The present invention is drawn to compositions and methods of generating active ester functionalized latex particulates in a liquid suspension, as well as compositions and methods of preparing ink-jet inks. Steps of the methods can include synthesizing polymerizable monomers with active ester groups and polymerizing these monomers with other monomers to form functionalized latex particulates having active ester group. These latex particulates can be used in a wide variety of applications, including in ink-jet ink printing applications.

Latex particles obtained by emulsion polymerization can have a variety of applications, including for use as model colloids for calibration of instruments used to measure particle size, for immobilization of biomolecules (such as proteins or peptides) on the surface of the particles, for development of new types of immunoassays, and for film formation for ink-jet printing, painting, and coating applications. A commonly used method for connecting biological molecules, dye molecules, or the like, to the surface of latex particles is by physical or passive adsorption. However, resulting colloid systems tend to be less stable. Such instability can be avoided by covalently bonding biomolecules, dye molecules, or the like, to latex particulates of an emulsion. While functionalized latex particulates have applications in these and other fields, the ink-jet ink imaging application can be used to favorably illustrate unique advantages of the invention. Specifically, there has been great improvement in the area of water durability of ink-jet inks through incorporation of certain ink-jet compatible latex polymers. When printed as part of an ink-jet ink, a latex component of the ink can form a film on a media surface, entrapping and protecting the colorant within the hydrophobic print film.
This being the case, there is a continuing need to provide improved methods of preparing latex particulates having functional groups on the surface, which can in turn be used for chemical reaction with target molecules.

Latex particulates with active ester functional groups

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A transmission line transition includes a waveguide tube section having a waveguide tube, a waveguide tube section that is formed of at least a dielectric substrate and a line transition section formed of at least a dielectric substrate disposed adjacent the waveguide tube section to cover the hole, a transmission line for transmitting the electromagnetic wave, and an antenna pattern that is disposed in the hole to be electromagnetically coupled with the transmission line. Each of the dielectric substrates has a plurality. of via holes disposed to surround the hole at a distance δ=an integer n×wave length λg/2 from the peripheral wall of the hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dielectric substrate and a device that utilizes the electric substrate, such as a waveguide or a transmission line transition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, a waveguide tube is formed of a plural dielectric substrates (only one illustrated in FIG. 8) each of which has a hole or a cavity (H). The peripheral wall of the hole is coated with a conductive film, as disclosed in JP-P3347626. When manufacturing a waveguide tube, conductive ink is printed on the peripheral wall to form a conductive film. However, it is difficult to form a flat conductive film due to the surface tension thereof as shown in FIG. 8. Further, an uneven surface of the conductive film that is formed on the peripheral wall may degrade the performance of the waveguide tube.
On the other hand, an array of plural via holes or through holes may be formed as a peripheral wall of the hole instead of the conductor film, as disclosed in JP-P2001-196815A. The array of via holes must be formed on the dielectric substrate at a certain distance (e.g. 0.5 mm) from the edge or the peripheral wall of the hole in order to secure the mechanical strength thereof. However, this distance may also degrade the performance of the waveguide tube.

Dielectric substrate for wave guide tube and transmission line transition using the same


A keyboard and mouse support includes a keyboard support body and a mouse support. The keyboard support body includes a throughpassage that passes through the support body and opens on opposite sides of the support body. The keyboard support body also defines a support surface configured to accommodate a keyboard such as a keyboard for inputting alphanumeric symbols to a personal computer. The moveable mouse support fits within a portion of the throughpassage of the support and extends outwardly from the support to define a mouse support surface having a region that extends in front of a front edge of a keyboard with the keyboard resting the support surface. Although the term xe2x80x9cmousexe2x80x9d has become almost universally used for the rolling input device used to move an arrow on the display screen and xe2x80x9cpickxe2x80x9d functions or data values, other terms such as xe2x80x9ctrackballxe2x80x9d can be used interchangeably with the term xe2x80x9cmousexe2x80x9d. The mouse support includes an upwardly protruding elongated bead spaced inwardly from a rearward edge of the mouse support. The bead is substantially circular in cross section and is fixed within a recess in an upper surface of the mouse support and an upper portion of the bead extends above an upper surface of the mouse support. A downwardly facing surface of the keyboard support bounding the throughpassage includes a recess sized to slidably receive the upper portion of the bead extending above the upper surface of the mouse support. The bead prevents a mouse placed on either of the two mouse support surfaces from sliding off the back edge of the mouse support if the mouse support is inclined at a negative angle. A wrist support is affixed to an upper support surface of the keyboard support body using a plurality of ball catch type fasteners.

The present invention concerns a computer keyboard support having a movable extension that supports a data input device, such as a mouse, for controlling a cursor position on a computer viewing screen.
The personal computer revolution has placed personal computers and computer terminals on corporate and home desktops throughout the world. Almost all such computers and terminals allow data entry through an alphanumeric keyboard. Often such a keyboard rests on a level desktop surface which is the same as the surface that supports a computer base unit and a viewing monitor or screen.
Especially when the user must work at the computer for long periods of time, it is important to be able to adjust the position and/or orientation of the keyboard. Built in tabs that form an integral part of the keyboard allow for limited tilt adjustment. To allow more flexibility in positioning a keyboard to suit a user""s ergonomic requirements, however, the keyboard needs its own support.
Different types of keyboard supports are sold by Work-Rite Ergonomic Accessories, Inc., the assignee of the present invention. One such keyboard support is movably supported by a track and support mechanism that allows the keyboard to be moved out from under a user""s desk and then stored beneath the desk when the keyboard is not in use. This keyboard support also allows the user to adjust both the angle and the height of the keyboard in relation to the user.
A common personal computer input device that has received wide acceptance is a two dimensional input control device commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cmouse.xe2x80x9d As the mouse is moved over a flat surface a roller that extends from a bottom of the mouse rotates and this rotation is translated into electrical signals that are transmitted to an interface of the personal computer. The movement of the mouse on the surface causes a corresponding movement of an arrow on the computer screen. By moving the arrow to point at a desired icon, function block, dialog box, or pull down menu, the user can actuate switches on the mouse to select or pick icons, or functions, actuate pull-down menus, select a block of text for editing, enter data, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,743 to Gillis concerns a keyboard tray which is formed from two relatively shallow molded bodies united along a periphery to define a relatively flat, internal chamber through either of opposite side edges of the keyboard support or tray. A mouse tray can project outwardly of the internal chamber through either of opposite side edges of the keyboard support.
One exemplary embodiment of the present invention concerns a keyboard and mouse support for a personal computer. The keyboard and mouse support includes a keyboard support and a moveable support adapted to support a moveable pointer input device, such as a mouse. To accommodate the moveable mouse support, the keyboard support includes a support body having a throughpassage that passes through the support body and opens on opposite sides of the support body. The moveable support is slidably positioned in the throughpassage. The support body defines a support surface configured to accommodate an alphanumeric keyboard for inputting signals corresponding to alphanumeric symbols to the computer.
The mouse or pointer device typically includes a roller that requires a generally flat surface for its support and rotation of the roller. Although the term xe2x80x9cmousexe2x80x9d has become almost universally used for a moveable pointer input device, other terms such as xe2x80x9ctrackballxe2x80x9d can be used interchangeably with the term xe2x80x9cmouse.xe2x80x9d
The moveable support or moveable mouse support fits within a portion of the throughpassage of the keyboard support and can be extended outwardly from the keyboard support to define a mouse support surface. A portion of the mouse support extends in front of a front edge of a keyboard as the keyboard rests on the keyboard support surface.
The exemplary keyboard and mouse support includes a keyboard support body having a curved slot that extends through the support body. The keyboard support also includes a moveable mouse support that defines an arcuate body that fits within the curved slot of the support body and can be pushed back and forth through the curved slot to extend beyond one or the other side of the keyboard support body. Due to its curved or arcuate shape of the mouse support, an exemplary embodiment of the moveable mouse support defines a work region that extends beyond a front edge of the keyboard support body.
Advantageously, the mouse support includes an upwardly protruding bead that extends just inward of a back edge of the mouse support. The bead prevents a mouse placed on either of the two mouse support work regions from sliding off the back edge of the mouse support. If the keyboard and mouse support is adjusted to a negative angle, the mouse would tend to roll off the back of the mouse support if no bead were present along the back edge of the mouse support. A negative angle of the mouse and keyboard support is one in which the front edge (the edge facing toward the user) of the keyboard support is vertically above the back edge (the edge facing toward the monitor) of the keyboard support. The bead may be a cylindrical shaped length of rubber or plastic, such as a length of material forming a conventional O-ring. Preferably, the bead is seated in an arcuate recess or groove in an upper surface of the mouse support. The bead may be adhesively affixed in the recess and a portion of the bead extends above the upper surface of the mouse support. The mouse support recess is generally parallel to the back edge of the mouse support and is disposed just inward from the back edge. Preferably, a surface of the keyboard support body bounding the throughpassage also includes a corresponding groove or recess aligned with the mouse support recess to receive the upper portion of the bead extending above the mouse support upper surface.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the exemplary embodiment of the invention are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Personal computer keyboard and mouse support having moveable mouse extension


