Disclosed is a packet communication apparatus of large capacity capable of realizing high throughput and packet priority control in packet switching for changing connection of input and output ports of a switch on a variable-length packet unit basis. A variable-length packet is divided into a group of cells in an ingress interface, and the cells are stored in VOQs divided in correspondence with destination output ports of a switch. For each of the VOQs, a corresponding first-cell storing register is provided. When a packet arrives at the head of the VOQ, the first cell indicating an output path of the packet is transferred to a first-cell storing register. Each ingress interface selects one of first cells of packets which can be output and transmits the selected one to the switch. The switch performs a scheduling process so as to select one first cell per output port. The ingress interface to which output permission is given by the scheduling process is connected to a desired output port, and continuously outputs the first cell and the subsequent cells stored in the VOQs to the output port on a packet unit basis.

In recent years, data traffic in the Internet and the like is sharply increasing. There is a trend in provision of high-quality, high-reliability services such as transaction process conventionally performed by using a dedicated line via the Internet. Regarding the transfer paths on a network, due to the emergence of wavelength multiplexing techniques, large capacity transfer has now been realized. To comply with this, higher efficiency, larger capacity and higher speed of packet data communication apparatus for performing routing and switching of packet data are necessary.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-232482 (hereinbelow, referred to as "Reference 1") discloses an example of a packet switch using a crossbar switch. In the configuration of the packet switch, a variable-length packet input to an ingress interface is divided into a group of cells, and the first cell to which output path information is added is input to the switch. The switch performs a scheduling process of selecting one of requests to output ports in accordance with the information of the first cell, connects input and output ports and, after that, switches a packet.
To the ingress interface, information is supplied about the available output port of the switches. The ingress interface transmits the first cell of a packet desired to be output to an available output port to the switch. In the switch, switching of the input and output ports is performed on a packet unit basis.
Specifically, when an output of cells constructing a packet is started from an ingress interface to an egress interface, the connection of the switch is maintained until all the cells constructing the packet arrive at the egress interface.
Further, in Reference 1, it is sufficient to perform a process of selecting one ingress interface from which cells are desired to be output per output port as a scheduling process of the switch. Consequently, a complicated scheduling process as conventionally required is unnecessary. Also in the case where the number of ports of the switch increases and in the case where the port speed becomes higher, a larger switch capacity is easily realized.
However, in Reference 1, when a plurality of first cells desired to be output to an available output port are supplied from a plurality of ingress interfaces to the switch, the first cells which are not selected as a result of the scheduling process are not output from the switch. That is, until the first cells are selected by a subsequent scheduling process, the first cells are stuck in the switch.
Due to this "stuck" state, a phenomenon called HOL (Head of Line) blocking occurs such that outputting of subsequent priority packets destined for the same output port and packets destined for other available output ports is blocked, usage efficiency of the switch and packet quality class controlling performance remarkably deteriorate depending on the pattern of traffic supplied and a load state, the throughput of the switch deteriorates, and, further, another problem occurs such that priority cannot be given to a packet transferred from the ingress interface to the switch.
An object of the invention is therefore to provide a packet communication apparatus which can be easily adapted to an increased number of ports of a switch and improved port speed and can realize high throughput.
Another object of the invention is to provide a packet communication apparatus in which quality class control is effectively performed. More particularly, an object is to provide a packet communication apparatus which can be easily adapted to an increased number of ports of a switch and improved port speed, and can preferentially output a priority packet over a non-priority packet.

Packet communication apparatus and controlling method thereof


In an example, features in a boosting decision tree model are initialized to zero, the boosting decision tree model located in a GLMM and connected to a deep neural network collaborative filtering model via a prediction layer. While the features in the boosting decision tree model remain zero, the deep neural network collaborative filtering model is trained. One or more trees in the boosting decision tree model are boosted using logits produced by the training of the deep neural network collaborative filtering model as a margin. The prediction layer is trained using features from the deep neural network collaborative filtering model and features from the boosting decision tree model. It is then determined whether a set of convergence criteria is met. If not, then the deep neural network collaborative filtering model is retrained using the features and the process is repeated until the set of convergence criteria is met.

The rise of the Internet has occasioned two different but related phenomena: the increase in the presence of social networks, with their corresponding member profiles visible to large numbers of people, and the increase in the use of these social networks to perform searches for jobs that have been posted on or linked to by the social networks. The prevalence of companies posting job postings on the Internet has also led to another, newer, phenomenon, where social networking services and/or other services try to recommend job postings to members without the members having actively searched for such listings.
Various solutions for recommending job postings to members have been proposed. Recently, deep neural networks have yielded success in job posting recommendations. The deep neural network structure can effectively generate nonlinear low-dimension dense embedding features without requiring much feature engineering work. These features are suitable for generalization and can greatly reduce the feature dimension, but suffer from over-generalization.
Another solution would be to use a generalized linear model with nonlinearly transformed features. While this has less over-generalization, it relies on feature engineering to generate wide sparse features. Features often don't capture the semantic meaning of members and jobs. For example, there is little cosine similarity between the job titles "application developer" and "software engineer," and yet in the real world there is significant overlap between the two. Additionally, sparse features don't generalize well in a linear model. Furthermore, too many features result in high online scoring latency and difficult fitting.
What is needed is a solution that does not rely on feature engineering while not resulting in over-generalization.

Deep and wide machine learned model for job recommendation


A telephone having key/light control logic which enables independent and dual usage of physical key/light pairs. Firmware within the telephone's key and light control logic is provided access to special tables which have definitions for each key. When a key is depressed, a feature activation code is sent uplink to notify the PBX of the user's action. In response to receipt of the feature activation code, the PBX returns a feature indication. When the telephone receives the feature indication, it scans the tables and turns on all lights for which the feature indication matches the key definition. Within the tables, an extra definition is maintained for the standalone light. This definition is downloaded by the switch at phone initialization time along with the key definitions. If the switch defines a key definition as "local" then the user programs the definition of that key either via the phone keypad or through an application. The independent or dual usage of a light is achieved by using a special case code in the phone firmware when the lights are being lit via feature indications from the switch. If the feature indication matches the key definition for the key reserved, for example, for Mute, then the light is lit only if the key is a locally defined key. In this way, lights for local keys will always match their key definition. Conversely, if the feature indication matches the definition for the standalone light, the light next to the Mute key is lit only if the key is system defined.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to telephone equipment and related application programs;
B. Related Art
A programmable office telephone typically includes a number of keys for performing user definable functions. For example, by way of the telephone keyboard or an applications program running on a connected computer, keys can be selectively programmed to activate such functions as mute, hold, do not disturb or conference call. In many such telephones, each key has an adjacently located light which is automatically turned on when the function for which the key has been defined is activated. For example, a key depression may place the phone in Do Not Disturb mode and the associated, adjacent light will turn on to indicate that fact to the user. Thus, in such telephones, the keys and lights are said to be both physically and logically paired. That is to say, a particular light is only turned on in response to the activation of a feature caused by the depression of the adjacent key.
In some prior art telephones there are lights which are neither adjacent to any key nor associated with any defined key function. For example, in some prior art ROLM telephones, there is a standalone "call waiting" light which is activated directly by way of a command from the PBX rather than in direct response to depression of a corresponding key on the face of the telephone. Similarly, in some prior art telephones there are standalone keys which have no adjacent or associated light. For example, in many telephones there are standalone keys (i.e. keys not having an associated light) dedicated to automatic dialing of prestored telephone numbers.
It is known in the art to provide a telephone with means to maintain the correspondence between a given feature and a physical key/light pair. For example, it is known to provide the firmware within the key and light control logic with access to tables which have definitions for each key. When a key is depressed, a feature activation code (key definition) is sent uplink to notify the switch (e.g. the PBX) of the user's action. In response to receipt of the feature activation code, the PBX returns an LED cadence command (feature indication). When the telephone receives the cadence command for a feature, it scans the tables and turns on all lights for which the feature indication matches the key definition.
While the use of physical/logical pairing for some functions and standalone keys and/or lights for other functions can be useful, such configurations can crowd the face of the telephone and add to the expense of manufacture. Thus, there is a need for a more flexible manner of providing activation and indication of standalone functions.

Allowing stand-alone and local control of a single LED

Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc.


A combine side-shaking control system and a method for controlling operation of a side-shaking mechanism in a combine. The control system includes at least one sieve for separating crop material from other materials and a movable side-shaking mechanism coupled to the at least one sieve and configured to move the at least one sieve in a side-to-side motion. The control system also includes at least one sensor for sensing at least one operating condition of a combine system. The control system further includes a controller for receiving the at least one operating condition and causing the side-shaking mechanism to stop moving the at least one sieve in the side-to-side motion or start moving the at least one sieve in the side-to-side motion based on the at least one operating condition.

