A turbo-charcoal barbecue is designed with five main features; a detachable turbo unit, an adjustable rotisserie ensemble, a moveable charcoal tray, removable ash trays, and fire screen. The detachable turbo unit is positioned to recirculate hot air from underneath the charcoal tray and redistribute the hot air to the upper and lower areas of the grill. The turbo-charcoal barbecue includes an adjustable rotisserie ensemble. Both the turbo unit and rotisserie are driven by a 12 volt motor or from an electrical outlet using a transformer. The charcoal tray sits on a plate which is attached to a crank shaft mechanism used for raising and lowering the charcoal tray. A rectangular shaped fire screen contains small holes spaced evenly apart from each other designed to both block flash flames and allow the heat produced from the ignited briquets to flow through it. The lower chamber of the barbecue pit collects expended ash material and beneath the lower chamber are removable ash trays that collect ashes that are swept down chutes from the lower chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to a turbo-charcoal barbecue, and is more particularly concerned with an adjustable charcoal tray, a fire screen for spreading the heat from the charcoal tray, an adjustable rotisserie, and an air circulation unit for recirculating hot air between the charcoal tray and the grill.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cooking of food items by the application of heated smoke from a burning fire fueled by wood has been practiced for many years. Grilling foods upon an open surface over charcoal briquets gives food a unique flavor and appearance by grilling portions of the food in contact with the grill. The art of grilling food involves a complex carmelization process which depends on many factors including length of time and intensity of applied heat.
Many earlier patents use heat transfer through radiation together with convection heating from the circulating air and conduction heating through the grill's surface in hopes to perfect the carmelization process. The achievement of uniformly cooked meat and the efficient use of fuel and energy are some continual problems associated with the operation of barbecues. Most conventional grills do not adequately allow the user a means for regulating the intensity of heat needed to properly grill foods. Reducing the temperature of the heat source can diminish the effect of radiation heat transfer and leave the user with only relatively inefficient convection heating to grill the food.
Air blowers and plenum chambers have been used in the past to force air passed a heat source to improve heat transfer efficiency, however, after the air is forced past the food product it is exhausted and no longer redistributed within the barbecue to aid in grilling process. Some barbecues described in earlier patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,684, issued to Traegar, et al. on Apr. 25, 1989 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,145, issued to Harry Reich on Jan. 20, 1976 are designed to direct air circulation directly through ignited briquets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,159, issued to Knafelc, et al. on Oct. 13, 1992 describes a bowl shaped barbecue cooker that incorporates a briquet ignition and air blower system designed specifically to quickly and evenly ignite briquets as well as produce an even distribution of hot air across the surface of the char grill. The char grill is made of a set of upper concentric rings spanned by a plurality of parallel rods. The ignition chamber has a cylindrical shaped wall and is perforated with holes. The ignition chamber communicates with an air blower by means of perforated plenum chamber wall which distributes combustion enhancing air evenly to the surfaces of colder briquets for rapid heating.
A cranking mechanism is provided for raising heated briquets from an ignition chamber onto a char grill. The mechanism includes a housing which is unitary with a sleeve which is, in turn, rotatably mounted by extended flanges within the base cylinder. The crank and handwheel mechanism includes a conventional brake or locking device. Manipulation of the crank and wheel mechanism winds a cable around the handwheel and causes the elevator shaft and elevator platform to rise.
This prior art patent only uses its air blower system to rapidly ignite briquets. A major problem with this circulation process is that hot ashes may be distributed throughout the enclosure of the barbecue and fall onto the food being grilled. When the air blowing process has been completed, the blower system shuts down and does not have any other use. A large percentage of heat produced by the briquets is expelled below the charcoal tray which holds the briquets. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a continual circulation process designed to recirculate air from under the ignited briquets and redistribute that air to the char grill.
A further problem that relates to the crank and handwheel mechanism is it utilizes a cable. A common problem associated with most cables is the constant wear which causes breakage. Also, there are time and cost considerations concerned with replacing broken cables. A cableless crank which raises and lowers a charcoal platform to increase or decrease heat intensity would be a preferable mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,085, issued to Virgil Archer on Mar. 19, 1991 describes an air slot cooking device which recirculates its hot air for grilling foods. The air slot cooking device is formed from an enclosure having a bottom, side walls and a removable top. A housing abuts a side wall of the enclosure. The housing communicates fluidly with a chamber through an air flow opening. Located within the housing chamber is a blower which recirculates air throughout the enclosure.
A grill that supports food extends to all side walls of the enclosure and divides the enclosure into an operating space above the grill and a heat supplying space below the grill. A heat supplying element is mounted in the heat supplying space and above the base of the base of the enclosure. A jet curtain plate containing various slot widths is mounted in the heat supplying space of the enclosure and spaced apart and above the heat supplying element. The slots are designed to yield streams of air having different velocities at different areas of the jet curtain plate, this provides certain areas of the grill to have various cooking speeds.
After the hot air strikes and heats the food product on the grill member, the air then flows rearwardly and downwardly into the base housing return plenum. From the return plenum, the heated air is drawn into a fan impeller disposed within the base housing discharge passage. The air is drawn horizontally into the heating plenum where it traverses and absorbs heat from the heating element. To complete its recirculating path, the heated air is then directed to air slot openings in the jet curtain plate and redirected back to the grill. Although this patent recirculates hot air within the enclosure of the barbecue, it is only adapted for a heating element and not for charcoal. The advantage of briquets over other heat sources such as gas and electrically powered barbecues is that briquets create a smoke similar to wood-based fires which is needed to produce a certain flavor to cooked food.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,319, issued to Robert Holland on Sep. 27, 1988 describes a barbecue having a bottom surface, a heat source adjacent the bottom surface, a heat deflecting means positioned above the heat source, a grease collection and drainage system, a food supporting grill, and a hood for enclosing the housing. The heat deflector acts as a grease collector, operates to distribute heat to obviate "hot spots," and blocks undesirable flaming which causes overburning. The heat deflector/grease collector is designed with inward sloping sides that connect to form a channel for directing grease spills. Although the heat deflector plate blocks unwanted flames from directly burning the food product on the grill, the plate creates an uneven flow of heat applied to the grill.
The heat deflector plates redirects a vast amount of the heat flow around the edges of the heat plate and to the outer edges of the grill. This air flow intensifies the heat energy to the outer edges of the grill instead of an even distribution of heat over the entire grill surface. An ideal heat deflector apparatus would not only block flames directed to the grill, but allow the heat to flow through the plate and be evenly applied to the entire grill surface. Previous patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,865, issued to Michael Setzer on Jan. 31, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,710, issued to Hector Quet on Apr. 21, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,615, issued to Michael Higgins on Dec. 6, 1983, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,006, issued to Stephen Marsalko on Jun. 24, 1980 do not recirculate its hot air because heat escapes through chimneys mounted in the barbecue's hood.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,968,301, issued to Robert Cowart on Jan. 17, 1961 is a barbecue having a front wall, a back wall, and side walls. The front wall is provided with an opening into an oven chamber in the cabinet and a door opening into fire pit chambers. A grill is situated in the interior of the cabinet between the oven and the fire pit chambers. The barbecue also has an adjustable fire lift secured by a vertical adjustable fire pin designed for raising and lowering a fire pan. The fire lift affords a means for lowering the fire pan beneath the grill whereby any flames arising from the fat drippings will not damage the food product being cooked. Although this fire lift system is cableless, this prior art was designed for industrial sized fire pits. The lift system described in this prior art may operate too slow in lowering the lift because fat drippings rapidly fuel flames that quickly strike upwards towards the grill and may cause food to be burnt. An ideal barbecue would not burn food products on its grill.
A barbecue should contain a design feature that recirculates hot air within its enclosure to conserve fuel and energy. A fire screen should be included to allow an even distribution of heat to the entire grill surface and deflects uncontrollable flames fueled by fat drippings. An apparatus that would allow the barbecuer to monitor the temperature inside the barbecue at all times and a device that operates to exhaust hot air when the temperatures inside the enclosure is to high.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a turbo-charcoal barbecue solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


The present invention relates to: a terminal capable of setting a trigger area and outputting additional contents in response to an input of touching the set trigger area; and a control method therefor. The terminal according to the present invention can comprise a touch screen for displaying information and receiving a touch input, and a control unit for performing control so as to output main contents on the touch screen, set a trigger area linked to a plurality of additional contents on the main content, output a list of the plurality of additional contents linked to the trigger area in response to a touch input of touching the trigger area when an edit mode for allowing setting of the trigger area is terminated and a viewer mode is executed, and output first additional contents corresponding to the selected item when any one is selected from the list.

