A system and process for sound source localization (SSL) utilizing beamsteering is presented. The present invention provides for improved beamsteering with less drain on system resources while providing accurate, real time results. To accomplish this, the present SSL system and process rejects as much as possible extraneous audio frames and analyzes only those frames exhibiting a well defined sound source. In addition, the number of beams is reduced as much as possible to save on processing time, but a full scan of the working volume is still made with the beams. And finally, interpolation is used to increase the precision of the technique.

1. Technical Field
The invention is related to finding the direction to a sound source from a microphone array in a prescribed search area using a beamsteering approach, and more particularly to such a system and process that provides improved beamsteering with less drain on system resources while providing accurate, real time results.
2. Background Art
Localization of sound sources plays important role in many audio systems having microphone arrays. Different techniques have been developed to perform this sound source localization (SSL). In general, these techniques fall into two categories—namely those based on time delay estimates (TDE), and those based on beamsteering. Finding the direction to a sound source plays an important role in doing spatial filtering, i.e. pointing a beam to the sound source and suppressing the noises coming from other directions. In some cases the direction to the sound source is used for speaker tracking and post processing of recorded audio signals. In the context of a videoconferencing system, speaker tracking is often used to direct a video camera toward the person speaking.
In general, a majority of sound source localization systems process the signals from the microphone array as follows. First, each signal from each microphone of the array is pre-processed. This includes packaging the signal in frames, performing noise suppression and performing a classification that decides whether a frame will be processed or rejected for the purposes of determining the location of a sound source. In addition, a frame may be converted into the frequency domain depending on the type of analysis that is to be performed. Once the preprocessing is complete, the actual sound source localization typically involves using one of the aforementioned techniques—namely time delay estimation or beamsteering. This stage ends with direction estimation or the generation of a probability distribution function (PDF), each of which indicated where a sound source is located. This location can be defined in terms of one angle (localization in one dimension), two angles (direction and elevation—localization in 2D) or a full 3D localization (i.e., direction, elevation and distance). The major problems the various existing SSL approaches try to solve are robustness to reverberation, the ability to distinguish multiple sound sources, and high precision in an noisy environment. Once an indicator of the sound source location has been computed, a post-processing phase can be implemented. Essentially, in post processing, the results of several localization measurements are combined to increase the precision, to follow the sound source movements, or to track multiple sound sources. Techniques used for this vary from simple averaging to more complicated statistical processing, Kalman filtering, particle filtering [2], and the like.
In regard to the group of SSL processes based on TDE techniques, the processing generally involves analyzing the signals coming from pairs of microphones in the array. One M element microphone array can have up to M(M-1)/2 different pairs. The processes usually find the direction to the sound source in two phases. During the first phase, the delays are calculated for each microphone pair based on correlation function estimation, with modifications for better robustness to reverberated waves and noise. In the second phase, all time delay estimates are combined to compute the final direction to the sound source. Besides increasing the precision and robustness to reverberation and noises, the second phase has to resolve a degree of ambiguity introduced by the TDE method itself. More particularly, for each microphone pair, there are many directions with the same time delay in the working volume (i.e., it is a hyperbolic surface). To overcome this major disadvantage, the microphone arrays associated with sound source localizers based on TDE are positioned in certain ways that result in the work volume being in just one half of the space. Another disadvantage of this group of methods is that the amount of necessary calculations increases with the square of the number of microphones in the array.
The beamsteering approach, on the other hand, is based on well known techniques used to capture sound with microphone arrays—namely beamforming. This is the ability to make the microphone array "listen" to a given direction and to suppress the sounds coming from other directions. Processes for sound source localization with beamsteering form a searching beam and scan the work space by moving the direction the searching beam points to. The energy of the signal, coming from each direction, is calculated. The decision as to what direction the sound source resides is based on the maximal energy. This approach leads to finding extremum of a surface in the coordinate system direction, elevation, and energy. In most of the cases this surface is multimodal, i.e. it has multiple extremums due to multiple sound sources and reverberated waves. Additional difficulties are caused by the shape of the searching beam. For different frequencies, the easiest beamforming process, i.e., the delay and sum technique, introduces so-called side lobes. These are directions with increased sensitivity. Also critical for quick localization is the searching procedure. Examples of existing search procedures are the coarse-to-fine search described in reference [1] and the tracking of the sound source using particle filters technique described in reference [2]. The main advantages of the beamsteering approach to SSL are that it does not introduce ambiguity as is the case with the TDE approach. In addition, beamsteering uses the signals from all microphones for energy estimation for each direction, which leads to better robustness to noise and reverberations.
However, SSL computations based on beamsteering are generally considered slower, less precise, but more robust to reverberation and noise than SSL computations based on TDE. The present invention resolves the shortcomings of the beamsteering approach to provide accurate and real time SSL computations, while still retaining the robustness such techniques are known for.
It is noted that in the preceding paragraphs the description refers to various individual publications identified by a numeric designator contained within a pair of brackets. For example, such a reference may be identified by reciting, "reference [1]" or simply "[1]". A listing of references including the publications corresponding to each designator can be found at the end of the Detailed Description section.

System and process for sound source localization using microphone array beamsteering


For terminating a high frequency arrhythmic electric state of a heart an electric signal representative of the present electric state of the heart is obtained. From the electric signal a dominant frequency of the present electric state is determined, and from the dominant frequency it is determined whether the present electric state of the heart is a high frequency arrhythmic electric state displaying at least one rotating wave. Further, a dominance level indicative of how dominant the dominant frequency is in the high frequency arrhythmic electric state is determined from the electric signal. Depending on the at least one dominant frequency, at least one series of electric pulses at intervals is generated. The electric pulses are applied to the heart starting at a point in time at which the dominance level exceeds a predefined threshold value for the heart being in a determined high frequency arrhythmic electric state.

In a normal heart, regular waves of electric depolarization of the cellular membrane propagate to trigger the mechanical contractions. Life-threatening arrhythmias of the heart are typically associated with high-frequency rotating electric field waves or spirals. One standard method of terminating arrhythmias, often referred to as defibrillation, is applying a high intensity electric shock to the heart. The high voltage of up to several thousand volt and the resulting currents of some amperes, however, may cause serious damages to the heart and neighboring tissue. Further, defibrillation is painful for the patient which limits the acceptance of implanted defibrillators. Nevertheless, up to now, implanting such defibrillators are the method of choice with patients at risk for life-threatening arrhythmias.
Another established therapy of cardiac arrhythmias is anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP). In ATP the heart is paced faster than its intrinsic rate in the case of ventricular tachycardia. However, ATP fails to terminate high-frequency arrhythmias and fully developed ventricular fibrillation.
Patent application publication US 2006/0100670 A1, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,418,293, proposes cardiac stimulation methods and systems that provide for multiple pulse defibrillation. These methods and systems involve sensing a fibrillation event, determining a fibrillation cycle length associated with the fibrillation event, and delivering a plurality of defibrillation pulses to treat the fibrillation event. The defibrillation pulses are delivered using a combination of subcutaneous and non-intrathoracic electrodes. Delivery of each defibrillation waveform subsequent to a first defibrillation waveform is separated in time by a delay associated with the fibrillation cycle length. Particularly, delays between defibrillation waveform delivery are associated with a percentage of the fibrillation cycle length. The actual number of defibrillation pulses delivered in the embodiments of U.S. Pat. No. 7,418,293 is 2 or 3, particularly 2. The actual delay between the individual pulses is between about 50% and about 125% of the average cycle length and typically it is between about 75% and about 100% of the average cycle length, where the cardiac response to multiple separated pulses is similar to the cardiac response to a single pulse. This region, which is considered as similar to a region of constructive interference for the cardiac response to the separated response to the separated pulses, is told to provide opportunities for improved efficacy of defibrillation and/or decreased energy requirements for defibrillation systems.
A. Pumir et al.: "Wave Emission from Heterogeneities Opens a Way to Controlling Chaos in the Heart" (PRL 99, 208101 (2007)) suggest to use wave emission from heterogeneities (WEH) induced by periodic pulses of an electric field as a method of chaos control of waves in the heart. This method is said to be more effective than ATP and to require much less energy than the defibrillating shock. Particularly, the single pulses are of such a low electric field that they do not terminate a rotating wave, but the train of pulses applied in WEH can.
There is still a need for an easily workable regime of terminating a high frequency arrhythmic electric state of a heart with low electric field pulses causing as little tissue damage and pain as possible.