A piping joint structure has a block joint disposed in a passenger's compartment and communicating with an evaporator, a first holder mounted on an end of a maintenance lid in the passenger's compartment closer to a dashboard panel, and a second holder combined with the first holder to hold the block joint on a side panel of a heater unit housing which confronts the dashboard panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piping joint structure in an automotive air-conditioning unit for use on a motor vehicle such as an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 10 of the accompanying drawings, one conventional piping joint structure in an automotive air-conditioning unit has a block joint 2 disposed in a through hole defined in a dashboard panel 1 which divides an engine compartment 9a and a passenger's compartment 9b from each other in an automobile. To the block joint 2, there are fastened joint members 3 in the passenger's compartment 9b and joint members 4 in the engine compartment 9a by screws (not shown). A heater unit 6 is connected to pipes 5 exposed in the passenger's compartment 9b, and a blower 8 is coupled to the heater unit 6 through a maintenance lid 7.
The illustrated conventional piping joint structure needs to have a heat-insulating member covered around the pipes 5, which interconnect the heat unit 6 and the joint members 3, to prevent water droplets from being deposited on outer surfaces of the pipes 5 due to condensation. As a consequence, the conventional piping joint structure is made up of a relatively large number of parts.
Since the joint members 3 and the joint members 4 which are connected respectively opposite sides of the block joint 2 are required, the number of parts of the conventional piping joint structure is also relatively large, resulting in a large cost required to manufacture the conventional piping joint structure.
When an air-conditioning unit is to be assembled, the joint members 3 and the joint members 4 have to be fastened to the block joint 2 by screws. For maintenance of the air-conditioning unit, it is necessary to remove the joint members 3, which are installed in a relatively small space, from the block joint 2. Consequently, the processes of assembling the air-conditioning unit and servicing the air-conditioning unit for maintenance are complex and time-consuming.


The invention relates to a method 10 performed in a user equipment 3, 4 of a communication system 1 for determining a beam-forming gain parameter, the communication system 1 comprising a base station 2 serving the user equipment 3, 4. The method 10 comprises: receiving 1 a cell-specific reference signal and a dedicated reference signal from the base station 2; measuring 12 a received power, PRSRP, of the cell-specific reference signal and a received power, PDRSRP, of the dedicated reference signal; and determining 13 a beam-forming gain parameter, GBF, based on the measured received power, PRSRP, of the cell-specific reference signal and on the measured received power, PDRSRP, of the dedicated reference signal. The invention also relates to user equipment, methods in base station, base station, computer programs and computer program products.

Smart antennas are widely utilized in wireless communication systems. In contrast to a traditional antenna, which has a single fixed beam pattern, the smart antenna may dynamically generate multiple beam patterns. Each such beam pattern can be pointed towards a particular user equipment and the beam patterns may be adapted to follow the particular user equipment as he moves. The smart antenna technologies may greatly increase the signal gain of the targeted user equipment and reduce the interference to other user equipment using the same channel.
Beam-forming is a key feature in communication systems today, and an operator thereof may enable and disable the beam-forming feature for particular cells or carrier frequencies. It can however be difficult to optimize the use of the beam-forming feature so as to provide the best possible performance for as many users as possible. For example, the use of beam-forming for user equipment moving at high speed suffers from limited tracking speed. The use of beam-forming for user equipment being "out-of-sight" from a base station suffers from the limited speed of beam-forming and it is thus difficult to decide whether or not to use beam-forming in e.g. urban areas. For these users the beam-forming gain is much lower than expected and if used, increases the interference towards other user equipment.
Manual drive tests may be performed, wherein a car is driven around to collect user equipment measurements in a cell of the communication system. However, although such manual test drives provide a more accurate basis for the decision on whether or not to use the beam-forming feature they are time-consuming as well as expensive and still only provides a limited picture of the user performance.

Methods for determining a beam-forming gain parameter, user equipment, base station, computer programs and computer program products


A shock absorber damps the vibrations that are generated in a washing assembly of a horizontal axis washer. The shock absorber is of the type containing a magnetorheological fluid. A method carried out in a real-time mode throughout the duration of the operation cycles of the machine varies at least one of the rheological properties of the medium and, in due proportion, the vibration damping power of the shock absorber. The method is based on the monitoring of a physical quantity that is representative of the variations in the balance conditions of the washing assembly. The invention provides effective and immediate damping of the vibrations caused by an unbalanced washload in the rotating drum, without any interruption or modification of the washing cycle selected and set by the user.

The present invention generally relates to washing machines, such as household or residential type washers, including both clothes washing machines and combined clothes washing and drying machines.
A washing machine, top-loading or front-loading, typically includes the following parts: an outer casing, with a structural base portion and a control panel; a washing assembly elastically connected with the outer casing (ie, hung on or supported by said casing), and including a tub and a substantially horizontal-axis rotating drum; a drive assembly with an electric motor adapted to operate the drum at a reduced rotational speed (for instance, 50-70 rpm) in the washing phases of the cycle, and at least one higher rotational speed (up to even 1500-1800 rpm in some models) during spin-extraction phases.
During operation, it may quite frequently occur that, in the washing machine, the items making up the washload distribute unevenly, ie. in a non-uniform manner, along the periphery of the rotating drum. As a result, the washing assembly of the machine is subject to stresses that tend to generate vibrations whose amplitudes increase with the rotational speed of the same drum and peak in the transient from washing to spin-extraction in correspondence of a rotational speed which is generally known as the "critical speed". In order to damp these vibrations, so as to prevent them from affecting the outer casing and being further transmitted on to the surrounding environment, in the form of noise or otherwise, the washing assembly is connected to the outer casing by means of springs and shock-absorbing struts.
In consideration of their simple, cost-effective construction, the shock absorbers that are most frequently used in this particular field of application are those of the friction type (see for instance EP-A-0 315 076 and EP-A-0 513 670) which, in view of ensuring a constant vibration-damping capacity thereof, are sized on the basis of standard operating conditions (extent of the stresses imparted, amplitude and frequency of the generated vibrations). These shock-absorbers, however, are "passive", failing to accommodate the fact that the actual operating conditions of the machine in use may differ considerably from standard conditions. In particular, such shock-absorbers have limited effectiveness in the presence of markedly anomalous oscillations, such as those generated by a washload with a reduced, but concentrated weight, as represented for example by a pair of tennis-shoes or a sponge-cloth towel or bathrobe. It should furthermore be noticed that, in these shock absorbers, a vibration damping action is actually performed even when it is not required (washing phases, perfectly balanced washload, etc.), and this may be the cause of a noise that is generally felt as unpleasant or disturbing by the users of the washing machine.
Washing machines are also known, for instance from EP-A-0 407 755, which make use of shock absorbers that are capable of producing a reduced vibration-damping effect in clothes washing phases of the cycle, as well as a second, higher vibration-damping effect in the spin-extraction phases of the process. All of these shock absorbers, considering their substantially "passive" character, have certain drawbacks. In particular, they tend to react with some delay, with an undesired damping peak, to the occurrence of sudden stresses when the amplitude of the oscillations of the washing assembly undergoes sharp variations.
Finally, EP-A-0 487 311 discloses a shock absorber for clothes washing machines that includes a hydraulic cylinder that is fixed to the washing assembly of the machine, and an actuator that is fixed to the outer casing of the washing machine and is triggered by an arrangement provided to control the rotational speed of the drum. A sliding drilled piston is enclosed in the cylinder, along with a fixed perforated partitioning baffle, and the operating rod of the piston protrudes from the cylinder. When the speed control arrangement detects a condition in which the drum is rotating at a low number of revolutions per minute, ie. a low speed, the actuator keeps a therewith associated retaining pin in a seat provided in the rod of the piston so as to damp the oscillations being transmitted by the washing assembly to the outer casing of the machine. When the speed control arrangement then detects a condition in which the rotational speed of the drum rises beyond a pre-determined threshold value, as occurs during the transition from the washing phase to the spin-extraction phase, the actuator retracts the retaining pin from said seat so as to positively interrupt any transmission of vibrations from the washing assembly to the outer casing of the machine. Such a shock absorber, however, apart from requiring close machining and manufacturing tolerances in connection with the retaining pin and the therewith associated seat in the piston rod, has limited reliability due to these two parts unavoidably undergoing considerable wear and tear due to repeated engaging and disengaging actions. Furthermore, the entire washing machine needs to be designed and constructed in an ad hoc manner due to the complexity of such a shock absorber as far as dimensions and construction are concerned.
It would therefore be desirable, and it is actually a main purpose of the present invention, to provide a method capable of effectively, reliably and inexpensively damping the vibrations at the very moment in which they are generated during the operation of the washing machine, even under non-standard conditions.
Another problem that generally needs to be overcome derives from the fact that, in the period of time between final testing at the end of the production line and the installation in the field, washing machines are unavoidably exposed to a number of external stresses, for instance shocks and jerks during transport. The need arises here in particular to prevent or damp bumping the washing assembly of the machines, which, is connected elastically with the outer casing. Now, all systems used by the various machine manufacturers to this particular purpose call for the installation, between the washing assembly and the outer casing of the machine, of appropriate locking means, such as threaded rods, bars, appropriately shaped or contoured shims of corrugated cardboard or expanded polystyrene, which must be removed before the machine is started. Such means are effective but, considering that they really have nothing to do with the actual operation of the machine and that their purpose is scarcely perceived by the consumers, they add in an undesired manner to the overall production costs of a washing machine. In any case, the presence of such locking means in a washing machine may prove quite inconvenient to the users, due not only to their need to be removed from the machine, but also to a substantial impossibility for those parts to be reused in some other different manner, as well as to a difficulty in disposing of these parts.

