The embedded audio coder (EAC) is a fully scalable psychoacoustic audio coder which uses a novel perceptual audio coding approach termed “implicit auditory masking” which is intermixed with a scalable entropy coding process. When encoding and decoding an audio file using the EAC, auditory masking thresholds are not sent to a decoder. Instead, the masking thresholds are automatically derived from already coded coefficients. Furthermore, in one embodiment, rather than quantizing the audio coefficients according to the auditory masking thresholds, the masking thresholds are used to control the order that the coefficients are encoded. In particular, in this embodiment, during the scalable coding, larger audio coefficients are encoded first, as the larger components are the coefficients that contribute most to the audio energy level and lead to a higher auditory masking threshold.

1. Technical Field
The invention is related to an audio coder, and in particular, to a fully scalable psychoacoustic audio coder which derives auditory masking thresholds from previously coded coefficients, and uses the derived thresholds for optimizing the order of coding.
2. Related Art
There are many existing schemes for encoding audio files. Several such schemes attempt to achieve higher compression rations by using known human psychoacoustic characteristics to mask the audio file. A psychoacoustic coder is an audio encoder which has been designed to take advantage of human auditory masking by dividing the audio spectrum of one or more audio channels into narrow frequency bands of different sizes optimized with respect to the frequency selectivity of human hearing. This makes it possible to sharply filter coding noise so that it is forced to stay very close in frequency to the frequency components of the audio signal being coded. By reducing the level of coding noise wherever there are no audio signals to mask it, the sound quality of the original signal can be subjectively preserved.
In fact, virtually all state-of-the-art audio coders, including the G.722.1 coder, the MPEG-1 Layer 3 coder, the MPEG-2 AAC coder, and the MPEG-4 T/F coder, recognize the importance of the psychoacoustic characteristics, and adopt auditory masking techniques in coding audio files. In particular, using human psychoacoustic hearing characteristics in audio file compression allows for fewer bits to be used to encode audio components that are less audible to the human ear. Conversely, more bits can then be used to encode any psychoacoustic components of the audio file to which the human ear is more sensitive. Such psychoacoustic coding makes it possible to greatly improve the quality of an encoded audio at given bit rate.
Psychoacoustic characteristics are typically incorporated into an audio coding scheme in the following way. First, the encoder explicitly computes auditory masking thresholds of a group of audio coefficients, usually a "critical band," to generate an "audio mask." These thresholds are then transmitted to the decoder in certain forms, such as, for example, the quantization step size of the coefficients. Next, the encoder quantizes the audio coefficients according to the auditory mask. For auditory sensitive coefficients, i.e., those to which the human ear is more sensitive, a smaller quantization step size is typically used. For auditory insensitive coefficients, i.e., those to which the human ear is less sensitive, a larger quantization step size is typically used. The quantized audio coefficients are then typically entropy encoded, either through a Huffman coder such as the MPEG-4 AAC quantization & coding, a vector quantizer such as the MPEG-4 TwinVQ, or a scalable bitplane coder such as the MPEG-4 BSAC coder.
In each of the aforementioned conventional audio coding schemes, the auditory masking is applied before the process of entropy coding. Consequently, the masking threshold is transmitted to the decoder as overhead information. As a result, the quality of the encoded audio at a given bit rate is reduced to the extent of the bits required to encode the auditory masking threshold information.
Therefore, a system and method for encoding audio files using known human psychoacoustic characteristics to mask the audio file without the need to send auditory masking threshold information as overhead information is favorable. Such a system and method can thus improve audio quality by devoting more bits to encoding of the audio file rather than encoding of auditory masking thresholds.

System and method for embedded audio coding with implicit auditory masking


A Christmas tree stand apparatus includes a receptacle sized and configured for supporting receipt of a lower end of a tree trunk therein and a base for supporting the receptacle and Christmas tree in an upright position. Sight gauges are viewable about the entire outer periphery of the tree stand to facilitate visual indication of an amount of water within a reservoir of the receptacle. The apparatus further includes a container for holding a charge of water and a flexible hose extending from the container with a distal end that releasably connects to fill ports on the receptacle to fill water from the container into the reservoir. Connection of the hose distal end to a drain port on the base and subsequent actuation of a release valve facilitates drainage and emptying of water from the reservoir into the container. Brace members include disc-shaped feet providing enlarged surfaces which engage and hold the lower end of the tree trunk within the receptacle, without penetrating the tree trunk, upon threaded inward advancement of the brace members towards a center of the receptacle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to tree stands and, more particularly, to a Christmas tree stand having means for viewing an amount of water contained within a receptacle of the tree stand and means for transferring water between the receptacle and a container to thereby facilitate filling and draining of the receptacle while a tree remains supported upright therein.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Tree stands of various construction are well known and are used for the purpose of holding cut trees, particularly Christmas trees, in an upright, natural posture. In general, tree stands usually include a receptacle for receiving the lower end of the tree trunk and bracing means, e.g., thumb screws, for holding the tree in the desired upright position. To maintain a healthy, live appearance, the tree must be kept hydrated. To do this, a charge of water is filled into the receptacle. As the tree soaks up water, through capillary action, the volume of water in the receptacle needs to be replaced, thereby requiring regular monitoring of the water level therein and refilling when the level becomes low.
The various tree stands known in the art fail to provide a means for visually determining the water level within the receptacle when viewing the stand from any location about its periphery. To regularly inspect the water level in existing tree stands, it is thus necessary to crawl under the tree and dip one's fingers into the receptacle, estimating the water level based on the sense of touch. When the water level becomes low, or the receptacle is empty, a replenishing charge of water needs to be filled in the receptacle. This is typically done by filling a glass or pitcher with water, again crawling under the tree, and pouring the water through the gap which remains between the top edge of the receptacle and the tree trunk. Because the space is usually tight and difficult to see, being cluttered with out-stemming branches, spills are a common occurrence. Thereafter, when it is time to take the tree down, the combined tree and stand need to be moved outdoors while maintaining the tree in the upright position so that water in the receptacle does not spill. Once outdoors, the tree is tipped and leaned over in order to drain the water from the receptacle. Most people find this procedure to be awkward and somewhat strenuous, only adding to the dreadful experience of taking down decorations at the end of the holiday season.


A microscope interferometer is described, that scans an object surface through a membrane mask with a multitude of pinholes. Light reflected back through the pinholes interferes with the darkfield image of the mask surface. The mask to object separation can be stabilized by an air flow through the pinholes. Image processing techniques allow to overcome the Abbe diffraction limit for the lateral resolution.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention lies in the field of optical imaging systems. More specifically the invention concerns magnifying systems like high resolution optical microscopes.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
There exists a great variety of optical magnifying systems using classical optical elements like lenses, prisms and mirrors. The imaging characteristics can be designed for different purposes, e.g. including color filtering, polarizing or darkfield imaging. All these systems have in common that objects or details having a size close to or below the wavelength of illuminating light can't be resolved due to light diffraction phenomena. Thus standard microscopes, which use lenses for magnifying small objects, are limited in resolution due to wave characteristics of light. This limiting effect is expressed in the well known theorem of Abbe, which describes the maximum achievable lateral resolution of imaging systems as a function of the wavelength of the light and the aperture of the optical system.
Recently a new type of instrument was disclosed by D. W. Pohl, U. Ch. Fischer and U. T. Duerig, "Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM): basic principles and some recent developments", Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, Scanning Microscopy Technologies and Applications, 1988, pp. 84-90, which was capable of resolving details below the wavelength of illuminating light, thus overcoming Abbe's criterion. The underlaying concept of this specific non imaging system is the illumination of an object through a pinhole having an aperture diameter of only a fraction of the light wavelength. This pinhole is placed next to the surface of an investigated object. Backscattered light from the object's surface can be detected through the pinhole. For very thin objects transmitted light can be detected alternatively from the backside of the object. A full picture of at least parts of the object is generated by scanning the pinhole over the object thus sequentially receiving intensity fluctuations of detected light due to variations of the object's reflectivity or transmittance respectively.
Although a very high resolution can be achieved with this pinhole system there are still some inherent restrictions to consider.
For maximum resolution the distance between pinhole and object surface should not exceed the pinhole diameter.
A considerable time is required to generate an image by mechanical scanning. Drift and distortion must be controlled.
Reflection objects must be illuminated and sensed by the same pinhole. The very small amount of light that finds its way back through the pinhole is overlaid by unwanted backside reflections.
Phase objects (e.g. surface micro-roughness) cannot be detected directly. Some depth information can only be derived from the signal intensity, that decreases as a function of the distance between pinhole and object surface.
It is the object of the present invention to disclose an improved device, that allows real-time imaging of surface contour and reflectance information with a lateral resolution that overcomes the Abbe diffraction limit.