A combine harvester is a machine that is used to harvest grain crops. The objective is to complete several processes, which traditionally were distinct, in one pass of the machine over a particular part of the field. Among the crops that may be harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, soybeans, flax or linseed, and others. The waste (e.g., straw) discharged on the field includes the remaining dried stems and leaves of the crop which may be, for example, chopped and spread on the field as residue or baled for feed and bedding for livestock.
A combine harvester cuts crop using a wide cutting header. The cut crop may be picked up and fed into the threshing and separating mechanism of the combine, typically consisting of a rotating threshing rotor or cylinder to which grooved steel bars commonly referred to as rasp bars or threshing elements may be bolted. These rasp bars thresh and aid in separating the grains from the chaff and straw through the action of the drum against the concaves, i.e., shaped "half drum," that may also be fitted with steel bars and a meshed grill, through which grain, chaff and smaller debris may fall, whereas the straw, being too big or long, is carried through to the outlet. The chaff, straw, and other undesired material are returned to the field via a spreader mechanism.
In an axial flow combine, this threshing and separating system serves a primary separation function. The harvested crop is threshed and separated as it is conveyed between a longitudinally arranged rotor and the inner surface of an associated chamber comprising threshing and separating concaves, and a rotor cage or cover. The cut crop material spirals and is conveyed along a helical path along the inner surface of the chamber until substantially only larger residue remains. When the residue reaches the end of the threshing drum, it is expelled out of the rear of the combine. Meanwhile, the grain, chaff, and other small debris fall through the concaves and grates onto a cleaning device or shoe. For ease of reference, this smaller particulate crop material that contains the grain and chaff is referred to as threshed crop. The grain still needs to be further separated from the chaff by way of a winnowing process.
Clean grain is separated out of the threshed crop be way of a flat oscillating cleaning system that can include a combination of oscillating screens (sieves), a fan which blows air through/above/beneath the sieves, and some mechanism which transports the material to be cleaned from beneath the threshing system to the sieves. Clean grain that is separated from residue via the sieves is typically transported to a grain tank in the combine for temporary storage. The grain tank is typically located atop the combine and loaded via a conveyer that carries clean grain collected in the cleaning system to the grain tank. The grain may then be unloaded through a conveying system to a support trailer or vehicle, allowing large quantities of grain to be unloaded in the field without needing to stop harvesting when the grain tank fills.
Presently, combines may be equipped with hillside compensation mechanisms for combine cleaning systems. Under flat ground operation, the cleaning system of a combine moves in 2-dimensional motion, shaking fore/aft with some vertical component. U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,882, which is incorporated herein for its teachings on cleaning system compensation mechanisms, describes a grain cleaning side-shaking mechanism which provides compensation to the cleaning system when the combine experiences a change in inclination (i.e. harvesting on uneven terrain). Other side-shaking mechanisms are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,753; U.S. Pat. No. 7,927,199; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,882, which are also incorporated herein for their teachings on cleaning system compensation mechanisms.
Conventional side-shaking mechanisms, do not affect any changes to the 2-dimensional (fore/aft/vertical) movement of the cleaning system on flat ground. On inclined ground, however, the side-shaking mechanisms introduce an additional side-to-side component in the shake geometry of a sieve, causing material to resist its natural tendency to migrate to the lower side of the sieve and remain more evenly distributed across the width of the sieve.

Combine side shake cleaning control system


A connector element for a post and beam construction having load-bearing glass components consisting of load-bearing glass posts and load-bearing glass beams, the connector element including a first fitting fitted to a first load-bearing glass component; a second fitting fitted to a second load-bearing glass component; and a glass load-transmitting element located between the first fitting and the second fitting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a connector element for glass post-and-beam constructions, in which the posts and beams are made of glass, meaning that the glass posts and beams fulfill a load-bearing function, where the load is transmitted between the beam and the post by way of a glass element. The present invention also pertains to a glass post-and-beam construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
The obvious and most important properties of glass are its ability to transmit light and its transparency. As a result, glass has become an important construction material and design element in architecture in recent years. To an increasing extent, architects are now developing plans in which glass is also used as a construction material to form load-bearing structures. These types of transparent structures are often used to create meeting places, communications areas, and corridors for connecting two or more buildings.
In applications of this type, there is a need for a type of post-and-beam construction made entirely of glass to satisfy the architect's requirements for transparency.
Glass, when used in the construction industry, can be categorized generally on the basis of its application as either flat glass, sectional glass, or glass block. In the usual case, the glass will be of the alkali silicate type. This contains a large amount of silicate. When the glass is installed horizontally, it is usually enclosed by a frame so that it can withstand the forces exerted by wind and snow. Such glass must also support its own weight. For this purpose, panes of glass are usually supported on several edges and are thus subjected to bending loads. This has been the standard area of application for glass so far, but today the use of glass as a load-bearing element in itself is becoming increasingly fashionable. "Load-bearing glass" is understood here to be a load-bearing structure consisting entirely of glass. These glass structures include, for example, beams, posts, frames, diagonal struts, stiffeners, etc.
Glass is basically a brittle material, which also has ideal elasticity. Thus glass will fracture without any plastic deformation at all. These properties of glass must therefore be taken thoroughly into account when glass is used as a load-bearing element. For this reason, glass has been defined in various ways in the past, such definitions pertaining either to the material itself or to its state. Glass can be described as a "frozen, supercooled melt".
Float glass, single-pane safety glass, and also partially prestressed glass can be used as the basic elements of load-bearing glass structures. These types of glass are usually made into laminated safety glass. Because these types of glass are already known in themselves, there is no need to discuss them in greater detail here.
Damage to glass, such as the fractures which are or can be caused especially by the stress imposed by different temperatures, proceeds from the edges. The processing of the edges by grinding will increase the strength of the edges, because such processing removes the macrocracks which are formed when the glass is cut.
It is ideal for the surface of the glass to be free of scratches, cracks, and notches, for when a glass pane with preliminary damage is subjected to tensile stress, for example, excessive stress peaks develop at the tips of the cracks. If the strength of the material is exceeded, it can be assumed that supercritical crack growth will occur and that, once such growth has been initiated, the pane will undergo sudden fracture.
Examples of "load-bearing glass" have been published in a research report under the title "Glasträger, Bericht Nr. 20, ETH Zürich, Institut für Hochbautechnik" [Glass Beams, Report No. 20, Zurich Institute of Technology, Department of Structural Engineering], pp. 31-32. The object described here is a glass structure built on the testing grounds of the Architecture Department of Rhine-Westphalian Institute of Technology in Aachen. Both the posts and the beams and therefore the entire load-bearing structure are made of glass. The overlapping areas of the glass posts and beams are connected by the use of holes, which pass through the glass elements and through which suitable metal screw elements are inserted. Single-pane safety glass is used. Because the beams are screwed to the posts, the glass elements (beams, posts) are connected solidly together. The dimensions of these holes must remain within narrow tolerances to ensure that a sufficiently large contact surface is present between the screw heads or nuts and the surface of the glass. For the reasons explained above, these types of holes are relatively expensive to produce.

Connector element for a glass post and beam construction


Retro-inverso peptides derived from interleukin-6 (IL-6) having between 17 and about 40 amino acids and including the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1. These peptides have the same activity as native IL-6 and also have neurotrophic activity. Because of the D-amino acid linkage in the peptides, they are less susceptible to proteolytic degradation in vivo.

