A universal, buoyant, lightweight, thermoplastic cover for a swimming pool and the like. The cover may be any color or shape and is adapted to continuously drain water that may otherwise accumulate on the exterior surface of the cover through an integral, longitudinally extending, woven mesh-like water drain apparatus. The drain apparatus may be centrally disposed, or otherwise suitably positioned on the cover, and laterally extends through the cover. A method to make the swimming pool cover is also disclosed.

Each year during the Fall and Winter seasons, inclement weather and the resulting lack of use and interest by swimming pool users results in most swimming pools being inactive for many months of the year. To protect the swimming pool from the inclement weather and other misadventures, most pools are covered with a heavy winter pool cover during this extended period of inactivity and not uncovered until warmer weather returns. If possible, pool repairs, maintenance, and improvements are scheduled during this regular period of inactivity, so the swimming pool cover must facilitate these events by being easy to install and remove. Similarly, during the Spring and Summer, for health and public safety reasons, the temporary covering of a swimming pool with a lighter pool cover is customary in many locales when the pool is left unsecured for other than a de minimis period of time. For example, many public swimming pools are closed each evening until the next morning, during which time the pool may be covered. It would be advantageous to have a universal swimming pool cover that is lightweight and easy to use, and which is capable of covering the pool for either an extended or temporary period of time without the need for separate swimming pool covers.
One drawback with most, if not all, existing swimming pool covers is that over time the cover will become permanently stretched out-of-shape. This is due to the weight associated with the accumulation of water at the center of the cover without the existence of an effective drain mechanism. Over time, such accumulation will exacerbate the sagging of the cover. As the pool cover continues to sag, it will be stretched out-of-shape, have general reduced effectiveness, and eventually have to be replaced by the owner. It would be advantageous to have a swimming pool cover that is lightweight and easy to use, yet not be stretched out-of-shape as a result of the common sagging problem of conventional covers.
Another shortcoming for some of the swimming pool covers contained in the prior art pertains to safety concerns. If a child were to fall onto a cover having drainage holes, the child could get his/her appendages caught in the holes and/or fall through them. Likewise, in the event a child should accidently get caught under the cover, in the ensuing struggle and resulting panic, the total weight of the cover would be significantly increased as a result of the captured water on the exterior surface, and it would be difficult for the child to physically overcome this weight. It would be advantageous to have a swimming pool cover with safe drainage holes and which does not accumulate water.
One prior art approach that is directed to these particular shortcomings, is a type of cover which has separate fine mesh-like cloth material sewn into the center of the cover to operate as a drain. However, this approach has not worked effectively as the cover is relatively heavy, the cloth mesh will clog and the cover continues to accumulate water in places other than where the drain is positioned, and, over time, will sag and be stretched out-of-shape.
Depending on the size and shape of the swimming pool to be covered, the initial out-of-pocket cost associated with various types of covers contained in the prior art is relatively high. It would be an advantage in the art if a lightweight, multi-layer swimming pool cover could be manufactured relatively inexpensively by utilizing thermoplastic films, be long-lasting, easy to maintain, and easy to clean.
The present invention overcomes the problems inherent in the prior art. The present invention combines a universal, lightweight swimming pool cover with an integral drain and safety mechanism which increases the effectiveness and safety of the cover when the cover is in place without significantly increasing the total weight or thickness of the swimming pool cover.

Universal pool cover having combination water drain and safety properties integral thereto


A tracking system for predicting the incidence of threat signals having at least one beam at a predetermined location in space in which a receiver detects the incidence of the threat signals at the predetermined location, a tracker cooperates with the receiver to predict the detection of threat signals by the receiver, and a controller condenses threat signals from harmonically related beams of a pulse group detected by the receiver and controls the predictions of the tracker in response to the characteristics of the condensed threat signals.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to threat signal detection systems for detecting the incidence of threat signals having at least one beam and, more particularly, to a threat detection system in which a controller condenses threat signals from harmonically related beams sorted from a group of detected pulses.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
As is known in the radar art, devices which employ active radar systems necessarily contain signal emitters whose emitted signals, commonly known as beams and so referred to herein, may be used to identify the device after the characteristics of the emitted signals, or beams, have been established. That is, devices which employ active radar systems contain at least one signal emitter which can be used to identify the device after the beam characteristics for the emitter are determined and have been associated with the particular device.
In the military sciences, devices which employ active radar systems include offensive and defensive weapons as well as their delivery vehicles. Although such weapons and their delivery vehicles are often used in a defensive posture, the presence of a weapon or a delivery vehicle will be considered to be a threat to the successful mission and/or survival of the opposing military force so that all such military devices employing active radar systems are, quite properly, designated as threats by the opposing force. Therefore, according to the general experience of the radar art as applied to use in the military sciences, it is well known in the prior art that military threats containing active radar systems may be detected in accordance with at least one beam which is known to be associated with the threat. Accordingly, the combination of one or more beams which emanate from a single threat have come to be known as a threat signal.
In the prior art, threat detection systems have detected threats by detecting beams which have characteristics within a predetermined range and comparing these detected beams to stored beams of similar characteristics which are known to be associated with a particular threat. In these prior art threat detection systems, the beams of the threat signals were detected by a receiver in response to the incidence of the beams on an antenna that is responsive to microwave energy. More particularly, a processor swept the receiver over predetermined frequency ranges and, when pulses were detected by the receiver, the processor extended the dwell of the receiver at that frequency to enable the receiver to collect a group of pulses which were stored in a buffer memory. The processor then sorted out pulses from this pulse group to form beams and collected harmonically related group had substantially the same radio frequency and was some multiple of a fundamental pulse repetition interval for the harmonically related beam group. Additional comparisons between the beams were then made to determine whether the beams were staggered with respect to each other. The beams thus formed were compared to stored beams which had a predetermined association with known threats so that, when beams were detected which matched the stored beams associated with a particular threat, the detected beams were recognized as detected threat signals whose further detection by the receiver could be predicted by a signal tracker.
These prior art threat detection systems operated on a premise that only beams which had substantially the same radio frequency and pulse repetition interval could be staggered with respect to each other as beams of a single threat signal. There were, however, situations in which this premise was inaccurate. For example, one may consider a threat signal which consists of three stagger levels, or beams, of equal PRI in which the first and third beams are staggered by one-half their pulse repetition intervals and the second beam is situated intermediate between the first and third beams. In this situation, the prior art threat signal detection system could sort out a single detected beam from the pulses of the first and third beams and would then sort out a second beam having the same radio frequency, but with a pulse repetition interval which was twice that of the first detected beam from the pulses of the second stagger level. Since the prior art threat detection system presumed that only beams having the same pulse repetition interval could be staggered with respect to each other as beams of a single threat signal, two threats would be detected when, in fact, only one threat existed. As a second example, consider the same threat signal as described above which, in this case, is sorted to form one detected beam having a PRI substantially equal to the interval distance between the first and third beams and three additional detected beams having PRI's substantially equal to three times the PRI of the first beam. Here again, the prior art threat detector would detect two threat signals because the prior art system presumed that only beams having the same PRI could be staggered with respect to each other as beams of a single threat signal. In both these examples, it is apparent that the threat detection system would never accurately detect the threat. Rather, the threat signals which were detected would represent non-existent threats which would serve to confuse the tracking system while, even more critically, the threat detection system would fail to recognize a physically existent threat.
The above-described situation in which a multiple of phantom threat signals are detected as a consequence of the sorting of a plurality of beams having different pulse repetition intervals became even more aggravated in those threat detection systems which would detect a beam of a threat signal despite the occasional absence of a pulse in the beam. Prior art threat detection systems were provided with this capability to enable them to detect beams in which occasional pulses were deliberately deleted from the transmission of the threat radar, or where the detection of an occasional pulse inadvertently failed. In these detection systems, pulses of the detected pulse group which were sorted to form a first beam of a given pulse repetition interval were assumed to have been undetected pulses when constructing beams having a different pulse repetition interval. The introduction of this capability of a threat detection system to ignore the occasional absence of a pulse when sorting beams from a pulse group magnifies the permutations of erroneously detected threat signals by orders of magnitude.
Subsequently, it has been realized that the errors of these prior art threat signal detection systems are a consequence of the failure of these systems to accurately detect the staggered nature of multiple stagger level threat signals. Further, it was realized that this inadequacy could be alleviated by considering all the detected beams which were harmonically related in pulse repetition interval to determine the stagger level of the threat signal since the erroneously detected threats arose as a consequence of the detected beams which comprise the threat signals being staggered by some multiple of a basic pulse repetition interval.