Apparatus for terminating a high frequency arrhythmic electric state of a heart

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V.)


An automatic train operation system includes a first control system configured to run a first software for controlling a first vehicle subsystem and a second control system configured to run a second software for controlling a second vehicle subsystem. The automatic train operation system also includes a software verification controller. The software verification controller is configured to identify a first identifier of the first software and a second identifier of the second software as a software configuration and determine whether the software configuration is preapproved. The software verification controller is also configured to, if the software configuration is preapproved, authorize the first control system and the second control system to run the first and second software.

A goal of automatic train operation systems is to eliminate the need for an operator aboard the locomotive. Automatic train operation systems may integrate multiple control systems with an end result of driverless operation of the locomotive. The system must be accompanied by proven safety cases and software validation. As such, only specific, approved combinations of control system software will be allowed to be used. There exists a need for a method of enforcing the required software combinations onboard the locomotive.
One proposed implementation of software validation is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/036851 A1 ("the '851 publication"). The train information managing apparatus of the '851 publication operates according to predetermined control software. Software is also used in the devices in other cars that are communicatively connected to the central train information managing apparatus, which runs the control software. Train information managing apparatuses each include a plurality of pieces of control software of versions different from each other. When functions related to each other in the control software of the train information managing apparatus and the software used in the devices are improved, it is necessary to simultaneously update the control software and the software of the devices. The train information managing apparatus compares version information of software for all devices in a formation and version correspondence information included in each of the plurality of pieces of control software. Then, the train information managing apparatus discriminates control software including version correspondence information consistent with the version information of the software for all the devices in the formation. When the discriminated, or preferred, control software is different from already-started control software, the train information managing apparatus selects and starts the discriminated control software, and transmits a switching command for switching from the already-started control software to the discriminated control software to all of the devices in the formation.
The method and system provided by the '851 publication may be subject to a number of possible drawbacks. For example, the method and system of the '851 publication only provides for version control of the same type of software running on different devices. It does not provide a means of coordinating multiple versions of multiple types of software running on different subsystems within a larger system. Further, it does not provide a mechanism for verifying the proper software prior to operating the locomotive. There is no safety mechanism in place to prevent the locomotive from running if it is using unauthorized software.
The presently disclosed systems and methods are directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.

Software verification for automatic train operation


A solar cell floats over a body of saline water. A submerged fresh water collection system underlies the cell. A partial vacuum is created in the solar cell for drawing water vapor from the cell to the collection system. Water vapor is condensed in a condenser disposed between the cell and the collection system. Heat generated by the condensation of water vapor is utilized to heat the salt water, which rises upwardly to replace the salt water vaporized in the cell.

It is well known that there is a worldwide shortage of fresh water. One solution to this problem is large scale desalination of sea water. However, conventional desalination systems are expensive, exhibit high energy consumption and are relatively inefficient.
For example, the distillation system taught in Kruse U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,362 does not make use of the heat consumed during evaporation of saline water by regaining it during condensation, significantly lowering efficiency.
Another system is disclosed in Eidelberg U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,046 which utilizes water vapor conducted from under a metal plate to a condenser. There is no provision for the induction of ambient air or water vapor to an airspace above a sea water containment panel which, like Kruse, comprises efficiency.
The patent to Green U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,513 does not disclose the use of an insulation perimeter to reduce loss of heat or the use of heat obtained solely from a solar source.
The patent to Miller U.S. Pat. No. 2,413,466 discloses a collector that collects fresh water but does not teach the use of a collector which condenses water vapor and regains the heat of condensation by transferring it to the surrounding salt water.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cost effective energy efficient system for producing fresh water from sea water or the like.
The solar distillation system of the present invention stores solar energy in sea water in the form of heat. The system utilizes the accumulated solar generated heat as well as the heat of condensation to increase the temperature of saline water internally of perimeter insulation surrounding a plurality of integrated solar cells.
More specifically, the solar distillation system of the present invention comprises multiple solar cells, the number of which is dictated by the required output of the system. The solar cells are joined to one another and to a network of heat exchangers, vacuum lines and fresh water collection conduits disposed below the surface of a body of sea water. The bulk of water vapor condensation takes place under the surface of the body of water. The solar cells are designed so that the upper extremities thereof float above the water level while the water vapor condensation and fresh water collection portions of the systems are submerged. The entire system is insulated from the adjoining body of sea water and is designed to move up or down with the tide. System position is maintained against change in the direction of water currents and/or wind by mooring cables.
The solar still of the present invention is different than known systems in many important respects, namely; (a) the system works day and night, during cloudy days and during the cold winter season due to the fact that heat is stored in the system. Temperatures approaching 100xc2x0 C. are reached in the upper layers under the cells after four months of operation; (b) except for a means to produce a partial vacuum, there is no source of energy or equipment required to heat, circulate, or condense water vapor to produce fresh water other than solar energy; and, (c) the system is designed to produce huge quantities of fresh water out of saline water.
The aforesaid advantages are achieved by;
(1) Continuously heating the saline water to temperatures approaching the boiling point of saline water;
(2) Condensing water vapor in a collection system deep under the solar cells, for example, 40 feet;
(3) Storing heat in massive quantities at temperatures ranging from sea temperature to the boiling point of saline water;
(4) Eliminating the requirement for a pump, heating element or condenser coil;
(5) Utilizing the heat of solar radiation plus heat of vaporization;
and,
(6) Utilizing humid air above the installation which is drawn into the system.


Systems and techniques for control of RFID devices. An RFID device has an antenna connected with a switch or switches whose states can be changed so as to disable or reduce the effective range of the antenna. The RFID device includes a transceiver that uses the antenna to carry on communications with an RFID reader. The transceiver can set the states of switches in order to set the reader to a desired state. The reader is capable of issuing commands to the RFID device, acted on by the transceiver in order to set states of switches in order to achieve a desired state for the RFID device. The reader may issue commands through RF communication, or alternatively may issue commands through a close proximity interface, for example through contacts or through an inductive connection, allowing the state of the device to be reset after the RF capability of the device has been disabled or reduced.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems offer the possibility of inexpensive and efficient management of goods, with applications in inventory control and retail checkout. Each item in an inventory, for example in a retail store or a warehouse, may be equipped with an RFID tag, that is, a tag containing an RFID emitter that supplies information about the product to an RFID reader. The information may include product identification information, such as manufacturer and item identifiers, similar to those provided by a standard universal product code bar code. The information may also include a unique serial number or other unique identifier, so that each individual item may be easily identified by a reader or readers and the movements of identified items may be tracked. Typical RFID readers broadcast an RF signal. Tags within the range of the reader return a signal to the reader, typically in the form of modulated backscatter of the signal emitted by the reader.
A reader may be placed at a desired inventory control point, such as a retail checkout station or an entrance to or exit of a retail location, warehouse or other area where goods are located. Tags coming within range of the reader are powered by the reader's RF signal and transmit tag information which is detected by the reader. The information detected by the reader may be used in operations, such as purchase transactions, involving the item or items whose information was detected. Such operations may include entry of a product into a transaction or logging the entry of an item into or the exit of an item from a retail location, warehouse or other controlled environment.
The use of RFID devices for management of goods offers possibilities of fast and efficient control of goods. For example, a customer might bring a cart full of goods bearing RFID tags to a terminal, which would include a reader receiving product identification information for each product. The terminal would retrieve product information, such as price or descriptive information for each product. The terminal would then enter product information for each product into a transaction and present the customer with a list of goods in the transaction and a transaction total. The customer would then tender payment, the transaction would be recorded and the goods would be removed from the retailer's inventory records.
In another application, a warehouse inventory could be continuously updated by one or more RFID readers located in the warehouse and continually sensing RFID signals from goods located in the warehouse. An RFID reader located at an entry or exit point of a location could record the passage of goods through that location, and could secure the entry or exit point to prevent the exit of an item if the item was not properly entered into the transaction.
The use of RFID tags for management of goods can be expected to allow for a significant reduction in the labor required to enter transactions and to prevent the unauthorized removal of goods. If each item transmits an identifying code that can be detected by a reader, tracking and control of the item may be performed automatically. However, many customers have serious privacy concerns at the prospect of a tag that can transmit identifying information at a considerable distance from the tag. The use of such tags raises a possibility that goods owned by a customer could be identified by someone who had no legitimate need for the information. It is possible that RFID product identification could be used in highly intrusive ways. For example, a marketer or other person could conceivably install an RFID reader in a public place, and identify goods owned by unknowing passersby. If unaddressed, privacy concerns might seriously inhibit customer acceptance of retail use of RFID systems.
For best and most versatile use, an RFID tag used in a retail environment should be able to communicate information over a fairly great distance, at least several feet or perhaps tens of feet. Such communication ranges allow for relatively wide coverage for a reader used for transactions or security and allow for relatively unobtrusive placement of readers, for example in a relatively high ceiling. However, after a product has been paid for and left the retail establishment, the retailer no longer needs to track or monitor the product, and the product does not need to be able to communicate over such distances.
There exists, therefore, a need for systems and techniques for RFID communication that allow for an RFID tag to be disabled, or its communication range reduced, when the tracking or monitoring of a product associated with the tag is no longer required.