Method and apparatus for generating high resolution optical images

International Business Machines Corporation


A solid state battery (10) including a stack of cells (22), each cell comprising a positive electrode (12), a negative electrode (14) and a solid electrolyte (16) disposed between the positive electrode (12) and the negative electrode (14), wherein a current collector (18) is disposed between the negative electrode (14) of a first cell (20A) and the positive electrode (12) of a second cell (20B), the second cell (20B) being adjacent to the first cell (20A), the solid state battery (10) comprising an ionic conductor (26) having two configurations, a normal configuration wherein the ionic conductor (26) is not in contact with the current collector (18) and a short-circuit configuration wherein the ionic conductor (26) is in contact with the current collector (18), the negative electrode (14) of the first cell (20A) and the positive electrode (12) of the second cell (20B) and wherein the ionic conductor (26) has an ionic conductivity which smaller than an electronic conductivity of the current collector (18).

Lithium-based batteries are part of a family of rechargeable battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and from the positive electrode to the negative electrode when charging.
There are various types of lithium-based batteries, and interest has arisen in solid-state type batteries in recent years. In such batteries, an electrolyte of the battery, previously a liquid or gel, is replaced by a solid material. For example, JP 2011-028883 discloses a secondary battery with a lithium-ion-conductive nonaqueous electrolyte. Such solid state batteries tend to have improvements in performance as a temperature increases. Moreover, these solid state batteries are safer as there is no liquid present in the batteries.
Nevertheless, abnormalities may occur during the use of the solid state battery that may produce temperature. The temperature may rise to a threshold temperature, which may result in battery damage and/or additional consequences. Devices intended to stop charging in case of over-charging of the battery and/or when the temperature is too high are known.


A subsea hydrocarbon production field includes a number of first subsea christmas trees, a first manifold, a number of first flexible flowline jumpers, each of which is connected between the first manifold and a corresponding first tree. Each first flowline jumper includes a first flow conduit and a number of first umbilical lines, and each first flowline jumper includes a first end which is removably connected to a corresponding first tree by a first multibore hub and connector arrangement and a second end which is removably connected to the first manifold by a second multibore hub and connector arrangement.

Subsea hydrocarbon production fields typically comprise a plurality of christmas trees which are mounted on corresponding well bores. These trees may be arranged in more than one cluster, especially where the subterranean hydrocarbon formation extends over a substantial area. The trees in each cluster are often connected to a common manifold by respective flowline jumpers. In addition, the manifolds of the separate clusters may be connected together by corresponding flowlines. The well fluids produced by the several trees are commonly routed through their respective manifolds to a flowline end termination unit which in turn is connected to an offsite production and/or processing facility by a flowline.
The flowline jumpers used to connect the trees to their corresponding manifolds are usually rigid metal pipes. Accordingly, the flowline jumpers must be specifically designed to span the exact distance between a connection hub on the tree and a corresponding connection hub on the manifold. In addition, rigid flowline jumpers are relatively heavy, expensive to manufacture and difficult to handle, and they typically require special equipment to install.
Furthermore, in certain subsea fields a risk exists that hydrates may form in the flowlines. If this happens, the flow of well fluids to the offsite production and/or processing facility may be substantially diminished or even blocked. In order to ensure that the flow of well fluids will not be interrupted, many subsea hydrocarbon production fields are designed to have redundant flowlines. This involves using two flowlines between the several manifolds, between the manifolds and their corresponding flowline end termination units, and between the end termination units and the offsite production and/or processing facility. As may be appreciated, the use of redundant flowlines greatly increases the cost and time to construct the subsea field.
Each tree in the subsea field typically includes a number of electrically or hydraulically actuated valves for controlling the flow of well fluids through the tree. These valves are usually controlled by a subsea control module ("SCM") which is located on or adjacent the tree. Typically, the subsea control modules are in turn controlled by a control station located, e.g., on a surface vessel. The control station is normally connected to the SCM's through an umbilical, which typically includes a number of electrical data lines and hydraulic and/or electrical control lines. The umbilical is often connected to an umbilical termination head which in turn is connected to the several trees via corresponding flying leads. However, flying leads are difficult and time consuming to install and are subject to being tangled and damaged. If a flying lead becomes damaged, control of that tree is usually lost until the flying lead can be replaced.


Method and system for a network switch element is provided. The switch element includes a plurality of megaports, each megaport uniquely identified by a unique megaport address identifier for network addressing. Each megaport includes a plurality of operational ports, each operational port identified by a unique operational port address identifier. The switch element also includes a local crossbar for communication between the plurality of operational ports, and a shared logic module configured to provide common control of the plurality of operational ports within a megaport to allow operational ports to share resource of a single megaport to route network packets there between. The switch element also includes a global crossbar configured to allow communication between the megaports.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to networks.
2. Related Art
Networking systems are commonly used to move network information (may also be referred to interchangeably, as frames, packets or commands) between computing systems (for example, servers) or between computing systems and network devices (for example, storage systems). Various hardware and software components are used to implement network communication. Different network and storage protocols may be used to handle network information and storage information. Continuous efforts are being made to enhance the use of networking and storage protocols.
A network switch is typically a multi-port device where each port manages a point-to-point connection between itself and an attached system. Each port can be attached to a server, peripheral, input/output subsystem, bridge, hub, router, or another switch. The term network switch as used herein includes a multi-Level switch that uses plural switching elements within a single switch chassis to route data packets.
For high performance high port count single chip switches, dedicated data/control paths from each Ingress port (a port that receives information) to each Egress port (a port that transmits information) may produce a relatively high global wire port connection count. The high global wire port connection count introduces internal routing, timing and chip area issues. Continuous efforts are being made to reduce the number of connections.

Method and system for network switch element


A purge nozzle unit 1 includes a nozzle main body 2 including a trunk 41 and a collar section 8 protruding outward from the trunk 41 and a holder 3 including a side wall 31 that is in slidable contact with an outward face of the collar section 8 and a bottom wall 33 having a through hole 32 with which an outward face of the trunk 41 is in slidable contact and is configured such that a vent 30 in communication with the outside is formed in the holder 3 and the nozzle main body 2 is vertically moved relative to the holder 3 by regulating a pressure in a pressure-regulated space S formed between the nozzle main body 2 and the holder 3 and in communication with the vent 30.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a purge nozzle unit for purging a purge container having a purge space, a purge apparatus including the purge nozzle unit, and a load port.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a semiconductor manufacturing process, wafers are processed in a clean room for improved yield and quality. Instead of increasing the cleanliness of the entire interior of such a clean room, a system that incorporates "mini-environment system," which locally increases the cleanliness only around wafers, has been adopted recently for transporting and otherwise processing wafers. The mini-environment system includes two important elements: a storage container known as a Front-Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) for transporting and retaining a wafer in a highly clean environment; and a load port, which is an interfacing tool for allowing a FOUP to exchange a wafer with a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and for passing/receiving a FOUP itself to/from a transport apparatus.
A predetermined gaseous atmosphere suitable for water processing and fabrication is maintained in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. When a wafer is sent out from a FOUP into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the internal space of the FOUP is communicate with that of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. Accordingly, if the environment is less clean in the FOUP than in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, air in the FOUP may enter the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and adversely affect the gaseous atmosphere in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. Additionally, when the wafer is retrieved out of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus into the FOUP, an oxide film may be formed on the surface of the wafer due to moisture, oxygen, or any other gas in a gaseous atmosphere in the FOUP.
As a technique for coping with the above-described problems, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-038074 discloses a load port including a purge apparatus that opens a lid of a FOUP at a door section of the load port and blows a predetermined gas (e.g., nitrogen or inert gas) into the FOUP by a purge section (purge nozzle) provided on the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus side while internal spaces of the FOUP and the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus communicate with each other.
However, the purge apparatus using a so-called front purge system, which injects a predetermined gas from the front (the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus side) into a FOUP opened to the internal space of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus through a carrying-in/carrying-out port and replaces the atmosphere in the FOUP with the predetermined gas, suffers from a disadvantage. The problem is that since the purging is performed while an opening of the FOUP is left open, and the internal space of the FOUP is in direct communication with the entire internal space of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, it is difficult to keep high concentration of the predetermined gas in the atmosphere in a FOUP, resulting in a lower maximum concentration of the predetermined gaseous atmosphere.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-187539 discloses a load port including a purge apparatus that injects a predetermined gas (e.g., nitrogen or inert gas) into a FOUP loaded with wafers placed on a table of the load port from the bottom to fill the FOUP and replace the atmosphere in the FOUP with the predetermined gas. The purge apparatus using a so-called bottom purge system, which injects gas such as nitrogen or dry air from the bottom of a FOUP into the FOUP and replaces the atmosphere in the FOUP with the predetermined gas, has an advantage over a purge apparatus using the front purge system in that a higher maximum concentration of the predetermined gaseous atmosphere can be reached.
Assume a case of a bottom purge system that has a purge nozzle always protruding upward from the top of table. In this case, when a FOUP is placed on the table, the purge nozzle is likely to hit against or be caught on a part of the FOUP before the FOUP is positioned by a positioning pin on the table, which may lead to a failure of the FOUP to be placed at an intended position.
A FOUP is often placed from above a load port onto the table by a transport apparatus such as an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transfer). A swing of the FOUP at the time of transport and placement is likely to cause the above-described problem. In addition, an injector (purge port) made of a resin provided on a bottom of the FOUP and brought into (close) contact with the purge nozzle at the time of purging may rub against the purge nozzle and wear at the time of placement of the FOUP on the table prior to purging.
For this reason, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-187539 discloses a purge apparatus including a drive unit that moves a nozzle so as to contact with a purge port formed in a bottom of a FOUP while a positioning pin on a table is engaged with a positioning groove provided on the bottom of the FOUP.
As a specific example of the drive unit, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-187539 discloses one that includes a pair of left and right air cylinders attached to opposite sides of a nozzle holder holding a nozzle and a common elevating plate whose opposite ends connected to working ends of the air cylinders and whose center is provided with the nozzle. The unit moves the nozzle up and down by driving the air cylinders in sync with each other to vertically move the elevating plate.
The example, however, involves air cylinders attached to opposite sides of the nozzle holder, and at least the top view dimensions of the nozzle holder increases by an amount corresponding to the air cylinders, which leads to the difficulty in size reduction.
Additionally, if such a pair of left and right air cylinders are not in sync with each other, an up-and-down action of the elevating plate and vertical movement of the nozzle holder and the nozzle itself associated with the up-and-down action of the elevating plate may become unstable or impossible.
Note that the above-described problems are not specific to a purge apparatus of a load port and may occur in a purge apparatus of something other than a load port, such as that of a storage or of a purge station.

