The present invention provides an element organization support apparatus, an element organization support method and a storage medium for facilitating the addition, deletion or modification of executive elements. This is an element organization support apparatus in which, upon receiving the input of a project to be accomplished including plural tasks from an input unit, a modeling processor searches an activity database for activity data with processible tasks as keys, selects and displays on a display unit real activity candidates, and reads out of a hard disk and displays information on past evaluation of the selected combination of real activities.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an element organization support apparatus, an element organization support method and a storage medium for supporting the formation of a team to organize human or physical elements or a combination of both to accomplish a specific project, and more particularly to improving the efficiency of addition or coordination of elements or of restructuring of the organization.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the expanding use of the Internet in recent years, the environment of accomplishing a project is changing significantly, including the emergence of so-called SOHO (small office home office) workers each of whom connects his or her company and home via a network. In corporate business activities as well, so-called outsourcing is drawing attention which addresses short-term peaks in workload or to secure personnel with unique skills by relying on the supply of human resources from a temporary help business or entrusting a whole series of tasks to another company.
On the other hand, there are apparatuses for supporting the generation of a workflow by organizing human and physical resources and their combinations (hereinafter to be collectively referred as "activities") on the basis of input/output relationships, i.e. what is done by each activity (process) according to the result of what activity (input from the preceding activity) and to what other activity it hands over its result (output to the succeeding activity).
A specific example of such an apparatus, as illustrated in FIG. 22, is provided with a database 1, an input unit 2, a searching unit 3, a display unit 4 and a control unit 5. The database 1 stores the identifier (name of the like) of each activity, input, process and output, correlated to one another, as a set of rules. This set of rules, as illustrated in FIG. 23, is stored with information representing the process, information on the preceding activity (preceding) and information on the succeeding activity (succeeding) correlated to one another with respect to each identifier.
The input unit 2 is an input device, such as a keyboard or a mouse, which conveys what the user's manipulation is intended for to the control unit 5. The searching unit 3, at an instruction from the control unit 5, searches the database 1 for activities with the respective preceding activities and following activities as keys, and supplies the result of the search to the control unit 5. Also, this searching unit 3 receives an input of a starting condition from the control unit 5, and searches for process information with the starting condition as the key, and supplies the result of the search to the control unit 5. The display unit 4 is an output device such as a display or a printer, which displays or prints at an instruction from the control unit 5. The control unit 5 performs processing to add activities to or delete some of the activities stored in the database 1 and processing to select activities to take charge of a series of tasks, out of the activities stored in the database 1, and to output them.
More specifically, the processing by this control unit 5 to add activities includes, in response to the entry from the input unit 2 the identifier (A) and the process (B) of each activity, the preceding activity (C) and the following activity (D) as shown in FIG. 24, sets and stores the activity into the database 1, addition of each activity to be added to the preceding activity (C) as the latter's following activity, and the addition of that activity to be added to the following activity (D) as its preceding activity. The processing to delete activities is to delete each activity whose identifier has been entered from the input unit 2 and to modify the activity preceding and the activity following that activity to be deleted.
Further the processing by this control unit 5 to select and output activities includes, in response to the entry from the input unit 2 the starting condition and the ending condition, causing the searching unit 3 to search for a first activity meeting the starting condition and causing further the searching unit 3 to search for a second activity which has the retrieved first activity as its preceding activity. In this manner, the control unit 5 causes the searching unit 3 to search for plural activities successively, and completes the processing when the ending condition is met. More specifically, for a project of "producing a book", if "planning" is the starting condition and "printing" is the ending condition, the control unit 5 causes the searching unit 3 to search for an activity having this "planning" as the process. Then the control unit 5, having received the input of the result of search, causes the searching unit 3 to search for an activity following the retrieved activity ("cover design" and "contents preparation in the example of FIG. 23), and repeats this procedure until an activity whose process is "printing" is hit.
A workflow support system for achieving flexible workflow managing by applying, in generating a workflow, workflow rules under decentralized management for workflows difficult to generate while performing back tracking is disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 8-101817 entitled "Workflow Support System".
An apparatus which, when the starting and ending positions of a partial flow prescribing the sequence of execution are designated, additionally stores new tasks generated by modifying the task preceding the starting position and the task following the ending position of that partial flow into an execution conditions storage section is disclosed in the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 9-62733 entitled "Flow Adding Apparatus".
However, this conventional apparatus for supporting workflow generation, when a new activity is to be registered, finds it difficult to keep that activity consistent in context. That is to say, this conventional workflow generation support apparatus, in which activities are managed on the basis of a so-called input process output (IPO) model, addition, deletion or modification of any activity should be accomplished while maintaining consistency with other activities, decentralized management of activity databases would require reflection of alterations in any database in all other databases, which means serious difficulty in management. There is a further problem that the load of processing to maintain consistency with activities becomes heavier with an increase the number of activities managed by the databases.
Furthermore, the conventional workflow generation support apparatus based on the IPO model, in which links among activities are derived from a preset context, involves another problem that the generation of a work process for selecting a series of activities for accomplishing tasks and carrying out a project lacks flexibility. The presetting of the context causes still another problem that the detection of a new value chain, such as detecting a new linkage, is made difficult.

Element organization support apparatus, element organization support method and storage medium


A sheet supply device of a sheet-fed machine, in particular a printing press, includes a sheet guide element that is adjustable lengthwise and crosswise to a sheet format. Strips that guide the top leading region of a sheet rising on an air cushion extend above a sheet stack downward from a suction head at an incline relative to the surroundings toward a transfer point to the sheet-fed machine. The bands are rolled up onto winding rollers that are acted upon by a restoring force, so that the bands are kept wound or are always kept under tension. In another version, the bands are constructed as elastic bands. At sides of the transfer point, outer bands are mounted on a lateral stack stop and inner bands are mounted on mounts which are adjustable crosswise of the sheets. When the suction head and the lateral stack stops are adjusted, the bands shorten or lengthen in accordance with the adjustment, so that for each format the sheet is guided over its full width.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sheet guide device for a supply region of a sheet-fed machine, in particular a printing press, which guides the sheets after separation from a feeder stack.
When sheets in a stack of sheets are supplied to sheet-fed machines, it is conventional to use a suction feed device which includes lifting suction devices and drag suction devices. The separation of the topmost sheet from a stack is carried out by aspirating the sheet in a lower position with the lifting suction devices and then raising the lifting suction devices. While the sheet is in the raised position, blown air is passed beneath the sheet by separating blowers operating from the rear edge of the stack, in order to reinforce the separation of the sheet from the stack and the raising of the sheet, while in order to maintain the air pressure, lateral loosening blowers blow air continuously against the side edges of the stack in the leading portion of the sheet. Once the lifting suction devices have reached their highest position, horizontally reciprocating feed suction devices (drag suction devices) take over the sheet from the lifting suction devices in that they aspirate the sheets, and the suction at the lifting suction devices is turned off. Next, the feed suction devices transport the sheets by a horizontal motion in the direction of the sheet-fed machine, so that the leading portion of the sheet arrives at a transfer point where there are sheet transport devices of the downstream sheet-fed machine, such as conveyor belts guided through a feeder table. The takeover by the sheet transport device of the sheet-fed machine is effected by synchronized lowering of synchronizing rollers, as a result of which the sheet is pressed against the revolving conveyor belts. Simultaneously with the lowering of the synchronizing rollers, the supply of suction to the feed suction devices is discontinued, and the feed suction devices are moved to their rear position in terms of the sheet feeding direction. Since the sheet moves along the transport path away from the rear loosening blowers, air increasingly reaches the upper side of the sheet, causing the sheet to flutter. This threatens the stable, reliable transporting of the raised sheet, especially in the leading region of the sheet, over a specified transport path to the sheet-fed machine and thus threatens the arrival of the sheet at the transfer point that is meant to be adapted to the pace of the sheet-fed machine.
In order to solve that problem, sheet guide elements are used above the sheet travel path. One such sheet guide element is known from German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 17 86 232 A1. In the supply region of a sheet supply device disclosed therein, the sheet is guided on its top side along the sheet travel path above the sheet stack by a plurality of horizontally disposed sheet guide rods that can be lengthened in telescoping fashion. The telescoping rods extend above the sheet stack from a crossbar, that is located downstream of the suction head in the sheet feeding direction, is disposed crosswise to the sheet feeding direction and is connected to the suction head, horizontally in a single plane as far as the transfer point to a feeder table of a printing press. Upon a format-dependent adjustment of the suction head in or counter to the sheet feeding direction, the aforementioned sheet guide rods are compressed in telescoping fashion. The tubular portions of the sheet guide rods form stepwise-extending segments. The guide elements are essentially dimensionally stable. A substantial disadvantage is that the sheet guide elements require maintenance for the sake of their functional reliability, since the telescoping rods are exposed to increasing wear from soiling and abrasion.


