There is disclosed an information processing apparatus/method comprises inputting variable length packet data including packet length information indicative of a packet length and encoded information data, and identification flag information for identifying the packet length information, distinguishing the packet length information included in the packet data in accordance with the identification flag information and judging the packet length of the packet data, and generating the variable length packet data into fixed length packet data in accordance with the judgment result and transmitting the fixed length packet data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing for converting variable length packet data to fixed length packet data.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, a digital processing system conforming to two standards [International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 13818-1 to 3] of Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) has been standardized as a video transmission system.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the transmission-side constitution of a general digital transmission apparatus which conforms to ISO/IEC 13818-1 to 3.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 301 denotes a video encoder for compressing digital video data in conformity with ISO/IEC 13818-2, and 302 denotes an audio encoder for compressing digital audio data in conformity with ISO/IEC 13818-3.
Reference numeral 303 denotes a packetizer for packetizing a video elementary stream outputted from the video encoder 301 in accordance with Packetized Elementary Stream (PES) of ISO/IEC 13818-1, 304 denotes a packetizer for packetizing an audio elementary stream outputted from the audio encoder 302 in accordance with PES of ISO/IEC 13818-1, and 305 denotes a TS multiplexer for packetizing and multiplexing the video PES and audio PES outputted respectively from the packetizers 303, 304 into a transport stream packet in accordance with Transport Stream (TS) of ISO/IEC 13818-1.
The operation will next be described.
The video data and audio data are inputted to the video encoder 301 and audio encoder 302, respectively. The video encoder 301 checks information highly correlative in space and time in conformity with ISO/IEC 13818-2, and performs conversion to data with a low redundancy to compress the information amount. The audio encoder 302 compresses the information amount in conformity with ISO/IEC 13818-3.
In a string of these compressed data, a unit which can be extended alone is called an access unit (AU), and the data strings of video AU and audio AU are called a video elementary stream (video ES) and an audio elementary stream (audio ES), respectively. The video ES and audio ES are inputted to the packetizers 303, 304, respectively, and are packetized (PES) into a variable length packet together with the stream ID indicating the ES attribute and the time stamp information indicating decoding time or display time on decoding side usually by a unit on the basis of the access unit.
The TS multiplexer 305 receives the video PES and audio PES, performs conversion to the transport stream (TS), and emits an output.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the detailed constitution of the TS multiplexer 305.
In FIG. 2, numeral 306 denotes a memory such as RAM for storing inputted video PES, 307 denotes a memory such as RAM for storing inputted audio PES, and 308 and 309 denote TS packetizers for converting the video and audio PES stored in the memories 306′, 307 to the transport stream packet in conformity with ISO/IEC 13818-1.
Numeral 310 denotes a memory for generating and storing the overall auxiliary TS information such as the PID definition described in ISO/IEC 13818-1 as Program Specific Information (PSI), 311 denotes a PCR generator for generating Program Clock Reference (PCR) indicating a reference time which defines a reception time on the decoding side, and 312 denotes a rate converting FIFO for performing rate adjustment in accordance with a transmission line.
The operation of the TS multiplexer 305 for receiving the video PES shown in FIG. 3 by the above-described constitution will be described hereinafter.
The video PES with a code length of 340 bytes per 1 PES as shown in FIG. 3 is inputted and written to the memory 306. Additionally, the start code (packet_start_code_prefix: 0x000001) of the video PES is detected, and the code length of 1 PES is counted.
Subsequently, data is transferred to the TS packetizer 308 from the memory 306. The TS packetizer 308 performs packetizing so that the top byte of the video PES is disposed on the top of the payload of the transport stream packet as shown in FIG. 3 based on the previously measured PES length. Moreover, when the data length is less than 184 bytes as in a second transport stream packet of FIG. 3, an adaptation field is inserted, and then a stuffing byte (0xFF) for adjustment to obtain a unit of 184 bytes is inserted. Furthermore, the processing operation similar to the above is performed on the audio PES.
Each data converted to the packet with a fixed length as described above is subjected to rate conversion in the FIFO 312 in accordance with the transmission line, and outputted as TS. Moreover, the overall auxiliary TS information such as the PID definition is generated as PSI, stored in the memory 310, and packetized to form the TS packet having a predefined PID.
The PCR generator 311 generates PCR indicating the reference time which defines the reception time on the decoding side, and multiplexing is performed within a period of 100 ms in accordance with ISO/IEC 13818-1. Furthermore, PCR is supplied to each program. Additionally, since PCR has to be outputted as TS within the period of 100 ms as described above, the PID for PCR is defined in PSI usually separately from the video PES and audio PES, and the packetizing is performed to obtain the TS packet constituted only of the packet header including the PID, and the adaptation field.
The TS multiplexer 305 reads the respective TS packets from respective buffers by the unit of TS packet at appropriate timings, and outputs TS. In this case, when there is no effective TS packet corresponding to the fixed rate transmission line, a null packet (stuffing packet, hereinafter referred to also as "stuffing data") defined in ISO/IEC 13818-1 is inserted.
In the above-described data multiplexing method in the digital transmission apparatus, the packetizing processing is very complicated, and there is a problem that the hardware amount increases with the increase of programs to be multiplexed.
For example, when the audio PES shown in FIG. 3 is converted to the TS packet, the adaptation field is inserted, and the stuffing byte for setting the packet data length to be constant has to be multiplexed. Moreover, a buffer of 1 PES or more has to be provided to measure the 1 PES length, and the delay amount also increases.
Furthermore, the number of programs to be multiplexed is determined by the hardware configuration of the TS multiplexer. For example, the TS multiplexer 305 of FIG. 2 can transmit only one program, and has to include the memories 306, 307, TS packetizers 308, 309 and PCR generator 311 for the number of programs in order to multiplex a plurality of programs.
In this case, data lines for transmission/reception between each program encoder and TS multiplexer also increase.

Information processing apparatus and method


A mobile communication system for general data transmission and a mobile phone employable in the mobile communication system. In one embodiment, the mobile phone includes a receiver and a transmitter for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals, a digital memory for storing digital data and a digital processor for processing the digital data. The digital memory stores downloaded data with executable software that is downloaded from an external data source. The downloaded data may include menu descriptions, sounds and animations for the mobile phone.

Communication systems are intended to serve the needs of a variety of users. Mobile communication systems, in particular, are of increasing interest for speech communication as well as for data transmission applications. In fact, the applicability of mobile communication systems seems to be constantly changing. For example, hardware and software for mobile communication systems often have a reduced life due to the competition of different service providers who offer improved functionality and a greater variety of services.
Presently, it is often necessary to buy new hardware for mobile communication in order to use a new service or a new functionality of an already established service. Moreover, a retailer may endure losses as a result of a severe price reduction due to the inability to sell mobile communication products within a certain period of time. Selling of these products becomes increasingly more difficult even shortly after the products are no longer on the edge of recent developments.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a system for upgrading or updating the functionality of existing communication devices to avoid any unduly reduced life cycle of such communication devices.

Download of user interface elements into a mobile phone


A transmission system delays a carrier wave and program audio in the digital domain. The carrier wave and the program audio are converted to analog and the carrier wave is modulated by the program audio. The system includes a master oscillator that generates a digital carrier wave. The digital carrier wave is transmitted to a delay stage that delays the digital carrier wave by a certain delay value. The system further receives an analog or digital signal that is representative of programming. If an analog signal is received, the signal is transmitted to an analog-to-digital converter where it is converted to digital audio. The digital audio is then transmitted to a delay stage that delays the digital audio by the same delay value. The digital carrier wave and the digital audio are converted to an analog carrier wave and analog audio respectively. A modulator modulates the analog carrier wave by the analog audio and sends the amplitude modulated carrier wave to a power amplifier. After power amplification, amplitude modulated carrier wave is broadcast by a conventional antenna. The delay of the carrier wave and the program audio are controlled by a processor. The processor may also control the output power of respective power amplifiers.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to radio transmission equipment, and more specifically to directional antenna systems featuring phase shifting.
2. Technical Background
AM and FM radio broadcasts are extremely popular for their transmission of audio programs. AM and FM radio has been employed for several decades and can be found world wide. Radio receivers have numerous embodiments including various portable receivers to be manually carried as well as being incorporated into vehicles. AM radio has a disadvantage in that it does not provide high fidelity as does FM radio. As such, AM radio has not enjoyed quite the popularity that FM radio has for musical broadcasts. AM radio is nevertheless widely used for talk show and news broadcasts.
In general, FM radio stations are valued more than AM radio stations because of the improved sound quality. Accordingly, popular music stations prefer to broadcast on FM frequencies and the AM frequency band is generally viewed as being inferior to the FM band.
Nevertheless, AM systems have advantages that are not found with FM systems. For example, AM signals can propagate further than FM signals. Directional AM systems also allow for directed power and different day and night time power levels and directional patterns to reduce interference. AM frequencies are also more available and less expensive than FM frequencies.
Conventional AM directional array systems include phase shifter components that employ a process of envelope delay and power division to create a desired directional pattern. Phase shifting components are typically reactive and are collectively referenced herein as a phasor. The phasor includes inductive and capacitive components to create the envelope delay and power ratio relative to a reference tower. The reactive components change the phase, relative to a reference tower, of the output signal flowing to one or more broadcast towers and thereby create the envelope delay. The reactive components also introduce distortions in the envelope. The reactive components of the phasor further divide the transmitter output power into proper ratios that are delivered to the towers.
Phasors have many limitations that make them difficult and expensive to use. The reactive components of the phasor are typically large and require mechanical systems that are difficult to adjust and configure. Phasors also are subject to drift caused by the environment, create signal distortions, and are maintenance intensive. Furthermore, as the power output and the number of towers in a directional array increases, the cost of a phasor increases exponentially. Phasors are relatively expensive to operate at high power and modulation levels, multiple power levels, and with multiple tower configurations. In numerous instances large, high power directional arrays are required to adequately serve the community. Phasors are typically custom built, adding to their expense.
An ideal phasor presents a load to the transmitter that has the same impedance at all side band frequencies. However, conventional phasors are comprised of inductors and capacitors, whose reactance varies with frequency. Thus, ideal conditions are difficult to achieve with a conventional phasor.
For proposed digital communication techniques, digital modulation envelopes are required. However, digital modulation envelopes may be affected by distortions caused by the reactive components within a phasor. Digital modulation systems typically require that a load be linear across the width of the band. Phasors, with their inherent instability, make achieving true load linearity difficult. Furthermore, phasors create envelope delays at high signal levels which are outside the digital domain. This precludes the use of digital components that may overcome the limitations of the reactive components.
It would be an advancement in the art to improve AM transmission systems by eliminating the need for expensive and difficult reactive components and create a phasor that is mass-producible. It would be a further advancement in the art to create the envelope delay necessary for directional operation at a low signal level within the digital domain and control the power delivered to each tower at the power amplifier stage. Such advancements would improve the operation of AM transmission systems and help increase the commercial viability of AM stations.

