally open (i.e., actuator is pressurized to close the valve), or double acting (i.e., actuator first port is pressurized to open the valve, actuator second port is pressurized to close the valve). In a normally closed valve, a spring biases the piston and thus the valve element to force the valve closing member against the valve seat to maintain the valve in a closed condition. To open the valve, air pressure is supplied to the actuator and acts on a piston face to move the piston against the spring force. As the actuator piston moves, it allows the valve closing member to disengage from the valve seat thereby opening the valve to flow. In typical prior art actuators, the piston is provided with additional travel distance to ensure that the actuator, and valve, is fully open when actuated. In this arrangement, the actuator moves the valve closing member between fully opened and closed positions.

Flow control device with flow adjustment mechanism


Methods and apparatus are provided for preventing charge accumulation in microelectromechanical systems, especially in micromirror array devices having a plurality of micromirrors. Voltages are applied to the micromirrors for actuating the micromirrors. Polarities of the voltage differences between mirror plates and electrodes are inverted so as to prevent charge accumulation.

As the market demands continuously increase for display systems with higher resolution, greater brightness, lower power, lighter weight and more compact size, spatial light modulators having micromirrors and micromirror arrays have blossomed in display applications. FIG. 1 presents a simplified exemplary display system employing a spatial light modulator. In its very basic configuration, the display system comprises light source 102, optical devices (e.g. light pipe 106, condensing lens 108 and projection lens 116), display target 118 and spatial light modulator 114 that further comprises a plurality of micromirror devices (e.g. an array of micromirror devices). Light source 102 (e.g. an arc lamp) emits light through the light integrator/pipe 106 and condensing lens 108 and onto spatial light modulator 114. Each micromirror device (e.g. micromirror device 110 or 112) of spatial light modulator 114 is associated with a pixel of an image or a video frame and is selectively actuated by a controller (e.g. as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,661 issued May 14, 2002 incorporated herein by reference) so as to reflect light from the light source either into (the micromirror at the ON state) or away from (the micromirror at the OFF state) projection optics 116, resulting in an image or a video frame on display target 118 (screen, a viewer's eyes, a photosensitive material, etc.).
It is generally advantageous to drive the micromirrors of a spatial light modulator with as large a voltage as possible. For example, in a spatial light modulator having an array of micromirrors, a large actuation voltage increases the available electrostatic force available to move the micromirrors associated with pixel elements. Greater electrostatic forces provide more operating margin for the micromirrors—increasing yield. Moreover, the electrostatic forces actuate the micromirrors more reliably and robustly over variations in processing and environment. Greater electrostatic forces also allow the hinges of the micromirrors to be made correspondingly stiffer; stiffer hinges may be advantageous since the material films used to fabricate them may be made thicker and therefore less sensitive to process variability, improving yield. Stiffer hinges may also have larger restoration forces to overcome stiction. The pixel switching speed may also be improved by raising the drive voltage to the pixel, allowing higher frame rates, or greater color bit depth to be achieved.
The application of a high-voltage, however, has disadvantages, one of which is charge accumulation in micromirror devices. Referring to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view of a micromirror device used in the spatial light modulator in FIG. 1 is illustrated therein. The micromirror device comprises mirror plate 134. The mirror plate rotates relative to glass substrate 130 and reflects light traveling through the glass substrate into different directions. The rotation is achieved by establishing an electrostatic field between the mirror plate and electrode 140, which is formed on substrate 132. In most cases, a dielectric layer, such as dielectric layer 138 (e.g. a SiO2 layer and/or a SiNx layer), is deposited around the edges of the electrode for passivation of the electrode. In operation, the mirror plate and the electrode are connected to a voltage source so as to establish a voltage difference between the mirror plate and the electrode. The voltage difference results in an electrostatic force exerted on the mirror plate for driving the mirror plate to rotate. The voltages applied to the mirror plate and the electrode; however, induce charge to accumulate on the surface of the dielectric layers as shown. These charges accumulate during the operation of the micromirror device, and establish an additional electric field between the mirror plate and the electrode. This additional electric field in turn reduces the electric field created by voltage source 142. Consequently, the electrostatic force exerted to the mirror plate is reduced. That is, the voltage difference necessary to rotate the mirror plate to the desired angle is shifted towards higher voltage. In this situation, operation of the micromirrors of the spatial light modulator becomes unreliable.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus for providing a high voltage between a micromirror plate and the associated electrode while preventing charge accumulation.

Prevention of charge accumulation in micromirror devices through bias inversion