Method for providing active damping of the vibrations generated by the washing assembly of washing machines and washing machine implementing said method


A bifocal double group lens assembly, sequentially from the object side, comprises: a stationary first lens group with a negative refractive power, a second lens group with a positive refractive power being moveable along optical axis. The second lens group, at two different positions, can focus appropriately on an infinitely distant object when moving along the optical axis. When the lens assembly is in the wide angle mode, and the object to be shot moves from an infinite distance to a near point, the second lens group will move toward the object side for focusing. When the lens assembly is in the Tele mode, and the object to be shot moves from an infinite distance to a near point, the second lens group will move toward the image side for focusing. A linear driver is employed to move the second lens group for executing the function of two-section zoom and continuous focus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens structure, and more particularly to a bifocal double group lens assembly with both zoom and focus functions, the first lens group is stationary, and the second lens group is driven by a linear driver.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since image lens is used more and more widely in modern society, and particularly, image taking has been one of indispensable functions of the mobile phone product. However, the lens assembly in the product also needs to be miniaturized and thinned due to the requirement for portability. Therefore, within a set size, how to develop an image lens assembly with zoom and focus capability has become the focus of research of the advanced mobile phone's lens assembly.
Conventionally, a double group zoom lens needs a driver to drive the CAM barrel when zooming, so as to make the first lens group and the second lens group move synchronously. When focusing, the lens assembly needs another independent driver to drive the first lens group. Although this technique achieves the function of zooming and focusing, it still has the following disadvantages:
Firstly, this double group zoom lens requires two lens groups to move synchronously, and has too many moveable members, as a result, the reliability of the product is decreased.
Secondly, zooming and focusing operation of this double group zoom lens are executed separately by two independent drivers, therefore, the cost and the size of the lens assembly cannot be controlled effectively.
Thirdly, the zooming mechanism of this double group zoom lens usually consists of a CAM barrel and a driver, so its structure is complicated, mould cost is high, and size is large.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


An antenna network system comprises a server including a transmitter and an antenna, and a client including a receiver and a steerable antenna. There is also included a control path which is independently operable of the antennas for communicating control data between the server and client. The server is responsive to signal quality data communicated via the control path for steering at least one of the server antenna and client antenna in a direction for optimising the signal quality of communications transmitted between them.