Cytokines are proteins which are produced during the effector phases of natural and specific immunity and serve to mediate and regulate immune and inflammatory responses. Cytokines, like other polypeptide hormones, initiate their action by binding to specific receptors on the surface of target cells. One of the most well known families of cytokines are the interleukins which mediate natural immunity. For a detailed description of the structure and function of the interleukins, see Abbas et al. Cellular and Molecular Immunology, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, pp. 225–243, 1991.
IL-6 is a multifunctional cytokine having a molecular weight of 26 kDa which is produced by both lymphoid and non-lymphoid cells and regulates immune responses, acute-phase reactions and hematopoiesis. A detailed review of the structure and function of this cytokine may be found in The Cytokine Handbook, Third Edition, Thomson, A. Ed., Academic Press, San Diego, Calif., 1998, and in Barton, Clin. Immunol. Immunopathol. 85:16–20, 1997. Because many cells are capable of both producing and responding to IL-6, it is capable of being an autocrine regulator of growth and/or differentiation in many systems. Within the immune system, it has been shown to be an autocrine activator of peripheral T and NK cells, which, in part, is mediated via IL-2 (Garman et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci U.S.A. 84:7629–7633). In thymic ontogeny, IL-6 may be important alongside IL-2, IL-4 and IL-7 in thymic development. IL-6 also promotes IgG secretion by activated B cells. In addition, IL-6 induces the liver to produce acute-phase proteins such as C-reactive protein and inhibits the production of albumin (Morrone et al., J. Biol. Chem. 263:12554–12558, 1988).
IL-6 is also involved in T cell activation, growth and differentiation. IL-6 induces IL-3 receptor (Tac antigen) expression in one T cell line (Noma et al., 1987) and in thymocytes, and functions as a second signal for IL-2 production by T cells (Garman et al., 1987). IL-6 promotes the growth of human T cells stimulated with PHA or mouse peripheral T cells. IL-6 also inhibits several key inflammatory responses including the synthesis of LPS-induced IL-1 and TNF- in vitro and in vivo (Aderka et al., J. Immunol. 143:3517–3523, 1989; Ulich et al., J. Immunol. 146:2316–2323, 1991). IL-6 has also been found to protect against lung damage in disease models of pulmonary inflammation (Chen et al., Infect. Immun. 61:97–102, 1993).
Neurotrophins and neurotrophic factors are proteins or peptides capable of affecting the survival, target innervation and/or function of neuronal cell populations (Barde, Neuron, 2:1525–1534, 1989). The efficacy of neurotrophins both in vivo and in vitro has been well documented. For example, ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) promotes survival of chicken embryo ciliary ganglia in vitro and supports survival of cultured sympathetic, sensory and spinal motor neurons (Ip et al., J. Physiol. Paris, 85:123–130, 1991).
A major obstacle to the in vivo therapeutic use of peptides is their susceptibility to proteolytic degradation. Retro-inverso peptides are isomers of linear peptides in which the direction of the sequence is reversed (retro) and the chirality, D or L, of each amino acid is inverted (inverso). There are also partially modified retro-inverso isomers of linear peptides in which only some of the peptide bonds are reversed and the chirality of the amino acid residues in the reversed portion is inverted. The major advantage of such peptides is their enhanced activity in vivo due to improved resistance to proteolytic degradation (For review, see Chorev et al., Trends Biotech., 13:438–445, 1995). Although such retro-inverso analogs exhibit increased metabolic stability, their biological activity is often greatly compromised (Guichard et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 91:9765–9769, 1994). For example, Richman et al. (J. Peptide Protein Res., 25:648–662) determined that analogs of linear and cyclic leu-enkephalin modified at the Gly3-Phe4 amide bond had activities ranging from 6%–14% of native leu-enkephalin. Chorev et al., (ibid.) showed that retro-inversion of a peptide which inhibits binding of vitronectin to its receptor resulted in one peptide which was less potent than the parent isomer by a factor of 50,000, and another peptide which was 4,000 fold more potent than the parent cyclic peptide. Guichard et al. (TIBTECH 14, 1996), teach that retro-inverso (all-D-retro) antigenic mimicry may only occur with peptides in random coil, loop or cyclic conformations. In the case of "helical" peptide, adequate functional mimicry would be expected only if the helicity was, in fact, absent under the solvent conditions used for assessing antigenic mimicry.
There is a need for IL-6-derived and neurotrophic peptides exhibiting increased metabolic stability while retaining biological activity. The present invention addresses this need.


Thermoplastic molding compositions including a semicrystalline polyamide a) and an amorphous copolyamide b), the latter containing dimerized fatty acid as one monomer building block. Optionally, a compatibility agent and other additives are also included.. The molding compounds having high stiffness up to at least 100.degree. C. are produced by melt-mixing components a) and b), and optionally a compatibilizer, and are used for making molded parts which are outstanding in their thermal properties, high solvent resistance, and resistance to stress corrosion.

In EP 70 001 B2, a thermoplastic molding resin of semicrystalline polyamide and amorphous copolyamide is disclosed. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,661, thermoplastic polyamide blends of semicrystalline polyamide and amorphous copolyamides from isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, hexamethylene diamine, and bis-(p-aminocyclohexyl)methane, as well as impact resistance modifiers of the olefinic or core-shell polymer type are described. The disadvantage of both molding resins is that objects made from them are very sensitive to hot--and in particular boiling--water; preforms from a molding resin with a semicrystalline polyamide fraction of 40% by weight or less, completely lose their form stability, and those with a semicrystalline polyamide fraction of greater than 40% by weight suffer a substantial reduction in their stiffness.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,428, there are described glass fiber-reinforced polyamide blends based on partially semi-crystalline polyamides with a fraction of amorphous transparent polyamides constituting a maximum of 20% by weight. These polyamide blends also do not meet the requirements in the temperature range above 100.degree. C. and in a humid atmosphere.
In EP 325,030 A2, a polyamide mixture is taught having an especially low second-order transition temperature and improved gas barrier-properties; the mixture consists of a specific copolyamide and an aliphatic homopolyamide. Here, too, the mechanical properties under action of heat and moisture are insufficient.
In DE-OS 3 817 279 Al, thermoplastic molding compounds of an amorphous part-aromatic copolyamide, a semicrystalline polyamide, and up to 60% by weight of a rubber-elastic polymer are set forth. These molding compounds have the disadvantage of poor mechanical properties under the combined action of heat and water.

Thermoplastic molding compositions which are mixtures of amorphous and semi-crystalline polyamides, a method of preparation thereof and products made therefrom


A portable programming device for electronically programming an electronic tag associated with a module includes a hand-held data receiver containing a communication element adapted to receive data from an electronic tag associated with a module and a data processor having programmed processing instructions. The data processor analyzes data received at the communication element in accordance with programmed processing instructions to produce a processor result based on the received data. The portable programming device also includes a hand-held tag writer comprising a communication element for writing tag content information to a tag memory segment of the electronic tag in response to the processor result.

The present invention relates to control of programmable devices or modules. In one aspect, the present invention is particularly useful in inventory and configuration control of modules that are physically identical but can be programmed with alternative configurations.
Various systems allow a user to track items such as manufactured devices or packages. For example, a barcode containing a model number or a serial number or other identifying indicia can be printed on a device or a package. An optical scanner connected to a tracking system can scan the barcode, so that the tracking system can determine the identity and location of the marked item. Such barcode systems rely on "line of sight" access from the barcode reader to the barcode on the item being tracked. In addition, while the tracking system can record various information pertaining to the location and status of the tracked item, the tracked item itself does not retain any information as to where it has been, or what processing steps have been performed on it.
More recently, radio frequency identification (RFID) devices include radio frequency transmitters that have been applied to products for tracking purposes. Such RFID devices contain information that they can transmit to a reader. The radio frequency transmitters do not require "line of sight" access from the reader.
Magnetic tags and sensors have also been demonstrated to track and verify the identity of products. Magnetic tags require close proximity between the information bearing tag and the sensor.
In various instances, holders or transporters of products may wish to alter certain information pertaining to a particular product after the product has been manufactured and entered the distribution channel. For example, a person may wish to know when a product passed through a particular stage in the distribution channel. Such information is important to maintain the freshness of time-sensitive inventory. Also, for certain types of products, such information can be used to detect if the product may have been inappropriately detoured along the distribution channel, which detours could indicate tampering or other mishandling of the product.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a portable programming device for electronically programming an electronic tag associated with a module includes a hand-held data receiver containing a communication element adapted to receive data from an electronic tag associated with a module and a data processor. The data processor is adapted to analyze data received at the communication element in accordance with programmed processing instructions and to produce a processor result. The processor result is based on the received data. The portable programming device also includes a hand-held tag writer comprising a communication element for writing tag content information to a tag memory segment of the electronic tag in response to the processor result. In a particular implementation, the data processor includes a memory for storing programmed processing instructions for the data processor.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of processing an electronic tag associated with a module includes bringing a portable electronic reader device into proximity with an electronic tag associated with a module, causing the portable electronic reader device to read tag data from the electronic tag, electronically processing the tag data in the portable electronic reader device in accordance with programmed instructions stored in the portable electronic reader device to produce a processor result, and transmitting the processor result outside the portable electronic reader device. The processor result is based on the tag data read by the portable electronic reader device.


A device for managing mold operation for production of molded objects of building material, such as for example concrete, discourages tampering of data collected pertinent to use of a particular mold over time. Various relevant parameters of the manufacturing process are stored in a transponder during active use thereof on a building material machine, the transponder being non-detachably connected to the production mold. The transponder is fixed to the mold in a manner inhibiting tampering with data stored therein and shielding same from mechanically induced damage. The above arrangement of the device permits subsequent retrieval and utilization of the accumulated stored data with write/read equipment available only to authorized personnel.

When molded objects, such as paving stones, hollow block stones, curb stones or other finished concrete parts are produced, the fresh concrete is poured into appropriate molds of steel, consolidated there and demolded once again. Such molded objects are produced by means of largely automated building material machines, in which the respective molds can be used interchangeably. It is generally customary that the producer of concrete products leases or purchases the molds from a manufacturer specializing in molds. For ascertaining the lease price, monitoring the service life of the mold and checking guarantee and warranty claims, it is necessary to determine the number of concrete objects actually produced with each mold. For this purpose, it is advantageous if, aside from the number of manufacturing steps or cycles, the manufacturing characteristics, such as acceleration values and the like, can also be determined.
A method of supervising molds, for which the relevant data is collected at the building material machine and assigned administratively, for example, by means of accompanying papers, to the respective mold, does not, however, satisfy the interests of the lessor or the manufacturer of the molds, since there are too many possibilities for manipulating the data and the whole system of supervising the molds is too expensive.
It is therefore an object of the invention to indicate a method of supervising molds of the above-mentioned type as well as an arrangement for carrying out the method, for which the data, collected during the production of the products, can be taken directly from the respective mold and manipulations by unauthorized persons are impossible. The technical means for carrying out the method must be designed and disposed, so that the enormous mechanical stresses, which occur at machines and molds during the production of concrete products, do not have negative effects on the manipulation-free collection and processing of the data and cannot cause damage to the technical facilities required for this purpose.

