An apparatus for exercising the back and abdominal muscles, including an elongated beam and at least two spaced devices for transferring forces between the beam and its user. The preferred embodiment includes a lower crossbar for transmitting force from the beam to the user""s shins or calves and a pad for transmitting force from the beam to the user""s back or stomach. It also includes an upper crossbar and shoulder straps for transmitting force from the user""s shoulders to the beam. An alternate embodiment includes an arcuate, laminated beam member in which the flexibility in bending is adjustable. It also includes a lower crossbar attachable to the user""s ankles by means of a pair of ankle straps and an upper crossbar attachable to the shoulders with a pair of shoulder straps. When the alternate embodiment is in use, the central portion of the beam, which is preferably padded, contacts the user""s back or stomach, transmitting force thereto.

The present invention relates to a gymnastic device for the exercise of the back and abdominal musculature, said device comprising an elongated beam and means arranged at said beam for transferring the effects of a force between said device and its user.
So far no gymnastic device exists specifically intended for the abdomen and back. Devices intended for general gymnastics and strengthening of muscles have been used for the exercise of abdominal and back muscles. The device which is most common in home use comprises a disc bar, i.e. a bar provided with weights in both ends. It is not, however, possible to perform gymnastic movements which are ideal for the back and abdominal musculature with a disc bar.
Another gymnastic device intended for home use comprises a bar which is stressed in between two door posts. Moreover, rings or bars hanging in straps and intended for hanging in, are popular for home use. Consequently, there does exist several different devices but with the exception of one quite recently developed device, none of the known devices is in all respects suitable for exercising the important abdominal muscles and the situation is just as bad for the exercise of the back musculature. When considering that backache today is an extremely common disorder, it is surprising that no easily handled devices for back exercise exist.
A fairly new device comprises essentially a plastic board with handles provided at the sides thereof. The user lies down on said plastic board resting of the floor, and grips the handles and pulls himself up into a sitting position (so called sit-ups). The poorer the user""s abdominal muscles are, the more he is forced to use his arms for the pulling movement. However, this device is only intended for exercising the abdominal muscles.
Despite the existence of the above mentioned devices the situation is so far such that there are no suitable ways of providing a regular exercise of the back and abdominal muscles with existing devices. On the other hand, the lack of exercise of the abdominal and back musculature forms an essential part of various kinds of physiological disorders which cause considerable losses both individually and for society.
In order to have a healthy back, the abdominal muscles should also kept be in good condition. These two muscle groups co-act and support each other. It is therefore important that a suitable gymnastic device inherently combines the possibility to exercise both important entities, i.e. both the abdominal and back muscles, with one and the same device, and it should be possible to perform this exercise at home as well as in a gym. Since backache is a very common disorder, a suitable device should be developed for home use and for quite ordinary persons.
In order to exercise the abdominal muscles and the back muscles, a person must either bend his body forward (the abdominal muscles) or slightly backwards (the back muscles). In order to increase the burden it is common especially for athletes to use weights either over the breast or at the neck. The person lies on the floor or on a bench and heaves up the upper part of his body. However, weights over the neck may cause the body to bend too much backwards at the small of the back, which usually damages the back, causing e.g. vertebral disorders. On the other hand, a forward bending will cause the weight to pull the upper part of the body downwards, which in turn will cause an incorrect burden on the small of the back. It may thus be concluded that weights over the neck tend to press the body into a crooked shape. It is therefore often considered that the weight of the body itself is sufficient. In any case, a person exercising the abdomen or the back in this way will have to lie down to perform the movements, since a bending of the upper part of the body essentially lacks effect if it is performed in an upright position. Bending the upper part of the body backward and forward can even be really dangerous if the neck is loaded at the same time.
Ordinary people who for their exercise normally need movements which strengthen the back and abdominal muscles often feel that movements which are performed lying on a floor or the like feel complicated and also often too arduous, especially in case the person""s body weight is so great that it is difficult to heave the upper part of the body upwards. A common result will be that the person in question will not perform any suitable exercise at all which in the long run is very bad for the back. It is also important to have access to such devices for the exercise of the back and abdomen wherein the user of the device can perform the exercise in an upright position. Such a gymnastic device should further be simple and robust and it must not take up too much space.
The prior art patent literature disclose three devices which to some extent concern muscle exercise in an upright position. Thus, DE publication 39 15 079 relates to a device for isometric muscle exercising. Said apparatus comprises a central body having a handle-like loop means at either end. According to said patent the length of the central body may be varied, and further, the handle-like loop means may be turned in different directions. The apparatus is, however, only suitable for the performing of certain specific isometric exercises and it is not possible to perform any general constructive exercise of the back and abdominal musculature with said apparatus.
The prior art further includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,609 which in fact basically concerns a way of attaching a handle to an elastic beam. According to said patent the gymnastic movement at this apparatus is intended to repeatedly prolong the elastic beam by pulling at the handles. The invention described in the patent concerns an arrangement for fastening the handle to the elastic beam in such a way that the handle will not come loose during the exercise. This apparatus is not suitable for exercising the back and abdominal musculature.
The prior art further includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,185, as well as an earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,364 concerning an essentially similar apparatus. This known gymnastic device comprises a foot plate on which the user stands. A rigid central bar is pivotally attached to said foot plate. Crossbars are arranged at said central bar on one hand at the height of the users knees and on the other hand as handles at the upper end of the apparatus. This known apparatus is used as a device for taking exercise so that the force from a muscle is transferred via said rigid central bar to act as an opposing counter force for another muscle. The essential movements which suitably can be performed with the apparatus in question are pulling with the arms on one hand, and a stretching of the thigh muscles on the other hand, said muscles being made to co-operate by the apparatus. Thus, the apparatus only has a limited utility for the exercise of the back and abdominal musculature.
The present invention provides a completely new solution to the problem of strengthening exercise of the abdominal and back musculature, and this is performed in a simple way which is well adapted to its purpose. When using the device according to the invention anybody can bend his body forward and backward standing in an upright position so that the bending takes place at the waist region. It is precisely such bending movements which are performed with the aid of the abdominal and back musculature. However, a bending movement as such without resistance has only a limited effect on the strengthening of the muscles. The device according to the present invention will now provide a possibility to add an extra resistance, which additionally may be adjusted according to the needs and capabilities of the person in question. That way the exercising movements can be utilized also as strengthening exercise.
The device according to the invention is very safe to use since it only acts in principle so as to pull the body into a straight position. This way gymnastic movements performed with the device cannot cause any damage. However, due to the fact that it is possible with the aid of the present invention to add an additional resistance, which moreover can be adjusted so as to be suitable for the person in question, it is possible for a person to exercise a his abdominal and back muscles in an ideal way and completely without risks.
The present invention is characterized by the features disclosed in the appended claims. Thus, the device suitably comprises an essentially rigid beam or body member, the rigidity of which preferably may be varied either by exchanging certain parts or through constructive details. On said body member there are arranged three suitably movable means for transferring force to the user""s body such that the lowest means acts at the foot or leg, the middle one against the trunk and the upper one at the height of the shoulders at some distance from the user""s body. The entire device will now make it possible to direct a suitably large. force against the shoulder parts of the user""s body by taking support from the waist part and from a point at the lower part of the user""s body and thus to resist a bending of his body at the waist.
Functionally the device according to the invention operates so that the user attaches his body at different points to the gymnastic device. If the beam or body member is more or less rigid a possibility for isometric gymnastics will be provided. The beam will, however, preferably be flexible to a large or small extent suitably in an adjustable way, whereby it will bend at least to some. extent under a force. The device extends longitudinally along the body from the legs to the shoulders with a support at the height of the waist. When the user now bends the upper part of his body at the waist forward or backward, the upper part of the body will act on the beam via the upper means for transferring force. For example, if the device is arranged at the back side of the user with straps around his shoulders the upper part of the body will provide a pulling of the upper part of the beam when the user bends forward. The middle means comprises a contact surface which will engage and support the small of the back. The lower means will prevent the lower part of the beam from moving freely due to its position e.g. in front of the ankle or via another fastening e.g. with straps, while the middle means take support from the waist or the small of the back. In this way the upper part of the device now will provide a resistance against the user""s bending movement forward. By adjusting the flexibility of the beam this resistance can be adjusted in accordance with the user""s needs.
Thus, the present invention has solved the problem connected with a gymnastic means with which the user can strengthen his back and abdominal musculature standing in an upright position, principally by utilizing a principle which is known per se from the acute therapy, i.e. that the body is xe2x80x9csplintedxe2x80x9d to a more or less rigid device. Each force effected by the user will be transferred to the xe2x80x9csplintxe2x80x9d. In case of a fracture of the bone or the like the purpose has been to prevent the sections of the bone from moving in relation to each other with the aid of the splint. Normal xe2x80x9csplintsxe2x80x9d do not, however, flex at a fair exertion of a force and could thus only be used for isometric gymnastics. As such isometric gymnastics is a useful method also for strengthening the back and abdominal musculature but it is often considered heavy and to some extent frustrating. The xe2x80x9csplintxe2x80x9d according to the invention is therefore arranged in such a way that, contrary to what is sought to obtain in connection e.g. with fractures, it is suitably at least slightly flexible. The xe2x80x9csplintxe2x80x9d according to the invention is preferably arranged in such a way that its elasticity or resistance to bending can be adapted in accordance with the user""s wishes.
Since the device according to the invention consists of a beam or body member which suitably is at least slightly bendable and at least three means arranged at said beam for transferring force between said member and the user""s body, a triangular force action can be formed so that one corner of the triangle can move slightly while two corners of the triangle are essentially locked at the body and prevents the whole device from twisting. Especially the upper means, which is intended for providing a force transferring contact to the user""s upper body portion, will at use suitably be slightly movable, e.g., against a spring action of the beam or body member or due to compressible support pads arranged at the middle and/or lower means. According to one embodiment the possibility for movement is provided by having flexible parts in the upper means themselves.
At use said middle means will engage the user""s trunk part and in order to make it possible to use the device in a comfortable way without the disadvantage of having a too close and thus unpleasant contact with face or back of the head or neck, said middle means is arranged in such a way that its contact surface lies substantially outside the imagined line passing between the upper and the lower means. Hereby the upper means and in any case the upper part of the beam or body member itself will be at such a distance from the body that the device will not give an unpleasant feeling even to persons with a large body. In an especially preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention this is accomplished so that the middle part of the beam or body member itself it formed as a central support surface for contacting the trunk, the beam or body member then preferably having an arcuate form.
The lower part of the user""s leg is intended in this connection to mean in the first place the shin-bone starting from the hollow angle at the ankle and ending with the hollow of the knee. Depending on whether the device is placed at the abdominal or the back side the lowest means for transferring a force will have its lowest position at the hollow angle portion above the heel and its highest position at the hollow of the knee, or its lowest position just above the foot blade and its lowest position at the hollow portion below the kneecap, respectively. The trunk part is intended to mean the user""s trunk, starting with the sit muscle and ending with the torso. Normally, said middle means engages the pit of the stomach or the small of the back, respectively. The upper part of the body, again, indicates the region from the torso upwards towards the shoulders and the arms are also counted to this region e.g. when said means comprises regular handles. In this connection it should, however, be observed that the strength in the user""s hands is generally not sufficient to provide an optimal gymnastic movement or a desired bending of the beam of the device by gripping with the hands at said upper means.
The functional principle of the present invention can in its most simple form be concluded as follows: The body is splinted to an elongated beam or body member which either bends when the body bends or resists said bending and thus provides a resistance when the user tries. to bend his body. The resistance to said bending is suitably adjustable in accordance with the user""s strength and need of exercise. In case the resistance to bending exceeds the user""s strength, an isometric gymnastic movement is provided while a small resistance provides a device for moving gymnastics.
Theoretically the idea of the present invention thus essentially comprises the feature that the upper and lower parts of the body, at a bending around the waist, should be attached to each respective part of the beam or body member, between which beam or body member parts should act a force which resists a mutual variation in the positions of said beam parts. In practice this is achieved by suitably forming the beam or body member part functionally as one single piece having a suitable resistance to bending. This is preferably performed with the aid of adjusting means which will be later described. Since a rigid attachment of said beam or body member part to the user""s body is both complicated and unpleasant, the invention is in practice suitably embodied in such a way that it consists of a rod-like means with two actual attachment means and between them a contact point which presses against the user""s trunk part. Alternatively the beam or body member may also be produced in two or more parts having between themselves a spring means for providing the desired flexibility. According to one embodiment of the invention the device can also be disassembled and/or collapsed in order to facilitate storing away or packing for a journey.
In practice the xe2x80x9csplintingxe2x80x9d will be accomplished in a variety of ways according to the invention. In order to provide suitable exercise, the number of points where the xe2x80x9csplintxe2x80x9d engages the body of the user should, however, generally be at least three, i.e. one at the lower part of the legs for locking of the beam or body member, one for engaging or supporting the user""s back or stomach and one where the user causes exertion of a force with the aid of the upper part of his body.
Said lower means is suitably a crossbar which preferably is slidably attached along the lowest part of a central beam or body member and which is supported against the legs. Alternatively, the lower means may also consist of straps or the like, pulling elements. The middle means is in turn arranged for engaging against the user""s back or stomach. This means, which is suitably somewhat widened in order to feel more comfortable, preferably consists of a crossbar or pad slidably arranged along the central middle part of the beam or body member. In use a pressure between the central beam or body member and the user""s stomach or back will act on the middle means. All of said means are suitably padded or made soft in some other way for the sake of comfort.
The upper means in turn consists of a crossbar or the like which preferably is adjustable along the height of the beam or body member and suitably being provided with straps or the like. In use the straps are put around the user""s shoulders or behind the back. In principle the said means could also comprise gripping handles, but the mere hand force is generally not sufficient for effective gymnastics. An alternative solution, on the other hand comprises yoke loops or the like which can be folded out so that they can run in the armpit and can be brought into engagement behind the arms or shoulders.
In a preferred simple embodiment of the invention the beam or body member comprises a central, somewhat bendable beam rod provided with crossbars which slide there along and which have an arcuate cross section. In said crossbars there are opposite openings wherein said central beam rod slides. The arcuate crossbars are somewhat elastic in their arcuate cross section so that they normally strive to obtain a position wherein the size or position of the openings does not exactly correspond with the cross section of the beam rod. Because of the friction between the beam and the openings said crossbars will be normally be locked to said beam rod but they can be displaced along said beam rod e.g. by pressing or pulling the cross section so that the cross sections of the openings substantially coincides with the cross section of the beam rod.


