A thermoelectric water chiller system for cooling fluids, and including a cold sink which defines quiescent areas where convection currents are minimized to facilitate ice formation around the cold sink is provided. The cold sink cooperates with water held in a sealed tank. A cover member which covers the cold sink can be employed which would cooperate with the tank to form a fluid-tight seal therewith. Components needing periodic cleaning are preferably removable from the system, but the tank could be permanently installed. A fan-cooled thermoelectric module assembly is used to form the ice block adjacent the bottom of the tank which chills the water. A variable-speed fan and current to the thermoelectric module are controlled by a control circuit with inputs from various temperature sensors positioned on and within various portions of the chiller system, including sensors to monitor ambient air temperature about the chiller system. Based upon sensed temperatures, or combinations thereof, the control circuit can slow the fan speed, reduce current to the thermoelectric module, or both, when chilling to a desired temperature is achieved, and to maintain the ice block at an optimum size.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved system for chilling drinking water, the system being particularly suitable for cooling and dispensing bottled drinking water. Water cooling is preferably provided by a thermoelectric heat-transfer module that provides controlled ice block formation. The system is efficient, quiet and trouble-free as compared to compressor-type coolers.
2. Related Art
Due to concern over the quality of water from public systems, use of bottled water and water filters, and associated dispensers, is becoming more prevalent. Many individuals have realized the desirability of dispensing cooled rather than having only room temperature water. Various approaches have been utilized to cool the water.
For example, a conventional refrigerant circuit with a compressor, evaporator and condenser has been employed. Water in a dispenser has also been cooled with a thermoelectric module as disclosed in allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/250,364, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,077. Also, a cold sink, extending into a water tank, has been employed to transfer heat from the water to the thermoelectric module as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/452,179, which is a continuation in part of the above-mentioned application. Heat is drawn from the water into a heat sink from which it is dissipated to the ambient environment. Preferably, an ice block forms on the cold sink and cools the water in the tank. Ice stores energy of the thermoelectric module to more efficiently cool an influx of warmer water.
PCT publication number WO93/08432 discloses a cooling dispenser having an ice producing means which comprises a thermoelectric module sandwiched between a cold side sink and a hot side sink. An infrared beam detects ice formation on the cold side sink, and when the ice formed grows large enough to block the beam, the cooling system is shut down and the ice is permitted to melt sufficiently to be dislodged from the cold side sink. The dislodged ice floats to the top of the tank and the system restarts to form more ice. The upper surface of the cold side sink is preferably concave with smoothly tapered sides so that the ice will release easily therefrom when the cooling system is shut down.
Several problems exist with water dispensers that employ ice block formation as the cooling medium. For example, it is sometimes difficult to control the dimensions of the ice block being formed. If the ice block extends outwardly enough to actually contact the dispenser spigot, the spigot can become plugged by ice. Also, fans used in chiller systems, including those used to cool the heat sinks, can generate unwanted noise. Another problem exists with chiller systems utilizing fans in that where such fans are allowed to operate at or near full speed conditions, noise generated as a result can be unwanted, is perhaps unnecessary and undesirable. In some systems, internal tank components cannot be removed to facilitate cleaning. Finally, although some water chilling dispensers provide for dispensing both chilled and unchilled water, this is accomplished through two separate valves, which may not be ideal aesthetically and does not permit pre-dispensing mixing of water of different temperatures.
Another problem relates to the formation of ice around either a vertically extending cooling probe assembly within the tank, where such a mechanism is used, or around a vertically extending cooling plate at the bottom of the tank. Room temperature or warmer water is most usually introduced at the top of the tank. Water in the lower portion of the tank is cooled adjacent the bottom of the tank. This temperature differential between the top and bottom areas of the tank causes convection currents, which can inhibit ice formation or make the ice forming process inefficient.


Migration of a virtual machine to a new host is coordinated while data that is mapped into virtual (swap) memory of a source instance of the virtual machine (or guest) is properly handled. Sharing rights for one or more swap devices can be modified to facilitate the use of the swap devices by a new host and a corresponding (target) instance of virtual machine running on the new host.

This disclosure relates to migration of virtual machines or guests between hosts. In particular, it relates to handling migration of virtual machine that supports memory over commitment using one or more swap devices.
A guest machine, or a virtual machine, can be a virtual appliance, operating system or other type of virtualization-ready workload. From the view of the guest machine, it can function as a separate unit with its own dedicated resources. A hypervisor module can provide virtualization logic that manages one or more virtual machines. The hypervisor module (or just "hypervisor") can assign shares of physical devices/hardware to the virtual machines that run on, and are managed by, the hypervisor. This virtualization can allow multiple virtual machines to run on top of a single physical host by sharing host resources between the multiple virtual machines. Some computer systems allow for multiple hypervisors to be run on their hardware.
Certain systems can allow for virtual machines to be migrated between different hypervisors. For instance, a planned hypervisor outage (e.g., to perform maintenance on a hypervisor) may trigger a migration event that causes one or more virtual machines to be migrated to another hypervisor. Satisfactory coordination between the source and target instances of the virtual machines can be difficult.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Virtual machine migration with swap pages

International Business Machines Corporation


A range burner surface heater system includes an input selector, a control, a surface heating unit, and a pair of low cost relay switches. The input selector is connected to the control, and the switches are responsive to the control. The surface heating unit is located between the low cost relay switches, with each relay switch connected to a separate power line. The relay switches are alternately opened and closed to energize the surface heating unit singly and in combination. At lower power levels, the switches are operated at current levels of one half the rated current of each switch to extend the life of the switches.

This invention relates generally to power switching and, more particularly, to power switching for an electric range surface heating unit.
Range surface heating units, commonly referred to as burners, typically include a microcomputer which controls energization of triacs. Specifically, the microcomputer controls the operation of triac gates, which results in energizing and de-energizing a surface heater. Over the expected life of the heating unit, the triacs may need to cycle over one million times. Triac systems capable of such cycling are expensive.
Infinite heat switches also can be used to control heat generated by a range surface burner. With such switches, the switch duty cycle is controlled to control the supply of a voltage to the burner. Controlling the switch duty cycle therefore results in controlling the energy, or heat, output of the burner. For example, at a low power setting, a duty cycle which results in voltage being supplied to the burner for 25% of the time is utilized. Such cycling results in uneven cooking in that for a selected period of time, the burner is ON, and for the remainder of the cycle, the burner is OFF. Approximately 80% of surface heater unit cooking is accomplished at intermediate duty cycles of 34% or less.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a cost effective alternative to triacs for switching and controlling power to range surface heaters that produces even heating at intermediate power levels.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a surface heater unit comprises an input selector, a control, a first relay switch, a second relay switch, and a surface heater. The input selector is operatively connected to the control, and the control is responsive to the input selector. The surface heater is operatively connected between the relay switches, and the switches are operatively connected to the control. The first and second switches are connected to a first power line and a second power line, respectively, and are alternately opened and closed to energize and de-energize the heater with power from one or both of the first and second power lines.
Thus, the first and second relay switches replace a single triac or infinite heat switch for controlling power to a surface heater. Consequently, the splitting of the making and breaking of current paths between two switches rather than one allows first and second relay switches to be used to increase system life. Further, because most cooking occurs at lower power levels, the first and second relay switches may be operated at current levels at about or below one-half of the rated current of the switches. Consequently, the expected life of the low cost first and second relay switches is greatly extended.
Also, the reduced power to the surface heaters that allows for the extended lives of the first and second relays switches requires a longer duty cycle to generate a given amount of heat than a comparable surface heater controlled with infinite heat switches or triacs. Thus, rather than the intense bursts of energy for a short period of time that triacs and infinite heat switches produce, the first and second relay switches supply a reduced energy level to the surface heater for a longer period of time. The temperature fluctuation of the surface heater is therefore decreased, and a steady heat is produced for a longer time period.
Thus, a long life range surface heater unit is provided that is less expensive than triacs, and that generates even surface unit heating at intermediate power levels.

Range surface heating unit relay power switching control


A concrete form system is disclosed, together with a method of assembling it and particular ties useful with it. The system has a concrete form with two opposed walls and a cavity between to be filled with concrete. One wall is made of conventional wood or metal panels. The other wall is made of foam panels. Vertical joins between plywood or metal panels are directly opposite vertical joins between foam panels. The system provides ties to join the two walls and brackets or retaining members to spread the forces on the ties so they do not pull out of the foam wall.