Device for managing molds used for mechanically producing molded objects of building material


A multiplexer for laser range finders and the like has a plurality of laser transmitters disposed about the periphery thereof. Each of the laser transmitters transmits a beam which is substantially smaller than the return beam received by the laser receiver. The laser receiver and each of the laser transmitters are configured to have a substantially common optical axis such that laser beams transmitted by the laser transmitters substantially overlap at a plane of interest so as to provide enhanced illumination thereby.

Laser range finders for determining the range to distant objects are well known. Such range finders find application in a variety of fields such as surveying, collision avoidance, and targeting.
Such laser range finders comprise a laser receiver and a coaxially mounted laser transmitter which is much smaller than the laser receiver. Such coaxial mounting of the laser receiver and laser transmitter results in operation of both devices along a common optical axis and thus both enhances the accuracy of the range finder and facilitates packaging thereof within a smaller volume. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the farther away from the receiver that the transmitter is mounted, i.e., the more the devices deviate from having a common optical axis the less accurate the laser range finder tends to be.
It is generally desirable to package such laser range finders as efficiently as possible, since they are typically utilized upon vehicles, wherein space is typically at a premium. For example, in collision avoidance applications the laser range finder is typically disposed within an automobile or aircraft, wherein little room is available therefor.
However, one problem commonly associated with such contemporary laser range finders is that of insufficient power output from the laser transmitter. Insufficient power output is of particular concern, especially when the laser beam must be transmitted through an attenuating medium such as rain, fog, snow, water, dust, etc.
When the laser range finder output beam must be transmitted through such an attenuating medium, it is desirable to increase the output power thereof, so as to compensate for attenuation to both the output beam and the reflected beam.
However, the provision of additional output power is in conflict with the packaging requirements which dictate that the laser transmitters be located proximate the laser receiver, such that a common optical axis is defined therefore and also in order to maintain packaging efficiency.
Prior art attempts to enhance the output power of such laser range finders include the use of optical fibers and polarizing beam combiners. However, the use of such optical elements inherently introduces alignment problems and reduces the overall efficiency of the laser transmitting system. It also undesirably increases the complexity and cost of the system.
As such, it is beneficial to provide a means for increasing the output power of the laser transmitter of a laser range finder or the like, so as to facilitate use thereof in adverse conditions.

Multiplexer for laser ranging devices and the like


A cellulose ester film contains a phosphoric ester as a plasticizer. The film further contains an aromatic carboxylic ester represented by the formula [I]. ##STR1## in which n is 3, 4, 5 or 6; R is an alkyl group or an alkenyl group, each of which may have one or more substituent groups; the benzene ring may have one or more substituent groups other than the groups represented by --COOR; and the groups represented by --COOR may be different from each other. A process for preparation of the film is also disclosed.

A cellulose ester film has mainly been used as a support of recording materials such as a photographic material. Examples of cellulose ester include cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butylate and cellulose acetate propionate. Cellulose acetate film (particularly cellulose triacetate film) has been widely used because it has excellent properties such as dimensional stability, transparency and gloss.
The cellulose ester film generally has low mechanical strengths such as tearing strength, folding endurance and impact strength. Particularly at low temperature, the film is very hard, brittle and easy to be teared.
It has been well known that a monomeric plasticizer is added to the film to improve the mechanical strengths. Examples of the monomeric plasticizer include triphenyl phosphate, tricresyl phosphate, octyl diphenyl phosphate, triethyl phosphate, tributyl phosphate, diethyl phthalate, dimethoxyethyl phthalate, ethylphthalyl ethyl glycolate, butyl phthalyl butyl glycolate and triacetin. A phosphoric ester such as triphenyl phosphate has mainly been used for cellulose triacetate film.
The preparation for preparation of the cellulose ester film generally comprises the steps of dissolving the cellulose acetate and a plasticizer in a solvent to prepare a dope, casting the dope on a support and evaporating the solvent. Methylene chloride is mainly used as the solvent. The support usually is a drum or a band which has a polished surface. For example, the film can be prepared by casting a specific dope on a support at a temperature of not more than 10.degree. C., exposing the dope to blowing air for at least 2 seconds, peeling off and drying the resulting film at a high temperature (100.degree. to 160.degree. C.) to evaporate the remaining solvent to obtain a film (cf., Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 60(1985)-176834 and No. 60(1985)-203430).
In the above-mentioned process, the monomeric plasticizer tends to be evaporated with the remaining solvent. The evaporated plasticizer induces contamination at the drying step. Further, the plasticizer migrates vertically so that the distribution of the plasticizer tends to be heterogeneous. These problems are very serious because they cause curling of the film and unsatisfactory adhesion between the film and a coated layer provided thereon. In order to solve these problems, polymeric plasticizers have been proposed (cf., Japanese Patent Publications No. 43(1968)-16305, No. 44(1969)-32672 and No. 47(1972)-760). Examples of the polymeric plasticizers include specific polyurethanes polyesters and copolymers thereof which are soluble in methylene chloride.
The polymeric plasticizers can be used to solve the problems caused by the migration and volatilization of the plasticizer. Further, the polymeric plasticizers much enhance the mechanical strengths (such as the tearing strength and the folding endurance) of film at a low temperature. However, the films using the polymeric plasticizers exhibit large dimensional variation depending on humidity. A large dimensional variation induces expansion or shrinking of intervals between perforations, and causes serious troubles such as a projection hitch and shift of printing, particularly in the case that the film is used as a photographic support. Further, the films using the polymeric plasticizers are very combustible. The combustibility is a serious problem when the cellulose ester film is used. For example, the combustibility of a movie film is strictly defined in Japanese Industrial Standard. Moreover, when the film is used as a support of photographic material, the plasticizer should not affect photographic properties.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 60(1985)-250053 proposes using a dimer of a halogenated alkylphosphoric ester as a plasticizer to solve the above-mentioned problems. The problems caused by the migration and volatilization of the monomeric plasticizer are also solved by this plasticizer. However, the mechanical strengths of the film such as the tearing strength and the bending strength are still insufficient, and desired to be more improved.

Cellulose ester film containing phosphoric ester plasticizer and aromatic carboxylic ester and process for preparation of the same


A method for the verification of customer information entered via an Internet based order entry system, including the steps of generating an order list containing a plurality of call records corresponding to Internet based customer requests for a plurality of fulfillment items, said call records containing a plurality of data fields; storing said order list in a database; determining a plurality of search criteria; extracting a results list from said order list, said results list containing a plurality of matching call records that match said plurality of search criteria, said matching call records containing a plurality of data fields; comparing said plurality of data fields of said matching call records contained in said results list with a plurality of data fields contained in call records of at least one additional customer information database; verifying said results list as containing authentic customer information upon a match with said call records of said customer information database to release said fulfillment items; and denying release of said fulfillment items for those matching call records contained in said results list that do not match said call records of said additional customer information database.

1. Technological Field
The present invention relates generally to the prevention of the fraudulent subscription for telecommunication services. In particular, the present invention relates to a system and method for the verification of customer information entered via an Internet based order entry system. The system and method prevents a person from fraudulently obtaining calling cards and other fulfillment items obtained through an Internet based sales channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fraud is an ever increasing problem in the telecommunications industry, costing the telecommunications companies millions of dollars each year. While long distance carriers are continually developing products to detect and prevent fraud at all stages, there still remain many techniques that are used to perpetuate fraud. The fraud can be as simple as using a stolen credit card to charge a long distance call, or it can involve sophisticated looping techniques, such as repeatedly calling a private branch exchange (PBX) system, finding the correct sequence to access an outside line (by trial and error or other hacking techniques) and then placing a costly long distance call through the PBX system. The telecommunications industry is involved in an intensive and ongoing effort to first identify different types of fraud and then to develop and implement ways of preventing such fraud.
Particular methods of fraud control and systems for implementing them are known in the industry. Conceptually, fraud control may be divided into two disciplines. The first being identifying a call that is likely to be fraudulent and the second being responding after a call is identified as likely to be fraudulent. Methods of identifying calls that are likely to be fraudulent vary from the simple to the sophisticated and are generally directed at a particular type of fraudulent activity. For example, a call is likely to be fraudulent if it is made using a calling card that has been reported stolen by the owner. Another example of fraudulent activity that is common is fraudulently obtaining calling cards or other fulfillment items, such as cash certificates, using a false name, address, or telephone number over the Internet.
Due to the ease and broad availability of the Internet, it is now possible, and even easier, to register for long distance services via the Internet. Furthermore, long distance companies do not, as of yet, have the means to validate the accuracy of the customer information submitted prior to releasing fulfillment items such as calling cards or cash certificates without impacting the timeliness of Internet-based transaction, the objectives of the Internet-based transactions include speed and efficiency for the user, to name a few as non-limiting examples. Subsequently, individuals are able to order services, gain access to long distance networks, or obtain calling cards without submitting valid billing names and addresses. Since many long distance companies support Internet based ordering of telephone products, and the setup and maintenance of telephone accounts via the Internet, a greater exposure exists from orders originating via the Internet that may ultimately lead to losses associated with Internet based subscription fraud.
Therefore, there exists a need for a process and system that allows a fraud control analyst to monitor, via a web browser interface, daily Internet transactions requesting fulfillment items for potential fraudulent activity prior to actual release of the fulfillment item. In the event the fulfillment item was released to the customer, a fraud analyst will have the opportunity to promptly deactivate the item, such as the card, certificate, etc.