Methods and apparatus for disabling, enabling or setting the range of radio frequency identification devices


A non-imaging concentrator is employed in an upside down configuration in which light enters a smaller aperture and exits a larger aperture. The input angle of light rays may be as large as 180 degrees, while the maximum exit angle is limited to the acceptance angle of the non-imaging concentrator. A dichroic filter placed at the larger aperture has a maximum angle of incidence equal to the acceptance angle of the non-imaging concentrator.

FIGS. 1-3 show cross sections of prior art non-imaging optics called compound parabolic concentrators (CPC). Each side of CPC 100 is in the shape of a parabola, and each of the parabolas has its focus at the lower edge of the other parabola. For example, point 122 is the focus of parabola 120, and point 112 is the focus of parabola 110. Compound parabolic concentrators have two apertures. The first aperture is formed between the two foci and is the smaller of the two apertures. The second aperture is formed on the opposite end of the CPC and is the larger of the two apertures.
Compound parabolic concentrators are well known. In its simplest form, a compound parabolic concentrator is a substantially off-axis rotated parabola and is defined using multiple parameters, one of which is referred to herein as the "acceptance angle," or "θc." The acceptance angle is the angle between the axis 130 of the CPC and the line 132 connecting the focus of one of the parabolas with the opposite edge of the larger aperture. Light rays entering the larger aperture at an angle equal to or smaller than the acceptance angle reach the smaller aperture. FIG. 2 shows light rays 200 entering the larger aperture at an angle θ equal to the acceptance angle θc, and FIG. 3 shows light rays 300 entering the larger aperture at an angle θ less than the acceptance angle θc.
Light rays that enter the larger aperture at angles greater than the acceptance angle are reflected and returned back out the larger aperture. This is a well known property of compound parabolic concentrators.
As shown in FIGS. 1-3, CPCs are typically used to "concentrate" light entering the larger aperture into a smaller cross sectional area (the smaller aperture).

Method and apparatus for filtering and filtered light detection


A data symbol timing recovery technique for determining an optimum symbol timing phase for use in digital communication systems using a burst mode digital communication format. The technique uses a nonlinear operation, e.g., squaring the magnitude of a down-converted baseband demodulated data burst. The squared signal is processed through a simple one pole IIR digital filter which extracts the symbol timing phase offset. The phase offset is scaled to the time domain and used to adjust the symbol timing of the next data burst. This technique is applicable to phase modulated data such as BPSK or QPSK modulated data. The technique was simulated using .pi./4 QPSK modulated data and provided improved and robust performance.

The present invention relates to data symbol timing recovery techniques for digital communication systems using a burst mode communication format.
Existing cellular mobile communication systems are generally regional systems that require numerous antennas scattered over the system's coverage area. The cost of locating and operating the antennas over a large coverage area is expensive and, accordingly, mobile communication services are often limited to metropolitan areas or along heavily traveled highways. Mobile communication services generally are not available in rural areas and along remote highways.
Satellite-based mobile communication systems are being developed for providing service on a global basis and to remote areas. A satellite-based communication system 1, as shown in FIG. 1, is able to cover a relatively large geographical area because the satellite's antennas may be configured to cover areas as large as a continent.
Satellite-based mobile communication systems are subject to Rician channel fading. Rician channel fading results from a combination of fading due to atmospheric effects and of Rayleigh fading which is inherent in mobile communication systems. For various reasons, including those relating to Rician fading, digital methods are generally implemented in satellite-based mobile communication systems.
In a typical implementation, an audio voice signal is converted to a digital signal and transmitted from a mobile station 2 through the earth's atmosphere 3 such that a portion of the signal is captured by a receiver on a satellite 4. The satellite relays the digital signal to another mobile station 2 or to a ground-based station 5 for connection with land-based telephone lines. Because an audio voice signal has a relatively small bandwidth, several signals are often frequency or time multiplexed within a larger bandwidth of the satellite's communications channel. Time multiplexing, for example, involves sending the digital audio signals as relatively short data bursts.
The mobile station, and in some systems the satellite, must decode the digital signal after it is transmitted across the data channel. Transmission through the channel causes the digital symbols or pulses to have rounded corners due to the channel's limited bandwidth. Efficient reception of the digital signal is achieved if the digital pulses are sampled at the pulse's maximum value which is generally centered between the rounded corners.
Many valuable techniques are available for determining the timing of the symbol maxima for a modulated digital data signal. However, within the available power limitations of a satellite-based mobile communication system, these existing techniques often are not precise when recovering the symbol timing for a burst digital signal that is communicated over a channel which is subject to Rician fading and that has a relatively short burst time in comparison with the time between bursts.
Accordingly, there is exist a need for a mobile communication station that efficiently recovers the symbol timing of a burst of digital data within limited available power conditions. The present invention satisfies these needs.

Symbol timing recovery and tracking method for burst-mode digital communications


An invoice processing system includes a document system and an invoice hub. The document system receives a document image (either a paper invoice or an image file). A character recognition system generates a data file representation of the invoice data from the document image. A data field value validation engine determines, for each data field, a rule associated with each data field. The rule is applied to the data field value to distinguish between a valid field value and suspect data value. A correction center: i) displays a portion of the document image comprising the suspect field value; ii) receives user input of a replacement value to replace the suspect field value as the data field value. The invoice hub receives the data file which includes all validated data field values and stores the invoice data in a transaction database. A spend management evaluation module performs an evaluation function of a selected one of a plurality of evaluation parameter sets to generate a resulting value. Based on the resulting value, the spend management module may determine an evaluation field value in accordance with the defined action associated with the resulting value. The evaluation field value is then associated with the at least one record of invoice data.

Various internet-based electronic invoice processing systems are known in the art whereby a vendor can electronically create and present a bill to a customer for review. It is envisioned that such electronic systems would displace traditional paper-based billing systems wherein a vendor prints and mails an invoice to a customer.
However, widely divergent accounts receivables systems and accounts payables systems have prevented electronic invoicing from becoming ubiquitous. Even with development of standards such as EDI and XML, extensive customization is needed to configure the interface between each vendor and each customer accounting system for the exchange of invoice data. As a result, only customers with considerable influence over their vendors have been able to persuade the majority of their vendors to comply with their electronic invoicing requirements.
Due to the structural problems inherent to electronic invoicing, the most common means for a vendor to send invoice data to a customer remains: i) traditional printing and mailing of a paper invoice to the customer; and ii) generation of an electronic image (such as PDF, Tiff, or other) of an invoice (e.g. an electronic image representation of a printed invoice) for emailing to the customer.
Manual data entry remains the most common means for a customer to enter invoice data into its accounting systems. If a paper invoice is received, a human operator will typically key the invoice data into manual data entry (MDE) screens of the accounting system. If an electroning image (PDF, Tiff, or other) of an invoice is received, it is typically printed to paper form and then a human operator keys the invoice data into the MDE screens of the accounting system.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an invoice transaction system for automating the process of receiving invoice data. Further, there is a need in the art for such invoice transaction system to further facilitate, on an automated bases, validation and substantive evaluation of the invoice data.

Electronic transaction processing server with automated transaction evaluation


A self-adhering roofing membrane may include a polymeric membrane. The roofing membrane may include a first adhesive layer disposed on a major surface of the polymeric membrane. The first adhesive layer may include one or both of a hot melt adhesive and a butyl rubber-based adhesive. The roofing membrane may include a UV curable adhesive layer disposed on the first adhesive layer. The UV curable adhesive layer may have a thickness of less than about 4 mils.