In the pouring of concrete walls, such as for example foundation walls, what is typically done is to pour concrete footings on a suitable bed of gravel or the like. These footings extend upward to the level where the floor of the basement (or first storey, if there is no basement) will be. Two opposed forms are then erected which define between them a cavity into which concrete is poured. The forms are typically of metal or wood, and are of a standard size. Typically, the forms forming opposite faces of the cavity are joined together with pins (sometimes known as "ties") of metal or plastic. The ties are left in the concrete after it is poured, and form part of the wall.
Forms are typically supplied as a "system", which is a series of mating forms, often including forms of different sizes which are designed to be used with one another. There are a many systems in common use. They exhibit many different ways of joining the forms together edge to edge.
One of the most widely used systems of forms is composed of reusable plywood sheets of standard sizes, which are reinforced by having horizontal bands of metal reinforcement spaced at standard intervals and extending across their width on the face not intended to contact the concrete. For example, standard sheets of plywood for use in the system may be 8 feet in height, and 2 feet wide and of 11/4" thickness. The bands of metal are iron bands of about 3" inches in width and of the order of 1/8" to 1/4" thick. They extend parallel to the 2 foot dimension of the sheet at arbitrary distances from each other and the 2 foot long edges of the board, and extend the full width of the board, from one of the edges of a long side to the other edge of a long side. For example, commonly there are four bands, having their mid-lines at 8", 28", 52" and 76" respectively from the 2 foot edge which forms the bottom edge of the plywood sheet when it is assembled into a form,
Mounted on one end of each band, for example near the right edge of the face, is a pivotable hooking element, which pivots over and is retained by a post such as a large headed nail or screw or the like near the left edge of an adjacent like panel. Similar hook and post arrangements occur on the other bands, to hook adjacent panels together to make a form. The hooking element also has at least one (usually two) slots to fit over and retain in place iron ties extending to the similar forms making up the opposite wall of the cavity into which concrete is to be poured.
It is also known to build forms of blocks of plastic foam which define the cavity into which the concrete is poured. The foam is usually foamed polystyrene, although other types of foam plastic are sometimes used. The plastic foam can be left in place after the concrete is poured to function as insulation. Many form systems using foamed plastic are known. Representative ones are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,310 (Boeshart) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,794 (Miller). In the Miller patent, the forms are joined together by ties of wire. In the Boeshart patent, the ties are plastic.
Many systems use strengthening members, which are sometimes known as walers or wales, on the sides of the forms which do not contact the concrete. These may be horizontal or vertical, or both. Often, such walers are pieces of standard sized lumber, such as two-by-fours (lumber which is nominally 2" by 4" in cross section, although it is smaller after being dressed.) The forms or ties can be provided with members sized to hold walers of lumber. After the concrete has set, the walers are removed and the members which held them are removed in some way. In the Boeshart patent discussed above, the walers are held by an extension of the plastic tie, and the extension is removed by breaking it off. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,060 (Allen), the walers are held by brackets which attach to projections extending from the faces of plywood forms.
Most forming systems use either foamed plastic or plywood, but not both, to make their forms. U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,061, however, does show one embodiment where the forms on one side of the concrete cavity are of plywood and those on the other side are of foam. The patent is directed to a system which has tie members which interact with metal caps on the side edges of the foam panels. It also has metal channels in which the tie members rest. The system is a complicated one, with many parts which would be expensive to manufacture and keep in inventory. Additionally, the metal caps and metal channels provide passages for heat to travel around the foam panels, thereby greatly reducing the insulating effect of the foam panels.
Many contractors have a large investment in plywood forming panels. Such panels are reusable, and therefore tend to be cheaper than plastic foam panels, which stay in place and cannot be reused. However, the plastic panels do provide insulation value for the structure being built. There is therefore a need for a foam panel and tie system which is compatible with existing plywood systems, so that plywood can be used for forming which will be outside the building to be constructed and foam can be used for the forming to be inside the building to be constructed. Such a system should also be simple, with few parts to be kept in inventory.


There is provided a steering control device for a vehicle of a new structure utilizing a ball screw mechanism for compacting the structure. The steering control device for a vehicle includes a first input shaft 1 connected to a handle, a second input shaft 2 connected to a motor 8, an output shaft 3 connected to a steering wheel, a first transmission 6 for rotating a nut 5 in accordance with the rotational motion of the first input shaft 1 so as to transmit the rotational motion of the first input shaft 1 to the rotational motion of the output shaft 3, and a second transmission 7 for moving the nut 5 linearly in the axial direction with respect to the output shaft 3 in accordance with the rotational motion of the second input shaft 2 so as to transmit the rotational motion of the second input shaft 2 to the rotational motion of the output shaft 3. The center line of the second input shaft and the center line of the output shaft are aligned on substantially the same straight line.

A steering control device mounted to a vehicle such as automobile serves to convert a rotation of a handle to a displacement in an axial direction of a tie rod and then to change direction of lateral wheels coupled with both end portions of the tie rod. The steering angle of the handle and the turning angle of the wheel in the steering control device generally have a constant relationship corresponding to each other. However, it is desirable to make large a rate of the turning angle with respect to the steering angle at a time of low speed driving of the automobile in a viewpoint of maneuverability of the vehicle such as easy garaging (back the car into garage).
As a steering control device for a vehicle having a conventional structure, FIG. 5 shows a steering control device utilizing a ball screw mechanism, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open (KOKAI) Publication No. HEI 4-118382. This steering control device comprises a first ball screw mechanism 34 including a ball nut screwed to a screw shaft 32 connected to a handle 31, a second ball screw mechanism 37 including a ball nut 36 screwed to a screw shaft 35 connected to a driving wheel, and a transmission mechanism 39 coupling the ball nut 33 of the first ball screw mechanism 34 and the ball nut 36 of the second ball screw mechanism 37 together through a swingable lever member 42. The transmission mechanism 39 is provided with a connection rod 38 connecting the ball nut 33 of the first ball screw mechanism 34 to the lever member 42 in an axial direction thereof. Further, a distance between the center of swinging motion of the lever member 42 and a connecting portion of the ball nut 36 of the second ball screw mechanism 37 is adjustable.
When the handle 31 is operated, the screw shaft 32 of the first ball screw mechanism 34 is rotated and the ball nut 33 is displaced in the axial direction. According to such displacement of the ball nut 33 of the first ball screw mechanism 34, the second ball nut 36 connected to the lever member 42 of the transmission mechanism 39 is also displaced in the axial direction to thereby rotate the screw shaft 35 and transmit the steering power to the driving wheel. By adjusting, with respect to the center of the swinging motion of the lever member 42, the position of the connecting portion 41 at which the ball nut 36 of the second ball screw mechanism 37 is connected to the lever member 42, a ratio of the displacements of the respective ball nuts 33 and 36 can be changed. Accordingly, the rate of the handle steering angle with respect to the wheel turning angle can be changed.


A method for enabling multi-tuple TCP sockets within a computer network is disclosed. All possible connection paths between a first computer and a second computer are initially determined. Then, tuple information of all the possible connection paths are stored in a respective socket of the first and second computers as multi-tuple information. Next, one of the possible connection paths is designated as a preferred path and the remaining possible connection paths are designated as alternate paths. Finally, data packets are transmitted via the preferred path after a TCP connection has been established between the first and second computers on the preferred path.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to computer networks in general, and in particular, to computer networks having a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for enabling multi-tuple TCP sockets within a computer network
2. Description of the Related Art
Any delivery of data between two computer systems has to meet the rules of the five-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. Layer 5 (the topmost layer) is the Application layer that represents such protocols as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Telnet, etc. Layers 4 and 3 are the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) layer and the Internet Protocol (IP) layer, respectively, which are used by computer systems attached to the Internet and other private networks. Layer 2 is the Data Link Protocol layer, which includes Ethernet, Fiber Distributed Data Network (FDDI), Frame Relay (FR), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), etc. Some of the layer 2 protocols transgress into other protocol layers, above and below, as dictated by the nature of transmission rules of the protocol. Layer 1 is the Physical layer that is represented by the physical medium of transmission such as the single-mode or multi-mode fibers used for ATM, twisted copper pairs used in local-area networks (LANs), radio channels for wide-area networks (WANs), and related hardware.
In general, where LAN-to-LAN communications are carried out by using TCP via a WAN, a mutual connection system commonly known as a router, which can handle the processes up to the network layer, is employed to connect a LAN to the WAN. In the mutual connection system, the protocol processes in the physical layer to the network layer in the OSI reference model have been accomplished, and flow control and error control are carried out between the terminals by using TCP on an end-to-end basis.
Currently, when a TCP connection is initiated between two computer systems within a computer network, a path selected to the destination is usually cached in a socket. Also, a 4-tuple, which includes a source IP address, a destination IP address, a source port, and a destination port, is constructed and stored in the socket. In the above-mentioned scenario, the TCP connection will fail if any router along the selected path goes down. In addition, the TCP connection may suffer from poor performance if any router along the selected path is congested with too much network traffic. As a result, those routers may drop IP packets, which causes the TCP connection to retransmit packets such that performance is diminished.
Consequently, it would be desirable to furnish an improved method and apparatus for providing a TCP connection within a computer network.

Apparatus for enabling multi-tuple TCP sockets within a computer network


A magnetic disk includes: a data recording region having first magnetic parts; the first magnetic parts being arranged in a circumferential direction in the nonmagnetic region and form tracks, and the tracks being arranged in a radial direction at a track pitch Tp; and a burst pattern region having burst patterns making a magnetic head follow the first magnetic parts, the burst patterns having second magnetic parts, the second magnetic parts forming base units arranged at a pitch Sp in a radial direction of the disk, the pitch Sp being more than twice as large as the track pitch Tp, the base units including a plurality of base units arranged in a circumferential direction of the disk, and the base units adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction being displaced from each other by the pitch Sp in the radial direction of the disk.