System and method for verification of customer information entered via an Internet based order entry system


An apparatus comprising a drive motor (7) with a shaft (8) having a front end for engaging a coupling device (20) for a whisk (10), and a rear end for engaging a drive (28) housed in a cylindrical body (31) and engageable by a mixing arm, as well as a vertically movable ejector member (51) linked to the coupling device. A movable mechanical assembly (70) is provided for releasing the ejector member (51) while blocking the internal space (74) in the body (31) so that only the whisk can be fitted, or alternatively locking the ejector member (51) in the down position while unblocking the internal space (74) in the body so that only the mixing arm can be fitted.

The present invention relates to a hand-held electrical beater-mixer, particularly a kitchen beater-mixer, comprising a body of generally prismatic form containing an electrical drive motor which, considering the beater-mixer in its normal use position with at least one beating accessory such as for example a whisk, is disposed horizontally in the lower portion of said body, a rotatable coupling device of said beating accessory which is arranged in the forward portion of said body opening into the base of the latter, and which is connected to the front end of the drive shaft, a rotatable drive carried by the rear end of the drive shaft and disposed in a cylindrical securement socket of a mixing device which extends horizontally in the rear portion of said body and which is open facing an opening provided in the rear portion of the body and adapted to receive the mixing accessory, which mixing accessory comprises a shaft whose one end is adapted to couple with said drive, as well as an ejection member arranged vertically above and in communication with the coupling device of the beating accessory and displaceable in height from a lowered position to a raised position under the action of the beating accessory during its complete emplacement, and conversely from this high position to the low position in which it frees said beating accessory under the action of a manual control member.
There will be understood by beating accessory, a working tool of the whisk or mixer type, and by mixing accessory a working tool turning at high speed of the mixer foot type with a rotating helix, or again of the mixing bowl type with a rotating knife.
With the known apparatus of this type, it can happen that through mistake or negligence, the user mounts at the same time the beating accessory and the mixing accessory in the body of the apparatus, then carries out actuation of the apparatus; the two tools working in simultaneous movement, of respectively different types, giving rise to the danger of exposing the user to serious wounding.

Hand-held electrical beater-mixer preventing concomitant emplacement of accessories


A package for a stick product, such as an antiperspirant stick, comprises a barrel for containing the stick, the barrel having an opening through which the stick can be exposed for use, and a product support member for supporting the end of the stick product opposite the end of the stick which is to be exposed. The support member is movable for adjusting the amount of the stick product which is exposed for use through the barrel opening. An applicator surface is provided about the periphery of the opening of the barrel for application and rubbing in of a visible amount of product. The package, including the applicator surface, allows the consumer to rub the product in while avoiding contacting the underarm with the relatively narrow edge of the barrel. The quantity of product being applied can also be accurately controlled using the package. The surface of the product support member has a configuration, in cross section, like that of the applicator surface adjacent the periphery of the opening, so that the product can be used to the bottom of the stick.

The present invention is directed to a package for a stick type product (e.g., a solid stick product). More particularly, the invention is directed to an antiperspirant (we include within the term "antiperspirant" a deodorant, deodorant/antiperspirant or antiperspirant) stick package (e.g., for underarm use).
A conventional package for a solid stick type product, such as a conventional antiperspirant stick package, comprises a barrel for containing an antiperspirant stick. The barrel has an opening through which a first end of the stick can be exposed for use. A second, opposite end of the antiperspirant stick is supported on a movable product support member within the barrel. The support member can be moved as by pushing or with the use of a screw feed mechanism, for example, for adjusting the amount of the antiperspirant stick which extends beyond the barrel opening. The upper edge of the barrel about the opening is a relatively narrow edge which is not itself adapted to be used in applying the product.
To use the antiperspirant stick of this type of conventional package, the user adjusts the stick relative to the barrel until the end of the stick protrudes through the opening of the barrel a sufficient distance for rubbing the end of the stick against the underarm. This distance is typically one quarter inch to one half inch. The product is elevated with respect to the barrel to this extent so as to avoid contacting the underarm with the relatively narrow edge of the barrel. The elevated portion of the stick is subject to crumbling, cracking and breakage during use because of the stresses placed on the stick during application, all of the application forces being borne by the stick itself. This conventional antiperspirant stick package is also disadvantageous in that it does not allow the user to precisely control the amount of product which is being applied and, further, because the stick itself cannot be used to the very bottom of the stick without the possibility of contacting the underarm with, e.g., the movable product support member and/or the relatively narrow edge of the barrel.
An example of a package for a solid stick type product is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,330. The package disclosed in this patent includes a tubular container body with an open upper end and a lower end substantially closed by a base member. Included within the container body is a follower embedded in and adhered to the solid stick product, the follower being able to be fully retracted within the container body so that the entire inner volume of the container body may be filled with the solid stick product, thereby minimizing wastage of container space. This patent further discloses that the upper edges of the follower structure are curved such that the effective upper surface of the follower is dome-shaped, such curved upper surface being preferred for followers for, e.g., solid antiperspirant packages to maximize consumer comfort and minimize product waste.
However, this patent does not contemplate an applicator surface for applying the solid stick type product. Furthermore, this patent does not describe any correspondence between an applicator surface, as part of the package, and the bottom support for the stick-type product.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,917,765 discloses a dispensing container for materials such as creams, pastes and salves, using a screw-operated piston assembly to expel the material from the container through dispensing openings in a dispensing head onto the dispensing head, the dispensing head then acting as an applicator for applying the material. The material expelled is not a stick-type product; and the dispensing head of this patent, having a plurality of openings therein but not being entirely open over the container, is not usable with a stick-type product within the contemplation of the present invention.
Thus, the above-discussed documents do not overcome the disadvantages of prior packages for stick-type products, with respect to application of the product and minimizing product waste.


A retractable storage device for an armrest of a chair, including a vertically extending arm assembly including a first distal end and a second distal end, a horizontally extending arm assembly including a first distal end and a second distal end, a middle connector, and a storage container. The second distal end of the vertically extending arm assembly is pivotally secured to the middle connector, and the first distal end of the horizontally extending arm assembly is pivotally secured to the middle connector. The retractable storage device is moveable between a stowed position and a raised position. The storage container is coupled to the second distal end of the horizontally extending arm assembly, where the storage container is stowed beneath the armrest when the retractable storage device is moved to the stowed position.

Additional storage space may be desirable by an operator of a wheelchair. For example, if a wheelchair operator would like an area to store their cellular device, books, or a laptop computer, then the operator may place a storage container on the side of the wheelchair by the armrest, or use a backpack or bag which is arranged to the back of the wheelchair. Accordingly, if a storage container is placed on the side of the wheelchair, this would increase the overall width of the wheelchair, and could prevent the operator from passing through certain doorways due to the increased width. If the operator used a backpack to store their belongings on the back of the wheelchair, it would become difficult to easily access anything contained within the backpack due to its location on the back of the wheelchair. The other option an operator could use is to hold their belongings, which would not be feasible for most wheelchair operators.
Accordingly, there is a need for a retractable storage device that does not increase the width of the wheelchair or chair the device is secured to, and has both a stowed and raised position that is easily accessible to a person seated in the chair or wheelchair.


Disclosed are novel antifungal agents having the formula: ##STR1## as well as a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester of prodrug thereof, wherein. R is: ##STR2## --C(O)--R.sub.1 wherein R.sub.1 is alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, arylalkenyl, aryl-aryl-, arylalkoxy-aryl-, aryl-aryl-aryl-, arylkoxy-aryl-aryl-, or ##STR3## wherein R.sub.2 is alkylamino, dialkylamino, (heterocyclic)alkyl, aryl, or arylalkyl; and. X is O, NH, or NR.sub.3 wherein R.sub.3 is alkyl or aryl. Also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising a compound of the invention in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier; and a process for preparing the compounds of the invention.

The compounds of the present invention are related to those of the papulacandin class, described in J. Antibiotics 33(9):967-977 (1980). Papulacandins include BE-29602, disclosed in a published Japanese patent application of Banyu Pharmaceutical Co. (No. JP05170784-A, published Jul. 9, 1993) and isolated from a Fusarium species of fungus, chaetiacandin, disclosed in J. Antibiotics 38(4):455-459 (1985) and J. Antibiotics 38(4):544-546 (1985), and fusacandins, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,251, issued Dec. 17, 1996.