Conventional roofing membranes are often applied to roofing boards and/or other surfaces using adhesives, which may prevent the need to use any fasteners that would need to puncture the roofing membrane and which could lead to water ingress. However, while the adhesives used on conventional roofing membranes are often adequate to secure the roofing membrane to the roof, such adhesives typically have a small workable temperature range at which the adhesives remain tacky. In particular, conventional adhesives lose their tackiness at lower temperatures, which may limit the effectiveness of the roofing membrane and/or limit the installation of the roofing membranes to times when certain environmental conditions are present. Additionally, conventional adhesives tend to have low peel strengths and may exhibit cohesive failures over time. Therefore, improvements in roofing membranes are desired.

Double pass process of making a self adhering roofing membrane with improved adhesion at lower installation temperature


A modular foldable scaffold with hinged structures that can be easily assembled, disassembled and compactly stored. The three main components of the scaffold are modular end ladders, a modular support platform and modular stabilizing members. A clamping assembly at each end of the stabilizing members can be set to permit the pivoting of the stabilizing members with respect to the end ladder legs, thus allowing the scaffold to adopt any one of a variety of collapsed configurations in which the scaffold can be relocated through narrow passages without having to disassemble it.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to movable support frameworks. More specifically, this invention relates to foldable scaffolds.
2. Present State of the Art
Masonry and carpentry are two of many jobs that require the use of scaffolds. Scaffolds assist workers by allowing them to work in elevated positions. However, scaffolds have several challenges. Scaffolds must be transported to and from the workplace. Scaffolds must be assembled and disassembled. Additionally, scaffolds must be stored when they are not in use. All of these activities require time, and these conditions are compounded when the work area is small and confined or when a scaffold is moved from location to location through narrow openings. Any time a scaffold is moved, whether it be from one workplace to another or simply to another location at the same workplace, an additional assembly and reassembly of the scaffold is required.
With a conventional scaffold, the scaffold must be disassembled and then reassembled as the work location requires. The economic impact on the employer is profound, as the workers must be paid for their time. An employer would prefer to pay workers for work done on an employer's contractual obligations, rather than for time spent transporting, assembling, disassembling and storing scaffolds. Further, a project is delayed by the time workers spend transporting, assembling, disassembling and storing scaffolds. One significant advantage of conventional scaffolds is that they are rigid and enable workers to be securely supported.
The prior art discloses foldable scaffolds that have attempted to solve the time consuming problems presented by conventional scaffolds while maintaining sufficient rigidity. U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,953, issued to Stegath, discloses a foldable scaffold that has two end ladders and one horizontal truss. The truss has as many as four locations where the scaffold must pivot in order to fold. One pivot exists at each ladder post and the truss has a gate portion with two pivots. The scaffold folds like an accordion. The simplest configuration of this scaffold only has three sides. In an effort to maintain rigidity, the supporting planks are securely fastened to the rungs of an end ladder. A workman typically attaches the planks to the uppermost rung. In that case, one entire side of the scaffold has horizontal stability only at the top of the end ladder, while the lower portion of the scaffold no longer has rigidity because it has no stabilization. Another aspect of this scaffold is that it is one permanently connected piece. The truss is permanently connected to an end ladder. The scaffold is essentially one integral component and this aspect makes the scaffold difficult to store compactly and efficiently for two reasons. First, the folded scaffold is large and the truss and end ladders are free to rotate. Second, the scaffold, in its folded position, has an awkward shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,309, issues to Swiderski et al., discloses a rolling tower scaffold that has two end ladders and a horizontally extending support platform which is adjustably mounted between the end ladders. This platform is supported by a frame that has carriage rails that slidably engage the end ladders. The engagement of the carriage rails to the end ladders is such that it only allows for motion of the carriage rails along the vertical rails of the end ladders, but no rotation of the frame with respect to the end ladders is allowed. In this configuration, the tower scaffold must be disassembled when it has to be moved through an opening that is narrower than the end ladders. In other words, the fully assembled configuration of the tower scaffold disclosed in this patent cannot be distorted into shapes other than the fully assembled working configuration. Furthermore, the tower scaffold disclosed in this patent cannot be configured as a stair scaffold because the frame that supports the platform is attached to the vertical rails of the end ladders and thus its width is determined by the width of the end ladders. More generally, the frame that supports the platform and the frame attachment to the end ladders provide the structural stability in addition to the support for the platform of the tower scaffold disclosed in this patent.
Similarly, the scaffolds disclosed n U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,407 to Cullison and U.S. Pat. No. 3,213,964 to Tucker must be disassembled when they have to be moved through an opening that is narrower than the ladder ends.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,447, issued to Champigny, is for a scaffold similar to the scaffold invented by Stegath. The Champigny scaffold also has two end ladders and one horizontal truss. The Champigny truss has a pivot at each leg post and one pivot or folding configuration in the center, whereas the Stegath scaffold has two pivots in the center portion of the truss. The center pivot of Champigny folds towards the center of the scaffold as the end ladders are pushed together. This scaffold presents the same problems apparent in Stegath. The scaffold only has three sides. The horizontal stability for the fourth side is provided by the planks, which are usually attached to the uppermost ladder rung. Thus this scaffold loses the rigidity found in conventional scaffolds. Also, the Champigny scaffold is one, permanently connected unit, which makes storage difficult and inefficient.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,412 issued to Best, discloses a foldable scaffold with similar problems. This scaffold has four sides, but the horizontal sides are connected to the end ladders by swivel sleeves, which are free to rotate at all times including when the scaffold is in use. The scaffold is braced only by the placement of the top platform, which leaves the bottom portion of the scaffold less rigid and less secure. The Best scaffold is also intended to be permanently connected by bolts and disassembly of the Best scaffold would require much valuable time. Because the Best scaffold is permanently connected, the scaffold has an awkward and space consuming shape when in a folded position. Storage of the Best scaffold, like storage of the scaffolds previously discussed, is again difficult and inefficient.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,670 issued to Thomas, discloses a scaffold with four sides. Each side is connected to a post in a manner that permits the post to rotate freely. The post is able to rotate freely when the scaffold is in use. Rotation of the post is prevented by a top mounted support plank. The support plank is the only means of stabilization. The support planks are merely held in by clips and are placed at the top of the scaffold. The Thomas scaffold is also one permanently connected piece which makes storage difficult and inefficient.
Essentially, the prior art of foldable scaffolds has attempted to satisfy the demands of quick and easy assembly, simple disassembly, and compact storage while maintaining rigidity. The scaffolds are difficult to store because the shape of the folded scaffolds do not enable efficient stacking and are awkward to handle. The prior art scaffolds are easy to assemble in one unit, but rigidity and stability have been sacrificed. Rigidity and stability are sacrificed by having only three sides or by the location of the stabilizing members at the top of the scaffold.
Stacking scaffold units which are permanently attached makes assembly and disassembly very difficult. Each unit is heavier to lift, and the various pivots make lifting and orienting the scaffold awkward and time consuming. Further, as the units are stacked to provide greater elevation, the lack of rigidity in the bottom portions of the scaffold units is magnified by the increased weight and height of the scaffold structure. Also, because the prior art scaffolds rely on the support planks to provide stability, those planks will have to be left in place as the scaffold is made larger. Thus, many planks will have to be brought to the workplace, and the primary function of the plank, which is providing a worker a place to work, will be lost. A worker may also be wary of ascending a tall scaffold with only three sides or a scaffold that is free to rotate.