The present invention provides a therapeutic drug that is useful for levodopa induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease. In particular, the present invention provides a composition and method for treating, improving, delaying the progression, or preventing motor complications associated with levodopa therapy for Parkinson's disease, especially levodopa induced dyskinesia (PD-LID), comprising tandospirone or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof, wherein the tandospirone or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof is parenterally administered.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with a primary symptom of extrapyramidal function abnormality. Pathologically, loss of dopaminergic neurons and alpha-synuclein deposition in the substantia nigra pars compacta are observed. Clinically, various motor symptoms such as akinesia, tremor, rigidity, and loss of postural reflexes are exhibited.
Parkinson's disease therapy is fundamentally a drug therapy intended to supplement intracerebral dopamine. A drug comprising levodopa (L-dopa), which is a dopamine precursor, is used as the first-line drug for the initial therapy of Parkinson's disease. However, motor complications such as Parkinson's Disease Levodopa induced dyskinesia (hereinafter, also referred to as "PD-LID") are manifested in almost all patients undergoing levodopa therapy with the progression in pathological conditions.
The frequency of developing PD-LID in 5 years after the initial levodopa therapy is 30 to 50%. The frequency increases with the progression of the pathological condition and reaches 50 to 100% in 10 years after the initial therapy. Peak-dose dyskinesia is known as an exemplary symptom of PD-LID, which is an involuntary movement manifested in the face, tongue, neck, limbs, body trunk, or the like when the blood levodopa concentration is high.
Patent Literature 1 [Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 11-228414] has a disclosure on transdermally absorbed tandospirone agents.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An immersion lithographic apparatus is disclosed that has a measurement system or a prediction system for measuring and/or predicting, respectively, an effect associated with a temperature fluctuation of the immersion liquid, and a control system for controlling the or another effect associated with the temperature of the immersion liquid, on the basis of the measurement and/or prediction obtained by the measurement system and/or prediction system, respectively. An associated control system and device manufacturing method is also disclosed.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Known lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at one time, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
In so called "immersion" lithography, the substrate is immersed in the lithographic projection apparatus in a liquid having a relatively high refractive index, an immersion liquid. For example, the immersion liquid may be water. The immersion liquid fills a space between the projection system and the substrate. In this way, imaging of smaller features is enabled because the exposure radiation has a shorter wavelength in the liquid.
Thus, immersion systems have water or another liquid between the projection system and the substrate during exposure instead of only air or other gas. This results in a direct and strong influence of a thermal variation of the liquid on imaging, since the refractive index of the liquid is a function of temperature. Also, because of strong thermal coupling of the immersion fluid temperature to the projection system, and in particular the optical element of the projection system closest to the substrate, any thermal variation of the liquid will likely have an effect on the imaging properties of the total projection system. Typical thermal control of the immersion liquid may not be good enough to be negligible in terms of focus and imaging related overlay (magnification and distortion). This may be an issue in particular, during scanning exposures where temperature cycles are observed for each substrate. Further, it may become progressively more difficult and more expensive to dynamically control the temperature of the liquid to the required degree with decreasing critical dimension (CD) of the structures being imaged.

Lithographic apparatus, control system and device manufacturing method


A method for storing data that is reconstructable in a piecewise manner comprises receiving a user data unit in the form of a data stream to be stored in the data storage system. A plurality of logical data units associated with the user data unit are then identified. A digital signature is associated with each logical data unit and stored within a component of the data storage system. The logical data unit digital signature is used by the data storage system to determine whether or not to actually store each logical data unit. A digital signature for the entire user data unit is also determined and associated with the user data unit. A reconstructed user data unit when desired is then assembled by examining the stored logical data unit digital signatures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of managing, validating, retrieving, and reconstructing digital data in a piecewise manner.
2. Background Art
Digital data storage management includes provisions for managing user data units originally received from a using system, validating that user data unit whenever it is retrieved, and maintaining a required level of data reliability. Such storage management is currently addressed via a number of mechanisms. Such mechanisms include providing metadata useful for identifying the location of the original user data unit, verifying correctness of the original data as it is retrieved, and providing additional data (i.e., redundant data) that can be used to recover (i.e., correct or recreate) any parts of the original data found to be missing or incorrect (either by outright loss or by being damaged in some way). The metadata is generally managed separate from the data but the data and the redundant data are most often managed via some version of Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks ("RAID") structures. Such RAID structures include RAID1 (mirroring), RAID3 or RAID5 (parity), or multiple redundancy placed into one of these RAID structures such as Reed Solomon. In each case, the intent is to add metadata and some additional data (thus the term redundancy) to the storage system and manage the additional data in such a way that loss or damage to any part of the original user data is extremely unlikely to also result in a loss or damage to the redundant data. Therefore, the redundant data is available to recover original user data in order to reconstruct data that has been lost or damaged. The primary problem with these methodologies is a cost and performance tradeoff that users must accept. The tradeoff is measured in terms of both the granularity of the recovery options and in the cost of the processes involved in the recovery of data. The granularity of recovery relates to the notion that data is received and managed in some blocked format. One example is to note that a user data unit is a set of data known at the user level outside the storage subsystem (e.g., a dataset or a data file) and communicated to the storage subsystem by an agreed upon name. The user data unit has boundaries that are managed in the using system rather than the storage system. However, such a user data unit is received from the using system one small piece (e.g., one record or one 512 byte segment) at a time. The usual redundancy process is to create the metadata and the redundancy data for the over all envelope of the user data unit received and associate it with the agreed upon name. Therefore, it is necessary not only to have significant redundant data (e.g., in the case of mirroring which is explained in more detail below, redundancy includes whole copies of files), but also to manage retrieval on the basis of utilizing these redundant data in a whole data unit context, because the metadata is also managed in that context.
Mirroring is the simplest process to provide redundant data, and requires the simplest metadata since it is simply the location of an additional copy (copies) of the data. Mirroring provides the highest performance option when redundant data is placed in the same level of the storage hierarchy as the initial data but is the most expensive in terms of capacity used and network traffic to accomplish the writing since the data must be sent to two different locations for storage. When the mirror data is placed in a lower level of the storage hierarchy (e.g., backup data placed on tape) the cost is reduced but the access time is increased. The other RAID options are less expensive than mirroring with respect to capacity utilization and network traffic for writing data until a recovery operation is required during data retrieval. At the time of retrieval, if reconstruction is required and mirroring has been used, the retrieval is simply redirected to the alternative copy of the data. However, with the data parity or multiple redundancy options of RAID3 or RAID5, a large amount of data must be accessed and provided to a reconstruction process. This results in a response time to access the data that is slower than for mirroring.
One mechanism for determining whether a given unit of data is damaged and needs to be reconstructed is by evaluation of digital signatures and/or hashes that are metadata created and associated with data as it is being stored. The failure of a given set of data to exhibit the correct digital signature when compared to the digital signature or hash generated at storage time provides an indication the data must be regenerated from redundant data. Again, such reconstruction typically requires that a large amount of data be accessed.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the prior art for improved methods of managing and reconstructing data.


