An apparatus for filtering liquids, such as fibre pulp suspensions, includes annular hollow filter discs each of which has two annular liquid pervious, opposed walls covered with filter material, spray nozzle means for cleaning the filter material, and means providing relative movement between the filter material and spray nozzle means. The annular opposed walls of each filter disc are only attached to each other at their radially outer ends, whereas they are spaced from each other at their radially inner ends, such that an annular opening is defined between the interior of the filter disc and a filtrate chamber extending centrally through the filter discs. The spray nozzle means extends from the filtrate chamber through the annular opening into each filter disc. As a result, an extremely pure fine fraction can be produced, clogging of the filtering material is efficiently counteracted, and the operative part of the filter material can be increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for filtering liquids, such as fibre pulp suspensions or polluted water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common type of filtering apparatuses for filtering liquids comprises at least one annular hollow filter disc adapted to be at least partly immersed in a body of the liquid to be filtered and arranged substantially transverse to an axis extending centrally through the filter disc. The filter disc has two annular opposed walls, which have radially inner ends and radially outer ends. At least one of the two annular opposed walls is pervious by liquid and covered with filter material. Wall means are connected to said opposed walls and form a filtrate chamber, which extends centrally through the hollow disc and which communicates with the interior of the latter. There is means for creating a pressure difference between said body of liquid to be filtered and the interior of the hollow filter disc, such that a fine fraction of the liquid is forced through the filter material into the hollow filter disc and passed therefrom into the filtrate chamber during operation. Fine fraction discharge means is provided for discharging fine fraction from the filtrate chamber and spray nozzle means is provided for spraying a cleansing fluid against the filter material for cleaning the latter. There is means for providing relative movement between the filter material and said spray nozzle means in the circumferential direction of the filter disc.
Conventional filtering apparatuses of this type have their spray nozzle means arranged to spray the cleansing fluid in the form of high pressure jets of liquid from outside the filter disc. The filter disc is vertically positioned and partly immersed in the body of liquid to be filtered, so that part of the filter material is above the body of liquid. The spray nozzle means is stationary and positioned above the body of liquid, while the filter disc is rotatable about said axis. During operation, the spray nozzle means cleans the filter material from particles, as the filter material passes above the body of liquid. The reason for having the spray nozzle means above the body of liquid is to prevent said high pressure jets of cleansing liquid from forcing course particles from the body of liquid into the filter holes of the filter material. Otherwise, the filter material would be rapidly clogged and made inoperative by such course particles during operation.
A drawback to such a conventional filtering apparatus is that some of the small particles which are adhered to the filter material during operation are pushed through the filter holes of the filter material by said high pressure jets of cleansing liquid, with the result that the purity of the fine fraction is degraded. Also, it is inevitable that some particles of relatively course size adhered to the surface of the filter material are pressed into the filter holes of the filter material by said high pressure jets of cleansing liquid, so that, in the long run, the filter material will be more or less clogged. This requires regular stoppage of the conventional filtering apparatus in some filtering applications, for cleaning clogged filter material by chemicals. Another drawback is that only about 60 to 65% of the filter material is operative, i.e. the part of the filter material which is immersed in the body of liquid during operation.


The present invention relates to a circularly polarized antenna and, more particularly, to a compact circularly polarized antenna for transmitting and receiving a circularly polarized signal. The circularly polarized antenna comprises a substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface; a signal distributor; an antenna for transmitting and receiving the circularly polarized signal; and a plurality of support units. The upper surface of the substrate comprises a plurality of slots. One end of each slot overlaps with the respective ends of the other slots at a central region. The lower surface of the substrate comprises a coupling unit being electrically connected with the signal distributor, and the center of the coupling unit corresponds to the central region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circularly polarized antenna and, more particularly, to a small-sized circularly polarized antenna for transmitting and receiving a circularly polarized signal.
2. Description of Related Art
In some electrical devices, such as the reader device of an RFID system, the antenna module of which must be able to transmit and receive a circularly polarized signal, in order to ensure that the electrical devices can operate normally in any kind of attitude. Besides, since the antenna module must be small enough to be portable, the size of the antenna module of the electrical device is also limited.
Generally, the circularly polarized antenna of the prior art uses a straight coupling line to couple the electrical signal to the antenna unit, in order to transform the electrical signal into a circularly polarized signal. Then, the circularly polarized signal is transmitted outside. Thus, the substrate of the circularly polarized antenna of the prior art must have a size large enough to enclose the straight coupling line on the surface thereof. Moreover, since the length of the side of the antenna unit must be about half of the wavelength of the circularly polarized signal being transmitted, so if the frequency of the circularly polarized signal being transmitted is 915 MHz, the length of the antenna unit should be 164 mm in the free space.
The methods to reduce the length of the side of the antenna unit are (1) forming some slots on the surface of the antenna unit or (2) changing the shape of the antenna unit, in order to increase current path. But, both the aforementioned methods are too complex. As a result, the structure of the circularly polarized antenna of the prior art is too complex to reach the requirement of easy-design.
Therefore, it is desirable for the industries to provide a circularly polarized antenna with a small size, which can not only have the simple structure (the standard shape of square and circle), but also have same function to apply in any kind of the antenna module of the portable electrical device.


An implantable medical device applies an electric signal to at least a portion of a heart in a subject. A resulting electric signal is collected from the heart and is used together with the applied signal for determining a cardiogenic impedance signal. The impedance signal is processed in order to estimate an isovolumetric contraction time, an isovolumetric relaxation time and an ejection time for a heart cycle. These three time parameters are employed for calculating a Tei-index of the heart. The Tei-index can be used as myocardial performance parameter in heart diagnosis and/or cardiac therapy adjustment.

Heart failure is a common disease with a prevalence of approximately 2-3 percent in the general population. The disease has a huge impact both on health economy and the well-being of people in western society. Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) is an established method to treat heart failure in patients with low ejection fraction and widened QRS-complex. The optimal method to monitor the effects of CRT is however under debate. CRT has important effects on both systolic and diastolic cardiac function. Heart failure affects both systolic and diastolic function.
There is therefore a need for a diagnostic parameter that is descriptive of changes both in diastolic and systolic cardiac properties and which can be used, among others, as control parameter for CRT optimization.
Furthermore, the parameter should be determinable by an implantable medical device, such as pacemaker, defibrillator or cardioverter, having functionality for providing the cardiac resynchronization therapy to the heart failure patient.
A vast number of diagnostic parameters have been used in the art for optimizing CRT of an implantable medical device, such as maximum ventricular
      ⅆ    P        ⅆ    t  using a ventricular pressure sensor (1), heart sound measurements (2), a map of conduction time between multiple heart sites (3), stroke volume derived from blood pressure in the aorta (4) and left ventricular lateral wall acceleration (5).
These prior art parameters and implantable medical devices typically require dedicated sensor equipment, such as pressure sensors, acoustic sensors, acceleration sensors, resulting in more complex devices and more problematic implantation of the devices.
Furthermore, not all prior art parameters are indeed particularly suitable as CRT optimization parameters as they are not descriptive of changes both in diastolic and systolic cardiac properties.

Method and device for estimating a myocardial performance parameter


A CT system acquires a succession of 2D slice images which are combined to produce a 3D image data set. A projection image is produced from the 3D image data set and serves as an index which enables the operator to select a particular region of interest in the acquired 3D image data set. A specified number and orientation of slice images are then produced through the region of interest.

The field of the invention is medical imaging and particularly, methods for enabling physicians to select and display diagnostic images from image data acquired with medical imaging systems.
There are many imaging modalities used to acquire medical images suitable for diagnosing disease or injury. These include x-ray, CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound and nuclear medicine systems. These medical imaging systems are characterized by their ability to acquire large amounts of image data during a patient scan. The image data may be acquired directly as a three-dimensional (xe2x80x9c3Dxe2x80x9d) image, but in most cases the image data is acquired as a series of contiguous two-dimensional (xe2x80x9c2Dxe2x80x9d) slice images that may or may not be combined to form a 3D image.
In many cases the location of the disease or injury is well defined and the physician can prescribe a scan which acquires an appropriate amount of image data at and around the known location. For example, the region of interest in a scan of a knee, shoulder or elbow to diagnose a joint injury can be precisely defined. The acquired image data in such cases is relatively limited in scope and its display relatively straight forward. For example, 10 to 1000 2D slices may be acquired and viewed one at a time by the physician to diagnose the injury.
As imaging systems have improved in speed and image quality, their medical applications have expanded. One such application is the use of an x-ray CT system in a trauma center to help find and diagnose injuries. In such applications huge amounts of image data may be acquired (e.g. 300 to 1000 2D slices) over a large region of the patient (e.g. chest/abdomen/pelvis). As a result, the physician is faced with the formidable task of viewing all the acquired 2D slice image data to locate the region of interest where the injury has occurred and then to select the diagnostically most useful images. This procedure is time consuming and monotonous.
The present invention is a method and system for enabling large amounts of image data to be displayed such that the diagnostician can easily locate a region of interest in the field of view of the acquired image data and precisely specify a set of 2D diagnostic images that encompass the region of interest. More particularly, the acquired image data is processed to produce a 3D image data set; the 3D image data set is used to produce an index image on a display which depicts the subject of the scan in 3D throughout the field of view of the acquired image data; a pointing tool is provided to enable the diagnostician to select a region of interest in the index image; and a prescription tool is provided to enable the diagnostician to specify a set of 2D diagnostic images which depict the subject of the scan as a corresponding set of 2D slices through the region of interest. The prescription tool enables the number, size and orientation of the 2D slices to be specified by the diagnostician such that the number of diagnostic images may be limited to a reasonable number while providing maximum diagnostic information.