Purge nozzle unit, purge apparatus and load port


A tunable projected artificial magnetic minor (PAMM) includes a plurality of artificial magnetic minor (AMM) cells and a control module. The AMM cells collectively produce an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) having a geometric shape a distance from a surface of the tunable PAMM for an electromagnetic signal in a given frequency range. The control module is operably coupled to the plurality of AMM cells and provides control information to one or more of the AMM cells to tune at least one of the geometric shape of the AMC and the distance of the AMC from the surface of the tunable PAMM.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electromagnetism and more particularly to electromagnetic circuitry.
2. Description of Related Art
Artificial magnetic conductors (AMC) are known to suppress surface wave currents over a set of frequencies at the surface of the AMC. As such, an AMC may be used as a ground plane for an antenna or as a frequency selective surface band gap.
An AMC may be implemented by metal squares of a given size and at a given spacing on a layer of a substrate. A ground plane is on another layer of the substrate. Each of the metal squares is coupled to the ground plane such that, a combination of the metal squares, the connections, the ground plane, and the substrate, produces a resistor-inductor-capacitor (RLC) circuit that produces the AMC on the same layer as the metal squares within the set of frequencies.

Tunable projected artificial magnetic mirror and applications thereof


A self-lubricating vertical shaft impact crusher having a housing, lubricating assembly, and a motor wherein the lubricant cools and lubricates the bearings of the rotating shaft and is circulated by using the hydraulic pressure associated with the height of the lubricant reservoir and propellers located on the vertical shaft itself within the shaft housing wherein the propellers provide additional driving force for the lubricant as the vertical shaft rotates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vertical shaft impact crusher for crushing ores and minerals, more specifically a vertical shaft impact crusher that is self-lubricating without the need of pumps for cooling and lubrication.
2. Prior Art
Vertical shaft impact crushers are well known in the art as a useful and effective means to crush ores and minerals for various uses including aggregate for concrete, paving stones, as well as many other uses.
A problem associated with the continuous use of vertical shaft impact crushers is the need to keep the rotating shaft bearings lubricated while at the same time preventing excessive heat buildup within the crusher and/or shaft housing. Various attempts have been made to remedy these concerns. Most crushers use conventional oil-lubrication systems which use filters to remove dirt and a pump to circulate the oil. These systems are subject to bearing failure in the event the pump malfunctions. Other lubricating systems have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,113 to Szalanski (use of a grease injection system to lubricate the bearings) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,405,151 to Overstrom (using an axial bore inside the vertical shaft to lubricate the bearings). However, no reference discloses the use of at least one propeller on the outer surface of the shaft inside the shaft housing to provide a driving force for circulation of the lubricant as the shaft rotates. No reference discloses positioning the lubricant reservoir such that the hydraulic pressure associated with the height of the lubricant in the reservoir can be used to aid in the circulation and thermal cooling of the lubricant. Furthermore, no reference discloses using the combination of propellers on the shaft and hydraulic pressure of the lubricant itself to aid in the cooling and circulation of the lubricant.
In offshore platform drilling operations, a by-product of drilling operations is drill cuttings, which are the rock, mineral and other subterranean materials that are cut away by the drill from the well bore as the well is drilled. These materials are brought to the surface in the drilling fluid and drilling mud. A common problem that drilling companies face is the disposal of these materials because many of the drill cuttings produced from the drilling operations are deemed hazardous wastes by the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA") and various state environmental agencies. Disposal of these materials can be expensive, especially for offshore platform drilling operations where the material must be transported back to shore for proper disposal. Recent USEPA regulations have been passed which allow the drill cuttings to be placed back down hole if certain particle size requirements are met.
While the recent USEPA regulations allow the drill cuttings to be placed back downhole, there exists a need for an apparatus or method which will crush the drill cuttings on site and allow disposal of the crushed cuttings downhole, thereby allowing drilling companies to comply with the USEPA regulations without transporting the drill cuttings elsewhere for processing and/or disposal. The need is greater for offshore drilling platforms because it is very expensive to transport the drill cutting onshore to be crushed and shipped back to the offshore platforms for disposal in accordance with the new USEPA regulations.
A major concern for offshore drilling platforms is the amount of weight which can be placed on the platform itself. While conventional crushers are often bulky and heavy, the present invention is designed to fit on an offshore drilling platform while taking up a minimum amount of space and adding little weight to the offshore platform. As stated earlier, many of the conventional vertical shaft impact crushers use a pump to circulate the lubricant. While it may be conventional to use a pump for lubricant circulation, the use of a pump in a vertical shaft impact crusher on an offshore drilling platform presents several problems. First, during continuous drilling operations, the malfunction of the pump in the vertical shaft impact crusher will prevent the continuous disposal of the drill cuttings, thereby causing expense and delay. Second, in the event of a pump malfunction, a back-up pump must be available on the offshore platform at all times. The addition of two pumps, when not otherwise needed, adds additional weight on the offshore drilling platform. The present invention eliminates the lubricant pump, thereby eliminating all the concerns that offshore drilling platform operators would face should they choose to crush and dispose of the drill cuttings at the offshore drilling platform itself.

Self-lubricating vertical shaft impact crusher


A cleaning chemical dispensing system includes: a liquid chemical additive having a predetermined viscosity; a mop bucket; a mop wringer provided on the bucket; a first indicator indicating a first volume of cleaning liquid in the bucket; and a reservoir for the additive, the reservoir positioned above the first indicator, and having a base, one or more upstanding walls continuously contiguous with and fully surrounding the base, an opening opposite the base for pouring the additive into the reservoir, a metering orifice in the base, and a second indicator indicating a second volume for the additive which corresponds to the first volume of the bucket so as to provide a required ratio of additive to cleaning liquid, the orifice being dimensioned to correspond to the predetermined viscosity of the additive, so that the additive can be poured into the reservoir before any significant amount of additive passes through the orifice.

This invention relates to mop cleaning buckets and wringers for janitorial cleaning use.
Chemicals, such as detergents and disinfectants, are often added to mop bucket cleaning water as a cleaning aid. Presently, these chemicals are intended to be added to mop buckets by measuring the correct amount to be added according to the bucket size, or by dropping in a sachet containing a prescribed chemical quantity which is then released into the cleaning water. However, it is typical that the cleaning chemicals are not precisely added, but merely poured into the mop bucket on a "that looks about right" basis, which all too frequently becomes a 'more is better' over-addition. Dumping in excessive cleaning chemicals is wasteful of the costly materials, and can be injurious to surfaces. It is obviously preferable to use an appropriate amount of chemical.
A sachet of cleaning chemical offers a predetermined quantity of chemical additive. However, sachets are expensive to produce, result in litter, and a user cannot be relied upon to add a correct number of sachets dependent on the amount of cleaning water in the bucket.
Complying with manufacturer's instructions for cleaning chemical dosing has always been a significant problem in the cleaning industry. The tendency of cleaners is always to overdose. Very rarely do cleaners 'read the label' to follow manufacturer's instructions for precise measurement of chemicals. In most cases, without measuring the volume of water in the mop bucket, the cleaner pours what they "believe" to be a fair portion of detergent directly into the water without any effort to check amounts. In the trade, it is universally described as the "glug glug" process.
Various procedures have been devised in an attempt to "control" the amount of cleaning chemicals being added to mop buckets. Some of these arrangements are extremely complicated, wasteful, impractical and ineffectual.
Portion pack sachets, as mentioned above, are one type of method used to control the ratio of chemical agent to cleaning water. The use of plastic packaging to measure a precise portion of chemicals is widespread. The main problem with this method is that mop bucket capacity variance is huge (up to 60 different capacities and styles of mop bucket exist in the United Kingdom market alone) and this makes such a system totally unreliable. The cost of packaging each tiny portion is hugely wasteful. The whole system of sachet proportioning is an economic and environmental failure.
Mix-and-measure metering systems are also known. However, these kinds of systems are expensive and complicated to operate in a cleaning industry where transient labour, often being foreign language speaking, is normal. Training is thus difficult, and misuse of the system is rife.
Detergent automatically added to tap water is another method used. This method is common, and is often used in kitchens where access to running water is easily available. Detergent is mixed with the water before reaching the tap, so that when the tap is operated, a pre-mixed liquid of water and chemical additive flows out. This system is used for all aspects of cleaning from dishwashing to floor mopping. The huge weakness of this system is that floor mopping cannot be treated in the same manner as dishwashing. Consequently, the ratio of chemical to cleaning water is often inappropriate for surface cleaning.
The present invention seeks to overcome these problems in an inexpensive but reliable cleaning system, utilising bulk supply of chemical agent.