Conventional magnetic disks referred to as patterned media include a magnetic disk disclosed in FIG. 3 of JP-A-2007-323724. This magnetic disk has a data section in which a plurality of magnetic parts are formed in a nonmagnetic region so as to form a plurality of tracks along the circumferential direction of the disk at a predetermined track pitch in the radial direction of the disk and a servo section as a region for making a magnetic head follow each track of the data section. In the servo section, burst patterns, each being made up of a plurality of magnetic parts arranged in the radial direction of the disk at a pitch distance which is twice the track pitch, form a plurality of lines in the circumferential direction of the disk, and, in the adjacent burst pattern lines, the magnetic parts are formed so as to be displaced from each other in the radial direction of the disk by ½ or ¼ of the pitch distance.
In a magnetic disk device provided with such a magnetic disk, each magnetic part of the data section is provided with a magnetization direction perpendicular to the disk surface by a recording element of the magnetic head, whereby magnetic information is recorded. When such recording is performed, control of the position of the magnetic head relative to a recording target track, that is, tracking control is performed. This tracking control uses an address signal obtained by reading address information of the track and a burst signal obtained by reading a plurality of burst patterns in the servo section, and, based on these signals, generates a linear position signal in the radial direction of the disk. As a result, the magnetic head is made to follow a recording target track based on the position signal in the radial direction of the disk.

Burst patterns for magnetic disks and magnetic disk devices


A power tool movement monitor system including a first accelerometer operatively configured to sense movement along a first axis of a power tool and a first high pass filter operatively connected to the output of the first accelerometer. The first high pass filter has an output and a cutoff frequency corresponding to a predetermined acceleration limit capable of being output by the first accelerometer. The power tool movement system further includes a logic circuit operatively configured to generate a warning signal when the first high pass filter outputs a signal having a frequency equaling or exceeding the cutoff frequency of the first high pass filter.

The present invention relates to power tools, and, more particularly, to methods and systems for monitoring the movement of a power tool to detect non-operational condition.
Construction and industrial accidents involving power hand tools, such as nail guns, are increasing. Currently, eight percent of all industrial accidents involve the use of hand tools. In the construction industry, injuries involving nail guns account for more than half of worker compensation claims. Typically, nail gun injuries result from the improper movement of the nail gun, such as swinging the nail gun laterally into the user's leg when walking or dropping the nail gun onto the floor causing a nail to be shot out of the gun, potentially causing damage to property or hitting people nearby.
Furthermore, stationary power tools, such as drill presses or shop machines used in manufacturing, often vibrate or chatter after extended use. In addition, controlled systems that are under closed loop control often are subjected to loss of control, which can lead to full torque when the control or acceleration commands loop malfunctions causing the potential for damage to system components.
Therefore, a need exists for systems and methods that overcome the problems noted above and others previously experienced for monitoring the movement of a power tool to detect certain operating conditions and to power off the tool when the certain conditions are detected.

Power tool movement monitor and operating system


An electro-optic device, such as a Mach-Zehnder interferometer or a directional coupler, has a power dissipating electrode structure and a ground plane electrode, and is switchable between first and second distinct states by the application of respective first and second potentials to the power dissipating electrode. Thermally induced instabilities are minimized by biasing the ground plane electrode such that the first and second potentials are of substantially equal magnitude but of opposite sign. The power dissipating electrode may be a travelling-wave electrode connected to a 50 ohm transmission line.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electro-optic waveguide devices and in particular to interferometers and directional couplers having travelling-wave electrodes.
II. Prior Art and Other Considerations
Electro-optic materials, such as lithium niobate (LNB) and KTP, have refractive indices which vary according to the magnitude and direction of applied electric field. Waveguide devices based on such materials are potentially useful for optical fibre communication and signal processing systems. Typically such devices are required to operate with light of wavelengths in the range 0.6 to 1.6 .mu.m, and in particular with light in the range 1.3 to 1.6 .mu.m.
There are two basic device types: directional couplers; and Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometers. The first of these utilizes the electro-optic effect to control the coupling between a pair of adjacent waveguides. By controlling their refractive indices it is possible to couple light from one waveguide to the other or vice versa. In an MZ interferometer an input waveguide is coupled to an output waveguide by a pair of waveguide arms. Each arm has an associated electrode by means of which it is possible to control the refractive indices of, and hence the velocity of propagation in, the two arms independently. It is therefore possible, by controlling the applied electric fields, to produce phase differences between signals travelling in the two arms resulting in constructive or destructive interference when they are combined. Thus it is possible to amplitude modulate input optical signals according to the voltage difference between the electrodes.
Unfortunately, materials such as LNB, which exhibit the electro-optic effect tend also to be pyroelectric: electric fields are produced within the material as the result of a temperature change. With some materials, notably Z-cut LNB, the pyroelectric effect is so strong that a temperature change of a degree or less may be sufficient to produce an electric field comparable to that applied to produce switching of states in a directional coupler or MZ interferometer made of the material. Such electric fields strongly affect the optical states of the devices. Consequently it is necessary, with materials such as Z-cut LNB which exhibit a strong pyroelectric effect, to provide very precise temperature control if reliable and repeatable performance is to be achieved from electro-optic waveguide devices based on such materials. However, even with good control of environmental temperature effects, thermally-induced instabilities may remain in devices in which there is power dissipation in the electrodes.
Examples of devices with power dissipating electrodes include directional couplers and MZ interferometers having travelling-wave electrodes. The use of travelling-wave electrodes potentially enables the production of devices capable of very high speed operation (typically switchable at gigabit rates). A further advantage of such devices is that they offer a very large bandwidth, typically from dc to 4 GHz.
Because the travelling-wave electrode is part of a transmission line and has finite resistance, non-zero signal levels cause power to be dissipated in the electrode, thus raising the temperature of the underlying waveguide. The stability of these devices is jeopardised if there is in the electrical signal applied to the electrodes a low frequency component having a period longer than the thermal response time of the electrodes (of the order of 0.1 second) as such components cause variations in power dissipation and hence temperature fluctuations. This power variation can shift the transfer characteristic by as much as 3 volts or more which, the switching voltage being in the range 3.5 to 4.0 volts, makes the device unusable.
One solution to this problem which has been proposed is to decouple the travelling-wave electrode by inserting a capacitor (e.g. 47 nF) between the travelling-wave electrode and the transmission line termination to remove the dc component of the switching voltage. The capacitor is of course transparent at very high frequencies and therefore does not inhibit performance at such frequencies. At low frequencies the capacitor limits the charge passed by the travelling-wave electrode, limiting the power dissipation in both switching states and hence limiting temperature fluctuations. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that, in practice, the full bandwidth of the device will not be available, the device typically being unusable at switching frequencies in the range 1 MHz to 200 MHz. As a result the device user has to choose to operate the device from dc to a few MHz or from a few hundred MHz to 4 GHz.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a biasing arrangement which largely avoids the previously mentioned problems and disadvantages.


The present invention relates to a system for distributing and purchasing contents data by way of wired and wireless communication, said system comprises an accumulating section (33 ) for accumulating a plurality of contents data, an input operation section (23 ) to be used for selecting contents data from those accumulated in the accumulating section (3), a memory section (21) for storing the contents data selected by way of the input operation section (23), a purchase history memory section (33) for storing the package media purchase history of each user in the actual world and a control section (39) for controlling a recording according to the purchase history stored in the purchase history memory section (33). With this arrangement, the purchase history of package media is controlled by the purchase history memory section (33). Then, it is possible to provide a special discount service or the like to users/customers who have purchased package media by using the purchase history stored in the purchase history memory section (33) when the user/customer records or reproduces contents data.

Conventionally, contents data such as audio data, image data, video data and computer programs are generally delivered in the form of package media that are independent recording media such as optical discs containing the data. Contents data are also electronically delivered by way of telecommunication networks such as Internet on a pay per delivery basis.
Contents data are delivered more advantageously by electronic delivery means than by package media because the former does not involve any transfer of package media that are physical objects and contents data can be directly transferred from a computer to another computer. Thus, electronic delivery means is highly effective for broad distribution of contents data. On the other band, people have the desire of possessing objects and hence may not be able to satisfy the desire unless they posses the package media they want.

Data recording apparatus and method, and data reproducing and method


A billboard advertising system is disclosed. The billboard advertising system includes an overhead sign structure at least partially traversing a roadway, said overhead sign structure having forward and rearward faces relative to oncoming vehicle traffic of the roadway. The forward face of the overhead sign structure has traffic information as part of a government regulated traffic information system directed in a primary orientation toward the oncoming vehicle traffic. The rearward face of the overhead sign structure on an opposing side from the forward face has a secondary orientation with respect to other traffic flow different from the oncoming vehicle traffic. A billboard advertisement is positioned on the rearward face of the overhead sign structure with visual exposure to the other traffic flow.