Method and system for selecting and displaying medical image data

GE Medical Systems Global Technologies Company LLC


A fixing apparatus that supports an endless belt by rollers, forms a nipping area with a pressuring roller contacting outside periphery of the belt, and fixes unfixed images on sheets that are transported into the nipping area, the fixing apparatus characterized in that transportation of the sheets into the nipping area is prohibited until the minimum belt temperature detected by a temperature sensor reaches a fixing approval temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing apparatus to be used on electronic image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimiles, in particular to a belt type fixing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Arts
The fixing apparatus is intended to fix unfixed a toner image recorded on a recording medium such as recording paper and an OHP sheet, and is typically a thermal roller type apparatus.
This thermal roller type fixing apparatus comprises a heating roller and a pressing roller that presses on said heating roller, and the recording medium is passed through a nipping area consisting of these two rollers where the unfixed toner image is fixed on the recording medium due to heat and pressure.
In the meanwhile, a fixing apparatus using a belt has been developed in recent years (e.g., Kokai Hei 6-318001). This belt type fixing apparatus has an advantage that it can be heated more quickly thus providing a quick printing feature, because of its low heat capacity.
Since this belt type fixing apparatus comprises a belt and a contacting member (pressuring roller) that forms a nipping area by means of contacting the belt surface, this nipping area has a wider surface for supporting the recording member than the heating roller type and a longer period of heating by the belt, thus supplying more heat to the toner on the recording member.
As a consequence, it is possible to supply a sufficient amount of heat for fixing the toner image on the recording medium even if a low belt temperature is used, which also contributes to a lower toner temperature after it has passed the nipping area. It also alleviates the deterioration of the toner coagulation power, i.e., prevents excess melting, minimizes the consumption of toner releasing agents, which are indispensable for fixing apparatuses used in full-color image forming apparatuses, and makes it possible to realize compact and simpler releasing agent coating mechanisms.
However, a problem with this belt type fixing apparatus is that, in contrast to the heat roller type where the entire roller is heated, only a portion of the belt is heated due to the fact one of the rollers on which the belt is wound around is used as a heat source.
Moreover, it is difficult to heat the entire belt to a uniform temperature even if a low heat capacity belt is used, as the belt is being heated while it is circulated. Temperature fluctuation in the belt transfer direction is more conspicuous during the initial period of heating.
Image luster fluctuation and deterioration of image quality as a result can be a problem caused by sending recording media into the nipping area having such a temperature fluctuation.

Fixing apparatus having a transport mechanism and a controller for controlling the transport mechanism


An ink cartridge used in an inkjet recording apparatus, including and ink storing section having an ink outlet section, and an outer case, wherein the outer case includes a casing section to store the ink storing section, a positioning member to secure the ink outlet section, a first cushioning member to support a top of the ink storing section, a second cushioning member to support a bottom of the ink storing section, and a securing member to secure at least a part of the ink storing section onto the outer case.

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge which accommodates an ink container incorporating an ink outlet section and an ink storing section, which is used for the inkjet recording apparatus.
In recent years, digital devices have shown rapid progress, and in order to visually print out information outputted from the digital devices, inkjet printers are requested to produce more exquisite output, meeting the progress of the digital devices, and further, the image size produced by the inkjet printer is also required to be larger. In an inkjet recording device (printer), an ink cartridge is used to supply ink to a recording head, and an ink cartridge is provided with an ink container which incorporates an ink outlet section and an ink storing section.
Due to larger printed images, the amount of ink consumption is increased. Further, due to larger dimensions of the ink storing section, the ink storing section and the ink outlet section, formed of multilayer materials in which various laminated thermoplastic resin films are used, are advantageous in productivity and production cost. The functions described below are required of an ink cartridge used in inkjet recording device.
(1) In order that the inkjet recording device can stably produce text and picture images on a recording sheet, required is that the ink storing section of the ink container can secure the desired characteristics of ink, such as viscosity and surface tension, over the long term.
(2) Generation of air bubbles must be prevented in ink flow path from the ink container to the recording head, and blockage of ink flow caused by foreign substances must be prevented.
(3) The ink cartridge must be easily loaded into and removed from the inkjet recording device.
Concerning means to achieve the above described requirements, multiplayer film materials are used for the ink storing section of the ink container, which is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publications JP-A 54-151033, JP-A 56-44669, JP-A 54-151033, JP-A 56-44669, JP-A 62-121062 and JP-A 7-323559.
In ink storing sections having the above means, an ink storing section formed of the multiplayer film materials is commonly used due to increased productivity and lower cost, however they exhibit some drawbacks described below.
(1) Due to occasional dropping and vibration of the ink cartridge during transportation and handling, the ink container in the ink cartridge is displaced, which results in bending of the ink storing section, pin holes are generated on the bent section, and further, the bent section grinds against the inner surfaces of the ink cartridge, resulting in generation of pin holes, and further, the ink outlet section may be displaced from the ink storing section.
(2) While the operation of the inkjet recording device loading the above ink cartridge, when the amount of the ink is reduced, the ink storing section is deformed and its capacity is also reduced, and thereby, some creases are generated, in which ink is trapped.
As countermeasure for the above problems, for examples, an flexible ink container bag is used which incorporates an ink outlet section and the ink storing section, formed of soft multiplayer film material. In order to reduce remaining ink, disclosed is an ink cartridge wherein a pressing member is mounted on the ink storing section, incorporating an ink outlet section in which an ink supplying pin can be inserted, when the ink cartridge is loaded onto the inkjet recording device (Patent Document 1). However, according to the ink cartridge of Patent Document 1, the mounted pressing member may be dislocated by dropping or vibration during transportation, further, when the ink amount is reduced during operation of the inkjet recording device, the ink storing section may be deformed, and if the deformation is a wrong shape, much ink may remain, which is a problem. Further, since the ink outlet section and the ink storing section are not fixed, when the ink cartridge is loaded into the inkjet recording device, positioning of the ink outlet section requires a relatively long time, that is, exchanging ink cartridges takes a relatively long time.
An ink cartridge is well known wherein a buffer materials protect an ink container as a bag, incorporating an ink outlet section and an ink storing section, formed of soft multi-layer film materials, whereby most damage of the ink container is prevented, such as dropping during the transportation and the handling, or by vibration during the transportation (Patent Document 2). However, in the case of the ink cartridge of Patent Document 2, since the cushioning material covers the ink container, when only a little ink remains, clearance is generated between the buffer materials and the ink storing section, and if the deformation of the ink storing section causes ink blockage, the amount of remaining ink can be quite very large, which is wasteful, and further, it requires time and material to produce the ink cartridge, resulting in wasteful productivity.
Also well known is an ink cartridge, wherein an ink container being a bag or pouch, incorporating an ink outlet section and an ink storing section, formed of soft multi-layer film material, is pressed by a pressing means, so that any the remaining ink can be decreased (Patent Document 3). However, in the case of the ink cartridge of Patent Document 3, the ink storing section must be inserted within the pressing means, which is time consuming in terms of workability when the cartridge is loaded.
Also well known is an ink cartridge, wherein reinforcing materials are provided on the upper surface and the lower surface of an ink container being a bag or pouch, incorporating an ink outlet section and an ink storing section, formed of the soft multi-layer film material, so that the remaining ink can be decreased (Patent Document 4). However, in the case of the ink cartridge of Patent Document 4, when the amount of ink is reduced, clearance is generated between the reinforcing materials and the ink storing section, whereby, if the deformation of the ink storing section is severe, the amount of remaining ink can be very large. When the ink cartridge is loaded into the inkjet recording device, the direction of the ink outlet section is limited, resulting in poor versatility. Due to the above conditions, concerning an inkjet cartridge, incorporating the ink outlet section and the ink storing section with less remaining ink, an inkjet cartridge is strongly required to be developed which is easily mounted into or dismounted from the inkjet recording device, and not effected by dropping during transportation or handling, nor by vibration during transportation.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A 2002-347257
[Patent Document 2] JP-A 2002-331684
[Patent Document 3] JP-A 2003-226023
[Patent Document 4] JP-A 2003-145785