A catheter tube carries an imaging element for visualizing tissue. The catheter tube also carries a support structure, which extends beyond the imaging element for contacting surrounding tissue away from the imaging element. The support element stabilizes the imaging element, while the imaging element visualizes tissue in the interior body region. The support structure also carries a diagnostic or therapeutic component to contact surrounding tissue.

Systems and methods for visualizing interior regions of a living body are known. For example, ultrasound systems and methods are shown and described in Yock U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,949 and Webler et al. 5,485,846.
Due to dynamic forces within the body, it can be difficult to stabilize internal imaging devices to consistently generate accurate images having the quality required to prescribe appropriate treatment or therapy. There is often an attendant need to constantly position and reposition the image acquisition element. In addition, tissue and anatomic structures inside the body can contact and occlude the image acquisition element.
External imaging modalities are available. Still, these alternative modalities have their own shortcomings.
For example, in carrying out endocardial ablation procedures, fluoroscopic imaging is widely used to identify anatomic landmarks within the heart. Fluoroscopic imaging is also widely used to locate the position of the ablation electrode or electrodes relative to the targeted ablation site. It is often difficult to identify these anatomic sites using fluoroscopy. It is also difficult, if not impossible, to use fluoroscopy to ascertain that the desired lesion pattern has been created after ablation. Often, the achievement of desired lesion characteristics must be inferred based upon measurements of applied ablation power, system impedance, tissue temperature, and ablation time. Furthermore, fluoroscopy cannot readily locate the border zones between infarcted tissue and normal tissue, where efficacious ablation zones are believed to reside.

Systems and methods for visualizing tissue during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures


A bulk manufacturing method for growing silicon-germanium stained-layer superlattice (SLS) using an ultra-high vacuum-chemical vapor deposition (UHV-CVD) system and a detector using it is disclosed. The growth method overcomes the stress caused by silicon and germanium lattice mismatch, and leads to uniform, defect-free layer-by-layer growth. Flushing hydrogen between the layer growths creates abrupt junctions between superlattice structure (SLS) layers. Steps include flowing a mixture of phosphine and germane gases over a germanium seed layer. This in-situ doped germanium growth step produces an n-doped germanium layer. Some of the phosphorus diffuses into the underlying germanium and reduces the stress in the underlying germanium that is initially created by the lattice mismatch between germanium and silicon. Phosphine can be replaced by diborane if a p-doped layer is desired. The reduction of stress results in a smooth bulk germanium growth.

An existing material used for manufacturing short wave-infrared focal-plane arrays (SWIR FPA) is InGaAs, which is expensive and incompatible with silicon processing. Silicon-germanium strained-layer superlattice structure (Si:Ge SLS) is used as an alternative. However, growing uniform single-crystal germanium on silicon substrate is a challenge due to silicon and germanium lattice mismatch. Growing an ultrathin layer of germanium on top of a layer of silicon-germanium, or alternating layers of silicon-germanium with varying silicon content, with abrupt transitions for making hundreds of pairs of layers of strained-layer superlattice is another challenge. What is needed is a method for growing silicon-germanium strained-layer superlattice structure on silicon substrates that overcomes silicon and germanium lattice mismatch and provides an ultrathin layer of germanium on top of a layer of silicon-germanium with abrupt layer transitions for making hundreds of pairs of layers of superlattice that is which is less expensive and compatible with silicon processing.

Method for growing germanium/silicon—germanium superlattice

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


The orbital sander of the present invention eliminates many of the disadvantages of the prior art sanders by providing a compact, lightweight, and economical sander having a body and shroud formed from an injection-molded synthetic polymeric material. The head is replaced using a built-in plunger which engages notches in the spindle, without the need for tools. The built-in plunger enables the flexible shroud of the prior art to be replaced with a rigid polymeric shroud positioned with a minimal gap between the shroud and the head or shoe. The polymeric shroud is attached to the rest of the polymeric body structure by three screws and two pins. The pins project upwardly from the polymeric shroud and into precise engagement with the polymeric body structure, thus reducing the required drilling and tapping, providing rotational stability, and increasing the strength of the connection between the two parts. The air control valve is securely held in the housing using a set screw having a dog which engages a groove in the air control valve to resist the axial force tending to eject the air control valve from the body structure. Finally, a new muffler is used which creates a circuitous path for the exiting air, and thus dampens its acoustic energy.

1. Field of the Invention
Orbital abrading or polishing tools have been available for many years. Examples of such tools are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,170 to Hutchins, U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,329 to Hutchins, U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,019 to Hutchins, U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,995 to Hutchins, U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,036 to Hutchins, U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,558 to Hutchins, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,348 to Hutchins, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety into the present disclosure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Orbital sanders of the prior art have, in some instances, been shaped to be held by a user in manipulating the sander and moving it along a horizontal work surface to sand that surface. Such sanders often utilize a head which carries a sheet of sandpaper and is driven rotationally by a compressed air powered motor. The motor is usually contained within a rather heavy body structure.
Typically, the head is mounted to a spindle which in turn is mounted eccentrically relative to the vertical axis of the motor so that the head orbits about the vertical axis. It is often desirable to be able quickly and easily remove the head from the drive portion of the sander in order to enable selective use of any of several heads of different sizes and shapes with a single drive unit. A drive unit and a set of different heads can then serve, in effect, as a number of different tools. In the prior art, replacing the head has been relatively difficult because tools have typically been required for unscrewing the head from the drive portion of a sander.
Previously developed portable orbital sanders have utilized a flexible shroud to provide access for insertion of a tool between the head, which is also commonly referred to as a shoe, and the housing to lock the spindle so that the head can be unscrewed manually from it. Located within the shroud and just above the spindle is a rotating counterweight used to counterbalance the eccentrically mounted spindle and head. This arrangement has several disadvantages, however. First, the flexible shroud can be pressed inwardly by an operator""s fingers until it contacts the rotating counterweight. This causes wear to the sander in addition to unwanted vibrations. Also, debris can enter the space between -the shroud and the head, and thus clog the inner workings of the sander, if the flexible shroud becomes distorted. Further, there is a risk that the fingers of the operator might enter the space, causing injury to the user.
Prior art sanders have used air control valves having rotatable cylindrical valve elements for regulating the supply of compressed air to the motor. However, in order to prevent the air pressure from ejecting the air control valve axially from the body structure, the air control valve has been secured in place within the body structure using such imprecise and makeshift methods as using a strap to hold the air control valve against the body structure.
After powering the motor, the compressed air must, of course, leave the sander. The escaping high pressure air creates a loud noise which can be harmful to the operator as well as those in the area. The noise level can be lowered by packing the output path with cotton or other materials, but this leads to the disadvantage of significantly greater back-pressure.
Prior orbital sanders have sometimes utilized a top cover secured to the body structure by screws passing downwardly through the cover and into threaded bores formed in the body structure. This method of securing the cover is disadvantageous and expensive, however, because it requires time-consuming drilling and threading of the body structure.
The orbital sander of the present invention eliminates many of the disadvantages of the prior art sanders by providing a compact, lightweight, and economical sander having a body and shroud formed from an injection-molded synthetic polymeric material. The head is replaced using a built-in plunger which engages notches in the spindle, without the need for tools. The built-in plunger enables the flexible shroud of the prior art to be replaced with a rigid polymeric shroud positioned with a minimal gap between the shroud and the head or shoe. The polymeric shroud is attached to the rest of the polymeric body structure by three screws and two pins. The pins project upwardly from the polymeric shroud and into precise engagement with the polymeric body structure, thus reducing the required drilling and tapping, providing rotational stability, and increasing the strength of the connection between the two parts. The air control valve is securely held in the housing using a set screw having a dog which engages a groove in the air control valve to resist the axial force tending to eject the air control valve from the body structure. Finally, a new muffler is used which creates a circuitous path for the exiting air, and thus dampens its acoustic energy.
To realize the advantages outlined above, one embodiment of the portable orbital abrading or polishing tool of the present invention includes: a tool body to be held and manipulated by a user; a motor carded by the body; an orbital drive structure driven rotatably about a first axis by the motor; a spindle having at least one notch along its outer circumference and which is connected to the orbital drive structure for rotation relative thereto about a second axis offset from the first axis to drive the spindle in an orbital path about the first axis as the orbital drive structure turns; a head threadedly connected to the spindle and adapted to carry an element for abrading or polishing a work surface; and a plunger passing through the body and movable radially inwardly, the plunger movable between a first position and a second position, wherein in the first position the plunger does not contact the outer circumference of the spindle and in the second position the plunger engages the at least one notch for any position of the spindle along the orbital path.