A through hole that is slightly larger than a size of a rear end of a transformer container is formed in a rear cover constituting a part of an external wall of a starting circuit unit. The transformer container houses therein a transformer and constitutes a transformer portion. The transformer portion is assembled such that a rear end of the transformer container projects from the through hole. This allows the transformer container to constitute a part of the external wall of the starting circuit unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a discharge lamp lighting device having a starting circuit unit that integrally includes a socket on which a discharge lamp is mounted and a starting circuit for starting the discharge lamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a discharge lamp (HID lamp) has been used as a light source of a headlamp for a motor vehicle use. For example, JP 2001-102142 A discloses, as a discharge lamp lighting device for lighting such a discharge lamp, a discharge lamp lighting device having a starting circuit unit in which a socket on which a discharge lamp is mounted and a starting circuit for starting the discharge lamp are integrally provided, and all internal constituent components in the unit are covered with an external wall.
The starting circuit of the discharge lamp lighting device has a high voltage transformer generating a high-voltage pulse necessary to start its discharge lamp. Such a high voltage transformer calls for covering itself with a member such as a container or a barrier plate aimed insulating its high voltage portion. For this reason, a high voltage transformer is previously configured as a component that has no exposed high voltage portion, and then the transformer generating high voltage is covered along with other circuits with a cover which is separately fabricated beforehand, thereby uniting a discharge lamp lighting device as a socket for connecting a discharge lamp having a built-in starting circuit.
Meanwhile, in a discharge lighting device for a vehicle, the higher the function of a vehicle, the larger the number of components mounted in an engine room is. As a result, in a recent discharge lamp lighting device for a vehicle use, a space around a headlamp tends to be narrowed. Therefore, there is great need for size reduction of a discharge lamp lighting device. Particularly, it shows a marked trend toward a discharge lamp lighting device having a starting circuit unit in which a socket and a starting circuit are integrally provided because of an extremely large size of the unit placed at the back of the discharge lamp.
In order to achieve such size reduction with the existing discharge lamp lighting device, it has no other choice but to thin thickness of the cover out of a double-layered wall, i.e., a barrier plate for insulating the transformer generating high voltage and the cover constituting an external wall of the starting circuit unit. However, to use as a cover, thinning the thickness of the cover to excess is absolutely nonsense for lack of its stiffness, and one strikes against technical bounds in fabricating a thin cover from the beginning. Therefore, there has been unsurmountable bounds as far as one takes the foregoing conventional structure.


A pump and motor distribution valve formed by a hydraulic closed circuit for connection between a pump and a motor. In a hydraulic non-stage transmission CVT including a swash plate plunger type hydraulic pump P and a swash plate plunger type hydraulic motor M connected to each other through a hydraulic closed circuit, a pump swash plate member is driven to rotate. A pump cylinder and a motor cylinder are connected to each other and disposed in a connected state on an output shaft. A motor swash plate, restricted in rotation, is oscillated, and the swash plate angle can be regulated variably. A pump-side spool rotatable as one body with the pump swash plate member and a motor-side spool maintained fixedly are inserted in a valve hole formed in the output shaft to penetrate through the output shaft in the axial direction. A hydraulic closed circuit includes the spools and a plurality of communication oil passages formed in the pump cylinder, the motor cylinder and the output shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic non-stage transmission including a swash plate plunger pump and a swash plate plunger motor, wherein a pump discharge port and a pump suction port of the swash plate plunger pump are connected, respectively, to a motor suction port and a motor discharge port of the swash plate plunger pump through a hydraulic closed circuit.
2. Description of Background Art
As to hydraulic non-stage transmissions including a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor in combination, a variety of forms of configurations have been known and put to practical use. For example, a hydraulic non-stage transmission are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 6-2753 and Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 7-88884 which have been proposed by the present applicant. The hydraulic non-stage transmission disclosed in these patent documents includes a swash plate plunger pump, a swash plate plunger motor, and a hydraulic closed circuit for connecting a discharge port and a suction port of the swash plate plunger pump to a suction port and a discharge port of the swash plate plunger motor, wherein a pump swash plate member is driven by an engine, a pump cylinder and a motor cylinder that are connected to each other and disposed in a connected state on an output shaft. A motor swash plate member is restricted in rotation, and the motor swash plate angle can be variably regulated.
In this type of hydraulic non-stage transmission, the pump cylinder and the motor cylinder are connected to each other in a back-to-back relationship with pump and motor distribution valves (distributor valves) disposed at the connected portion, thus forming the hydraulic closed circuit. The pump and motor distribution valves are so configured that an oil discharged from a pump plunger reciprocated in the pump cylinder according to the rotation of a pump swash plate driven to rotate is supplied into a motor cylinder chamber to push the motor plunger. Thus, the motor plunger is moved in the axial direction in sliding contact with a motor swash plate, whereby the motor cylinder is driven to rotate.
Meanwhile, the pump and motor distribution valves are formed by inserting valve spools respectively in a plurality of pump and motor valve spool holes formed to extend radially in the connected portion of the pump and motor cylinders, and providing a pump-side eccentric cam mechanism for reciprocating the pump valve spool according to the rotation of the pump swash plate. A motor-side eccentric cam mechanism is provided for reciprocating the motor valve spool according to the rotation of the motor cylinder. This portion, however, is complicated in structure, and results in a high manufacturing cost.


A method for lining an existing pipe uses a tubular lining material comprising a flexible resin absorber impregnated therein with a liquid setting resin. One end part of the lining material is radially spread to form cut pieces. The cut pieces of the lining material are laid on a flange comprising a flexible resin absorber impregnated with a liquid setting resin. The flange and the cut pieces of the lining material are brought into pressure contact with a surface surrounding a pipe opening of the existing pipe before a step of evertedly inserting the lining material into the existing pipe. The liquid setting resin in the flange and the cut pieces of the lining material is cured to adhesively fix the flange and the cut pieces of the lining material to the surface surrounding the pipe opening of the existing pipe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for lining an inner circumferential surface of an existing pipe such as a sewer pipe with a lining material, and to a lining material collar for protecting one end part of the lining material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional method of lining an existing pipe, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1980-43890, a lining material comprising a tubular (bag shaped) flexible resin absorber impregnated with a liquid setting resin is inserted into the existing pipe with the liquid setting resin in an uncured form. The lining material is then brought into pressure contact with an inner circumferential surface of the existing pipe by air pressure, water pressure, and the like, and cured by heating and hardening the setting material so that it becomes tubular with a shape the same as the inner circumferential surface of the existing pipe.
In such a lining method, if, for example, a branch pipe that intersects the main pipe and whose diameter is comparatively small is lined from a pipe opening of the branch pipe opened at a portion that intersects the main pipe, then a lining material is used that is provided with a flange at one end part, and that flange is bonded and fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the main pipe (hereinafter, referred to as the flange fixing surface) surrounding the pipe opening of the branch pipe. This is to position and fix one end part of the lining material to the pipe opening, and to prevent the infiltration of external ground water, rainwater, and the like, by sealing a gap between the inner circumference of the branch pipe and the outer circumference of the lining material at the circumferential edge part of the pipe opening of the branch pipe.
The flange comprises a resin absorber impregnated with a liquid setting resin; however, unlike the branch pipe lining material, the flange is manufactured as a hardened object by curing the impregnated liquid setting resin in advance at the factory, and carried into the construction site for use in a state integrally joined with one end part of the lining material.
To make the abovementioned seal perfect by tightly sealing the entire surface of the flange to the flange fixing surface, it is necessary to make the shape of the flange curved corresponding to the flange fixing surface, and to match the angle of the flange surface relative to the axial direction of the branch pipe liner to the angle of intersection of the main pipe with the branch pipe. Consequently, the angle of intersection of the main pipe with the branch pipe, and the shape (curvature, and the like) of the flange fixing surface are measured beforehand by performing a pre-examination of the lining construction. According to the dimensions thus measured, the flange is manufactured as a hardened object whose shape is matched to the measured shape, and the flange is joined to one end part of the lining material so that it forms the measured angle of intersection.
If, after lining the branch pipe, the main pipe is lined including the portion that intersects with the branch pipe, then the lining material of the main pipe unfortunately plugs up the pipe opening of the branch pipe at the intersecting portion. This requires the forming of a hole by a drill and the like in the lining material of the main pipe at the portion opposing the pipe opening of the branch pipe. In this case, a short, tubular collar provided with a flange of a metal such as stainless steel is used to protect the flange and the end part of the branch pipe liner from being cut by the drill. The tubular part of the collar is mated with one end part of a branch pipe lining material beforehand, and the collar is fixed by tightly sealing and bonding its flange to the lower surface of the flange of the lining material. Even with the manufacture of this collar, the angle of the tubular part of the collar with its flange is matched to the angle of intersection of the main pipe with the branch pipe, measured by the previously discussed pre-examination.
Nevertheless, it may not necessarily be possible to accurately measure the angle of intersection of the main pipe with the branch pipe, and the shape of the flange fixing surface by the previously performed pre-examination. In particular, accurate measurement is problematic in cases where a person cannot enter the main pipe and perform a direct measurement because the diameter of the main pipe is small, and the measurement must be taken indirectly by a video camera vehicle, and the like.
The flange of the lining material is conventionally manufactured as a hardened object whose shape matches the shape of the measurement results, and joined to one end part of the lining material at an angle the same as the angle of intersection of the measurement results. If, therefore, the measurement error is large, then the flange of the lining material can no longer be tightly sealed and fixed to the entire surface of the flange fixing surface. In this case, the gap between the inner circumference of the branch pipe and the outer circumference of the branch pipe liner at the circumferential edge part of the pipe opening of the branch pipe can no longer be completely sealed by the flange, and the infiltration of external ground water, rainwater, and the like, can no longer be prevented.
In addition, the previously mentioned collar is fixed to one end part of the lining material according to the measurement results. If, therefore, the measurement error is large, then the flange of the lining material can no longer be tightly sealed to the entire surface of the flange fixing surface.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for lining an existing pipe that can completely seal a gap between the inner circumference of the existing pipe and the outer circumference of the lining material at a circumferential edge part of the pipe opening of the existing pipe, and a lining material protecting collar adapted for use in this method.