A plug-in power supply for a refrigerator used to charge portable electronic devices includes an auxiliary power supply mounted in an auxiliary power supply compartment, and a removable module, having an electrical connector, mounted in an electrical connector cup. A portable electronic device is charged by placing the device in the connector cup and coupling the device to the electrical connector. Power is then supplied from the auxiliary power supply to the portable electronic device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to providing an auxiliary power connector on a refrigerator to enable a variety of portable electronic devices to be electrically connected to and powered through the refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical domestic refrigerator runs on a predetermined power supply, e.g. a 120 volt supply in the United States, for operating various components including the overall refrigeration system, lights, an icemaker and the like. Generally, a domestic refrigerator is provided with a single plug that is coupled to an electrical socket or outlet arranged behind the refrigerator upon initial installation of the refrigerator in a household kitchen. Due to the location of the electrical outlet, it is generally inaccessible for use with other electrical devices. Instead, consumers rely upon the existence of other electrical outlets arranged at other locations spaced from the refrigerator about the kitchen for powering the other electrical devices.
It has been proposed in the past to provide a domestic refrigerator with an auxiliary electrical outlet that could be utilized for powering an electrical device, such as a lamp, directly from the refrigerator. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,724 discloses the mounting of an electrical outlet on the side of a refrigerator and plugging a lamp into the outlet. The electrical outlet is actually connected in parallel to a component of the refrigeration system such that the outlet is powered only when the refrigeration component is powered. Other proposed arrangements directly incorporate another electrical device into a refrigerator, such as a portable computer, TV or audio unit, with each of these devices being provided with a dedicated power line taken from the main refrigerator supply.
In modern society, individuals typically own various portable electronic devices having different power requirements and distinct power connectors. For example, cell phones and portable music players are extremely popular. These and other similar devices have integrated batteries which need to be periodically charged. For this reason, these devices are generally provided with individualized power charging cords and associated transformers. Since it is not convenient to carry these various power charging cords around, people tend to leave the charging cords in a predetermined location, such as at a nightstand or bedroom dresser, and periodically charge the devices from this location. Unfortunately, this arrangement is not always convenient.