Digital exciter/phasor/transmitter for directional antennal system


Undesirable Steiner points in tetrahedralized meshes may be minimized by tetrahedralization processes that order element subdivision based on degree of freedom data for elements in the mesh and/or treat element degree of freedom as non-static during element subdivision. Applying look-ahead, breadth-first-search subdivision, and other strategic subdivision techniques further minimizes the need for Steiner points.

Real-world problems (such as movement of impurities in silicon semiconductor components) sometimes can be modeled and simulated on computers. Many simulators provide output as mixed-element meshes, i.e., meshes including tetrahedral and non-tetrahedral elements. Tetrahedra are three-dimensional shapes with four vertices and four triangular faces. Examples of non-tetrahedral shapes are blocks, pyramids and prisms.
It has been desired to further process the simulator output, such as to run it through visualization or testing software programs. However, some such software programs require input to be tetrahedral meshes, and cannot accommodate non-tetrahedral meshes. Thus, techniques were sought and developed for tetrahdedralizing mixed-element meshes. A particular challenge has been to tetrahedralize a "non-conformal" mixed-element mesh, i.e., one in which triangular element faces can abut quadrilateral element faces in the mesh. Three dimensional tetrahedralization is a well known problem. See, e.g., G. Albertelli, R. Crawfis, "Efficient subdivision of finite-element datasets into consistent tetrahedra," IEEE (1997); J. Dompierre, P. Labbe, M. Vallet, R. Camarero, "How to subdivide pyramids, prisms and hexahedra into tetrahedra," Centre de recherche en calcul applique (CERCA), presented at the 8th International Meshing Roundtable, South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (October 1999), pages 195–204.
To subdivide non-tetrahedra (e.g., prisms and hexahedra) into tetrahedra reduces to selecting how to split each quadrilateral face with a diagonal. For example, prisms have three quadrilateral faces; each quadrilateral face can be split by a diagonal in two different ways; therefore there are eight possible face-splitting combinations for each prism. Only six of these can be subdivided into three tetrahedra without Steiner points; the other two require Steiner points, and produce eight tetrahedra. Similarly, hexahedra have six quadrilateral faces, resulting in 26=64 possible face-splitting combinations. Only 46 of these can be subdivided into five or six tetrahedra without Steiner points; the other 18 are indivisible.
When a non-tetrahedral shape is indivisible, to subdivide it requires creation of a "Steiner point". Additional Steiner points increase the number of nodes and elements in the mesh. Steiner points in the input meshes interfere with the speed and the convergence behavior of software processing the meshes. Conventional approaches to subdividing non-conformal mixed-element meshes into tetrahedral meshes have needed to add relatively many undesirable "Steiner points" to generate the tetrahedral mesh. A Steiner point is a node added to the element interior, usually at its center.
In an initially conformal mesh, there are no initial constraints on how these quadrilateral faces must be split, except that abutting quadrilateral faces must be split in a consistent manner (i.e., the diagonal selected for the face from one element must match the diagonal selected for the face of the adjacent element which shares that face). The Dompierre algorithm can be used in such a non-tetrahedral conformal mesh to subdivide all elements into tetrahedra. J. Dompierre et al, supra. While the Dompierre et al. strategy is very elegant and fast, and requires no Steiner points, it cannot be applied to subdivide initially non-conformal meshes. As Dompierre observes, the problem of subdividing meshes occurs, e.g., in computer graphics where certain meshes must be subdivided into tetrahedra to use efficient algorithms for volume rendering, iso-contouring and particle advection.
In "non-conformal" meshes, abutting triangular faces initially constrain the choice of diagonal for some quadrilateral faces, so that Dompierre cannot be used. These initial constraints can directly or indirectly result in "overconstrained" prisms or hexahedra, i.e., those that cannot be subdivided into tetrahedra without adding Steiner points. In an initial mesh having prisms, hexahedra and tetrahedra, to subdivide the mesh, determinations are needed for splitting each quadrilateral face with a diagonal. Not all possible diagonal choices, for each prism and hexahedra, have a corresponding tetrahedralization. Non-conformalities in an initial mesh constrain the subdivision of some prisms and hexahedra. In some cases, an element may initially be, or may become during subdivision, overconstrained, making a consistent subdivision impossible. In such a case, a Steiner point must be used to subdivide an overconstrained element. Steiner points are undesirable, because they increase the mesh size and reduce the local mesh quality. In FIG. 1, an example of a non-conformal mesh situation is shown, with two tetrahedra abutting a hexahedron's quadrilateral face.
In FIGS. 2A–L, quadrilateral face constraint patterns are shown. FIGS. 2A–D are four divisible cases without a three-diagonal vertex. FIGS. 2E–L are alternating bit pattern cases, with no matched diagonals, no prisms possible; two of the cases are divisible (FIGS. 2K–L), six cases are not (FIGS. 2E–3J). The two divisible cases (FIGS. 2K–L) give five tetrahedra.
For subdividing elements in a non-conformal mixed element mesh, generally, certain random and non-random subdivisions have been proposed. Random subdivision subdivides a randomly selected first element, and each subsequent selection of an element to be subdivided also has no particular geometric basis. For example, a list of elements may be randomly generated, and subdivided in that random order.
Certain non-random approaches have been proposed, that take into account some geometrical feature, e.g., the strategy of Albertelli, et al. for subdividing an initially non-conformal mixed element mesh, i.e., to begin with subdividing the elements in random order, and use a "depth-first-search" subdivision approach. Albertelli's methodology may be imagined as starting randomly with any element, and then moving to an adjacent neighboring element for the next subdivision, each time moving to a neighboring element. While the Albertelli algorithm can subdivide these non-conformal meshes, the resulting subdivided mesh contains an undesirably large number of Steiner points.
Steiner points in tetrahedral mesh input cause interference and slow simulation time (such as by increasing node and element count; and introducing abrupt 2:1 mesh scale changes which degrade convergence). Minimizing added nodes (Steiner points) in tetrahedralizing meshes is important for making those meshes more useable by software applications requiring tetrahedral mesh input.

Tetrahedralization of non-conformal three-dimensional mixed element meshes

International Business Machines Corporation


A self-cleaning liquid filter and a method for filtering a liquid are disclosed. In the self-cleaning liquid filter, a rotating hollow drum covered with a filter element is mounted in a filter housing and turned by a waste liquid that contains debris or dirt. Filtered or cleaned liquid enters into the hollow drum and is pumped away at one end of the drum while debris or dirt in the waste liquid are trapped on the filter. A spray nozzle is mounted inside the rotating drum and clean water is sprayed out to wash away the debris and dirt carried by the filter element into a debris collector equipped with a second filter. The debris and dirt are trapped by the second filter while a filtered, or clean liquid is drained back into the filter housing. The novel device is self powered by the waste liquid flow and thus no external power is necessary for operating the device.