It is an object of the present invention to provide a roof carrier structure capable of reducing the amount of movement of a roof carrier for a vehicle during the rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle. In order to achieve this object, there is provided a roof carrier mounting structure for mounting a roof carrier on a member to which a roof carrier is mounted of a vehicle, comprising a roof carrier; and an inclined portion formed on the roof carrier and inclined to gradually approach or move away from a member to which a roof carrier is mounted in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle for converting inertia force acting on the vehicle in the longitudinal direction into a fastening force for fastening the roof carrier to the member to which a roof carrier is mounted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roof carrier mounting structure for mounting a roof carrier on a member to which a roof carrier is mounted such as a roof rail of a vehicle, a roof panel thereof or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 29 shows an example of a roof carrier mounting structure (a roof baggage supporting device 100) according to the prior art (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-2025).
The roof baggage supporting device 100 comprises a lateral beam 102 and a fastening device 104. A side rail 110 is interposed between and fastened by a support jaw 106 and a fastening jaw 108 of the fastening device 104.
However, if sufficient fastening force is to be obtained by this type of structure in which only the side rail 110 is fastened, the size of the fastening device 104 becomes large and the weight thereof is also increased. For example, if a load and the roof baggage supporting device 100 are moved greatly in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle by inertia force generated during the rapid (large) acceleration of the vehicle, the rapid (large) deceleration thereof and the like (which will be collectively referred to below as xe2x80x9ca rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehiclexe2x80x9d), there is a possibility that the support jaw 106 and the fastening jaw 108 might hit the end of the side rail 110 and be damaged. In order to prevent such damage, it is necessary to set the fastening force of the fastening device 104 at a sufficiently high level. More specifically, in order to reduce the amount of movement of the roof carrier as shown by the arrow J of FIG. 30, the fastening force (fastening torque) needs to be increased. Consequently, the size and weight of the fastening device 104 is further increased.
In consideration of this, it is an object of the present invention to provide a roof carrier mounting structure capable of reducing the amount of movement of a roof carrier during a large (rapid) acceleration or deceleration of a vehicle with a small fastening force.
A first aspect of the present invention is a roof carrier mounting structure for mounting a roof carrier on a member to which a roof carrier is mounted of a vehicle, comprising: a roof carrier; and an inclined portion formed on the roof carrier and inclined to gradually approach or move away from a member to which a roof carrier is mounted in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle for converting inertia force acting on the vehicle in the longitudinal direction into a fastening force for fastening the roof carrier to the member to which a roof carrier is mounted.
Accordingly, the roof carrier sandwiches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted so that the roof carrier is mounted on the member to which a roof carrier is mounted. Normally, that is, in the case where acceleration or a deceleration is not acting on the vehicle or when acceleration or deceleration is acting on the vehicle but has a value equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the roof carrier reliably sandwiches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted. Consequently, the roof carrier does not move unnecessarily in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The roof carrier is provided with an inclined portion which is inclined to gradually approach or move away from the member to which a roof carrier is mounted in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. When a large inertia force acts on the roof carrier and the load in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle during a rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle, the inclined portion causes the inertia force in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to be converted into fastening force with which the roof carrier fastens the member to which a roof carrier is mounted. Consequently, the roof carrier sandwiches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted by a new fastening force generated during the rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle in addition to the original sandwiching force (fastening force). Thus, the sandwiching force (fastening force) with which the roof carrier sandwiches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted is increased during the rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle. Therefore, the resistance to movement of the roof carrier is increased. Consequently, the amount of movement of the roof carrier due to the inertia force is reduced.
Thus, a part of the inertia force acting on the roof carrier and the load during the rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle is utilized to further increase the sandwiching force by which the roof carrier sandwiches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted. Therefore, even if the sandwiching force of the roof carrier itself is small, the amount of movement of the roof carrier can be reduced to a level less than in the prior art during the rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle. Since it is not necessary to increase the sandwiching force of the roof carrier itself, the size and weight of the roof carrier can be reduced.
A second aspect of the present invention is the roof carrier mounting structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the roof carrier includes: a roof carrier main body; a sandwiching member provided on the roof carrier main body for sandwiching the member to which a roof carrier is mounted between the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member; and a floating brake mounted on at least one of the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member such that the floating brake can abut against the member to which a roof carrier is mounted and having at least a portion which abuts against the member to which a roof carrier is mounted able to be elastically deformed, wherein the inclined portion includes: a first inclined face formed on the floating brake which gradually approaches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted the closer to the front of the vehicle; and a second inclined face formed on the floating brake which gradually approaches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted the closer to the rear of the vehicle.
Consequently, in normal conditions, that is, when acceleration or deceleration is not acting on the vehicle or when acceleration or deceleration is acting on the vehicle but has a value equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the floating brake abuts against the member to which a roof carrier is mounted and both the floating brake and member to which a roof carrier is mounted are sandwiched by the roof carrier main body and sandwiching member. Consequently, at least the portion of the floating brake which is abutting against the member to which a roof carrier is mounted is elastically deformed and attached to the member to which a roof carrier is mounted by pressure. Therefore, the roof carrier does not unnecessarily move relative to the member to which a roof carrier is mounted.
When a large inertia force in the rearward direction of the vehicle acts on the roof carrier and the load during the rapid acceleration of the vehicle, the member (the roof carrier main body or the sandwiching member) to which the floating brake is mounted presses the first inclined face (portion) towards the rear of the vehicle. The first inclined face gradually approaches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted in the forward direction of the vehicle. (the closer to the front of the vehicle.) Therefore, a portion of the force with which the roof carrier main body or the sandwiching member presses against the first inclined face (portion) is converted into a force with which the floating brake presses against the member to which a roof carrier is mounted. Consequently, since the sandwiching force for sandwiching the floating brake and the member to which a roof carrier is mounted is increased, the resistance of the roof carrier to movement is increased, and the amount of movement due to inertia force is reduced.
Similarly, when a large inertia force in the forward direction of the vehicle acts on the roof carrier and the load during the rapid deceleration of the vehicle, the roof carrier main body or the sandwiching member presses the second inclined face (portion) towards the front of the vehicle. The second inclined face gradually approaches the member to which a roof carrier is mounted in the rearward direction of the vehicle. (the closer to the rear of the vehicle.) Therefore, a portion of the force with which the sandwiching member presses against the second inclined portion is converted into a force with which the floating brake presses against the member to which a roof carrier is mounted. Consequently, since the sandwiching force for sandwiching the floating brake and the member to which a roof carrier is mounted is increased, the resistance of the roof carrier to movement is increased and the amount of movement due to inertia force is reduced.
By using a floating brake in which at least the portion abutting against the member to which a roof carrier is mounted can be elastically deformed, the floating brake can be elastically deformed and the member to which a roof carrier is mounted reliably sandwiched between the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member.
A third aspect of the present invention is the roof carrier mounting structure according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein a gap for allowing the floating brake to be relatively movable with respect to the sandwiching member is formed between the floating brake and the sandwiching member.
Accordingly, when the sandwiching member presses the first inclined portion or the second inclined portion during a rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle, the floating brake is moved toward the member to which a roof carrier is mounted due to a gap formed between the floating brake and the sandwiching member. Thus, the floating brake is moved towards the member to which a roof carrier is mounted so that a sufficiently large sandwiching force can be obtained.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is the roof carrier mounting structure according to the second aspect or third aspect of the present invention, wherein the sandwiching member includes: a housing portion for housing the floating brake; and an engaging portion provided in the housing portion for engaging with an portion to be engaged provided on the floating brake such that floating brake cannot easily be removed from the housing portion.
Thus, the floating brake is housed in the housing portion provided in the sandwiching member and is attached to the sandwiching member such that the floating brake cannot easily be removed from the housing portion due to the engagement of the engaging portion with the portion to be engaged. Therefore, it is possible to simply perform the assembly of the floating brake in the sandwiching member. During the assembly, moreover, adhering means such as an adhesive is not required.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is the roof carrier mounting structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the roof carrier includes: a roof carrier main body; a sandwiching member for sandwiching the member to which a roof carrier is mounted between the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member; and a fixing member for fixing the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member so as to be relatively movable in the longitudinal direction when acceleration or deceleration having a predetermined value or more acts in the longitudinal direction; wherein the inclined portion includes: a third inclined face formed on the fixing member for causing the sandwiching member to be moved toward the roof carrier main body when the roof carrier main body is moved in a forward direction of the vehicle with respect to the sandwiching member; and a fourth inclined face formed on the fixing member for causing the sandwiching member to be moved toward the roof carrier main body when the roof carrier main body is moved in a rearward direction of the vehicle.
Consequently, in normal conditions, that is, when acceleration or deceleration is not acting on the vehicle or when the acceleration or deceleration is acting on the vehicle but has a value equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, there is no relative movement between the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The member to which a roof carrier is mounted is sandwiched by the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member. Therefore, the roof carrier does not move unnecessarily relative to the member to which a roof carrier is mounted.
When a large inertia force in the rearward direction of the vehicle acts on the roof carrier and the load during a rapid acceleration of the vehicle so that the roof carrier main body is moved relatively with respect to the sandwiching member in the forward direction of the vehicle, the third inclined face moves the sandwiching member toward the roof carrier main body. Consequently, since the sandwiching force for causing the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member to sandwich the member to which a roof carrier is mounted increases, the resistance of the roof carrier to movement is increased and the amount of movement due to inertia force is reduced.
Similarly, when a large inertia force in the forward direction of the vehicle acts on the roof carrier and the load during the rapid deceleration of the vehicle so that roof carrier main body is moved relatively with respect to the sandwiching member in the rearward direction of the vehicle, the fourth inclined face move the sandwiching member toward the roof carrier main body. Consequently, since the sandwiching force for causing the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member to sandwich the member to which a roof carrier is mounted increases, the resistance of the roof carrier to movement is increased and the amount of movement due to inertia force is reduced.
Thus, a portion of the inertia force acting on the load and the roof carrier during the rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle is utilized to move the sandwiching member toward the roof carrier main body. Therefore, even if the original sandwiching force of the roof carrier main body and the sandwiching member is small, the movement of the load and the roof carrier can be further reduced to a level less than in the prior art during the rapid acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle.
In addition, the fixing member on which the third inclined face and the fourth inclined face are formed is simply provided enabling the structure to be kept simple.