Ink cartridge for inkjet recording apparatus


There is described a device having a two dimensional imager. The device having a two dimensional image sensor can be a hand held device. Imaging optics can be provided for focusing light reflected from a target onto the two dimensional imager. A two dimensional image sensor can be a color image sensor adapting the hand held device for use in obtaining a color image having color imaging data. Color imaging data obtained can be subject to processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical readers, and particularly to optical readers employing color imagers.
2. Technical Background
Optical indicia readers equipped to read one-dimensional or two-dimensional bar code symbols are well known in the art. There are a number of optical character recognition systems on the market as well. In addition, many financial institutions today employ computer-driven signature capture systems. Many of these systems employ monochrome imagers because monochrome imagers are well-suited to read graphical symbols, such as bar codes, OCR symbols, or signatures.
On the other hand, the ability to provide image capture functionality along with indicia reading in one device is very appealing. Currently, optical readers having image capture functionality use monochrome imagers that provide gray scale images. While such devices are useful, gray scale images are less desirable than color images for viewing purposes. The public has come to expect color imaging. Further, monochrome images are often less distinct and not as informative as color images.
Unfortunately, there are problems associated with using color imaging systems to read graphical symbols. The first problem relates to the difficulty of distinguishing bi-tonal indicia in a color image. Because color imagers provide more information that bi-tonal indicia readers can use, color imaging data is often confusing to graphical symbol indicia readers. One way to solve this problem is to convert the color imaging data into gray-scale data. However, commercially available methods for converting color images to gray-scale are too slow for high-volume scanning. Thus, an optical reader employing a color imager with a gray scale converter would be slower and more expensive than an optical reader using monochrome imager because of the additional processing required.
Thus, a need exists for an inexpensive optical reader that is capable of performing color photography and evaluating graphical symbols. This optical reader must be capable of automatically determining whether an image includes a graphical symbol or is merely a color photographic image, and process the acquired color imaging data based on that determination. A need also exists for an optical reader that is able to associate an acquired color image with any subsequent acquired color image.


A wireless power delivery system for aircraft seats includes an NFC power receiving device disposed at a known location proximal to floor rail bracket engaging portion of the seat, and an NFC power delivery device engages a corresponding bracket disposed underneath the aircraft floor. The brackets are aligned to each other to ensure the disposition of the NFC power delivery device is sufficiently close to the NFC power receiving device to effectively transfer power. The NFC power delivery device is disposed in a cargo container. Bracket engaging elements in the seat rows include features that indicate a location on a lower bracket to align the NFC power receiving device to the NFC power delivery device.

Delivering power to aircraft seats currently involves running wires throughout the aircraft cabin to each seat row. Such wires are a safety hazard because they can be accessed by passengers, and the wires add substantial weights and can interfere with the installation and removal of the seats when needed for maintenance, cleaning, etc. It would be advantageous to have a system for delivery power to aircraft seats that was reliable, secure, and unencumbering.

Aircraft seat power via inductive coupling


An image processing apparatus includes a measurement unit configured to read a patch image for a calibration which is printed on a recorded medium by a printing apparatus and measure a density of the patch image, a reception unit configured to receive spectral reflection factor information measured by reading the patch image for the calibration printed on the recorded medium by using a measurement device capable of measuring a spectral reflection factor at every predetermined wavelengths, and a processing unit configured to perform a calibration for a printing using the recorded medium by the printing apparatus on the basis of the density measured by the measurement unit and the spectral reflection factor information received by the reception unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus configured to perform a calibration for a printing and an image processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a printing apparatus that prints an image by applying a recorded medium such as a sheet with a recording material (colorant) such as ink, a color appearance of a print result or the like may fluctuate because of a change in a printing environment and a change over time of the printing apparatus. Also, among plural printing apparatuses, a difference in the color appearance of the print result or the like may occur for each apparatus.
Accordingly, in order that the fluctuation of the print result caused by the change in the environment and the change over time, the difference in the print result for each apparatus, and the like are resolved, a printing apparatus is proposed which reads a print result by a reading apparatus and analyzes the print result to correct parameters for a print processing (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-116768).
In addition, when the print result is read by the reading apparatus in the above-mentioned manner, it is possible to obtain the print result having a more satisfactory image quality if a reading apparatus that can obtain more detailed information is used to analyze the print result for performing the correction on the parameters for the printing.
However, the reading apparatus that can obtain more detailed information in the above-described manner is expensive, and if the respective printing apparatuses are mounted with the reading apparatuses, costs are increased. In addition, in a case where the print results by the respective printing apparatuses are read while this reading apparatus is detached, work burden of an operator is increased.

Image processing apparatus and method for performing calibration for printing


A computer implemented method for reducing communication signaling protocol latency. An acceptable level of latency is specified. Automatic memory management activities are monitored based on specified parameters to calculate a level of activity that determines whether a reduction of activity is required.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a data processing system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a computer implemented method, computer program product and data processing system for reducing communication signaling protocol latency.
2. Description of the Related Art
The session initiation protocol(SIP) is being implemented in the Java language, for example, SIP container in WebSphere, and being used by service providers. Session initiation protocol (SIP) is an Internet signaling protocol which has many uses, such as Voice over IP (VoIP). Session initiation protocol (SIP) can establish sessions for features such as audio/videoconferencing, interactive gaming, and call forwarding to be deployed over networks thus enabling service providers to integrate basic telephony services with Web, e-mail, and chat services. Session initiation protocol (SIP) is an example of a communication signaling protocol. Session initiation protocol (SIP) has quality of service (QoS) requirements. Customers are concerned about end-to-end latency. In particular, customers would like deterministic latency and they are willing to reduce throughput to get more deterministic latency.
A problem in providing deterministic latency in a virtual machine environment, such as Java, C#, Lisp, Perl, and so forth, is that garbage collection events occur that stop all application processing for a period of time. Garbage collection is a form of automatic memory management. Memory management is the act of managing computer memory. In its simpler forms memory management involves providing ways to allocate portions of memory to programs at their request and free the portions of memory back to the system for reuse when the portions of memory are no longer needed. A garbage collector or collector attempts to reclaim garbage, or memory used by objects that will never again be accessed or mutated by the application. Memory can be allocated and used, and the garbage collection process will automatically free any chunks of memory that are no longer referenced. Typically, garbage collection involves the automatic reclamation of dynamically allocated objects that are no longer accessible. This 'stop the world' garbage collection time is based on the amount of heap used and the number of objects created.
One approach to solving this 'stop the world' garbage collection time is to oversize the number of CPU's used by the system, which is not very cost effective. Another solution is to measure an application's garbage collection activity and tune the garbage collection algorithm. However, this solution can only go so far. Another solution is to have a scheduled, periodic thread that performs garbage collection activities. An input to this thread is the frequency and length at which the periodic garbage collection thread operates.
However, a concern still remains that the workload could over-run the capacity of the periodic garbage collection thread when the input rate spikes and the object creation rate exceeds the rate at which the periodic garbage collection thread can perform garbage collection activities. It is desirable to solve this problem in a manner that would also supplement existing garbage collection algorithms, that is generational garbage collection, because the existing algorithms do have a low priority, background thread that performs garbage collection activities.

Load management to reduce communication signaling latency in a virtual machine environment

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention is a novel method for the treatment of renal hypertrophy and hyperplasia associated with diabetic nephropathy. The method of the present invention generally comprises the administration to the diabetic patient of a compound which inhibits glycosphingolipid synthesis, more particularly, an inhibitor of GlcCer synthase or 3-ketodihydrosphingosine synthase.

Diabetes is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, with approximately 40 percent of all diabetic patients developing nephropathy which requires either kidney dialysis or transplantation. Specifically, diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of end stage renal disease and therefore, any newly diagnosed patient with diabetes mellitus would be considered at risk for the development of diabetic nephropathy. Several years prior to the development of renal insufficiency, diabetic patients also exhibit renal disease manifested by renal hypertrophy and hyperfiltration. Currently the only treatment suggested to prevent or reverse the renal hypertrophy of diabetic nephropathy is rigorous insulin therapy, although in practical application, insulin therapy has yielded disappointing results.
Under conditions of hyperglycemia, several normally minor pathways of glucose metabolism become more prominent. In the kidney these include the formation of sorbitol, the non-enzymatic glycosylation of proteins, and the de novo formation of diradyl glycerides. Beyer-Mears, A. L. et al., Diabetes 33:604-607 (1984); Brownlee, M., Annual Rev. Med. 42:159-166 1991); Craven, P. A. et al., Diabetes 39:667-674 (1990). These pathways are the basis for recent hypotheses on the mechanisms of diabetic complications, including nephropathy. In addition, increases in uridinediphospho-hexose (UPD-hexose) levels have been reported in the kidney and other organs in association with experimental diabetes. Cortes, P. et al., Kidney Int. 21:676-682 (1982); Spiro, M. J. Diabetologia 26:70-75 (1984). In particular, levels of uridinediphospho-glucose (UDP-Glc) were demonstrated to be consistently increased in early diabetes. This change has been postulated to increase the expression of glycoproteins and glycosaminoglycans in the basement membranes of diabetic tissues. Glycosphingolipids (GSLs), however, also require nucleotide-hexoses for their synthesis.
Glycosphingolipids are ubiquitous and complex molecules consisting of a lipid and a carbohydrate moiety. Glycosphingolipids are at the basis of several inherited metabolic disorders, and are also functionally important in organ development, growth, hormonal signalling and infection. Studies on the functional role of sphingolipids in the kidney and related tissue have focused mainly on their role in modulating growth through effects on phospholipase C and protein kinase C (PKC) activities. In particular, glucosylceramide (GlcCer) and related glycosphingolipids have been implicated in both the growth of cells and in the regulation of hormonal signaling.
In one study using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, endogneous glycosphingolipid content was decreased by the glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor 1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP) and increased by the inhibition of .beta.-glucosidase with conduritol B epoxide. See Shayman, J. A. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266(34):22968-22974 (1991). Decreased glycolipid formation was associated with a pronounced impairment of cell growth, whereas increased GlcCer formation induced cell proliferation. Decreasing glycolipid formation was also associated with a pronounced increase in hormone-stimulated inositol triphosphate (InsP3) formation, wherein the increased GlcCer formation had the opposite effect. Shayman, J. A. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265:12135-12138 (1990); Mahdiyoun, S. et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 292:506-511 (1992). These results implicated cellular GlcCer, or a metabolically close product of GlcCer metabolism, as a regulator of MDCK cell growth.
While glycosphingolipids have been generally studied as elements in cellular proliferation and regulation of hormonal signaling, and also implicated in tumor growth (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,441 to Radin et al.), they have not been previously linked to diabetic nephropathy. In fact, the potential pathogenic role of glycosphingolipids in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy has not heretofore been explored.
It would be desirable to develop an effective method for preventing diabetic nephropathy. It would also be desirable to develop an effective method for treating diabetic renal impairment. It would further be desirable to develop an effective method of reversing diabetic renal impairment.