In a factory, outside air is frequently required for the operation of various plant facilities. For instance, to operate a factory air conditioning unit, outside air must be drawn through an air intake grill into an air conditioner intake opening. This is accomplished by first removing a majority of airborne particles or debris by a filter means or by a wet scrubber. When a filter means is used to filter out the airborne particles and debris, the filter means must be constantly cleaned in regular intervals so that air flow through the filter is not hindered. When a wet scrubber is used to clean the intake air, a city water supply is normally used to wash the air out before it enters into the air conditioning intake opening. Waste water from the scrubber is then routed to a filtering station and reused. The filtering of the waste water is a tedious process since the filter must be constantly cleaned by manual labor to ensure the effective operation of the scrubber. In order to maintain the efficiency of the wet scrubber, the process of filtering out of airborne particles and debris from the waste water is an important step of the total process. The airborne particles may contain naturally occurring substances such as bird feathers, leaves, dirt or any other environmental contaminants. The conventional method for removing such airborne particles is by mechanical filtering and the continuous task of cleaning the filters.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a liquid filter that can be continuously operated without the drawbacks or shortcomings of the conventional liquid filters.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a liquid filter that can be operated by its own hydraulic power without outside power requirement.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquid filter that serves a self-cleaning function for removing airborne particles or debris that it filtered out from outside air.
It is another further object of the present invention to provide a self-cleaning liquid filter by utilizing a rotating hollow drum filter which is operated by the liquid flow to be filtered.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a self-cleaning liquid filter by using a first filter element for cleaning waste water and a second filter element for cleaning the first filter element.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a self-cleaning liquid filter that is constructed by a filter housing, a liquid reflector for collecting sprayed liquid, an elongated hollow drum covered by a first filter element and a liquid spray nozzle for removing debris collected by the first filter element.
It is still another further object of the present invention to provide a method for filtering a liquid by utilizing a self-cleaning and self-powered liquid filter which substantially cleans itself such that manual cleaning is not required.

Self-cleaning liquid filter and method for filtering a liquid

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A low cost, high reliability system for correcting aberrations in optical signals is disclosed. A foreoptic assembly, such as a telescope, receives an incoming optical signal and directs it to an active optical element, such as a fast steering mirror. The incoming optical signal is diffracted by a diffractive optical element to shape the image that is formed at a wavefront sensor, such as a quad-cell. The wavefront sensor measures a tip-tilt aberration of the incoming optical signal and the active optical element is adjusted to correct the measured aberration. An outgoing optical signal can be transmitted along substantially the same optical path as the incoming optical signal, but in the opposite direction. Thus, the aberration measured from the incoming optical signal can be automatically accounted for in the outgoing optical signal.

This invention relates generally to Free Space Optical (FSO) communications, and in particular to correction of tip-tilt aberrations in FSO signals.
FSO performance depends upon several factors, including the atmospheric seeing condition, weather, and the local environment. Atmospheric seeing is generally quantified by the length over which the phase of an optical wavefront in the propagation path has 1 radian RMS variance, as described by the Fried parameter, ro. Atmospheric seeing can also be expressed as an angle (e.g., in radians), determined by the mean beam divergence caused by the atmosphere.
Atmospheric seeing is a function of the atmospheric refractive index structure constant, Cn2 along the path of beam propagation. The effects of atmospheric seeing on an FSO signal presents an effective limiting aperture size of ro for an arriving wavefront, leading to degraded spatial resolution. For a telescope with a physical aperture diameter that is less than the effective limiting aperture size (D<ro), diffraction dominates. In cases where the telescope's physical aperture diameter is approximately equal to the effective limiting aperture size (D˜r0), first order Zernike polynomial (tip-tilt) aberrations dominate the aberration error in an FSO signal. When the telescope's physical aperture diameter is significantly larger than the effective limiting aperture size (D >>r0), the aberration error in an FSO signal is dominated by the effects of high order aberrations.
Consequently, there are three domains to consider. 1). Diffraction limited. When D<ro the effects of the telescope's physical aperture size dominate over the effects of atmospheric seeing. Thus, correcting for atmospheric seeing effects is of little to no value. 2). Good seeing conditions. This is generally defined as the ratio of the telescope's physical aperture diameter (D) and the effective limiting aperture size (ro) being greater than about 1 (i.e., not diffraction limited) and less than about 5. Under good seeing conditions, tip-tilt aberrations, corresponding to motion of the centroid of the FSO signal, are the major contributors to the aberration error. According to one analysis, for pure, well developed atmospheric turbulence, tip-tilt aberrations comprise 87% of the total aberration error. Thus, under good seeing conditions, compensation for tip-tilt type aberrations can provide a dramatic improvement in obtainable resolution. 3. Bad seeing conditions. This is generally defined as the ratio of the telescope's physical aperture diameter (D) and the effective limiting aperture size (ro) being greater than about 5. In bad seeing conditions, higher order aberration contribute significantly to the aberration error, and thus correcting for just the tip-tilt aberrations does not provide a significant improvement in obtainable resolution.

Simple low cost tip-tilt wavefront sensor having extended dynamic range


The present invention relates to a method and a network node for selecting a gateway for a user equipment in a communications system. The communications system comprises the network node and one or more gateways, configured to provide packet data network connectivity to the user equipment. The network node detects (401) the presence of local gateways among said gateways and obtains (403) a first set of information indicating the type of the user equipment. Based on the first set of information, the network node selects (406) one of the detected local gateways to provide packet data network connectivity to the user equipment when the user equipment type is of a fixed type.

Mobile Broadband (MBB) based on High Speed Packet Access/Long Term Evolution (HSPA/LTE) and other mobile communication standards has taken off as an important technology for connecting User Equipments (UEs) like e.g. mobile Personal Computers (PCs) to the Internet. As Mobile Broadband (MBB) takes off new types of equipment appears on the market such as Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solutions. In addition, the usage of broadband wireless adaptors so called "dongles" and built-in MBB capabilities for PCs and laptops is increasing heavily.
FWA is about providing an end user such as user equipment or PC with fixed line services by utilizing a wireless technology, e.g. Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), System Architecture Evolution/Long Term Evolution (SAE/LTE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technologies. All FWA solutions comprise specific Fixed Wireless Terminals (FWT) that are also known as Mobile Broadband Routers (MBR). Fixed Wireless Terminals offer a cost efficient way to provide high speed data, voice and fax services to small office/home office and residential users. A FWT is a box that from the end user perspective can be compared with an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) modem. The FWT may also contain router functionality, Ethernet switch and WLAN functionality in order to give connectivity to several devices. However the FWT uses the mobile network (NW) for the backhaul and Internet connectivity instead of the fixed broadband.
To the mobile network, these devices, e.g. FWT and PCs with dongles appears as normal user equipments, even though they are more or less stationary and do not require the high degree of mobility a mobile network is designed for and provides. A dongle is a small piece of hardware that connects to a laptop or desktop computer. A dongle refers to a broadband wireless adaptor or in general to connectors that translate one type of port to another. Due to the increase number of FWT and PCs with dongles in the market, the data traffic generated by these equipments is increasing substantially in the mobile core network.
Almost all Wireless communications systems have data traffic access towards the public IP network via a few gateway nodes. For example in SAE/LTE system the gateway node is called Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW) and in a WCDMA system the gateway node is called Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). This configuration means that all user traffic needs to be handled and transported via the mobile core network, which puts constraint on the gateway node capacity.

Method and arrangement in a communications system


Auxiliary golf club holder with three tubular members attached to each other by two side mounted pivot members. A top plate and bottom plate are hinged together at their front edge. The bottom plate is attached to the central tubular member. A rigid finger extends downwardly from the top plate. A locking handle is pivotably mounted to the bottom plate in a spring biased fashion. When the handle is rotated down, an extension tip at the top of the handle pushes the top plate up causing the finger to be pulled in so that it can frictionally engage the side wall of a standard golf bag and hold the auxiliary golf club holder onto the outside of the bag. The three tubes can be splayed out by the user to form a stable tripod configuration. A standard golf club can be safely and cleanly stored in each tubular member.

This invention relates generally to the field of golfing accessories and more specifically to an auxiliary golf club holder.
The game of golf is a popular sport and is played by people from around the world. The game involves the user employing a golf club to hit a golf ball that is usually sitting on a grassy surface and to have the ball eventually drop into a small hole. To play the game properly, the golfer must use a variety of golf clubs depending on the distance to the hole and the conditions of the playing surface. The clubs are usually carried in a golf bag, which can be carried or rolled by the golfer from one hole to the next. Occasionally, there is the need for a golfer to take a few clubs to a location off the grass surface such as into a wooded area or sandy area, were bringing the entire, heavy golf bag full of clubs can be problematic.
To help the golfer carry two or three clubs to these less accessible areas, it would be beneficial to have an auxiliary club holder where the user can remove clubs from the larger golf bag and transport the needed clubs to a less accusable area. Attempts at such an auxiliary holder have been tried. Joseph Goulart, in his patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,022 discloses a holder that can carry a few clubs, however, when the user gets to the less accessible location, he or she must either lay the clubs down or use the grip handle portion of the clubs to form a tripod type stand. Unfortunately, this design can cause the grip portion of the heads to become soiled. Alternately, if the clubs are laid down on the ground, they become harder to retrieve. Charles Townsend, Jr's patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,970 shows an auxiliary holder that can be removed from a main golf bag. The major portion shaft of the club is protected by a plurality of tubular sleeves. However, once the user gets the clubs to the desired location, he or she must lay the entire assembly down on the ground because there is no way to have the auxiliary bag remain in a self supporting, standing position. Additionally, the inverted U shaped handle is adequate for carrying the device, but does not aid in helping firmly attach the auxiliary device to the larger, standard golf bag. Jogerni Laud's patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,274 discloses an apparatus for holding selected clubs. This device also causes the shafts of the clubs to be exposed and prone to soiling because the handle portions of the clubs touch the ground. Additionally, the user is required to deploy a single telescoping shaft and to insert the shaft tip into the ground to help hold the golf clubs in an upright position. This process can be time consuming and possibly non-workable if the tip of the telescoping shaft is not driven deep enough into the playing surface. Additionally, the device is not designed to firmly clamp onto the walls of the main bag and therefore can slid about when the main bag is being transported from on playing location to another.