This invention relates to wireless networks, in particular to wireless networks in enclosed environments such as, for example, a home or office.
With the growing use of computer systems such as PCs within office or working environments provision of suitable conduits for the necessary cabling, in particular network cables, has become increasingly difficult. Furthermore, working environments are often altered such as rearranging an open-plan office, or reorganising partitions in an environment having conventional offices. In production facilities the increasing reliance on information technology makes computer networks essentialxe2x80x94yet, again, the cabling requirements pose significant difficulties.
With the rapid increase in the number of multimedia appliances (e.g. video equipment, home theatres, PCs, etc) being used in the home, there is also a growing requirement for a network for controlling and connecting such multimedia appliances which is not unsightly. Such networks need to be easy to install, easy to set up, easy to maintain and easy to use. The required network should link the above-described home, office or production appliances to each other and to wide area networks such as, for example, the Internet, video servers or other communications media, via a central server.
It has been proposed to use wireless communication media for such networks which offer advantages over wired systems in that they are easy to physically install and such systems are known for use in the control of television systems, communication of audio signals to remote speakers, communication between a PC and a printer, and the like.
In such a wireless network, individual apparatus are linked to each other and/or a central server system by wireless communications and each apparatus can typically transmit and receive wireless signals. Such a system may be termed a wireless LAN
However, there is a need to transmit digital data at every increasing data rates for multimedia information. The carrier frequencies required for such data rates are at least in the Gigahertz (GHz) range. At carrier frequencies in the Gigahertz range, communication systems suffer from the effects of reflections and attenuation from walls, windows and partitions, etc, typically found in work or home environments which can affect the Bit Error Rate (BER) performance of the system, thereby resulting in retransmission of data and an undesirable or even unacceptable reduction in data throughout. A source of poor BER performance at so-called medium carrier frequencies, i.e. in the range about 2 to 15 GHz, is that reflections manifest themselves as sources of multipath propagation that can result in inter-symbol interference at a receiving apparatus. Additionally, many applications involve compressed video or audio and it is preferable for the data to arrive at the receiver in the correct order to avoid excessive buffering and delays, and/or complex error correction algorithms and processing circuitry to compensate for any lost or corrupted data.
In the case of medium frequency systems (2 to 15 GHz carrier frequencies), multipath signals at the receiver give rise to inter-symbol interference in the demodulated data stream. To reduce the effect of such multipath propagation, the system must utilise complex echo cancellation or equalisation techniques. In this application, the steerable antenna can be used to amplify the gain of the primary signal whilst attenuating the multipath signals with nulls, thus simplifying the echo cancelling requirements. Alternatively, in the case of a CDMA system where one wishes to increase the signal received from multipath signals at the input to the RAKE receiver, the steerable antenna can be used to increase the strength of the signal received at the RAKE receiver.
At very high carrier frequencies, i.e. in the range about 15 to 60 GHz, the attenuation due to walls or partitions, etc, gives rise to significant received signal power level problems, where the transmitting apparatus and receiving apparatus are not in line of sight. If there is excessive BER, the system performance and overall quality of audio-visual degrades due to the need for retransmission of erroneous data. At such high frequencies, it may be possible to only detect a signal resulting from a reflection from a partition or wall.
For very high carrier frequencies, simulation results show that the amount of diffusion of power through partitions and doors, etc is low and is highly dependent upon the material and construction of partitions and the position of furniture, for example. In addition, small changes in the-environment affect the propagation of RF within the building. At these frequencies (15 to 60 GHz), a reasonable level of reflection from walls and/or internal or external objects (via doors, windows, and the like) in the environment can be anticipated as disclosed in publication xe2x80x9cPredicted HIPERLAN coverage and outage performance at 5.2 and 17 GHz using indoor 3D Ray tracing techniquesxe2x80x9d A R Nix et al, Wireless Communications Journal 1996.
Experimental results published in the literature, i.e. xe2x80x9cInvestigation of the Effects of Antenna Directivity on Wireless Indoor Communication Systems at 60 GHzxe2x80x9d by M R Williams et al, Proceedings of Workshop on Wireless Multimedia Communication Systems, Kings College, June 97, show that the bit error rate (BER) performance of a wireless communication system can be dramatically improved by the use of highly directional antennas. In theory, optimum performance can be achieved if the beams of both the transmitter and receiver are aligned on the line of sight and the angle of spread of the beams are minimised in order to reduce reflections and multipath propagation. It is apparent that, as the beams narrow, a concomitant accuracy of beam alignment must be maintained. Also, the narrower the beam, the more rapid the degradation in performance if the beam goes out of alignment.
In the majority of home and work environments, it is highly improbable that line of sight communication between all appliances can be achieved, especially to those appliances that are ergonomically located. In a practical situation, in order to provide communication at such high frequencies, reliance upon reflections within the building or via windows to and from external objects or diffusion or diffraction through and under partitions and doors would be required in addition to, or alternatively to, line of sight, where possible, to maximise the likelihood of obtaining signal power levels suitable for communication.
In order to reduce the problems with unwanted reflections and poor signal strength due to attenuation through walls or partitions, etc, it is desirable to provide antennas which are directional so that they transmit and receive in narrow directions only. Thus, by properly aligning the directional antennas, the transmission problems giving rise to poor BER may be mitigated.
Although it is possible to create a computer simulation of the effects of a building on the propagation of a radio signal and to define the optimum position of transmitting and receiving antennas, and their direction of propagation, it is an impractical solution since the environment (location of obstructions, number and location of equipment, etc) often changes. Such a wireless home or work network is difficult to set up and maintain without continual adjustment and therefore further computer simulation.
Such an approach relies upon complex simulation of the transmission characteristics of the environment taking into account an accurate geometric map of the environment, the physical properties of materials comprising partitions and the effect of reflections from objects that are exterior of the building (reference xe2x80x9cA Ray Tracing for Microcellular Wideband Propagation Modellingxe2x80x9d, G E Athanasiadou et al, IEEE, VTC, Chicago, 1995). Any modification to the environment leads to either a requirement for a new simulation and repositioning of antennas or the possible degradation of the performance of the network.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an antenna network system, comprising:
a server including a transmitter and an antenna;
a client including a receiver and a steerable antenna;
a control path independently operable of a primary wireless communications channel between said antennas, the control path for communicating control data between said server and client; and
server control means responsive to signal quality data communicated via said control path for steering said client antenna in a direction for optimising signal quality of communications transmitted between said antennas.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there-is provided a method for automatically calibrating an antenna network system including a server antenna and steerable client antenna, the method comprising:
transmitting a wireless signal from said server antenna;
receiving said wireless signal at said client antenna for each one of a plurality of directions for said client antenna;
noting received signal quality for respective client antenna directions; and
steering said client antenna in a direction for optimising said received signal quality.
In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises steering the server antenna in a plurality of directions, and receiving the wireless signal at the client antenna for each one of the plurality of directions of the client antenna for each of the plurality of directions for the server antenna. Thus, it is possible to build up measurements of the received signal quality for each combination of client and server antenna directions. Having the control path independent of the primary wireless communications channel means that control data can be exchanged even if there is a breakdown in the primary communications channel.
Preferably, data corresponding to the noted received signal quality for respective client antenna directions is communicated to the server over the control path at a lower data rate than the data rate for the primary wireless channel. Typically, such data comprises respective received signal quality values and corresponding client antenna direction information. By having the control path operable at a low data rate, low carrier frequencies may be used and thus suitable communications media for such low carrier frequencies may be utilised. Suitable low carrier frequencies would be lower than about 1 GHz.
Suitably, the server forms a database of the data forwarded to it from the client antenna over the control path and searches said database to identify a client antenna direction yielding optimum signal quality. The method further comprises communicating control signals over the control path to the client antenna for steering the client antenna in the identified optimum direction.
Optionally, the method further comprises including in the database data corresponding to the server antenna direction for each of the data recorded for the client antenna, searching for a server antenna direction and client antenna direction pair yielding optimum signal quality, and steering the server antenna and the client in respective directions for that optimum signal quality. Steering of the client antenna being achieved by forwarding suitable control signals over the control path.
Preferably, the control path comprises a power supply line including a suitable modem/s, telephone system, cable system or cordless telephone system, for example the DECT telephone system. One or other of such systems are particularly advantageous, since they can be operated at relatively low frequencies and/or data rates and can provide substantially continuous communication for control signals between the server and the client. Optionally, the control path is wireless, and may even be transmitted from the server and/or client antennas. However, since the data rate and hence carrier frequency is substantially lower than the data rate for the primary wireless communications channel, the propagation over the wireless control path is more robust, and does not suffer from the problems experienced for the primary channel.
Suitably, the client and/or the server comprise signal processing circuitry for receiving and transmitting control data between them over the control path.
The client may also comprise signal processing circuitry for determining the quality of a signal received from the server via respective client and server antennas.
The client signal processing circuitry may be operable to steer the client antenna in accordance with control signals received from the server via a control path.
Advantageously, the server antenna is a steerable antenna, which provides for further optimisation of received signal quality by suitably directing-the server antenna. Typically, the server signal processing circuitry is operable to steer the server antenna in a direction in accordance with the signal quality data communicated to it from the client via the control path.
Either one or both of the server and client antennas may be operable to form a complex antenna beam pattern in accordance with respective signals communicated by the control path. This advantageously provides an antenna beam pattern suitable for receiving and optimising signals via multipath propagation.
The server can transmit control data to the client for forming beam patterns and steering the antenna, such that all the processing and control is performed in the server.
In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a system which enables transmission of bidirectional data using high carrier frequencies (in the range of 2 to 60 GHz) between a wireless server and wireless client appliances. The system enables optimisation of the available bandwidth of the network by using directional antennas to improve BER. In addition, the system improves flexibility in terms of the physical location of the transmitter and receivers. The receivers can comprise or feed any number of client appliances, such as TV, camcorder, VCR, satellite receivers, DVD, DAB, interactive playstations, personal computers, printers, web TVs, virtual reality shopping centres, educational terminals, wireless books, etc. Each appliance is effectively connected to any other appliance via the wireless LAN to the server. The server may be connected to the Internet service supplier via a high speed connection, in order to provide network access to such services for the above-mentioned client appliances.
Embodiments of the present invention, at the above-described medium carrier frequencies (in the range of 2 to 15 GHz), enable identification of the source of maximum RF carrier power arriving at the receiver(s) as a result reflections and/or diffusion as well. as line of sight. By correctly aligning the beam of the antenna of the appliance and/or the server in the direction of maximum power, not only is BER improved due to the improved signal to noise (S/N) ratio at the receiver(s), but also the effective power received from multipath propagation may be improved for CDMA systems and conversely reduced for TDMA or FDMA systems. The overall result is an improvement in BER performance of the system and/or ability to greatly simplify the equaliser of the receiver and/or the ability to increase the data rate of the system due to the reduction in inter-symbol interference.
With embodiments of the present invention, the sources of maximum RF power arriving at the receiver(s) as a result of reflections and/or diffusion can be identified. Also, the optimum alignment of the beams of the transmitter and/or receiver(s) can be calculated to either limit inter-symbol interference due to multipath propagation or to increase the S/N radio by correct beam alignment. Performance (i.e. BER) of the receiver(s) may be optimised, leading to an improvement in quality for transmission of real time information such as multimedia data. Alternatively, the system can accommodate a larger number of receivers within the LAN or a higher effective data rate for a given carrier frequency or if the equipment is battery operated (e.g. wireless electronic book or PDA) one can reduce the power of the transmitter/receiver for a given performance giving rise to an increase in battery life.
To communicate the status of beam alignment between the wireless client appliance and the wireless server, an alternate communication path for transmitting control and status information is established. The transmission media chosen for the control signal path is such that bidirectional control communications may be maintained even if the main transmitting apparatus/receiving apparatus beams are not aligned (i.e. the main medium or high carrier frequency system is not able to transmit and receive data). Examples of technology that could be used for the control path over a short distance are low frequency wireless telephone (2 GHz carrier or below), modulation of the mains power network, a conventional modem connected to the telephone network, DECT wireless systems or even using a temporary wireline connection.
By utilising an alternate transmission medium/system for the transmission of control and status information, the set up of the system can be automated and effectively one can achieve a xe2x80x9cplug and playxe2x80x9d network.
Reliance is placed upon the use of steerable multiple element antennas to transmit/receive information in the home or office network. Multiple element steerable antennas have been used in military applications for many years. Using well-known digital signal processing techniques, the amplitude and phase of the antenna elements of the receiver are adjusted to create a signal beam of a maximum gain. By adjusting the relative phases and amplitudes of the receiver(s) antenna elements, the signal beam is swept in both horizontal directions and subsequently in elevation while measuring the received carrier signal strength. The resultant variation in strength of the received signal creates a three-dimensional map of the transmission characteristics of the environment for a given direction of the transmitted beam. The direction of the transmitted beam is then adjusted by an incremental angle and the procedures are repeated. Using the resulting maps of signal strengths at the receiver(s) for all transmitted beam directions, the spatial gain of the transmitting and receiving antenna(s) are then adjusted for optimised signal reception at the specific carrier frequency. By this invention, there is a combination of the use of a lower frequency control path with the beam sweeping technique to automatically map the transmission characteristics of a home or office environment. Using the resultant map, the spatial gain of the antennas is arranged for optimum transmission. The control of the spatial gain is enacted by transmitting via the control path of the necessary data for optimum configuration of the antennas and their elements.
The control information relayed between the wireless server and the wireless client appliance includes (as a minimum) the carrier frequency in use and the direction of the antenna beams at a given point in time and the resultant measurement of receiver RF power. Optionally, the elevation and/or width of the antenna beams may also be communicated. The control information for each appliance is stored in a temporary memory for future calculations. By comparing the stored results of signal strength of the various orientations of the transmitter and receiver beams, the server can identify the optimum direction in which the beams of the transmitter and receiver should be oriented to maximise the S/N ratio and the achieve optimum performance, in particular in terms of BER. Finally, at the end of the calibration procedure, the server sets the optimum beam configuration at the client and server (for a steerable server antenna) transmitter and receiver for respective transmitter/receiver communication by communicating the preferred settings to the wireless client appliance via the control path.
The calibration procedure can be reenacted on a periodic basis or when the performance of the communication system degrades below a preset limit or when a new wireless client appliance is added to the network.
The process can be repeated for different carrier frequencies or for different azimuth to again select the beam configuration and carrier frequency for optimum reception at the receivers.
By virtue of the principle of reciprocity, the optimum antenna configuration is the same for both the wireless server and a wireless client appliance in either transmit or receive mode.
Optionally, the process can also be repeated for uplink (client appliances to server) transmission of information by treating the client appliance as the transmitter and the server as the receiver.
The system can also be used to provide feedback to the user as to the optimum placement of transmitting and receiving antennas. In many instances, it would be possible to further improve the performance of the network by utilising the information stored in the temporary memory regarding the variation in RF power at the receivers to advise of modifications in the physical location of the receivers. For example, if the maximum powers are recorded in the nxe2x88x921, nth and n+1 sectors, then the user could be provided with an indication that moving the antenna in the direction of the nth sector and restarting the calibration routine could further improve performance. This option would be of great benefit if the power received in the sector of highest power (nth) is below a preset limit that is deemed to be necessary to ensure adequate BER performance of the system.
Particular and preferred aspects of the invention are set out in the accompanying independent claims. Combinations of features from the dependent and/or independent claims may be combined as appropriate and not merely as set out in the claims.