A fuel injector, in particular a high-pressure injector for directly injecting fuel into a combustion chamber of a mixture-compression, spark-ignition internal combustion engine, which is characterized in that on a valve seat element a conical section is formed having a valve seat surface, to which an outlet opening is immediately connected on the downstream side. The outlet opening has an intake plane, an outlet plane, and a central axis, the central point of the intake plane being offset with respect to the valve longitudinal axis and the central axis running diagonally with respect to the valve longitudinal axis. Upstream of the valve seat element a disk-shaped swirl element is arranged, which can be used both for generating a right swirl as well as a left swirl.

The present invention relates to a fuel injector.
From German published application No. 197 57 299, a fuel injector is described in which a fuel injection chamber is arranged downstream of a valve seat. For opening and closing the valve, an axially movable valve needle cooperates with the valve seat, the needle having a conical closing segment corresponding to the contour of the valve seat. Upstream of the valve seat, on the exterior periphery of the valve needle, a diagonally running swirl channel is provided. The swirl channel empties into an annular swirl chamber, which is formed between the valve needle and an external valve housing. From this swirl chamber, the fuel is conveyed to the valve seat. From the fuel injection chamber downstream of the valve seat, the fuel flows into an outlet opening, which begins slightly offset from the center of the base surface of the fuel injection chamber and runs downstream diagonally with respect to the valve longitudinal axis.
The fuel injector according to the present invention has the advantage that it can be manufactured cost-effectively in a particularly simple manner. In this context, the injector, especially at its downstream end, can be assembled in a simple and yet very precise manner. Furthermore, using the fuel injector according to the present invention, very good atomization and very precise spray-discharge of the fuel is achieved, e.g., directly into a cylinder of an internal combustion engine. A particularly uniform front of the spray-discharged spray is attained. In addition, individual streams in the spray of great speed and depth of penetration are avoided.
In a particularly advantageous manner, swirling fuel is fed to the valve seat in the valve seat element over an extremely short flow route. This very short flow route is also guaranteed to the extent that the outlet opening begins immediately at the end of the valve seat surface, avoiding any collector spaces.
The disk-shaped swirl element according to the present invention has a very simple structure and can therefore be shaped in a simple manner. It is the task of the swirl element to generate a swirl or rotary motion in the fuel. Since the swirl element is an individual structural element, its handling in the manufacturing process should not give rise to any limitations.
Ideally, the same disk-shaped swirl element can be used both for a left swirl as well as for a right swirl. By installing the swirl element so that either the front side or the back side is facing the valve seat, this variation can be accomplished extremely simply.
In comparison to swirl bodies that have grooves or similar swirl-producing indentations on an end face, it is possible to create an interior outlet opening area in the swirl element using the simplest of means, the opening area extending over the entire axial thickness of the swirl element and being surrounded by an exterior circumferential edge area.
To guarantee a clear-cut installation position of the swirl element and to avoid mixing up the right swirl and the left swirl, or to design a locking element in the swirl element, installation aids are advantageously pre-molded on the exterior periphery of the swirl element.
By configuring a guide element, which functions to guide the valve needle, as having alternately areas protruding in tooth-like fashion and recesses in between on the exterior periphery, the possibility is created in a simple manner to guarantee an optimal flow into the swirl channels of the swirl element located underneath.
The modular assembly of the guide, swirl, and valve seat elements, as well as the separation of function associated with it, has the advantage that the individual components can be shaped in a very flexible manner, so that through a simple variation of one element, different injecting sprays (spray angle, static injection quantities) can be generated.
The fuel injector according to the present invention in addition to the advantages already mentioned, has the advantage that due to the xe2x80x9cskewedxe2x80x9d arrangement of the outlet opening, swirling, extremely finely atomized fuel sprays can be spray-discharged, in a completely controlled manner, into particularly desirable edge areas, e.g., of a cylinder, without having to abandon, e.g., a desirable hollow cone distribution.
The fuel injector according to the present invention has the advantage that particularly desirable special jet shapes of the spray-discharged fuel can be attained in a simple manner. These are particularly desirable when the internal combustion engine is subject to certain difficult installation conditions or when diagonal but not rotationally symmetrical fuel sprays, e.g., in direct fuel injection, are to be injected into the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, in a completely controlled manner. In this manner, spray cones deviating from an ideal hollow cone are spray-discharged, the cones having a certain shadow area. On the side of the shadow area, the spray cone can act as if it were cut off, as a result of which it is effectively prevented, for example, that the wall is wetted, which is to be avoided on this side.


A fine structure map of the 1 megabase region surrounding the candidate HH gene is provided, along with 250 KB of DNA sequence and 8 loci corresponding to candidate genes within the 1 megabase region. These loci are useful as genetic markers for further mapping studies. Additionally, the eight cDNA sequences corresponding to those loci are useful, for example, for the isolation of other genes in putative gene families, and as probes for diagnostic assays. Additionally, the proteins encoded by those cDNAs are useful in the generation of antibodies for analysis of gene expression and in diagnostic assays, and in the purification of related proteins.

Hemochromatosis is an autosomal disorder of iron metabolism wherein the body accumulates excess iron. The hemochromatosis (HH) gene was originally shown to be linked to the MHC on chromosome 6p21 (Simon et al. Gut 17:332-334 (1976)). The HH gene was recently cloned by Feder et al. (Nature Genetics 13:399-408 (1996)).
Fine structure mapping of the region to which the HH gene was mapped makes possible the identification of candidate sequences comprising the HH genes, along with structural elements for regulation and expression and neighboring genes.
A variety of techniques is available for fine structure mapping, including direct cDNA selection, exon-trapping, and genomic sample sequencing. The direct selection approach (Lovett et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:9628-9623 (1991)) involves the hybridization of cDNA fragments to genomic DNA. This technique is extremely sensitive and capable of isolating portions of rare transcripts. Exon-trapping (Church et al. Nature Genetics 6:98-105 (1994)) recovers spliced introns from in vivo expressed genomic DNA clones and produces candidate exons without requiring any prior knowledge of the target's gene expression. High-through-put genomic DNA sequencing with comparison of the sequence data to databases of expressed sequences has also been used, such as in the positional cloning of the Werner syndrome gene (Yu et al. Science 277:258-262 (1996)) and in cloning by homology of the second Alzheimer's disease gene on chromosome 1 (Levy-Lahad et al. Science 269:973-977 (1995)).
Thus, a need exists for both methods for fine structure mapping and a fine structure map of the region of the chromosome to which the HH locus maps. This and other needs are addressed by the present invention.

Megabase transcript map: novel sequences and antibodies thereto


A system and method for determining the rectangular coordinate position of a first object spaced apart from and opposing a second object by placing at least three three-dimensional structures at different known locations on the top surface of the first object and a corresponding number of pulse transceivers at known locations on the bottom surface of the second object, directing a series of pulses having a known speed from each of the transceivers along a path crossing the highest point of a corresponding one of the structures, determining the shortest and second shortest distances travelled by the transmitted pulses and using that data together with other known data to locate edges of the first object and calculate the rectangular coordinate position of the first object with respect to the second object.