Various embodiments include computing devices and methods for management of access credentials. A processor of a computing device may receive an authentication request from a client application support service to authenticate a client application. The processor may send a response comprising an authentication token to the client application support service. The processor may receive from the client application support service a request for an access token to access a target system. The processor may send a response comprising the access token to the client application support service to enable the client application support service to access the target system using the access token on behalf of the client application.

Access tokens may be used in token-based authentication to allow an application to access an application programming interface (API). The application may receive an access token after a user successfully authenticates and authorizes access. The application may then pass the access token as a credential when calling the target API. The passed token informs the API that the bearer of the token has been authorized to access the API and perform specific actions, which may be specified by a scope that was granted during authorization.
Conventional systems for acquisition and management of authentication and authorization tokens present a single point of failure for applications to login to other applications. For example, developers may need to integrate with a system using a single shared credential. If the single credential is ever compromised, or a user causes a lockout, dependent applications will become inaccessible until the issue is resolved.


A method for varying the color of an image including lines and background. Where the image includes the colors black and white and a plurality of gray pixels, where gray refers to the presence of pixel values between the maximum and minimum pixel values, inclusive, the image is first converted to a color space, such as for example, r, g, b (red-green-blue). Pixel values are thresholded for differentiation between lines and background. When pixels have a value indicating that the pixel is background, that pixel is set to a background color that has been previously selected. Otherwise, that pixel is set to a foreground color. The result is that background is set to a single color, and lines are set to a second color. Alternatively, where intermediate values are present, the foreground color value may be added to the intermediate level color value to produce a gradually varying colored line.

Black and white photos and line art images are available from many sources for integration into documents. In electronic document creation this is easily done on several possible levels, including the derivation of the black and white image by scanning. Alternatively, a large number of computer systems still produce images that are black and white. In either case, in the production of colored documents, it is often desirable to convert black and white images to colors to produce a visually pleasing result. In broader terms however, it is desirable to convert lines or background of any color to other colors on a differentiated basis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,596 to Williams et al. discloses a system for the colorization of monochrome video frames under operator control including a video color encoder. The encoder has a luminance input and a plurality of color component inputs. The luminance signal is derived from a monochrome video signal, and an operator assigns color component signals to selected regions of pixels of the video frame. The color video output of the color video encoder can be displayed and recorded.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,706,841 and 3,784,736, both to Novak, disclose methods for converting black and white monochrome images to multi-color pictures. The method uses a video camera to scan a black and white monochrome image. Luminance values of the scanned black and white image are combined with selected color signals to create a colorized image. Additionally, in the '736 patent, the image can be separated into foreground and background memories, which may be operated on independently.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,256 to Markle et al. discloses a method of coloring a black and white video signal in which different parts of a frame are assigned a particular color on the basis of gray levels or luminance values.
Japanese Patent No. 57-99088 to Watanabe discloses a system for providing a simulated color picture from a black and white picture. In the system, a color subcarrier signal is arbitrarily selected and synthesized to provide a simulated color picture.
Japanese Patent No. 60-141093 to Mizuguchi discloses a method of coloring a picture. The picture is converted to a video signal and a luminance signal is separated from it. As a result of a coloring process executed on the basis of a profile picture formed from the video, a chrominance signal is output, and mixed with the luminance signal.
All the references cited hereinabove are specifically incorporated by reference.


Methods for preparing a dilution series for use in forming calibration curves, preferably in the field of surface plasmon resonance, are provided. In one example, a dilution series is prepared by using receptacles such as tubes of a micro well plate in which samples of the dilution series are mixed. In another example, a dilution series is prepared by using a convection mix in a receptacle for achieving a concentration gradient in the sample. A biosensor system arranged to perform steps of methods disclosed are provided. A data processing apparatus and a software for performing steps of methods disclosed, and a computer readable medium for storing the software are also provided.

Analytical sensor systems that can monitor interactions between molecules, such as biomolecules, in real time are gaining increasing interest. These systems are often based on optical biosensors and usually referred to as interaction analysis sensors or biospecific interaction analysis sensors. A representative such biosensor system is the BIACORE® instrumentation sold by GE Healthcare, which uses surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for detecting interactions between molecules in a sample and molecular structures immobilized on a sensing surface. In the following, the molecules in the sample are referred to as analyte and the molecular structures immobilized on the sensing surface will be denoted as ligand. As sample is passed over the sensing surface, the progress of binding directly reflects the rate at which the interaction occurs through changes in refractive index at the sensing surface that correspond to changes in signal intensity during the binding. Injection of the sample is followed by a buffer flow during which the detector response reflects the rate of dissociation of the complex on the surface. A typical output from the BIACORE® system is a graph or curve describing change in refractive index at the sensing surface and thereby the progress of the molecular interaction with time, including an association phase part and a dissociation phase part. This graph or curve, which is usually displayed on a computer screen, is often referred to as a binding curve or "sensorgram".
With the BIACORE® system (and analogous sensor systems) it is thus possible to determine a plurality of interaction parameters for the molecules used as ligand and analyte. These parameters include kinetic rate constants for binding (association) and dissociation in the molecular interaction as well as the affinity for the interaction on the sensing surface between analyte and ligand. The association rate constant (ka) and the dissociation rate constant (kd) can be obtained by fitting the resulting kinetic data for a number of different sample analyte concentrations to mathematical descriptions of interaction models in the form of differential equations. The affinity (expressed as the affinity constant KA or the dissociation constant KD) can be calculated from the association and dissociation rate constants.
Several factors may cause deviations in refractive index other than the intended interaction of molecules, most notably the solvent contained in the sample passed over the sensing surface. Solvent correction adjusts reference-subtracted responses for small artefacts that can be introduced by variations in the bulk refractive index between samples. The correction is generally required when variations in the bulk refractive index are of the same order of magnitude as the response: this situation arises commonly in working with small organic biomolecules that give intrinsically low response values and that often require organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to maintain solubility.
The need for solvent correction arises because subtraction of the reference response does not exactly eliminate the contribution of the bulk solution to the measured response. Bulk solution is excluded from the volume occupied by ligand bound on the sensing surface, so that the bulk contribution to the response on the sensing surface is slightly smaller than that on the reference surface. As long as the refractive index of the samples is constant, this excluded volume effect introduces a constant error in reference subtraction which may be ignored for practical purposes. However, if the refractive index of the samples varies, the magnitude of the excluded volume effect will also vary. Especially for samples expected to give responses with low intensity, the bulk effect introduces a comparatively large error that cannot be ignored.
Reference measurements are therefore performed at regular intervals by passing solvent samples containing the solvent at different known concentrations over the sensing surface and creating reference-subtracted response values. These values are used for forming a calibration curve.
In order to perform the reference measurements, a dilution series is produced with a plurality of samples, each comprising a known concentration of the solvent. The process of making the dilution series is often performed by hand and is generally time consuming. It also takes up a large number of wells in the microwell plate used with the sensor system. There is always a risk of error or contamination that may affect the resulting calibration curve and thereby introduce errors in subsequent measurements.
It is important to note that other technical fields than the one described above also use dilution series and that the present invention as disclosed below could equally well be used within these.
Consequently, there is therefore a need for a more reliable, time efficient and cost efficient method for providing a dilution series.


An adjustment is made to the size of an original graphic data object in a substantially rectangular original screen to obtain a target graphic data object on a substantially rectangular target screen having a different aspect ratio than that of the original screen. The size of the original graphic data object is proportionally increased to obtain the target graphic data object on the target screen. The size of the target graphic data object on the target screen is non-proportionally increased by the addition of a stretch distance thereto where a line projecting from a resizing point on and perpendicular to an edge of the original screen intersects the original graphic data object.

Today's televisions have various screen sizes, including width to height aspect ratios of 4:3 and 16:9. Interactive television (iTV) software should be able to accommodate video and graphics to fit these different screen sizes. One technique is to simply stretch a normal screen display to fit the new screen size. This technique can lead to non-esthetic distortion of on-screen graphical data objects. A user of iTV may have a heightened recognition of a distorted or misshapen on-screen graphical data object because of the user's interacting with the graphical data object, such as with a radio button, a slide bar, or a box to be checked. Another technique is to employ the cooperative efforts of a screen designer to design a different screen for each screen of a different aspect ratio and of a programmer to accommodate each different screen design with proper functionality. This cooperative effort, however, is costly. It would be an advantage in the art to provide a technique to accommodate video and graphics to fit different screen sizes without non-esthetic distortion of on-screen graphical data objects and without adding significant cost.

Controlled non-proportional scaling display


A low overhead hinge assembly comprising a stationary hinge plate and a rotating hinge plate. The stationary hinge plate having a stationary hinge plate body portion and a plurality of stationary hinge plate digits coupled to the stationary hinge plate body portion, each of the stationary hinge plate digits having an opening therein. The rotating hinge plate having a rotating hinge plate body portion and a plurality of pins coupled to the rotating hinge plate body portion, wherein the stationary hinge plate digits are configured to be engaged with the rotating hinge plate pins so that each of a plurality of the rotating hinge plate pins is inserted into an opening in one of the stationary hinge plate digits so as to pivotally couple the rotating hinge plate to the stationary hinge plate.