With the advancement of technology, various electronic devices have increased beyond a PC. For example, not only mobile terminals such as mobile phones and tablet PCs, but also touch-based PCs using touch input as a main input source have appeared.
These new terminals also support document viewing and editing functions for user convenience. However, in these terminals, the word processor used in the existing PC is simply posted and used.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop a user interface capable of efficiently viewing and editing documents not only in the existing PC but also in the newly appeared terminals.

Terminal, control method therefor, and recording medium in which program for implementing method is recorded


The present invention is a system and method for modeling faces from images captured from a single or a plurality of image capturing systems at different times. The method first determines the demographics of the person being imaged. This demographic classification is then used to select an approximate three dimensional face model from a set of models. Using this initial model and properties of camera projection, the model is adjusted leading to a more accurate face model.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a system and method for human face modeling from multiple images of the face using demographics classification for an improved model fitting process.
2. Background of the Invention
Three-dimensional (3D) modeling of human faces from intensity images is an important problem in the field of computer vision and graphics. Applications of such an automated system range from virtual teleconferencing to face-based biometrics. In virtual teleconferencing applications, face models of participants are used for rendering scenes at remote sites, with only the need for incremental information to be transmitted at every time instance. Traditional face recognition algorithms are primarily based on the two-dimensional (2D) cues computed from an intensity image. The 2D facial features provide strong cues for recognition. However, it cannot capture the semantics of the face completely, especially the anthropometrical measurements. Typical examples of these would be the relative length of the nose bridge and the width of the eye, the perpendicular distance of the tip of the nose from the plane passing through the eye centers and the face center, etc.
The technique discussed by Aizawa and Huang in "Model-Based Image Coding: Advanced Video Coding Techniques for Very Low Bit-Rate Application," Proceedings IEEE, vol. 83, pp. 259-271, August 1995 adjusts meshes to fit the images from a continuous video sequence. In a surveillance scenario, we may have only the key frames from a single, or a multiple camera system, for specific time instances. Thus the computation of optical flow between consecutive image frames, captured by each of the cameras, will not be possible.
The techniques discussed by Jebara and Pentland in "Parameterized structure from motion for 3D adaptive feedback tracking of faces," Proceedings Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, pp. 144-150, June 1997 also uses optical flow computed from consecutive frames in a video to compute the model.
Fua and Miccio in "Animated Heads from Ordinary Images: A Least-Squares Approach," Computer Vision and Image Understanding, vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 247-259, September 1999 use a stereo matching based technique for face modeling. Under multiple camera surveillance, the camera system may not be calibrated properly. This is because these cameras can be moved around, whenever required. Thus, the assumption of the knowledge of calibration parameters, especially in stereo-based techniques, breaks down.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,196 describe a morphable model technique which require a frontal shots of the face. The single view based modeling approaches works well with cooperative subjects, where the entire frontal view of the face is available. Again, in vieo surveillance, it may be difficult to control the posture of the subject's face.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,148 discusses a method of mapping a face image to a 3D model. The 3D model is fixed, and general. No knowledge of the demographics of the person is used, and this mapping can be erroneous, especially while using a generic model for any race or gender.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,199 discusses a method of modeling three-dimensional scenes from a video, by using techniques similar to structure from motion. This technique would not be successful if continuous video feed is not provided to the system. Similar modeling technique is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,078. U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,986 combines optical flow with deformable models for face modeling. As before, these techniques will not be successful when there is no continuous video stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,959 discusses a method similar to space curving for generating three-dimensional models from images. Although these images need not be from continuous video sources, they need to be calibrated a-priori. Camera calibration is not a trivial task, especially for portable camera systems.

Method and system for enhancing three dimensional face modeling using demographic classification


The present invention relates to a self-healing vitreous composition containing a particulate vandium additive, to a method for preparing same, and to the use thereof as a self-healing material, in particular for making seals in devices operating at a high temperature such as fuel oils and steam electrolyzers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vitreous composition containing a vanadium-based particulate additive, to its method of preparation and to its use as self-healing material, in particular for manufacturing seals in devices operating at high temperature, such as fuel cells and steam electrolyzers.
2. Description of Related Art
Glasses and glass-ceramics are rigid materials widely used in industry, especially for producing seals in various devices that have to operate at high temperature, especially between 500 and 900° C. Among such devices, mention for example may be made of fuel cells (in particular solid electrolyte fuel cells or solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs)) that operate at temperatures of 700 to 900° C. and steam electrolyzers that can be used for the production of hydrogen and also operate at very high temperature. In these two particular cases, the anode and cathode compartments must be separated and gastight because of the presence of hydrogen and oxygen. During the operation and use of these devices, the glasses and glass-ceramics present therein are subjected to thermal cycles that cause cracks to form. The appearance of these cracks therefore reduces the longevity of the devices incorporating such materials.
Two methods for healing cracks formed in glasses and glass-ceramics have already been proposed.
The first type of method, called "intrinsic self-healing", consists, without the addition of any healing additive, in filling the cracks or in repairing the surface state of a material of the glass, glass-ceramic or metal/glass composite type by a simple heat treatment in order to physically modify the material, usually to soften it. This treatment is carried out by heating the material or the device containing it to a temperature above the melting or softening point of the material. However, the temperatures used for such melting or softening are usually above the temperatures that the devices incorporating these materials can withstand. Thus, Liu et al. (Journal of Power Sources, 2008, 185, 1193-1200) discuss the heat treatment of SOFC fuel cells that contain glass seals based on a mixture of BaO, SiO2Al2O3, CaO and B2O3, at a temperature above the creep temperature of the glass in order to repair the cracks formed, while indicating, however, that one limitation of this method is that the need to raise the temperature in order to make the glass creep causes prejudicial deformations of the system into which it is incorporated.
The second type of method, called "extrinsic self-healing", consists in adding a healing additive to the composition of the material which enables the cracks to be filled by a chemical reaction of said additive. This second method applies to materials of the polymer and ceramic/composite type. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,266 describes the production of a fibrous material reinforced by a ceramic matrix that comprises a self-healing phase containing at least one glass precursor, for example carbon tetraboride (B4C) or an SiBC system, and free carbon (10 to 35%). An oxidizing atmosphere, at a temperature of at least 450° C. but not exceeding 850° C., causes the carbon to oxidize, thereby subsequently transforming the self-healing phase into a glass so as to fill the cracks possibly present in the material. The above document therefore teaches that a composite material containing a glass precursor having the ability to be oxidized at a temperature of 850° C. or below, such as a precursor based on boron and/or silicon, is self-healing in an oxidizing atmosphere when the precursor composition used during its formation contains 15 to 35% carbon. Moreover, White et al. (Nature, 2001, 409, 794-797) describe a self-healing polymer material (polydicyclopentadiene) comprising a microencapsulated polymerizable self-healing agent (dicyclopentadiene) which is released upon appearance of a crack. The presence of a polymerization catalyst (Grubbs catalyst) in the structure of the polymer material is necessary in order to cause the healing agent to polymerize, at room temperature, and to fill the cracks. The material obtained after healing is, however, less resistant than in the initial state. Moreover, this healing technique must be carried out at room temperature and provides healing at any point in the material only if the polymerizable self-healing agent and the catalyst are in immediate proximity of each other and both uniformly distributed in the structure of the material.

Self-healing vitreous composition, method for preparing same, and uses thereof

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique


A creator establishes a media program including a plurality of media files or content in accordance with a broadcast plan. Mixing systems establish connections with a mobile device of the creator, and with sources of the audio files or content, either manually or automatically in response to instructions of the creator. Broadcast systems establish connections with computer devices of listeners and a mixing system. Conference systems establish connections with the mobile device of the creator and a mixing system. The connections established may be one-way or two-way channels. The media program may include live or previously recorded audio content including words or sounds of the creator, as well as advertisements, music, news, sports, weather, or other programming. The media program may also include live or previously recorded interviews or other conversations with guests, including but not limited to one or more listeners.