The Regents of the University of Michigan


A method and apparatus for managing networks and devices on the networks. The method may include collecting information pertaining to the infrastructure of a network and devices on the network, and presenting a user interface that provides a view of the network and the devices using the collected information. In one embodiment, the user interface allows to make changes to software settings of the devices.

Computer networks have become increasingly complex while people have relied on computers coupled to the networks to transmit and fetch information. The computer networks are responsible for transporting information between the computers used in the business as well as allowing users to connect to their work from remote locations. Enterprise management systems have been developed to assist in managing networks and computers on the networks. Current information technology (IT) centers require management that includes network connectivity, server maintenance, and application management for large networks of a few thousand or more devices. As the number of devices increases, it becomes more difficult to detect unexpected changes in the devices on the network.
One disadvantage of existing enterprise management systems is their inability to collect detailed information about the infrastructure of the network and the computers on the network. In addition, existing enterprise management systems do not provide a uniform management interface that can allow an overall view into the network.

Network and systems management monitoring tool


A physician access system comprising a catheter for use with an endoscope, the catheter including a wire guide lumen having a plurality of access ports disposed along an intermediate portion thereof to permit the insertion of a wire guide at different locations. The location of each access port corresponds to a specific length of the catheter exiting from the distal end of the endoscope. The access ports are located so that at least one of the access ports will be positioned near the endoscope handle when the distal end of the catheter, and any operational tool attached thereto, has been extended a short distance past the distal end of the endoscope. A physician may select the access port which best allows simultaneous control of the wire guide and the endoscope depending on the length of the catheter that the physician desires to have extend from the end of the endoscope.

Endoscopes are used in various medical procedures as a less invasive alternative to more traditional surgical operations. Typically, an endoscope is inserted into the patient through either a natural orifice in the body such as the oral cavity, or through an incision made in the skin of the patient, so as to gain access to an internal part of the patient's anatomy. Once the endoscope is positioned within the patient, the physician can view the diseased or damaged area of the anatomy through a series of lenses or optic fibers within the endoscope. These lenses or optic fibers likewise provide illumination to the targeted anatomical area.
The endoscope may also employ one or more extra channels through which operating instruments may be passed. Such operating instruments may include dilation balloons, irrigation catheters, electrosurgical probes, papillotomes, cutting forceps or snares, or tissue sampling devices. These extra channels through the endoscope may also be used for the delivery of fluids or gasses, or to provide suction to the targeted anatomical area. Some endoscopes also include operating handles having controls for manipulating the tip of the endoscope so as to permit the endoscope to be maneuvered through the patient's anatomy.
In endoscopic procedures employing an operating instrument passed through the endoscope, it is often necessary to pass a wire guide through the catheter of the operating instrument. For example, in ERCP procedures, an endoscope is inserted into the patient's mouth and through the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum until it reaches the area where the ducts of the biliary tree and the pancreas open into the duodenum. This area is called the papilla of Vater. The physician then utilizes the endoscope's optics to view and diagnose any problems in the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas. The physician may also inject dyes (contrast) through the channel of the endoscope. The dyes are visible with x-rays, and aid the physician in the diagnosis.
In some patients, the diagnosis reveals the presence of calculi in the common duct, which are typically formed by secretions and mineral deposits. The calculi can cause an interruption of liver bile flow into the duodenum, and can irritate the surrounding tissue, thereby further interrupting the flow of bile. Any such obstructions in the papilla of Vater are typically removed or otherwise alleviated with a papillotome. The papillotome comprises an electrically conductive cutting wire extending through a multi-lumen catheter, which is inserted through the channel of the endoscope. One lumen is utilized for passing the electrically conductive wire therethrough, while another lumen is utilized for extending a wire guide therethrough. The wire guide is used to position the papillotome at the proper anatomical location. The proximal end of the papillotome typically includes a manually operated handle attached to the cutting wire that permits the distal end of the catheter to be deflected. This is done so as to form a loop at the distal end of the cutting catheter to engage tissue and, more particularly, to engage the papilla so as to enlarge the opening thereat.
Medical catheters for use with endoscopes are typically longer than the overall length of the endoscope. For example, endoscopes for use in medical procedures of the type described above typically have an overall length of 150–160 cm. Medical catheters for use with these endoscopes, such as the papillotome described above, typically have an overall length of approximately 200 cm. The catheter is longer than the endoscope so as to permit the distal end of the catheter to extend a sufficient distance beyond the distal end of the endoscope to perform cannulation or other procedures. However, the additional length of the catheter relative to the endoscope creates certain problems, particularly with respect to the insertion and manipulation of a wire guide through the catheter.
For example, when the catheter is used to perform a medical procedure such as sphincterotomy, the distal end of the catheter is only extended a short distance beyond the distal end of the endoscope. In other words, only that portion of the distal end of the catheter that comprises the operational device, such as a cutting wire, is typically extended beyond the end of the endoscope. A substantial portion of the catheter that is adjacent to the catheter's handle therefore extends from the proximal end of the endoscope. As a consequence, the catheter's handle and the wire guide port, which is typically located near the catheter's handle, are spaced a substantial distance away from the endoscope. This spaced arrangement, however, makes it difficult for the physician to simultaneously insert or manipulate a wire guide inserted into the catheter and manipulate the endoscope. A physician will therefore usually elect to personally manipulate the endoscope, and rely on an assistant to manipulate the wire guide. This can be problematic because of the difficulty in issuing and/or following voice commands between the physician and the assistant in an accurate and timely manner.
Accordingly, there is a need for a wire guided medical catheter that permits the physician to simultaneously manipulate a wire guide inserted through the catheter and an endoscope.
Another problem with conventional medical catheters of the type described above is that it is often difficult to accurately determine how far the distal end of the catheter extends beyond the distal end of the endoscope. For example, it may be desirable to extend the distal end of the catheter a fixed distance beyond the end of the endoscope so as to enable an operational tool on the distal end of the catheter to perform a specific medical procedure. This is ordinarily accomplished by observing the length of the proximal end of the catheter extending from the proximal end of the endoscope, and then estimating the length of the distal end of the catheter extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope. However, because conventional medical catheters are substantially longer than the endoscopes in which they are typically used, such visual estimates are difficult to make with any accuracy.
Accordingly, there is a need for a wire guided medical catheter that enables the physician to quickly and accurately determine the length of the distal end of the catheter extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope.

Catheter with a plurality of wire guide access parts


A communication system includes a satellite communication system segment having at least one satellite, that projects a plurality of beams on the surface of the earth, and at least one terrestrial satellite gateway that is bidirectionally coupled to the at least one satellite and also to a terrestrial communications system. One or more beams from one or more satellites at the surface of the earth define a regional service area within which at least one Wireless Local Loop (WLL) service region is located. The communication system further includes a terrestrial communication segment having at least one WLL base station, capable of bidirectional communications with a plurality of WLL user terminals within the WLL service region, and a virtual gateway that is bidirectionally coupled to the WLL base station and to the at least one satellite. The virtual gateway is responsive to the terrestrial satellite gateway for temporarily assuming control of some satellite system resources for bidirectionally coupling a communication to or from an individual one of the WLL user terminals into or out of the WLL service region.