Embodiments of the invention may further provide a contact ring for an electrochemical plating system. The contact generally includes a substrate receiving member having a substrate support surface formed thereon, a plurality of electrical contact pins extending from the substrate support surface, a first seal positioned on the substrate support surface radially inward of the plurality of electrical contacts, and a second seal positioned radially outward of the plurality of electrical contacts. Additionally, the contact ring generally includes a fluid inlet configured to supply a fluid to a volume between the first seal and the second seal.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and apparatus for contacting a substrate, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus used to contact a substrate during an electrochemical plating process.
2. Background of the Related Art
Metallization of sub-quarter micron sized features is a foundational technology for present and future generations of integrated circuit manufacturing processes. More particularly, in devices such as ultra large scale integration-type devices, i.e., devices having integrated circuits with more than a million logic gates, the multilevel interconnects that lie at the heart of these devices are generally formed by filling high aspect ratio, i.e., greater than about 4:1, interconnect features with a conductive material, such as copper, aluminum, nickel, gold, or other conductive material. Conventionally, deposition techniques such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) have been used to fill these interconnect features. However, as the interconnect sizes decrease and aspect ratios increase, void-free interconnect feature fill via conventional metallization techniques, i.e., PVD and CVD, for example, becomes increasingly difficult. Therefore, plating techniques, i.e., electrochemical plating (ECP) and electroless plating, have emerged as promising processes for void free filling of sub-quarter micron sized high aspect ratio interconnect features in integrated circuit manufacturing processes.
In an ECP process, for example, sub-quarter micron sized high aspect ratio features formed into the surface of a substrate (or a dielectric layer deposited thereon) may be efficiently filled with a conductive material, such as copper. ECP plating processes are generally two stage processes, wherein a seed layer is first formed over the surface features of the substrate or dielectric layer, and then the surface features are exposed to an electrolyte solution, while an electrical bias is applied between the seed layer and a copper anode positioned within the electrolyte solution. The electrolyte solution generally contains ions to be plated onto the surface of the substrate, and therefore, the application of the electrical bias causes these ions to be urged out of the electrolyte solution and to be plated onto the electrically biased seed layer.
Conventional electrochemical plating cells utilize a contact element or contact ring that is configured to electrically engage a perimeter of the substrate surface in order to supply the electrical plating bias required to initiate and sustain plating operations. However, one drawback to this configuration is that when the substrate surface is immersed in the plating solution, the electrical contacts also generally contact the plating solution, and as a result thereof, metal ions in the solution are generally plated on the electrical contacts themselves and not on the substrate surface. In order to overcome this challenge the plating industry has attempted to provide contact elements that have a dry contact-type configuration. i.e., the electrical contact or contacts are generally surrounded by a seal that prevents the plating solution from touching the contact pins. Dry contact configurations show promise in that they are designed to isolate the electrical contact elements from the plating solution, which prevents metal ions in the solution from plating on the electrical contact elements. However, one challenge associated with dry contact configurations is that the pressure differential between the region where the plating solution is contained and the sealed region surrounding the electrical contacts has been shown to be prone to solution leakage, which eliminates the advantages provided by the dry contact configuration.
Therefore, there is a need for a dry electrical contact element for a substrate plating apparatus, wherein the dry electrical contact element overcomes the challenges associated with pressure differential driven fluid leakage across the dry contact seals.


A torque converter includes a cover, an impeller including an impeller engagement section, an axially movable turbine piston including a turbine engagement section configured for engaging the impeller engagement section to form a lockup clutch and a coast engagement structure configured for contacting the cover to limit axial movement of the turbine piston away from the impeller in a coast condition.

U.S. Publication No. 2014/0097055 discloses a torque converter with a turbine piston, which is an axially movable turbine used as a piston of a lockup clutch. U.S. Publication No. 2017/0314662 discloses a damper assembly arrangement that limits clutch liftoff during coast conditions. U.S. Publication No. 2015/0175154 discloses a modular hybrid transmission with a torque converter.

Torque converter for modular hybrid transmission including coast engagement structure


A conductor guide member for a circuit breaker terminal assembly includes a body having at least one conductor guide surface configured and disposed to facilitate alignment between at least one terminal connection member of the terminal assembly and at least one conductor. The at least one conductor guide surface gradually slopes from a first end to a second end. The second end defines a recess.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to the art of circuit breakers and, more particularly, to a conductor guide member for a circuit breaker terminal assembly.
Circuit breakers, such as those employed in various industrial applications, include multiple sections that may be field repaired and/or replaced. For example, many circuit breakers include a main body, an upper terminal assembly, and a lower terminal assembly. The upper terminal assembly generally includes contacts connected to upper terminals. The upper terminals are generally connected to an electrical load. The lower terminal assembly generally includes electrical contacts connected to lower terminals that are generally connected to an electrical source. The terminal assembly also typically includes a moving arm that shifts moveable contacts into and out of engagement with the electrical contacts in the upper terminal assembly. The moveable contacts are typically connected to the lower terminals through foils or conductors.
Disassembly of the lower terminal assembly for repair often times requires disconnecting the conductors from the lower terminals. Field removal of the conductors is very difficult at best. Reconnecting the conductors with the lower terminals in the field is even more difficult if not impossible. Aligning connection points on the conductors and the lower terminals in the field is difficult if not impossible at times. Accordingly, field repair of the terminal assembly is often times a frustrating and time consuming operation. Thus, in most cases, repair of the terminal assembly requires the complete removal of the circuit breaker. Complete removal of the circuit breaker increases the time involved with implementing as repair procedure.

Conductor guide member for a circuit breaker terminal assembly


A request event manager for a network of consumer electronic devices. In one embodiment, the request event manager maintains a database of home network services, and allows the home network services to be scheduled for execution over time. Home network services herein refer to high-level abstractions of a consumer electronic device's functionalities, and also content that is available from the consumer electronic device. The request event manager of the present invention also creates and maintains a service request list (SRL) which details the service actions in a hierarchical fashion. By maintaining a database of home network services, the request event manager of the present invention allows user applications to specify and schedule concatenated or hierarchical events such that different network activity across interconnected heterogeneous consumer electronic devices can be synchronized without requiring complicated logic to be implemented. The request event manager of the present invention may be implemented as part of a middleware infrastructure for a home network, and may reside within a home server.