At the heart of the free enterprise system is the basic activity of marketing. Many potentially viable products that have significant value have failed to reach the marketplace simply because of ineffective or inadequate marketing. Without knowledge of the product, the consumer has no incentive or means to give consideration to purchasing a product. Marketing provides the system for educating the consumer both as to the need and the corresponding product solution.
One marketing approach that is as old as commerce itself is the process of placing advertisements on signs that are positioned along thoroughfares of traffic. Such signs are typically classified by their intended audience, which is usually a function of audience size. For example, signs along walkways are usually small in size because the audience consists of individual persons passing at a rather slow pace. These include signs in store windows along sidewalks and city streets, where both pedestrians and passengers in automobiles are able to glance at the sign and capture a basic message. Such signs depend upon a slow rate of speed to enable the audience to linger on its content for sufficient time to read and understand the advertisement. Effective locations of such signs are generally limited to concentrated areas of population within cities where the audience is primarily pedestrian traffic or in slow-moving vehicles.
An interesting variation of such small-sign advertising is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,352, by L. L. White. This patent discusses placing small signs at intersections on the back of stop signs, enabling the use of the stop sign as a support device for the advertisement. This is consistent with small-sign advertising because the sign locations are within cities where traffic speeds are slow. Furthermore, vehicle traffic is accustomed to slowing down at intersections, particularly where stop signs are present. Accordingly, small-sign advertising may be effective at these locations.
A different category of marketing is the large-sign advertisement, typically referred to as billboard advertising. Billboards are designed for use along high-speed roadways and other areas where the audience size may be classified as large, enabling a mass marketing approach. In these situations, marketing strategies are quite different from the small-sign environment because the message must be very concise and focused, otherwise the vehicle occupant is gone before there is opportunity to grasp the purpose of the ad. Graphic content of the billboard must be very large to be visible, and configured to attract attention in the blink of an eye. Accordingly, both the logistics and content of billboard advertising require a different mentality in design, construction and use, as compared to other marketing techniques.
Because of the large spatial requirements of billboards, significant controversy has developed because of adverse environmental impact. Some communities oppose billboards, desiring to preserve the aesthetic appeal of the natural environment surrounding the roadways. Many businesses, however, rely on billboard advertising to access consumers as part of their marketing program. Obviously, each side of this debate has strong points that deserve consideration. It is apparent that excessive use of billboards blocks the visual access of the public to natural surroundings, frequently limiting the enjoyment of trees, gardens, and other natural highlights. It is also recognized that such advertising stimulates sales, leading to more jobs and a healthy economy—an interest clearly important to the public welfare. As a consequence, the use of billboards is typically regulated by federal and local government through zoning requirements that attempt to balance the validity of each side of the issue.
It is apparent that there has been a long-existing need for alternative marketing methods to accommodate the valuable commercial resource of highway advertising, while at the same time protecting the aesthetic beauty of natural resources.

Overhead highway billboard and marketing method


A new detachable shoe strap system for providing an assortment of easily interchangeable styles of footwear in a single system. The inventive device includes a sole member having upper and lower surfaces, and a perimeter side wall extending around the perimeter of the sole member between the upper and lower surfaces of the sole member. A heel is detachably coupled to the lower surface of the sole member and is located towards the heel end of the sole member. The system includes a plurality of flexible straps. Each strap has a pair of opposing ends. Each end of each strap is detachably couplable to the perimeter side wall of the sole member the such that the inner surfaces of the straps face the sole member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shoe devices and more particularly pertains to a new detachable shoe strap system for providing an assortment of easily interchangeable styles of footwear in a single system.
1. Description of the Prior Art
The use of shoe devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, shoe devices 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 shoe devices include U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,080; U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,935; U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,531; U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,102; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 270,680; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,385.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new detachable shoe strap system. The inventive device includes a sole member having upper and lower surfaces, and a perimeter side wall extending around the perimeter of the sole member between the upper and lower surfaces of the sole member. A heel is detachably coupled to the lower surface of the sole member and is located towards the heel end of the sole member. The system includes a plurality of flexible straps. Each strap has a pair of opposing ends. Each end of each strap is detachably couplable to the perimeter side wall of the sole member the such that the inner surfaces of the straps face the sole member.
In these respects, the detachable shoe strap system 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 providing an assortment of easily interchangeable styles of footwear in a single system.


A touch display panel, a fingerprint recognition device and a display device are provided. The touch display panel includes: a waveguide plate (001) and a first substrate (003), a liquid crystal layer (004) and an electrode structure (005) between the waveguide plate (001) and the first substrate (003); a reflective layer (006) at a first side of the first substrate (003) facing toward the liquid crystal layer (004), and photosensitive units (007) at the first side, or at a second side of the waveguide plate (001) facing toward the liquid crystal layer (004), the electrode structure (005) controls a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer (004), to allow light to be emitted out from a first surface (001A) of the waveguide plate (001) closer to the liquid crystal layer (004), or allow light to be totally reflected inside the waveguide plate (001), thereby achieving an optical-type touch recognition.

With rapid development of display technologies, touch display panels are gradually and widely spread throughout people's lives. At present, main ways to detect finger touch locations are, for example, optical type, capacitive type and ultrasonic imaging type touch recognition technologies. Optical touch recognition technologies have advantages of relatively large recognition range and relatively low cost, and therefore, optical touch recognition technologies are favored by major panel manufacturers.

Touch display panel, fingerprint recognition device, and display device


An illustrative system includes a network device, of a wireless network, configured to determine location information associated with a user equipment (UE) connected to the wireless network, encode the location information in a resource assignment signal configured to assign a resource of the wireless network for use by the UE, and transmit the resource assignment signal including the encoded location information to the UE. The UE may be configured to receive the transmitted resource assignment signal including the encoded location information, decode the encoded location information, and use the location information for one or more operations of the UE, such as to determine a geographic location of the UE.

Wireless communication networks, such as 4G (fourth generation) and 5G (fifth generation) networks, allow user equipment (UE) to wirelessly connect to the networks and access information, services, applications, etc. provided over the networks. It is desirable to improve the technologies used to implement the wireless communication networks, as well as the information, services, applications, etc. provided over the networks.

Location information for user equipment connected to a wireless network


A method of supporting a switch from a limited operations low power operating mode of a mobile station (50) to a normal operating mode of the mobile station (50) in a wireless network (40). The method comprising the step of causing the mobile station (50) to inform the network (40) that it is entering into a low power operating mode. The method further comprises. the steps of causing the mobile station (50) to enter the low power operating mode, and causing the network (40) to acknowledge that the mobile station (50) is in the low power operating mode. Calls is made to a number associated with the low power operating mode are terminated by causing the mobile station (50) to switch to the normal operating mode.