Communication systems generally referred to as Wired Loop Plans (WLP) have been implemented or proposed for various regions of the earth to either provide a basic communication system or to augment already existing systems. However, WLP systems must be accurate in their planning, can experience long delays in the roll out of services due to obtaining rights of way and environmental considerations, have a high cost/subscriber ratio, are susceptible to outages due to natural disasters, theft, and political instabilities, and also have high up-front costs.
In an effort to avoid or minimize such problems Wireless Local Loop (WLL) terrestrial communication systems have been introduced, especially in developing countries. Wireless Local Loop systems avoid some of the problems inherent in WLP systems, but are still expensive to implement due to their typically smaller coverage areas and the need for many "cells" or base stations to provide adequate coverage.
It would thus be desirable to provide a WLL communication system that overcomes the problems inherent in the WLP systems, while also overcoming the problems inherent in existing WLL systems.
Also, commercial and other users are increasingly implementing TCP/IP protocol networks in response to the wide spread use of the Internet. At the present time it appears likely that TCP/IP will not only remain prevalent, but will need to be operable over satellite networks. Several experiments over the ACTS (Advanced Communications Technology Satellite) have shown that the TCP/IP protocol limits throughput, and analysis has shown this to be caused by the TCP window size and the TCP "Slow Start" algorithm for File Transfer Protocol. There may be alternative protocols developed to efficiently transfer information using TCP/IP (especially for satellite use), however, the installed base of equipment being deployed worldwide for using the terrestrial version of TCP/IP is expected to be dominant for many years.
It would thus also be desirable to provide a satellite-based communication system that overcomes the problems inherent in the use of conventional TCP/IP and other network protocols in a satellite-based system.

Low earth orbit distributed gateway communication system


A battery condition monitoring apparatus includes a measurer configured to measure a charging current which is an internal current of a converter and is charged into a sub-battery, a charging voltage of the converter, and an ambient temperature of a vehicle, an impedance calculator configured to an impedance of the sub-battery on basis of a voltage and a current each measured by the measurer, and a determiner configured to determine a condition of the sub-battery by using the ambient temperature of the vehicle and the impedance of the sub-battery.

A 48V mild hybrid system includes a 48V main battery which supplies an auxiliary power for driving of a vehicle and supplies energy to a 48V electronic element of the vehicle, a 12V sub-battery which supplies energy to a 12V electronic element of the vehicle, and a DC converter disposed therebetween. Here, when an electronic load of a 12V battery increases, the DC converter operates in a buck mode to drop an input voltage of 48 V to an output voltage of 12 V and supplies power to a 12V electronic element, and when an electronic load of a 48V battery increases, the DC converter operates in a boost mode to boost an input voltage of 12 V to an output voltage of 48 V and may supplies power to a 48V electronic element.
The 12V battery has a chemical characteristic where, as a charging/discharging cycle (the number of charging/discharging) increases, a voltage decreases, and thus, an internal impedance of the battery increases. Also, due to an increase in the internal impedance of the battery, when a driver starts an engine, a voltage of the battery is rapidly reduced and is discharged. Accordingly, by monitoring a condition of the 12V battery, it is required to repair or replace the battery before a problem caused by the discharging and aging of the battery occurs.
However, in a related art 48V mild hybrid system, since a condition of the 12V battery should be inevitably monitored or a separate element for monitoring the condition of the 12V battery should be provided, there is a problem where the material cost and a weight of a vehicle increase.
Moreover, since a converter is used as only a function of supplying a power of the 12V battery, technology for monitoring a condition of the 12V battery with the converter is needed.

Direct current converter capable of monitoring battery condition and battery condition monitoring method thereof


A reciprocating two-stroke uniflow internal combustion (IC) cylinder and multiple cylinder engine, the cylinder having a cylinder wall and a cylinder head, the cylinder head having an exhaust port, a fuel injector, and a spark means disposed through the cylinder head, a piston reciprocally mounted in the cylinder for movement alternately through compression and power strokes, and a scroll plenum extending unidirectional around the outside of the cylinder wall and having an inlet and a plurality of swirl ports disposed through the cylinder wall providing fluid communication from the scroll plenum into the cylinder chamber, wherein the plurality of swirl ports enter the cylinder chamber tangentially with respect to the axial centerline of the cylinder, and wherein the plurality of swirl ports are subject to opening and closing in response to movement of said piston.

The stratified charge engine is a type of internal-combustion engine, similar in some ways to the Diesel cycle, but running on normal gasoline. The name refers to the layering of fuel/air mixture, the charge inside the cylinder. In a traditional Otto cycle engine the fuel and air are mixed outside the cylinder and are drawn into it during the intake stroke. The air/fuel ratio is kept very close to stoichiometric, which is defined as the exact amount of air necessary for a complete combustion of the fuel. This mixture is easily ignited and burns smoothly. The problem with this design is that after the combustion process is complete, the resulting exhaust stream contains a considerable amount of free single atoms of oxygen and nitrogen, the result of the heat of combustion splitting the O2 and N2 molecules in the air. These will readily react with each other to create NOx, a pollutant. A catalytic converter in the exhaust system re-combines the NOx back into O2 and N2 in modern vehicles.
A direct injection diesel engine, on the other hand, injects diesel fuel (which is heavier and resistant to vaporization) directly into the cylinder, the combustion chamber is in the top of the piston. This has the advantage of avoiding premature spontaneous combustion—a problem known as detonation or ping that plagues Otto cycle engines—and allows the diesel to run at much higher compression ratios. This leads to a more fuel-efficient engine, which is commonly found in applications where it is being run for long periods of time, such as in trucks.
However the Diesel engine has problems as well. The fuel is sprayed right into the highly compressed air and has little time to mix properly. This leads to portions of the charge remaining almost entirely air and others almost entirely of unburnt fuel lacking for oxygen. This incomplete combustion leads to the presence of other pollutants such as partially burnt and unburnt fuel—polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the plainly visible exhaust soot. The indirect injection diesel where fuel is injected into a pre-chamber (the best known being Ricardo Consulting Engineers' Ricardo Comet design), where the flame front from the pre-chamber ignition leads to better mixing of the air and fuel, smoother combustion in the cylinder, and a reduction in diesel knock. Indirect injection diesels are a kind of stratified charge engine. These benefits came at the cost of a 10% efficiency reduction compared to direct injection diesels.
The stratified charge design attempts to fix the problems with both fuels. It uses a direct-injection system, like the diesel, with its inherent ability to be run at efficient high compressions. However, like the Otto, it relies on gasoline's ability to mix quickly and cleanly in order to avoid the poor combustion found in older direct injection Diesels. To do this the fuel injectors are aimed to inject the fuel into only one area of the cylinder, often a small "subcylinder" at the top, or periphery, of the main cylinder. This provides a rich charge in that area that ignites easily and burns quickly and smoothly. The combustion process proceeds and moves to a very lean area (often only air) where the flame-front cools rapidly and the harmful NOx has little opportunity to form. The additional oxygen in the lean charge also combines with any CO to form CO2, which is less harmful. This technology has also been applied to the latest electronically controlled direct injection diesels. The injection system on these engines delivers the fuel in multiple injection bursts to ensure better fuel/air mixing and reduced diesel knock. The much cleaner combustion in stratified charge gasoline engines allows for the elimination of the catalytic converter and allows the engine to be run at leaner (lower ratio of fuel to air) mixtures, using less fuel. It has had a similar effect on diesel engine performance. Today's diesels are cleaner and can be twice as powerful as before, while maintaining similar fuel economy.
After years of trying, this layout has proven not to be terribly easy to arrange. The system has been used for many years in slow-running industrial applications, but has generally failed to develop into an automobile engine. Many attempts have been made over the years, notably in Wankel engine applications, but only the Japanese car manufacturers have pressed ahead with piston-engine development.
There remains an important need to provide an low cost, high horsepower internal combustion engine having improved fuel efficiency and low NOx and particulate emissions, that can operate with a variety of fuels.

Two-stroke uniflow turbo-compound internal combustion engine


The present invention provides, in part, a chromatographic restricted access media comprising aminopropyl groups derivatized with polysuccinamide that is derivatized with 1-ethylpropylamine and denatured human serum albumin. Methods of purifying polypeptides and complexes thereof are also provided.

Two classes of chromatography are adsorption chromatography (AC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Reverse and normal phase chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, chiral chromatography are in the class of AC. Separation here is due to different energetic interactions between molecules of the substance undergoing to the chromatographic separation. Another class includes SEC that separates substances according to molecular size (other parameters affecting separation include size of pores in the media, size of the chromatographic column, flow rate, temperature, injection volume and sensitivity of used detector). Separation, using SEC, between molecules having a size difference of at least two fold is usually sufficient. Drug screening frequently requires the separation of protein-ligand complexes from non-bound ligand molecules. The complex may then need to be analyzed. If, however, short or small columns are in use, the SEC separation may be poor. If needed, additional resolution may be affected by adsorption between small molecules and the inner surface of pores of the SEC media. Generally, the interaction increases retention of the small molecules and has no effect on large molecules like proteins if they are not able to penetrate inside the pores. This variety of media is known as "restrictive access media" or RAM. Performance of the RAM is dependable on its design. As a result of using this media, complete and fast separation of protein-ligand complexes and low molecular weight compounds is achieved
Known RAM are generally not able to separate protein-ligand complexes from detergents that solubilize proteins such as membrane proteins. Frequently, the required detergent concentration results in formation of micelles comparable in size to the target protein. Existing media do not allow SEC based separation of the micelles from protein-ligand complexes. This drawback causes problems with characterizing the protein-ligand complexes, for example, using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) screening, detergent molecules come into the mass spectrometer (MS) together with the ligands initially bound to target. The detergent molecules then suppress the ligand ionization.