Methods and devices are disclosed for enabling improved transmission performance on a multi-SIM wireless communication device. The wireless device may detect a voice communication in a held state on a modem stack associated with the first SIM and an active voice communication on a modem stack associated with the second SIM. The wireless device may detect a conflict between at least one silence descriptor (SID) frame scheduled for transmission by the modem stack associated with the first SIM and a transmit opportunity for the modem stack associated with the second SIM. Once the wireless device identifies a SID frame transmission rate for the modem stack associated with the first SIM, the wireless device may apply a reduction scheme to the SID frames scheduled to be transmitted by the modem stack associated with the first SIM.

Multi-SIM (subscriber identification module) wireless devices have become increasing popular because of their flexibility in service options and other features.
In various types of multi-SIM wireless communication devices, each modem stack associated with a subscription may store information provisioned by its respective network operator in a SIM, which may allow the SIM to support use of various different communication services. For example, various wireless networks may be configured to handle different types of data, use different communication modes, implement different radio access technologies, etc. One type of multi-SIM wireless device, referred to as a dual-SIM dual-active (DSDA) device, is typically configured with separate transmit/receive chains associated with each SIM, thereby allowing simultaneous active connections with the networks corresponding to two SIMs. Some DSDA devices, referred to as single transmit DSDA devices, are configured with separate receive chains associated with each SIM, and a single shared transmit chain, which reduces hardware costs and power requirements of the device.
When a DSDA device is involved in simultaneous voice calls on both SIMs, one call will be active, and the other call is placed on hold. On the held call, as well as during periods of silence on the active call, voice packets are not transmitted, but control messages and silence descriptor (SID) frames are transmitted at regular intervals over the air interface. Therefore, transmission conflicts may arise when time slots for transmission align between the SIMs. For example, on a single transmit DSDA device, a scheduling conflict may arise when use of the transmit chain is required by both SIMs during aligned time slots. Further, in a DSDA device configured with separate transmit circuitry for each SIM, collisions may arise when the SIMs simultaneously transmit on their respective communication links due to coexistence issues (e.g., radio frequency (RF) interference). As a result, one or multiple transmissions maybe dropped or delayed, increasing power consumption and/or degrade performance.

System and methods for reducing silence descriptor frame transmit rate to improve performance in a multi-SIM wireless communication device


The present application is directed to a novel composition which acts as a barrier to noxious agents while showing enhanced moisture vapour permeability and resistance to water and laundering.

In recent years, concern for the welfare of workers in hazardous jobs has increased considerably. In order to safeguard workers working in hazardous environments, clothing incorporating various impermeable and adsorptive materials has been used. Many of these materials have disadvantages in that they inhibit water vapor transmission and possess a finite capacity to adsorb chemicals. For example, carbon based technologies allowing water vapor transmission have limited adsorption capacity.
Moreover, the environmental impact of protective apparel remains a challenge for the industry. Concerns have arisen as to the deleterious effect of disposable clothing on the environment. There is a need to develop new protective garments that are reusable.
A preferred approach to protective garments providing comfort, flexibility and breathability relies on the use of selectively permeable materials. The use of selectively permeable materials is well known in the art and is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,943,475, 5,391,426 and 6,395,383. These permeable materials are permeable only to water vapor as opposed to chemical, noxious or harmful agents. Generally, selectively permeable materials that possess high water vapor transmission are hydrophilic polymers like polyethylenimine (PEI), polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and polyvinyl alcohol co-ethylene. However, these water-soluble polymers offer poor chemical protection after laundering and as such cannot be considered reusable.
Therefore, there is a need to develop selectively permeable materials that offer a greater resistance to water and laundering and that have better binding properties to commercially available membranes while still acting as effective barriers against noxious or harmful agents, and while still maintaining their flexibility and breathability.
It is an object of this invention to provide a composition which has enhanced resistance to water and laundering, can better adhere to fabric or other solid supports and has enhanced water vapour permeability.

Polymeric composition acting as barrier to noxious agents


An apparatus and method for imaging a surface of a target object that produces a three-dimensional image of the target object without mechanical contact from a hand-held, free-motion scanner. In one embodiment, the apparatus has a scanner that an operator manually moves about the target object substantially without restriction. A noncontact distance measuring device is attached to the scanner to measure the distance between the scanner and the target object without mechanically contacting the target object. Additionally, a position tracking system detects the position and orientation of the scanner within the position reference field without mechanically restricting the scanner. In operation, a computer is operatively coupled to the position tracking system and the noncontact distance measuring device to correlate position measurements of the scanner with corresponding distance measurements between the scanner and the target object. The computer generates a three-dimensional image of the target object from surface point measurements of the target object.

Digital imaging systems are used to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images of objects for reverse engineering, prototyping, computer modeling, animation, graphics applications, inspecting parts, medical procedures, prosthetic device manufacturing and other applications. In prosthetic device manufacturing, for example, an anatomical feature of a specific patient may be digitized to manufacture a custom prosthetic device that comfortably fits the patient. Several digitizing devices and processes are currently available to generate three-dimensional images of objects.
One type of existing digitizing system is a full-contact, free-motion digitizer that has a hand-held probe with a receiver that detects the position of the probe relative to a position reference magnetic field generated by a transmitter. In prosthetic device manufacturing applications, the size and shape of a patient's limb or other anatomical feature is measured by pressing the probe against the patient's skin and scanning the probe over the anatomical feature. The motion tracking system computes the position and orientation of the probe as it moves over the patient's skin to generate a three-dimensional image of the patient's limb. However, because the probe presses against the patient's skin, one problem with the hand-held probe is that it may deflect the skin and produce inaccurate data points that do not correspond to the true size and shape of the patient's limb. As a result, a prosthetic device manufactured according to the data generated by the probe may not comfortably fit the patient. Another problem with this system is that the target object must remain stationary as it is scanned by the probe to prevent inaccurate measurements. Consequently, many medical patients become uncomfortable and may even experience pain during the digitization process because they must remain still for relatively long periods of time.
Another existing digitizing system is a noncontact, restricted-motion digitizer that has a support structure with a guide track, a noncontact displacement sensor mounted to the support structure to travel along the guide track, and a brace to fixedly hold a target object during digitizing. Alternatively, the displacement sensor may be attached to a mechanical arm. The noncontact displacement sensor is generally a laser distance measuring device that measures the displacement between the sensor and the surface of the target object, and the position of the sensor is detected by denoting its position on the guide track or on the mechanical arm. In prosthetic device manufacturing, a patient's limb is strapped to the brace and fixed in place, and the displacement sensor moves along the guide track and scans the patient's limb with a laser beam. The distance measurements from the laser and the position of the laser are correlated by a computer to calculate the surface points of the target object and generate a three-dimensional image.
Although noncontact, restricted-motion digitizers do not deflect the skin of a patient, they are generally large, complex pieces of equipment with many mechanical parts. Moreover, the guide track or the mechanical arm may also restrict the motion of the displacement sensor and prevent the laser beam from scanning portions of the target object. Thus, as with conventional full contact digitizers, patient's are generally uncomfortable or even in pain during the digitizing process because they must hold still while being scanned with the laser.


A hybrid vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine and a motor-generator for running the vehicle, includes: a power storage device to be supplied to the motor-generator; a current leakage detection circuit detecting a decrease in insulation resistance, the current leakage detection circuit being electrically connected to a negative electrode of the power storage device; an electrical heated catalyst device; and a power supply device that converts electric power from the power storage device into energization power of the electrical heated catalyst device by a power conversion path passing through an insulating mechanism. The power supply device includes a switching device. The switching device is opened when the electrical heated catalyst device is energized, and is closed when the decrease in insulation resistance of the electrical heated catalyst device is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hybrid vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine and a motor-generator for running the vehicle, and more particularly to a hybrid vehicle provided with an electrical heated catalyst (EHC) in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art
A vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine is typically provided with a catalyst for purifying the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine. The catalyst cannot purify the exhaust gas sufficiently unless the activation temperature of the catalyst is reached. Accordingly, an EHC configured such that the catalyst can be heated by an electrical heater or the like has been suggested.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-274479 (JP-2009-274479 A) discloses the configuration of an electric system used when an EHC is provided at a hybrid vehicle in which an on-board power storage device can be charged from a power source installed outside of the vehicle (referred to hereinbelow as "external power source"). The catalyst temperature in the EHC is raised by heat generation by energization during actuation. Charging of the onboard power storage device with an external power source will be referred to hereinbelow simply as "external charging".
JP-2009-274479 A discloses the configuration of an electric system for energizing an EHC by using a charger for external charging. More specifically, the configuration is disclosed in which the EHC is connected in parallel to the primary winding or secondary winding of a transformer in a charger constituted by an insulating power converter including the transformer.
Since the EHC is disposed in the exhaust passage of the engine, electrical abnormalities caused by the decrease in insulation resistance can occur under the effect of soot or water. In the configuration disclosed in JP-2009-274479 A, the insulation between the power storage device and the EHC can be ensured by connecting the EHC in parallel with the secondary winding of the transformer.
However, in the configuration disclosed in JP-2009-274479 A, the EHC is not provided with a circuit for detecting the decrease in insulation resistance (referred to hereinbelow as "current leakage detection circuit") when the vehicle is used. Therefore, where the insulation resistance of the EHC temporarily decreases under the effect of soot or water, it is possible that the occurrence of such decrease will not be detected.
Further, in order to detect the decrease in insulation resistance of the EHC with the circuit configuration ensuring the insulation between the power storage device and the EHC, it is necessary to install a current leakage detection circuit separately from the circuit system connected to the power storage device. As a result, the cost can be increased.