The invention relates generally to wireless communications and applications, and specifically to a method and system of supporting a switch from a low power to a normal operating mode of a mobile station utilizing the resources of a standard wireless network. More particularly, the present invention utilizes a number within a dual numbering scheme to transmit an A-interface message that causes a mobile station to power up from a limited operations low power mode to a normal operating mode of the mobile station.
A wireless network supports roaming within a network coverage area by wireless service subscribers utilizing mobile stations (also known as mobile telephones) which provide subscriber access to the network. In general, the mobile station continuously utilizes battery power, with more drain during a call, and less drain when the mobile station unit is powered ON but not actively dedicated to a call. While batteries have become smaller and more efficient through the years, a major limitation of mobile station is their useful battery life which limits their use for extended periods of time.
At the same time, mobile stations are specially well suited for use during emergency situations since they are portable and can operate from anywhere within the network coverage area. Thus, from the perspective of the subscriber, her or she can just simply power ON the mobile station and make an outgoing call to request assistance. On the other hand, an individual may not be able to reach the subscriber if their mobile station is powered OFF.
Thus, the need to preserve battery life for outgoing calls originated by the subscriber limits their use for incoming calls during times of emergency. While voice mail systems are available and used to advise incoming callers that a subscriber is either out of range or can otherwise not be reached, they do not provide the subscriber with notice of incoming calls until accessed by the subscriber. Thus, with voice mail systems there is no guarantee that a family member or close friend would reach the subscriber during times of emergency. As such, present wireless systems do not provide a means of reaching a subscriber who has powered down his or her mobile station.
Prior wireless paging systems are known and disclosed in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,337 to Silver (the ""337 Patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,701 (the ""701 Patent) to Yamaha discuss subject matter that bears some relation to matters discussed herein. Both prior art patents disclose mobile station and/or pager systems where a paging network is used to signal pager (or beeper) type device which can be built into the mobile station handset. These prior art paging systems, however, are not suited for use over the facilities of standard wireless communications networks such as a Global System for Mobile (GSM) using standard mobile station units. Nor are they well suited for reaching a subscriber who has turned OFF or powered down their mobile station. As such, the prior art wireless paging systems do not permit paging of a mobile station over the facilities of the GSM network or other standard wireless communication network.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method of utilizing the a mobile station during times of emergency that allows the subscriber to power OFF the mobile station to conserve battery life.
The present invention provides a method and telecommunications system of supporting a Power on Page (xe2x80x9cPOPxe2x80x9d) function for a mobile station in a standard wireless network such as GSM or PCS. With the present invention, a mobile station can be switched from a limited operations low power mode to a normal operating mode for accepting incoming calls. As such, the present invention makes it possible to reach a subscriber who has xe2x80x9calmost powered offxe2x80x9d his/her mobile station (also referred to as a mobile phone, handset or telephone) by transmitting a message to the mobile station that causes the mobile station to power ON fully to receive an incoming call. Preferably, a dual numbering scheme is utilized to assign a number associated with the low power operating mode of the mobile station. Calls placed to the number are detected by the network which, in turn, transmits a POWER-UP message to the mobile station.
As such, disclosed in one embodiment is a method of supporting a switch from a limited operations low power mode to a normal operating mode of a mobile station in a wireless network. The method comprises the steps of causing the mobile station to inform the network that it is entering into the low power mode and then causing the mobile station to enter the low power mode. The network is informed that the mobile station is entering the low power mode and an acknowledgment message can then be sent to the mobile station.
The method can also comprise the step of causing the network to ascertain that the mobile station is in the low power mode. When a call is made to a number associated with the low power mode, a command is sent to the mobile station requesting that it switch to normal operating mode. The mobile station receives the command and begins a power-up operation to normal operating mode. The method can also include the step of sending a successful POWER ON RESPONSE message to the network indicating that it is in its normal operating mode.
Also disclosed is a method of supporting a switch from a limited operations low power mode to a normal operating mode of an mobile station in a wireless network including at least one mobile station and one mobile switching center (MSC). The MSC is configured to communicate with the mobile station using an A-interface message. First and second MSISDNs (Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network) numbers can be used to switch the mobile station from a limited operations low power mode to a normal operating mode. At least one of the MSISDN numbers is associated with the limited operations low power mode so that a call placed to that MSISDN number initiates a mode switch of the mobile station. The method comprises the steps of causing the mobile station to inform the network that it is entering the limited operations low power mode and then causing the mobile station to enter a the limited operations low power mode.
In the limited operations low power mode, instead of powering OFF the mobile station, the subscriber places it in a mode that utilizes less power but maintains some critical communication functions. Thus, the mobile station will appear as if it is powered OFF, but it will not disconnect from the network. Instead, the mobile station will send a special new message to inform the network that it is going into this limited operations low power mode where the mobile station appears to be dormant to the subscriber. From then on, the mobile station will use just enough battery power to enable it to continuously listen for messages from the network and to update its location.
The network can send an acknowledgment to the mobile station by way of a new A-interface message. Positioning of the mobile station is performed periodically while in the limited operations low power mode but the mobile station, overall, uses less battery power to update its location. The network, in turn, sends a LOCATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGMENT message to the mobile station and all other functionality provided by the mobile station (incoming calls, short message service, display, signal strength determination, etc.) will be suppressed as though the mobile station is powered OFF.
The method can further comprise the step of detecting when a call is made to an MSISDN number associated with the normal operating mode of the mobile station. When a caller attempts to contact a subscriber who has put his mobile station in the limited operations low power mode, the network will ascertain that the mobile station is in this mode. the network can divert incoming calls placed to the subscriber""s first MSISDN number to the subscriber""s voice mail or, if the subscriber does not have voice mail, the network will return a message to the caller that the subscriber cannot currently be reached.
If a caller dials the second MSISDN number, the call is detected by the network and a message is transmitted to the mobile station at its last known location. The mobile station will receive the message and power itself ON to its normal operating mode. The network will then terminate the incoming call to the mobile station utilizing typical call setup functions. In this way, the second MSISDN number can be used to reach a subscriber who has placed their mobile station in a mode that conserves power. The assumption is that the subscriber will only reveal the second MSISDN number to select individuals for use during times of emergency.
Also disclosed is a telecommunications system capable of supporting the switch of a mobile station from a limited operations low power mode to a normal operating mode. The system comprises at least one mobile station capable of operating in both a limited operations low power mode and a normal operating mode. A wireless network capable of communicating with the mobile station is provided and includes a means of detecting when a call is placed within the wireless network to the mobile station and a means of storing at least two numbers for contacting a subscriber of the mobile station. One of the two numbers is associated with the limited operations low power mode, while the other number is associated with the normal operating mode of the mobile station. The wireless network is configured to detect when a call is placed to the number associated with the limited operations low power mode and then send a message to the mobile station that would cause the mobile station to switch from the limited operations low power mode to the normal operating mode.
A technical advantage of the present invention is the utilization of existing wireless network resources and facilities to provide a POP feature for mobile stations capable of operating in a limited operations low power mode as herein described.
Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the mobile station maintains basic critical functions, such as positioning while at the same time conserving battery life.
Still another technical advantage includes the use of dual numbering plans, such as those provided in GSM networks, to provide a POP feature for mobile stations.

Method and system for switching a mobile station from a low power limited operations mode to a normal operating mode


Embodiments described include methods for maintaining the pH and alkalinity during industrial fermentation processes are described that foster optimal microorganism activities throughout the duration of the fermentation process. Magnesium based buffering agents having sufficient buffering capacity and applied at sufficient concentration levels required to neutralize the acidic content of fermentation fluids during the fermentation process cycle are detailed. These magnesium based buffering agents control fermenter processes without causing extreme pH swings to maximize the production of desired fermentation products.

Academic literature has taught that by controlling the pH of fermentations at or near the optimum pH for the primary fermentation microorganism, the concentration of the desired fermentation product is enhanced. For instance, by fixing the pH of a corn mash fermentation at 5.0-5.5, which is optimum for yeast, the yield of ethanol is enhanced. Use of strong alkalis, such as NaOH or KOH, can result in pH swings high or low that can cause a significant reduction in fermentation performance.
The fermentation process for converting an organic substrate into simpler organic chemicals, such as the conversion of glucose in corn mash into ethanol and carbon dioxide, is accomplished through microbiological activity. Microorganisms perform the functions of fermentation optimally under a narrow window of temperature, pH, and nutrient conditions. There are many types of industrial fermentation processes, such as fuel ethanol production, sewage digestion, the making of bread, beer, wine, and cheese, and pharmaceutical applications to produce important chemicals, such as vancomycin, paclitaxel, insulin lispro. Each industrial fermentation requires different conditions for optimum yield of desired products.
When a particular microorganism is introduced into a selected growth medium, growth in the population of the microorganism does not occur immediately. This period of adaptation is called the lag phase. The lag phase is followed by the exponential growth phase, where the rate of growth of the microorganism steadily increases. Toward the end of the exponential growth phase, the rate of growth slows down, due to the continuously falling concentrations of nutrients and/or continuously increasing concentrations of by-products that are toxic to the microorganism. During this deceleration phase the rate of growth is slowed and then ceases. Unless other microorganisms contaminate the culture, the biomass remains constant and the chemical constitution remains unchanged.
It is a goal of industrial fermentations to increase the exponential growth rate or to prolong the time during which the microorganisms are performing at an exponential growth rate. In so doing, the final yield of a desired fermentation product will be increased. For instance, in the fuel ethanol industry, the ability to provide a consistent measurable increase in the final percent ethanol concentration from corn mash fermentations may translate into a significant increase in the profitability of the overall process.
A current challenge in the fuel ethanol industry is the build up of contaminants that are inhibitory to the performance of the yeast. The increase in the concentration of acetic acid and lactic acid from inhibitory bacteria present in the corn mash fermentation result in a decrease in the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) growth rate, resulting in decreased ethanol production. Lactobacillus and Acetobacter are commonly occurring bacterial contaminants in ethanol fermentations that produce lactic acid and acetic acid inhibitory by-products. A study by Ingledew in 2001 (J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2001 March; 26(3): 171-7) showed that the specific growth rates of certain Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains decreased exponentially with the increase of acetic acid or lactic acid concentrations in minimal media at 30° C. Furthermore, the lag phase increase displayed in the growth curves increased exponentially with the increasing acetic acid or lactic acid concentrations. However, a very recent study by Narendranath in 2006 (J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2006 June; 33(6): 469-74) concluded the ethanol production experienced inhibitory effects attributed lactic acid and/or acetic acid concentrations in corn mash fermentation broths could be mitigated when a pH range of approximately 5.0-5.5 was attained in the corn mash. The inhibitory effects were also mitigated in other fermentation solutions, for example, laboratory media. In this study, fermentations were performed at fixed pH values of 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, and 5.5, with dramatic inhibitory effects being observed at pH 4.0 and mild inhibitory effects at pH 5.5. The method for fixing the pH of these laboratory corn mash fermentations was to adjust the pH using 8 M potassium hydroxide (KOH), a strong base, and concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4), a strong acid.
For industrial fermentation purposes, the use of a strong acid or a strong base to maintain the pH of a selected growth medium would require very stringent chemical feed control. A slight overdose of either the strong acid or strong alkali into a fermenter could result in a significant departure from the desired pH range for microorganism activity, which would decrease the yield of the desired fermentation product. A significant overdose of a strong acid or base into a fermenter could cause a complete stoppage of the fermentation process altogether.