A entertainment system typically includes a number of consumer electronic media devices such as televisions, compact disc (CD) players, tuners, digital video disc (DVD) players, a video cassette recorders (VCRs) and high-fidelity speakers. Many sets of wires are usually required to connect these components together to provide the desired functionality. For example, a wire is required for connecting the DVD player to the TV and another wire is required for connecting the DVD player to the tuner. Yet another wire is required for connecting the tuner to the speakers. Most of these devices only have a limited number of inputs and outputs for connecting to other devices. Thus, it is not surprising that most entertainment systems include only a handful of different devices.
Recently, a class of consumer electronic media devices has been introduced that can be networked together using a standard communication protocol layer (e.g., IEEE 1394 communication standard). The IEEE 1394 standard is an international standard for implementing an inexpensive high-speed serial bus architecture which supports both asynchronous and isochronous format data transfers. The IEEE 1394 standard provides a high-speed serial bus for interconnecting digital devices thereby providing universal input/output connection. The IEEE 1394 standard defines a digital interface for applications thereby eliminating the need for an application to convert digital data to an analog form before it is transmitted across the bus. Correspondingly, a receiving application will receive digital data from the bus, not analog data, and will therefore not be required to convert analog data to digital form. The IEEE 1394 standard is ideal for consumer electronics communication in part because devices can be added to or removed from the serial bus while the bus is active. If a device is so added or removed, the bus automatically reconfigures itself for transmitting data between the then existing devices. Each device on the bus is a "node" and contains its own address space.
The provision of the IEEE 1394 serial communication bus for networking consumer electronic devices has allowed the development of an entertainment network that consists of a large number of consumer electronic devices. In addition, the provision of the IEEE 1394 serial bus enables a single source device to provide content to multiple destination devices. For example, a DVD player located in the living room can be shared by multiple TV sets located in the bedrooms and in the kitchen. However, one problem associated with sharing source devices within the entertainment network is that multiple users may want to use the same source devices at the same time. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an access control system that allocates control of the devices intelligently.
Another problem associated with such an entertainment network is bandwidth contention. For example, if many TV sets and DVD players are connected to the home network, the IEEE 1394 serial bus may not have sufficient bandwidth to support multiple simultaneous isochronous channels for multiple video streams. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method of managing a network of consumer electronic media devices. It would also be advantageous to provide a method of managing resources within a network of consumer electronic media devices such that the problem of bandwidth contention is addressed.
Yet another problem associated with an entertainment network is that, because content-containing media (e.g., CDs, DVDs) are distributed across the network, it is burdensome for a user to locate the desired content. For example, a home entertainment network may include several DVD players and DVD jukeboxes each capable of holding hundreds of DVDs. It would be difficult for a user to browse through every devices to locate the desired DVD. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method of managing resources within the home network such that complicated management and control of the devices are hidden from the users.
Another problem associated with the entertainment network is that, when connected to the Internet, the consumer electronic devices and information contained therein may become compromised due to unauthorized access from third party users (e.g., hackers). Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method of managing resources within the home network such that the devices are protected from misuse and unauthorized accesses.
Still another problem associated with a network of consumer electronic devices is that there is no support for home-network applications when it comes to synchronizing different network activity across heterogeneous consumer electronic devices. For example, if an application wants to tune the cable set top box (STB) to channel 12 at 4:59 pm everyday, record a TV show at 5:00 pm everyday, rewind the VCR tape at 6:05 pm everyday, eject the tape from the VCR at 6:10 pm, then power off the VCR unit at 6:15 pm everyday, and forward all telephone calls between 9:00 am-4:00 pm everyday, the application would have to develop complicated logic to perform these tasks. If a user varied his schedule the application logic would have to be modified to reflect the needs of the user. This would complicate the application and limit the flexibility of home networking applications. Moreover, before the home-network applications schedule and executes any service, they have to know all the specific APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and dependencies for each consumer electronic device on the home network. If a new consumer electronic device with different methods is installed on the network and the consumer electronic device offers similar or identical features to existing devices on the network, the application would have to be re-architectured. Therefore, there is a need for a method and system that allows home network applications to be easily and conveniently programmed to synchronize activities of heterogeneous consumer electronic devices of a network.

Request event manager and event lists for home and office systems and networks


An exhaust gas cooling module for an internal combustion engine includes an exhaust gas recirculation valve comprising an exhaust gas recirculation valve housing having an inlet, an exhaust gas heat exchanger, an exhaust gas non-return valve comprising an exhaust gas non-return valve housing, and two exhaust gas channels. The two exhaust gas channels are arranged in the exhaust gas cooling module so as to separately extend from the inlet of the exhaust gas recirculation valve housing to the exhaust gas non-return valve housing via the exhaust gas heat exchanger.

Such exhaust gas cooling modules are known. For the reduction of pollutants, an exhaust gas flow is supplied to an exhaust gas cooler in a controlled manner. In order to reduce interfaces, which in the past have been established through hose or conduit connections between the individual aggregates, modules have been developed that were fastened to each other in a flow-conducting manner via simple flange connections. For example, the housing of an exhaust gas recirculation valve is directly connected with a heat exchanger. If applicable, bypass channels and bypass flaps were also integrated.
Such a module is described, for example, in WO 2009/047278 A1 wherein an exhaust gas cooler, an exhaust gas recirculation valve, a bypass flap with an actuator, as well as a vacuum container and a thermostat valve are fastened to a support element without requiring additional connection lines.
A cooling module is described in DE 10 2006 033 313 A1, wherein a non-return valve with two non-return flaps is arranged downstream of an exhaust gas heat exchanger that can be bypassed via a bypass channel, whereby a return flow of exhaust gas from the bypass channel into the cooling channel, and vice versa, is prevented.
The aforementioned exhaust gas recirculation systems are, however, only partially suitable for use in commercial vehicles that usually have an exhaust gas manifold with two separate exhaust gas flow passages which are often combined in the region of the exhaust gas recirculation at least in the region of the cooler. This leads to a substantial reduction in existing pressure pulsations. Since supercharged engines are additionally often used so that a high counter-pressure prevails in the region of exhaust gas introduction into the distribution rail, the pressure gradient is often insufficient to reliably provide a sufficient quantity of recirculated exhaust gas.

Exhaust-gas cooling module for an internal combustion engine


A marine vessel and drive combination includes port and starboard tunnels formed in a marine vessel hull raising port and starboard steerable marine propulsion devices to protective positions relative to the keel.

The invention relates to marine vessel and drive combinations.
Marine vessels having a drive unit extending downwardly through the hull are known in the prior art, for example a Mercury Marine L-drive as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,325, a Volvo IPS (inboard propulsion system) drive, and ABB (Asea Brown Bavaria) aziod drives.
The present invention arose during continuing development efforts related to marine vessel and drive combinations.


Disclosed herein are devices and systems adapted to position within a subject and methods of use therewith. The device includes a conduit body having at least a first layer and a second opposable layer manufactured from a biocompatible and malleable material that permits safe positioning within the subject. The device also includes an enclosed intervening cavity positioned between the first and second layers, the first surface of the first layer having at least one feature configured to interlock with the second surface of the second layer. The conduit body is configured to transition from a first state to a second state upon application of a suction force to the intervening cavity wherein the conduit body is less rigid in the first state than when the conduit body is in the second state, and wherein the conduit body is adapted to remain in the second state after removal of the suction force.

The present disclosure is directed to minimally-invasive devices that are used to retract tissues and to form a working channel for surgical procedures.
Surgery involves a complex set of manual tasks with numerous limitations, such as a surgeon's vision, manual dexterity and the risk of tissue damage. Minimally-invasive techniques and improved visualization and illumination for minimally-invasive procedures have improved the success rate of such surgeries. Conventional retractor systems used in surgery have numerous limitations. Conventional retractors are generally made of rigid materials and are generally fixed in length and width. They are prone to cause damage of adjacent tissues either by excessive retraction or blunt trauma when pressed against delicate tissues. Further, rigid retractors do not conform well to the surrounding tissue. Endoscopic instruments have limited utility, particularly when they are used in neurosurgical procedures. Currently available designs limit the working channel diameter. This prevents the surgeon from performing surgery with anything other than probe-like instruments.

Variable-shaped, expandable device and method for minimally-invasive use


A circuit breaker has a first stationary contact connected to line power and a second stationary contact connected to neutral. A first moveable contact coupled to a load power terminal, is mounted on a moveable actuator and juxtaposed with the first stationary contact to form a power circuit when the first moveable and first stationary contacts are closed. A second moveable contact connected to a load neutral terminal is mounted on the moveable actuator juxtaposed with the second stationary contact to form a neutral circuit when the second moveable and second stationary contacts are closed. The movable actuator moves the first and second moveable contacts in unison to open the power circuit between the first stationary and first moveable contacts and to simultaneously open the neutral circuit between the second stationary and second moveable contacts, in response to actuation of an operating handle or to sensing a tripping event.