A displacement actuated side dumping haul body and related methods are disclosed. The side dumping haul body may, for example, be mounted to a trailer or truck frame. The side dumping haul body includes a floor with fore and aft end walls rigidly attached to the floor, at least one actuator and first and second sidewalls. When the at least one actuator is employed to pivot the floor to dump material from the haul body, the corresponding sidewall pivots at least generally away from the floor to create a side discharge opening. Various opening parameters and dumping characteristics can be achieved by varying locations of pivot and linkage points.

Haul bodies have long been used to haul various bulk materials over relatively significant distances. Typical bulk materials include rock, sand, gravel, dirt, agricultural products, etc. Many haul bodies are capable of dumping bulk materials by elevating or pivoting at least a portion of the haul body. Common examples are rear dumping dump trucks and side dumping haul bodies mounted on trailers. One typical rear dumping dump truck has an aft-located end wall or tailgate that swings open as the body is elevated. A typical side dumping haul body is tilted in its entirety and in a lateral direction to a degree at which the payload spills over a sidewall and is expelled to the side of the haul body. Also typically, the payload may be selectively dumped to either the left or to the right of the side dumping haul body. Depending on conditions where the payload is to be dumped, either a side dumping haul body or a rear dumping haul body may be preferred. Where a side dumping haul body configuration is preferred, the haul body will typically include a partially enclosed structure consisting of a floor structure, two laterally opposed side panels and fore and aft located end walls. Such a haul body will typically have an open top. Although in many circumstances existing side dumping haul bodies have significant advantages over rear dumping haul bodies, existing side dumping haul bodies do have some disadvantages.
Side dumping bodies come in many shapes and sizes and generally are sized based upon payload density to provide desired axle loading. Typically, existing side dumping haul bodies are configured like an elongated tub where the sidewalls and floor are a single element. Generally, the sidewalls are angled to aid in the dumping process. Fore and aft located end walls cap the tub structure and which has no moveable panels, as opposed to a tail gate common to a typical dump truck. Commonly, pivoting the entire tub structure about a longitudinal axis dumps the load. Hydraulic cylinders typically provide the force necessary to pivot the tub structure. By selectively pinning the tub structure to a left or right axis, the tub structure can be pivoted about the pinned axis. The material in the tub structure is eventually dumped over a sidewall of the tub structure.
There are several disadvantages to a side dumping haul body with a rigid tub structure. The tub structure must often be pivoted to extreme angles to achieve a final angle large enough to allow the payload to overcome friction and slide from the haul body. However, pivoting the haul body to extreme angles may result in instability and the rolling of the entire side dumping haul body onto its side. This may happen when, for example, the center of gravity of a side dumping haul body and retained material shifts beyond the point of the outer tire of the transport vehicle, causing a roll moment which may lead to a rollover. Oftentimes, the maximum dump angle achievable by current tub type side dumping haul body designs is about 45°. Under certain conditions, this may be inadequate for full shedding of the payload.
To enhance the dumping of material out of the haul body, known tub type side dumping haul bodies generally have relatively shallow sidewalls. However, this leads to a length-to-capacity ratio that is large when compared to other types of dumping haul bodies. The extended length necessary to achieve particular hauling capacities also increases bending moments on the body while dumping.
Side dumping haul bodies with hinged movable sidewalls are also known. By incorporating hinged movable sidewalls, as opposed to the fixed tub design as described above, a side dumping haul body may have vertically disposed sidewalls, decreasing the length-to-capacity ratio. However, these hinges are typically along the upper or lower edges of the sidewalls. There are several disadvantages to such hinged sidewalls. For example, hinged, movable sidewalls may become damaged during loading or unloading. Sidewalls that are only hinged may move uncontrollably due to the force of the payload when the mechanism used to position the sidewall in the closed position is released. Bottom hinged sidewalls may interfere with the position of materials that have been dumped. This type of sidewall may also be difficult to raise back into the closed position. Top hinged sidewalls may swing uncontrollably when the dumping process is started, leading to reduced control of the dumping process. Top hinged sidewalls also may be difficult to return to the closed position, particularly if the haul body is not on level ground or material within the haul body is interfering with full closure.
Some known side dumping haul bodies use hydraulics to move sidewalls during the dumping process. However these systems also utilize hinges along the top or bottom edge of the sidewalls, and therefore share many of the shortcomings discussed above. Also known moving sidewalls systems require additional actuators and latches.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a side dumping haul body where steep floor dumping angles can be achieved without a significant loss in stability. Similarly, it would be desirable to provide a side dumping haul body with movable sidewalls that are not hinged along the top or bottom edges of the sidewalls. It would also be desirable to provide a side dumping haul body with movable sidewalls, where separate latching operations would not be required to secure the sidewalls in the lowered or neutral position.

Displacement actuated side dumping haul body


A display substrate and a manufacturing method thereof and a display panel. The display substrate includes a display area and a reflective layer, and at least a portion of the reflective layer is in the display area. The reflective layer includes a metasurface facing a display side of the display substrate, and the metasurface includes a plurality of convex structures which have metamaterial properties and are scattered.

With a development of display technologies, a display panel has been widely used in human production and life. A reflective display panel has attracted more and more attention due to its advantages of dispensing with backlights, having a low power consumption, or the like. However, the reflective display with the current structure has a low utilization rate of ambient light, a brightness of the displayed image is low, and the display effect is poor.

Display substrate and manufacturing method thereof and display panel

BEIJING BOE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


Attached to an upper end or rear sidewall of each of a plurality of movable racks is a hollow tube mounted on a rectangular plate in two places on each rack. Passing through the hollow tubes of each of the plurality of movable racks is a solid rod having a diameter of one to two inches. The solid rod is anchored at opposite ends on two stationary or fixed racks to facilitate sliding of the plurality of racks across a floor. No special equipment is required to maximize floor space for storage of tires.

Movable rack assemblies are known for storing quantities of materials such as work folders. Typically, each rack assembly is guided by a plurality of rails or guide tracks located in or on the floor. A manually rotated drive assembly is sometimes used to move a plurality of racks relative to stationary or fixed racks, which are typically located at opposite ends of the movable racks. The track or guide system located in or on the floor is usually of a design shaped complementary to the wheels, rollers or other conveyance mechanisms used to move the various racks.
It is also possible to use an overhead rail system, typically including a horizontally oriented roller restrained within the side walls of a guide rail system. On the occasion where a vertically oriented roller is used, it is typically used in conjunction with horizontally oriented rollers.
Alternatively, in one known system, when using only vertically oriented wheels, a guide support rail having a precisely adjusted height is used. The rail is positioned so that the vertically extending wheels engage and are supported from underneath by a vertically lower portion of the rail.


An electrophotographic image forming apparatus may include a body frame; a developer cartridge; a toner cartridge mounted in the body frame to be detachable, and is configured to move to a first location where the toner cartridge starts to connect to the developer cartridge to supply toner and to a second location where the connection is completed; at least one first location regulating member provided in the developer cartridge and regulating a relative location of the toner cartridge with respect to the developer cartridge when the toner cartridge is located in the first location; and at least one second location regulating member provided in the body frame and regulating a relative location of the toner cartridge with respect to the developer cartridge so that the toner cartridge is spaced apart from the at least one first location regulating member when the toner cartridge is located in the second location.