In an analyzing apparatus of the present invention, sample racks, in each of which a plurality of sample containers are held, are transferred from a rack feeding unit to a discrimination unit for discriminating a type of each sample container. After the discrimination unit, a plurality of analyzing units are installed along a transfer line, and pipetters of different types are provided in the respective analyzing units. The discrimination unit detects information on the length and the width of each sample container held in each sample rack by using an optical detector. A control part selects one of the analyzing units, suitable for analyzing the sample container of which type was discriminated, based on the information detected by the discrimination unit, and transfers the sample container of which type was discriminated, to a sample pipetting position in the selected analyzing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic analyzing apparatus having a function to pipette samples, and especially to an analyzing apparatus suitable for dealing with various and many sample containers.
2. Description of Related Art
In an analyzing system for pipetting biological samples such as blood, urine, etc., contained in sample containers, and analyzing substances included in the samples, a remarkable tendency to decrease an amount of a pipetted sample to a very small quantity has been seen, mainly in order to reduce the pain of a patient from which samples are collected, and the consumption amount of reagent. Moreover, the scope of items to be analyzed has been enlarged, and highly increasing the sensitivity to analyze biological components of a very low concentration has been also required. Consequently, various types of sample pipetting devices which can more correctly pipette a very small quantity of sample (less than microliters) to reduce contamination between samples, have been recently adopted.
Furthermore, in a conventional analyzing apparatus as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,986 (JP-A-27745/1994), the same two analyzing units are serially arranged along a sample container conveying line, and a sample is pipetted from a sample container by a pipetter provided at each analyzing unit. The pipetted sample is discharged into a reaction container, and analyzed by each analyzing unit.
Generally, inabiological inspection, different kinds of samples such as blood serum, urine, etc., have been collected, specified, and analyzed by using different analyzing apparatuses. Therefore, a plurality of analyzing apparatuses have been needed, corresponding to different kinds of biological samples.
In collecting different kinds of samples, or samples in different diagnosis sections in hospitals, various types of sample containers are usually used. Furthermore, various kinds of sample pipetting devices are used, corresponding to the processing ability of each analyzing apparatus, and also to kinds of analyzing methods such as a method using chemical reactions, a method using immnunological reactions and so forth.

Analyzing apparatus having a function pipette samples


A clamp assembly for facilitating attachment and removal of a first component to or from a second component includes plural clamp bodies, each having at least two mutually perpendicular surfaces arranged about the first component. A substantially rigid ring is located between one surface of the clamp body and a surface of the first component. At least one fastener is provided for each of the plural clamp bodies, adapted to extend through a respective one of the plural clamp bodies and into the second component. Tooling is provided to allow for simultaneous tightening or loosening of all bolts on a single combustor.

This invention relates generally to gas turbine combustor technology and, more specifically, to a quick disconnect combustor endcover or casing assembly.
In certain land-based power generation gas turbine engines, plural combustors are arranged in an annular array about the turbine rotor to provide for the combustion of fuel and to guide the energized combustion products into the turbine section to drive the turbine. Each combustor typically includes an outer casing which defines the external boundary of the combustor, a flow sleeve for distributing compressor discharge air to the head end of the combustor while cooling a liner which encloses the combustion process, and a transition piece for flowing the combustion products into the turbine section. The combustor also includes a plurality of fuel nozzles coupled to an endcover at the head end of the combustor. Air and fuel are supplied through the endcover to the fuel nozzles for combustion within the liner.
Current technology utilizes conventional multi-bolt, metallic flange-on-flange connections for attaching endcovers to turbine casings. Since the combustor is one of most frequently-inspected and replaced gas turbine components, improving access to the combustor internals, via the endcover, would be a key step toward minimizing outage durations and maximizing turbine availability. Accordingly, there remains a need for a combustor endcover or casing that is easily removed and reinstalled to shorten service outage duration while retaining sealing requirements with the combustor.


A photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) system and a method of cooling photovoltaic (PV) cells in the system is described herein. Energy from an excitation source such as the sun hits the PV cells in the PV-T system causing heating that reduces PV efficiency. The PV cells are cooled by fluid in an intact heat-transfer system making a heated water byproduct while the PV cells release a form of energy. In addition, the PV-T system can be implemented in a desalination plant to harvest energy and heat for desalination processes. The present invention also includes methods for transferring heat from PV cells to the earth to improve PV performance and reduce thermal shock to the PV cells.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with photovoltaic (PV) systems that convert sunlight into electrical energy. The electrical energy, in turn, drives other processes. PV systems convert solar energy, in the visible wavelength portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, into electrical energy. The energy in the infrared (IR) wavelength portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is typically not converted to electrical energy and instead is absorbed by the PV cells, causing an increase in the PV cells' temperature. The electrical power production from a PV cell decreases substantially as its temperature increases.[1]Energy from the infrared wave length portion can be collected in solar thermal (ST) devices, but those devices are typically configured differently from PV systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,582,826 issued to Miller and Mach (2009) relates generally to the field of solar energy conversion, particularly to devices for converting solar photons into an electric current such as a compact photovoltaic generation assembly exhibiting improved photovoltaic efficiency and an extended operating life as compared to conventional photovoltaic systems.

Photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) system for desalination

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


Computer-telephony events are initiated by a user operating a computer terminal to control, through a computer-telephony controller, operation of a communications terminal. The computer-telephony controller receives from a first computer terminal a request for a first computer-telephony event; in which the request for the first computer-telephony event comprises a label value. The computer-telephony controller refers to a mapping between the label value and an identifier of a communications terminal; and initiates the requested first computer-telephony event controlling operation of the communications terminal. The computer-telephony controller then receives, from second computer terminal 2B, a request for the label value. The computer-telephony controller authenticates the label value request and provides to second computer terminal the requested label value. The computer-telephony controller then receives from second computer terminal a request for a second computer-telephony event, in which the request for the second computer-telephony event comprises the label value. The computer-telephony controller refers to the mapping; and initiates the requested second computer telephony event controlling operation of the communications terminal.