Miniature circuit breakers are well known in the prior art. An illustrative circuit breaker design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,302, which is assigned to the same assignee as the present application, and the disclosure in which is incorporated herein by reference. As illustrated in the '302 patent, the basic miniature automatic circuit breaker comprises a base and cover, a line power terminal, a load power terminal, and an electrical circuit between the line terminal and a load terminal. The electrical circuit includes a stationary contact and a movable contact secured to a contact carrier, which is movable between a contact OPEN position and a contact CLOSED position to open or close the electrical circuit. The circuit breaker includes an arc interrupting chamber, an operating mechanism for opening and closing the contacts, and a current responsive trip mechanism, which releases the operating mechanism to open the contacts in response to a sustained moderate overload or an instantaneous short circuit.
Modern miniature circuit breakers incorporate light emitting diodes (LEDs) to enable users to easily identify the trip condition and type of fault, for example an arc fault or ground fault. In some embodiments, the circuit for the LEDs is powered from the line power side, to ensure that the LEDs remain lit when the circuit breaker is tripped. However, an electrical shock hazard may occur if the neutral terminal of the circuit breaker is inadvertently disconnected, causing power from the line power side to flow through the circuit for the LEDs and be present on the load neutral terminal of the circuit breaker.

Line side power, double break, switch neutral electronic circuit breaker


A bail mounting portion (6) of a spinning reel for fishing includes a securing projected portion (6b), and a semi-annular and hollow bail (7) includes a securing recessed portion (7c) formed in one side end portion (7a). The securing recessed portion (7c) of the bail (7) is fitted with the securing projected portion (6b) of the bail mounting portion (6) by pressure. With this structure, the bail (7) can be surely fixed to the bail mounting portion (6), and thus the function of a fishing line guide device can be maintained stably for a long time.

The present invention relates to a spinning reel for fishing which includes an improved fishing line guide device for guiding a fishing line to a spool.
Conventionally, a fishing line guide device used in a spinning reel for fishing is structured such that a semi-annularly-shaped bail is supported by two support arms respectively formed on the two sides of a rotor through bail support members such as an arm lever having a fishline guide portion and a bail holder in such a manner that the bail can be freely reversed from a fishing line take-up position to a fishing line play-out position or vice versa.
There are conventionally known several structures for mounting an end portion of the bail in fishing line guide devices. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-79660 of Heisei, the end portion of the bail is inserted by a given amount into a bail support member which is reversibly supported in the front portion of the support arm of the rotor. The bail end portion is fixed by means of staking in order to prevent its removal. Also, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-60670 of Heisei, after the bail end portion is inserted, it is fixed to the bail support member by a stop ring for prevention against removal. Further, there is known a fishing line guide device as shown in FIG. 18, in which the end portion of a bail 7" is fitted into and fixed to a hole 6q formed in a conical-shaped projecting portion 6p provided in a bail mounting portion 6.
However, the mounting structure disclosed in the former publication suffers from problems in that the staking process makes the fixing strength unstable and repetition of the reversing operation over a long period of time is likely to cause clattering.
Also, in the mounting structure disclosed in the latter publication, the assembling work becomes troublesome due to use of the stop ring, the number of parts is increased, nor can the clattering be prevented positively. That is, similarly to the former structure, there are still problems left to be solved, such as the strange sensation caused by the noise (namely, a dual sound due to the clattering) produced when the bail is reversed and returned, and the like.
Further, in the conventional fishing line guide device shown in FIG. 18, since a level difference between the conical projecting portion 6p and the bail 7" must be filled up by means of a silver solder 18 or the like, the finishing operation is troublesome.

Bail mounting structure for spinning reel for fishing


A short cylindrical connection cup is fitted and brazed to a pipe fitting port of a metallic tank. Afterward, the extremity of a resin pipe is inserted via an O-ring into the connection cup, and a caulking claw of the connection cup is caulked to press a flanged portion of the resin pipe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a heat exchanger having a metallic tank, for cooling automobile engine coolant or for use in an oil cooler, a condenser, etc., and more particularly to a tank-pipe connection structure of such a heat exchanger, where a pipe for fluid entry is projectingly secured to the metallic tank of the heat exchanger.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In cases where the heat exchanger tank is formed from a metal plate of aluminum, etc., the tank includes a pipe connection opening, to which an elongated metal pipe is brazed at its one end. To effect the brazing, parts of the heat exchanger are put together, the resultant assembly is placed in a furnace at a higher temperature. Brazing materials previously coated on the outer surface of the pipe and other parts are fused and then cooled and solidified so that brazing is securely and integrally made between the pipe and the tank and between the parts.
When the assembled heat exchanger is introduced, with a relatively elongated pipe projecting from the tank sidewall, into the high temperature furnace, the furnace tends to have therein a poor holding capacity for the heat exchangers. More specifically, when each heat exchanger has an elongated pipe for fluid entry fairly projecting therefrom, the other heat exchangers need to be held apart from each other within the furnace, making it difficult to house a multiplicity of heat exchangers at one time. This may impair the mass-productivity of the heat exchangers and thus raise the production costs of the heat exchangers.
It may also be troublesome per se to firmly secure the relatively elongated pipe for fluid entry to the tank sidewall previous to brazing.

Heat exchanger tank-pipe connection structure


A method for eliminating harmful algal blooms through optimized utilization of a modified clay method includes building a real-time state index and a standardized value grading system for eliminating a site harmful algal bloom or a harmful algal bloom in accordance with the features of monitored harmful algal bloom organisms and modified clay flocculates; acquiring corresponding grade codes of feature index values of the harmful algal bloom in a to-be-treated water body or harmful algal bloom elimination effect through the real-time site state index and the standardized value grading system; comparing the above grade codes with an expert system to obtain an operation solution for eliminating harmful algal blooms through optimized utilization of the modified clay method. The result is tracked and monitored in real time and the operation solution is optimized and adjusted in time according to the harmful algal bloom elimination effect.

In recent decades, harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur frequently in coastal waters, estuaries and other sensitive waters. Some poisonous and harmful algal blooms seriously influence the water quality and ecological safety, and even may directly endanger resident health. To protect the safety of the coastal environment and guarantee the healthy development of marine economy especially in some water conservation areas, culture zones, scenic spots and other sensitive waters threatened or directly affected by HABs, some counter-measures which can reduce or eliminate the hazard of HABs are urgently needed.
The modified clay method is patented technology for treating HABs. The basic principle of this technology is to aggregate bloomed algal cells by modified clay particles to form bigger particles which then subside by gravity and separate from the above water body, so as to remove the redundant bloomed algae. The treatment of HABs by the modified clay method has been improved and widely applied in the last decade. Recently, in different waters from north to south in China, there are many implementation cases in which modified clays have been applied successfully to control harmful algal blooms. Therefore, the modified clay method is considered to be the most effective and feasible counter-measure for HABs control, and receives extensive attention both in China and abroad. When the modified clay method is used for prevention and control of HABs, usually a slurry of the modified clay is pre-mixed and then sprinkled to the surface of the water body in which harmful algal bloom occurs. The modified clay particles are quickly flocculated with the bloomed algal cells and settle together so as to eliminate the excessive harmful algae. Because HABs often influence large-area waters when they outbreak, to rapidly and effectively control the dispersal of the bloomed algae, mechanized equipment operation is more effective means. Patent CN101229933 invented a device which is independent of additional motorized mixer and can be easily used to carry out the field work of the modified clay sprinkling. Patent ZL201520279270.0 provided a compositive device which can finish the whole processes of HAB treated with the modified clays. All these invented technologies aimed to promote the mechanization of field works for treating HABs.
However, the complexity and variability of HABs bring many challenges to the engineering application of the modified clay. Due to the joint effects of biological and physical influences, some bloomed algae often in homogenously scatter in the field water. Because the flocculation efficiency between the modified clay and the HAB organism is one of the key processes which determine the algal removal efficiency, the sprinkling operation manners must be adjusted frequently to bring about efficient flocculation. At present, the field application is still manually adopted for the wide range of HABs, which needs high labor power and costs high dosage of the modified clay, but only brings unsatisfactory removal efficiency. In order to ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of treatment, there is an urgent need to build a set of scientific and workable field implementation method to ease the field application and save the input of materials and manpower.