A collapsible, palletized bin container is provided which has separate compartments therewithin. Each compartment is designed to house a separate fluid-filled bag. Dividers are located within the container which form the discrete compartments. Each divider has tabs which are received within notches in sidewalls of the container. The notches allow the sidewalls to bow slightly outward while still maintaining a tight seal with the tabs. The container is collapsible to a substantially smaller volume for transport when empty and a bar, chain and hook assembly is provided for easy removal of the fluid-filled bags when sliding the bags out of the compartments of the container.

Containers are commonly used in storage and transportation of viscous liquids, such as tomato paste and other food products. These containers are often palletized and have rigid walls and a lid which support a bag filled with the fluid to be contained. Commonly, these containers are collapsible when empty so that they require less space for storage and transport. The container must be strong enough to survive the rigors of transportation and yet be easily stackable to maximize warehouse space. Standard sizes of forklifts, highway freight trailers, railroad cars, and other shipping containers have resulted in the proliferation of containers which have a footprint similar to that of a standard 44-inch by 48-inch pallet and having a height of approximately 37 inches. Containers which deviate significantly from these dimensions are less economical in that they do not fit as easily onto various transportation systems and are not as easily manipulated by commonly available handling means, such as forklifts.
Containers of this size hold approximately 300 gallons of fluid. While this size can be easily handled by many industrial customers, a significant portion of the industrial customers can not handle such large quantities of fluids in their facilities. Many users of tomato paste, for example, prefer to receive paste in 55-gallon increments such as are commonly contained in 55-gallon drums. Drums are inherently less efficient in storage and transportation than are the palletized 300-gallon containers.
Drums leave excess space when placed within a warehouse or on a transportation device. Furthermore, drums are not collapsible as are the 300-gallon containers. Accordingly, a need exists for providing the convenience and cost effectiveness of a container similar to the collapsible 300-gallon type, which contains the fluid in discrete 55-gallon increments as is required by many industrial customers. The invention of this application meets this need by providing a collapsible container having exterior dimensions substantially similar to those of 300-gallon containers but which is subdivided into four separate 55-gallon regions, each region receiving a 55-gallon bag of fluid therein.
The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.
______________________________________ INVENTOR U.S. Pat. No. ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ Frye, De Moine H. 2,534,010 December 12, 1950 Frye, De Moine H. 2,534,011 December 12, 1950 Hamerslag, J. P. Jr. 2,683,010 July 6, 1954 Lapham, S. D. 2,700,521 January 25, 1955 Marques, et al. 4,054,223 October 18, 1977 Fell, et al. 4,221,296 September 9, 1980 Preston, et al 4,426,015 January 17, 1984 Yokowo, K. 4,454,946 June 19, 1984 Croley, T. 4,516,692 May 14, 1985 Schneider, W. 4,697,699 October 6, 1987 Koenig, D. 4,763,787 August 16, 1988 Graves, et al. 4,786,192 November 22, 1988 Nederveld 4,949,898 August 21, 1990 Selz 5,036,979 August 6, 1991 ______________________________________
The brochure presented by Beatrice/Hunt-Wesson (undated) for the bag-in-bin container teaches the use of a collapsible palletized container which receives a bag filled with fluid (such as tomato paste) on an interior thereof. The instant invention is both structurally distinguishable from this reference and further provides dividers on an interior thereof which segregate the interior into four separate regions, with each region receiving a separate bag of fluid.
Many of the listed prior art, of which the patent to Preston, et al. is an example, teach a container which may be palletized, is collapsible and receives a bag filled with fluid therein. The application of this invention is distinguishable structurally from devices of this type and also in that, inter alia, it divides the interior of the container into four separate regions and provides a separate bag filled with fluid for each region.
Another group of prior art, of which the patent to Yokowo is an example, teach the use of collapsible containers which are subdivided into separate regions and which are palletized. The device of this invention is distinguishable from the teachings of these patents in that, inter alia, the dividing walls within the container of this invention are securely fastened to sidewalls of the container. This insures that, if one region within the container is empty and an adjacent region within the container is full, the container will maintain its integrity and be able to restrain the fluid within the bag from displacing the dividers within the containers. Furthermore, none of these references contemplate storage of liquid filled bags therein.
Those prior art citations which do not fit into either of these categories, diverge even more starkly from the instant invention than do those inventions fitting into the groups specifically distinguished above.

Palletized container having discrete compartments formed by dividers


An image processing system includes: an application server installed on a network; an image processing device installed on a local network connected to the network; a relay server, installed on the local network, that relays communication between the image processing device and the application server; and a connection mediation server, installed on the network, that transmits a connection request to the relay server to cause the relay server to connect to the application server. The connection mediation server includes a request accepting circuit, and a connection request circuit, the relay server includes a connection establishment circuit, and in a case where a communication request is accepted, the connection request circuit transmits the connection request to the relay server, and in a case where a new communication request is accepted, the connection request circuit does not transmit the connection request to the relay server.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing system, a connection mediation server, a relay server, and a program, and more particularly, to a technology for relaying communication between a server on the Internet and an image processing device.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various application servers for a SaaS (Software as a Service) application and the like are installed on clouds on the Internet, and cloud services are provided by the application servers via the Internet. A cloud service is available at any time and in any place as long as connection to the Internet is allowed, and is highly convenient. As one use mode of a cloud service, data of a document or the like is accumulated in an application server, and printing of the data is performed by transferring the data from the application server to an image processing device installed on a local network in an office, for example. Also, in recent years, there is provided a service for managing a program for updating firmware of an image processing device in an application server, and for updating the firmware by downloading the firmware program to the image processing device from the application server.
However, a firewall is present between a local network and the Internet. Accordingly, even if a user issues a printing instruction to an application server, data cannot be transferred to an image processing device installed on the local network from the application server on the Internet. An image processing system as shown in FIG. 14 is therefore proposed to enable such data transfer, for example.
The conventional image processing system shown in FIG. 14 includes, on Internet 100, an application server 110, and a connection mediation server 112 for mediating connection state establishment between the application server 110 and an image processing device 122 installed on a local network according to a request from the application server 110. On the other hand, on a local network 101 such as an office LAN (Local Area Network), there are provided a relay server 120 for relaying communication between the image processing device 122 and the application server 110 according to a request from the connection mediation server 112, and the image processing device 122. When activated by application of power, the relay server 120 establishes a connection state 130 to the connection mediation server 112 installed on the Internet 100. The connection mediation server 112 is thereby placed in a regular connection state to the relay server 120 installed on the local network 101 through the firewall.
Processes by the image processing system for establishing a connection state between the image processing device 122 and the application server 110, and for transferring data from the application server 110 to the image processing device 122 will be described. First, the application server 110 transmits a communication request D200 specifying the image processing device 122 to the connection mediation server 112. Upon receiving the communication request D200, the connection mediation server 112 identifies the relay server 120 managing the image processing device 122, based on information that is registered in advance, and transmits a connection request D202 requesting establishment of a connection state to the application server 110 to the relay server 120. The connection request D202 includes address information such as an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the application server 110. Upon receiving the connection request D202 from the connection mediation server 112, the relay server 120 transmits a connection start request D204 to the application server 110 based on the address information included in the connection request D202. The relay server 120 and the application server 110 are thereby placed in the connection state, and the application server 110 is enabled to start data transfer to the image processing device 122 via the relay server 120.
Depending on the amount of data transferred from the application server 110, the performance of the image processing device 122 is sometimes reduced by the image processing device 122 executing processes according to the data. Or in the case of downloading a firmware program from the application server 110, update of firmware is performed by the image processing device 122 based on the downloaded program. This may disable communication of the image processing device 122 with other devices during the update process. However, the connection mediation server 112 outside the local network does not constantly keep track of the status of the image processing device 122. Accordingly, if the connection mediation server 112 receives the communication request D200 for the image processing device 122 from another application server 110 in a state where the performance of the image processing device 122 is reduced or communication with other devices is not possible, the connection mediation server 112 transmits the connection request D202 to the relay server 120, and causes the relay server 120 to establish a connection state to the application server 110. However, in the case where the performance of the image processing device 122 is reduced, communication may become difficult, that is, it may take time to receive data from the application server 110, for example. Also, in the case where the image processing device 122 is not allowed to perform communication, data cannot be received from the application server 110. That is, if the connection state to the application server 110 is established by the relay server 120 in a state where communication is disabled or difficult for the image processing device 122, data cannot be desirably transferred from the application server 110, and the established connection state is wasted.
Additionally, there is proposed a monitoring device that issues an update instruction to an image forming device on a local network when update firmware is stored in a server on the Internet, and that monitors a process of the image forming device downloading the update firmware from the server and updating the firmware (for example, JP 2014-52793 A). According to the monitoring device, if update of firmware cannot be performed due to the image forming device being in a communication disabled state, the instruction for updating the firmware is re-issued to the image forming device. Update of firmware may thereby be reliably performed by the image forming device.
When a notification from the server is received, the monitoring device of JP 2014-52793 A instructs the image forming device to perform update, regardless of whether the image forming device is in a state where communication is enabled or in a state where communication is disabled, and instructs the image forming device to communicate with the server. On the other hand, the local network of the image processing system described above is connected to the network through the firewall, and thus, the connection state to the application server 110 is established by the relay server 120 to perform communication. Accordingly, if, like the monitoring device of JP 2014-52793 A, the connection mediation server 112 transmits the connection request D202 to the relay server 120 regardless of the state of the image processing device 122, the relay server 120 establishes the connection state to the application server 110 without fail. However, if communication by the image processing device 122 is not enabled or is difficult, the established connection state is wasted. Accordingly, the situation described above cannot be improved by the technology of JP 2014-52793 A.