Computer telephony allows a user to control, from their networked computer terminal, telephony activity related to a telephony terminal nominated by the user: typically the telephone on their desk. The kind of telephony activity controlled in this way typically includes the initiation of calls from the telephone and the logging of calls to and from the telephone (i.e. allowing the user to redial outgoing calls or to respond to missed calls).
European patent 1068717 in the name of British Telecommunications plc discloses a method of registering the identity of a communications terminal in association with the identity of a computer terminal, the method comprising the steps of: providing to a user of the computer terminal, via the computer terminal, the identity of a predetermined destination terminal number; answering a call made to the predetermined destination terminal number; receiving at the predetermined destination terminal number the identity of a communications terminal from which the call was made; providing to the user, via the computer terminal, a codeword; receiving, at the predetermined destination terminal, data provided by the user via the telephone terminal; comparing the received data with the provided codeword; and if there is a match, registering the identity of the communications terminal in association with the identity of the computer terminal.
If a user wishes to use the computer-telephony control service from a different computer, e.g. at a hot desk remote from their normal place of work, they need to complete a new CTI registration process from the new computer. This will result in their original registration, based on their normal computer, being revoked. This arrangement is cumbersome and time-consuming in that it requires the user to repeat the complete original registration process any time they wish to use the computer-telephony control service from a different computer and to repeat it again when they return to their normal work computer.
The invention provides a method of initiating, in a call control system, computer-telephony events; in which the call control system comprises a computer-telephony controller and a plurality of communications terminals; in which a computer-telephony event comprises a user operating a computer terminal to control, through the computer-telephony controller, operation of at least one of one of the plurality of communications terminals, in which the method comprises: providing a label value for storing at a first computer terminal; and storing, in a mapping accessible by the computer-telephony controller, the label value together with the identifier of one of the plurality of communications terminals; the computer-telephony controller receiving from the first computer terminal a request for a computer-telephony event; in which the request comprises the label value; the computer-telephony controller retrieving the identifier of the communications terminal from the mapping; and initiating the requested computer-telephony event to control operation of the communications terminal; the computer-telephony controller receiving from a second computer terminal a request for the label value; and providing to the second computer terminal the requested label value; the computer-telephony controller receiving from the second computer terminal a request for a computer-telephony event; in which the request comprises the label value; the computer-telephony controller retrieving the identifier of the communications terminal from the mapping; and initiating the requested computer telephony event to control operation of the communications terminal.
According to an aspect of the invention, the label value is associated with one of an individual user, a group of users and a type of user, in which the one of the individual user, the group of user and the type of user associated with the label value is authorised to control the at least one of the plurality of phones.
According to an aspect of the invention, the method further comprises providing the computer terminal with a list of communication terminal identifiers to which the label value has previously been mapped; and allowing re-establishment of a previous mapping. According to a further aspect of the invention, the second mapping overwrites the first mapping.
According to an aspect of the invention, the method further comprises receiving from the computer terminal a mapping change request and creating, in response to the mapping change request, a second mapping accessible by the computer-telephony controller in which the label value is mapped to an identifier of a second communications terminal while leaving unchanged the label value stored at the computer terminal.
The invention further provides a call control system for initiating computer-telephony events; in which a computer-telephony event comprises a user operating a computer terminal to control, through a computer-telephony controller, operation of at least one of one of a plurality of communications terminals, in which the system comprises a computer-telephony controller and a plurality of communications terminals; in which the call control system comprises a store accessible by the computer-telephony controller, for storing a mapping between a label value and an identifier of one of a plurality of communications terminals; in which the computer-telephony controller comprises a first interface for receiving from a first computer terminal a request for a first computer-telephony event; in which the computer-telephony controller comprises a processor configured to receive through the first interface from the first computer terminal the request for a first computer-telephony event in which the request comprises the label value; to apply the label value to the mapping to retrieve from the store the identifier of the communications terminal; and to initiate the requested first computer-telephony event to control operation of the communications terminal; in which the computer-telephony controller comprises a second interlace for receiving from a second computer terminal a request for the label value and a request for a second computer-telephony event; in which the computer-telephony controller processor is configured to receive through the second interface from the second computer terminal the request for the label value; and to provide the label value to the second computer terminal; in which the computer-telephony controller processor is configured to receive through the second interface from the second computer terminal the request for a second computer-telephony event in which the request comprises the label value; to apply the label value to the mapping to retrieve the identifier of the communications terminal from the store; and to initiate the requested second computer telephony event to control operation of the communications terminal.

BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY


A hierarchical menu system displays submenus in place of parent menus, and vice versa, when appropriate menu items are selected from within parent menus and submenus. Parent menu items selected from within parent menus are displayed within submenus as links back to previous parent menus. Benefits of the disclosed hierarchical menu system include the ability to implement a hierarchical menu on devices having varying screen sizes, including small-screen devices, while maintaining a history of previously selected menu items that enable a user to navigate within the hierarchical menu to any previously displayed menu.

Most conventional application programs are menu-driven as opposed to being command-driven. Menu-driven applications provide a list of possible commands or options from which a user may choose, while command-driven applications require users to enter explicit commands. Thus, menu-driven applications are generally easier for the average user to learn than are command-driven applications. Menus are typically implemented as a list of textual or graphical choices (i.e., menu items) from which a user can choose. Thus, menus allow a user to select a menu item, for example, by pointing to the item with a mouse and then clicking on the item. Examples of other methods of selecting menu items include highlighting an item and then hitting the 'return' key or 'enter' key, and pressing on a menu item through a touch-sensitive screen.
One particularly useful type of menu is a hierarchical menu. An example of a conventional hierarchical menu 100 is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, hierarchical menus 100 typically present a parent menu 102 that has selectable menu items. The selection of each menu item normally causes another menu, or submenu 104 to be displayed next to the currently displayed menu. A submenu 104 has additional menu choices that are related to the selected parent menu item which results in the display of the submenu. The depth of a hierarchical menu can extend in this manner to many levels of submenus.
The example menu shown in FIG. 1 illustrates how conventional hierarchical menus 100 generally lay out from left to right across a display screen as menu choices are selected. This menu format provides various advantages such as retaining previous and current menus on the display screen at the same time. This provides a historical menu map as menu selections are made and their corresponding submenus are displayed across the screen. Users can therefore review previous menu selections that have been made while progressing to the most recently displayed menu, making it easier to move between different menu items and different menu levels.
Although such hierarchical menus provide useful advantages, there are scenarios in which their use is impracticable. One such scenario is when hierarchical menus are used on devices having small display screens. The problems presented when attempting to implement conventional hierarchical menus on small-screen devices have generally discouraged the use of hierarchical menus with such devices. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of how the hierarchical menu 100 of FIG. 1 might appear on the display screen of a small-screen device.
As indicated above, hierarchical menus generally lay out across the display screen from left to right. On small-screen devices where the room on the screen is not wide enough to accommodate all of the menus, the menus lay out across the screen in both directions, from left to right and back again. In this scenario, the menus typically begin to overlap one another, creating various problems. One problem is that the overlapping menus can be confusing to the user, as FIG. 2 is intended to illustrate. Overlapping menus can make it difficult for a user to discern previous menu selections which can, in turn, make it difficult to determine how to return to previous menus to make different menu selections. Thus, one of the intended benefits of a hierarchical menu can be undermined when the hierarchical menu is implemented on a small-screen device.
Overlapping menus can also create problems with small-screen devices (and other devices) that employ pen-based or stylus-based touch-sensitive screens. With such devices, it is often difficult to maintain contact continuity between menus on the screen when the menus are overlapping. In other words, it is easy to move off of menus with small-screen, touch-based devices. If continuity is lost when moving from one menu to another, menus will often disappear from the screen, causing the user to have to go back and reactivate the menu from a prior menu. This problem becomes worse when using pen-based devices that "track". "Tracking" is where a cursor on the screen follows (tracks) the movement of the pen as the pen moves over the screen even though the pen is not touching the screen. Tracking is lost if the pen is pulled too far away from the screen. Thus, pen-based devices that "track" tend to lose more menus when hierarchical menus are employed.
Accordingly, as the demand for small-screen devices capable of running increasingly complex applications continues to grow, the need exists for a way to implement hierarchical menus that overcomes various disadvantages with conventional hierarchical menus.


A method of detecting cell membrane expression of an MHC molecule in a subject, a method of treating cancer in a subject with an immunotherapeutic agent, and an MHC complex are provided. The method of detecting cell membrane expression of an MHC molecule includes obtaining a tumor cell sample from a subject, and detecting cell membrane expression of the MHC molecule by contacting the tumor cell sample with an antibody targeting the MHC molecule and detecting binding between the MHC molecule and the antibody. The method of treating cancer in a subject with an immunotherapeutic agent includes detecting cell membrane expression of an MHC molecule in the subject and administering a therapeutically effective amount of the immunotherapeutic agent if the level of cell membrane expression of the MHC molecule exceeds a predetermined standard. The complex includes a tumor cell in complex with an antibody or an antigen-binding portion thereof.