Implementation method for eliminating harmful algal blooms through optimized utilization of modified clays

INSTITUTE OF OCEANOLOGY, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


An expandable intraluminal stent having a tubular shaped member having first and second ends defining an axial passageway therethrough. The tubular shaped member has a multiplicity of slots helically formed thereabout that are preferably provided in rows wherein the slots of each row are arranged in an end to end fashion. The tubular shaped member is initially disposable in a radially collapsed configuration such that the device may be passed into the lumen of a blood vessel, and subsequently expand to an operative configuration wherein it will frictionally engage the surrounding blood vessel wall to hold the device in fixed position within the blood vessel lumen. In an alternative embodiment, the stent is designed to accommodate a bifurcated vessel having a collateral vessel extending therefrom.

Cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis, is a leading cause of death in the United States. In response thereto, the medical community has developed a number of methods for treating coronary heart disease, some of which are specifically designed to treat the complications resulting from atherosclerosis and other forms of coronary arterial narrowing.
The most significant and well-known development in treating atherosclerosis, as well as other forms of coronary narrowing, is percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, more commonly known and hereinafter referred to simply as "angioplasty". The objective in angioplasty is to enlarge the lumen of the affected coronary artery by imparting a radially expansive force, typically accomplished by inflating a balloon, within the narrowed lumen of the coronary artery.
While the affected artery can be effectively enlarged via angioplasty, however, in some instances the vessel restenosis chronically, or closes down acutely, negating the positive effect of the angioplasty procedure. In such cases, such restenosis has frequently necessitated repeat angioplasty procedures or open heart surgery. While such restenosis does not occur in the majority of patients, it does occur with enough frequency that such complications comprise a significant percentage of the overall failures of the angioplasty procedure.
To lessen the risk of restenosis, various devices have been proposed for mechanically keeping the affected vessel open after completion of the angioplasty procedure. Such mechanical endoprosthetic devices, which are generally referred to as stents, are typically inserted into the vessel, positioned across the narrowed portion of the vessel, and then extended to keep the passageway clear. Effectively, the stent overcomes the natural tendency of the vessel walls of some patients to close back down, thereby maintaining a more normal flow of blood through that vessel than would otherwise be possible if the stent were not in place.
Various types of stents have been proposed and can typically be classed into one of two categories. In the first class, the stents comprise various tubular metallic cylinders expanded by balloon dilatation when positioned across the region or portion of vessel to be widened. In the second class, the stents are formed of a heat expandable material, such as nitinol or elgiloy, that are formed to assume a radially expanded state when deployed at the afflicted area within the lumen of the vessel. In this regard, such stents are typically delivered to the affected area on a catheter capable of receiving heated fluids, such as heated saline, such that once properly positioned, the heated fluid is passed through the catheter, thus causing the stent to expand.
Regardless of the class, significant difficulties have been encountered with all prior art stents. Each has had its percentage of thrombosis, restenosis and tissue in-growth, as well as varying degrees of difficulty in deployment. Another difficulty with at least some prior art stents is that they do not readily conform to the vessel shape and/or do not accommodate bifurcated blood flow caused by vessels having collateral vessels extending therefrom. Importantly, virtually all prior art stents suffer from the drawback of being structurally incompetent to withstand the stress and strain when the axially expansive, dilatory force is imparted thereto. This latter deficiency is especially problematic insofar as the incapability of such stents to withstand the stress of an axially expansive force may cause the stent to structurally deteriorate and axially constrict over time or, alternatively, migrate from the section of lumen where the stent was deployed.
As such, because of these and other complications, there has resulted a low level of acceptance of such stents within the medical community, and to date, such stents within the medical community have not been accepted as a practical method for treating chronic restenosis.
Thus, there has been a long felt need for a stent which is effective to maintain a vessel open, which may be easily delivered to the affected area, easily expanded to the desired size, easily conform to the afflicted vessel, capable of treating curved vessels with collateral vessels extending therefrom, as well as withstand the stress and strain when an axially expansive force is imparted thereto.

Coronary stent and method of fabricating same


A lamp lighting terminal which is a conductive pad connected to a power supply terminal of a lamp is mounted on a surface opposite to a light emitting surface of a flat light source apparatus. Then, a terminal of a inspection device is brought into contact with the lamp lighting terminal to light up a liquid crystal display apparatus, thereby allowing inspection to be carried out. The flat light source apparatus may be provided with a light guide inputting lights from a light source through the side to output the light through one surface. In this configuration, inspection work at the time of lighting inspection of a liquid crystal display is simplified, and a high-quality liquid crystal display can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flat-type light source apparatus and its inspection method which are especially suitable for application to liquid crystal display apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
FIG. 7 shows an exploded perspective view of a conventional liquid crystal display apparatus. The liquid crystal display apparatus shown in FIG. 7 is provided with a liquid crystal panel 1, a frame 2, a flat-type light source apparatus (backlight) 3, a connector 5, a conductive wire 6, and a circuit substrate 7. The conventional liquid crystal display apparatus has structure that the liquid crystal panel 1 is sandwiched between the frame 2 which is a box of metal, for example, and the flat-type light source apparatus 3. In the conventional liquid crystal display apparatus, the flat-type light source apparatus 3 arranged in the opposite of a display surface of the liquid crystal panel 1 emits lights, and then the circuit substrate 7 outputs signals to change transmissivity of each pixel in the liquid crystal panel 1, thereby displaying images on the liquid crystal panel 1. Therefore, in transimissive liquid crystal display apparatus, it is necessary to arrange flat-type light source apparatus in the opposite of a display surface of the liquid crystal panel.
FIG. 8 shows a schematic wiring diagram of a light source, such as lamp, used in a flat-type light source apparatus of a conventional liquid crystal display apparatus. The light source shown in FIG. 8 is provided with a connector 5, a conductive wire 6, a lamp 12 which is constituted of a fluorescence luminescence tube and the like, and a power supply terminal of the lamp 13. The lamp 12, which is a light source, is electrically connected to an inverter and he like via the connector 5 through the conductive wire 6 connected to the power supply 13 at its both ends by soldering for example, thereby receiving electric current to emit lights.
Also, another conventional liquid crystal display apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-305101, for example. FIG. 9 shows an exploded perspective view of the conventional liquid crystal display apparatus having a liquid crystal panel 1, a backlight (flat-type light source apparatus) 3, a circuit substrate 7, a glass plate 17a and 17b, an electrode terminal 18 of a panel drive, an electrode terminal 19a and 19b of the backlight, an electrode terminal 21a and 21b, a top face 22 of the backlight (flat-type light source apparatus), a signal wire 23 of the panel drive, a signal wire 24a and 24b of a backlight lighting control, and an alignment mark 25a and 25b. In FIG. 9, the electrode terminal 19a and 19b of the backlight are located on the edge of one side of the glass plate 17a of the liquid crystal panel 1, the signal wire 24a and 24b of the backlight lighting control which control the lighting of the backlight are on the circuit substrate 7, and the electrode terminal 21a and 21b on the backlight 3 and the signal wire 24a and 24b of the backlight lighting control on the circuit substrate 7 are electrically connected to the electrode terminal 19a and 19b of the backlight located on the glass plate 17a.
In this configuration, at the same time that the electrode terminal of the panel drive on the edge of one side of the glass plate of the liquid crystal panel is connected to the signal wire of the panel drive on the circuit substrate, the electrode terminal of a backlight can be connected to the signal wire of the backlight lighting control, thereby improving operativity.
However, the above mentioned conventional liquid crystal display apparatus have the following problems. First, in the conventional liquid crystal display apparatus shown in FIG. 7, when carrying out inspections such as lighting inspection for testing display performance after the flat-type light source apparatus has been incorporated to the liquid crystal display apparatus, a connector to input signals of inspection display and the connector 5 to supply the flat-type light source apparatus with electric current are to be connected to the liquid crystal display apparatus. Recently, however, in order to meet the needs of the market for a higher quality and brightness, liquid crystal display apparatus have pixels of finer pitch in a liquid crystal panel which brings a higher resolution, more complicated signal control of a liquid crystal panel, and/or more lamps used in a flat-type light source apparatus. As a result, the number of connecting sections or the connector 5 increases as signal input cables increase, and therefore, connecting work necessary for lighting up a liquid crystal display apparatus when inspecting liquid crystal display apparatus at the production stage become complicated. Consequently, the conventional crystal display has the problem that inspection itself becomes heavy load or can cause to deterioration of products since connecting error in inspection may damage a connector.
Also, the conventional liquid crystal display apparatus shown in FIG. 9 has the same problem. Though the liquid crystal display apparatus in FIG. 9 is provided with the electrode terminal 21a and 21b on the backlight (flat-type light source apparatus) 3, they are located on a light emitting surface of the flat-type light source apparatus, and therefore it is difficult to bring terminals of an inspection device into contact with the above electrode terminals at the time of, for example, lighting inspection after the flat-type light source apparatus has been incorporated to the liquid crystal display apparatus. Accordingly, the conventional liquid crystal display apparatus shown in FIG. 9 also has the problem that connecting work in lighting inspection is complicated, thus making inspection itself be a severe burden or cause to deterioration of products in the event of connecting error causing damage to a connector.