1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus capable of guaranteeing a stable connection of a developer (development) cartridge and a toner cartridge in a mounting process and minimizing effect due to vibration when mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses are apparatuses forming an image on a recording medium according to signals that are input, and the image forming apparatuses include printers, photocopiers, fax machines, and multi-function peripherals realized by integrating functions of the printers, the photocopiers, and the fax machines.
Image forming apparatuses are configured by including a body loading or supplying paper and supporting or driving various components in the image forming apparatuses, and a developing unit mounted in the body and forming an image on the paper.
The developing unit may be classified as a one-piece way or a two-piece way according to a print speed, a developing method, and a system layout. The one-piece way is a way in which a portion forming an image and a portion supplying toner are not separated but prepared in one developing unit. The two-piece way is a way in which the portion forming the image and the portion supplying the toner are separated as a developer cartridge and a toner cartridge respectively and mounted in a body of the image forming apparatuses additionally.
In general, in the case of the developing unit of the two-piece way, the developing unit has a structure in which toner contained in the toner cartridge is supplied to the developer cartridge. Here, when a relative location relationship between the developer cartridge and the toner cartridge is not regulated within a consistent margin of error, the toner may not smoothly be supplied or may leak outside the developer cartridge or the toner cartridge, when the toner is transported from the toner cartridge to the developer cartridge.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a stable connection of a developer cartridge and toner cartridge


An energy absorber includes a base flange and elongated crush boxes that to form a substantially continuously face surface on the energy absorber. Back straps are attached across a back of the crush boxes to prevent unacceptable spreading of the side walls of the crush boxes during an impact. The back straps can be integrally formed when the energy absorber is molded, and can include a living hinge at one end and a free end that can be bent over and snap attached during post-molding assembly without additional secondary operations. Alternatively, a separate wall-stabilizing thermoformed component is sandwiched between the energy absorber and beam.

The present invention relates to energy absorbers with crush boxes and back straps for stabilizing the crush boxes for improved energy-absorbing functionality.
Polymeric energy absorbers are often used on a face of metal bumper beams to provide energy-absorption during a vehicle crash (prior to deformation of the metal beam). Recently, many energy absorbers have incorporated geometrically-shaped tubular crush boxes configured to crush in localized areas with optimal and predictable energy absorption. Crush boxes typically have four (or more) relatively planar walls that extend parallel a direction of expected impact to form a tubular shape, and have an end wall connecting the planar walls to form a box-shaped structure. The walls all support each other to promote a predictable crush-type collapse (with multiple bends in each wall during collapse) for maximum energy absorption. A problem is that, as crush boxes are elongated in a sideways direction perpendicular to the direction of expected impact, their side walls are also elongated and soon become unstable. Specifically, as the side walls are elongated, a stability provided by adjacent side walls and the end wall is decreased, especially in the center of the elongated side wall. Concurrently, energy absorption by the elongated side walls during an impact drops off, because the side walls, especially at locations away from the adjacent side walls, begin to kick outward instead of crushing. Restated, during impact, the crush box's elongated side walls (which form a C-shaped cross section with the associated end wall) tend to spread apart (i.e., the top side wall bends upward, and the bottom side wall bends downward), resulting in a substantial reduction in impact energy absorption.
However, there are reasons to elongate crush boxes in a sideways direction (i.e., in a direction parallel a length of the bumper beam on which the energy absorber is positioned). For example, it is desirable to provide continuous support for fascia across a face of the energy absorber, without interruption of the face surface. This is not possible where adjacent crush boxes are spaced apart since there is a gap between adjacent (spaced-apart) crush boxes. Further, it is desirable to provide a more continuous support structure cross a face of the energy absorber so as to provide a more uniform surface if a pedestrian is struck. Still further, there is a desire to reduce the complexity of energy absorbers, such as by reducing a number of the individual crush boxes (and reducing the number of side walls and reinforcement ribs that must concurrently be made). Reducing the number of walls in an energy absorber simplifies tooling and also increases moldability due to the reduction in complexly-shaped surfaces in the mold. Also, protrusions in a die that are bound on four sides (e.g., the die component forming the inside cavity of a crush box) are difficult to cool since it is difficult to route cooling lines into and out of the protrusions.
Thus, an energy absorber and related method is desired solving the aforementioned problems and having the aforementioned advantages. Specifically, an energy absorber is desired having elongated crush boxes, but with reduced tendency of the crush boxes to "spread" unacceptably during an impact, resulting in unacceptably low energy absorption.

Energy absorber with crush boxes and back straps


Wall portions, such as wall portions of electronic device housing components, are provided with one or more foot assemblies. A foot assembly can be formed by creating an internal cavity in an internal surface of the wall portion, an external cavity in an external surface of the wall portion, and a hollow passageway extending through the wall portion and between the cavities. The foot assembly can be completed by inserting a foot at least partially through the external cavity and hollow passageway and into the internal cavity, such that an external portion of the foot is at least partially contained within and contacting the surfaces of the external cavity, and such that an internal portion of the foot is at least partially contained within the internal cavity. A portion of the foot may be deformable to at least partially conform to the surfaces defining the internal cavity.

Some known electronic devices (e.g., computers and televisions) include at least one internal electronic component associated with the operation of the device and a protective enclosure or housing that at least partially encloses the internal electronic component. Typically, the housing includes one or more housing components that serve to surround the internal electronic components at a peripheral region of the electronic device so as to cover and protect the internal components from adverse external conditions. Moreover, some known electronic devices include one or more foot assemblies that at least partially extend from an external surface of the protective housing to raise the electronic device off of a supporting surface (e.g., a table or the ground).
Cosmetic and geometric features are important to consumers of electronic devices, as these features help create the overall impression that one has of the electronic device. Therefore, the housing and one or more foot assemblies may also be configured to form and aesthetically enhance the outward appearance and size of the electronic device. For example, the shape, contours, and/or materials of the housing and foot assemblies may be designed so as to create a positive impression about the electronic device, thereby contributing to the overall success of the device in the market place.
However, most known electronic devices include foot assemblies that comprise a significant number of parts. The use of many foot assembly parts traditionally creates visible intersection locations, thereby making the outward appearance of the foot assembly non-uniform. Moreover, most known electronic devices include foot assemblies that require a housing with an increased overall thickness at the portions coupled to the foot assemblies. Increased housing thickness traditionally creates larger and more cumbersome electronic devices.
Accordingly, what is needed are apparatus and methods for the construction of foot assemblies that are small, easy to manufacture, and aesthetically pleasing.


An algorithmic pattern generator (APG) having extended register programming capability for use in a circuit tester. The APG is programmable to drive a subroutine memory in a tester. The APG may include a sequencer with paired loop counters, address generators having address and reference registers each paired with indexing registers, a data generator providing bit inversion with a latched inversion register, a topology memory, or a delayed access pipeline for data synchronization. The APG may also include a two stage address scrambler combining a crosspoint multiplexer and scrambler RAM.

The present invention relates to algorithmic pattern generators in automatic test equipment for testing circuits, and more particularly to algorithmic pattern generators useful for testing semiconductor random access memory arrays embedded in logic and semiconductor random access memory devices, and more particularly for testing synchronous DRAM devices.
Automatic pattern generators (APGs) are well-known components of automatic test equipment (ATE) for electronic circuits. APGs exist to create patterns of test vectors on-the-fly for testing integrated circuits. The testing of memory arrays (embedded in logic or microprocessor devices, for example) and memory devices (such as synchronous dynamic random access memory devices) is an important application of APGs. New memory devices are faster and larger than previous generation devices. They also pose new challenges to the algorithmic generation of test vectors--multi-cycle latency, pipelining, non-linear address sequencing, and synchronous operation.

Pattern generator with extended register programming


Methods for singulating a semiconductor wafer into a plurality of individual dies that contain lateral edges or sidewalls and the semiconductor dies formed from these methods are described. The dies are formed from methods that use a front to back photolithography alignment process to form a photo-resist mask and an anisoptropic wet etch in an HNA and/or a TMAH solution on the backside of the wafer through the photoresist mask to form sloped sidewalls and/or textures. The conditions of the TMAH etching process can be controlled to form any desired combination of rough or smooth sidewalls. Thus, the dies formed have a Si front side with an area larger than the Si backside area and sidewalls or lateral edges that are not perpendicular to the front or back surface of the die. Other embodiments are also described.

As part of semiconductor device processing, a number of integrated circuits ("IC" or "ICs") are formed on a wafer, or substrate, made from a semiconductor material, such as silicon. Generally, ICs are formed with layers of materials that have semiconductive, conductive, and/or insulative properties. These materials are deposited, doped, etched, or otherwise used to form ICs in individual regions on the wafer that are called die or dies.
After the formation of ICs on the wafer, the wafer can be singulated so as to separate the individual dies from each other. The separated dies can then be used with larger circuits in either a packaged or an unpackaged form. The die singulation process can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including through a scribing, a sawing, or a dicing process.
In scribing, a diamond-tipped scribe is typically used to form shallow scratches in the wafer along pre-formed scribed lines that extend along the spaces (or streets) between the dies and across a surface of the wafer. After scribing, pressure can be applied to the wafer so as to separate or break the dies along the scribed lines. In sawing, after a wafer is thinned, by grinding or chemical etch, a high-speed diamond-tipped saw or laser is used to cut the wafer along the streets from the device side of the wafer. In a Dicing Before Grind (DBG) process, grooves are typically formed along the streets from the a front surface of the wafer (or the side of the wafer on which the ICs are located) and next the back surface of the wafer is removed (e.g., by grinding) until either the grooves are exposed so the wafer can be separated by the application of pressure at die attach.