A translucent wall in accordance with the present invention is configured to provide aesthetic qualities to existing walls using resin-based panels. In one implementation, one or more resin-based panels are mounted to an existing wall using one or more easily assembled frames and one or more standoffs. The panels, frames, and standoffs are configured to mount the resin-based panels away from the wall by a specific distance, thereby allowing light to be transmitted through the resin-based panels. This light transmittance in turn provides a number of decorative advantages in terms of coloring, texturing, and in terms of exhibiting decorative objects embedded in the resin-based panels. The one or more frames used in accordance with the present invention can be easily adapted to any interior or exterior space or finish, such that the disclosed systems can benefit from mass-production techniques.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for creating and installing resin-based panels that can be used as decorative architectural walls.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Some recent architectural designs have implemented synthetic, polymeric resins, which can be used as windows, ceiling panels, partitions, walls, etc., in offices and homes. Present polymeric resin-based materials generally used for creating decorative resin-based panels comprise polyvinyl chloride or "PVC" materials; polyacrylate materials such as acrylic, and poly(methylmethacrylate) or "PMMA;" polyester materials such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), or "PET;" poly(ethylene terephthalate modified with a compatible glycol such as 1,4-dimethanol or 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol) or "PETG" (or "PCTG"); as well as polycarbonate materials.
In general, resin-based materials such as these are now popular compared with decorative cast glass or laminated glass materials, since resin-based materials can be manufactured to be more resilient, and to have a similar transparent, translucent, or colored appearance as cast or laminated glass, but with less cost. Decorative resin-based panels can also provide more flexibility, compared with glass, in terms of color, ability to texture, gauge availability, lower material density (implying lower panel weight) and considerably higher impact resistance. Furthermore, decorative resin-based panels have a fairly wide utility since they can be manufactured and fabricated to include a wide variety of artistic colors and images. This stated flexibility applies both in the manufacturing phase, as well as in the post-manufacturing, or ultimate-use, phase.
One use-based application of polymeric resins in architectural environments is that of a decorative panel, which can be used to decorate an existing wall, an interior wall or ceiling finish, or as a new wall partition. For example, a 4×8 foot resin-based panel could be used as a partition wall by inserting the resin-based panel inside a wood, plastic or metal frame that has bottom, side, and top grooves for holding the resin-based panel securely. If the resin-based panel is translucent, the resin-based panel might also be formed with embedded decorative materials, which could provide additional creative features to the partition or interior finish. Light transmitted on either side of the wall will provide an aesthetic effect to viewers on the opposing side.
In other cases, such as with existing, non-partition walls, a colored, resin-based panel can also be mounted directly against the existing wall (e.g., existing drywall) to provide another kind of aesthetic effect. This is ordinarily done using a combination of adhesives and/or other mounting materials such as two-sided tapes, screws, glues and the like. Unfortunately, the aesthetic effect of this type of resin-based panel material is limited since the resin-based panel's opacity is important for obscuring the mounting materials (e.g., adhesives, existing dry wall, and so forth). In particular, resin walls used in this type of environment will not ordinarily include decorative objects, and are not constructed to allow light to transmit through the resin-based panel as such translucency can often exhibit a shadowing effect, which is considered undesirable by designers and architects.
There are yet additional challenges for mounting these types of resin-based panels directly to an existing wall. For example, the resin-based panels can be fairly heavy relative to the adhesives, and the materials and methods for mounting these materials are often not readily configured for the type of expansion and/or contraction that can effect the resin-based panels over time. Furthermore, existing wall treatment systems designed for polymeric materials also suffer from issues associated with the "creep" of resin-based material over time. Creep occurs when the resin-based material flows over time in the direction of gravity, such that some resin-based panels can gain a slight degree visual distortion in a portion of the panel. Furthermore, creep, in addition to any expansion and contraction of material due to temperature changes, can cause the polymeric-based or resin-based panels to buckle and/or deflect where held in a rigid fashion. For this reason, polymeric materials used in wall panel systems have traditionally been limited to materials that may be more dimensionally stable such as glass, woods, concrete, gypsum, metals and the like, but nevertheless less aesthetically desirable materials due to their lack of translucency.
There are other ways in which decorative walls can be fastened to an existing wall to create decorative effects, which can avoid some of the disadvantages of using primarily opaque materials. For example, some builders will mount a translucent glass panel to an existing wall using one or more "standoffs" that are designed to mount into a specifically designed frame for the existing wall, or, in other configurations, to mount directly to metal or wood studs in the wall, or some other concrete or steel substrate. This type of mounting allows light to pass from the gap—created by the standoffs—between the frame that was mounted to the existing wall and the translucent glass panel, and to the other side of the panel to thereby create an aesthetic effect.
Unfortunately, glass is a heavier, often more expensive, and typically more fragile material than polymeric resin-based panels. In particular, the weight of glass makes it fairly difficult, if not impossible, to mount a glass panel to common drywall or wood wall substrates. Furthermore, the frame systems used to mount the glass panels in a standoff position from an existing wall tend to be quite complicated, tend to need precise measurements of the existing wall, and also tend to involve a significant amount of labor to install. Still further, glass panels cannot be easily modified to incorporate decorative materials, and so are limited in the type of aesthetic effect they can provide, even after taking the time to create and install them in a specific environment. Yet still further, glass systems that use standoffs attached directly to the wall must be pre-fabricated to accommodate the natural expansion and contraction that could otherwise be field-fabricated with resin-based panels.
Another of the problems with existing panel systems is that many attachment points are typically needed in order to counter the tendency of the attached material to deflect under its own weight. This is partially because systems generally rely on supporting the panel from the bottom portion of the panel. In addition, existing panel or wall systems are configured to hold the given panels in their existing shape, which tend to be either flat or curved, with little additional variation thereof. Unfortunately, to achieve a curved wall surface, the wall system frame (or relevant attachment objects) will ordinarily need to be constructed to match the curves of the material, which can result in significant expense, complexity, and still other aesthetic limitations.


A motion detecting traffic light system is provided for use at a blind corner adjacent to which a first roadway and a second roadway intersect. Included is a motion sensor positioned on the first roadway and adapted to transmit an activation signal upon the detection of motion of a vehicle on the first roadway. Also provided is an indicator assembly positioned on the second roadway and adapted to provide an indication to a vehicle on the second roadway upon the receipt of the activation signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to traffic lights and more particularly pertains to a new motion detecting traffic light for preventing collisions around blind corners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of traffic lights is known in the prior art. More specifically, traffic lights heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,572,202; 4,843,337; 4,115,757; 3,247,482; 2,903,674; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 385,811.
In these respects, the motion detecting traffic light 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 preventing collisions around blind corners.


Power lines are connected to neutral points of motor generators, respectively, and an electric power is transmitted and received between a vehicle and a load outside the vehicle via the power lines. In this transmission, an ECU simultaneously PWM-controls all phases of one of inverters, and controls the other inverter to keep continuously the conducting state.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 4-295202 has disclosed an electric motor drive and a power processing device that can transmit and receive an electric power between an alternating-current (AC) power supply outside a vehicle and a direct-current (DC) power supply on the vehicle. This device includes a DC power supply, two inverters undergoing pulse width modulation (which may also be referred to as "PWM" hereinafter), two induction motors, a control unit, an input/output port and an EMI filter. Each induction motor includes a Y-connected winding, and the input/output port is electrically connected to a neutral point of each winding.
When this device is in a recharge mode, a DC power supply can be charged with a DC power produced by converting an AC power that is applied to the neutral point of each winding from a single-phase power supply connected to the input/output port. Also, a regulated AC of a sinusoidal wave can be generated between neutral points of the windings and can be provided to an outer device connected to the input/output port.
The EMI filter is arranged between the neutral point of each winding and the input/output port, and reduces common mode noises of high frequencies appearing on the input/output port.
However, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 4-295202 employs the EMI filter for reducing the common mode noises that appear due to high-frequency switching of the inverters so that the device has large sizes.

Electric power control device and vehicle with the same


A method and apparatus for providing a repeat calling service feature in a communication network are disclosed. For example, the method captures call session information between a calling endpoint and a called endpoint of a failed call due to an unavailability of required network resource. The method then receives a repeat calling service request from the calling endpoint, and processes the repeat calling service request to reestablish a call between the calling endpoint and the called endpoint.

In an Internet Protocol (IP) based advanced network that supports Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, successful network resource reservation for supporting the QoS guarantee is required before a new service session can be established. For instance, a user may request to establish a service session that requires a large amount of network resource, such as high bandwidth calls that involve video sharing, video on demand, network gaming applications and the like, from a congested wireless network location, but the required QoS cannot be guaranteed. Under this scenario, the requested service session will be rejected. Calls may also be rejected due to temporary resource unavailability along the end-to-end call path that causes the service session request to fail. The QoS architecture of these IP based advanced network also incorporates policy definition functions that define resource needs for a particular service and direct the involved parties (e.g., endpoint devices, session control functions, and applications) to re-negotiate QoS requirements if resource availability is limited. When the required resource cannot be successfully negotiated, then a call request can fail. Such call request failures will lead to dissatisfaction and frustration for a customer.