Flat-type light source apparatus, liquid crystal display apparatus using the same, and method of inspecting the liquid crystal display


A functional package for hand tools such as scissors, pliers, pruners, snippers, clippers, or other hand tools is disclosed. The package is a point of sale display container which can accommodate straight handled tools. Both blister packages and clam packages are disclosed. The blister package and clam package hold a first handle of the tool substantially stationery and allow a second handle of the tool to be manipulated by a customer. Preferably, an aperture or hole is provided to manipulate locking controls or switches.

This invention relates to packages for displaying hand tools and particularly at point of sale displays. More specifically, this invention relates to packages which house hand tools in a manner allowing them to be operated while in the package so the customer can experience the feel of the handle and operation of the tool without opening the display package. The invention relates to both blister packages and clam packages.
Blister packages customarily are used to mount small items of hardware, stationary and other goods on a display card under a blister covering made of transparent, stiff, but flexible material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and applied to the display card by heat and pressure-adhesive techniques. Blister packages have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,029 entitled "Blister Packages for Scissors, Pliers and Other Hand Tools," issued to Fethke et al. on Aug. 28, 1979, and 4,165,805 entitled, "Functional Blister Package for Snipper-Type Scissors," issued to Fethke et al. on Dec. 18, 1979.
The '029 patent and the '805 patent show hand tools with a pair of loop handles. The packages are designed as packages which enable the customer to operate the tool while it remains in the package. One loop handle is freely movable and the other loop handle is totally enclosed by the blister packaging. This configuration for the blister packaging is sometimes disadvantageous because the user does not get the feel of the handle which is completely enclosed by the covering. Further, this configuration can be disadvantageous because hand tools with non-looped or straight handles cannot readily be accommodated by this style of packaging.
A clam package utilizes two surfaces shaped in the form of the product which is to be held. The surfaces generally are snapped or otherwise held together by mechanical or adhesive methods.
Alternatively, the two pieces may be manufactured so the surfaces include integral snap-over edges or snap-together elements for resilient engagement. Further still, a clam package can be manufactured using a clasp made from a peg and a hole which securely fasten the two surfaces together. U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,474 entitled, "Locking Display Package," issued to Harding on Apr. 23, 1985, discloses a clam package with two pieces held together by an interlocking means including a round female portion and a square male portion.
Heretofore, clam packages have not been designed so a hand tool can be functionally displayed within the package. Generally, a customer has been required to open the clam package, thereby destroying its integrity, to get the "feel" of the hand tool. Thus, clam packages have not been designed so that a customer can operate a hand tool while it remains in the package.
Thus, there is a need for a package of the foregoing ilk which can accommodate non-looped hand tools such as clippers, pruners or other hand tools. Further, there is a need for a package which enables the user to feel both handles. Further still, there is a need for a clam-style package of this sort.


The present disclosure relates generally to oxidation of ammonia using electrochemistry. Methods and systems may include at least one sensor to measure the concentration of ammonia in the effluent and/or the concentration of chlorine gas in the effluent. Methods and systems may also include at least one controller in communication with the sensor and/or the anode to reduce the current density of the anode generating the chlorine, and/or to change the flow rate of the ammonia containing water entering the reactor.

Oxidation of ammonia using chlorine may be used to remove low levels of ammonia from water, for example wastewater. Chlorine gas rapidly disproportionates in water to form hypochlorous acid (HOCl), hydronium ion (H3O+), and chloride ion (Cl−) according to the following reaction:2H2O(l)+Cl2(gas)↔HOCl+H3O++Cl−
The hypochlorous acid is a weak acid with a pKa of 7.6 at 25° C. and can transfer a proton with formation of hypochlorite ion (OCl—).
The hypochlorous acid reacts with ammonia according to the following reactions:2NH3+3HOCl→N2(gas)+3H++3Cl−+3H2Owhich means that one mole of ammonia reacts with 1.5 moles of chlorine or, in terms of weight 1 mg of ammonia as N needs to react with 7.6 mg of chlorine as Cl2 in order to produce nitrogen gas. If a smaller ratio is used inorganic chloramines are produced according to the following reactions:NH3+HOCl→NH2Cl+H2ONH2Cl+HOCl→NHCl2+H2ONHCl2+HOCl→NCl3+H2OThe mixture of monochloramine, dichloramine and trichloramine has different proportion depending on pH, temperature, and ratio of chlorine to ammonia (Cl2:N).
The main additional oxidized product may be nitrate (NO3−) formed by following reaction:NH4++4HOCl→NO3−+4Cl−+6H++H2O
It is desirable reduce the amount of hypochlorous acid and/or hypochlorite, generated by the reaction between chlorine gas and water, remaining in the waste water after the ammonia has been oxidized.


This invention resides in explosion-resistant walls, panels and partitions, particularly for use around buildings, works of art, public places, and so forth, and wherein, in certain embodiments, may include textures and/or graphics to disguise and/or beautify the structure. In terms of a typical construction, the system includes a plurality of vertical metal pipes, with a portion of each pipe being preferably buried several feet below the ground surface, and a portion of the pipe remains exposed above ground. Two or more horizontal metal pipes are interconnected to the vertical metal pipes, creating apertures that are filled with explosion-absorbing panels. In contrast to “explosion-proof” panels, which require sufficient strength to remain in tact in the presence of a blast, the infill panels according to the invention some form of attachment mechanism which “gives way” in the presence of an explosion, thereby effectively absorbing the shock. In alternative embodiments, the infill panels may be constructed of a fabric such Kevlar, or other material or mesh, which either deforms or breaks upon the impact of a blast. Alternatively, a solid panel of metal or even thick acrylic or other polymeric may be used, which becomes detached from the frame structure upon impact, but does not get thrown in an uncontrolled manner. Rather, hinges or tethers keep the dislodged panels connected to the frame structure. In the preferred embodiment, the pipes are made of steel, and one or more of the pipes may be filled with a fortifying material, such as cement. A cover may be provided to visually obscure the pipes. Such a cover may give the appearance of brick, cinder block, stone or wood. In addition, the system may include a floral decorative element. For example, the infill panels may be die-cut or painted to look like foliage or the building or other environment the barrier is intended to protect.