Methods and compositions for optimizing fermentation


A safety socket for avoiding danger of shock due to insertion of alien article into the insertion hole. The socket is disposed with three spaced partitioning boards defining three apartments. The partitioning boards are arranged according to the direction of the arrangement of the insertion holes of the socket. Three wedge-shaped insulative slide boards are disposed on the partitioning boards, which are left and right slidable within the apartments. Three short leaf springs and three sets of leaf spring seats are respectively disposed in the apartments. A leaf spring extends from each leaf spring seat to contact with a corresponding short leaf spring. The slide board is restricted to resiliently reciprocally slide within a slot formed on the leaf spring seat. By means of the leaf spring, when the plug is not inserted into the socket, the short leaf spring or the leaf spring always pushes the slide board in a direction reverse to the corresponding leaf spring, whereby the leaf spring is normally in an open state. Reversely, when the plug is inserted into the socket, each two corresponding leaf springs contact with each other into a powered on state. When an alien article is inserted into one insertion hole, the alien article will push the slide board on one side to move, whereby the insertion hole on the other side is powered on, while the insertion hole on the insertion side is not powered on so as to avoid danger of shock.

The present invention relates to a safety socket for avoiding danger of shock due to insertion of alien article into the insertion hole.
A domestic socket is mounted on a wall for a plug to insert therein to (including 220 V three hole type socket and 110 V two hole type socket). The internal structure of the socket includes two adjacent conductive leaf springs disposed in each insertion hole. The insertion plate of the plug is inserted into the space between the leaf springs to achieve electric connection. According to such arrangement, in case a conductive alien article such as an iron wire or an iron plate is inserted into any of the insertion holes by an innocent person such as a child, the person may be shocked and injured. Therefore, the conventional socket lacks any safety design for avoiding the danger of shock.

3F.,No.2,Alley 2,Lane 252,Sec. 4,Shin Hay Rd.


Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a portable container for storing, organizing, and transporting bottles. The portable container being a case having an outer shell made of two openable halves having an interior and a back wall; a rear retainer attached to the back wall and running along the width of the interior, the rear retainer including a plurality of rounded grooves, each configured to accommodate a bottle; and a sliding bracket positioned within each interior, the sliding bracket being attached to the respective half but spaced away from the back wall, the sliding bracket having a plurality of rounded grooves, each configured to accommodate the bottle, such that when the sliding bracket is in a closed configuration, each bottle is sandwiched between the rear retainer and the sliding bracket.

The embodiments herein relate generally to storage devices, and more particularly, to a portable spice storage case.
For those who enjoy cooking while traveling or camping or for backyard barbeque masters, a large selection of spices that are well organized, easily accessible, and easily transported in a secure container is desired. However, currently there are no portable spice container systems that adequately meet these needs.
Therefore, what is needed is a portable storage case for spices, wherein the case prevents the spices from spilling while simultaneously ensuring that the containers the spices are stored in do not break.


A discharge device with a metered dose valve is proposed. The metered dose valve comprises an inlet valve, a metering chamber and an outlet valve. In order to allow discharge of fluid from the metering chamber in multiple steps, a user can depress and release an actuation member multiple times in a selected discharge state wherein refill of the metering chamber with new liquid is prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a discharge apparatus with a metered dose valve for metered discharge of a pressurized liquid, wherein the metered dose valve has a valve element and a metering chamber with an associated inlet valve and an associated outlet valve, wherein the outlet valve is closed and the inlet valve is open in a first position of the valve element so that the liquid can fill the metering chamber with a metered dose, and wherein the outlet valve is open and the inlet valve is closed in a second position of the valve element so that the liquid is discharged from the metering chamber to the atmosphere
2. Description of Related Art
In particular, the present invention deals with a discharge device with a metered dose valve for use with pressurized aerosol packs, containers or the like, where a liquid product is pressurized by a liquefied or compressed gas or a solid product is suspended in a liquefied gas but is not limited to such packs.
Many pressurized aerosol packs contain a metered dose valve that accurately measures a single dose of the product within the pressurized reservoir. Such valves are used in many applications including, for example, for delivering accurate amounts of a drug to a patient or animal. Generally, the metered dose valve dispenses the total dose when it is opened with the user having no control over how much of the metered dose is delivered. In most cases, this is an important aspect of the valve as, for instance, in the case of medical inhalers, it is important that the patient receives no less or no more than the appropriate metered dose. Generally, such metered dose valves are operated by depressing an actuator, with finger pressure with the movement stopping only when the open position is reached. The metered dose valve is generally spring loaded so that it returns to the closed position when finger pressure is released. The majority of such metered dose valves contain an inlet valve and an outlet valve, usually with cut gaskets. The inlet valve connects the canister liquid reservoir with the liquid to a metering chamber while the outlet valve connects the metering chamber to the atmosphere.
When such valves are actuated by the user, the user is only aware of two positions; closed and open or first and second. In the first position, the inlet valve is open and the outlet valve is closed. In the second position, the inlet valve is closed and the outlet valve is open. When, in the first position, the metering chamber is maintained full of liquid and sealed from the atmosphere, and when in the second position the content of the metering chamber is allowed to flow into the atmosphere while the metering chamber is sealed from the liquid pressurized canister or reservoir.
On the way from the first position to the second position and vice versa, an intermediate position is passed, but the user has no knowledge of this. What the user is unaware of is that there is the intermediate position where both the inlet valve and the outlet valve are closed. This is because to accurately meter the product, i.e., the liquid, the inlet valve must be closed before the outlet valve is opened.

Discharge device with a metered dose valve


A diagnostic reagent for use in the evaluation of a pharmacological effect of a medicine containing a pharmaceutical agent including an enzyme, an enzyme inhibitor or a receptor ligand or a prodrug of the pharmaceutical agent is provided. Further, a method of screening pharmaceutical agents each comprising an enzyme, an enzyme inhibitor or a receptor ligand and/or prodrugs of the pharmaceutical agents is provided.

The pharmacological effect of a medicine has been determined based on the change in clinical conditions (improvement or occurrence of a side effect).
The determination based on clinical conditions is possible only after a medicine is administered for a certain period of time.
Blood level monitoring has also been utilized in which the pharmacological effect of a medicine is evaluated indirectly by determining whether the blood level of a pharmaceutical agent derived from the medicine falls within the therapeutic range or the safe range that is obtained empirically. However, this method only takes effect on the precondition that there is a good correlation between the pharmacological effect and the blood level to some extent and that the therapeutic range or the safe range is clearly defined ("Hyojun-yakurigaku" (Standard Textbook of Pharmacology) 5th edition, edited by Akio Ebihara (1997) p.31), and moreover the method is merely indirect as the method for evaluating a pharmacological effect.
An object of the present invention is to evaluate the pharmacological effect of a medicine by providing a diagnostic reagent for determining accurately within a short time the degree of enhancement or inhibition of the function of a target (e.g., a bioenzyme or receptor) for the medicine upon the administration of the medicine.
In the screening of therapeutic compounds, a compound having as higher a therapeutic effect and as smaller side effect as possible is selected. Most of medicines exert the pharmacological effects by inhibiting or enhancing the function of their targets (e.g., bioenzymes or receptors). Accordingly, the pharmacological effect of a medicine can be evaluated by determining the degree of inhibition or enhancement of the function of a target for the medicine.
At present, the degree of inhibition or enhancement of the function of a target is evaluated in vitro. In recent years, an in vitro assay system called "HTS" (high throughput screening) which enables the processing of a large number of samples has been most common. This method uses a high density plate such as a 96-well, 384-well or 1536-well plate, utilizes techniques such as automation to great advantage, and can evaluate the pharmacological effect on a large number of samples up to hundreds of thousands at a high rate.
However, a result given in an in vitro evaluation does not always agree with a result given when a medicine is administered to an individual.
The only way to know the result of administering a medicine to an individual is to observe the change in clinical conditions (improvement or occurrence of a side effect) in the individual.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and a reagent for screening pharmaceutical agents and/or prodrugs thereof for one or ones having high medicative efficacy and/or a small side effect by evaluating the degree of inhibition of a target in a whole body and in real time which is impracticable by any prior art technique.