Automatic container handling is typically accomplished by means of a crane having a generally rectangularly shaped movable trolley 10 located on a repositionable frame 15 as shown in FIG. 1. A generally rectangularly shaped spreader 20 is used both to move containers 25 onto a stack located on the ground beneath the frame 15 and to pick up containers 25 from such a stack. Spreader 20 is typically connected to trolley 10 by means of cables for raising and lowering the spreader. In order to avoid creating an unstable, leaning stack while loading and to efficiently pick up containers and since spreader 20 moves independently of trolley 10, it is critical that the location of spreader 20 in relationship to trolley 10 be determined as accurately as possible at specific points in time and that the location of the stack also be determined as accurately as possible. Such position data is typically obtained by means of a vision scanner system to guide and control movements of trolley 10 and spreader 20 during pick-up and drop-off of containers in a stack. An example of such a system is the Maxview® Crane Scanner System developed by TM GE. Maxview® is a registered trademark belonging to TM GE Automation Systems LLC. Maxview® uses a combination of sensors and TM GE proprietary software to measure the relative position of the spreader and container below the crane, as is generally illustrated in FIG. 1. In the typical system used in automatic container handling, a crane computer controller provisionally positions frame 15 and trolley 10 at the expected position of container 25. An exemplary arrangement for such a control system is presented in FIG. 2. The expected position is retrieved from a database maintained by the crane computer controller. Once frame 15 and trolley 10 arrive at the expected position, some means must be used to more precisely, finally position spreader 20 over container 25. A variety of systems have been used to accomplish this goal.
LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) devices, also referred to as "laser sensors" or "laser scanners", are one possibility. Sensors 30 (not visible in FIG. 1) are typically affixed at a known position to trolley 10 and provide a distance and angle measurement of a series of points from the reference point of the sensor. Such sensors measure distance via the "time of flight" method. Each LIDAR sensor 30 emits a pulse of laser light, and then precisely measures the time until the pulse, or some part of it, is reflected back. This time is then multiplied by the speed of light to obtain a distance measurement. So-called laser rangefinders use this technique to make one-dimensional distance measurements.
FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of this type of system for a one-dimensional distance measurement. At time t=0, the LIDAR sensor 30 begins to transmit (Tx) a first laser pulse 40 towards target 45 as shown in the left-hand portion of FIG. 2. Target 45 is located an unknown vertical distance d away from sensor 30 as shown in the right-hand portion of FIG. 2. Laser pulse 40 reaches target 45 in one-half of the time (T) necessary for the roundtrip of pulse 40 back to LIDAR sensor 30 as shown in the middle portion of FIG. 2. When pulse 40 is received (Rx) back at LIDAR sensor 30, the total time T for its transit time is known, as shown in the right-hand portion of FIG. 2, and is recorded. The distance d can then be calculated according to the formula:d=½T*Speed of Light
The laser scanner can also be used to take the measurement concept one step further—into two-dimensions. A rotating mirror 35 (not visible in FIG. 1) which is physically integrated into sensor 30 is used to direct the laser pulses over a range of angles. This process provides individual distance measurements at the corresponding mirror angles to different profile points. These points form a two-dimensional profile, or cross-section, of the area being scanned. In FIG. 3, rotating mirror 35 is used to rapidly direct a plurality of laser pulses originating in LIDAR sensor 30 over a range of angles towards target 45. As a result, data from a multiplicity of measuring points 50 are obtained enabling distance measurements to be obtained corresponding to the mirror angles and a two-dimensional profile, or cross-section, of the scanned area to be developed. The TM GE proprietary Crane Scanner System software receives the discrete scan point measurements provided by the laser scanners, detects the edges of key objects within the laser scans, and reports measurements of these edge positions in various coordinate systems to the Maxspeed® crane control system. Maxspeed® is a registered trademark belonging to TM GE Automation Systems LLC. The Maxspeed® system uses these measurement positions to guide the spreader to the target container for automatic container pick-ups and landings (stacking).
As shown in FIG. 4, the known techniques of edge detection and measurement are limited in accuracy by the scan point resolution of the laser scanner. Spot-to-spot resolution ss (the difference between the centers of two adjacent spots) and spot diameter sd of commercially available, robust and economical laser scanner units suitable for use in crane applications cause large measurement uncertainties relative to the measurement accuracies required for automatic container handling. Actual edge positions x measured with such laser units differ substantially from measured edge positions y resulting in an undesirable degree of measurement uncertainty z. Furthermore, spot diameter, as shown on the y axis of the graph depicted in FIG. 5, becomes larger as the range, shown on the x axis of the graph depicted in FIG. 5, increases. This increase occurs since the laser beam being used in this application is intentionally given angular beam divergence at least as great as the angular resolution desired by appropriately setting the laser cavity geometry and employing matching optics within the path of light in the LIDAR itself. As a result, assurance is obtained that any object within the total scan angle will be hit by at least some part of the laser pulse. In addition, as the range increases, both the spot diameter and the distance between spots in millimeters increases, as shown in FIG. 6, thereby further reducing scanner accuracy using known methods. Further support for this conclusion is provided by "Technical Description—LMS 200/211/220/221/291 Laser Measurement Systems," SICK AG, 8 008 970/WU.FD/06-2000, p. 6, FIG. 3-2.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for using pulse emitters such as laser scanners on existing cranes which improves the accuracy of target edge detection to overcome the problems discussed above.

System and method for using structured shapes to increase laser scanner accuracy


A wire feeder driving mechanism capable of driving a wire feeder of a spring manufacturing machine to perform a three-dimensional movement. The spring manufacturing machine includes a machine base and a work table. The work table has an opening and a plurality of tool seats. The opening provides the feeding chuck of the wire feeder a moving space. The tool seat is provided to install a tool set to move back and forth on the work table. The wire feeder is assembled with a plurality of axial driving devices. The axial driving device is able to receive power and to move perpendicular to each other. The metal wire led through the wire feeder is thereby able to approach the tool seat in a three-dimensional manner. The spring manufacturing machine is therefore able to produce various complicated springs.

The present invention relates in general to a wire feeder driving mechanism for a spring manufacturing machine, and more particularly, to a mechanism which enables a spring manufacturing machine to simplify the actuating mechanism of its tool seat and thereby significantly cuts down the labor hours consumed for adjustment of the tool set of the spring manufacturing machine. The present invention enhances the easiness and the convenience of the operation of the spring manufacturing machine.
Because springs are widely utilized in the shock absorbing or shock reducing, such as for automobiles, toys, electric appliances, switches, medical utilities, and so on, they have become an indispensable part of electric or mechanical equipments. The demand of spring shape becomes more and more versatile; it is therefore cannot be satisfied by a conventional spring manufacturing machine. Accordingly, to develop a next generation product to satisfy the strong demand of the market is an important issue for persons skilled in the spring manufacturing machine.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional spring manufacturing machine includes a machine base 10a and a work table 20a. The machine base 10a is secured thereon a wire feeder 11a which has a wire feeding chuck 12a at the front end thereof. The feeding chuck 12a is able to output the metal wire which will be formed into a spring. The work table 20a has a feeder hole 21a formed in the middle thereof which is able to receive the feeding chuck 12a. A plurality of tool seats 22a are installed on the work table 20a. Each tool seat 22a includes a driving rod 221a, a rail cam 222a, and a tool set 223a. By utilizing the driving rod 221a and the rail cam 222a, the tool set 223a is able to perform a linear or a curve motion for bending, winding, or cutting process of the metal wire.
However, the conventional spring manufacturing machine has several radical problems. First, to reduce the manufacturing cost a spring manufacturing machine is utilized to manufacture different kind of springs. To change the manufacturing process the tool seats 22a secured on the work table 20a need to be accordingly replaced and adjusted. The replacement and adjustment of the tool seats 22a are so time consuming that the production efficiency and economic benefit are very low. Second, a small deviation of the material quality, the heat treating process, or the wire diameter of the metal raw material will greatly influence the nature of the spring formed. Only a professional engineer is able to perform the adjustment and calibration of the conventional spring manufacturing machine. It is, therefore, hard to control the spring product's quality. Third, to perform a curve motion of the tool set 223a it is conventional to further install a complicated or adjustable driving member. This auxiliary driving member not only raises the material and manufacture cost but also increases the difficulty of assembling and maintenance. Fourth, when various manufacture industries' demand for spring configuration becomes more and more complicated, the tool seats 22a installed on the work table 20a for convention are not sufficient. It is unable to satisfy modern manufacture industries' demand.

Wire feeder driving mechanism for spring manufacturing machine


A database having fixed length records stored together in record number order and an index structure for the database. The index structure comprises a separate index for each searchable field of the records. For purposes of indexing, the records are logically divided into fine slices of 8,000 records each, and the fine slices are grouped into coarse slices of 4,000 fine slices each. The indexes include fine and coarse keys, each of which corresponds to a particular data value and a particular fine or coarse slice. Associated with each key is a link that is used to determine which records contain the data value. For the fine keys, the link includes a pointer to a bit vector that has a single bit for each of the records within the fine slice associated with the key. For the coarse keys, the link includes a pointer to a bit vector that has a single bit for each of the fine slices contained in the coarse slice. The coarse bit vector comprises two bit vectors, one that identifies which of the fine slices within the coarse slice contains any records having the data value and one that identifies which fine slices, if any, contain the data value in every one of its records. The keys are stored in a B-tree in order of a unique key value so that they are processed in record number order and the resulting list of records for any query is generated in record number order.