Since the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, there has been significant interest in providing enhanced security around buildings and public places. One need is for barriers around buildings and other structures to prevent trucks and other vehicles, perhaps carrying explosives, or just intent upon inflicting damage, from crashing into walls, and so forth. In addition to a need for high-strength barriers of this kind, at the same time, such structures should not be visually offensive, and indeed, it would be beneficial if such barriers were aesthetically appealing, blending into the environment.
One solution is proposed in published U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0127122, which teaches a flexible blast curtain said to reduce casualties and property damage in the event of a terrorist bombing by intercepting flying debris and dissipating over pressure through deflection of the curtain. The blast curtain may be attached directly to buildings or mounted on frames anchored in close proximity to buildings. The curtain provides complete visibility and easy pedestrian ingress and egress for the buildings.
The curtain is in the form of a flexible barrier which is placed a distance out from the surface to be protected. An impacting missile stretches the barrier until it decelerates to a stop or is deflected. The barrier material has a predetermined tensile strength and stretch that makes it suitable for this application. The known strength and stretch, together with the speed, weight and size of the impacting missile, all of which are given in test requirements, permit design calculation to ascertain barrier deflection at impact. This deflection is a determinate of the minimum distance that this barrier is to be spaced out from the frangible area to be protected.
Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0145534 resides in a large, high-density foam glass tile which can be used as a facade on both exterior and interior building walls. The foam glass tile can also be used with other materials to form a panel or a composite. The invention may be used on the critical surfaces of buildings at high risk for terrorist attacks, in combination with cement, steel or other high strength building materials, and may also be used in surfaces of typical buildings. It purportedly has the advantage of absorbing a substantial portion of a shock wave caused by an explosion, while being more resistant to earthquakes.
According to published U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0200716, a wall is constructed from precast concrete blocks stacked in tiers in which adjacent blocks are secured together to increase the strength of the wall. Anchors are embedded in the tops of at least some of the blocks. The ends of the blocks have vertical grooves which form a vertical opening when the ends of two blocks abut. The blocks in the tiers are offset so that the openings between blocks in one tier are positioned above the anchors on the blocks on the adjacent lower tier. The blocks in each tier are secured together by a tensioned cable extending through aligned passages in the blocks. Locking members are placed in the openings to secure the ends of the abutting blocks to an anchor in an adjacent lower block.
The window system is fitted with a blast energy absorbing mechanism wherein the support members are formed with at least one arm which at a mounted state of the support frame, extends opposite a corresponding flange associated with the frame, i.e. integral with the frame or otherwise articulated thereto. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the flange is a portion of the fixing members adapted for engagement with a corresponding first arm of a support member. In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention the flange is an extension of the frame adapted for engagement with a corresponding second arm of a support member.
A dismantable protective window is disclosed in published U.S. Patent Application No. 20020184839. By one particular embodiment of the invention, the support members are bifurcated elements having a first arm and a second arm, which arms at a mounted state of the support frame, extend opposite a corresponding portion of the fixing members and an extension flange of the frame. The arrangement is such that a shock wave striking the window pane gives rise to generation of forces acting in the plane of the window pane and orthogonally thereto, displacing the support frame in an inward, radial direction, whereby the at least one arm of the support members engage the corresponding flanges.

Explosion-absorbing panels and wall structures


Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide a living body detection method and apparatus, an electronic device, a storage medium, and a payment system, a video surveillance system, and an access system to which the living body detection method is applied, and generally belong to the field of biometric recognition technologies. The living body detection method can include obtaining an image of a to-be-detected object performing key point detection on a biometric feature corresponding to the to-be-detected object in the image, and constructing a constraint box in the image according to detected key points. Further, the method can include capturing a shape change of the constraint box constructed in the image, and determining the to-be-detected object as a prosthesis in response to capturing an abnormal deformation of the constraint box or detecting no key points.

With the development of biometric recognition technologies, biometric recognition, such as facial recognition in face-swiping payment and video surveillance, and fingerprint recognition, and iris recognition in access authorization, is widely applied. However, various challenges also exist in the biometric recognition. For example, an attacker performs biometric recognition by using forged face, fingerprint, iris, and the like.

Living body detection method and apparatus, electronic device, storage medium, and related system to which living body detection method is applied

Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited


A push-type lock for fire-blocking door which includes a base body, a frame mounted on the base body, a latching member pivotally mounted on the frame, an actuating piece mounted also on the frame, and a safety release unit penetratingly secured for the frame. The safety release unit includes a rod member, an inner end and an outer end formed on both ends of the rod member respectively, a spiral spring coupled axially to the rod member and positioned between the inner end and an inner surface of the frame, and a hot-melt member sleeving the rod member between the outer end and an outer surface of the frame and subject to being melted away when heated. As a consequence of the hot-melt member being melted away, the rod member will be moved to the inside of the frame due to the compressed spiral spring, thus allowing the rod member to be moved to a position blocking up the way the latching member can be withdrawn to the inside of the frame. In this case, the latching member is prevented from being withdrawn to the inside of the frame, thus securely latching the door when a fire breaks out.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to door locks, and more particularly, to a push-type lock for fire-blocking doors that are used in the event of a fire to prevent the fire from spreading to the emergency staircase.
2. Description of Related Art
A prior art push-type lock for fire-blocking doors is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This push-type lock is composed of a casing 10', a frame 11', a mount 20', a push plate 30', an actuating piece 15', and a pivotal latching member 16'. The pivotal latching member 16' has a rear end formed with a protruding piece 19' having a tip abutting on the free end 151' of the actuating piece 15'. A movable arm 24' and a stop pin 17' are coupled to the underneath of the actuating piece 15'. The free end of the stop pin 17' can be propelled by a spring 18' into a slot 161' formed on the back of the pivotal latching member 16' and in which case the pivotal latching member 16' is stopped by the stop pin 17 and thus cannot be withdrawn to the inside of the casing 10'. When a person wants to open a door installed with the push-type lock, he/she can press the push plate 30' by hand. This causes the actuating piece 15' to be pivoted in a direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2, thereby impelling the movable arm 24' and the stop pin 17', and thereby withdrawing the free end of the stop pin 17' away from the slot 161' on the back of the pivotal latching member 16'. As a result of this, the free end 151' of the actuating piece 15' is impelled upwards, thereby urging against the protruding piece 19' of the pivotal latching member 16' and causing the same to pivot in the clockwise direction (with reference to the side view of FIG. 2) . This action causes the pivotal latching member 16' to withdraw from the outside of the casing 10' to the inside thereof, thus allowing the door currently being latched by the pivotal latching member 16' to be unlatched. In normal condition, the door is latched by the push-type lock. However, it is a drawback of this prior art push-type lock that when a fire breaks out, the constituent parts of the push-type lock could be deformed due to the heat from the fire. For instances, the stop pin 17' could be heated to bend and thus has its free end withdraw from the slot 161', or the actuating piece 15' could be deformed that causes the free end 151' thereof to be disengaged from the pivotal latching member 16'. All of these could cause the pivotal latching member 16' to be unable to latch the door securely, or result in the withdrawal of the pivotal latching member 16' to the inside of the casing 10'. The door thus could be pushed open by the explosive, heated air from the fire, thus adversely causing the fire to spread to the next, room.
There exists, therefore, a need for an improved push-type lock for fire-blocking doors that will not be deformed due to heat and notwithstanding latch the door securely when a fire breaks out.

No.2, Lane 112, Hsu-Yuen Rd., Hsin-Chuang