Commercial radio began to evolve as an industry in the United States over a century ago. On Aug. 31, 1920, the first news radio program is believed to have been broadcast from the offices of the Detroit News, and later that year, the first entertainment program and the first sporting event are believed to have been aired by a radio station operated by Wendell King, an engineering student at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. The number of radio stations in the United States grew rapidly thereafter, from a total of five amplitude modulation (or "AM") radio stations in 1921 to approximately eight hundred fifty AM radio stations in 1940, over nine thousand AM or frequency modulation (or "FM") radio stations in 1980, and over fifteen thousand AM or FM radio stations in 2020. Today, it is estimated that approximately two hundred seventy million Americans listen to the radio every week.
Traditionally, operating a radio station (e.g., a terrestrial radio station, or a satellite radio station) has required substantial investments in physical infrastructure and human talent. For example, a terrestrial radio station requires a radio antenna, the largest of which in the United States is nearly two thousand feet tall, while a satellite radio station naturally requires the use of an orbiting satellite. Moreover, radio stations commonly operate from buildings having dedicated rooms with microphones, cameras or other capture devices, as well as consoles including one or more fades, sliders or switches for controlling audio signals (e.g., advertisements, music, news, sports, weather, or other programming) that are transmitted to listeners, playback devices for generating the audio signals, rooms having large racks of servers or other computer systems, and transmission lines extending between such buildings and one or more antennas. Furthermore, in addition to hosts, radio stations typically employ dozens of other personnel, including sound engineers, maintenance engineers, production directors, or station managers, as well as producers of advertisements, music, news, sports, weather, or other programming.
The personnel and systems that are required in order to operate radio stations are large in number and complexity, and may limit radio's potential reach and economic value as a communications medium. Moreover, because such structures and systems are often difficult or expensive to relocate, most radio broadcasts are conducted from in-studio locations, and not from locations where content may be uniquely generated or from locations where content may be particularly pertinent.

Synchronizing media content streams for live broadcasts and listener interactivity


A method of fabricating glow-in-the-dark gazing globes or other objects, as well as the articles that result. The method comprises the steps of providing a hollow form having an inner wall made from a transparent or translucent material, the form including an aperture for gaining access to the interior thereof, and introducing one more photoluminescence or phosphorescent pigments into the form through the aperture so that they cling to the inner wall. In alternative embodiments, the pigments may be applied without an adhesive, as by naturally cling, vacuum evaporation, or other techniques. In a gazing globe embodiment, a stand may be included. In the preferred embodiment the method further includes the step of applying an adhesive to the inner wall of the form prior to the step of introducing one more photoluminescence of phosphorescent pigments. A plurality of different pigments may be introduced into the form to create a decorative or swirling effect.

Garden ornaments such as gazing globes have become very popular as decorative elements in gardens and other outdoor environments. Such items are generally provided as a piece of statuary, including a spherical globe with a highly-polished or reflective surface supported by a base. Existing products typically use glass globes internally mirrored surface tinted in a wide variety of colors.

‘Glow-in-the-dark’ gazing globes and other ornaments, particularly for gardens


A centrifugal clutch is disclosed including a driver adapted to engage and to be rotated by an input shaft, a drum adapted to engage a driven component, a plurality of shoes located between the driver and the drum, and a plurality of springs, each spring engaged with adjacent shoes for urging the shoes together. The shoes are radially movable between an outward position in which the shoes contact the drum and an inward position in which the shoes are spaced apart from the drum. Each shoe has an asymmetrical contacting member for engaging the drum, the contacting member having a toe protruding circumferentially therefrom in one direction. Each shoe is capable of being independently installed into the clutch with the toe of the contacting member facing either towards or away from the direction of rotation of the driver, provided that the driver remains rotationally balanced. The contacting member of each shoe further includes one or more cavities each adapted to receive at least one weight to enable adjustment of the mass of each shoe and the mass distribution within each shoe.

A centrifugal clutch typically includes a driver or impeller configured so as to be rotated about an axis by an external power or driving source, a hollow drum coaxial with and disposed about the driver and configured to drive an external load, and one or more shoes located within the drum that are rotated relative to the drum by the driver. One such clutch is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,515, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The shoes are generally adapted to move radially into and out of frictional engagement with the inside of the drum. The frictional engagement with the drum provides load transmission between the driver and the drum. The shoes are typically urged towards the center, away from the drum, by one or more springs. As the driver and the shoes rotate about the axis, the centrifugal force created by the rotation urges the shoes radially outward. When the speed of rotation is sufficiently high, the centrifugal force acting on the shoes overcomes the force of the springs, urging the shoes to move outward to engage the drum. The engagement of the shoes with the drum causes the drum, and thus, the external load, to rotate in combination with the shoes. The speed at which the clutch engages is, therefore, determined by a balance between the mass of the shoes and the strength of the springs.
Centrifugal clutches are commonly used in the drive trains of machines powered by small internal combustion engines for producing varying amounts of horsepower. These types of clutches have particular use in lower horsepower machines, such as wood chippers and go-karts, which typically operate at up to about 40 hp. Particularly with regard to racing go-karts, there are several benefits to having a readily adjustable clutch. Each racetrack may be different due to the length of the track, the material from which the track is composed, the banking of the turns, the radius of the turns, and the temperature and dampness conditions on the track at the time of racing. All of these factors may require tuning or adjustment of a go-kart clutch for optimum performance, so that the engine can be maintained in the power band. Additionally, track conditions may change throughout the race, due to changes in temperature and weather. Therefore, it is apparent that a clutch capable of being easily and quickly adjustable would advantageous for go-kart racing.
The clutch is typically set to disengage when the engine is idling, and to engage when the engine is generating sufficient torque to drive the load effectively. Because the engagement between the shoes and the drum is based on friction, a certain amount of slippage is inherent, and in some cases is actually required, in the operation of the clutch. For example, when the centrifugal force first overcomes the spring force, the initial contact between the moving shoe and the stationary drum will result in slippage. As the speed of the motor increases, the centrifugal force should eventually produce sufficient friction to prevent slippage. Until that speed is attained, there will be relative movement between the shoes and the drum. This slippage is necessary to some degree to provide for a gradual acceleration of the driven component.
In some applications, it is desirable to have a clutch whose performance characteristics can be readily adjusted depending on operating conditions. The performance characteristics of a clutch, including the speed at which the shoes engage the drum, the amount of torque that can be transmitted between the shoes and the drum, and the character of initial engagement and subsequent slippage between the shoes and the drum, is dependent on several factors. These factors may include the mass of the shoes, the strength of the springs, the geometry of the shoes, and the mass distribution within each shoe. In one example, the use of heavier shoes and lighter springs will generally result a lower engagement speed and a higher torque capacity with less slippage at the same external load. In another example, a shoe having a geometry or density whereby its mass is biased towards its leading edge and away from its trailing edge will generally result in a more aggressive engagement of the clutch that may provide a higher torque capacity with less slippage. It can be appreciated that various combinations of these several factors may be adjusted to fine-tune the performance of a clutch to a particular application under particular operating conditions.


A milking system for milking a herd of dairy animals includes a first milking device and a second milking device, an identification device for identifying dairy animals to be milked of a herd of dairy animals, and a control device for determining an estimated treatment time of each dairy animal to be milked. The control device also classifies each dairy animal to be milked with the aid of a criterion on the basis of the estimated treatment time in at least a first or second group of dairy animals. The milking system admits the first group of dairy animals to preferably only the first milking device and admits the second group to preferably only the second milking device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a milking system for milking a herd of dairy animals, comprising a first milking device, an identification device for identifying dairy animals to be milked of the herd of dairy animals, and a control device which is designed to determine an estimated treatment time of each dairy animal to be milked, and wherein the control device is designed to classify each dairy animal to be milked that has been identified by the identification device with the aid of a criterion on the basis of the estimated treatment time in at least a first or second group of dairy animals, and wherein the milking system is designed to admit one or more dairy animals classified in the first group to the first milking device in order to milk said dairy animals by the first milking device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A device and method for improving the throughput capacity of a milking carrousel are known from WO2009/093964, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The milking carrousel comprises a rotating platform with a plurality of milking stalls which are each provided with milking facilities for milking a dairy animal. The dairy animals are successively admitted to the rotating platform. The rotating platform rotates slowly at a speed that is adjusted to the milking time required for milking the dairy animals on the rotating platform, so that each dairy animal has been milked completely when the dairy animal has made an almost complete rotation. In order to increase the throughput capacity the dairy animals are classified in two groups of dairy animals on the basis of estimated milking times. The first group of dairy animals has a relatively short milking time, while the milking time of the dairy animals of the second group of dairy animals is relatively long. The fast dairy animals are led directly to the rotating platform in order to be milked. During the milking of the fast dairy animals, the slow dairy animals are delayed in a waiting area. Only after the fast dairy animals on the rotating platform have been milked, the slow dairy animals are admitted to the rotating platform from the waiting area.
However, the milk production capacity of this milking device is still limited. Moreover, the health of the slow dairy animals is adversely affected by their delay in the waiting area. Waiting makes these dairy animals restless. Furthermore, the tension in the udders of these dairy animals during the waiting time can result in medical conditions.