1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to a hinge assembly for use in space constrained applications, such as cable arms in electrical equipment racks.
2. Description of Related Art.
To remove a conventional swinging door or rotating arm, typically a hinge pin is removed by pulling it out vertically and the door or arm can then be removed from the stationary mounted section of the hinge assembly. However, if a hinge has to be placed in an application with insufficient overhead above the hinge, it may not be possible to remove the hinge pin without increasing the overhead space. For example, when thin, rack-optimized computer systems with cable management arms are removed from a rack, the cable management arm often has to be disconnected from the rack. These arms are often impossible to install or remove when another system is installed directly above the one being serviced because the hinge pin can not be inserted or removed due to the limited height available for the hinge pin.
It can be seen that there is a need to provide an improved hinge assembly for space constrained applications.


A method for forming a chip module such as a multi chip module or a memory module is provided. The multi chip module includes a substrate configured to mount a plurality of semiconductor dice thereon. The substrate includes raised contact members formed in patterns that correspond to the locations of bond pads on the dice. An anisotropic conductive adhesive layer is formed between the contact members on the substrate and the bond pads on the dice to secure the dice to the substrate and form an electrical connection therebetween. In addition, an underfill layer can be formed between the dice and substrate to fill the gap therebetween and further secure the dice to the substrate. Conductors and input/output pads formed on the substrate form electrical paths to and from the contact members. To form a memory module, one or more multi chip modules can be mounted to a supporting substrate having an edge connector in electrical communication with the conductors and with contact members on the substrates.

Microelectronics packages called "multi chip modules" (MCM) can be constructed with semiconductor dice. Typically the dice are in a bare or unpackaged form. Non-conventionally packaged dice such as chip scale packages can also be used to construct multi chip modules. With a multi chip module, a number of dice are attached to a printed circuit board or other substrate and electrically connected to form various circuits and electronic devices.
For example, one type of multi chip module is a single in line memory module (SIMM). With a SIMM, several memory devices such as DRAMs are mounted on a printed circuit board having an edge connector. The SIMM is designed to plug into a computer socket in electrical communication with address, data and power supply buses for the computer.
One reason for the increased use of multi chip modules is increased system performance. In particular, the integrated circuits on the dice can be operated with lower resistance and parasitic capacitances. This is largely a result of decreasing the interconnection length between the dice. In addition, overall system performance is improved because the input/output ports can be configured to access the whole module, which can be organized to reduce signal delays and access times. The power requirements are also reduced due to a reduction in the driver requirements.
Typically the dice are mounted on a substrate having an interconnect pattern formed using a process such as screen printing. Different techniques are used for mounting the dice to the substrate and for providing interconnection and termination of the unpackaged dice. These techniques include wire bonding, tape automated bonding (TAB), micro-bump bonding and flip chip bonding.
For example, with flip chip bonding, each die is mounted circuit side down, and bond pads on the die are bonded to corresponding connection points on the substrate. Flip chips are formed similarly to conventional dice but require additional process steps to form solder bumps on the bond pads. The solder bumps are typically formed with a height of from 25 .mu.m to 75 .mu.m. The solder bumps separate the dice from the substrate and minimize the physical contact between the dice and substrate.
One important consideration in fabricating multi chip modules is the electrical connection between the bond pads on the dice and the connection points on the substrate. It is important that these electrical connections be formed with a low resistivity. Additionally, it is preferable that each electrical connection be formed with a minimum amount of damage to the dice and particularly to the bond pads of the dice.
Another important consideration in fabricating multi chip modules is the effect of thermal expansion on the electrical connections. If the dice and substrate expand by a different amount, stress may develop at the connection points and adversely effect the electrical connections. Stresses from thermal expansion can also lead to damage of the dice and substrate.
Yet another consideration in the fabrication of multi chip modules is that the size of semiconductor dice and the size and spacing of the bond pads on the dice have become smaller. This makes mounting and interconnecting of the dice on a substrate more difficult. This is especially true with components in which it may be necessary to integrate a large number of dice onto a single substrate.
In view of these and other problems associated with fabricating chip modules such as multi chip modules and memory modules, improved fabrication processes are needed in the art. The present invention is directed to a method for fabricating chip modules that is low cost and suitable to volume manufacture. In addition, this method provides an improved chip module characterized by a low resistance and reliable permanent electrical connection between the die bond pads and conductors on a supporting substrate.

Multi chip module with conductive adhesive layer


Provided herein are methods, compounds, and compositions for reducing expression of GCCR mRNA and protein in an animal. Such methods, compounds, and compositions are useful to treat, prevent, delay, or ameliorate metabolic disease, for example, diabetes, or a symptom thereof.

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by impaired insulin secretion and/or action. In type 2 diabetes (T2DM), insulin resistance leads to an inability of insulin to control the activity of gluconeogenic enzymes, and many subjects also exhibit inappropriate levels of circulating glucagon (GC) in the fasting and postprandial state. Glucagon is secreted from the α-cells of the pancreatic islets and regulates glucose homeostasis through modulation of hepatic glucose production (Quesada et al., J. Endocrinol. 2008. 199: 5-19).
Glucagon exerts its action on target tissues via the activation of glucocorticoid receptor (GCCR). The glucocorticoid receptor is a 62 kDa protein that is a member of the class B G-protein coupled family of receptors (Brubaker et al., Recept. Channels. 2002. 8: 179-88). GCCR activation leads to signal transduction by G proteins (Gsα and Gq), whereby Gsα activates adenylate cyclase, which causes cAMP production, resulting in an increase in levels of protein kinase A. GCCR signaling in the liver results in increased hepatic glucose production by induction of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis along with inhibition of glycogenesis (Jiang and Zhang. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 2003. 284: E671-E678). GCCR is also expressed in extrahepatic tissues, which includes heart, intestinal smooth muscle, kidney, brain, and adipose tissue (Hansen et al., Peptides. 1995. 16: 1163-1166).
Development of GCCR inhibitors have been hampered by the unfavorable side effects associated with systemic GCCR inhibition, including activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Inhibition of GCCR activity in the brain can lead to an increase in circulating adrenocorticotropic hormone due to feedback regulation and a consequent increase in secretion of adrenal steroids (Philibert et al., Front. Horm. Res. 1991. 19: 1-17). This, in turn, can produce a myriad of negative chronic steroid-related side-effects. Other studies have demonstrated that specific inactivation of GCCR resulted in hypoglycemia upon prolonged fasting (Opherk et al., Mol. Endocronol. 2004. 18: 1346-1353).
It has previously been demonstrated in pre-clinical models that administration of GCCR antisense oligonucleotides results in tissue-specific accumulation and reduced GCCR expression in liver and adipose tissue (PCT Pub. No. WO2005/071080; PCT Pub. No. WO2007/035759) without affecting GCCR mRNA levels in the CNS or adrenal glands. Thus, antisense inhibition of GCCR mRNA expression has be shown to improve hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia without activating the HPA axis. The present invention provides compositions and methods for modulating GCCR expression. Antisense compounds for modulating expression of GCCR are disclosed in the aforementioned published patent applications. However, there remains a need for additional improved compounds. The compounds and treatment methods described herein provide significant advantages over the treatments options currently available for GCCR related disorders.
All documents, or portions of documents, cited in this application, including, but not limited to, patents, patent applications, articles, books, and treatises, are hereby expressly incorporated-by-reference for the portions of the document discussed herein, as well as in their entirety.


Some embodiments disclosed herein store a target application and a dictation application. The target application may be configured to receive input from a user. The dictation application interface may include a full overlay mode option, where in response to selection of the full overlay mode option, the dictation application interface is automatically sized and positioned over the target application interface to fully cover a text area of the target application interface to appear as if the dictation application interface is part of the target application interface. The dictation application may be further configured to receive an audio dictation from the user, convert the audio dictation into text, provide the text in the dictation application interface and in response to receiving a first user command to complete the dictation, automatically copy the text from the dictation application interface and inserting the text into the target application interface.

As a background, many physicians and other professionals are required to create reports and other documents regarding their work. While these professionals may hand write or type these documents, many professionals have found that dictating the notes into a recording device is the most effective mechanism for recording their ideas. However, in many situations, conversion of the audio dictation into text can be a problem. As an example, oftentimes, the professional records an audio dictation into the recording device, which is then sent to a transcriptionist. The transcriptionist may convert the audio dictation into a transcribed report. The transcribed report may be sent back to the professional for inclusion into a professional record and/or may be sent to another electronic system for storage and/or further distribution. However, because this process utilizes actions by a plurality of different parties utilizing a plurality of different computing devices, such a process may be slow and inefficient.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for providing an electronic dictation interface


A toilet backsplash and overspray shield for mounting to the back of a toilet bowl to block urine from spraying and splashing on to the rear portions of the toilet. The toilet backsplash and overspray shield includes a resiliently flexible shield 10 having front and back faces, upper and lower edges, and a pair of side edges extending between the upper and lower edges of the shield. At least one resilient hook is outwardly extended from the back face of the shield. The hook is generally J-shaped and has an elongate shaft and an arcuate tip. The shaft of the hook is coupled to the back face of the shield. The arcuate tip is extended upwards the shaft in a direction towards the upper edge of the shield and has a concavity facing the back face of the shield.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilet backsplash and overspray shields and more particularly pertains to a new toilet backsplash and overspray shield for mounting to the back of a toilet bowl to block urine from spraying and splashing on to the rear portions of the toilet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of toilet backsplash and overspray shields is known in the prior art. More specifically, toilet backsplash and overspray shields heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,760; U.S. Pat. No. 2,839,764; U.S. Patent No. Des. 139,221; U.S. Pat. No. 2,407,005; U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,224; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,602.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new toilet backsplash and overspray shield. The inventive device includes a resiliently flexible shield 10 having front and back faces, upper and lower edges, and a pair of side edges extending between the upper and lower edges of the shield. At least one resilient hook is outwardly extended from the back face of the shield. The hook is generally J-shaped and has an elongate shaft and an arcuate tip. The shaft of the hook is coupled to the back face of the shield. The arcuate tip is extended upwards the shaft in a direction towards the upper edge of the shield and has a concavity facing the back face of the shield.
In these respects, the toilet backsplash and overspray shield according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of mounting to the back of a toilet bowl to block urine from spraying and splashing on to the rear portions of the toilet.