Image processing system, connection mediation server, and recording medium


An airbag module includes a retainer, diffuser, inflatable airbag, and an inflator to inflate the airbag. The diffuser is configured to disperse inflation gas from the inflator into the inflatable airbag. The retainer and/or diffuser comprise a glass-filled polymer material. The retainer includes a projection extending from a base wall. The projection couples to a hole in the diffuser flange and prevents the diffuser from rotating relative to the retainer. The inflator is coupled to the retainer by trapping an inflator flange under an overhang in a retainer cavity.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of airbags. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a diffuser and a retainer for a steering wheel airbag module that are formed from a glass-polymer composite. The retainer and diffuser are configured to be coupled together without additional fastening members.
It is known to provide inflatable airbags in a vehicle. Inflatable airbags are inflated by gas directed into the airbag in response to a vehicle experiencing a sudden deceleration above a predetermined threshold or in response to other factors. The inflated airbag absorbs energy resulting from the movement of an occupant within the vehicle compartment against the airbag. The energy absorbed by the airbag is dissipated to minimize rebounding of the occupant from the airbag. Airbags may be provided at a variety of places within the vehicle to protect an occupant of the vehicle in a variety of impact scenarios. For example, airbags may be provided in the dashboard, proximate to the steering wheel, in the vehicle seats, in the door trim panels, in the headliner, etc. The steering wheel airbag assembly generally includes an inflator, an airbag that is inflated by the inflator, a diffuser, and a retainer that mechanically couples the airbag assembly to the vehicle, such as with threaded studs.
Referring to FIG. 2, a steering wheel airbag assembly 120 is shown according to prior art. Airbag assembly 120 includes an inflator 122, a diffuser 150, a retainer 130, and an airbag 160 (sometimes referred to as a "cushion"). Inflator 122 generates a gas that rapidly inflates airbag 160 in an impact. As the gas enters airbag 160, airbag 160 bursts through outer skin 16 and inflates between the driver 18 of vehicle 10 and steering wheel 12. Diffuser 150 is provided between inflator 122 and airbag 160. Diffuser 150 is a thin-walled metallic member that includes a multitude of slots or openings 158 and mounting studs 155. Openings 158 are configured to allow the gas produced by inflator 122 to expand into airbag 160. Mounting studs 155 are received by openings in retainer 130 and openings in inflator 122. The edges of airbag 160 are trapped between diffuser 150 and retainer 130. Nuts 174 are threaded onto studs 155 to couple retainer 130 to inflator 122, airbag 160, and diffuser 150. However, the bolted connection requires nuts 174, increasing the number of components in the assembly and the time needed to assemble airbag module 120.
It would be desirable to provide an airbag assembly that is less expensive and easier to assemble.


A quick connector includes a male member, a female member, an engager claw member and an urging member. The male member includes an engager at an end. The female member includes a receiver opening, and a inner peripheral surface at least. The engager claw member is disposed relatively movably in an axial direction in the female member, and includes a flange, an engager claw adapted for engaging with the engager of the male member, and a projection adapted for engaging with the inner peripheral surface of the female member at least. The urging member is interposed between the female member and the flange of the engager claw member, and urges the engager claw member outward to the receiver opening of female member. The projection of the engager claw member engages with the inner peripheral surface of the female member, and simultaneously the engager claw of the engager claw member engages with the engager of the male member. Hence, the male member and the female member can be connected quickly and firmly in an axial direction as well as in a radial direction by means of the engager claw member and the urging member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick connector for piping for connecting hoses or pipes which are employed to transfer a fluid, such as gasoline, oil, water, air and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been a connector which is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 41794/1989. As illustrated in FIG. 20, the connector comprises a tubular-shaped male member 104 which includes a ring-shaped projection 104a formed at an end on an outer peripheral surface thereof, a tubular-shaped female member 103 including an annular-shaped bulging portion 103a which is formed on an opening end side thereof and which projects radially inward, an engager claw member 106 which is made of a flexible material, which is held by the male member 104 and which is inserted into and engaged with the female member 103, and sealing members 105 and a bushing 107 all of which are disposed in the female member 103 and between the female member 103 and the engager claw member 106. The engager claw member 106 includes a tubular-shaped base 161 in which an annular-shaped groove 161a is formed so as to engage with the ring-shaped projection 104a of the male member 104, and a plurality of legs 162 which extend from the base 161 and which include a concaved groove 162a adapted for engaging with the annular-shaped bulging portion 103a of the female member 103.
In the conventional connector, the male member 104 is first inserted into the engager claw member 106 so as to flex the engager claw member 106 in centrifugal directions, thereby engaging the annular-shaped groove 161a and the ring-shaped projection 104a. Thereafter, the concaved grooves 162a of the engager claw member 106 are flexed radially inward so as to engage with the annular-shaped bulging portion 103a, and at the same time the male member 104 is inserted into the female member 103 together with the engager claw member 106. In this way, the male member 104 can be held in the female member 103 quickly.
However, in the conventional connector, when the male member 104 is pulled in a direction so that it comes out of the female member 103 during service, or when an external force is exerted between the female member 103 and the male member 104 in a direction perpendicular to an axis thereof during service, there arises a fear that the male member 104 may not be held in the female member 103 stably and the reliability of the connector has not been sufficient accordingly, since the male member 104 is held only by the engagement between the annular-shaped groove 161a and the ring-shaped projection 104a and by the engagement between the concaved grooves 162a and the annular-shaped bulging portion 103a. Further, when the pulling force or the external force is large, there arises a fear that even the legs 162 may be deformed heavily.
Moreover, in the conventional connector, there arises a fear that the O-rings 105 and the bushing 107 may be displaced in an axial direction depending on service conditions. If such is the case, the sealing property which results from the O-rings 105 may deteriorate, and it is disadvantageous in view of attaining the pressure resistance. For instance, when a high hydraulic pressure acts on the O-rings 105 in a direction of the arrow "F" of FIG. 20 from an opening 103f side of the female member 103, the high hydraulic pressure acts on the O-rings 105 by way of a fine space "m" between an inner peripheral surface 103g of the female member 103 and an outer peripheral surface 104g of the male member 104 at the front end, thereby displacing the O-rings 105 in the axial direction. Thus, the sealing property and the pressure resistance which result from the O-rings 105 may deteriorate.
Additionally, the high hydraulic pressure applied to the O-rings 105 is further transmitted to the bushing 107 and the engager claw member 106, and accordingly the high hydraulic pressure generates a flexural stress in the engager claw member 106. As a result, the engaging force exerted between the concaved grooves 162a of the engager claw member 106 and the annular-shaped bulging portion 103a of the female member 103 may be weakened, and consequently the connecting force between the male member 104 and the female member 103 may be weakened. In addition, since the high hydraulic pressure applied to the O-rings 105 by way of the fine space "m" is further transmitted to the bushing 107 and the engager claw member 106, a wall surface of the concaved grooves 162a of the engager claw member 106 may be pressed against the annular-shaped bulging portion 103a of the female member 103 heavily and excessively, there is a fear that the wall surface of the concaved grooves 162a may be damaged depending on material qualities of the engager claw member 106. Hence, in the conventional connector, the engaging forces are thus likely to be unstable.