Milking system and method for milking a herd of dairy animals


Direct memory access data transfers may be initiated between buffers on one processor system to corresponding buffers in another processor system. The buffers in each system may be provided as a linked list such that transfers successively occur between the buffers. Each buffer may include a descriptor that indicates whether or not the buffer is full or empty. As a result, the buffer may be accessed by controllers in either processor system.

This invention relates generally to processor-based systems and particularly to systems including two separate processor systems that communicate with one another.
In many wireless systems, a baseband processor is available to handle communication tasks. A multimedia processor is generally available for the wealth of non-communication-based tasks. For example, in cellular telephones, the baseband processor may be responsible for implementing the relevant wireless protocol. Conversely, the multimedia processor may be responsible for controlling the display, providing games, and implementing address book and calendar features and the like.
Thus, it is convenient in many wireless systems to provide two processors that operate as intercommunicating systems. That is, each processor system communicates with the other processor system. The processor systems may be separately integrated or commonly integrated on the same chip.
Direct memory access or DMA forms a second data channel between peripherals and main memory through which a peripheral can directly access the main memory without the help of the processor to read or write data. DMA may be implemented by a DMA controller.
Existing DMA controllers are primarily concerned with the internal data flows of a particular process or processor. Streaming data flows between different processors in the same processor-based system add additional complexities that may lead to flow bottlenecks and inefficient use of processor resources. Each DMA controller, in a multi-processor system, may be focused on its associated processor, resulting in too many interrupts to each processor.
Thus, there is a need, in multi-processor systems, to facilitate DMA operations.

Controlling data flow between processor systems


A controller performs a first control that controls a temperature of water (heat medium) flowing out of a heat source device on the basis of an outside air temperature and a temperature difference between chronologically preceding and following outside air temperatures that are detected by an outdoor temperature sensor. The controller controls the temperature of the subject to be controlled to a target temperature by performing the first control.

Hitherto, a typical air conditioning system is known in which a heat source unit, such as a heat pump, generates cold/hot water and in which a water pump conveys the cold/hot water to perform cooling/heating of an indoor space. The air conditioning system of this method typically adopts a method in which water is sent at a constant water temperature irrespective of the load, by, for example, supplying cold water of 16 degrees C. to the indoor unit during cooling and supplying hot water of 35 degrees C. to the indoor unit during heating. With this method, in a period in-between seasons or in a case in which the load is small, intermittent operation, such as stopping the heat source unit or stopping the supply of water to the indoor unit with a three-way valve, is carried out when a room temperature reaches a preset value. Accordingly, comfort is compromised and operating efficiency is reduced.
Furthermore, some air conditioning systems include a function that allows a business person in charge of installation to set a target water temperature in accordance with the outside air temperature. No problem will occur if the water temperature and the load match each other; however, under some conditions, an operation with insufficient power may be carried out in which the water temperature is low with respect to the load, or an operation with excessive power may be carried out in which the water temperature is high with respect to the load. Accordingly, a decrease in comfort and operating efficiency is, likewise, brought about.
As a measure to overcome these problems, Patent Literature 1 discloses a control method in which a target temperature of the water supplied by the heat source unit is reset on the basis of a variation between a target indoor temperature that has been set by a user and the current indoor temperature and in which a target water flow rate is reset on the basis of a variation between the reset target water temperature and the current target water temperature. Specifically, the air conditioning system of Patent Literature 1 is provided with a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, a decompression device, and a heat exchanger and with a cold/hot water circulating circuit that is capable of exchanging heat with the refrigerant circuit. The cold/hot water circulating circuit supplies cold/hot water to the indoor units. This air conditioning system sets a new target water temperature from a variation between the current indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature and changes the power of the heat source unit, that is, the frequency of the compressor, so that the water temperature reaches a target value.

Temperature control system and air conditioning system


A method of forming spaces between polysilicon lines can include patterning structures having top SiON layers and bottom amorphous carbon layers where the structures are located over a polysilicon layer and are separated by a first width, forming amorphous carbon spacers along lateral side walls of the patterned structures, etching apertures into the polysilicon layer not covered by the amorphous carbon spacers and the patterned structures where the apertures in the polysilicon layer between adjacent patterned structures have a second width, and ashing away the amorphous carbon spacers and the patterned structures. The second width is less than the first width.

The present disclosure relates generally to integrated circuits and methods of manufacturing integrated circuits. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method of forming sub-lithographic spaces between polysilicon lines.
Integrated circuits (ICs), such as, ultra-large scale integrated (ULSI) circuits, can include as many as one million transistors or more. The ULSI circuit can include complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) field effect transistors (FETS). ICs often include flash memory cells.
Generally, a transistor is covered by a high temperature oxide and an interlevel dielectric to insulate it from subsequently formed metal layers. An aperture or hole is etched through the interlevel dielectric and the high temperature oxide. The hole is filled with a conductive material to provide connections to the transistor, to conductors, or other circuit structures. For example, a contact can extend from the bit line through the interlevel dielectric to the drain of the transistor. In another example, a contact or conductive via can extend through the interlevel dielectric to connect to the gate stack.
As transistors disposed on integrated circuits (ICs) become smaller (e.g., transistors with gate lengths approaching 50 nm), CMOS fabrication processes must scale the dimensions of the transistors. That is, there must be proportional operational characteristics of structural elements in the ultra-small dimensions of a sophisticated transistor.
One problem associated with CMOS scaling involves forming of smaller and smaller apertures or spaces used in a variety of ways during the IC fabrication process. One way to shrink the critical dimension of xe2x80x9cspacexe2x80x9d features, such as holes and trenches, is with the formation of spacers.
According to conventional processes, an aperture is lithographically formed in a hard mask layer above an underlying layer. The aperture is formed by patterning a photoresist layer above an anti-reflective coating (ARC). A spacer material is conformally deposited in the aperture and stripped in an etch back process. The etch-back process leaves spacers adjacent the side walls of the aperture, thereby shrinking the size of the aperture. The underlying layer is processed using the aperture including the spacers.
Heretofore, conventional spacer formation processes requires the removal of the anti-reflective coating (ARC) and the hard mask after processing. This removal process can damage underlying films, such as oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) films utilized in flash memory cells and other integrated circuits. There are other drawbacks to the conventional process as well.
Thus, there is a need to form integrated circuits using non-conventional lithographic techniques. Further, there is a need to form spaces smaller than achievable through conventional lithographic methods. Even further, there is a need to avoid damaging underlying films during removal of anti-reflective coating (ARC) and hard masks.
An exemplary embodiment relates to a method of forming spaces between polysilicon lines. The method can include patterning structures having top SiON layers and bottom amorphous carbon layers where the structures are located over a polysilicon layer and are separated by a first width. The method can also include forming amorphous carbon spacers along lateral side walls of the patterned structures, etching apertures into the polysilicon layer not covered by the amorphous carbon spacers and the patterned structures where the apertures in the polysilicon layer have a second width, and ashing away the amorphous carbon spacers and the patterned structures. The second width is less than the first width.
Another exemplary embodiment relates to a method of forming structures having sub-lithographic spacing. The method can include patterning a first stack having a layer of amorphous carbon and a second stack having a layer of amorphous carbon, and forming amorphous carbon spacers along lateral side walls of the first stack and the second stack. The method also includes etching a layer located below the first and second stacks using the first and second stacks and amorphous carbon spacers as a mask to leave at least two features, and removing the first and second stacks and the amorphous carbon spacers. The first stack and the second stack are separated by a first width. The distance between the at least two features is less than the first width.
Another exemplary embodiment relates to a method of forming spaces between polysilicon lines. The method can include patterning SiON on amorphous carbon to form first and second stacks separated by a first width, and depositing and etching amorphous carbon to form spacers along side walls of the first and second stacks. The method also includes etching a polysilicon layer below the first and second stacks using the first and second stacks and spacers as a mask, and ashing away the first and second stack and the spacers.
Other principle features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following drawings, the detailed description, and the appended claims.

Method of forming sub-lithographic spaces between polysilicon lines


A lighting apparatus including an enclosure, a printed circuit board mounted to the enclosure, and an upwardly directed primary light emitting diode in electrical communication with the printed circuit board. The lighting apparatus additionally includes a power source for supplying electrical power to the printed circuit board. The lighting apparatus further includes a transparent dome situated atop the enclosure and covering the printed circuit board, wherein the transparent dome includes an optically unobstructed region in vertical alignment with the primary light emitting diode for passage of an upwardly directed light beam emitted from the primary light emitting diode when powered.