Method and apparatus for providing repeat calling


A process for underbalanced drilling into multiple coal and shale formations, and dewatering the drilled formations, which includes drilling a first borehole through several coal seams to a certain depth; lowering an upstock on the end of a carrier string to the depth of the upper coal seam; lowering a drill string in the carrier string, and angling off of the upstock, to drill a lateral or horizontal borehole within the coal seam; repeating the process for the second coal seam; setting a packer in place above the first coal seam in the annulus between the cased borehole and the carrier string; forming perforations in the wall of the carrier string below the packer; retrieving the upstock from the carrier string; lowering an electrical submersible pump to the bottom of the principal borehole; pumping water from the sump portion to the surface within the annulus of the second drill string.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for dewatering and producing gas from coalbed and shale seams utilizing underbalanced multilateral drilling techniques.
2. General Background of the Invention
In the drilling of wells, one of the most critical elements in drilling has always been to maintain the well in a hydrostatically balanced state, so that should the drill bit strike a pocket of hydrocarbons, that the formation pressure does not overcome the hydrostatic pressure of the drill fluid column in the well, and thus a blow out does not occur. In conventional drilling, what has always been done, is during the drilling process, to flow heavy fluids; i.e., muds, into the drill bore during drilling, so that the hydrostatic pressure of the muds within the borehole is heavier than the pressure from the formation. Therefore, any potential blowout which may occur otherwise is prevented due to the heavy muds which create the higher hydrostatic pressure downward into the formation.
It has been recently found, that when such a hydrostatic head is placed on the formation, often times the heavy muds or fluids flow into the formation, and by doing so, create severe damage of the formation, which is a detriment to the productivity of the formation. Therefore, there has been developed the technique that is called underbalanced drilling, which technique allows for greater production, and does not create formation damage which would impede the production process. Furthermore, it has been shown that productivity is enhanced in multilateral wells combined with the non-formation damaging affects of the underbalanced drilling. These results are accomplished by introducing a lighter fluid such as nitrogen or air into the drill hole, or a combination of same or other type fluids or gases, sufficiently as to create an underbalance so that fluid in the borehole does not move into the formation during drilling. In order to accomplish this, often times the drilling is undertaken through the use of coil tubing, or jointed pipe systems in conjunction with aerated fluids. Another technique of underbalanced drilling is referred to as micro-annulus drilling where a low pressure reservoir is drilled. In effect, a string of casing is lowered into the well bore and utilizing a two string drilling technique, there is circulated a lighter fluid down the outer annulus, which lowers the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid column, thus relieving the formation. This allows the fluid column to be lighter than the formation pressure which, if it weren't, would cause invasion of drilling fluid and solids to enter the formation which is detrimental to productivity. By utilizing this system, drillers are able to circulate a lighter fluid which can return up either inner or outer annulus, which enables them to circulate with a different fluid down the drill string. In doing so, basically air and nitrogen are being introduced down the system which allows them to circulate two different combination fluids with two different strings.
The technology utilized in underbalanced drilling of oil and gas wells can also be applied to the process of de-watering and disposal of produced water when drilling to recover coalbed methane and shale gas. There exists an estimated total more than 700 trillion cubic feet of coalbed methane gas accumulations in the United States and some 7500 trillion cubic feet worldwide. The use of underbalanced drilling techniques is a very efficient, cost effective manner of recovering this huge methane gas resource. The underbalanced techniques heretofore utilized for oil and gas recovery, as disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,720,350 and 6,045,550, both by the same inventor, and incorporated herein by reference thereto.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multi seam coal bed/methane dewatering and depressurizing production system


Techniques described and suggested include systems and processes for handling data and client lock management in multi-tenant storage systems, such as distributed storage systems. In some embodiments, data lock and client lock records are stored in connection with a plurality of data stores on which client data resides. In some embodiments, a storage hub operably connected to the data stores determines and retain client lease information. In some embodiments, the client lease information is used in conjunction with the data lock and client lock records to effect and determine the validity of locks on various data elements.

Data storage and access requirements are increasing rapidly over time. As consumers and enterprises increasingly rely on access to increasing quantities of data via various methods of access, storage systems are increasingly moving to a distributed model. Various protocols have been developed, and are in widespread use today, to enable clients to access data stored remotely such as on networks, thereby enabling such clients access to greater performance and storage capabilities than would generally be possible in a local, or non-distributed model. An example of such protocols includes the Network File System (NFS) protocol, which addresses the basic requirements attendant to multi-tenant environments wherein multiple clients are capable of accessing a shared subset of files and/or storage resources.
However, as storage systems become more distributed, they are also becoming increasingly abstracted. For example, data stored upon a distributed system may exist at a level that is several layers of abstraction from a given client or client access point. Such a distributed storage system may include a plurality of storage servers, upon which data may be flexibly replicated and to which a given client only has indirect access. In such systems, multiple access points to the data may be necessary so as to appropriately balance a large number of incoming client storage requests. However, complications arise when multiple clients attempt to lock a given piece of data, such as a file, when multiple client access points exist, e.g., for the requested data. Examples of such complications include client lock conflicts, a lack of synchronization between client access points, and the like.

Data locking and state management on distributed storage systems


A hogging, sometimes known as reducing, apparatus for reducing wood waste into hog fuel, though some embodiments may also be used for reducing other materials including demolition timber, demolition masonry, mild steel scrap (thin sections), soft metal scrap, recycled cans, recycled glass, recycled plastic, soft rocks, occasionally hard rocks, recycled roading and asphalt, old tyres, and certain green garden waste. The apparatus includes a drum (40) inclined to the horizontal and into which raw material can be fed at its upper end. Rotation of the drum (40) assists driving raw material towards reducing elements (45) positioned at an angle near its (40) lower end. Screening apertures (41) allow sufficiently comminuted material to pass therethrough for removal. Optional features include internal agitators (60) for improving processing and screening, assisted drying of raw material by motor exhaust (71), and initial pre-screening of foreign material.