A network access server, such as a PDSN, might provide Mobile IP services to one or more access points for a wireless wide area network. A wireless device might handoff to an access point served by the network access server, and the wireless device might receive from the access point an identifier, such as a Packet Zone ID, that identifies the network access server. The wireless device might then register with the access server but delay making any subsequent Mobile IP re-registrations until after a predetermined amount of time.

A wireless device may access a wireless wide area network ("WWAN") that provides voice, data or other services to the wireless device. The WWAN may include multiple access points throughout its coverage area, which allow a wireless device to travel among different physical locations while still remaining within the coverage area of the WWAN. As a wireless devices changes locations it might remain within the coverage area of the WWAN but move from a portion of the WWAN served by one access point to another portion of the WWAN served by another access point.
As the wireless device moves out of range of one access point and into range of another access point, the wireless device might handoff between the access points. For example, the WWAN might be a wireless telecommunications network, and the access points might be base transceiver stations ("BTSs"). In this case, the wireless device might handoff among different BTSs as it moves throughout the coverage area of the wireless telecommunications network. Various different types of handoffs, such as hard or soft handoffs, are possible depending on the particular type of WWAN.
The Internet Protocol ("IP") is one protocol the wireless device might use when accessing the WWAN and communicating with one or more entities on the WWAN or on another network via the WWAN. IP defines an addressing system in which a wireless device might be assigned a unique address that can be used to route data packets to and from that wireless device. That is, the IP address can be a globally routable address. A given IP address, however, is typically associated with a specific IP sub-network, which is a logical network defined for routing IP packets to their assigned devices.
As the wireless device moves among different access points in the WWAN, the wireless device might move among different IP sub-networks. Mobile IP is an extension of IP that allows a wireless device to roam among different IP sub-networks while still receiving packets addressed to its assigned IP address. That is, even though the wireless device might move to an IP sub-network that is different from the IP sub-network for its IP address, the wireless device can continue to use that IP address and to receive packets addressed to the IP address.
Usually an IP sub-network is served by a network access server ("NAS"), which can provide Mobile IP services to wireless devices on the IP sub-network. In some WWANs, the network access server might be a packet data serving node ("PDSN"); however, other types of network access servers might be used, and the particular type of network access server used might vary depending on the particular type of WWAN.
In Mobile IP terminology, a network access server might serve as both a "foreign agent" ("FA") and a "home agent" ("HA") to wireless devices, although this functionality might be distributed among one or more other entities. It is a home agent with respect to wireless devices having IP addresses on its IP sub-network, while it is a foreign agent with respect to wireless devices having IP addresses on different IP sub-networks.
As a home agent, a NAS can receive packets addressed to a wireless device that has its IP address on the same IP sub-network as the home agent. When the wireless device is on its home IP sub-network, the home agent can forward the packets directly to the wireless device on its home IP sub-network. When the wireless device has roamed away from its home IP sub-network to a foreign IP sub-network, the home agent can forward the packets to a NAS acting as a foreign agent for the wireless device on the foreign IP sub-network.
As a foreign agent, a NAS can receive a registration from a wireless device that has roamed away from its home IP sub-network to the foreign IP sub-network of the foreign agent. The foreign agent can in turn notify the wireless device's home agent of the wireless device's current location on the foreign IP sub-network. Packets addressed to the wireless device may then first be routed to its home agent, which in turn uses the registration to determine that the packets should be forwarded to the foreign agent. The foreign agent receives the packets and then sends them to the wireless device's current location on the foreign IP sub-network.
A wireless device might change locations, thereby moving among one or more different IP sub-networks. One of the IP sub-networks might be served by a HA for the wireless device, and the other IP sub-networks might be served by respective FAs for the wireless device. As the wireless device moves among these IP sub-networks, it can alter is registration with its home agent or a foreign agent. For example, the wireless device might currently be registered with a first foreign agent on a first IP sub-network. The wireless device might the move to a second IP sub-network, which is served by a second foreign agent.
The wireless device might detect the presence of the second foreign agent in a variety of different ways. The wireless device might receive from the second foreign agent an agent advertisement message, which foreign and home agents can periodically transmit in order to signal their presence to wireless devices. Alternatively, the wireless device might transmit an agent solicitation message and in turn receive a response from an available home or foreign agent, such as the second foreign agent. Other methods might also be used.
After detecting the second foreign agent, the wireless device might initiate a Mobile IP re-registration with the second foreign agent. That is, instead of continuing its registration with the first foreign agent, the wireless device might switch its registration to the second foreign agent. Thus, re-registration can refer to the process of switching from being registered with one agent (e.g., either a FA or a HA) to being registered with another agent. During re-registration, the second foreign agent can notify the wireless device's home agent of its new location. The home agent then begins forwarding packets for the wireless device to the second foreign agent instead of the first foreign agent.
In the WWAN, multiple access points might be served by a single NAS. Thus, the access points might all be on the same IP sub-network. A wireless device moving among these different access points might then remain on the same IP sub-network, and therefore it would not need to update its Mobile IP registration with a different NAS as it roamed among these access points. When the wireless device eventually hands off to an access point served by a different NAS, the wireless device would then need to update its Mobile IP registration with the new NAS. This re-registration typically occurs regardless of whether the wireless device is currently participating in a Mobile IP session.
In some instances, the wireless device might be located at a boundary between areas served by different access points. The access points might be located on different IP sub-networks and served by different NASs. When the wireless device is located at this boundary, whether the wireless device is stationary or moving, it might handoff back and forth between the two access points in a sort of ping pong effect. For example, the relative signal strengths of the RF signal received from the access points, or other factors used in determining whether to initiate a handoff, might be approximately equal.
Small changes in the location of the wireless device, variations in atmospheric conditions, other a variety of other effects might cause corresponding slight changes in the relative signal strengths of the access points. And, these effects might continuously, although possibly only slightly, alter the relative signal strengths of the RF signal received from the access points as detected by the wireless device. Since the signal strengths might be approximately equal, these small changes might cause the two signals, within a relatively short period of time, to oscillate back and forth around a point set to trigger the wireless device to handoff between the access points. Each handoff might in turn each cause the wireless device to initiate a Mobile IP re-registration with a NAS for the respective access point currently serving the wireless device. These re-registrations might consume WWAN resources, consume battery power in the wireless device or have other adverse effects.
Therefore, there exists a need for an improved method and system for Mobile IP registration by wireless devices handing off between access points in a WWAN.

Method and system for timer-based mobile IP re-registration in a wireless wide area network


A device that reduces power transmission insulator flashover by preventing the buildup of contaminants and dust on the surface of electrical insulators. The device is primarily designed for use on high tension wire insulators and creates an envelope of positive and negative ions that cover the insulators' skirts and consequently repels dust and other particles. The device is embedded in at least one insulator skirt and includes a small induction coil, a diode, a series of capacitors, and a fine needle that are employed as an ion generator which produces a negative or positive polarity ion corona region. The induction coil produces an AC voltage that is induced by the power line current. This AC voltage is rectified by the diode. As contaminants and dust particles approach the surface of the skirt, they become charged with the same polarity as the ions leaving the needle, and are consequently repelled from the corona region. The device reduces the possibility of flashovers by preventing contaminants from landing on the surface of the insulators and preventing the accumulation of "dry bands".