A coping assembly for use in a swimming pool includes a coping having a longitudinal direction. The coping also has a base with a device for connecting to a sidewall of the pool, a facia connected to the base with a slot extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction, a back wall, and a first through hole extending through the coping from the back wall to the slot. The coping assembly also includes a coupler having a body with a front section. The front section substantially conforms to and is engaged with the back wall of the coping. The coupler has a second through hole extending through the body to the front section. The second through hole is aligned with the first through hole in the coping. The coping assembly further includes a tube light extending through each of the through holes and disposed within the slot.

1. Field of the invention.
The present invention relates to a coping assembly for a swimming pool, and, more particularly, to a coping assembly for a swimming pool including a tube light.
2. Description of the related art.
A coping for a swimming pool is disposed about the periphery of the pool and above water level. It is common for a coping to interconnect the sidewalls, pool liner and walkway of the pool. For example, a coping may include a bottom surface which is adapted for connection to a sidewall of the pool using appropriate fasteners, and a facia having a slot extending the longitudinal length thereof which receives a bead disposed at the top edge of the liner. The back of the coping, disposed opposite the facia, is adapted to receive and interconnect with concrete forming the walkway.
It is known to provide a light which is associated with a coping. The light provides increased aesthetic appeal to actual and prospective purchasers. The light can be configured, e.g., as a fiber optic or light emitting diode (LED) light source. For example, it is known to provide a coping which is formed as a multiple-piece coping having a bead slot for receiving a liner bead, and an additional oval slot for receiving a fiber optic strip light. The strip light consists of a transparent plastic sheathing which is disposed in the oval slot of the coping, and a plurality of fibers which are disposed within the sheathing. The two ends of the strip light lead out of the slot at the facia of the coping and extend over the top of the coping. From this point, the ends lead to and connect with a remote light source or power source.
Another type of conventional light source for use with copings is in the form of a transparent plastic lighted tube having a flange extending therefrom which is received in the liner bead slot. The light is installed by hammering or otherwise inserting the flange into the liner bead slot after the liner bead is installed and the pool is filled with water. The installer typically bends over the side of the pool from the walkway to install the flange of the light into the liner bead slot, thus making the installation difficult. One or two ends of the tube light must be left extending out of the slot so that they can be connected to a light source or power source. The installer arranges the tube light ends along the least obtrusive path available from the liner bead slot to the light source or power source. Some portion of this path will include areas where the tube light is likely to be damaged or present a tripping hazard to people around the pool. For example, the tube light will cross the top of the coping and possibly a horizontal walking area surrounding the swimming pool. In general, the plastic tube, which is disposed adjacent to, rather than in the coping, is susceptible to damage from mechanical impact. Further, the tube light is also aesthetically unappealing when it is visible outside of the coping.
What is needed in the art is a coping assembly which allows a tube light to extend from a power source or light source and be received within a slot of the coping without the tube light being exposed to mechanical damage, presenting a tripping hazard to people around the swimming pool, or being visible outside of the coping.

Fiber optics coupler for a swimming pool coping


A portable vibratory concrete screed is disclosed. The concrete screed includes a screed blade including a flat bottom wall extending between a front edge of the screed blade and a rear edge of the screed blade. The screed also includes a vibratory assembly, with an eccentric weight, coupled to the screed blade, wherein the eccentric weight rotates in a plane which is oblique to the bottom wall of the screed blade. Finally, the screed includes a handle assembly extending from the vibratory assembly and coupling a motor to the vibratory assembly to drive the eccentric weight and vibrate the screed blade.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to concrete screeds. More particularly, the present invention relates to extremely light weight, single operator, portable power vibratory "Wet Screeds" used to smooth and level freshly poured concrete without the use of forms or other devices to ride or rest on. The wet screeds float on the concrete as it tamps and smooths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous screeds employ vibratory action to tamp and smooth concrete in the final finishing step. U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,351 describes a vibratory concrete screed used in the final finishing of concrete. This screed requires two operators. U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,995 describes a vibratory concrete screed which rides on forms to screed narrow strips of concrete, such as walks. This screed is mounted on the operator via a complicated harness counter-weighted frame and is powered by electricity. As a result, the screed requires electrical power on site and the screed requires manipulation of lengthy extension cords.
Escalating labor costs and the unavailability of qualified concrete helpers have pushed the concrete finishers' profitability margin down continually, thus forcing rising costs of construction nationwide. The current standard method of "Wet Screeding" freshly poured concrete is with a 2" by 4" board 8' to 20' long with one or two men hand working the concrete all day long as two to four laborers, "puddlers", push the fresh concrete, "mud", in place with concrete rakes. The hand process is not only slow, inefficient and labor intensive, it is also often requires the addition of more water to the concrete mix to make it more workable. The additional water reduces the strength of the concrete, causing voids and weak spots. The addition of water to produce slumps of 6" to 8", so the finisher can effectively hand "Wet Screed" the fresh concrete, is common in the industry nationwide today. The hand process limits the finisher to the average pour of 6,000 to a maximum of 8,000 square feet of slab per day for a crew of six.
In view of the shortcomings of hand processing wet concrete and prior vibratory screeds, a need exists for a wet screed which effectively and efficiently prepares wet concrete for use. The present invention provides such a screed.


The invention discloses a rock damage acoustic monitoring system including an acoustic emission sensor installed in a borehole of a monitored rock mass and a ground workstation. The acoustic emission sensor is composed of an acoustic emission probe and a probe installation mechanism for installing the acoustic emission probe and a transmission mechanism for transmitting the probe installation mechanism. The probe installation mechanism includes a shell, a probe sleeve installed in the shell, an end cap fixed on the upper end surface of the probe sleeve, and a piston hydro-cylinder arranged between the top of the inner wall of the shell and the end cap. The present invention realizes the control of the moving direction of the shell and the probe sleeve by the piston hydro-cylinder component and the hydraulic pump.

Rock (rock mass) deformation and destruction in engineering construction, especially rock burst dynamic disaster, which may directly endanger the construction safety of the project and even cause catastrophic impact. Therefore, effective monitoring and forecast of rock (rock mass) stability and rock burst dynamic disaster is one of the important contents of construction safety of the project. At present, acoustic emission, as an important means of non-destructive monitoring, is used for the monitoring and forecast of rock (rock mass) stability and rock burst dynamic disaster in the engineering construction.
During the construction of surrounding rock excavation in underground engineering, in order to accurately predict the possible deformation and destruction of surrounding rock and dynamic disaster, acoustic emission sensors need to be arranged in advance in the form of three-dimensional spatial distribution in the area of the monitored surrounding rock before the excavation of the project. The more are the sensors arranged in the area, the more accurate will be the monitoring effect.
In a specific implementation, a drilling rig is needed to be used to drill a hole in a rock (rock mass) before excavating the rock (rock mass). The drilling depth increases with the increase of the burial depth of the project and the monitored area. However, the deeper the borehole, the harder is the installation of the acoustic emission sensor. At present, the installation methods of acoustic emission sensors mainly include the following types:
(1) At the engineering site, the acoustic emission probe is directly placed in the borehole, and the remaining liquid medium (such as water) in the borehole is used as the medium for signal transmission between the rock mass and the acoustic emission probe. The acoustic emission probe transmits the received detection signal to the ground monitoring system through the cable. However, this method has the following disadvantages: {circle around (1)} This implementation is only suitable for the borehole with a downward direction, but it is not suitable for the borehole which is totally horizontal or having an upward angle since the medium is hard to be stored; even for the downward borehole, the rock mass around the borehole still needs to be relatively intact, so as to avoid the loss or leakage of transmission medium from the borehole cracks, ensuring the acoustic emission probe is in the transmission medium all the time, but in practical situation at the site, it is difficult to meet this requirement, thereby affecting the monitoring effect. {circle around (2)} Although the liquid between the rock mass and the acoustic emission probe may be used as a coupling medium for signal transmission, generally the density of the liquid is relatively low, and the signal transmission effect is not as good as compared to the detection signal received by directly making the transmitting probe be in effective contact with the rock wall.
(2) In order to ensure the effective coupling between the acoustic emission probe placed in the borehole and the borehole wall, cement may be poured into the borehole at the engineering site, so that the acoustic emission probe and the rock wall are casted as a whole. The problem of effective transmission of the detection signal may be solved by the method, but there are still the following defects: {circle around (1)} The acoustic emission probe after casting cannot be recycled, resulting in excessive monitoring costs. {circle around (2)} After casting, if the acoustic emission probe has no signal or has bad signal, the acoustic emission probe cannot be inspected or adjusted, only a new acoustic emission probe can be installed in a re-drilling hole, which not only leads to higher monitoring costs, but also leads to prolonged project progress, and even the construction period is delayed. {circle around (3)} While pouring cement slurry into the borehole, on the one hand, the grouting effect of the acoustic emission probe mounting site is difficult to be guaranteed and the situation that the acoustic emission probe mounting site fails to be grouted effectively may occur, thus the acoustic emission probe is not coupled to the rock wall effectively and there is no monitoring signal, on the other hand, the deeper the borehole, the greater is the total shrinkage deformation of the cement after it is solidified. The signal transmission cable of the acoustic emission probe cemented with the cement will bear the tension due to the shrinkage and deformation of cement, thus the signals cannot be transmitted effectively. {circle around (4)} Explosive blasting during excavation may loosen the grouting surface and the rock wall surface, resulting in the reduction of the effectiveness of monitoring signal transmission. {circle around (5)} Generally the interior of the borehole is relatively moist, the cement slurry takes a long period of time to solidify after grouting, resulting in an extension of the construction period; and the installation process is time-consuming and labor-consuming, requiring a series of professional grouting equipment and grouting personnel, thereby further increasing the monitoring cost.
(3) Another implementation method is to use a simple fixing installation device. The acoustic emission probe is fixed inside the device, and then a rigid non-movable metal transmission rod is used to transmit the fixing device to the installation site, and then the pressure is used to push the acoustic emission probe out to contact with the borehole rock wall to achieve the fixation. The advantage is that the contact between the acoustic emission probe and the rock wall is achieved without grouting. However, the following disadvantages still exist: {circle around (1)} In this method, since the distance between the fixing installation device and the borehole wall is very short, the fixing installation device and the borehole need to be concentric structure basically, and the hole wall requires to be smooth. But these requirements are hard to be guarantee in the actual construction. {circle around (2)} Since the size of the fixing installation device is relatively large, this method is only suitable for the boreholes with large diameters, resulting in higher drilling costs. {circle around (3)} The entire transmission rods and installation device are rigidly inserted into the boreholes. Not only the frictional force is large, the cables or acoustic emission probes are easy to be torn, but also the transmission rod and installation device can get stuck in the borehole, thus cannot be sent to the part to be installed. {circle around (4)} Since the fixing installation device is rigidly inserted into the borehole by the external force, the installation process is not only time-consuming and labor-consuming, but also has extremely low work efficiency. {circle around (5)} Since the borehole wall is a cylindrical surface, and the end surface of the acoustic emission probe is a plane, how to ensure the effective coupling between the acoustic emission probe end surface and the borehole wall is also a problem to be solved in practical applications.
Based on the drawbacks and deficiencies in the above mentioned various implementations, the acoustic emission detection is limited in the promotion and application of rock (rock mass) stability and rock burst dynamic disaster monitoring.
Therefore, how to conveniently and effectively install the acoustic emission probe in the borehole and effectively couple the installed acoustic emission probe with the borehole wall are still difficulties of on-site monitoring and research, which is short of relevant test methods and technical support.