The exemplary embodiments of the subject disclosure relate generally to a lighting apparatus and, more specifically, to a lighting apparatus for use in connection with communication/emergency equipment.
In the emergency/information communication device industry, manufacturers typically provide enclosures or housings for their communication devices, e.g., telephones and intercoms. Included in the housings are illuminated beacons, typically blue in color, to provide a visual aid to enhance the public's awareness of the location of the telephone or intercom. Normally, the beacon is a glowing light source. However, such light sources are only effective when nothing is impeding or blocking the light, i.e., when the light is not obscured by vehicles, crowds, signage and miscellaneous objects.


A hardfacing alloy satisfies the following condition when the hardfacing alloy as a whole is 100 mass % (also simply referred to as “%,” hereinafter), Ni: 10-25%, Si: 1-3%, Fe: 3-18%, the total of one or more elements of Mo, W, and Nb: 6.5-20%, and the balance: Cu and impurities. In particular, it preferably satisfies Fe+2Mo≥22.6(%), Mo equivalent/Fe≥1.17, and Mo equivalent=Mo+0.522W+1.033Nb. In a hardfacing part composed of the hardfacing alloy, coarse hard particles are formed to ensure the wear resistance, and a soft phase present in the hard particles ensures the machinability. This may be understood as a raw material powder for hardfacing treatment and may also be understood as a hardfacing member in which a hardfacing part is formed on a base material using the raw material powder.

The peripheral part of an intake or exhaust port of a cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine (referred to as an "engine") may be provided with a valve seat composed of an alloy that is more excellent in the wear resistance (particularly in the adhesive wear resistance) than a base material (e.g. an aluminum alloy).
The valve seat is generally formed by press-fitting (hammering) a seat ring composed of an iron-base sintered alloy into a ring groove formed at the outer peripheral part of a port of a cylinder head. On the other hand, it is proposed to form a valve seat by hardfacing treatment using a laser cladding method or the like. Change from the hammering-type valve seat to the hardfacing-type valve seat can increase the degree of freedom in design around the dynamic valve system and improve the cooling performance and the like.
For the hardfacing-type valve seat, a copper alloy excellent in the wear resistance may usually be used, and various copper alloys having different component compositions have been conventionally proposed. Description regarding this is found, for example, in the following patent literature.


Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, and a communications apparatus and system. User equipment can communicate with the network device by using a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams include a first beam and at least one second beam, the first beam is a serving beam used by the user equipment to listen to control information, and the second beam is a beam other than the serving beam. The method includes: determining, by the user equipment, that the serving beam is blocked; and obtaining, by the user equipment, a first message from the network device by using the first beam or the second beam. According to the method, the UE may determine that the serving beam is blocked, and further obtain the first message sent by the network device, thereby eliminating an adverse effect caused by the blocking of the serving beam. Correspondingly, the network device may also determine that the serving beam is blocked, and further send the first message, thereby eliminating an adverse effect caused by the blocking of the serving beam.

Currently, with gradual saturation of a low frequency band (for example, below 6 GHz) of a wireless communications system and an increasing requirement for high-speed and large-capacity communication, using a high frequency band (for example, above 6 GHz) for communication becomes a trend. In a high-frequency wireless communications field, due to a frequency increase, a path loss increases, and a cell coverage area decreases. In this case, more network devices (such as base stations) in a same area need to be deployed to ensure coverage, significantly increasing network deployment costs. For avoiding an increase of the network deployment costs, a beamforming technology may be used. Beamforming is a multi-antenna processing technology, and provides a beam gain by using a plurality of antennas to form a narrower communication beam, so as to compensate for an increased path loss to some extent and ensure that a cell radius does not significantly decrease relative to that in a low frequency.
In the beamforming technology, there are a plurality of beams in a cell, user equipment (UE) in the cell listens to only information sent on one of the beams, and the information may include a broadcast message, an uplink and downlink scheduling message, and the like. The beam is a serving beam of the UE, and the serving beam is usually a beam with optimal signal quality in all beams that the UE can receive. A very narrow beam is usually used for obtaining a relatively large beam gain. To ensure continuous coverage in the cell, a plurality of narrow beams need to be used. In this way, when moving in the cell, the UE is confronted with a beam switching problem, to be specific, after moving from one beam coverage area of the cell to another beam coverage area, the serving beam needs to be switched.
In the prior art, UE measures different downlink beams and feeds back a measurement result to a base station, and the base station determines, based on the measurement result, whether a serving beam of the UE needs to be changed. If the serving beam of the UE needs to be changed, the base station delivers a beam switching instruction by using the current serving beam, so as to instruct the UE to start to listen to a signal of another beam at a next predetermined moment. In other words, the other beam is used as a next serving beam of the UE. In short, in the prior art, the base station initiates a beam switching process based on the beam measurement result fed back by the UE.
However, due to different cell scenarios, channel quality of a high-frequency communication channel in some cells is greatly changed, and the channel quality often greatly falls. In addition, a high-frequency signal has poor scattering and diffraction capabilities, and a signal propagation path is mostly a direct or refraction path and is also easily affected by an obstacle. Consequently, the high-frequency channel is more vulnerable for various reasons. Sometimes, a beam blocking phenomenon occurs. In this case, communication between the base station and the UE is adversely affected.

Communication method, and communications apparatus and system


A saccharification reaction mixture, a saccharification enzyme composition, and a saccharide production method are aimed to enhance saccharization rate by use of an enzyme in a simple step as well as a method for producing ethanol from a saccharide. The saccharification reaction mixture can saccharify at least one of cellulose and hemicellulose and contains at least one of cellulose and hemicellulose, a saccharification enzyme, silica or a silica-containing substance, and at least one compound (A) selected from the group made of thiourea, a thiourea derivative, an isothiourea derivative, and a salt of any of these.

Hitherto, there has been known cellulose-origin bioethanol, which is produced from a biomass raw material containing cellulose or hemicellulose.
There has also been known a method for producing a saccharide (e.g., glucose) from a cellulose biomass material containing cellulose or hemicellulose (i.e., a saccharifying technique). In the method, the cellulose biomass material is hydrolyzed with sulfuric acid. The method involves problems such as corrosion of a reactor and treatment of wastewater. In another known saccharifying method, a cellulose biomass material is saccharified in the presence of a solid acid catalyst formed of a carrier (e.g., carbon or zeoilte) on which sulfo groups are present. This method also has problems of a considerably slow reaction rate due to solid reaction and difficulty in separation of the unreacted residue from the solid acid catalyst. Furthermore, in the above methods, difficulty is encountered in controlling hydrolysis. When the hydrolysis reaction proceeds excessively, the formed saccharide decomposes, to thereby lower the yield of the saccharide of interest.
Also, saccharification is known to be performed in the presence of an enzyme (see Patent Document 1). Such a method includes a hydrothermal step of treating a raw material with pressurized hot water, a mechanical crushing step of the hydrothermal treatment product, and a saccharifying step of saccharifying the mechanically crushed product by use of an enzyme. However, according to the method, the rate of saccharifying with an enzyme is low, whereby the produced saccharified liquid docs not always have sufficient concentration, which is problematic.
In order to solve the problem, there has been proposed an improved method which can promote enzymatic reaction more efficiently. In the method, the enzyme is immobilized on a silica meso-porous body in the reaction, whereby the enzyme is caused to be present in the reaction system at a higher concentration, as compared with the case in which the enzyme is dissolved in the reaction system (see Patent Document 2). However, this method involves some problems. Specifically, the method requires an additional step of causing the enzyme to be adsorbed onto the carrier for immobilization, and the thus-immobilized enzyme may attain a reduced reaction efficiency of only about 40 to about 50%, as compared with the case of the same enzyme in a non-immobilized state. Furthermore, difficulty is encountered in separating the unreacted residue from the enzyme-fixed carrier, due to the solid-solid phase reaction.
Also known is a powder-form immobilized enzyme prepared by mixing an enzyme with silica sol, transforming the silica sol to a corresponding silica gel, and crushing the product (see Patent Documents 3 and 4). Even when such a powder-form enzyme is employed, the enzyme can be recovered, but the reaction efficiency is poor. In another known method, vegetable fiber containing cellulose is hydrolyzed with a mixture of an enzyme and a silica powder having a particle size of 0.5 μm to 100 μm. However, the effect of mixing the silica powder cannot be definitely proven, and difficulty is encountered in separating the unreacted residue from the suspended silica powder (see Patent Document 5).
Further, there has been proposed a method for saccharifying a cellulose-origin biomass by use of a saccharification promoter containing an enzyme and a compound such as guanidine or urea (see Patent Document 6). However, the saccharification promoter does not serve as a satisfactory saccharification promoter, but, instead, has such an excellent storage stability that it maintains biomass degradation property even after storage for a specific period of time.