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device that reduces power transmission insulator flashover by preventing the buildup of contaminants and dust on the surface of insulators. More specifically, the present invention is a flashover prevention device for power transmission insulators that creates an envelope of positive and negative ions that covers the insulators' skirts and consequently repels dust and other particles.
2. Description of Related Art
High tension AC power lines typically are suspended from metal towers by insulators comprising a series of insulating skirts (also known as dishes, discs, sheds or shells). Contaminants and dust that accumulate on these skirts reduce the electrical resistance of the insulators, thereby increasing the probability of electrical current flow known as flashover. These contaminants may be generated by salt water, road salt, saltflats, desert dusts, petrochemical industries, etc., and may be transported to the surface of the insulator by gravity, electrostatic attraction, migration of high-permittivity particles into regions of large electric fields, evaporation of solutions and wind. When these materials are deposited on the insulator surface, they behave as a highly variable resistor that tends to be unstable in the presence of electric fields. The leakage current through this resistance causes heat, electrochemical reactions, discharges and flashover.
When this occurs, the ability of the insulator to resist flashover is primarily determined by: the shape of the insulator; the attitude of the insulator (vertical, inclined or horizontal); the properties of the surface of the insulator (hydrophobicity, roughness, surface free energy); and the stickiness or strength of adhesion to contaminants (thereby increasing the insulator's ability to become moist and a tendency to become polluted). The flashover voltage of a polluted insulator depends upon the amount and nature of the pollutants. The degree of pollution by conductive materials is usually estimated by the equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD). Generally, flashover voltage of a polluted insulator is inversely proportional to about 1/5 the power of ESDD in AC systems and 1/3 the power of ESDD in DC systems. Pollutants also contain non-conductive or insoluble materials, measured by the non-soluble material deposit density (NSDD). These materials must be considered in that they affect retention of water, and the ability of the conductive materials to be washed away by dew, fog, rain, etc.
In addition to ESDD and NSDD, flashover voltage characteristics are influenced by wetting of the insulator surface. When a polluted insulator is dry, its flashover voltage level is similar to the level of a clean and dry insulator. The chance of flashover is increased when the wetting is caused by fog, humidity or light rain, because in heavier wetting the pollutant may tend to be washed away. As the surface insulation resistance is lowered, leakage current flows along the surface forming "dry bands". The formation of "dry bands" results in a non-uniform potential distribution that eventually leads to flashover.
Several related art devices have been developed to reduce the accumulation of contaminants on these insulators. One such device consists of the use of an oil bath open to the atmosphere. This technique had to be abandoned, however, because of the deterioration and splashing away of the oil itself. U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,858, issued on Jun. 15, 1976 to Tsen-Chung Cheng et al., describes flashover prevention means for high voltage insulators comprising discrete conductive regions which intercept an electrical arc. U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,316, issued on Mar. 1, 1977 to David C. Jolly et al., describes a high voltage electrical insulator which uses magnetic elements to prevent flashover by deflecting the flashover using a magnetic current. U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,742, issued on Nov. 14, 1978 to Mario Rabinowitz, discusses preventing flashover in tiered insulators by optimizing the relationship between core diameter, tier separation, free path length and total path length between the outer surface and inner core. It should be noted that ionization and ion generating are not disclosed or suggested in any of these references.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,752, issued on Dec. 21, 1982 to Richard A. Fitch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,022, issued on Sep. 3, 1985 to Joseph R. McLoughlin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,778, issued on Jul. 31, 1990 to Motoo Yanagawa, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,529, issued on Aug. 25, 1992 to Clive C. Oakley et al., all describe various methods and devices for removing particles from gaseous mediums using ionization. The use of these devices to repel particles or dust from electrical insulators is not disclosed or suggested by any of these references. In fact, the large size and/or collection methods used by these devices precludes their use on power line insulators.
Thus, there exists a need for an insulator device for use on high tension AC power lines that prevents the accumulation of particulate contaminants to reduce the likelihood of a flashover event.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

Method and device to reduce electrical insulator flashover

Sceco E., P.O. Box 5190, Generation Department


A water-soluble shopping bag and a preparation method thereof. The water-soluble shopping bag consists of the following components according to the following parts by weight: 100 parts of polyvinyl alcohol, 8-20 parts of a composite plasticizer; 10-30 parts of a polysaccharide and the derivative thereof; 1-5 parts of a processing aid, 0.1-0.5 parts of a film slipping agent and 0.5-3.0 parts of a film anti-blocking agent. The preparation method comprises the following steps: mixing the components according to the parts by weight, extruding the mixture to form pellets after mixing, then performing blow molding to form a film, and then preparing various types and sizes of water-soluble shopping bags. The water-soluble shopping bag has higher bearing capacity and cold water solubility, is suitable for use in water-free environment, and dissolves upon contacting water without producing pollution after being used.

At present, shopping bags used in commercial shopping malls are plastic shopping bags. One type refers to the plastic shopping bags made of common plastics, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and the like. The use of the plastic shopping bags brings convenience to customers and also brings a large amount of plastic garbage to the natural environment. Because such plastic bags are difficult to degrade in the natural environment, a large amount of white pollution is generated in the natural environment, damaging the soil, polluting the water quality of water sources and causing serious harm to the natural ecology. Another type refers to disposable biodegradable shopping bags made of biodegradable materials, such as PLA, PBS, PBAT and the like, and these shopping bags can be biodegraded in the natural environment, thus avoiding pollution and harm to the natural environment. However, due to the high manufacturing cost, the selling price of these materials is generally more than 3 times higher than that of ordinary plastics, so that the use range of these shopping bags is limited by the price and it is difficult to widely popularize and use them. Moreover, biodegradation in the natural environment also requires a certain time. According to the present invention, aiming at the defects and deficiencies of the common shopping bag, an environmentally friendly shopping bag with biodegradability and water solubility is developed.
As a water-soluble polymer, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is widely used in viscose fiber, adhesive, coating and other fields. Meanwhile, polyvinyl alcohol has biodegradability, and its biological oxygen consumption and chemical oxygen consumption in water are extremely low, thus causing no pollution or damage to water quality. The dissolution of polyvinyl alcohol into the soil not only does not cause pollution and damage to the soil, but also has the effects of improving soil and retaining water, which enables it to become an environmentally friendly material and be concerned. However, due to the extremely poor thermoplastic process ability thereof, it is rarely used as a thermoplastic for processing and molding.
According to the present invention, the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is effectively plasticized, internally and externally processed and lubricated, so that polyvinyl alcohol is effectively processed and molded through thermoplastic processing to prepare the shopping bag of the present invention. In the present invention, the shopping bag not only has thermoplastic processing moldability, but also has biodegradability and water solubility, and visual disappearance can be generated under the condition of contacting water after use, so as to realize visible degradation and effective environmental protection.

Water soluble shopping bag and preparation method thereof


Digital contents representing the entity of a product are incorporated in a control program, and the control program is transmitted from a vendor to a buyer over a network. The product is delivered from the vendor to the buyer after a desired delivery period has elapsed from the transmission. After the product is delivered, the control program disables the digital contents. Therefore, when the present invention is applied to the book business, the buyer can read the digital contents representing the entity of the book immediately after the buyer places an order for the book. After that, the buyer can get the book that will be delivered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital distribution method and a digital distribution system that are applied to the distribution of books, documents, music CDs, and video DVDs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, open networks such as the Internet have come into wide use around the world. This type of network allows customers to access various products on the network, and many new businesses have started.
One of well-known Internet businesses is a book sales business that accepts orders over the Internet and sells books. This business is now widely accepted by many buyers.
The problem with a conventional book sales business over the Internet is that, though an order for a book is sent and received between a vendor and a buyer in real time over the Internet, the ordered book is delivered to the buyer using a conventional distribution system. This means that the buyer must wait a few days until the book is delivered and, during that period, cannot read the book.

Digital distribution method and digital distribution system


Methodology for processing of RF signals for receiving and transmission, which varies the frequencies of local oscillators, in order to enable the receivers and transmitters to operate with higher performance in wider or multi-bands. bands. Their integrations into ICs are also made easier.

In communication fields, RF frequencies are often used as carriers for signal receiving and transmission. Using current techniques in the receiver, modulated RF frequency signals are received and filtered to attenuate interference, especially image signals, before being down converted to intermediate frequency (IF) frequencies. In the transmitter, filtering is also needed before the signals are transmitted, in order to reduce their interferences to communication channels and the receiving side of the circuits. In either of the receiving and transmitting processes, due to the strict signal filtering requirements, filtering components, such as filters and duplexers, usually cannot be made using normal inductors and capacitors, especially those which can be integrated into semiconductor ICs. Instead, components using, for example, dielectric resonators, surface acoustic wave elements and the like are needed. While these components works well, they are bulky in size, expensive, sensitive to manufacturing and assembly tolerances and are difficult to integrate into ICs. This is one of the major obstacles to integrate a circuit system into a single chip. Zero IF techniques used in receivers solved effectively the image interference problem. However, its application has been limited to certain types of systems, due to issues such as DC offset, sensitivities, and the like, which lower the performance of the receivers and require demanding compensation and processes.
It is an object of this invention to provide a methodology for RF frequency signal processing for receiving and transmission that solve the above problems associated with the current techniques.

Method for processing RF signals for receiving and transmission