This invention relates in general to techniques for storing and retrieving data on digital computers, and in particular, to an improved method and apparatus for fast storage and retrieval of data from very large databases using multiple retrieval keys and complex retrieval criteria.
As the processing speed and storage capacity of digital computers continues to increase, so does their suitability for management of very large databases. To be useful, a database typically needs to be searchable so that a user can perform keyword searching of the database and retrieve information associated with the keywords. For large databases, linear searching of the data for keywords is typically too time consuming to be useful. Consequently, large databases are often indexed to provide fast query processing and retrieval of data.
As is known, in most databases, data is organized logically and often physically into individual fields within a record, with each record representing a collection of data about an object such as a patient, a vehicle, or a document, and each field within the record containing a different item of data about the object, such as the patient""s last name, first name, age, gender, etc. To provide flexibility, the database management program must not only permit single keyword searches of the data fields, but must support more complex queries, including boolean expressions (e.g., AND, OR, NOT) of keywords.
Often, a database will include both high and low cardinality data; that is, the database will include types of data that can have many different values as well as types of data that will have very few different values. Examples of low cardinality data include a person""s gender (male or female), political party affiliation, or the make of a vehicle. Examples of high cardinality data include such things as last names, birth dates, vehicle identification numbers (VIN), and social security numbers (SSN), the last two of which will likely include a unique value in every record in the database. For optimum flexibility, a database index must permit efficient searching for both high and low cardinality data. However, typical storage methods are designed and optimized for retrieval of high cardinality data only, using single or compound key indexes.
One way of indexing a database is through the use of keys that provide a fast way to locate specific items of data within the database. These keys are used by a database management program to locate and retrieve records from the database that contain the data associated with the keys. Bitmaps or bit vectors are sometimes used along with keys to identify which records contain a particular item of data within a particular data field. These bit vectors comprise a string of bits with each bit representing a single record in the database. A particular bit vector will represent a particular item of data that is found in a particular field in at least one of the records of the database. The presence of a set bit (i.e., a bit set to a logical one) in the bit vector indicates that the record associated with that bit contains the particular item of data. Thus, for example, where a database contains patient records that include a xe2x80x9cfirst namexe2x80x9d field, a bit vector of xe2x80x9c0010100000xe2x80x9d that is associated with the name xe2x80x9cElizabethxe2x80x9d for the xe2x80x9cfirst namexe2x80x9d field will indicate that the third and fifth records are for patients named Elizabeth.
Sometimes, in addition to indexing a database, the database itself is stored along with the index rather than maintaining the database as a separately stored structure. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,002 to A. Waisman et al., a B-tree is used to store the database data along with an inverted B-tree index that uses keys and associated sparse array bit maps to identify which records contain particular items of data. A record index is used to identify different tables of records (e.g., a table of patient records versus a table of doctor records) and to distinguish between the database data and the indexes. The data is stored using odd numbered record identifiers and the associated indexes are stored using the next even numbered record identifier. Each key and associated sparse array bit map are associated with a range of records and are stored together in the B-tree. The key itself comprises a record identifier, field identifier, data value, and range value, in that order. The record identifier indicates to which table of data the key relates. The field identifier is a numeric identifier of the field within the records to which the key relates. The data value is the actual item of data contained in at least one of the records to which the key relates, and the range value identifies the range of records to which the key relates. The sparse array bit map includes three levels of bit vectors. The bottom level comprises a number of one-byte bit vectors, with the individual bits of each bit vector indicating which records within the associated range of records contain the associated data value in the field specified by the field identifier. The middle level contains one-byte bit vectors in which each bit represents one of the one-byte bit vectors of the bottom level. A bit in the middle level bit vectors is set (to a logical one) if any of the bits in the bottom level bit vector that it represents is set; otherwise it is zeroed. This same structure is carried out to the upper level which includes a single byte representing all of the middle level bit vectors. Where a bit vector would not include any set bits, the bit vector is not allocated and its absence is indicated by its associated bit from the next higher level being zeroed.
As noted by Waisman et al., the use of bit vectors simplifies the processing of boolean expressions since two bit vectors can be combined in accordance with the specified boolean operator and the resulting bit vector represents the records that satisfy the boolean expression. One problem in combining upper level bit vectors in which the bits do not represent individual records is in the processing of NOT expressions. Since a set bit indicates only that at least one (but not necessarily all) records in the associated range of records includes the data value, the NOT operation cannot be accomplished simply by inverting the bit. Rather, as discussed in Waisman et al., the lower level bits that represent individual records must be inverted and used.
Since, in Waisman et al., the data is stored at the bottom level of a B-tree, consecutively numbered records need not be physically stored together. This permits the use of variable length fields and permits fields to be added to the database without having to reorganize the database or make changes to the database management program that is used to access the data. However, this type of database structure can complicate retrieval of records, since the fields of any one record may not all be physically stored together and since separate I/O accesses may often be required for retrieval of even a small group of consecutive records. Given the relative slowness of I/O access, the data storage structure utilized by Waisman et al. can result in undesirably slow retrieval of records.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for managing large amounts of data in a manner that provides the following benefits:
1. Very fast query response;
2. Fast update response;
3. Support for complex retrieval operations, including the combination of multiple keys using boolean logic, with equally fast retrieval for all boolean operators;
4. Minimization of the number of key indexes required;
5. Minimization of the storage space required for the database index;
6. A query response time that is proportional to the number of data items retrieved, rather than the number of data items stored in the database;
7. An extremely fast count operation for preview of retrieval queries and fine-tuning of retrieval criteria; and
8. An ability to handle both high and low cardinality data well in a single unified key index structure.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a database system that overcomes the above-noted problems of management of large data sets. The data comprises a plurality of records stored on a data storage device in a computer-readable format. Each of the records includes a number of data fields with at least some of the data fields having a data value stored therein. The records are logically separated into groups, or fine slices, of records with each fine slice containing a preselected maximum number n of records. The fine slices are logically organized into one or more sets, or coarse slices, with each coarse slice containing a preselected maximum number m of fine slices, whereby each coarse slice contains a maximum of n*m records. The database system includes a plurality of indexes, each of which is associated with a different one of the data fields and each of which comprises a number of keys. Each of the data values that are stored within an indexed data field has one or more fine keys and one or more coarse keys associated therewith. The fine keys are each associated with one of fine slices and with a fine bit vector that identifies which of the records contained within that fine slice include the data value associated with that key. The coarse keys are each associated with one of the coarse slices and with a coarse bit vector that identifies which of the fine slices include at least one record having the data value stored therein.

Database method and apparatus using hierarchical bit vector index structure


An apparatus includes a monopole extending substantially along an axis that may be vertical. However, the monopole may have a loop portion that deviates from the axis. Further, the apparatus includes multiple conductive elements, each having a substantially linear first segment that is coupled to the monopole. The first segments may be coplanar and/or perpendicular to the axis. Each of the conductive elements may further include a second segment that is substantially parallel to the axis. One or more of these segments may be connected to a ground potential. Also, the conductive elements may each include a third segment having a loop pattern.

Antennas are often employed in various wireless applications, such as cellular telephony, global positioning system (GPS) location determination, digital satellite radio reception, and digital video broadcast (DVB) reception. It is generally desirable to reduce the size of antennas and their associated devices.
An antenna's size may be dictated by various operational characteristics, such as its operating frequencies, its specified signal quality requirements, and so forth. For example, an antenna's size typically increases as its operating frequencies decrease.
One technique for reducing the height of antenna devices involves the employment of "top loading" techniques. Such techniques place a load at an end of an element (e.g., a monopole) to make the element appear "electrically taller." Thus, top loading allows a shorter antenna to operate at a given frequency range.
Many conventional top loading techniques involve the use of relatively large top loads. Examples of such conventional top loads include circular or rectangular flat plates positioned at the top of an antenna device. Such conventional top loads may unfortunately occupy large footprints and block wireless signals being received and/or transmitted by nearby devices.


A public-key method of cryptographic key exchange using modular exponentiation in which memory, for storing pre-computed results, can be flexibly traded off against the computational complexity of key-exchange. In a typical embodiment, the invention performs key exchange by the method of Diffie-Hellman but with exponents having a constrained form such that by use of a small table of pre-computed powers of a user's public key, any possible shared secret key within the allowed set can be computed with many fewer modular multiplications than the number of bits of effective key-length thereby obtained. The table of pre-computed powers is transmitted as part of the key exchange protocol. The party in receipt of the table uses the pre-computed powers of the sender's public key to replace calculations that would otherwise need to be done at key-exchange time. The method allows a flexible trade-off between computation and table size. The method of accelerating modular exponentiation can also be applied to other cryptographic operations in which the number to be raised to a power is fixed or known in advance and where the exponent is allowed to be of the specified form.