Saccharification reaction mixture, saccharification enzyme composition, sugar production method, and ethanol production method


A method for producing a diesel having improved cold flow properties, the method comprising the steps of introducing a crude oil to a distillation column, separating the crude oil in the distillation unit to produce a light gas oil, and a light vacuum gas oil, where the light gas oil has a T95% cut point in the range between 300 deg C. and 340 deg C., where the light vacuum gas oil has a T95% cut point in the range between 400 deg C. and 430 deg C., processing the light vacuum gas oil in the supercritical water unit to produce an upgraded vacuum gas oil, separating the upgraded vacuum gas oil in the fractionator to produce an upgraded light fraction, an upgraded light gas oil, and upgraded heavy fraction, introducing the upgraded light gas oil into a diesel pool, and blending the light gas oil into the diesel pool.

Wax components in diesel start to solidify and form crystals at temperatures below the cloud point temperature. The cloud point temperature can depend on the location, season, and grade of diesel fuel, ranging from 10 degrees Celsius (deg C.) and −33 deg C. The solidified wax components, typically in the saturates or paraffin fraction of diesel, can result in a cloudy appearance in the diesel. The solid fraction crystals can plug fuel supply line and engine parts, such as fuel filters. Cold flow properties of diesel, which can relate to the wax formation, are characterized by cloud point (CP), pour point (PP), and cold filter plugging point (CFPP). In arctic climate zones, the cloud point of diesel must be lower than −10 degrees Celsius (deg C.) according to the European Committee for Standardization, EN 590.
One current method to improve cold flow properties is blending in lighter fractions such as naphtha and kerosene. Blending can impact the properties of diesel. Blending of large quantities of light fractions can negatively affect density, lubricity, flash point, and Cetane index of diesel. In addition, blending can perturb product distribution in a refinery.
Another method includes adding additives such as cloud point depressant. The downsides of adding additives include increasing the cost of the diesel and adding complexity to the production process.
A third method is undercutting of diesel. Paraffins in the high boiling range are responsible for poor cold flow properties. Paraffins can be removed by reducing the distillation cut point of diesel, but distillation results in loss of diesel to the vacuum gas oil and atmospheric residue fraction, both of which have a lower value as compared to diesel.
A fourth method is solvent dewaxing. In a solvent dewaxing process, aliphatic ketone solvents, such as methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) or methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), are used to crystallize wax components at low temperatures and then can separate from non-waxy component. A solvent dewaxing process can result in low liquid yield and difficulty in recovering solvents and is not often used in distillate dewaxing. Solvent dewaxing can remove high boiling range paraffins, however this method reduces liquid yield.
A fifth method is catalytic dewaxing. In catalytic dewaxing, long chain paraffins are cracked or isomerized selectively to decrease the cloud point and cold filter plugging point. In a typical catalytic dewaxing, a zeolite-based catalyst is used. The drawbacks of catalytic dewaxing are the loss of diesel to kerosene or naphtha by cracking. In addition, catalytic dewaxing is not suitable for non-hydrotreated feedstock because nitrogen and sulfur compounds are inhibitors to dewaxing catalysts.
Finally, it is noted that aromatics can improve cold flow properties, but EN590 provides limits on the amount of aromatics that can be present in diesel. Straight run diesel, the "as-distilled" fraction from crude oil typically contains low amounts of aromatics. Blending light cycle oil (LCO) fraction from an FCC unit can increase the aromatic content, but only to a limited extent.

Production of high quality diesel by supercritical water process


An electronic device includes a main body, a lens received in the main body, and a collapsible lens cover with one end fixed on the main body and the other end capable of resisting or detaching from the main body such that the lens is covered or uncovered.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to electronic devices, and more particularly to an electronic device with a lens cover.
2. Description of Related Art
Many electronic devices, not only cameras and video cameras, but also mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other electronic devices utilize a lens to capture image or video data. Exposure of the lenses to the environment, however may incur damage, and the lenses are vulnerable to physical impact.
Such devices, accordingly, often include a lens cover slidably covering the lens, thereby providing protection thereto. However, the lens cover requires a relatively large space to slide. As a result, the volume of the electronic device is increased.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.


In non-limiting examples of the present disclosure, systems, methods and devices for surfacing drive safety notifications are provided. A personal driving pattern library comprising first data associated with a first user for a plurality of road sections included in a first route may be maintained. A global driving pattern library comprising second data associated with a plurality of users for the plurality of road sections included in the first route may be maintained. A determination may be made that the first user is going to travel the first route. A first drive safety score for the first user driving the first route may be calculated. A determination may be made that the first drive safety score is below a threshold value. A drive safety notification may be caused to be surfaced.

Driving and automotive safety are significant problems which cause many deaths and significant property damage. While safety features in automobiles have improved substantially in recent times, one of the primary causes of traffic accidents is the inexperience or impairment of the driver of the automobile. While new safety features provide improved sensing and alerts, they are not well tailored to the experience and ability of a particular driver under particular conditions. Nor are there satisfactory systems which provide customized drive safety monitoring and notifications that are customized based on the characteristics of a particular group, such as a family group.
It is with respect to this general technical environment that aspects of the present technology disclosed herein have been contemplated. Furthermore, although a general environment has been discussed, it should be understood that the examples described herein should not be limited to the general environment identified in the background.


The invention relates to copolymers, obtained by the copolymerisation of SiH-group-containing siloxanes with vinyl-group-containing compounds. The copolymers comprise at least two SiH groups. The SiH-groups-containing siloxanes and the vinyl-group-containing compounds are linked to one another via C—Si bonds.

Materials for dental prostheses generally consist of polymethylmethacrylate or of copolymers of different methacrylates. When a prosthesis no longer fits well, it must be manufactured afresh or relined (corrected). This relining may be effected with prosthesis material again (a hard relining) but it may also be necessary to choose a significantly softer material for such purposes (a non-hardening relining). With the average age increasing, there is a considerable rise in the demand for the last-mentioned soft materials.
Customary soft relining materials consist of polymethacrylates to which plasticiser has been added or of silicone. The polymethacrylates to which plasticiser has been added can be polymersied onto the (polymethylmethacrylate) prosthesis material, but in the course of a few months they become harder to the point of brittleness as a result of the plasticiser's dissolving out.
Relinings with silicon elastomers do not exhibit such brittleness. They remain soft over a prolonger period, but on the other hand the provision of a firm bond between silicone and polymethacrylates always presents a considerable problem. Even when attempts are made to join the layers mechanically by etching or mechanical roughening, the silicone layer becomes detached from the prosthesis after a few weeks or even after a few days.
Several methods of solving this problem by chemical means have been described. For example, DE 196 35 696 A1 describes polymers containing reactive groups, such as —OH or —NH, to which hydrogen silicone units are linked, with hydrogen being removed. Solutions of such a SiH-group-containing copolymer, after being applied to the surface of a prosthesis, are able to react with and become bonded to a vinyl silicone layer applied thereto. Since the hydrogen siloxane units are linked via —C—O—Si— or Via C—NH—Si— bonds, adhesive bonds made in accordance with this Offenlengungsschrift are extremely hydrolysis-labile in the aqueous environment of the mouth and are suitable only for short-term temporary relinings of a few days.
A better solution to the problem is described in EP 0 632 060 A1 which describes for such purposes copolymers that are prepared by copolymerisation of methylacrylates with vinyl- or allyl-methacrylates, hydrogen silicones having an adequate SiH content then being linked to the free vinyl or allyl groups with the aid of a platinum catalyst.
Solutions of such SiH-group-containing copolymers, after being applied to the surface of a prosthesis, are likewise able to react with and become bonded to a vinyl silicone layer applied thereto. The hydrogen siloxane units are linked to the polymer chain structures via ester groups —CO—O—, have better resistance to hydrolysis and are therefore effective over a longer period of time as promoters of adhesion between the material of the prosthesis and the applied silicone, even in the aqueous environment of the mouth. The preparation process is a multiple-step procedure, however, and is therefore inconvenient and expensive and the polymers prepared nevertheless have acid- and base-sensitive ester groups.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Adhesion promoters for silicone materials

S & C Polymer, Silicon- und Composite-Spezialitation GmbH


A training apparatus for baseball training includes a base and training attachments that may be attached to the base to allow a user to practice a variety of training techniques. The base may be modular so that it has an adjustable width and disassembles into separate components. At least one training attachment is designed to train a batter to properly incorporate thrust into a swinging motion when swinging a baseball bat. The attachment has a pivotally mounted member with a contact element attached to the top end of the member. The member pivots forward and downward when the user's knee contacts the contact element when properly executing a swinging motion. Thus, the training attachment provides direct and immediate feedback to the user regarding the user's batting form. Other training attachments may be used for hitting balls and for pitching to targets strategically placed around a strike zone.