The present invention is directed primarily to apparatus commonly referred to as wood hoggers, or reducers. Typically these comprise apparatus for reducing or comminuting wooden material into smaller sized pieces. Typically the raw feed material is waste pieces of logs, timber, or other wood based material which can then be converted into a combustible fuel source suitable for use in boilers, and the like, and which is commonly known as hog fuel. In practice, however, operators have been used to reduce a variety of different types of materials, such as will be discussed later.
'Hog fuel' is a combustible solid fuel often used in boilers and which is primarily made up of wood residue from sawmills, logging operations, and various wood off-cuts. Hog fuel typically varies from chipped wood as it commonly may comprise timber of a variety of sizes rather than substantially uniform chips of wood. Typically hog fuel may comprise pieces of wood typically 50 mm×50 mm×120 mm down to sawdust. It is commonly made from product which would otherwise be dumped, and may contain a significant amount of foreign materials such as dirt, and stones, depending on the source of the material and how well the material is screened prior to processing.
The machines used to prepare hog fuel are commonly known as 'hoggers' and may also be called reducers, the latter being a term more commonly used on some types of design, or as a preferred name in different regions. For the purpose of the prior art description we shall use the term 'hogger' to also include 'reducer' unless a distinction is otherwise made.
Quite a number of different sizes of hogger exist, and in most case rely on rotating reducing discs or drums with chipping or cutting teeth or features. In most instances these are used in conjunction with a grate which screens reduced material suitable for hog fuel away from product which has not yet been sufficiently reduced. Most designs have a number of flaws or problems associated with them, which at least partially counts for the presence of a number of substantially different standard designs available on the market.
A common problem that affects most designs is energy consumption. The process of reducing timber product into smaller reduced pieces suitable for hog fuel consumes a significant amount of energy, and consideration needs to be given to the economy of the process to ensure that the energy expended does not exceed the resulting energy which can be obtained from what is essentially a low-grade fuel. While this can be partially offset by the fact that hogging is also effectively removing a waste product, by recycling, the economy of the process remains very important. In a number of instances the specific design of the hogging apparatus has a bearing on energy efficiency. These problems will be detailed more fully below.
In the art a variety of different types of hogging apparatus are known, each of which have a number of disadvantages associated with them which affect their efficiency, safety, or ability to process a wide range of material. The common types of hogging apparatus known to the inventor will now be described.
Traditionally, devices known in the United States as reducers were used. One design is illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b. This basically comprises a horizontally rotating drum (1) with a plurality of teeth (2) distributed thereabout. Shielding the majority of the outer face of the drum is a screen grate (3) which allows processed material of suitably small size to pass therethrough, as well as acting as a safety shield. Positioned in proximity to the teeth of the rotating drum are one or more anvils (4) whose distance of separation from the teeth (2) largely determines the size of the resulting material. As raw material is fed into the apparatus (generally indicated in direction by arrow (5)), the teeth basically mash wood against the anvil and break it down into a reduced size reflecting a distance of the anvil from the teeth. This material is largely carried through an exit via the grate (3).
However, this design suffers from high energy usage and substantial wear on the teeth and anvil. More significantly however, materials such as steel, metal, and very hard rocks can basically jam the system. A typical result is either shearing of the teeth from the drum, or damage to other components. This catastrophic destruction of components can be expensive and time consuming to fix. Given that a lot of forestry material may contain steel pins from logging trucks, or other hard foreign material, this type of apparatus either needs to be precluded from processing such materials, or the raw material subjected to additional time consuming, and potentially expensive, cleaning steps. Given that the hog fuel is a low grade and inexpensive fuel, expensive cleaning steps cannot normally be justified. The high energy usage of this type of apparatus also reduces any profit margin which may be gained from the production of hog fuel.
Additionally, as timber may come from a variety of sources including demolition materials, this type of apparatus also suffers another type of problem related to stringy material. When material such as flax, long fibrous leaves, or carpet are fed into the system, the grate becomes quickly clogged and the machine stalls as material then becomes wound around the drum. Such material can stall this type of apparatus in as little as three seconds, and may require several hours for it to be pulled apart and fixed.
In another type of apparatus a horizontally rotating drum is placed at the bottom of a shallow pan. The drum occupies an aperture in the base of the pan, and the material is substantially gravity fed towards the rotating drum. Additionally or alternatively the pan itself may also rotate. This arrangement is shown generally in FIGS. 2a-c.
Processed material exits through a grate (20) covering the portion of the drum (21) positioned below the pan (22). Material too large to pass through the grate (20) is generally returned to the pan and eventually comes once again into contact with the rotating drum. In this type of apparatus there is no anvil, with the drum essentially nibbling at the material within the pan from the bottom. However this type of apparatus has a tendency to fire projectiles (such as foreign material) upwards, thus introducing safety issues. It will effectively eat and nibble away at just about anything though is even more susceptible to steel, and also suffers problems with stringy materials. There is also a very high energy usage for this type of apparatus.
Another variation is a tub-type hogger where a horizontal disc is positioned near the bottom. This disc has teeth about its outer peripheral and also on its top, and sometimes bottom, surfaces. This is generally shown in FIG. 3a-b. In this type of hogger either the disc (30) can rotate, and/or the tub (3) may rotate around the disc, ensuring relative motion of the raw material which is held within the tub with respect to the disc. The bottom of the tub is essentially a grate (32) which allows processed material of sufficiently reduced size to fall free from the bottom. While this design is less likely to fire high speed projectiles, and is also more tolerant of hard materials such as metal and steel etc, it does suffer from high wear as the raw material is in contact with the rotor all of the time. This continuous contact also reduces energy efficiency and the apparatus requires significant amount of power in order to operate. Further, it has been found that the screening in this type of apparatus can be inconsistent and it depends largely on the amount of material which is in the tub at any one time—for instance, a low load can allow big pieces to pass through while a high load (i.e. lots of material in the tub) may only let much smaller material out. In this type of apparatus energy efficiency is very much dependent on maintaining optimum fill rates. Overfilling tends to create a situation where little screening occurs, or only in the vicinity of the rotating disc. In such cases there is also a tendency for already reduced material to keep being reintroduced to the disc, resulting in poor energy efficiency and high tooth wear in terms of throughput. The design is also susceptible to green plant material, which tends to clog the screen except in close proximity to the rotating disc. The resulting significant reduction in screen area seriously effects throughput and efficiency.
The fourth type of hogger in usage, though which is relatively uncommon, is like a chipper. It has a rotating disc in which bulk unprocessed material is fed to interact with the top rotating surface. This type of apparatus is very efficient, though is restricted to only processing full stems of material. There is also very high blade wear and it is also very susceptible to steel and metal. This type of hogger is typically restricted only for uses where trees are specially grown for fuel, and introduces the added requirement that felled logs must be handled very carefully to avoid picking up rocks or other foreign material which could damage the apparatus.
As can be seen from the above description, quite a range of approaches have been proposed for producing hog fuel. However each one of these designs suffers from one or more disadvantages which are commonly related to safety issues, durability and maintenance of the apparatus, and efficiency of production. From an economical perspective, given the low value of hog fuel, there is a requirement that hog fuel must be produced efficiently and at low cost, and that maintenance and repair costs cannot be to the extent they substantially impact on the profitability of the process.
Therefore there is a need for an alternative process which can provide an efficient means for producing hog fuel, and which ideally is able to process a wide range of materials.
It has also been previously mentioned that hoggers have also been used to process a variety of other materials, and appear to be advancing into a role as a recycling machine. The type of materials being reduced depends very much on hogger design, though known uses include the reduction of: demolition timber, demolition masonry, mild steel scrap (thin sections), soft metal scrap, recycled cans, recycled glass, recycled plastic, soft rocks, occasionally hard rocks, recycled roading and asphalt, old tyres, green garden waste, etc. As can be appreciated from the above description, a majority of these materials would be fatal to a number of known hogger and reducer designs. These materials can also exacerbate many of the problems previously mentioned and thus potentially useful and valuable recycling apparatus is often precluded from widespread use in these additional roles.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose apparatus which represents an alternative and efficient means of producing hog fuel from a range of wood based materials.
It is an object of the present invention to consider an improved design which lends itself to the processing of materials other than typical forestry and timber materials traditionally used in hoggers.
It is an alternative object of the present invention to provide apparatus which addresses one or more of the problems affecting the prior art.
At the very least it is an object of the present invention to provide the public with a useful choice.
Aspects of the present invention will be described by way of example only and with reference to the ensuing description.


A candidate document is received, for example, by a document filter. A determination is made based on the content of the candidate document, whether the candidate document is relevant to a document corpus. A determination is made based on the content of the candidate document, whether the candidate document is novel with respect to the document corpus. In response to determining that the candidate document is relevant to the document corpus and novel with respect to the document corpus, the candidate document is added to the document corpus to make at least a portion of the content of the candidate document available for a response to a search query.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter generally relate to the field of computers, and, more particularly, to determining document utility for a document corpus.
Computerized database and the connectivity provided by the Internet has made an almost overwhelming amount of information available for search by users such as students, research scientists or anyone else with access to a computing device. Question and Answer (Q/A) systems have been developed to assist such searches, which may take an input question, analyze it, and return results indicative of the most probable answer to the input question. Q/A systems provide automated mechanisms for searching through large sets of documents, and analyze them with regard to an input question to determine an answer to the question. The quality of the answers provided by a Q/A system and the amount of time it takes to provide answers can be highly dependent on the content and the amount of available content.

Automated determination of document utility for a document corpus

International Business Machines Corporation


A combination filtration and anti-microbial catch basin filter disposed in a catch basin of a storm water system such that, in addition to removing particulate matter and other contaminants, the concentration of bacteria in storm water that remains resident in the sump of a catch basin after a storm event is severely reduced or eradicated. The catch basin filter comprises a filtration bag depending from the opening such that water must pass through the bag and a plurality of strips or similar members depending from the filtration bag, the length of the strips being such that they remain in contact with water resident in the bottom of the catch basin. In an alternative embodiment, the device comprises a floatation member with filtering means and anti-microbial strips depending therefrom.