The invention relates to public key cryptography, and more particularly to the exchange of keys over insecure communications channels.
The problem of distributing keys for cryptographic purposes is well known. Diffie and Hellman introduced the concept of public-key cryptography, allowing for the first time the possibility of secure communication over an insecure channel without the need for some other secure channel through which to first distribute cryptographic keys. Public key cryptography according to Diffie and Hellman provides a practical and secure scheme for establishing shared secret keys between communicating parties through the exchange of publicly observable information. Their method involves exponentiation in a finite field and its security relies on the computational intractability of inverting such exponentiations, that is, of finding discrete logarithms in a finite field.
In its basic form the Diffie-Hellman key-agreement protocol proceeds as follows (with all exponentiations being modular exponentiations with modulus p):
1) An appropriate prime p and a generator g of Z.sub.p *, the multiplicative group of residue classes modulo p, with 2.ltoreq.g.ltoreq.p-2, are selected and published. PA1 2) Each time participants A and B require a shared key:
A chooses a random secret x with 1.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.p-2 and sends g.sup.x modp to B. PA2 B chooses a random secret y with 1.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.p-2 and sends g.sup.y modp to A. PA2 B receives g.sup.x and computes the common shared key as ##EQU1## A receives g.sup.y and computes the common shared key as ##EQU2## A and B's keys are identical because ##EQU3## An eavesdropper who sees g.sup.x modp and g.sup.y modp in transmission cannot feasibly calculate g.sup.xy modp because of the believed computational intractability of discovering x from g.sup.x modp or y from g.sup.y modp.
It is well-known to those practiced in the art that these techniques are applicable to Diffie-Hellman key exchange using other finite groups, in particular the multiplicative group of finite fields of characteristic 2, and elliptic curve groups over finite fields.
For each participant, the above protocol involves the computation of two modular exponentiations. To perform this calculation, public-key agreement techniques typically impose a computational burden comparable to performing several hundred modular multiplications over a field of several hundred bits in length.
The above protocol provides no authentication of keys, and so is vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack in which participants A and B end up each exchanging keys with the attacker instead of with each other. One variation of the protocol that provides mutual key authentication and so overcomes this problem is to fix g.sup.x modp and g.sup.y modp as the long-term public keys of A and B respectively, and to distribute these keys using certificates signed by a mutually trusted third party or parties. This fixes the long-term secret shared key for this pair of users as g.sup.xy modp. Prudent security practices well known to those skilled in the art dictate that such a key, being time-invariant in nature, should not be directly used as the session key, but rather that session keys should be freshly derived from the long-term shared secret key in such a way as not to compromise it should the session keys themselves become revealed to an attacker. Although verification of the signatures on certificates adds to the computational load, there are public-key signature schemes for which the verification operation needs only one or two modular multiplications, for example, RSA signatures with a public exponent of 3, or modified-Rabin signatures.
For widespread application of public-key techniques in consumer electronics devices there is a need to reduce the computational burden to that which an inexpensive device such as a single chip microcontroller can perform in a fraction of a second. One such example application is key-agreement for the encrypted transmittal of copyright-protected digital video streams between a consumer electronics playback device, such as a digital video disk (DVD) player, and a digital television, wherein the data is desired to be encrypted in transit between the two devices in order to protect the data from unauthorized copying.
One way to decrease the computational burden on the parties is to reduce the number of operations required to perform modular exponentiation. One way to do this is to pre-compute and store as much of the overall exponentiation computation as possible. Another way that has been suggested to improve computational economy is the use of exponents of restricted form. For example, the U.S. government's Digital Signature Algorithm uses short exponents whose length is just 160 bits despite the fact that modular exponentiation is performed using a modulus whose size may vary from 512 bits to 1024 bits. The standard method of direct attack against a short exponent is a meet-in-the-middle attack. Such attacks have complexity that is approximately exponential in half the length of the exponent, that is, on the order of the square-root of the number of possible values that the exponent can take. A common choice of exponent length is 160 bits for proof against a meet-in-the-middle attack needing about 2.sup.80 operations, which is believed to be comfortably beyond reach with current technology. A prime field offering comparable resistance to the calculation of discrete logarithms needs to be somewhere between 512 and 1024 bits in length.

Cryptographic key exchange using pre-computation


In a communication system having a plurality of physical communication ports, a hierarchical bond communication interface has a logical interface as a component of the bond at a top level of the hierarchy, and a first subjugate logical interface at a second level of the hierarchy as a component of the top-level logical interface. The communication system has a control mechanism whereby thresholds may be set to determine up or down status of hierarchical bonds for use in communication, according to characteristics of components of the bonds.

The growth and development of the public network known as the Internet is a very well-known phenomenon. The Internet has grown very rapidly both in terms of end users and content providers. This phenomenal growth has generated a great need for improved hardware and software for handling the greatly increased data traffic.
Hardware-software systems known as routers are the workhorses of the Internet. In current art most routers are capable of handling traffic at rates in the gigabit per second range. The present inventors are engaged in developing Terrabit network routers, and in proposing and developing solutions for problems inherent in current art routing systems.
As is well-known in the art, there are several different kinds of packets to be routed in Internet traffic. One type of packet is termed in the art an IP packet. IP packets can be used for all-types of data; including Internet telephony and Internet video streaming. IP packets have header fields defining such as the source and destination for each packet.
In the art of packet routing it is well-known that it is desirable for packets to arrive at a destination in the same order that they were generated at a source. For one reason, out-of-order packets may well cause dropouts in applications such as voice and video communication and the like. Provision may well be made at a destination to re-order packets, but such re-ordering is expensive in processor resources. Such provision is commonly not made, and packets may be lost or discarded in any case.
If there were to be only one hop from a source to a destination, this would not be problem. Since there are invariably several machines through which packets must pass and be processed, and because newer and better routers may employ processing parallelism, attention must be paid to the order of packets.
The packets handled by a router can be logically divided into flows, where each flow is the set of all packets, which are being sent from the same origin to the same destination. A group of such flows can be treated as a single flow. Generally speaking, if packets in the same flow are always sent from every system in the order that they were received, the original ordering will be honored.
A method is known to the inventor for internal routing of a packets received in a packet router. The method comprises steps of selecting a logical interface having multiple physical ports as a destination for the packet, processing any one or more addresses or labels of the packet and other packets received by a common function, producing thereby results unique to the packets in which the addresses and labels processed differ, and then mapping the physical ports at the destination to the unique results produced by processing the addresses or labels of packets, and finally routing the data packet according to the computed mapping. Weighting is applied to the physical ports in the mapping scheme, the weighting reflecting different transmission capacities of the physical ports.
The Internet network is divided logically into various standard layers of differing hardware and software functionality. In consulting one standard and well-known layering protocol termed Open System Interconnection (OSI). There are, according to this scheme, seven distinct network layers. Network layers amount to separated levels of network function. The well-known International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) brought about the OSI architecture. Specific details regarding protocols and functions associated with OSI layers are published and available. The focus of this specification concentrates on function of two of the lower layers pertinent to the present invention.
The two layers of most concern in establishing physical data links and logical routing interfaces are layers 2 and 3. Layer 2 controls the physical layer or layer 1 data flow. Layer 2 is responsible for establishing link connections between workstations. Layer 3 addresses and routes packets. Layer 3 is responsible for such as addressing and control functions. Layer 3 manages routing function including packet switching, routing, data congestion, and translation of logical addresses to physical addresses. There are also other known and standardized architectures defining different numbers and descriptions of network layers. Among these architectures however, layers 1-3 are essentially alike in their functions and what attributes of network communication they are responsible for among the most standardized of architectures.
It is known to the inventor that a plurality of physical interfaces (ports) of a router may be logically bound together or aggregated to form a bond. A bond as known to the inventor is defined as an aggregation of layer 2 link addresses, which share a single layer 3 address and are considered in terms of layer 3 protocols as a logical or virtual interface. For example, two or more separate communication lines of a router can be seen in the network layer 3 as one large trunk. One advantage of establishing a bond is that layer 3 is not aware whether a given logical address defined in layer 3 is an aggregation of layer 2 links or is simply a single physical address. In this way, layer 3 protocol only has to consider a single logical address for routing purposes, and does not need to table every physical link address aggregated under the layer 3 address. As a result, routing is more efficient. The lowest layer (1) resolves all address hierarchies into a same-level list of physical interfaces or ports.
It has occurred to the inventor that more efficiency in routing could be achieved with respect to creating bonds comprising multiple router links by introducing a concept of hierarchy concerning bond assignment as well as flexibility of assignment and manipulation of bonds and bond structures.
Therefore, what is clearly needed is a method for creating and managing bonds that enables more hardware-controlled processing, less software-controlled processing, and provides more administrative flexibility with respect to changing bond assignments. A method such as this would make Layer 3 processing more efficient and improve load-balancing capability in data routing.

Method and apparatus for bond management according to hierarchy


The invention is concerned with compounds of formula I: ##STR1## which are useful as sun screening agents.

Sunlight accelerates skin aging and even causes skin cancer, with these undesired effects being caused not only by UV-B radiation, but primarily by the UV-A radiation with wavelengths in the region of about 320 to 400 nm, which directly tans the skin.
It is already known from Swiss Patent 484 695 that the symmetrical tris-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-1,3,5-triazines are very efficient UV-A/B light screening agents for the protection of textiles. A substantial disadvantage is, however, the extremely poor solubility of this class of compounds in practically all solvents, which does not permit them to be used, e.g., for cosmetic applications.
o-Hydroxyphenyl-s-triazines, which absorb UV light, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,125, but they are insoluble or soluble only with difficulty in non-polar polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester resins.
Further, 2-hydroxyphenyl-s-triazines having a silicon-containing residue in in the 4-position of the 2-hydroxyphenyl group for the light stabilization of organic polymers are known from EP-A1-502821. In dimensionally stable articles produced from polymers stabilized therewith, the UV absorber contained in the outer layers of the article prevents the penetration of short-wave light which is especially harmful for polymers, i.e., primarily of UV-B radiation, into the interior of the article.
However, there exists the pressing need, especially for the producers of body care products, to make the hydroxyphenyl-s-triazine class of compound, having regard to its light screening action, also available for other purposes. Therefore, at least a good solubility in organic solvents, especially in cosmetic solvents, and a good photostability are required.