Baseball and softball are sports which require a batter to use a bat to hit a ball thrown by a pitcher. The pitcher throws the ball toward the batter as the batter stands adjacent to a home plate. The objective of the pitcher is to throw the ball over a specific area of the home plate called the strike zone without the batter hitting the ball. Conversely, the objective of the batter is to hit the ball thrown by the pitcher into the field of play and then advance to another base. One of the fundamental skills needed to be successful as a batter is the ability to accurately and consistently hit a ball thrown by a pitcher in varying locations within the strike zone. Being able to hit a thrown baseball or softball anywhere within the strike zone is arguably one of the most difficult aspects of hitting to master. Repetitive batting exercises in executing correct batting form is helpful in improving success in batting while teaching players ranging from novices to professionals how to consistently connect with the ball. Similarly, repetitive pitching exercises in executing specific pitches thrown to specific target areas within the strike zone improve success in pitching.
Good batting technique involves interplay between stance, weight shift, and swinging movement. To produce an effective swing, a batter must generate thrust through movement of the batter's body and hips. When swinging the bat, thrust may be generated through the batter incorporating his or her body mass into the swinging motion. By incorporating the batter's body weight into the swing, when the bat makes contact with the pitched ball, the extra body weight of the batter being incorporated into the swing in the form of increased thrust generally causes the ball to travel farther. There are several different components of a proper swing that combine to create proper thrust when swinging. One of these elements is the proper motion of the player's hips and back leg while swinging. With good batting technique, the batter's back leg should generally move toward the plate and bend at the knee as the batter follows through with the swinging motion. This motion is one of the body motions that may ensure that the batter's momentum continues forward in the direction of the swing and is not discharged as wasted energy.
In presently used hitting practice methods, players typically rely on feedback from a coach or other observer in visually evaluating the batter's swinging motion, including movement of the batter's leg. Conventional training tools for improving a batter's swing generally do not provide the batter with direct feedback relating to the batter's back leg and general body movement as the batter swings a bat. Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a training tool that can be used to train a batter in batting technique to help the batter consistently generate thrust when swinging a bat. Further, a need exists in the art for a training tool that can give direct swing-motion feedback to the player. In addition, a need exists in the art for a training tool for batting technique that can also be utilized for training in hitting balls in varying areas of the strike zone, as well as training in pitching accuracy, which would provide economic and practical efficiency to players desiring skill level advancement in the game.

Sports training device, system, and method of use


A system (10) is provided for associating a physical application (22) to a business operation. The system (10) includes a first database (30, 34, 38, 42) operable to store information relating to at least one physical application (22). An interface (46) receives information relating to at least one business requirement (24) of the business operation. A relator (48), which is coupled to the first database (30, 34, 38, 42) and the interface (46), generates linking information (52) to associate the business requirement (24) to the physical application (22). A second database (50) is coupled to the relator (48). The second database (50) stores the business requirement information and the corresponding linking information (52) to associate the physical application (22) to the business operation.

To operate any business, a number of functions must be performed either manually or by a machine. In many cases, these functions can be automated in a computing environment developed from existing products or physical applications, such as commercially-available software.
A business attempts to match its functional requirements to the functions performed by existing physical applications. In particular, a business develops computing environments from existing physical applications which were designed to perform certain functions. Often the business selects physical applications and operates in accordance with the functions performed by the selected physical applications, even though these functions are not necessarily the same as the functions actually required in the business operation. Without a clear understanding of business requirements and existing physical applications, the functions provided by the selected physical applications may overlap, thereby introducing unnecessary redundancy and complexity in the computing environment. Also, businesses may fail to identify and automate many functions because the appropriate physical applications were not selected.

Associating a physical application to a business operation


A system for improving worker's compensation programs. Employee presence is detected by using proximity sensors at different places in the workplace. For example, where a company has different workshops, offices, rooms, or other areas, detection of a worker's presence in one or more of the areas allows more accurate information to be used to calculate liabilities such as risk of injury. Data about a worker's presence, duration of presence, repeated presence, or other characteristics of a worker in an area are sensed and logged by a digital system. The system can store and process the data locally, or the data (or a derivative of the data) can be transferred to other entities for storage, processing, analysis or other purposes. For example, the presence data can be sent to insurance providers for calculation of accurate premiums, risk, payouts, etc.

This invention relates in general to information processing and more specifically to a system for tracking, analyzing and managing information related to payment of worker's compensation premiums.
Currently California, and most other states, base their worker's compensation insurance rates on an individual employee's job classification (type of job they do e.g. software engineer, maid, etc.) coupled with the employee's overall annual compensation package (salary, bonuses, car allowance, sales commissions). Using these criteria and guidelines from the California Worker's Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, the insurance companies bill their customers accordingly.
This system has weaknesses that can lead to inaccurate calculation of customer premiums. For example, customer premiums paid by companies to insurance carriers may not be indicative of the companies' employees' actual job liability or how many hours an employee works. Instead, the premiums are heavily based on an employee's overall compensation and job classification, even though these factors may not have much to do with a likelihood of injury. In addition, an employee's worker's compensation benefits do not necessarily correspond with the premium paid. For example, for a highly paid executive, the premium will be much higher (due to higher compensation) even though the executive is less likely to be injured on the job than someone like a drill-press operator or a networking hardware engineer working in a lab. Also, if the executive is injured, the worker's compensation benefit is't appreciably more than the drill-press operator or hardware engineer, even though the premium paid for the executive's worker's compensation insurance was much higher.
Another drawback with traditional approaches to worker's compensation is that they often require manual, labor-intensive yearly audits and post-facto billing. As often as quarterly, an insurance company might audit the payroll records of customers, usually 45 to 60 days following the expiration of a policy. These audits are bothersome to most insurance customers, are costly, unproductive, and there are no uniform electronic data collection methods to aid in this process. In addition, because an insured company's premiums and audits are post-facto and not during or at the close of the business quarter in which they were used, tax and financial planning/reporting is more complicated. SEC reporting and general expense planning procedures are also impacted.
Today's worker's compensation plans use confusing multifaceted payroll adjustments. The insurance customer must frequently adjust the payroll parameters such as executive compensation, overtime pay, meals, lodging, car allowance, and other items. Moreover, the nature of these adjustments can change anytime an employee's compensation criteria changes.
Many of these parameters have no real bearing on an employee's worker's compensation, liability or benefit and yet must be included in reports and procedures in order to meet state and insurance company guidelines. In addition, because worker's compensation premiums are primarily compensation-based, there is an inherent disincentive for employers to increase employees' compensation because the employer will, in turn, have to pay a higher worker's compensation premium for that employee.
In some cases, an employer may be paying premiums based on two or more compounding calculations. This can be prejudicial and detrimental to the employees and the employer and does nothing to improve the insuree's "real" coverage.
Another common practice with today's worker's compensation systems is to assign a same job classification to all employees. This single classification can be the most expensive one for the employer. In other words, an employer may have all employees assigned to a classification requiring the highest worker's compensation premiums even though only one, or a few, employees are at that higher classification. In California, this is known as the "Single Enterprise Rule".
For example, a software company's software engineers will have a certain classification. As long as they only have workstations and normal cubicles at work, they will maintain a software or clerical type insurance classification. However, if they add a small lab with one hardware engineer then everyone at the company might be reclassified to the higher "hardware engineer" rate due to a perceived higher risk in the workplace. However, the fact may be that none of the clerical or software engineers may ever go inside this small lab and incur any greater risk of injury.
In summary, the result of the aforementioned anomalies in today's worker's compensation systems is that premiums charged to companies don't accurately reflect the true liability of any particular worker. In addition, the systems' rating structures can be unnecessarily complex, making it difficult to track, audit, and project accurate rates that reflect actual current and future liabilities. Today's systems can also be unfair and prejudicial to the employers and employees by creating a disincentive for increasing employees' compensation, which would in-turn increase their associated worker's compensation premium. Today's systems sometimes unfairly treat all employees under a single (most expensive) job classification, thereby unnecessarily overcharging employers for worker's compensation premiums.