Method for lining an existing pipe and collar for protecting a lining material


A quickly assembled and disassembled mounting bracket assembly for cylindrical objects, such as pressurized gas (e.g., oxygen) tanks, is described. The bracket assembly has two interconnecting parts: a bracket section and a base plate. The bracket section is slidable within the base plate, similar to a rail system. The two interconnecting pieces slidably interlock via spaced-apart T-shaped connectors disposed on distal side portions thereof. Assembly movement is minimal so that the two pieces can be joined quickly. Limiting stops provide mating alignment. Once in the aligned position, one or more locking detent pins are inserted through alignment holes disposed in the mating sections to secure the two parts in place.

Scuba diving is a very popular activity. One of the time consuming inconveniences of getting prepared for a scuba dive is mounting the oxygen tanks to the harness worn about the torso of the diver. The oxygen cylinders are fairly heavy and bulky, thus making the mounting procedure particularly cumbersome and difficult. Oxygen cylinders are also worn by fire fighters and rescue personnel working in hazardous locations.
Presently, a very common way of securing these tanks to the harness is by tightening a band that is attached to the harness. The band girdles the circumference of the cylinder. Multiple oxygen cylinders are typically held together with a banding assembly which provides proper alignment of the cylinders relative to the valve manifold. The banding assembly is commonly attached to the harness via bolts passing through the cylinder bands.
Adjusting the above mounting apparatus is often very time consuming, because once the belting is loosened, the alignment must be reconfigured. Precise adjustment is necessary because nylon webbing, that can loosen when wet, creates the potential for the primary cylinder to slip from the harness during a dive.
Accordingly, it would be very useful to be able to quickly mount and remove the heavy and bulky oxygen tanks or other cylinders from a support harness.
The present invention introduces a quickly assembled and disassembled mounting bracket system for oxygen tanks. The two interconnecting parts comprise a bracket section and a mounting plate section. The bracket section is slidable within the mounting plate base, similar to a rail system. The two interconnecting pieces slidably interlock via spaced-apart T-section connectors. Movement during assembly is minimal. The two pieces are quickly joined. Limiting stops provide mating alignment. Once in the aligned position, two locking detent pins are inserted through alignment holes disposed in the mating sections to secure the two parts in place.
The mounting assembly, while most usefully employed for oxygen tanks, can also be used to mount similar items, such as pony bottles.


The invention relates to a burner, particularly for the gasification of solid carbonaceous materials by partial combustion. The burner comprises a central channel (2) and at least one coaxial channel (6). The channels (2, 6) are defined by concentric walls (3, 5) having free downstream outer ends profiled to define an annular slit (10) forming a discharge end of the coaxial channel (6) and converging towards an adjacent discharge end of the central channel (2). The burner (1) is encased by a cooling jacket (14) and comprises a front face (21) with double walls spaced by one or more baffles (28) defining a coolant flow path operatively connected to the cooling jacket (14). The cooling jacket (14) has an upstream section (14A) and a transitional section (25) narrowing down to the front face (21) having a smaller outer diameter than the upstream cooling jacket section.

Partial combustion, also known as gasification, of a solid carbonaceous fuel is obtained by the reaction of the fuel with oxygen. The fuel mainly contains carbon and hydrogen as combustible components. The gas-carried finely divided carbonaceous fuel and the oxygen-containing gas are passed via the separate channels in the burner into a reactor at relatively high velocity. In the reactor a flame is maintained in which the fuel reacts with the oxygen in the oxygen-containing gas at temperatures above 1300° C. to form mainly carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
The term "oxygen-containing gas" as used herein is intended to refer to gas containing free oxygen, O2, and to include air, oxygen-enriched air, i.e., more than 21 mole % oxygen, and also substantially pure oxygen, i.e., more than about 95 mole % oxygen, with the remainder comprising gases normally found in air such as nitrogen, and/or rare gases.
The term "solid carbonaceous fuel" as used herein is intended to include various gas carried combustible materials and mixtures thereof from the group of coal, coke from coal, coal liquefaction residues, petroleum coke, soot, biomass, and particulate solids derived from oil shale, tar sands and pitch. The coal may be of any type, including lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous and anthracite. The solid carbonaceous fuels are preferably ground to a particle size so that at least about 90% by weight of the material is less than 90 microns and moisture content is less than about five percent weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,962 discloses a burner for such a partial combustion process. The burner comprises a central channel with an outlet for supplying the fuel to the combustion zone, and a coaxial annular channel with an outlet surrounding the central channel outlet to supply an oxygen containing gas intersecting and mixing with the flow of solid fuel from the outlet of the central channel. The burner further comprises a front face disposed at the discharge end of the burner. The front face has a central aperture through which the fuel and the oxygen containing gas flow to the combustion zone. Approaching the outlet, the diameter of the annular channel supplying the oxygen containing gas decreases resulting in an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis. The thus obtained inclining annular slit should be stably dimensioned in order to obtain a constant and evenly distributed flow of oxygen-containing gas. Due to the inclination of the annular slit in the flow direction, the issuing gas flow will intersect and mix with the flow of co-reactive combustible material issuing from the central channel into the downstream combustion zone.
Since the combustion temperatures may reach 1300° C. or more, a primary concern of such burners is to prevent damage to the burner front, also referred to as the burner face, caused by the high heat flux during the gasification process. To protect the burner front from overheating, U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,962 proposes to use a hollow wall member with internal cooling passages through which fluid coolant is circulated at a rapid rate along a spiral flow path to assure even cooling of the burner front face so as to minimize thermal stresses which could cause deterioration and even failure of the burner during prolonged operation, particularly by fatigue stresses, which may ultimately result in leaks of coolant. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,962 a large number of spiral turns is required to cool the complete burner front, resulting in considerable pressure drop.


Some of the members constituting a semiconductor element are formed from α-Si and an HSG forming process is implemented to form hemispherical polysilicon grains at some of the members formed from α-Si. Thus, a semiconductor device that is achieved without requiring a great number of manufacturing steps such as film formation and etching, facilitates control of the individual steps and assures reliable electrical connection between the members and a method of manufacturing such a semiconductor device are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device achieved by adopting an HSG (hemispherical grained silicon) forming technology and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
When manufacturing a semiconductor device assuming a multilayer structure such as a DRAM in the prior art, extremely small plugs are formed at inter-layer films in order to electrically connect the layers.
FIGS. 3-5 are cross sectional views illustrating steps taken to form minute plugs at an inter-layer film in the semiconductor device assuming a multilayer structure through a manufacturing method in the prior art.
First, as illustrated in FIG. 3(a), element isolation regions 102, an electrode wiring 103 which may be utilized as, for instance, a bit line and an inter-layer film 104 are formed on a silicon substrate 101 through a method of the known art.
Next, a polysilicon film 105 to constitute a mask is formed over the inter-layer film 104, as shown in FIG. 3(b). It is to be noted that this film may be constituted of amorphous silicon (α-Si).
Then, after forming a film constituted of a resist 106 such as a photoresist on the mask polysilicon film 105, the resist 106 is patterned through lithography to remove the resist 106 over the areas where plugs are to be formed, as illustrated in FIG. 3(c).
When the mask polysilicon film 105 and the interlayer film 104 are etched by using the patterned resist 106 as a mask, as shown in FIG. 3(d) in the following step, areas 107 are formed.
After the remaining resist 106 is removed, a new polysilicon (or α-Si) film is formed. Then, by removing the polysilicon (or α-Si) film through slightly anisotropic etching, polysilicon (or α-Si) sidewalls to be utilized for PSC (poly-sidewall contact), i.e., sidewall polysilicon film 108, formed as illustrated in FIG. 4(a).
As shown in FIG. 4(b), minute contact holes 109 are formed by etching the inter-layer film 104 with the sidewall polysilicon films 108 used as a mask.
Next, a new polysilicon film, i.e., an embedding polysilicon film 110 is formed and part of the embedding polysilicon film 110 enters the contact holes 109 to form plugs in the following step, as illustrated in FIG. 4(c).
Then, as shown in FIG. 4(d), the embedding polysilicon film 110 and the mask polysilicon film 105 are removed through an etch-back or a CMP method (chemical mechanical polishing).
As a result, plugs each having an extremely small lower portion that is joined with the silicon substrate 101, the electrode wiring 103 or the like and a wide upper portion, i.e., a wide receptacle area over which the plug is joined with another layer, are obtained. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a second layer wiring 112 and a cell contact 113 to be connected with a DRAM capacitor, which are formed in a second inter-layer film 111 above the inter-layer film 104, can be joined with the wide receptacle areas of the plugs even if their positions do not exactly match the positions of the corresponding plugs.
However, in the semiconductor device manufacturing method in the prior art described above in which PSC (poly-sidewall contact) is utilized, the number of film forming steps is bound to be large.
In addition, when etching the mask polysilicon film 105 and the inter-layer film 104 by using the patterned resist 106 as a mask, as illustrated in FIG. 3(d), it is difficult to control the degree to which the inter-layer film 104 is etched.
Furthermore, with a great number of film forming/etching steps implemented, there is a greater risk of an abnormal pattern 114 being formed due to entry of minute impurities, i.e., particles 115. Moreover, since it is more difficult to achieve full control of the degree to which the inter-layer film 104, the second inter-layer film 111 and the like are etched, the receptacle area of a plug may become narrower or the lower end of the cell contact 113 may not reach a specific depth to result in an incomplete junction 115.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof


A video signal processing circuit is provided to display an image of a standard television signal on a display unit with a 6:9 aspect ratio by enlarging an image of a video signal in the horizontal and vertical directions by a magnification factor which depends on the feature of the standard television signal. The processing circuit includes a first memory circuit which reads out the stored video signal in response to a read clock different from the write clock and generated by a stable frequency source so that the image of the video signal is expanded in the vertical direction, a second memory circuit which implements time-base compression for the output of the first memory circuit and thereafter expands the signal, a spatial filter which implements filtering for the output of the second memory circuit, an enlargement control circuit which control the above-mentioned circuits, and a synchronizing processing circuit. The circuit arrangement enables video signals of various image sizes, such as for movie pictures, to be displayed by signal conversion on a display unit with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and is capable of suppressing jitters of video signals.

The present invention relates to techniques of video signal processing, and more particularly to a method and circuit arrangement for video signal processing suitable for use with a display apparatus which displays an image of a video signal such as a television signal through enlargement and compression to an arbitrary picture size.
At the prevalence of a high-definition television system having an attribute of 16:9 aspect ratio, various studies are under way on the compatibility with the conventional standard television systems such as an NTSC system. Among several problems encountered in displaying a picture of the standard 4:3 aspect ratio on a display unit with a 16:9 aspect ratio, a specific problem is the difference of luminance decay of phosphor due to a side panel signal or side blank panel signal which is applied to the unused sections of the screen.
When the standard video signal of the 4:3 aspect ratio is displayed intact on a display unit with the 16:9 aspect ratio, a circular image turns to a horizontally elongated ellipsoidal image as shown in FIG. 3A, and generally, this impropriety is avoided by compressing the video signal in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 3B and displaying the resulting signal with side panel signals being inserted at the rightmost and leftmost sections of the screen as shown in FIG. 3B. However, this method does not use the wide screen area of 16:9 aspect ratio efficiently, i.e., it leaves the partial screen areas unused. In this respect, JP-A-3-11891 offers a method of using the whole screen area by display the standard video signal through the expansion in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 3C.
FIG. 4A is a conceptual circuit diagram showing the circuit arrangement for carrying out the above-mentioned prior art. In the Figure, a reference numeral 401 denotes an input terminal for the NTSC television signal, 402 denotes an output terminal for the video signal with an attribute of converted aspect ratio, 403 denotes a NTSC decoder which separates the NTSC television signal into a luminance and color difference signal, 404 denotes a non-interlace conversion circuit which converts the signal into double-rated signal for progressive scanning, 405 denotes a first memory circuit used for the time base conversion, 406 denotes a second memory circuit used to determine the extracting position of the video signal, 407 denotes a line calculation circuit which implements the image calculation for an upper and lower lines on the screen, and 408 and 409 denote a first and second selection switching circuits.
In the case of displaying a picture of a 4:3 aspect ratio by inserting the side panel signals in the rightmost and leftmost sections of the screen as shown in FIG. 3B, the first memory circuit 405 is operated by application of a read clock which is higher than the write clock so as to compress the time axis, and the resulting video signal is supplied to the display unit through the a-contact of the second selection switching circuit 409. In the case of displaying a picture represented by a video signal which is derived from a NTSC television signal and conditioned to the 16:9 aspect ratio (the video signal is prerecorded as a "squeezed signal" in which a circular image is reformed in a vertically elongated ellipsoidal image as shown in FIG. 3D), the video signal is fed through intact by way of the a-contact of the first selection switching circuit 408 and the b-contact of the second selection switching circuit 409, instead of using the first and second memory circuits. In this case, the video signal can be displayed to produce a picture of accurate shape on the display screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio as shown in FIG. 3E. In another case of displaying a magnified picture by cutting off its top and bottom sections as shown in FIG. 3C, a second memory circuit 406 having a large storage capacity is used to define the extraction area of picture and the picture is expanded in the vertical direction based on an interpolation process by the line calculation circuit 407.
FIG. 4B shows the arrangement of the line calculation circuit 407. In the Figure, a reference numeral 410 denotes an input terminal for the video signal provided by the second memory circuit 406, 411 denotes an output terminal, 412 denotes a one-line delay memory circuit, 413 and 414 denote coefficient memories used to magnify the image of input signal at a fixed magnification factor, and 415 denotes an adder. The interpolation process implemented by the line calculation circuit 407 will be explained in detail in connection with FIG. 5.
Columns (A) and (B) in FIG. 5 show proper levels and weighting factors or coefficient of scanning lines in magnifying a picture by 4/3 in this example through the interpolation of scanning lines. The video signal for the 4/3 magnification can be produced through a relatively simple filtering process for the factors, as will be appreciated from the Figure. Column (C) in FIG. 5 shows scanning lines on the input terminal 410, i.e., the output of the field memory circuit 406, indicating that the same scanning line is read out once in every four lines. Column (D) in FIG. 5 shows values in the second coefficient multiplier 414 which stores coefficients .alpha. to be multiplied to the scanning lines on the input terminal 410. Column (E) in FIG. 5 shows output scanning lines provided by the one-line delay memory 412. Column (F) in FIG. 5 shows coefficients (1.alpha.) in the first coefficient multiplier 413. Column (G) in FIG. 5 shows output signals of the adder 415. By producing a new scanning line while switching the coefficient for each line, an expanded video signal image a picture having the correct levels shown by (B) in FIG. 5 is obtained. In this manner, the conventional system is devised to display properly an image or picture of a video signal with a 4:3 aspect ratio on a display unit with the 16:9 aspect ratio.
Another prior art disclosed in JP-A-3-60583 uses a deflection circuit for displaying a picture from a video signal of a movie picture size through the vertical expansion thereby to accomplish a display mode of FIG. 3C.
On the other hand, the technique for a display mode shown in FIG. 3B through the compression of input video signal in the horizontal direction is conventionally based on the formation of a read clock from the write clock of the first memory circuit 405 by use of phase locked loop (PLL) circuits. However, such method necessitates multiple PLL circuits within a synchronizing system (sync system) including a PLL circuit for producing the read clock, a PLL circuit for producing the read clock, and an automatic frequency control (AFC) circuit in a CRT deflection circuit, and in displaying pictures from such a video signal source as home VTRs, in which a great deal of jitter is included in the signal, the picture quality is deteriorated due to emphasized jitters caused by the variation of PLL characteristics.
Described above is the prior art method of displaying a picture from a standard video signal of 4:3 aspect ratio with a display unit with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This prior art method is based on the expansion of picture in the vertical direction so that the resulting picture is displayed in the entire screen area of 16:9 aspect ratio. However, it actually involves a problem of possibility in the loss of a crucial portion of a picture. Video signals of movie pictures as shown in FIG. 3F include a variety of sizes of picture field, and when these signals are simply rendered the vertical expansion, the literal field or other crucial section of picture is cut off or a blanking portion at the top or bottom of picture is left unremoved in many cases. Although the above-mentioned prior art of JP-A-3-11891 is devised for the vertical expansion mode to minimize the lost portion at the top and bottom of picture by switching the magnification factor between 4/3 and 5/4 for the first and second coefficient multipliers 413 and 414, it does not consider the horizontal expansion and compression of picture.
Moreover, in the case of displaying a picture from an input video signal by compression as shown in FIG. 3B, it is difficult to prevent the degradation of performance against jitters.
As techniques pertinent to the present invention, there are disclosed video signal processing circuits for enlarging a picture through interpolation for scanning lines by use of a field memory in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,496,974 and 5,029,006.

Compatible wide aspect ratio receiver with spatial filtering for variable zoom

Hitachi Video & Information System, Inc.