Method of evaluating pharmacological effects of medicine


A radiation-sensitive mixture which contains a polymeric binder having acid-labile side groups and a compound which generates a strong acid on irradiation wherein the binder is a polymer built up from novel amides of .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acids, is highly sensitive in the shortwave uv region and useful in the production of recording material.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a radiation-sensitive mixture which contains a polymeric binder having acid-labile side groups and a compound which generates a strong acid on irradiation.
In addition, the invention relates to .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carboxamides with which the polymers used as binders can be prepared and to the polymers so prepared.
2. Description of the Related Art
A frequently used positive-working radiation-sensitive mixture for producing radiation-sensitive recording materials contains an o-quinonediazide derivative and a binder which is soluble in aqueous-alkaline solvents, for example a novolak or a polyhydroxystyrene binder. However, the sensitivity of these systems to radiation, in particular shortwave radiation, is sometimes unsatisfactory. Due to their high intrinsic absorption, novolaks are unsuitable as binders in an insert resist material for deep UV lithography (220-330 nm). By contrast, polyhydroxystyrenes have more favorable absorption properties and are additionally distinguished by a better heat holdout. However, polymers of this type are accessible only by involved multi-stage syntheses. The lithographic properties of polymers composed of unsubstituted hydroxystyrene are unsatisfactory because of their unbalanced hydrophilic/hydrophobic character both in 3-component systems and in 2-component systems. There is therefore a need for binders for highly resolving, highly sensitive resist materials which have good transparency even in the UV-2 region and a high heat holdout, and which can be developed under aqueous-alkaline conditions.
Mixtures which exploit the principle of the so-called "chemical intensification" i.e. which contain, in addition to an acid-cleavable compound, a compound which releases a catalytically acting acid under the action of radiation, generally show a higher radiation sensitivity. Examples of the acid-generating compounds are diazonium, phosphonium, sulfonium and iodonium salts, nitrobenzyl esters, phenolic methanesulfonates, diazo compounds and halogen compounds. The use of onium salts as photochemical acid generators in resist materials is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,628. A review of the use of onium salts in resist materials is given by Crivello in Org. Coatings and Appl. Polym. Sci., 48, pages 65-69 (1985).
Radiation-sensitive mixtures of polymers with acid-labile side groups and photochemical acid generators are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,628 and FR-A 2,570,844. However, only polymers of para-substituted styrene or .alpha.-alkylstyrene are completely disclosed in these two publications. Only tert.-butoxycarbonyloxy groups and trialkylsilanyloxy groups are listed as acid-labile para-substituents. The polymeric binders with the acid-labile side groups are extremely hydrophohic. The acid generated on exposure effects elimination of the acid-labile protective groups and thus causes the polymeric binders to become soluble in alkali.
Copolymers having acid-labile groups bound via a phenolic oxygen atom, for example copolymers of p-hydroxystyrene and p-(tert.-butoxycarbonyloxy)styrene, are known from J. Poly. Sci., Part A, Polym. Chem. Ed., 24:2971-2980 (1986).
The polymers described in German Patent Application P 4,120,172.8 show a marked improvement of the transparency properties in the desired wavelength region. It is achieved, however, only by introducing a high proportion of acid-labile protective groups, whereby the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance is, adversely affected. Moreover, there are as a rule adhesion problems in systems which contain highly hydrophobic binders.

Radiation-sensitive mixture with a polymeric binder containing units of .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carboxamides


An apparatus and method for measuring an SIR in a CDMA mobile communication system. The SIRs and power of PICHs and the power of PDCHs are measured sequentially for a plurality of active set base stations. An active set base station having the highest signal strength is selected according to the measurements. Thus a data rate is determined adaptively to the SIR for efficient high rate packet data transmission.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mobile communication system, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for measuring a received signal to interference ratio (SIR) for efficient, high-speed packet data transmission in a mobile communication system supporting a multimedia service including voice and data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical 3rd generation digital communication systems, particularly CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) mobile communication systems, including IS-2000 and W-CDMA, support integrated transmission of voice, circuit data, and low rate packet data (e.g., packet data at or below 144 kbps). Along with the increasing demands for high rate packet data transmission like Internet browsing, mobile communication technology has been developed to support high rate packet data service. CDMA 2000 1×EV-DO (Evolution-Data Only) emerged to support a packet data service at a high rate, for example, at or above 2 Mbps. However, this system does not support a voice service. Therefore, there is a pressing need for a mobile communication system supporting the existing voice service and a high rate packet data service simultaneously.
One technique that satisfies the above demand and ensures efficient, high rate packet data transmission is AMC (Adaptive Modulation and Coding). In AMC, the fading of a radio channel is continuously monitored and data is transmitted at a data rate that ensures an error rate equal to or less than a threshold. An SIR measured in a mobile station is essential to measuring the radio channel status.
In general, a CDMA receiver is provided with a plurality of demodulation fingers to simultaneously demodulate signal components from multiple reflection paths, which are usually observed in a radio channel. Consequently, an SIR measurer is required for each demodulation finger. At a hard handoff from a radio channel to another radio channel, the mobile station must measure the SIRs of signals from base stations to which the hard handoff may occur (the base stations are managed as an active set) and thus have as many SIR measurers as the number of base stations.
Such an SIR measurer includes an F-PICH (Forward Pilot Channel) power measurer, an F-PDCH (Forward Packet Data Channel) power measurer, and a noise or interference power measurer.
The use of these complex SIR measurers is contradictory to the trend of terminal miniaturization and increases manufacture cost. Nevertheless, the SIR measuring technology is requisite for high rate packet transmission.
A mobile station utilizing AMC for efficient high rate packet transmission must measure the SIRs and packet channel power of base stations in its active set for a short time period, especially when power and orthogonal code resources assigned to packet data service users vary with the number of voice service users. Since a device for measuring the SIRs and packet power of signals from multiple reflection paths for all base stations is very complex, there is a pressing need for an accurate and less complex SIR measuring apparatus.

Apparatus and method for measuring a received signal to interference ratio in a mobile communication system


Combined apparatus for heating a fluid and for producing electrical power is comprised of a burner operable to burn a combustible fuel-air mixture to produce gaseous products of combustion; a heat exchanger adapted to receive the products of combustion and to transfer heat therefrom to the fluid; a gas-operated turbine; and an electrical generator that is co-rotatable with the turbine. In operation, gaseous products of combustion are introduced into the turbine after they have passed through at least a portion of the heat exchanger. The products of combustion expand in the turbine to rotate the turbine, which in turn rotates the generator to produce electrical power. The apparatus further includes a compressor that is co-rotatable with the turbine and generator to provide combustion air to the burner and to circulate the products of combustion through the heat exchanger and turbine.

Apparatus for heating fluids, such as air supplied to an indoor space or water for domestic use, are well known in the art. Combined apparatus for simultaneously heating fluid and producing electrical power are also known in the art. Such combined apparatus operate on the principle of converting at least some of the heat energy to mechanical energy to operate an electrical generator. Such apparatus typically include a gas turbine and an electrical generator that is mechanically linked to the turbine. Gaseous products of combustion are used to operate the turbine, which in turn operates the generator to produce electricity. Examples of such combined apparatus are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,148,670 and 6,663,011.
In prior art combustion turbines, operating on a Brayton cycle, air in excess of what is needed for combustion is introduced into the system in order to cool the products of combustion entering the turbine. Typically, this dilution air is about three times what is needed for combustion. However, in residential applications, the air intake and discharge flue are not large enough to accommodate such large amounts of excess air, so that the use of a turbogenerator to convert heat to electrical power is not practical for residential applications using prior art systems.