A lid dispenser receives a stack of drink cup lids within a housing tube, such that the frontmost lids extend through a front element opening and are retained by multiple pager assemblies, each of which has a frontwardly extending pager body post. The inside of the pager body has an engaging wall with an inclined surface directed radially inwardly. Flippers are pivoted to the posts and have wings which extend towards the front element, and have interior surfaces which are inclined radially outwardly. The flippers are biased radially inwardly, but are displaceable by a pressure applied axially towards the interior cavity. When adjusted so the pager body posts project radially over the front element opening, each pager body post inside wall is positioned to engage lids which extend from the front element opening, and direct them towards engagement with the pager flippers.

The present invention relates to devices for dispensing lids for containers generally, and especially for dispensing beverage containers lids.
In many convenience stores, restaurants, cafeterias, and other locations where beverages are sold, customers are allowed to serve themselves from beverage dispensers. The beverages are dispensed into disposable cups. To limit spilling of the beverages, especially for take-out orders, the cups are commonly sealed by the customer with a disposable plastic lid.
For reasons of convenience, efficiency, reduced waste, and improved hygiene, the beverage container lids are optimally dispensed from a lid dispenser which makes available a single lid while protecting the remaining supply of lids from contact with the customer. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,960,989; 5,383,571; and 7,207,462, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein, lid dispensers are described which readily dispense single lids for consumer use. These lid dispensers are configured for ready adjustment to accommodate the wide variety of lid shapes and sizes found in the marketplace, in some cases without the use of tools.
In most retail environments, space is at a premium, making it desirable to offer a lid dispensing functionality in a compact apparatus. Not only would a more compact lid dispenser make better use of available space, but, because it would use less materials, it offers the possibility of reduced manufacturing costs.


An edge strip (10) is provided for a seat cover (6, 20). The edge strip (10) includes an edge strip core (10.1) that is surrounded, in particular cladded, by a fastening material (10.4). A seat cover (6, 20) is provided for a seat (5) and includes the edge strip (10). A seat (5) is also provided that includes the seat cover (6, 20).

A seat, such as for example a vehicle seat, is generally provided with a seat cover. Moreover, it is known to fasten the seat cover releasably to the seat in order to remove or replace the seat cover, for example. To this end, it is known, for example, to provide the seat cover and correspondingly the seat on the surface side with fastening means, such as for example a hook tape and opposingly thereto a fleece tape.
For example, it is disclosed in FR 2 781 733 B1 to apply a hook tape and a fleece tape to the seat cover and/or the seat. By such a hook and loop connection the seat cover may be easily detached from the seat and fastened again thereto.
An edge strip with a light-conducting core is disclosed in EP 0 988 179 B1, for the fastening thereof said edge strip being encased by a film, the ends thereof forming a stitched tab.

Edge strip, seat cover and seat comprising a seat cover


A 3-dimensional (3D) pattern puncher for punching a lithium metal electrode to provide one or more unit electrodes is provided. The 3D pattern puncher includes a mold punch configured to move up and down, the mold punch corresponding to a size of the unit electrode; a die corresponding to the mold punch; a mold blade disposed at an edge of the mold punch and configured to punch the lithium metal electrode to provide the one or more unit electrodes; and a 3D pattern positioned at an inner portion of the mold punch where the mold blade is not disposed.

As the price of energy sources increases due to depletion of fossil fuels and the interest in environmental pollution is amplified, the demand for environmentally friendly alternative energy sources becomes an indispensable factor for future life. Especially, the demand for secondary batteries as an energy source is rapidly increasing.
Typically, in terms of the shape of the battery, there is a high demand for a prismatic secondary battery and a pouch-type secondary battery that can be applied to products such as mobile phones with a small thickness. In terms of material, there is a high demand for a lithium ion battery having high energy density, discharge voltage, and output stability, and a lithium ion polymer battery.
Generally, a secondary battery is manufactured as follows. First of all, an active material is applied to the surface of a current collector to form a positive electrode and a negative electrode, and a separator is interposed therebetween to make an electrode assembly. Then the electrode assembly is mounted at the inside of a pouch type case of a cylindrical or rectangular metal can or aluminum laminate sheet, and a liquid electrolyte is injected or impregnated into the electrode assembly to thereby make a secondary battery. Sometimes a solid electrolyte may also be used.
In general, a carbon material such as graphite is used as a negative electrode of a lithium secondary battery, but it may be made of lithium metal. Lithium used as a negative electrode has a low density of 0.54 g/cm3 and a standard reduction potential of −3.045 VSHE, which is very low, and thus it is most popular as an electrode material of a high energy density battery. However, there are the following problems in applying the lithium metal to the negative electrode.
Since the polymer electrolyte is chemically very active, the passive film is formed by reaction with the organic electrolyte, and as oxidation (dissolution) and reduction (deposition) reactions of lithium on the lithium metal surface during charging and discharging are repeated unevenly, the formation and growth of the passive film is extremely severe.
As a result, not only the capacity of the battery is reduced during charging and discharging but also as the charging and discharging process is repeated, lithium ions are grown in the form of needles on the surface of the lithium metal to thereby form a dendrite (lithium resin phase), which shortens the life of the battery, resulting in short circuit between the electrodes.
As described above, the lithium metal has a capacity of about 3860 mAh/g per unit weight, but it is difficult to commercialize it due to the continuous reaction with the electrolyte in the battery and the resinous growth of lithium due to its life.
In order to solve this problem, various types of techniques have been developed. Recently, the increase in the surface area due to the formation of the 3D structure has been highlighted. By forming a 3D structure to maximize the surface area of the electrode, the area of contact of the lithium metal with the electrolyte is increased, thereby suppressing the growth of the dendrite.
Generally, a method of engraving a 3D pattern on a lithium metal electrode involves rolling a 3D pattern embossing on a roller. The 3D pattern is engraved on the surface of the lithium metal electrode by letting the roller having the 3D pattern of the shape that it wants to carve to pass over the lithium metal electrode at a constant pressure.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a method of engraving a 3D pattern 2 on a lithium metal electrode 3 using a 3D pattern roller 1 according to a conventional art. The 3D pattern roller 1 is formed of a material having a cube-like pattern 2 on its surface and being harder than lithium metal. When the 3D pattern roller 1 passes over the lithium metal electrode 3 at a constant pressure, a cubic 3D pattern is engraved on the surface of the lithium metal electrode 3 at a depressed angle.
However, in this case, there is a problem that the rollers themselves have to be replaced if desiring to engrave different kinds of patterns. The bigger problem is that the rollers used in the rolling process are generally made of metal because they have to be heavily weighted to maintain a constant pressure, and thus an issue of releasing from lithium metal occurs. Lithium metal is a very fragile metal. Therefore, when rolling with a metal roller, it tends to stick to the roller. If this is repeated, the shape of the 3D pattern is not constantly engraved. To solve this problem, the rollers should be periodically cleaned.

3D pattern cutting machine for lithium metal electrode


A wall structure comprising a track, a plurality of vertical posts secured to the track at predetermined locations, a plurality of horizontal header beams bridging the posts and secured to the posts, and a plurality of wall sections having a grooved side and tongue side and adapted to receive the track in its bottom side, the header beams in its top side, the wall sections assembled together in a tongue and groove relationship along the wall structure with the posts being encapsulated in the tongue and groove joint to form a monolithic wall structure.