This invention relates generally to the field of storm water drainage systems, and in particular filtration of storm water run-off as captured, controlled and transported by storm water drainage systems. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of means to filter storm water or surface water run-off to remove hydrocarbons, organic liquids and other contaminants and particulate matter, as well to eradicate bacteria in the storm water run-off. Even more particularly, the invention relates to devices known as catch basin filters that are disposed in catch basins beneath storm water drain grates or curb inlets, typically found adjacent to paved roadways or parking lots.
As a result of society's high level of use of products containing hydrocarbons, organic liquids, phosphates, nitrates, heavy metals and other environmentally hazardous materials and chemicals, it is not uncommon for such components to be flushed in significant amounts into storm water drainage systems. It is therefore necessary to provide means and methods to remove such contaminants from the storm water prior to discharge of the storm water from the storm water system. In a common approach filtration means capable of capturing the contaminants are disposed at the ingress points of the storm water system, i.e., filter means are positioned in the storm drains such that the contaminants are immediately captured and storm water passing into the storm water drainage system is relatively contaminant-free. In another method, filtration means are positioned at the points of exit of the storm water system, such that the contaminants are removed prior to discharge into the environment. A typical storm drain comprises a surface opening covered by a grate, a curb inlet, or a combination of the two, where the surface opening leads directly into a catch basin, usually of a rectangular or cylindrical shape, that has a sump that allows particulates to settle. An outlet pipe connects to the catch basin above the sump and directs the storm water to a point of treatment or discharge.
Another problem inherent in storm water discharge is microbial contamination. Significant microbial contamination of discharge water results from the fact that storm water systems comprise vast networks of storm drains, conduits, collectors and the like, and all storm water run-off entering a storm water system does not immediately pass through the system. Instead there are large numbers of areas where the storm water remains resident in the system for extended periods of time. For example, the outlet pipes at the base of storm drains is typically connected to the catch basin several inches above the bottom of the basin to create a sump area to entrap sediments and other solid matter. This results in several inches of water that remaining trapped in the bottom or sump of each catch basin after a storm. This resident water is a prime breeding ground for bacteria, and over time the bacteria in the catch basin sumps multiply exponentially. When the next storm occurs the resident water in the catch basins is flushed and the bacterial concentration discharging from the storm system may exceed safe limits. In addition, the bacterial contamination of the resident sump water can result in odor problems.
Providing anti-microbial agents as a component of suspended filtration media at the ingress points of the storm system, i.e., the storm grates or curb inlets, such that the inflowing water contacts the anti-microbial agents does not solve this problem, as the amount of time that the bacteria is in contact with the anti-microbial agents in these pass-through catch basin filters is extremely short, and thus the effectiveness of the anti-microbial action is very limited if not completely ineffective. Because the anti-microbial agents are positioned above the sump area, they have no effect on bacterial growth in the resident water.
It is an object of this invention therefore, to provide a means for effectively reducing the bacterial concentration in storm water discharge. This is accomplished by providing a combination filtration and anti-microbial medium that, in addition to removing particulate matter from the storm water inflow, effectively reduces the concentration of bacteria in storm water that remains resident in sump areas at the bottom of a catch basin. The combination filtration and anti-microbial medium is at least partially disposed in the resident water at the bottom of the catch basin rather than being positioned merely as a pass-through filter, thereby increasing the contact time between the anti-microbial agents and the bacteria such that large amounts of bacteria are eradicated and explosive bacterial growth within the sump areas is precluded. It is a further object to increase the effective life of the filtration media by reducing the growth of bacteria, mold, algae and the like on the filtration media itself.

Storm water catch basin filter comprising an anti-microbial agent


A facsimile apparatus which uses a tone output unit that outputs tones when a VoIP communication in which audio data for a facsimile communication by way of a public telephone line is sent and received over an IP network is being carried out, so as to make a user aware that a non-VoIP communication in which a facsimile communication is carried out by way of the IP network without using audio data is being carried out. When the VoIP communication is being carried out, the tone output unit outputs a first tone for notifying the user of a communication status of the VoIP communication. When the non-VoIP communication is carried out, the tone output unit outputs a second tone so as to notify the user of a communication status of the non-VoIP communication.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus, a control method therefor, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for implementing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, facsimile functions of communication apparatuses provided for the public switched telephone network (PSTN) carry out communications using audio data according to ITU-T Recommendation T.30 (hereafter referred to as T.30), and the functions have been realized using modems for analog lines. In general, the communication apparatuses output, as a tone, a signal output from the modems or a signal received from the public switched telephone network so as to notify a user that a facsimile communication is started or underway.
On the other hand, in recent years, there have been developed communication apparatuses which are capable of carrying out facsimile communications over an IP network. The IP network ready communication apparatuses send and receive facsimiles according to ITU-T Recommendation T.38 (hereafter referred to as T.38) when a party at the other end supports T.38.
When the party at the other end does not support T.38, T.30 audio data is sent and received as deemed audio data packets over an IP network (VoIP: Voice over IP), and facsimiles are sent and received over the public switched telephone network by way of a VoIP gateway from the IP network (T.30) (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2006-94024).
A facsimile apparatus described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2006-94024 handles digital image data complying with T.38 when a party at the other end supports sending and receiving over an IP network (T.38).
On the other hand, when the party at the other end supports only sending and receiving over the public switched telephone network (PSTN), communications are carried out using VoIP, and hence at the time of sending, audio data is generated from image data obtained by scanning, and G.711 PCM data is generated from the audio data.
At the time of receipt, audio data is generated from the G.711 PCM data to generate image data for printing.
According to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2006-94024, a G.711 block is used for data conversion, but there has also been developed a technique that a modem which carries out communications using T.30 is equipped with a G.711 data conversion function.
When a communication apparatus supporting both T.38 and T.30 carries out a communication with an apparatus at the other end using T.30 (VoIP), data conversion is performed in the following order: digital image data→audio data→G.711 data, or G.711 data→audio data→digital image data.
On this occasion, extracting analog signals from a modem and outputting them to a speaker enable a user to hear communication tones.
However, when a communication with an apparatus at the other end is carried out using T.38, no audio data is produced because data handled in the communication is digital data, and hence a user hears no communication tones.
In order to enable a user to hear communication tones when a communication with an apparatus at the other end is carried out using T.38, a communication apparatus may be equipped with an additional audio output circuit that outputs voice, but this requires cost for adding the circuit.
Therefore, even when a communication with an apparatus at the other end is carried out using T.38, a mechanism that outputs tones using a modem for use in T.30 communications is required.
Moreover, in communications other than T.38 communications, it is desirable to output tones using a modem when providing notification to a user by tones.

Facsimile apparatus capable of outputting communication tones, control method therefor, and storage medium


A multifunctional sky camera system and techniques for the use thereof for total sky imaging and spectral irradiance/radiance measurement are provided. In one aspect, a sky camera system is provided. The sky camera system includes an objective lens having a field of view of greater than about 170 degrees; a spatial light modulator at an image plane of the objective lens, wherein the spatial light modulator is configured to attenuate light from objects in images captured by the objective lens; a semiconductor image sensor; and one or more relay lens configured to project the images from the spatial light modulator to the semiconductor image sensor. Techniques for use of the one or more of the sky camera systems for optical flow based cloud tracking and three-dimensional cloud analysis are also provided.

Total sky imaging systems are powerful tools for various scientific and industrial applications such as high resolution cloud tracking and short-term (less than one hour) solar power forecasting. The contrast required by sky imaging (˜1:1,000,000), however, far exceeds the capability of currently available digital imaging sensors (typically 1:1,000 or less dynamic range). A cloudy twilight sky (no direct sun) has a radiance of ˜0.1 milliwatts per square centimeter steradian (mW/cm2 sr) while direct sun illumination from a clear sky at noon has radiance ˜1×105 mW/cm2 sr. Imaging twilight sky demands a camera system without significant light attenuation.
On the other hand, the high intensity direct sun light without significant attenuation impinging on imaging sensors causes pixel saturation and blooming, i.e., accumulation of photoelectrons exceeds the designed linear-response and charge-holding capabilities of sensor pixels (saturation), which causes the excessive electrons to overflow to its neighboring pixels (blooming). Blooming causes artifacts in sensor output which include large image area around sun being smeared out, streak patterns on image, and erroneous pixel values. In extreme cases, even complete failure of a sensor can result from blooming due to breakdown of the preamplication stage.
To avoid sensor saturation and blooming, the commercial sky cameras available today typically use automated sun-tracking mechanical blockers to prevent direct sun light from entering the camera. The usage of mechanical sun blockers increases the cost of sky cameras and decreases their reliability in harsh field environments. Moreover, information on the sun and the part of the sky adjacent to the sun (typically around a 10 degree field of view), which is most important for solar power forecast, is lost because of the blocking. Moreover, because the sun is blocked, such sky camera systems can only image the sky around the sun and cannot measure the solar radiation. Thus several additional radiometric instruments such as pyronameters, spectroradiometers, and pyrheliometers (require precise sun tracking mechanism) are typically deployed along with sky cameras to measure the direct and diffusive irradiance from the sun. This significantly increases the overall system complexity and cost.
Therefore, improved total sky imaging systems that overcome the above-described drawbacks of conventional technologies would be desirable.