Combined apparatus for fluid heating and electrical power generation


Method and recharging mechanism for resetting a pressure in a low pressure recipient. The recharging mechanism includes a low pressure recipient configured to have first and second chambers, the first chamber being configured to receive a hydraulic liquid at a high pressure and the second chamber being configured to include a gas at a low pressure. The recharging mechanism further includes a valve fluidly connected to a first port of the first chamber; a pumping device fluidly connected to a second port of the first chamber; and a blowout preventer (BOP) section fluidly connected to the valve and configured to close or open a ram block. The pumping device is configured to evacuate the hydraulic fluid from the first chamber of the low pressure recipient when the valve closes a fluid communication between the first port of the first chamber and the BOP section.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to methods and devices and, more particularly, to mechanisms and techniques for recharging a device that generates a subsea force.
2. Discussion of the Background
During the past years, with the increase in price of fossil fuels, the interest in developing new production fields has dramatically increased. However, the availability of land-based production fields is limited. Thus, the industry has now extended drilling to offshore locations, which appear to hold a vast amount of fossil fuel.
The existing technologies for extracting the fossil fuel from offshore fields may use a system 10 as shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, the system 10 may include a vessel 12 having a reel 14 that supplies power/communication cords 16 to a controller 18. A Mux Reel may be used to transmit power and communication. Some systems have hose reels to transmit fluid under pressure or hard pipe (rigid conduit) to transmit the fluid under pressure or both. Other systems may have a hose with communication or lines (pilot) to supply and operate functions subsea. However, a common feature of these systems is their limited operation depth. The controller 18 is disposed undersea, close to or on the seabed 20. In this respect, it is noted that the elements shown in FIG. 1 are not drawn to scale and no dimensions should be inferred from FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 also shows a wellhead 22 of the subsea well 23 and a drill line 24 that enters the subsea well 23. At the end of the drill line 24 there is a drill (not shown). Various mechanisms, also not shown, are employed to rotate the drill line 24, and implicitly the drill, to extend the subsea well.
However, during normal drilling operation, unexpected events may occur that could damage the well and/or the equipment used for drilling. One such event is the uncontrolled flow of gas, oil or other well fluids from an underground formation into the well. Such event is sometimes referred to as a "kick" or a "blowout" and may occur when formation pressure exceeds the pressure of the column of drilling fluid. This event is unforeseeable and if no measures are taken to prevent it, the well and/or the associated equipment may be damaged.
Thus, a pressure controlling device, for example, a blowout preventer (BOP), might be installed on top of the well to seal the well in case that the integrity of the well is affected. The BOP is conventionally implemented as a valve to prevent the release of pressure either in the annular space between the casing and the drill pipe or in the open hole (i.e., hole with no drill pipe) during drilling or completion operations. FIG. 1 shows BOPs 26 or 28 that are controlled by the controller 18, commonly known as a POD. The controller 18 controls an accumulator 30 to close or open BOPs 26 and 28. More specifically, the controller 18 controls a system of valves (not shown) for opening and closing the BOPs. Hydraulic fluid, which is used to open and close the valves, is commonly pressurized by equipment on the surface. The pressurized fluid is stored in accumulators on the surface and subsea to operate the BOPs. The fluid stored subsea in accumulators may also be used to shear and/or to support acoustic functions when the control of the well is lost. The accumulator 30 may include containers (canisters) that store the hydraulic fluid under pressure and provide the necessary pressure to open and close the BOPs. The pressure from the accumulator 30 is carried by pipe 32 to BOPs 26 and 28.
As understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, in deep-sea drilling, in order to overcome the high hydrostatic pressures generated by the seawater at the depth of operation of the BOPs, the accumulator 30 has to be initially charged to a pressure above the ambient subsea pressure. Typical accumulators are charged with nitrogen but as precharge pressures increase, the efficiency of nitrogen decreases which adds additional cost and weight because more accumulators are required subsea to perform the same operation on the surface. For example, a 60-liter (L) accumulator on the surface may have a useable volume of 24 L on the surface but at 3000 m of water depth the usable volume is less than 4 L. To provide that additional pressure deep undersea is expensive, the equipment for providing the high pressure is bulky, as the size of the canisters that are part of the accumulator 30 is large, and the range of operation of the BOPs is limited by the initial pressure difference between the charge pressure and the hydrostatic pressure at the depth of operation.
In this regard, FIG. 2 shows the accumulator 30 connected via valve 34 to a cylinder 36. The cylinder 36 may include a piston (not shown) that moves when a first pressure on one side of the piston is higher than a second pressure on the other side of the piston. The first pressure may be the hydrostatic pressure plus the pressure released by the accumulator 30 while the second pressure may be the hydrostatic pressure. Therefore, the use of pressured canisters to store high-pressure fluids to operate a BOP make the operation of the offshore rig expensive and require the manipulation of large parts.
As discussed above with regard to FIG. 2, the accumulator 30 is bulky because of the low efficiency of nitrogen at high pressures. As the offshore fields are located deeper and deeper (in the sense that the distance from the sea surface to the seabed is becoming larger and larger), the nitrogen based accumulators become less efficient given the fact that the difference between the initial charge pressure to the local hydrostatic pressure decreases for a given initial charge, thus, requiring the size of the accumulators to increase (it is necessary to use 16 320-L bottles or more depending on the required shear pressure and water depth), and increasing the price to deploy and maintain the accumulators.
As disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/338,652, filed on Dec. 18, 2008, entitled "Subsea Force Generating Device and Method" to R. Gustafson, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein, a novel arrangement, as shown in FIG. 3, may be used to generate the force F. FIG. 3 shows an enclosure 36 that includes a piston 38 capable of moving inside the enclosure 36. The piston 38 divides the enclosure 36 into a chamber 40, defined by the cylinder 36 and the piston 38. Chamber 40 is called the closing chamber. Enclosure 36 also includes an opening chamber 42 as shown in FIG. 3. The enclosure 36 may be formed in a BOP and the opening chamber 42 and the closing chamber 40 actuate the ram block (not shown) connected to rod 44.
The pressure in both chambers 40 and 42 may be the same, i.e., the sea pressure (ambient pressure). The ambient pressure in both chambers 40 and 42 may be achieved by allowing the sea water to freely enter these chambers via corresponding valves (not shown). Thus, as there is no pressure difference on either side of the piston 38, the piston 38 is at rest and no force F is generated.
When a force is necessary to be supplied for activating a piece of equipment, the rod 44 associated with the piston 38 has to be moved. This may be achieved by generating a pressure imbalance on two sides of the piston 38.
Although the arrangement shown in FIG. 3 and described in patent application Ser. No. 12/338,652, to R. Gustafson discloses how to generate the undersea force without the use of the accumulators, however, as discussed later, the accumulators still may be used to supply a supplemental pressure. FIG. 3 shows that the opening chamber 42 may be connected to a low pressure recipient 60. A valve 62 may be inserted between the opening chamber 42 and the low pressure recipient 60 to control the pressures between the opening chamber 42 and the low pressure recipient 60.
As shown in FIG. 3, when there is no need to supply the force, the pressure in both the closing and opening chambers is Pamb while the pressure inside the recipient 60 is approximately Pr=1 atm or lower to improve efficiency. When a force is required for actuation of a piece of equipment of the rig, for example, a ram block of the BOP, the seawater is prevented to enter the opening chamber 42 and valve 62 opens such that the opening chamber 42 may communicate with the low pressure recipient 60. The following pressure changes take place in the closing chamber 40, the opening chamber 42 and the low pressure recipient 60. The closing chamber 40 remains at the ambient pressure as more seawater enters via pipe 64 to the closing chamber 40 as the piston 38 starts moving from left to right in FIG. 4. The pressure in the opening chamber 42 decreases as the low pressure Pr becomes available via the valve 62, i.e., seawater from the opening chamber 42 moves to the low pressure recipient 60 to equalize the pressures between the opening chamber 42 and the low pressure recipient 60. Thus, a pressure imbalance occurs between the closing chamber 40 and the opening chamber 42 (which is now sealed from the ambient) and this pressure imbalance triggers the movement of the piston 38 to the right in FIG. 3, thus generating the force F.
One feature of the device shown in FIG. 3 is the fact that the low pressure recipient 60 has a limited functionality. More specifically, once the seawater from the opening chamber 42 was released into the low pressure recipient 60 and the opening chamber 42 was sealed from ambient, the low pressure recipient 60 cannot again supply the low pressure unless a mechanism is implemented to empty the low pressure recipient 60 of the received sea water. In other words, the seawater that occupies the low pressure recipient 60 after valve 62 has been opened, has to be removed and the gas at the atmospheric pressure that existed in the low pressure recipient 60 prior to opening the valve 62 has to be reestablished for recharging the low pressure recipient 60.
According to an exemplary embodiment and as shown in FIG. 4, the low pressure recipient 60 may be reused by providing a reset recipient 70 connected to the low pressure recipient 60, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/338,669, filed on Dec. 18, 2008, entitled "Rechargeable Subsea Force Generating Device and Method" to R. Gustafson, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein. The reset recipient 70 and the low pressure recipient 60 may be formed integrally, i.e., in one piece. FIG. 4 shows the low pressure recipient 60 and the reset recipient 70 formed in a single reset module 72.
The low pressure recipient 60 may include a movable piston 74 that defines a low pressure gas chamber 76. This low pressure gas (or vacuum) chamber 76 is the chamber that is filled with gas (air for example) at atmospheric pressure and provides the low pressure to the opening chamber 42 of the BOP. The low pressure recipient 60 may include a port 78, which may be a hydraulic return port to the BOP.
A piston assembly 80 penetrates into the low pressure recipient 60. The piston assembly 80 is provided in the reset recipient 70. The piston assembly 80 includes a piston 82 and a first extension element 84. The piston 82 is configured to move inside the reset recipient 70 while the first extension element 84 is configured to enter the low pressure recipient 60 to apply a force to the piston 74. The piston 82 divides the reset recipient 70 into a reset opening retract chamber 86 and a reset closing extend chamber 88. The reset opening retract chamber 86 is configured to communicate via a port 90 with a pressure source (not shown). The reset closing extend chamber 88 is configured to communicate via a port 92 to the pressure source or another pressure source. The release of the pressure from the pressure source to the reset recipient 70 may be controlled by valves 94 and 96. A solid wall 98 may be formed between the low pressure recipient 60 and the reset recipient 70 to separate the two recipients. A second extension element 100 of the piston 82 may be used to lock the piston 82. The piston 82 may be locked in a desired position by a locking mechanism 102. Mechanisms for locking a piston are know in the art, for example, Hydril Multiple Position Locking (MPL) clutch, from Hydril Company LP, Houston, Tex. or other locking device such as a collet locking device or a ball grip locking device.
However, it would be desirable to provide other systems and methods for recharging the low pressure recipient.

Rechargeable system for subsea force generating device and method