A number of attempts have been made to develop a wall structure that integrates framing and wall panels to form a complete wall. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,552,076; 3,788,020; 3,992,844; 4,706,429; 4,147,004; 4,833,855; and 4,894,969. Some of these structures comprise an assembly of wall panels or wall bricks having hollow passages which form a series of interlocking vertical and horizontal passages in the assembly. The passages are filled with concrete, with or without rebar, to form structural framing integral with wall panel or bricks. Other structures comprise reinforced composite wall panels that are interlocked to form a wall structure. A third type of structure comprises an assembly of foam plastic forms that function as permanent concrete forms after the concrete has been poured between the forms.
Although these various prior art structures apparently are easy to assemble, they require substantial planning and piecemeal methods for forming windows and doors. This is especially true when poured concrete is an essential element of the structure. These prior art structures can require a substantial amount of concrete. Concrete in some form is widely available, but the concrete goods vary and in many areas of the world, the concrete is not of structural load bearing quality. Thus, in many areas of the world structural concrete is difficult and/or expensive to obtain.
The present invention specifically addresses these and other deficiencies in the prior art and provides an integrated frame/wall panel wall structure that employs no concrete, is fabricated from a minimum number of standard framing elements, and a standard wall panel. The structure can be assembled with a minimum of tools and does not require employment of skilled professionals, such as carpenters, brick layers, and concrete pourers.
The present wall structure comprises various prefabricated framing elements, namely a post or stud, a U-shaped track, a header beam, and various brackets and fasteners, namely a corner bracket, a foundation bolt, a shoulder bolt, and a self-tapping screw. Standard window sills and door headers are pre-cut. Window jambs, door jambs, etc. are connected to the posts or studs with the standard corner bracket and self-tapping screws. The posts are connected to the U-shaped track with the self-tapping screws. The top of the posts are connected to the header beams with a standard bracket and shoulder bolt. The header beams are joined together end-to-end with a bracket on the top and bottom of the beams or with a bracket on the bottom and a standard strap on the top.
A minimum number of tools are required to assemble the wall structure: a hot knife or saw to cut the wall panel, a screw driver and/or socket wrench to tighten the self-tapping screws, a wrench or socket wrench to tighten the shoulder bolt and the foundation bolt or nut, and a drill and bits to drill any additional apertures for the self-tapping screws, the shoulder bolts and/or the foundation bolt.

Wall structure and method of forming the same

Heydon Building Systems International, Limited


An extrusion expansion of low molecular weight polyalkylene terephthalates having an IV of below 1.0 dl/g to produce gas-charged beads is disclosed. The process includes an extrusion expanding of the resins and an underwater pelletizing of the melt threads. The obtained beads show a composite structure and are characterized by an IV of 0.69 dl/g or more and a melt viscosity η0 of higher than 300 Pa·s.