Multifunctional sky camera system for total sky imaging and spectral radiance measurement


A method for processing natural language includes receiving an information input string. Referent tridbits corresponding to stimuli in the information input string are generated. Assert tridbits defining relationships between the referent tridbits are generated. A language processing system including a rules database and a meaning engine. The rules database is operable to store a plurality of syntax rules. The meaning engine is operable to receiving an information input string, generate referent tridbits corresponding to stimuli in the information input string based on the syntax rules, and generate assert tridbits defining relationships between the referent tridbits based on the syntax rules.

The present invention relates generally to the field of processing natural language and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for determining the meaning of natural language.
Various attempts have been made in the field of artificial intelligence to develop systems capable of understanding natural language. Common sense dictates that understanding natural language is to "get" its meaning, allowing the listener to answer questions about what was said. A language processing system that claims to understand the sentence, "The boy threw the red ball to the girl.", should be able to answer "Who threw the ball?", "What was thrown?", "What color is the ball?", etc. It is neither necessary nor sufficient that the listener produce a grammatical diagram of the sentence. It is the meaning that drives everything else. Once an internal way of representing the information in our world is developed, grammars or other methodologies to convey this information to others can be contemplated. But the meaning comes first.
Some natural language systems, such as chatbots, behave as if they understand natural language, but actually obtain little or no useful semantic knowledge from the natural language they process. Other systems understand a predefined set of syntax rules, essentially pulling multiple keywords out of a sentence. For example, a system for controlling an appliance may allow commands such as such as "Set the X to Y" to be processed. In such a system, a user first selects the device to control from a list, for example a TV, and then selects a parameter related to the device, such as, "Set channel to 12".
Systems of this type are useful only within tightly constrained environments, where the grammar can be predefined and the values of the parameters can be hardwired to specific actions the system can perform. However, these systems do not understand in any general way the information they process. Moreover, they cannot adapt to speech and environment, requiring the user to learn very specific ways to talk to them.
Other systems that seek to achieve a significant level of understanding transform the natural language they process into some form of knowledge representation, often based on predicate logic. One problem with these types of systems is that their knowledgebases, often referred to as ontologies, are complex structures that are labor intensive to construct, requiring experts to meticulously translate human knowledge into the structures used by the ontology. This complexity limits their content areas. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has used their Oxygen system to build spoken language interfaces to provide information about the weather or obtain schedules and fares for airline flights. However, the system does not function well beyond those very limited areas of expertise.
Another exemplary ontology is the Cyc project, started by Stanford Professor Doug Lenat in 1984. Cyc's ontology stores many different types of information, giving each its own structure and requires predicates, functions, logical connectives, quantifiers, constants, non-atomic terms, variables, microtheories and a host of other elements. This complexity makes the development of the language processing system resource intensive and limits its adaptability.
This section of this document is intended to introduce various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention described and/or claimed below. This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Method and apparatus for determining the meaning of natural language


An automated dental flosser (10) comprises a pair of pivotally supported tines (18) which support a movable floss span (17). A pair of rotatably supported subcapstans (38, 40) are floss-connected to each end of the floss span, respectively, and are alternately driven to reciprocate the span longitudinally. A floss dispensing spool (50) and a floss take-up spool (56), floss-connected to respective subcapstans, dispense and take up floss. A floss-engaging portion of each subcapstan differs from the other in diameter to result in a net transfer of the floss from one spool to the other. Means for reciprocating the tines moves the span up and down. A pair of stationary shield tines (16) shield the user's teeth from the reciprocating tines. A second embodiment (90) includes an astable pulse generator (106) that generates a train of pulses of alternately reversing electric charge. Pulses of one charge are of longer duration than those of the other charge. A reversible DC motor (104) is drivingly connected to floss dispensing and take-up spools (98, 100) which are floss-connected to each end, respectively, of a tine supported floss span (96). The motor, energized by the alternating pulses, alternately reverses direction to reciprocate the floss span. A net transfer of floss from one spool to the other results from the longer pulses. A third embodiment (116) includes two ultrasonic transducers (127, 128) connected to floss-supporting tines (118). The transducers are mounted at right angles to each other for reciprocating the tines and floss span up and down and side to side.

Most adults have some degree of gum disease. In an advanced form, the ailment accounts for about three quarters of lost teeth. Unhealthy gums can also lead to other health problems including serious infections.
Disease of the gums can be avoided by removal of plaque, especially from under the gum line. Brushing is not sufficient because it does not clean under the gum line between teeth. Consumer organizations have tested the available plaque removing products, including the high tech powered brushes. They report that the most important aspect of proper dental hygiene is flossing.
Proper flossing by hand, however, is an arduous and loathsome regimen. It requires dexterity and some degree of skill to properly manipulate the floss to clean all the interdental surfaces down to the attached gingiva. Dexterous people find flossing tedious and it is exceedingly difficult for the nondexterous. Consequently, an estimated 90 percent of adults have some degree of the disease in spite of efforts by their dentists to teach them how to floss.
An automated flosser is, therefore, needed to reduce the amount of tedious work, perseverance, and dexterity required for proper flossing. After building and testing a variety of powered models, it was found that a practical flosser must have four important features which are:
(1) Means for moving a floss span between teeth with lateral strokes in order to work the floss through the tight spot where adjacent teeth come in contact.
(2) Means for moving the span up and down which, after passing through the tight spot, operates with the lateral motions to remove plaque from interdental surfaces.
(3) Means for protecting the teeth and gums from being hammered by moving parts that reciprocate the floss span.
(4) Means for continuous replacement of the floss span.
Though several powered flossers have been patented, none have the desirable combination described above. The subject invention has the advantage of having the complete combination of above-mentioned features operating in concert. Other advantages will become apparent from consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.


Non-inline transaction error correction is disclosed. Where a transaction being processed in a pipeline is determined to include a correctable error, it is output, or drained, from the pipeline into an error queue. The pipeline is switched from a normal mode of operation to a correction mode of operation. In the correction mode, a correction command is inserted into and processed within the pipeline to correct the error within the transaction. The pipeline is switched from the correction mode of operation to a restart mode of operation. In the restart mode, the transaction is reprocessed within the pipeline. The pipeline is then switched from the restart mode of operation back to the normal mode of operation.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to processing transactions within a pipeline, and more particularly to correcting errors within such transactions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pipelining is a technique that is used to speed up the processing of transactions. Transactions include read commands, which read data from memory, and write commands, which write data to memory. Typically, only one transaction can be processed at a time. Inserting register points within transaction-processing logic is referred to as pipelining. The logic between two sets of register points is referred to as a pipeline stage. Pipelining allows a different transaction to be within each stage of the pipeline, thus increasing processing throughput. Pipelining also allows the frequency of the processor to be increased, because the levels of processing logic between register points are reduced. However, the overall time to process a transaction may be increased only slightly, due to the delay of the registers that are inserted in the logic. Pipelining also can increase complexity if there are dependencies between transactions.
If errors are detected within the pipeline, they usually are corrected in-line, within the pipeline stage where they occur, before the transactions can be properly processed and the resulting actions performed. An implementation for error correction may include additional hardware circuitry to correct the error when and where it is detected. However, such an implementation adds latency to the processing of both transactions with errors and transactions without errors. For this and other reasons, therefore, there is a need for the present invention.