An optical polishing fixture for securing one or more optical connectors can include a fixture base having a connector slot for receiving an optical connector and a clamping assembly mounted to the fixture base proximate the connector slot. The connector slot can be defined by at least one side wall defining a side wall plane and the clamping assembly can include a clamp pad moveable relative to the fixture base between a clamping position and a loading position. The clamp pad may move relative to the fixture base at an angle of less than 45 degrees relative to one of (i) a top surface of the fixture base, (ii) a plane perpendicular the side wall plane, or (iii) a plane defined by a portion of the fixture base top surface proximate to the connector slot.

A typical fiber-optic cable generally includes concentric layers of protective or supporting material with an optical fiber located at the center of the cable. These fiber-optic cables typically have connectors located on each end to connect them to another fiber-optic cable or to a peripheral device. These connectors are high precision devices which position the fiber-optic cable in line with another fiber-optic cable or to a port on a peripheral device.
In order to communicate with a port or another cable, the end face of the connector (including a ferrule and an optical fiber) must typically abut an adjacent cable or port. The finish of the end face of a connector will typically determine the amount of back reflection at the connection site, thus greatly affecting the ability of the fiber-optic cable to transmit information. The apex offset, protrusion/recession, insertion loss, return loss, and angularity are also integral parameters of a connector's finish. As such, the end face of a connector is usually polished to exacting standards so as to produce a finish with minimal back reflection. For example, it is often necessary to polish the end face of the connector to a precise length, i.e., so the end face projects a predetermined amount from a reference point such as a shoulder on the fiber optic connector within a predetermined tolerance. Fiber-optic cables having multiple optical fibers can also be polished to produce a particular finish.
Optical fiber polishers typically include a rotating platen and an arm mechanism which positions and supports the connectors during the polishing process. Typically, the end face is lowered onto a film resting on the platen, and depending upon the film, the speed of the platen, the pressure applied, and its duration, acquires a finish suitable for a particular application.
Optical fiber polishers generally include a fixture coupled to the arm mechanism that is capable of holding and gripping one or more fiber optic connectors and advancing them under controlled conditions of speed and force to engage a plurality of fiber optic ends into engagement with a polishing member such as a rotatable platen having an abrasive surface. In order to achieve the precision typically needed, the fiber optic connectors must be secured within the fixture in such a way that all the connectors protrude from the bottom of the fixture at the same angle and to the same extent, thus assuring that each optical fiber is polished at the same degree and extent.
As such, fixtures typically employ complex clamping assemblies that are used to hold the connectors at the appropriate angle and depth. These clamping assemblies can require extensive manipulation from an operator in order to load and unload the connectors from the fixture, thus increasing the time needed to polish multiple connectors. In addition, existing fixtures can present obstacles when one or more of the clamping assemblies needs replacing. For example, when even a single clamping assembly needs replacing, an operator may need to halt polishing in order to send the entire fixture back to the manufacturer for repairs.


A method for determining a target exhaust temperature for a gas turbine including: determining a target exhaust temperature based on a compressor pressure condition; determining a temperature adjustment to the target exhaust temperature based on at least one parameter of a group of parameters consisting of specific humidity, compressor inlet pressure loss and turbine exhaust back pressure; and adjusting the target exhaust temperature by applying the temperature adjustment.

The present invention relates generally to controllers for a combustion system for a gas turbine. In particular, the invention relates to a combustor control algorithm for fuel splits and nitrogen oxide/nitrogen dioxide (NOx) leveling.
Industrial and power generation gas turbines have control systems ("controllers") that monitor and control their operation. These controllers govern the combustion system of the gas turbine. Dry Low NOx (DLN) combustion systems are designed to minimize emissions of NOx from gas turbines. The controller executes an algorithm to ensure safe and efficient operation of the DLN combustion system. Conventional DLN algorithms receive as inputs measurements of the actual exhaust temperature of the turbine and the actual operating compressor pressure ratio. DLN combustion systems typically rely on the measured turbine exhaust temperature and compressor pressure ratio to set the gas turbine operating condition, e.g., desired turbine exhaust temperature, total combustor fuel flow, fuel split schedules, and inlet bleed heat flow.
Conventional scheduling algorithms for DLN combustion systems do not generally take into account variations in compressor inlet pressure loss, turbine back pressure, or compressor inlet humidity. Conventional scheduling algorithms generally assume that ambient conditions, e.g., compressor inlet humidity, compressor inlet pressure loss, and turbine back pressure remain at certain defined constant conditions or that variations in these conditions do not significantly affect the target combustor firing temperature.
Compressor inlet pressure loss and turbine back-pressure levels will vary from those used to define the DLN combustion settings. The NOx emissions from the gas turbine may increase beyond prescribed limits, if the conventional DLN combustion system is not adjusted as environmental conditions change. Seasonal variations in humidity or changes in turbine inlet humidity from various inlet conditioning devices, e.g., evaporative cooler, fogging systems, can influence the operation of a DLN combustion system. As the ambient conditions change with the seasons, the settings of DLN combustion systems are often manually adjusted to account for ambient seasonal variations.

Method for controlling fuel splits to gas turbine combustor


A fuel cell system includes: a secondary cell; a voltage converter provided between the secondary cell and a load; a fuel cell; an FC relay that turns on and off electrical connection between the fuel cell and the shared electrical path; an electrical leakage detector that detects electrical leakage in an electrical system; and a control portion that performs determination regarding electrical leakage. The control portion has: start means for starting the fuel cell by raising voltage of the fuel cell from a starting voltage to an operation voltage that is lower than an open-circuit voltage; and electrical leakage determination means for performing the determination regarding electrical leakage after a predetermined time elapses, when the FC relay is closed while a voltage difference between the voltage of the fuel cell and voltage supplied from the voltage converter to the load is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

Practical application of a fuel cell that supplies hydrogen as a fuel gas to a fuel electrode, and that supplies air as an oxidant gas to an oxidant electrode, and that generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air while producing water on an oxidant electrode is now being considered.
In such a fuel cell, if at the time of start of operation, the pressure of hydrogen supplied to the fuel electrode and the pressure of air supplied to the oxidant electrode are about equal to the respective pressures occurring during ordinary operation, it sometimes happens that hydrogen gas and air are unevenly distributed in the fuel electrode and the oxidant electrode, respectively, and the electrodes are degraded by electrochemical reaction caused by the uneven distribution of these gases. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-26891 (JP-A-2007-26891) discloses a method of preventing the degradation of the electrodes of a fuel cell by causing the pressures of hydrogen and air supplied to the fuel electrode and the oxidant electrode, respectively, at the time of start of operation of the fuel cell to be higher than the ordinary supplied pressures of these gases.
However, if hydrogen gas and air are supplied at high pressure to a fuel cell when the fuel cell starts operation, it sometimes happen that the rate of rise of the voltage of the fuel cell becomes large so that the voltage of the fuel cell overshoots its upper-limit voltage. In conjunction with this problem, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-26891 (JP-A-2007-26891) discloses a method in which when hydrogen gas and air are supplied, at the time of starting a fuel cell, at pressures that are higher than their pressures given during ordinary power generation, output electric power is extracted from the fuel cell, and is put out to a vehicle driving motor, resistors, etc., provided that the voltage of the fuel cell reaches a predetermined voltage that is lower than the upper-limit voltage.
In a fuel cell system mounted in an electric vehicle, an FC relay is provided for turning on and off the connection between the fuel cell and an electric motor. Using the FC relay, the fuel cell is cut off from a load system when the fuel cell is stopped, and the fuel cell is connected to the load system when the fuel cell starts operation. However, there is possibility of the FC relay being welded or damaged if large current flows through the FC relay when the FC relay is closed to connect the fuel cell and the load system.
A countermeasure for the foregoing possibility or risk is to use a method in which when the fuel cell starts, the voltage of the fuel cell is temporarily raised to an open-circuit voltage to attain a state where current does not flow out of the fuel cell, and then the FC relay is connected, and after that, the voltage is lowered so that electric output is supplied from the fuel cell. This is because the fuel cell has a characteristic that if the voltage rises to the open-circuit voltage, the output current becomes zero. However, if the voltage of the fuel cell is raised to the open-circuit voltage, the high voltage can affect the durability of the fuel cell.
Besides, in some cases, at the time of starting the fuel cell, the FC relay is connected while the voltage of the fuel cell is low, so that large current does not flow when the FC relay is connected. In such cases, however, the difference in voltage between the electrical system and the fuel cell is likely to be large, giving rise to the possibility that the transitional current occurring at the time of connecting the FC relay may cause an electrical leakage detector to falsely detect electrical leakage, and therefore the control portion may stop the fuel cell system.

Fuel cell system, control method for the fuel cell system, and electric vehicle equipped with the fuel cell system