Semiconductor die containing lateral edge shapes and textures


A rotor includes a plurality of salient poles, each of which is formed by a plurality of plate members including steel plates that are stacked together, provided extending in a radial direction and around which a coil is wound. The plurality of salient poles has auxiliary salient poles that protrude from the salient poles between two salient poles that are adjacent to one another. The auxiliary salient poles are formed by only a first plate member that is a portion of plate members that forms the salient poles.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a rotor for a rotary electric machine, that is provided with a plurality of teeth, each of which formed by a plurality of plate members including steel plates that are stacked together, around which a rotor coil is wound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-112091 describes a rotary electric machine in which a stator and, a rotor are arranged opposing one another, and that includes salient poles provided in a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction of the rotor, rotor coils that are wound around the salient poles and separated from each other, and a diode connected to each rotor coil. The diodes rectify current that flows to the rotor coils, such that the magnetization direction is reversed with salient poles that are adjacent to one another in the circumferential direction of the rotor. Also, the Stator has teeth provided in a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction of a stator core. Stator windings of a plurality of phases are wound in concentrated windings around the teeth of the stators. A rotating magnetic field that rotates in the circumferential direction generated in the stator by passing alternating current of a plurality of phases through the stator windings of the plurality of phases. Also, an induction current is generated in the rotor coils by a spatial harmonic that is a harmonic component in magnetomotive force distribution in the stator, thus creating N-poles and S-poles alternately at the salient poles in the circumferential direction of the rotor, and generating torque in the rotor. At this time, the salient poles are magnetized, thus creating magnets in which the magnetic poles are fixed, by current that has been rectified by the diodes flowing through the rotor coils.
With this kind of rotary electric machine, the salient poles interact with the rotating magnetic field of the stator and as a result, torque is applied to the rotor. Also, the torque that is applied to the rotor is able to be efficiently increased using the harmonic component of the magnetic field created by the stator.
With this kind of rotary electric machine, there is room for improvement as far as increasing the induction current generated in the rotor coils is concerned.


Visualization techniques tools and systems for displaying network diagrams to convey both focus and context to a user of the display. Network diagrams may be displayed to emulate a three dimensional presentation. Network diagrams may be presented with items of interest in sharp definition and the remainder of a diagram or diagrams being blurred or having relative degrees of sharpness/blurriness.

Network diagrams (node-link graphs) have wide scope of applications in almost all domains of science. Any data set that can be modeled as a collection of linked nodes can be represented as a network diagram. In life science, a network diagram can be used as a pathway diagram, protein interaction diagram, signal transduction process, workflow process, and other similar processes. Network diagrams may be used to provide computer-based visualization of computer networks, communications networks, and many other technical systems.
Computer-based visualization of network diagrams involves contributions from many disciplines such as: graph theory, information visualization technology, visual perception, cognitive science, as well as others, to arrive at an efficient representation that exploits human visual processing to reduce the cognitive load of many tasks that require understanding of global or local structures.
While network diagrams may convey necessary information, many times they become more confusing than necessary. For example, in the case of biological diagrams, if a diagram is utilized to illustrate a pathway or interaction diagram, the amount of graphics displayed on the screen may be overwhelming to the user. Further still, by restraining the connecting lines to two dimensions, this may limit the ability of the program to display all connections in a logical or easily perceivable manner.
Many times one line may be drawn over another line, thereby making the diagram visually confusing to the user such that the user, must take time to trace the appropriate line across/down the screen in order to see the connection between the nodes.
Further, while network diagrams may be useful to display an amount of data in a more simplified graphical nature, there are still shortcomings when it is desirable to display more than one set of data at a time. For example, in gene expression, it may be desirable to display multiple tests on a single screen using a network diagram so that the user can determine if any data collected in each test differs in any manner, or to attempt to observe connections among the data. In order to make such diagram displays from which the observations can be made, data values are encoded and the encodings are used to render the network nodes and links, see, e.g., co-owned and currently pending application Ser. No. 10/155,616, filed May 22, 2002 and titled "System and Methods for Visualizing Diverse Biological Relationships", which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference thereto. It would be desirable to overlay encoded values from other data sets on the nodes to make comparisons between values from different experiments with regard to the same entity represented by a given node. Conventional network diagrams cannot be utilized to display more than one data set because each data set will be written over the other one and/or some portions of each data set may be blocked by a portion of another data set.
Therefore there is a need for improved network diagrams and visualization techniques that can convey visual information to a user in a more simplified manner. There are further needs for providing visualization schemes capable of displaying more than one set of data simultaneously, while still providing easily interpreted readability.
An earlier attempt at presenting graphical detail in a more readable format is available in a product known as "Star Tree Viewer" (available from Inxight Software, Sunnyvale, Calif.), a screen display of which is shown in FIG. 9. Star Tree Viewer provides a technique whereby an entire tree can be kept within the confines of a circular area on a conventional display screen. The Star Tree Viewer renders a tree data structure onto a hyperbolic surface, with the higher level nodes displayed at the center of the display and "branches" of the tree extending radially outwardly therefrom toward the periphery to display lower level nodes, resulting in an appearance of the form shown in FIG. 9. Although Star Tree Viewer provides an interesting view of a hierarchical structure, it is only applicable to tree structures and not to network diagrams or graphs in general.
FIG. 10 shows a view of a product known as "Pop out Prism" (http://www2.parc.com/csl/projects/popoutprism), by Xerox Parc, which provides a Web browser that aids navigation by providing an enhanced thumbnail overview of Web pages. This enhanced thumbnail contains attention-grabbing "popouts" which are generated dynamically based on user input of URLs and keywords. These popouts enable users to immediately locate relevant information in a page. Popout Prism also adds popouts to full Web pages so that users can recognize and locate keywords. This scheme is only suited for textual images, not for graphs.

Systems and methods for providing visualization and network diagrams


A catheter device for crossing occlusions includes an elongate catheter shaft, a rotatable tip configured to rotate relative to the elongate catheter shaft, a drive shaft, and an OCT imaging sensor. The rotatable tip includes a housing coupled with the elongate catheter shaft and cutting wedges extendable from the housing. The drive shaft has a central lumen extending therethrough and extends within the elongate catheter shaft. The drive shaft is coupled with the wedges and is configured to rotate the rotatable tip. The OCT sensor includes an optical fiber coupled with the rotatable tip and configured to rotate therewith. The elongate catheter shaft is configured to move axially over the drive shaft to extend and retract the wedges from the housing while maintaining a fixed position of the imaging sensor relative to the cutting wedges.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects millions of people in the United States alone. PAD is a silent, dangerous disease that can have catastrophic consequences when left untreated. PAD is the leading cause of amputation in patients over 50 and is responsible for approximately 160,000 amputations in the United States each year.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a progressive narrowing of the blood vessels most often caused by atherosclerosis, the collection of plaque or a fatty substance along the inner lining of the artery wall. Over time, this substance hardens and thickens, which may interfere with blood circulation to the arms, legs, stomach and kidneys. This narrowing forms an occlusion, completely or partially restricting flow through the artery. Blood circulation to the brain and heart may be reduced, increasing the risk for stroke and heart disease.
Interventional treatments for PAD may include endarterectomy and/or atherectomy. Endarterectomy is surgical removal of plaque from the blocked artery to restore or improve blood flow. Endovascular therapies such as atherectomy are typically minimally invasive techniques that open or widen arteries that have become narrowed or blocked. Other treatments may include angioplasty to open the artery. For example, a balloon angioplasty typically involves insertion of a catheter into a leg or arm artery and positioning the catheter such that the balloon resides within the blockage. The balloon, connected to the catheter, is expanded to open the artery. Surgeons may then place a wire mesh tube, called a stent, at the area of blockage to keep the artery open.
Such minimally invasive techniques (e.g., atherectomy, angioplasty, etc.) typically involve the placement of a guidewire through the occlusion. Using the guidewire, one or more interventional devices may be positioned to remove or displace the occlusion. Unfortunately, placement of the guidewire, while critical for effective treatment, may be difficult. In particular, when placing a guidewire across an occlusion, it may be difficult to pass the guidewire through the occlusion while avoiding damage to the artery. For example, it is often difficult to prevent the guidewire from directing out of the lumen into the adventitia and surrounding tissues, potentially damaging the vessel and preventing effective treatment of the occlusion.
As a result, occlusion-crossing devices, intended to assist in the passing of the guidewire through the occlusion, have been developed. Many of the devices, however, suffer from having poor cutting surfaces that either drill through the occlusion off-center or mash the occlusion rather than drilling therethrough.
Accordingly, occlusion crossing catheter devices having cutting surfaces that are designed to address some of these concerns are described herein.