In an apparatus for performing printing using a color ink-jet head having a plurality of ink-discharge-port strings corresponding to ink materials having different color tones, a high-quality image having excellent gradation can be recorded, while reducing the cost of the apparatus and increasing the data processing speed by reducing the capacity of a memory for storing dot arrangement patterns. For that purpose, as a plurality of dot arrangement patterns for determining dot arrangement at output within a M×N-dot region for one input pixel, (1) patterns having a large number of gradation levels that can be represented (for example, nine gradation levels) and a high recording resolution (for example, 1,200 dpi (dots per inch)×2,400 dpi) are used for colors in which uneven stripes tend to be pronouncedly observed (for example, light cyan and light magenta), and (2) patterns having a small number of gradation levels that can be represented (for example, five gradation levels) and a low recording resolution (for example, 1,200 dpi×1,200 dpi) are used for colors in which uneven stripes tend to be less pronouncedly observed (for example, black, cyan, magenta and yellow).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method, and a printing apparatus and a printing system using the image processing apparatus. More particularly, the invention is suitably applied to a printing apparatus for printing a color image using a plurality of types of printing materials having different color tones, and an image processing method for the printing apparatus. The present invention may be applied not only to an ordinary printing apparatus, but also to any other appropriate apparatus, such as a copier, a facsimile apparatus having a communication system, a word processor having a printing unit, or the like, or to an industrial recording apparatus combined with various types of processing apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printer is known as a printing apparatus for recording information, including desired characters, images or the like, on a sheet-shaped printing medium, such as paper, a film or the like, that serves as an information output apparatus for a word processor, a personal computer, a facsimile apparatus or the like.
Various types of conventional printing methods by a printer are known. Recently, ink-jet printing has become important because it has various advantages over other printing methods, such as, for example, the capability to perform non-contact printing on a printing medium, such as paper or the like, to easily form a color image, and to perform silent printing. A so-called serial method, in which printing is performed by mounting an ink-discharging print head in accordance with desired print information and scanning a printing medium, such as paper or the like, with the print head in a direction (a main scanning direction) orthogonal to a conveying direction (a sub-scanning direction) of the print medium, has been widely utilized as the configuration of a printing scanning system of the printing apparatus to which the ink-jet method is applied, because an inexpensive and small apparatus can be easily obtained.
In conventional ink-jet printing apparatuses, dots are recorded according to binary-encoding processing or multivalue-encoding processing.
Recently, as a result of increasing popularity and availability of digital cameras having pixels exceeding three million in number, and realization of high picture quality in image input apparatuses, such as high-resolution scanners and the like, the amount of data to be processed by an output apparatus is increasing, and high accuracy in printing is required for a high-resolution image.
FIG. 26 is a graph illustrating the human visual characteristic (a VTF curve) with respect to gradations. The human visual characteristic indicates the number of gradations that can be discriminated by a human being at a certain observation distance (25 cm). If the capability to reproduce gradations of a printing apparatus is superior to the human visual characteristic, it can be said that the printing apparatus has an excellent gradation reproducing capability.
As is apparent from FIG. 26, when comparing the gradation reproducing capability of a printer performing encoding processing to various values of the human visual characteristic, the range exceeding the human visual characteristic easily widens as the number of encoding values increases. For example, in order to provide a gradation reproducing capability equivalent to multivalue encoding (septenary encoding) for input data having a resolution of 600 ppi (pixels per inch, reference value), binary encoding is necessary for input data with a resolution of 1,500 ppi. Accordingly, the gradation reproducing capability can be easily widened by performing multivalue(septenary)-encoding processing for input data having a resolution of 600 ppi than by performing binary encoding processing.
Multivalue-encoding processing will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 27A and 27B. If it is assumed that a printing apparatus has an output resolution of 1,200×1,200 dpi (dots per inch, reference value) in the main scanning direction and in the sub-scanning direction, in binary-encoding processing shown in FIG. 27A, an input resolution of 1,200 ppi is required, and two gradations are represented by presence/absence of formation of one dot for an input pixel having a size of about 21.17 μm ( 1/1,200 inch) square. On the other hand, in quinary-encoding processing shown in FIG. 27B, five gradations are represented by presence/absence of formation of 2×2 =4 dots for an input pixel having a size of about 42.33 μm ( 1/600 inch) square. Accordingly, when performing quinary-encoding processing, input data can be reduced to ¼ of that when performing binary-encoding processing. That is, for a request for a print having high picture quality, while a high input resolution is necessary and the amount of data increases in binary-encoding processing, a relatively low input resolution is necessary and the amount of data decreases as the number of encoding values increases.
Unevenness sometimes results, for example, when moving a print head in the main scanning direction, due to errors in production of a scanning system of a printer main body, and the like (hereinafter termed "main-body noise"). Furthermore, when providing two discharging-port columns for discharging ink in the main scanning direction by being shifted by ½ of the pitch of arrangement of discharging ports in the sub-scanning direction (the sheet feeding direction), causing discharging ports of respective columns to perform recording of even-numbered rasters and odd-numbered rasters, deviation (in even/odd registration) in the position of ink provision (the dot forming position) is sometimes produced between even-numbered rasters and odd-numbered rasters.
A printing apparatus performing binary processing tends to be influenced by such main-body noise and head noise. In a printer performing multivalue processing, however, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2001-63016 (2001), by indexing a plurality of patterns, each for determining a dot arrangement at output within a M×N-dot region for one input pixel, and selecting an appropriate pattern, the influence of main-body noise and head noise can be reduced.
Because of the above-described reasons, in recent ink-jet printing apparatuses, multivalue processing using a dot-pattern index (hereinafter termed "index processing") tends to be used instead of binary processing.
As described above, multivalue processing has advantages such as, for example, only a relatively low input resolution is required and the amount of data can be reduced, and the influence of main-body noise and head noise can also be reduced, compared with binary processing.
However, it is necessary to provide dot patterns, whose number equals the number of recording gradations, each of which determines dot arrangement in accordance with the number of recording gradations in a predetermined region. Furthermore, in order to mitigate the influence of main-body noise and head noise, it is necessary to provide a plurality of dot arrangement patterns in a predetermined region even at the same gradation. Still further, if the number of recording gradations is increased in order to improve the image quality, it is also necessary to increase the capacity of a memory for storing a table of patterns.
Recently, the use of a printer which provides not only a black or another monochrome print, but also a color print or a high-quality print using photo-ink materials (comprising four primary color ink materials and light-color ink materials of predetermined colors) has been generalized. In accordance with an increase in the types of ink materials, it is necessary to provide a dot-pattern table for each color tone, and a large-capacity memory (a ROM (read-only memory) or the like) for storing such tables, resulting in an increase in the cost of a printing apparatus. If the size of a dot-pattern table is simply reduced, banding unevenness between main scanning lines of the print head tends to be pronounced, thereby causing the possibility of a decrease in the image quality.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and printing apparatus and printing system using the image processing apparatus


A hand-held portable computer is provided with a control wheel to accelerate navigation and selection that is otherwise difficult due to the small form factor of the portable computer. The wheel is turned in a first or in a second direction to scroll through an on-screen menu. The wheel is pressed to select a particular item from the on-screen menu for execution. Context-sensitivity is provided in that the underlying software determines which menu to display or command to execute, in response to dialing or clicking the wheel, based on which application and pane are currently active and based on which item in the pane is currently selected. User-configurability and extensibility to additional applications are provided, without modification of the underlying software application code.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to hand-held portable electronic devices, and in particular but not exclusively, relates to a control wheel for a hand-held portable computer that is usable for navigation and selection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern desktop computers provide users with user-input mechanisms that are well suited for the applications that run on these computers. For example, desktop computers often use a mouse that allows the user to conveniently navigate through menus, panes, and features of an application, as well as allowing navigation between applications and selection of various choices (usually via a "point and click" or a "click and drag") within a given application. Moreover, applications usually provide complex, yet convenient, graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that are designed to work in conjunction with the point and click features of a mouse or with particular keys on a keyboard of a desktop computer.
The nature of a desktop computer makes them ideal for using user-input devices such as a mouse and/or keyboard. There is usually sufficient desktop space or keyboard size to allow the user to easily navigate through an application or to select from various choices, without having to struggle with dexterity issues and awkward positioning. However, with laptop computers, a common complaint from users is that the keyboard is too small or that the mouse is difficult to control. The user has to "crowd" his fingers in order to properly use and select the appropriate keys on the keyboard, and has to use a mouse that is more difficult to use because it is physically integrated within the keyboard, rather than being an attached peripheral that can be conveniently used at arm's length away from the keyboard.
While laptops do have these disadvantages, they are, for the most part, adequate in terms of navigation and selection controls (via the mouse and keyboard). However, with ultra-portable devices, such devices typically have a substantially smaller form factor than a laptop or desktop computer. Their keyboards are significantly smaller than normal laptops and desktop computers, with "tiny" keys on the keypad. The keypads are of such a small size that the user can typically use only one or two fingers at a time to perform typing. Moreover, these devices also have a correspondingly and significantly smaller display screen size.
A possible solution to these problems is to create applications that have GUIs or other features that are better suited for devices that have smaller form factors than conventional laptop or desktop computers. However, this is not an ideal solution since it would require software manufactures to develop two types of each application: an application usable for desktop/laptop computers and the same application usable for smaller devices. This additional software development is costly and would not necessarily benefit the consumer, since not all software applications can be expected to have versions that are usable for smaller devices and the user may be required to learn both applications.
Moreover, if a standard application is installed into small device, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the typical user to alter the application in order to make it user-friendlier for the small device. This is because the source code for the application is often a closely guarded secret by the software manufacturer and because most users are not well versed in software programming. Also, even if one application installed in the small device is modified to be more user friendly for that device, other applications installed or to be installed in the device may not be capable of similar modification—there is a scalability problem.

Navigation and selection control for a hand-held portable computer