A tubular sleeve overlaps the threaded connection between a pair of adjacent tubular members that are to receive an expansion device for radial expansion and plastic deformation of the threaded tubular connection.

This invention relates generally to oil and gas exploration, and in particular to forming and repairing wellbore casings to facilitate oil and gas exploration.
During oil exploration, a wellbore typically traverses a number of zones within a subterranean formation. Wellbore casings are then formed in the wellbore by radially expanding and plastically deforming tubular members that are coupled to one another by threaded connections. Existing methods for radially expanding and plastically deforming tubular members coupled to one another by threaded connections are not always reliable or produce satisfactory results. In particular, the threaded connections can be damaged during the radial expansion process.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations of the existing processes for radially expanding and plastically deforming tubular members coupled to one another by threaded connections.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Sleeve for expandable tubular threaded connection and method of expanding tubular thereof


A safety and arming device (10) for a spinning projectile fuze, which has a fuze housing (12), which is in the form of a pot, and a bearing body (14) with a booster charge (16). A spherical rotor (42) with a detonator (44) is mounted between the fuze housing (12) and the bearing body (14). A radial groove (22) is formed in the fuze housing (12), and an annular groove (46) is formed in the rotor (42). A holding ring (28) is forced against the annular groove (46), which is axially offset with respect to the radial groove (22), when the safety and arming device (10) is in the safe position. The holding ring (28) is designed with a separating slot (30) and a further, shorter slot (32). The separating slot (30) and the further slot (32) extend at the same distance apart in the circumferential direction of the holding ring (28) and define annular segment jaws (40). The spring device (48) has a pair of cup springs (58), which jointly form a horizontal V-shaped spring profile.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a safety and arming device for a spinning projectile fuze, including a fuze housing in the shape of a pot and having a bearing body, which contains a booster charge. A spherical rotor is mounted between the bearing body and booster charge and has a detonator arranged therein.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A safety and arming device of this type is known from EP 0 360 187 B1. In this known safety and arming device, the holding ring is formed with a wedge-shaped groove profile, which has supporting flaps, which point radially inwards, and have recesses between them. The supporting flaps and the recesses have base area dimensions of approximately the same size. This affects the spinning behavior of the holding ring, that is to say its behavior in terms of spreading apart when subjected to centrifugal forces. The spring device of this known safety and arming device is formed by a conical spiral compression spring. The spring behavior which is initiated by the firing acceleration of a corresponding spinning projectile is less than ideal in the case of this spring device in the form of a conical spiral compression spring.

Safety and arming device for a spinning projectile fuze


A method of controlling a washing machine that includes a drum rotatably provided in a tub that receives water, at least one nozzle spraying water into the drum, a washing motor rotating the drum, and a circulation pump circulating water within the washing machine, the method including: controlling a rotation of the drum by operating the washing motor to rotate the drum at a first rotation speed in a first rotation direction, and to maintain a rotation of the drum at the first rotation speed in the first rotation direction so that laundry in the drum maintains contact with an inner circumferential surface of the drum; and controlling a pump speed of the circulation pump by operating a circulation pump motor in the circulation pump to accelerate and decelerate at least once while the washing motor rotates the drum at the first rotation speed in the first rotation direction.

Generally, a washing machine is a generic name for an apparatus that removes contaminants from clothing, bed sheets, etc. (hereinafter, referred to as "laundry") using chemical decomposition of detergent with water and a physical force such as friction between water and the laundry.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010036016A (hereinafter, referred to as "Related Art") discloses a washing machine in which wash water is circulated using a BLDC motor-adopted circulation pump to be sprayed into a drum (a water container). Related Art rotates the circulation pump at 2500 rpm in a normal operation to provide circulating water to a region deep inside the drum at a high angle, and, when an amount of laundry sensed by a load amount sensing means is determined to be smaller than a predetermined value, Related Art rotates the circulation pump 2500 rpm to soak laundry positioned at the bottom of the drum at a low angle.
However, the position of laundry in the drum is determined not just by a load amount, but also by a rotation speed of the drum. Thus, it is necessary to come up with a method of soaking laundry, by considering even movement of the laundry caused by rotation of the drum.

Washing machine, and method for controlling the same


A cigarette package is provided with a box body and a tongue lid. The tongue lid includes a top wall and a tongue wherein the top wall closes an open end of the box body and the tongue overlies a front wall of the box body at the time the cigarette package is made, and connecting lugs in a pair joined to the opposite side edges of the tongue by side separation lines, respectively, and bonded to the opposite side faces of the box body, respectively. The side separation lines each has slits arranged at specified intervals and portions connecting the adjacent slits. The connecting portions are formed into fatigue joints by applying a load.

The cigarette package of this type comprises an inner pack and a parallelepiped outer box enclosing the inner pack. The inner pack includes a bundle of rod-shaped smoking articles, such as filter cigarettes, and an inner wrapper covering the bundle. The outer box includes a box body open at the upper end thereof, and a lid joined to the box body at a rear edge of the open end of the box body, which functions as a hinge. The outer box is formed by folding a blank around the inner pack.
The lid of the outer box can be a hinged lid in the shape of a box, or a tongue lid having a tongue. While the hinged lid is fitted on top of the open end of the box body, the tongue lid has an upper wall for covering the open end of the box body and a tongue extending from the upper wall designed such that when the upper wall closes the open end of the box body, the tongue overlies the front wall of the box body.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 11-49134
It is desirable that at the time the above-described cigarette package is made, the lid of the outer box should be joined to the box body by a tearable separation line. The provision of such separation line is effective in deterring people from tampering with the cigarette package.
More specifically, when the lid is first opened, the lid is torn from the box body along the separation line, and the torn separation line leaves break marks to the box body as well as the lid, which marks indicate that the lid has already been opened.
Generally, the separation line is provided as a perforated line formed in the blank for the outer box in advance. The perforated line, i.e., the separation line has a lot of joins connecting the adjacent perforations. Thus, when the lid is first opened, first, a join at one end of the separation line suffers a break, and the adjacent joins suffer such break one after another, so that the separation line completely breaks. In other words, the separation line breaks in the manner that a crack spreads.
However, the crack does not infallibly spread along the separation line, but can spread deviating from the separation line. Such deviating crack can give an undesired break to the tongue lid and/or the box body, and therefore lead to a damaged appearance of the cigarette package opened.
Such trouble can be avoided by making the joins of the separation line shorter so that the joins can be broken easily. This can, however, cause a problem that in the process of making a cigarette package, specifically in folding the blank, the blank splits along the separation line so that the cigarette package fails to be made.