Immunotherapies that have been approved over the last several years have shown success in treatment of cancer; however, they are costly, they can result in patient toxicity, and they do not benefit all subjects. For example, about 20-50% of melanoma and lung cancers will respond significantly to immunotherapies, while others will not. Thus, identifying which subjects are better candidates for immunotherapy is highly advantageous from a health care and patient quality of life perspective.
PD-L1 is a cell surface glycoprotein that is one of two known ligands for Programmed Death 1 (PD-1). Expression of PD-L1 has been observed on the surface of a variety of immune cells, and PD-L1 mRNA is expressed by non-lymphoid tissues including vascular endothelial cells, epithelial cells, muscle cells, and in tonsil and placental tissue. PD-L1 expression has also been observed in a variety of human cancers, and interaction of tumor-cell expressed PD-L 1 with PD-1 can induce inhibition or apoptosis of tumor-specific T cells. In large sample sets of e.g. ovarian, renal, colorectal, pancreatic, liver cancers and melanoma it has been shown that PD-L1 expression correlated with poor prognosis and reduced overall survival irrespective of subsequent treatment. Anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that block binding of PD-L1 to PD-1 have been shown to have anti-tumor activity against a variety of tumor types, with early human clinical data suggesting that patients whose tumors express PD-L1 are more likely to respond to anti-PD-1 therapy. See International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2014/165422.
Although immunostaining for PD-L1 on tumor cells has been reported to be associated with response in clinical trials, the staining protocol often requires frozen tissue, rather than the formalin-fixed industry standard, and is subject to technical difficulties. Further, the overall accuracy of PD-L1 staining was only 62% in a clinical study (NEJM, PMID:22658127), with imperfect negative and positive predictive value (JCO, PMID:24145345).
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a methods and systems for predicting response to immunotherapies, which have improved accuracy for independent use or use in tandem with existing predictive methods, such as PD-L1 staining.

Methods and systems for predicting response to immunotherapies for treatment of cancer


The invention relates to a tilting-pad bearing (7), comprising: a sleeve (15); a plurality of tilting pads (9); and a frame (8), in which the tilting pads (9) are held.

The invention relates to a tilting-pad bearing for supporting a shaft.
Tilting-pad bearings are of the air bearing type.
DE 10 2010 049 493 A1 discloses an annular support part, which comprises apertures in which bearing elements are arranged. The bearing elements take the form of tilting pads. Arranged in the aperture of the support part here is a retaining element, which has a mushroom-shaped configuration, so that one or more lugs, which form undercuts, are arranged in the area of the retaining element. These undercuts interact with an aperture which is introduced into the bearing element and which is likewise formed in a manner corresponding to the undercuts of the retaining element, so that in the assembled state suitable parts of the bearing element grip with clearance behind the undercuts. When inserted into the aperture, the bearing element is latched into the aperture of the support part and can thus be secured to prevent it falling out.


A reversible converter of direction of motion, in which all geometric axes of rotating parts cross each other at one point, comprises: a body; a shaft, rotatably mounted in the body; a guide rigidly connected to the shaft and made in the form of a body of revolution, said guide having an annular groove, the plane of symmetry of which is inclined toward the rotation axis of the shaft and passes through said intersection point; a blade operatively connected to the annular groove of the guide through an intermediate connecting member, said blade being mounted in the body on half-axles for taking up the rotation of the shaft or rotating said shaft. The invention also pertains to a positive displacement machine which comprises oscillating working elements and utilizes said converter.

Positive displacement machines are widely used in modern engineering. Many of them are products of mass or large-scale production.
Therefore it is highly desirable that these machines possess:
as high as possible reliability;
as high as possible specific power and, accordingly, as low as possible specific material consumption in manufacturing;
as great as possible efficiency and, accordingly, as low as possible specific energy consumption per unit of performance, and last but not least,
as great as possible pliability to unification regardless of a specific application.
As far as such machines are based on converters of the direction of motion, the combined attainment of said requirements is substantially dependant upon the development of the latter.
Converters of the direction of motion for positive displacement machines generally comprise a shaft and an optional working element (usually rigidly) connected to the shaft capable either of affecting a fluid (liquid or gaseous) medium during the rotation of the shaft or of taking up the pressure of such medium and converting it into the rotation of the shaft.
Widely known is, for example, a vane converter of rotary motion comprising a shaft rotatably mounted on at least one bearing and at least one vane preferably radially fixed to the shaft (see, for example: (Politechnical Dictionary. Soviet Encyclopaedia Publishing House, Moscow, 1976, p. 260, entry Vane Machine)).
As specific references to the utilization of the converters of such type can be cited: Rotor Pump (U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,473); Vortex Turbo-Machine (Accepted Application of Japan 2-291499 (1990)); Positive Displacement Engine (Soviet Author's Certificate 600323) and many other pumps, compressors and hydraulic or pneumatic engines.
Vane converters and positive displacement machines based thereon are sufficiently widespread and, as a rule, are rather reliable. Some of them have rather high efficiency and specific power.
However they are so diverse in designs that only classification lists, not speaking of the detailed description of the prior art, can take tens of pages. In the practice of public production and consumption, where since long time is being observed a tendency towards increasing of a proportion of hydraulic and pneumatic devices in the total mass of industrial production, said diversity results in unjustified industrial and operational costs.
Therefore there exists an evergrowing demand for providing such reversible mechanical converter of direction of motion on which could be generally based designs of essentially different as for their application machines and, in particular, positive displacement machines.
It is expedient that designs of such converters are based on general principles of providing spatial, and more particularly, spherical mechanisms such as "universal hinge" (see, for example, M.: Hayka, 1988--The Theory of Mechanisms and high schools.--4-th revized edition. Moscow, Nauka Publishing House, 1988).
A common reversible converter of direction of motion of such type comprises a body, a shaft rotatably mounted in the body, a guide rigidly connected to the shaft, and at least one element operatively connected with the guide for taking up the rotation of the shaft or to transmit rotation to the shaft. Then, the geometric axes of rotation of all members cross each other at one point (Ibid. pp. 168-172, FIGS. 8.3 and 8.4). In particular, shown in FIG. 8.3 spherical four-member assembly comprises a body in the form of a carrier ring having projections spaced at an angle of >0.degree. to <90.degree., two shafts jointed in said projections each of which being either an input or an output depending on the connection to an engine and each of which being rigidly connected with guides in the shape of forks (or yokes) articulated at the ends by means of a spider.
This device serves only for transmission of rotation at an angle to a geometric axis of the input shaft and cannot be used in positive displacement machines.
It should be noted that further attention must be paid to "rotor" positive displacement machines of which an acceptable analog for a comparison with the invention can be, for example, "Rotor Pump or Engine with Spherical Body" according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,810.
Said positive displacement device comprises a movable body in the form of a body of revolution (and particularly in the form of the mentioned sphere) divided into two hemispherical parts by means of a blade-type working element (and particularly, disk) connected to a reversible converter of direction of motion adapted to convert rotary motion (of the body) into oscillating motion of the disk (or vice versa). Said converter is based on opposed wedge-like members mounted in the body's interior and lying at opposite sides of the disk being pivotally connected therewith, the geometric [pivotal] axes of rotation of said wedge members being orthogonal to one another and intersecting at the sphere centre.
Having rather high specific power and acceptable efficiency, said positive displacement machine reveals lower reliability when higher mechanical loads are exerted upon said wedge-like members and joints connecting said members with the disk.

Reversible converter of direction of movement and device for displacing volumes using said converter


A base drum beater mounting structure, which includes a beater having a shank, a mounting base block fixedly fastened to the horizontally extended polygonal shaft of the base drum pedal mechanism of a base drum, the mounting base block having a back opening, a screw hole forwardly extended from the back opening, and two back notches vertically spaced at top and bottom sides of the back opening, which receive the shank of the beater peripherally, a locating block fitted into the back opening at the base mounting block, the locating block having a vertical axle hole, which receives the shank of the beater, and a horizontal screw hole, which is connected between the shank of the beater and the screw hole at the mounting base block by a first tightening up screw, and a counterweight adjustably fastened to the shank of the beater by a second tightening up screw.

The present invention relates to the beater of a base drum, and more specifically to a pedal driven base drum beater mounting structure for a base drum.
A base drum is generally equipped with a beater driven by a pedal driven mechanism. The pedal driven mechanism comprises a shaft, a pedal, a swivel member fixedly connected to the shaft, a chain connected between the pedal and the swivel member, and return spring means for returning the shaft after each pedal stroke. When playing different music, the beater may have to be driven to give different beating force to the face of the base drum. However, because the amplitude of the beater is not adjustable, it is difficult to control the beating force of the beater accurately.