A method and device for transmitting downlink control information. The method includes: transmitting downlink control information comprising one or more fields indicating the number of scheduled time intervals to a terminal device. Therefore, the number of scheduled time intervals could be indicated for a terminal device in case that multiple time interval scheduling is adopted.

This section introduces aspects that may facilitate better understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.
New radio (NR) will support carrier frequencies from below 1 GHz to 100 GHz. Numerology associated for different carrier frequencies is 15*2n kHz. For example, when subcarrier spacing (SCS) 15 kHz is applied, a length (or duration) of transmission time interval (TTI) is equal to a length of a subframe, i.e. 1 ms. This TTI may include 14 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. However, when SCS 240 kHz is applied, the length of the TTI is 0.0625 ms.
In some scenarios, a short-TTI operation may be considered due to large SCS for high frequency operation, and multiple slot scheduling may be of more interest in NR compared to long term evolution (LTE).
In NR, overhead of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may be saved or reduced when multiple slot scheduling is adopted since one PDCCH may be shared by multiple slots. Furthermore, the overhead of uplink-downlink switching may also be reduced for time division duplex (TDD) when multiple slot scheduling is adopted.

Method and device for transmitting downlink control information


A lamp seat includes a metal substrate having opposite first and second surfaces, first and second conductive patterns formed on the first surface, and third and fourth conductive patterns formed on the second surface and connected respectively and integrally to the first and second conductive patterns. A heat-conductive first insulating layer is disposed between the metal substrate and each of the first, second, third and fourth conductive patterns. A heat-conductive second insulating layer is formed over the first insulating layer such that corresponding parts of the first and second conductive patterns are exposed outwardly of the second insulating layer for electrical connection with positive and negative electrodes of a light emitting diode, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lamp seat, more particularly to a lamp seat adapted for a light emitting diode, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional flashlight is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0133197. In the conventional flashlight, a substrate formed with a metal layer thereon, a heat-dissipating plate and a heat-conductive casing are used for dissipating heat generated by a light emitting diode on a lamp seat. However, since the substrate and the heat-dissipating plate must be positioned to the lamp seat, an assembly of the lamp seat, the substrate and the heat-dissipating plate has a relatively large size.

Lamp seat for a light emitting diode and capable of heat dissipation, and method of manufacturing the same


Methods and apparatuses for maintaining customization information for an electronic device in an operating system independent component that may be accessed prior to completion of a boot up process to be used to provide customized functionality of the electronic device.

Currently, many electronic devices (e.g., computer systems, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones) allow a user to customize the user interface and other user preferences. Customization is accomplished through an operating system that manages the customization using various techniques known in the art. However, changes may be lost as a result of an operating system crash or upgrade. This may result in a disappointing user experience.

Customization of electronic devices via pre-boot space


The present invention relates to a fluid supplier adapted to potted plants, which comprises an insertion pillar having a drainage aperture used to support a container, a seat disposed at the top of insertion pillar, a pad having a central hole and a guide chute mounted at the seat, wherein the central hole of the pad is in communication with the guide chute and the drainage aperture of insertion pillar, respectively. Furthermore, a rotatable adjustment member is fastened to the seat and at a predetermined position therein in response to the guide chute is formed a gently shrunk water passage, further, the container having an air inlet therebottom is assembled with the adjustment member such that air can flow into the air inlet of container so as to rotate the adjustment member to determine a specific width of water passage corresponding to the guide chute, thus enabling easily to control the amount of water for the fluid supplier adapted to potted plants.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid supplier adapted to potted plants that can easily control the amount of water thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
Currently, a variety of potted plants are wildly planted by people, however, people may water the plants with excessive water amount, thus causing the rotten roots of plants. On the other hands, some people may be too busy to water their plants regularly, so resulting in faded plants. To improve such problems, some manufacturers have developed an automatic fluid supplier, such as water fluids or medicinal fluids and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the Taiwan Pat. No. 90218894, entitled "Water Supplier" discloses that a casing 1 is provided at the bottom thereof with a conical pillar 11 having a channel 12 and a water outlet 13. At the side of casing 1 is formed an intake tube 14 having an air passage 15 therein, wherein the air passage 15 is in communication with the interior of casing 1 and projects out of said casing 1, and the projected end of passage 15 matingly screws with a control knob 2, an conical controlling block 21 is mounted at a predetermined position of control knob 2 in response to the air passage 15 of intake tube 14, and at one side of control knob 2 is arranged an air inlet 22 in communication with the controlling block 21, in addition, at the side of intake tube 14 proximate to the interior of casing 1 is fittingly fixed an outtake tube 3 which inserts through a container 4 capable of being screwingly held by the casing 1. The conical pillar 11 of casing 1 can be inserted into the soil of plant, and then rotating the control knob 2, the controlling block 21 can be urged to insert into the air passage 15 of intake tube 14 in such a manner that the air inflowing amount from the air inlet 22 can be properly controlled, thereafter, said air will further flow into the container 4 through the outtake tube 3 so that the water fluid can flow into the soil through the channel 12 of conical pillar 11 and the water outlet 13 by using the pressure of air. Nevertheless, such a water supplier is to apply a method of air inflow adjustment to generate different pressures so as to control the water flowing amount. When the user adjusts the amount of water at the beginning, he will rotate the control knob based on the fluid amount and the storage space of air, the controlling block will accordingly insert into a specific depth of air passage to urge the pressure of air-admitting amount to downwardly press the fluids such that the water outflowing amount will be achieved. Unfortunately, the fluids in the container will gradually decrease and the storage space of air will relatively increase, hence, if the set air inflowing amount is unchangeable, it will cause the reduction of pressure due to the increasing storage space of air. In such a situation, the water outflowing amount will not be contained in a specific range because lacking of sufficient air pressure.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

Fluid supplyier adapted to potted plants


The coupling apparatus for bringing a pallet 3 (a movable article) near to a base side support 2 from above, positioning it in the horizontal X, Y directions and in the vertical Z direction, and clamping it in a releasable manner comprises a pair of first engaging protrusions 12 and a pair of second engaging protrusions 13 formed on the top surface of the support 2 for positing in the X direction and in the Y direction, respectively; a pair of first movable article side engaging protrusions 32 each abutting the pair of first engaging protrusions 12 on one side and a pair of second movable article side engaging protrusions 33 each abutting the pair of second engaging protrusions 12 on one side; a Z direction positioning mechanism 8 for positioning the pallet 3 relative to the support 2 in the Z direction; and a clamping mechanism 7 for clamping the pallet 3 on the support 2.

Various coupling systems or coupling apparatuses are in practical use for horizontally and vertically positioning and locking on the table of a machine tool, a pallet (a movable article) to which a work piece to be machined is attached. In such coupling systems, the pallet positioning accuracy largely affects the machining accuracy. Recently, the pallet positioning error is required to be as small as approximately 4 μm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,558 discloses a machining tool electrode holder wherein as a means for positioning the electrode holder for mounting the electrodes relative to the chuck with precision, the electrode holder has four slots in the shape of a cross and the chuck has four rails (projections) to be engaged with the four slots so that the four rails are engaged with the four slots for positioning them. Recesses are formed on either wall near the slot opening and a pair of elastically deformable tongue-shaped parts is formed on the walls. Elastic deformation of the tongue-shaped parts serves to absorb manufacturing errors of the slots or rails.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,757 discloses a coupling apparatus for tools or work pieces wherein the upper holder has four projections (inverted trapezoid in cross-section) in the shape of a cross on the bottom surface, a work piece or tool to be coupled to the holder has four recesses (inverted trapezoid in cross-section) with which the four projections are engaged on the top surface. The projections have flat slots on the wall near the tip. The holder is brought near to the work piece so that the four projections are engaged with the four recesses, the coupling bolts are tightened, and the walls are elastically deformed through the slots, whereby the bottom surface of the holder abuts against the top surface of the work piece or tool. In this way, the work piece or tool is positioned horizontally and vertically (in the X, Y, Z directions) relative to the holder and coupled to it by the bolts. The slot serves to tolerate elastic deformation of the wall near the projection, thereby absorbing manufacturing errors of the recesses or projections.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,436 discloses a machining tool coupling apparatus wherein a square base has on the top surface four cams arranged in the shape of a cross in the middle of the four sides of a square framing wall and the pallet has on the bottom surface four engaging grooves to be engaged with the four cams. The four cams are engaged with the four engaging grooves so that the pallet is positioned horizontally (in the X, Y directions) relative to the base. For the vertical positioning (in the Z direction), the base has four seats in the four corners of the base framing wall. The bottom surface of the pallet rests on the seats to position it in the Z direction.
The cams on the framing wall have a slit near the bottom, through which the elastic wall near the bottom of the cam can be elastically deformed. The ball-type clamping mechanism equipped in the center of the base absorbs manufacturing errors of the cams, engaging grooves, or seats through elastic deformation of the elastic wall when the pallet is clamped.    Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,558;    Patent Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,757; and    Patent Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,436.