Cellular expanded articles formed by molding gas-charged and pre-expanded thermoplastic beads, the so-called particle foams, are widely utilized as thermal/sound/impact insulation, packaging, sport and cushioning materials for reasons of low density, better insulation characteristics, optimal energy absorption compared to solid polymers. The molding possibility of foamed beads in combination with their relatively small sizes enables either a production of simple configurated parts like blocks/plates or particularly, as another advantage in comparison to extruded semi-finished parts, a flexible forming of complex articles like e.g. 3D parts. In recent years, the use of molded particle foams have grown in automotive applications such as bumper impact absorber, seat cores, and floor mat leveling material.
Up to now, the widest materials of particle foams are represented by polystyrene (PS) and polyolefin (PP, PE or their copolymers). In general, expanded articles made of gas-charged PS beads are called as EPS, particle foams formed by polypropylene beads are known as EPP and the one made of polyethylene is named as EPE.
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) has taken its place nowadays as an important material in e.g. insulation, in construction applications and as a packaging material for a wide range of industrial applications and food industry. However, the method applied to produce EPS particle foams is rather complicated and expensive, mainly due to a number of, partially time-consuming, process steps involved (Eaves, D.: Handbook of Polymer Foams, Rapra Technology, 2004; Britton, R : Update on Mouldable Particle Foam Technology, Smithers Rapra, 2009):                Production of unexpanded PS beads charged with an organic blowing agent and typically in size of 0.1-2.0 mm,        Pre-expansion of said beads by using steam,        Maturing of pre-expanded EPS beads for a period of several hours (often overnight or even longer),        Molding and further expansion of matured beads.
Production of unexpanded polystyrene beads can be implemented either by suspension polymerization or by extrusion process. The predominant production route is via a suspension polymerization yielding a range of sizes of spherical beads. These are charged with a volatile organic blowing agent (often a mix of isomers of pentane) in the final stage before dewatering and drying, then followed by an organic coating to prevent agglomeration in the later processes.
The extrusion processes produce "microbeads" of uniform size directly from a melt of polystyrene (which may already contain a blowing agent) by use of an underwater micropelletiser. The polystyrene melt is supplied from an extrusion line, or even directly from a polymerization reaction carried out in a series of static mixers and melt pumps. The subsequent pre-expansion processing of PS beads is precisely same both to polymerized and extruded beads. The pre-expansion process involves using steam to heat and agitate the beads either in a batch or in a continuous process. As the beads are warmed by the steam to above the glass transition temperature of the material, they soften and the blowing agent boils at a large number of nucleation points, forming cells which grow so that the whole bead is foamed throughout, where the key variables in prefoaming are the steam pressure (temperature), the amount of dilution air and time.
The pre-expansion results yet in a vacuum inside the beads due to the rapid expansion of bead size. This may cause impairment or even collapse of cell structure inside the beads, in consequence of the generally insufficient mechanical strength of polystyrene. Thus, the pre-foamed EPS beads need to be matured, i.e. an atmospheric pressure inside the beads needs to be created by a permeation of air into them. In this process stage, the beads, now called as a "prepuff", are blown through pipes to large silos, where they are dried and discharged and allowed to mature for a period of several hours (often overnight or even longer), allowing them to cool and the cell walls to become rigid, able to support the negative pressure once the residual blowing agent has condensed. In the maturing progresses, air diffuses into the beads and they become stable enough to be processed further. It is well known that for a given bead type two or more expansion stages are necessary to achieve a lower final density. In case of multi-stage expansion, maturing is required between expansions.
Molding is also affected with steam—the prepuff beads are blown into an aluminum mold and steam applied through a number of small vents. This softens the beads and expands them further, using the residual blowing agent which remains in them after the prefoaming and ageing steps, in order to fuse adjacent beads together. Vacuum may be applied to the mold in the later stages, to help create a well fused surface on the molding. The distribution of steam between the mold halves can be adjusted to optimize the molding process, prevent distortion, etc. Cooling follows before the molding can be ejected and allowed to dry.
In addition to the complicated, time-consuming and expensive production processes, PS as a thermoplastic polymer shows some deficiencies like brittleness, insufficient impact strength, swelling when moist, too high compressibility, a generally low mechanical level, poor mounting properties, relatively high water vapor permeability etc. that are not favored when it comes to building insulation and its manufacturing (US 2011/0171456; Domininghaus, H.: Die Kunststoffe und ihre Eigenschaften, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag, 2005). Furthermore, the lacking thermal stability or low temperature resistance resulted from the relatively low service temperature of either 65-80° C. for long-term or 80-90° C. for short-term as well as the poor resistance to chemicals such as organic solvents and fuel (Domininghaus, H.: Die Kunststoffe und ihre Eigenschaften, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag, 2005) limit or even eliminate some applications of EPS in e.g. insulation for water heating appliances, automotive or microwave-related packaging.
Expanded polyolefin beads are another important particle foam in the beads family. It is known that the volume of moldable beads produced from polyolefins is very much smaller than that of polystyrene, even though foamed polyolefins have some significant property advantages (Domininghaus, H.: Die Kunststoffe und ihre Eigenschaften, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag, 2005). Among the particle foams of polyolefins, expanded polypropylene (EPP) plays a very important role, since EPP achieves an even better property profile compared to some other polymeric foams such as EPS, EPE as well as PU. Molded articles of EPP are generally characterized by properties like excellent impact energy absorption, good toughness, small residual deformation, better temperature stability, good chemical resistance and very low water vapor permeability.
EPP already applies within the area of packaging for industrial goods and in the automotive branch. A great variety of products, like protection for side impacts, sun visors, column and door covers, tool boxes and bumper inserts are made of this material.
However, common polypropylene grades normally feature a linear chain structure, having thus a sharp melting transition and low melt strength (particularly in extension), which is responsible for a cell structure being difficult to control, or even makes an expansion impossible. Production of EPP beads requires then often an introduction and use of an expensive high melt strength (HMS) resin which is a modified grade having a long chain branching (US 2011/0171456; Domininghaus, H.: Die Kunststoffe and ihre Eigenschaften, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag, 2005).
Moreover, the processes for preparing and molding the EPP beads are complicated and comprised of (Eaves, D.: Handbook of Polymer Foams, Rapra Technology, 2004; Britton, R: Update on Mouldable Particle Foam Technology, Smithers Rapra, 2009):                Converting the polymer, very often HMS polypropylene or a blend containing such HMS PP, into micropellets by e.g. extrusion,        Impregnation of the PP micropellets with a hydrocarbon blowing agent such as propane at elevated temperature (e.g. 130-160° C.) and pressure for several hours,        Expansion of the impregnated micropellets to form low density beads with particle size of some 4-5 mm after the pressure is released,        Molding the expanded beads to final articles by compressing and fusing them with help of steam and backpressure,        Post-ageing of expanded polypropylene (EPP) products in an autoclave, often required to achieve a full stability.
Disadvantageous in the process chain of EPP is the fact that the blowing agent impregnated into the beads can not be held there long at ambient pressures for later expansion. Instead, once impregnated with a blowing agent, the beads must be expanded immediately, or held under high pressure. Another disadvantage is the rapid outgasing of the blowing agent out of polypropylene beads, which is essentially complete already within a few days following the impregnation, i.e. the expanded beads need to be molded immediately or very soon after the expansion process. Further importantly, expanded beads have a high bulk, so that transporting them (and the finished products) is costly, or producing and molding the beads are required to take place on the same site. All this, use of chain branching grade, complex process, rapid outgasing and high transport costs etc., impedes the polyolefin bead foams in the marketplace (US 2011/0171456; Domininghaus, H.: Die Kunststoffe und ihre Eigenschaften, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag, 2005).
Considered as one of the most disadvantageous weaknesses, PP is known to be very vulnerable to oxidative degradation under the influence of elevated temperature and/or sunlight because of the existence of tertiary carbon atoms. Such degradation is recognized as a free-radical chain reaction, which leads to chain scission. The addition of stabilizers has been widely used to depress this radical reaction. However, it is difficult to maintain the long-term performance of stabilizers for various reasons, including volatility (Pielichowski, K.,et al: Thermal Degradation of Polymeric Materials, Rapra Technology Limited, 2005). This weakness confines the outdoor applications or use of PP, including expanded PP beads, in an oxidative environment.
Polyalkylene terephthalates, belonging to the polyester family, particularly polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as a commodity thermoplastic resin, are mechanically strong in terms of strength, stiffness and hardness, chemical-resistant (much more resistant to most chemicals compared to PS), and show good thermal stability arisen from a high service temperature of either 100° C. for long-term or 200° C. for short-term and from a high Vicat softening temperature (VST/B120) of 185° C. (Domininghaus, H.: Die Kunststoffe und ihre Eigenschaften, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag, 2005).
As described in details of (US 2011/0171456), PET or polyalkylene terephthalate have shown to be basically suitable and in some aspects even superior in comparison to EPS for e.g. building industry requirements:                PET shows the compatibility in massive form with mineral based building materials such as concrete, clay or minerals etc.        The stability and structural strength of massive PET have been used for the casting of concrete parts.        The use of terephthalate foams in building and construction for windows sills or as insulation against heat bridging in the building industry are claimed in some patents. Such foams can bear some weight load of other construction elements.        Foamed terephthalate can provide the structural integrity showing properties being resistant versus compression by weight (compression strength) in combination a) with resistance to creeping, flowing or destructive shearing (compressive modulus and shear strength) and b) with a reasonable level of remaining shear elongation.
A more important character of polyalkylene terephthalate such as PET is its less vapor permeation in comparison to PS (the most important foamable material for insulation till now) (Domininghaus, H.: Die Kunststoffe und ihre Eigenschaften, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag, 2005), since the vapor content in a foamed polymer is known for its negative impact on the thermal conductivity. EPS may become less effective in the insulation property with the time of an outdoor utilization.
PET is well-known for the excellent gas barrier ability (Domininghaus, H.: Die Kunststoffe und ihre Eigenschaften, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag, 2005), which results in a slow outgasing and is thus considered as a big benefit in comparison to PP. As mentioned above, expanded polypropylene has to be finally expanded and molded soon after the gas impregnation.
The above described property profile makes, therefore, polyalkylene terephthalate attractive as one of the materials suitable to be processed to gas-charged and expanded cellular beads, which can be formed by molding. Such expanded beads of PET can be termed E-PET, similar to EPS or EPP.
Among the polyalkylene terephthalate family, the low-viscous PET resins like bottle-grades, fiber-grade or post-consumer materials are pricely competitive and attractive for foaming process. Two PET grades now dominate the global market, i.e. fiber-grade PET and bottle-grade PET. These standard grades differ mainly in molecular weight or intrinsic viscosity (IV), respectively, optical appearance and the production recipes. Textile fiber-grade PET has an IV of between 0.55 and 0.67 dl/g, while bottle-grade PET, appearing "glass-clear" in the amorphous state, shows an IV of between 0.75 and 1.00 dl/g (Scheirs, J., et al: Modern Polyesters: Chemistry and Technology of Polyesters and Copolyesters, John Wiley & Sons, 2003).
However, expansion of polyalkylene terephthalate to produce low density cellular materials by using a physical blowing agent and extrusion process has been found to be a difficult process, mainly for the reason that these polymer resins are required to have appropriate rheological characteristics such as high melt strength and high (intrinsic and melt) viscosity.
EP0866089 describes e.g. an extrusion foaming of PET resins, which typically represents a free expansion. During the free expansion, the extrudate released from a die is depressured and the growing of initiated bubbles in size (extrudate expansion), forced by the vapor pressure of the blowing agent, which is generally higher than atmospheric pressure, is not restrained in the atmosphere, except by the melt strength of the molten resin. In case of a gas-charged melt mixture featuring insufficient melt strength, it is either not able to shape an extrudate or the built bubbles collapse when leaving the die exit. EP0866089 claims a foamability of PET resins which have to be solid state upgraded before, known as solid state polycondensation (SSP), in presence of pyromellitic dianhydride to reach an intrinsic viscosity of 0.85-1.95 dl/g, preferably between 1.00 and 1.95 dl/g. The intrinsic viscosity is in correlation with melt strength, thus essential for foamability of a polyester resin during the free expansion in a foam extrusion process. Both comparative examples of EP0866089 demonstrate that the starting resins of PET characterized by IV values of 0.80 and 0.92 dl/g are not foamable in a melt extrusion process, thus a free expansion, due to the lacking melt strength.
In addition, pre-expanded beads of polyalkylene terephthalates are not easily mold-formed due to their relatively high melting temperature and an equally high crystallinity under the temperature conditions necessary for a mold forming.
However, U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921 claims expanded PET beads obtained from aromatic polyester resins having a melt strength of 1 cN at 280° C., a melt viscosity of more than 1500 Pa·s at 280° C. and with shear rate tending to zero, an intrinsic viscosity of more than 0.80 dl/g and a crystallization rate by heating at 120° C. for 5 minutes so that the resulting crystallinity is not higher than 15%. Resins having the indicated characteristics are obtained by solid state upgrading of the polymer in the presence of PMDA and in a temperature range of 150 to 210° C.
The preparation of the foamed beads is performed by hot cutting the foamed threads, by means of rotating blades at the output of an extrusion head having multiple holes, according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921. Hence, the foaming process of PET resins disclosed both in EP0866089 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921 belongs identically to the category of free expansion, which requires a high melt strength preventing the gas-charging melt from a cell collapse. As indicated in the description and comparative examples of EP0866089, foaming of PET resins with IV value of 0.92 dl/g or less is not possible in case of a free expansion. The claim of U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921 that foamed PET beads are obtainable from polyester resins having an intrinsic viscosity of only more than 0.80 dl/g are, therefore, not convincing. This was also confirmed by the current invention (s. Comparative examples 3 and 4 of this invention), where a foaming and granulation method being similar to U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921 were applied, and by the examples of U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921, where PET copolymer with a melt strength of 150 cN at 280° C., a melt viscosity of 1800 Pa·s at 300° C. and an intrinsic viscosity of 1.25 dl/g (obtained by solid state upgrading a copolymer having an initial IV of 0.63 dl/g in presence of 0.4% PMDA) is foamed for production of the beads.
On the other hand, it is very much necessary to employ an extrusion head with tiny orifices to obtain small or micro-sized beads in case of a free expansion. The examples of U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921 disclose the use of the multiholes having a diameter of 0.1 mm The tiny hole diameter causes, however, a very high shear rate: With 90 kg/h throughput through 24 holes, the average shear rate is estimated to be over 450′000 /s, assuming even a melt density of about 1400 kg/m3 in the temperature range of 260-300° C. and at a melt pressure of 110 bar. The above estimation illustrates how much the melt mixture may be sheared or shear degraded at the extrusion head during the bead production with hot cutting. This again requires use of polymer resins having high viscosity (possibly IV>1.0 dl/g) in the bead preparation of U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921.
Besides, the upgrading process is indeed a complicated and highly cost-/time-consuming procedure: The granules containing PMDA undergo a solid state polycondensation at 210° C. for 10 h (in general, 24 h may be necessary to upgrade polyester resins from an IV below 0.80 dl/g to 1.25 dl/g).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921 further claims the foamed PET beads characterized by a density between 30 and 500 kg/m3, a melt strength of more than 1 cN at 280° C., a melt viscosity of more than 1500 Pa·s at 280° C. etc.
However, the E-PET beads of U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,921 show disadvantageously a poor cell structure according to the inventors: While the outermost layer is characterized by microcells of 50 to 500 μm, the center part of the beads features a macrocell structure with cell sizes of a few millimeters.

Extrusion expansion of low molecular weight polyalkylene terephthalate for production of expanded beads


A pendant fixture comprising a first body portion having a threaded stud formed thereon, wherein the threaded stud is configured to receive a spider fitting of a lampshade when the lampshade is installed on the pendant fixture. A second body portion having a first half defining a threaded bore therein and a second half defining a second bore therethrough is rotatably coupled to the first body portion by the threaded stud and bore. A power cord having a first end for mounting to a structure, and a second end that is received through the second body portion second bore provides power to the first body portion. A length of power cord adjacent to the power cord second end defines a flexible and adjustable C-shaped cord portion intermediate the first body portion and the second body portion.

Pendant lamps, e.g., lamps which hang from a ceiling or other elevated support by a chain, cable, or even from a power cord, have long been popular illumination devices in homes and elsewhere. Recently, commercial interest has been shown in fitting a pendant light fixture with standard floor and table lampshades. In most cases, standard floor and table lamps are constructed with a spider-type fitter ring that is too smaller in diameter to accept a pendant fixture's bulb socket, which is larger and typically used in conjunction with a socket ring to hold the pendant shade. In certain current lighting arrangements, when fitting a table or standing lampshade to a pendant light fixture, certain lampshades are two short and do not provide a clean and balanced appearance.