System for improving logistics, tracking and billing for worker's compensation insurance


An analog level meter and a method of measuring an analog signal level may be provided. The analog level meter may include a comparator, a duty counter, an analog level detector and/or a digital to analog converter (DAC). The comparator may compare a voltage level of the analog signal with a reference voltage and generate an up-down signal. The duty counter may count a duty value of the up-down signal. The analog level detector may output a duty error value obtained by subtracting a target duty value from the duty value of the up-down signal. The analog level meter may output the reference voltage as a measured value of the analog signal when the duty error value is a desired or predetermined value.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to an analog level meter and a method of measuring analog signal level, and for example, to an analog level meter using duty ratio capable of detecting an analog peak/bottom level without an analog to digital converter and a method of measuring analog signal level using duty ratio capable of the same.
2. Description of Related Art
An analog level meter may include an analog to digital converter (ADC) to convert an analog signal into a digital signal. However, when a frequency of the analog signal is higher than a sampling frequency of the ADC, sampling may not be performed properly. Accordingly, it may be necessary to adjust a level of an input analog signal to improve the operation of the ADC.
FIG. 1 is an example diagram showing a conventional analog level meter with an analog to digital converter ADC.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional analog level meter 10 may include an offset control unit 11, a gain control unit 12, a peak/bottom detector 13 and/or an analog to digital converter ADC 14.
The offset control unit 11 and/or the gain control unit 12 may control an offset and/or a gain of the analog signal to adjust the level of the analog signal to a level at which the ADC operates properly. The peak/bottom detector 13 may detect a peak value and/or a bottom value of the analog signal of which the level may be adjusted.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are example circuit diagrams showing a conventional peak/bottom detector.
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the peak/bottom detector 13 may include an operational amplifier (op amp). The non-inverting terminal of the op amp may receive the analog signal, and the inverting terminal of the op amp may receive the output of the op amp by feedback. The peak/bottom detector 13 may detect the peak value or the bottom value by limiting a source current or a sink current of the op amp.
Referring to FIG. 1, the ADC 14 may perform analog to digital conversion with respect to the detected peak value and/or bottom value.
However, the conventional analog level meter may have to include the offset control unit and/or the gain control unit to adjust the level of the analog signal to the level at which the ADC operates properly. Accordingly, the layout area of the analog level meter may increase. The conventional analog level meter may further include capacitors, which in turn, may increase the number of elements and/or change the characteristics of the capacitors according to processes.

Analog level meter and method of measuring analog signal level


A neutron scintillator composed of a resin composition comprising (A) an inorganic phosphor containing at least one neutron capture isotope selected from lithium 6 and boron 10 and (B) a resin, wherein                the inorganic phosphor is a particle having a specific surface area of 50 to 3,000 cm2/cm3, and the internal transmittance based on 1 cm of the optical path length of the resin composition is 30%/cm or more at the emission wavelength of the inorganic phosphor.

A neutron detector is a key technology which supports neutron utilization techniques.
The neutron detector is used in the security field such as cargo inspection for the discovery of illegal nuclear-related substances; the academic research field such as structural analysis by neutron diffraction; the nondestructive inspection field; the medical field such as boron neutron capture therapy; and the resource exploration field making use of a neutron. Along with the development of neutron utilization techniques in these fields, a higher-performance neutron detector is desired.
In the neutron detector, neutron detection efficiency and discrimination ability between a neutron and a γ-ray (n/γ discrimination ability) are important.
The neutron detection efficiency is the ratio of the number of neutrons counted by a detector to the number of neutrons incident on the detector. When the neutron detection efficiency is low, the absolute number of neutrons to be measured becomes small, thereby reducing measurement accuracy. The reason that the n/γ discrimination ability is important is as follows. γ-rays are existent in the natural world as natural radiation and also produced when a neutron enters the constituent parts of a detector or a substance to be tested. Therefore, when the n/γ discrimination ability is low, a γ-ray is detected as a neutron, thereby impairing the counting accuracy of neutrons.
A known neutron detector detects a neutron based on the following mechanism.
A neutron has high penetrability without any interaction with a substance. Therefore, the neutron is generally detected by making use of a neutron capture reaction. For example, a conventionally known helium 3 detector detects a neutron by making use of a proton and tritium produced by a neutron capture reaction caused by helium 3. This helium 3 detector has high detection efficiency and excellent n/γ discrimination ability. However, since helium 3 is expensive and there is a limit to the amount of its resources, a device substituting this is awaited.
The development of a neutron detector comprising a neutron scintillator as a detector substituting the above helium 3 detector is now under way. The neutron scintillator is a substance which emits fluorescence when a neutron enters the neutron scintillator. The neutron detector can be manufactured by combining this neutron scintillator and a photodetector such as a photomultiplier tube. The performance of the neutron detector comprising a neutron scintillator depends on a substance constituting the neutron scintillator. When a neutron scintillator having a high content of an isotope which is excellent in neutron capture reaction efficiency is used, the neutron detection efficiency becomes high. Examples of the isotope which is excellent in neutron capture reaction efficiency include lithium 6 and boron 10 (U.S. Pat. No. 8,044,367).
In the neutron detector comprising a neutron scintillator, a photodetector which has detected fluorescence emitted from the neutron scintillator outputs a pulse signal so that the number of neutrons is counted based on the intensity (pulse height) of the pulse signal. A predetermined threshold value is set for a pulse height so that when the pulse height is smaller than the threshold value, the output pulse signal is treated as noise whereas when the pulse height is equal to or larger than the threshold value, the pulse signal is counted as a neutron incidence event.
Although the neutron detector comprising a neutron scintillator has an advantage that neutron detection efficiency is high, it has a problem that it is sensitive to a γ-ray and therefore has poor n/γ discrimination ability.
In the field of X-ray detectors, there is proposed a detector which comprises a powder scintillator and a resin and has small dismatch between the refractive index of the above scintillator and the refractive index of the above resin (U.S. Pat. No. 8,338,790 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,608,829). The powder scintillator used in these technologies is a fine powder which is very small in size.

Neutron scintillator, neutron detection method and neutron detector


A product information providing apparatus for providing, via a network, product information for supporting operations of a product, comprises an electronic product information storage that stores electronic product information which contains a group of hierarchized files having a file format browsable through a Web browser; a table holder that holds an event table in which an event indicating a change in the state of the product is associated with address information of the product information corresponding to the event; an event detector that detects occurrence of the event; an address information acquisition unit that acquires address information corresponding to the event detected by the event detector by referring to the table holder; an accessing unit that accesses the corresponding electronic product information based on the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit; and a display that displays the electronic product information accessed by the accessing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a product information providing apparatus and a method for managing and providing electronic product information, and in particular to a product information providing apparatus and a method capable of providing product information most suitable for the use environment of the product.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, breakthroughs in technology have developed and introduced into the market more complicated and sophisticated products one after another. Such product is accompanied with a balky operation manual which gives relatively detailed instructions to allow users to master the functions provided in the product, or with a basic manual which gives minimum required instructions to use the product. These manuals often include drawings and illustrations to help the user comprehend the contents.
However, even if a manual describes each of the functions in an easy-to-understand manner, it is becoming more difficult for a user to find necessary information from the manual having an enormous number of pages. It often happens that the user eventually finds out that he/she has been searching information not included in the manual. Moreover, it is often the case that the user does not always keep the manual handy, and has to look for the manual when necessary. Even if the manual is kept at a specific location, it will take some time for the user to fetch the manual, and it is impossible to acquire necessary information at once.
There have been proposed electronic manuals to solve these problems. However, they are not more than digitized equivalents of conventional manual books. It can hardly be said that such electronic manuals have solved the problems as described above. Moreover, the electronic manuals now available are not able to fully utilize the great variety of sophisticated functions.
According to a conventional technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-312462, an operating manual request code received from an image processing device is analyzed to retrieve requested operating method information from storage means, and the specific operating method information thus retrieved is downloaded to the request-originating image processing device. A user is thus not required to provide detailed information about current conditions of his/her image processing device to obtain a relevant part of the manual information corresponding thereto, and to be guided with appropriate operating instructions to operate the image processing device smoothly.
However, according to the conventional technique disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-312462, the specific operating method information is downloaded based on an operating manual request code, but this technique is not more than digitizing the contents of a manual book and taking out a necessary part therefrom in a unit of a chapter or a section to display the same. The operation manual according to the conventional technique does not contain detailed information given by animation, for example. Further, since the manual is downloaded to a client terminal, the terminal requires an additional mechanism (resource) for this purpose.

Product information for supporting operations of an electronic product via the web