A novel thermosetting compound which is speedily curable, generates no by-products during curing and gives cured products having excellent heat resistance and inflammability.. A thermosetting compound characterized in containing, per molecule, at least one structural unit represented by the formula (A) and at least one structural unit represented by the formula (B) in a (A)/(B) molar ratio of 1/0.25 to 1/9, said structural units being bonded directly or via at least one organic group with one another; ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is a methyl group, a cyclohexyl group, a nonsubstituted phenyl group or a phenyl group substituted with at least one substituent, and each hydrogen atom on the aromatic rings of (A) and (B), except for one of hydrogen atoms on ortho-positions of the hydroxy group in the aromatic ring of (A), may optionally be replaced with a substituent.

The present invention relates to novel thermosetting compounds which hardly generate volatile by-products on curing, cured products thereof and a method for manufacturing the thermosetting compounds.
Thermosetting resins, such as phenolic resins, melamine resins, epoxy resins, unsaturated polyester resins and bis-maleimide resins, are widely used in many industrial fields due to the heat resistance originated from their thermosetting property and to their reliability. These resins however suffer their respective disadvantages, for example, the generation of volatile by-products on curing of phenolic resins or melamine resins, the poor inflammability of epoxy resins and unsaturated polyester resins and the extremely high price of bis-maleimide resins, and, in practical use, such disadvantages have unavoidably been tolerated depending on their uses. To solve this problem, there have been made attempts to develop novel thermosetting resins free from such disadvantages.
One of the attempts resulted in the development of dihydrobenzoxazine compounds (refer to the specification of Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 49-47378 and the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,939). The compounds are cured by the ring-opening polymerization of the benzoxazine rings, to cause little generation of volatile matters on thermosetting.
However, the curing reaction brings about not so long extension of molecular chains (Polym. Sci. Technol., 31, p.27-49, 1985) and inadequate density of cross-linking, so that softening or thermal deterioration occurs over 200.degree. C.
It is also known that the ring-opening polymerization takes disadvantageously longer curing time as compared with the curing reaction of conventional phenolic resins, resulting in low productivity that limits the industrial use of the compounds.

Thermosetting compounds, cured product thereof and method of preparing the thermosetting compound


A harness assembly (40) for a nasal mask (42) for communicating breathable gas to a patient""s airways, for example in the administering CPAP or like breathable gas delivery treatments. The harness assembly (40) includes a cap portion (44) adapted to engage, in use, the occipital region of the skull (43). In one form, the cap portion (44) includes a D-shaped coupling (48) at each end and the harness assembly (40) includes a pair of upper (52) and lower (54) straps, each of the straps (52, 54) extending between one of the D-shaped couplings (48) and the nasal mask (42). The harness assembly (40) grips the head (43) in a region substantially fixed relative to the face and, as such, tension of the straps (52, 54) is not substantially affected by head movement. Couplings of other shapes are also discussed.

This invention relates to a harness assembly for a nasal mask.
The invention will be described with reference to a harness assembly for a nasal mask fitted to the head of a wearer for communicating breathable gas to a patient""s airways, for example in the administering of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. However, the invention is not limited to this particular field of use and is equally suited for masks used in assisted respiration or mechanical ventilation.
CPAP treatment is administered when a person is asleep It is therefore crucial that nasal CPAP masks be securely fastened to the wearer""s head. Leaks occurring due to mask movement caused by gross body motion during sleep can result in the efficacy of CPAP treatment being defeated. An effective seal of the mask cushion to the patient""s face is, in part, a function of the mask design, and is also a function of the correct tension in the harness being maintained. Under-tensioning results in a loose mask and poor seal. Over-tensioning can lead to discomfort for the wearer. All of these problems can lead to patient non-compliance.
A prior art nasal mask and harness arrangement is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,971 assigned to the University of Sydney. The nasal mask is secured to a wearer""s head by a harness comprised of an upper strap and a lower strap, each of which is secured to a frame of the nasal mask. The upper portion of the frame includes a pad that engages the wearer""s forehead. The frame further carries a nasal cushion that, in use of the mask, sealingly engages the wearer""s nose and face. The frame also carries a mask body to which is connected a flexible conduit for the delivery of breathable gas to the mask and thereafter to an entrance to the patient""s airway.
A problem with this arrangement is that the upper and lower straps are made from an elastic or resilient material which lose elasticity with time and become loose fitting about the wearer""s head. Furthermore, movement of the wearer during sleep, may cause sliding movement of the straps to the point where the mask can become loose and leaks occur.
Also, the tightening of either the upper or lower strap tends to pivot the mask thereby altering the tension of the other strap making comfortable and correct adjustment difficult and time consuming.
Other harness arrangements, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,128 in the name of Lomas, include an upper strap around the head and a lower strap around the neck. This arrangement exacerbates the tensioning problem discussed above as rocking of the head moves the face relative to the neck thereby altering the tension of the straps, especially the neck strap.
Another prior art arrangement is disclosed in published Australian Patent Application No. 32914/95 in the name of Buckley-Mendez.
It is important to distinguish nasal masks for the administration of CPAP treatment from respirators or breathing apparatus that are characterised by full face is cover and are intended to simultaneously deliver air to the nose and mouth of a conscious and mobile patient. In contrast, CPAP treatment primarily occurs during sleep when the wearer of a nasal mask is mostly immobile and cannot tolerate the discomfort of respirators or breathing apparatus for want of arousing from the sleep state.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least ameliorating, one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a harness assembly for a nasal mask for communicating breathable gas to a patient""s airways, the harness assembly includes a cap portion adapted to engage, in use, the occipital region of the skull, said cap portion including a connection means at each end, and a pair of upper and lower straps, each of the straps extending between one of the cap connection means and the nasal mask.
The harness assembly according to the invention grips the head in a region substantially fixed relative to the face and, as such, strap tension is not substantially affected by head movement.
Preferably, the cap connection means are adapted to allow the cap portion to pivot substantially independently of the mask and straps.
The connection means are desirably disposed, in use, adjacent the ears of the wearer. Most desirably, they are just above the ears.
The cap connection means are preferably further adapted to allow each strap to move substantially independently of the other straps.
Each strap is preferably length adjustable.
Desirably, the cap portion, in use, covers the occiput of the wearer.
In an embodiment, the cap portion engages and/or grips the curved region of the occiput.
In another embodiment, the cap portion includes an opening through which, in use, the occiput at least partially protrudes.
The connection means desirably also allows the straps to slide normally relative to the direction of the strap.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the connection means are in the form of substantially D-shaped members. In this embodiment, the cap portion is connected to the straight portion of the D-shaped members and the upper and lower straps are each respectively connected to the upper and lower curves of the D-shaped members.
In another preferred embodiment, the connection means is in the form of a triangular member. In this embodiment, the cap ends and the upper and lower straps each respectively engage a side of the triangle.
In another particularly preferred embodiment, the connection means is in the form of a yoke shaped member having a inner bar and a pair of outer bars each angled slightly with respect to the inner bar. In this embodiment, the cap portion is connected to the inner bar and the upper and lower straps are each connected to one of the outer bars.
In yet another embodiment, the connection means are in the form of substantially xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d shaped members. In this embodiment the. lower straps connect to the head of the C, the upper straps to the middle and the cap portion to the base. In this embodiment, the cap portion and the upper straps can be manufactured from a single component
The connection means is preferably produced from plastics, elastomers, composites, laminates or other like materials.
The cap portion and straps can be produced from fabric or like materials or laminates thereof. The cap portion may also be moulded to snugly fit the head, in particular to replicate the shape of the occiput, by thermoforming, fabric darting, or joining two or more pieces along a non-straight seam.
In a second aspect, the invention provides a nasal CPAP mask and harness assembly, the assembly includes a mask with a nasal cushion and mask body connected to the harness assembly of the first aspect.