Cigarette package and method of producing same


As will be described in more detail hereinafter, there are disclosed herein high performance optical circulators and an associated method. The improvement in these circulators comprises an arrangement along the length of the main body for performing a predetermined sequence of optical operations including at least three non-reciprocal polarization rotation steps which are separated from one another by other optical operations (a) on a first light signal as the first light signal passes in a forward direction from a first port to a second port and (b) on a second light signal as the second light signal passes in a rearward direction from the second port to a third port such that a substantial portion of the first light signal exits from the second port and a substantial portion of the second light signal exits from the third port and so that the first and third ports are physically isolated with respect to one another at the first end. In one aspect of the invention, an arrangement is provided which receives a first predetermined spatial arrangement of polarization signals of the first light signal and which receives the second light signal to, thereafter, provide a second predetermined spatial arrangement of polarization components of the second light signal. The arrangement is configured for performing a predetermined sequence of alternating walk-off and polarization rotation steps along its length including the aforementioned three non-reciprocal polarization rotations on the first and second light signals.

The present invention relates generally to optical circulators and, more particularly, to optical circulators including an arrangement configured for performing a predetermined sequence of optical operations including at least three non-reciprocal polarization rotation steps on light signals passing therethrough.
State of the art communications/data transmission systems increasingly rely upon the transfer of information in the form of light signals. These light signals are typically transmitted through fiber optic cables. Consequently, needs have arisen for interfacing with the fiber optic cables and for manipulating the light signals in certain ways outside of the fibers. In order to satisfy both of these needs, various functional types of optical devices have been developed. One class of such optical devices, which forms the basis for other types of devices, is known as optical circulators. During operation, an optical circulator is configured for passing light signals received by one port of a series of ports to the next port in the series. For example, a four port circulator having ports 1 through 4 passes a signal injected into port 1 to port 2, a signal injected into port 2 to port 3 and a signal injected into port 3 to port 4. As a specific example of the utility of optical circulators, three-port optical circulators used at both ends of a fiber optic cable enable bi-directional transmission of data over the fiber optic cable.
One example of a prior art optical circulator is shown in FIG. 1. The latter is a representation of FIG. 2a taken from U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,596 showing an optical circulator generally indicated by the reference numeral 10. Initially, it should be noted that circulator 10 is formed from various layers of crystalline material. The circulator includes an input arrangement 12 and an identical output arrangement 14. A plarization shifting arrangement 16 is positioned between the input and output arrangements and comprises first and second birefringent walk-off crystals 18a and 18b which may be referred to hereinafter as a birefringent crystal pair. During operation, optical circulation is provided between three ports, as indicated by the reference numbers 20a, 20b and 20c, respectively. It should be noted that an interface surface 22 is defined by the birefringent crystal pair.
Still discussing optical circulator 10, input arrangement 12 and output arrangement 14 each include walk-off layers 26 and polarization rotation layers 28a and 28b. With regard to ideal operation of circulator 10, a first signal injected into port 20a should appear in its entirety at port 20b while a second signal injected into port 20b should appear in its entirety at port 20c. Isolation between the first and second signals is compromised, for example, when a portion of the second signal injected into port 20b appears at port 20a, rather than at port 20c. While specific details of the operation of circulator 10 will not be provided herein, at this juncture it is appropriate to mention the recognition by Applicant that signal isolation in circulator 10 is related in a very direct manner to the presence of polarization rotation layers 28a and 28b. Moreover, Applicant further recognizes that the presence of two non-reciprocal polarization rotation layers in the design of circulator 10 provides a significant isolation advantage when compared with designs which incorporate only a single non-reciprocal polarization rotation layer, as will be discussed below with regard to an alternative circulator design and at other appropriate points hereinafter. While circulator 10 may provide significant levels of isolation performance, at the same time, this circulator also incorporates at least one disadvantage which will be described immediately hereinafter.
Still referring to FIG. 1, it is submitted that a particular disadvantage is associated with circulator 10. Specifically, an unfocused beam of light injected, for example, from an optical fiber into any of ports 20 must initially pass through either input arrangement 12 or output arrangement 14. In either case, the beam will exhibit expansion by the time it reaches the birefringent crystal pair. Further beam expansion will then occur as the beam passes through the birefringent crystal pair. Unfortunately, polarization components of the beam are likely to interact with interface 22 as a result of the beam expansion. The result of this interaction is signal "clipping" wherein a portion of the beam power is undesirably lost. Therefore, it is submitted that any practical implementation of the device shown in FIG. 1 will require external focusing components (not shown) such as, for example, lenses which serve to focus light emitted by fiber optic cables into the circulator body in compensation for beam expansion. However, it should be appreciated that practical implementations of lenses required for this focusing necessitate an undesirably large beam separation. That is, the lateral distance between ports 20a and 20b must be large enough to accommodate the lenses. The beam separation necessitated by the lenses itself establishes the amount of walk-off which must be produced by walk-off elements within the overall assembly with respect to walking beams or components thereof to a common path from two different paths. Therefore, the use of focusing lenses leads to a direct increase in the length of the walk-off elements required. In this regard, it should be appreciated that such an increase in the length of the walk-off elements also increases manufacturing costs since the cost of such elements is a strong function of their volume.
Turning now to FIG. 2, another prior art circulator design is generally indicated by the reference number 40. FIG. 2 is a partial reproduction of FIG. 5B taken from U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,763. Circulator 40 includes a polarization mixing front end 42 which is made up of first and second birefringent crystals 44a and 44b. Front end 42 further includes third and fourth birefringent crystals 46a and 46b. A first interface surface 47a is defined between crystals 44a and 44b while a second interface surface 47b is defined between crystals 46a and 46b. Walk-off directions of the birefringent crystal pairs are oriented in opposing directions as indicated in a conventional manner using "+" and "-" signs wherein the walk-off is towards a + sign and away from a-sign. Front end 42 is in optical communication with a component arrangement 50 that is made up of birefringent crystals 52 and 54, having walk-off directions oriented as indicated, along with a half-wave plate 56 and a non-reciprocal polarization rotation layer 58. During operation of circulator 40, optical circulation is provided between ports 1 through 3 and associated optical fibers 60, 62 and 64, in the conventional manner described above. It is noted that fibers 60 and 64 are thermally expanded core (TEC) fibers while fiber 62 is a single mode fiber. Light signals are not illustrated for purposes of clarity, however, it should be appreciated that light signals are coupled between component arrangement 50 and fiber 62 through a lens 66.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, certain concerns with regard to circulators 10 and 40 will now be discussed. Initially, it is noted once again that interface surface 22 of circulator 10 is centrally located within the device. Thus, a beam (not shown) entering the device will experience spreading in passing through other portions of the device prior to encountering crystals 18a and 18b which define the interface surface. For this reason alone, circulator 10 may demand special design consideration such as, for example, the provision of external focusing lenses in order to avoid clipping the beam. In contrast, circulator 40 (FIG. 2) includes interface surfaces 47a and 47b which are disposed at one end of the device such that a beam (not shown) entering port 1 immediately passes the interface surfaces. In this way, the beam experiences minimal spreading, thereby reducing the need for special design provisions as a result of the beam spreading concern. It should be appreciated that provisions taken in view of beam spreading can, in and by themselves, significantly increase the overall size of the device. However, circulator 40 includes only one non-reciprocal polarization rotation layer (layer 58) which affords isolation between light signals passing from port 1 to port 2 and passing from port 2 to port 3 and light signals directed on these same paths in the reverse direction. In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, as will be described in detail below, it is submitted that the provision of a single polarization rotation layer results in device performance, at least with respect to signal isolation, which is considered to be inadequate over an operating temperature range of as 0.degree. C. to 70.degree. C., as is typically specified for devices of this type. In this regard, it may be suggested that a second polarization layer may merely be incorporated in the design of circulator 40 of FIG. 2 in order to bring its isolation performance into line with the isolation performance of circulator 10 of FIG. 1.
Unfortunately, however, a number of concerns arise when attempting to add additional components to a finalized optical component design. These concerns include, for example: (1) the need for arranging the shifts of differently polarized beam components so as to provide recombination of beams meant to pass through the device while maintaining separation between polarization components of other beams which are not meant to pass through, i.e. beams that are to be "isolated" from returning to a particular location, (2) the need for balancing phase delays experienced by the orthogonal polarization components of each light beam as the beams travel through the device such that the beams are properly "reconstructed" from a temporal dispersion standpoint upon emerging from the device and (3) the need for balancing the manipulations of different beam polarization components so that the propagation parameters to which each beam is subjected to as the beams are transmitted through the device are as similar as possible. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that balancing phase shifts, in and by itself, is extremely difficult when attempting to add components to a given design configuration.
The present invention solves the foregoing concerns by providing an optical circulator which incorporates three isolation layers in a compact, highly advantageous configuration so as to provide levels of operational performance, including signal isolation capabilities, that have not been seen heretofore.