A photoelectric imaging sensor and method that provide for electronic shuttering and frequency filtering. An exemplary sensor includes a biased conductive frame disposed adjacent to an electron emitting plate that is coupled by way of a reset field effect transistor to ground. A metallized plate is insulated from (capacitively coupled to) the electron emitting plate and is coupled by way of a charge isolation field effect transistor (to ground. Electronic shuttering and frequency filtering in the photoelectric imaging sensor is implemented is as follows. The conductive frame is biased by predetermined amounts to control the surface work function of the electron emitting plate and set the incident light frequency at which photoelectrons are emitted by the electron emitting plate, thus providing for frequency filtering and electronically shuttering of the photoelectric imaging sensor. Electronic shuttering is provided by gating the metallized plate using the charge isolation field effect transistor.

One of the weaknesses of CCD (charge coupled device) technology is the inability to electrically discontinue charge generation and accumulation. As a result, prior art imaging sensors have had limited on-chip frequency filtering capabilities. Also, electronic shuttering has not been possible on-chip.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide for a photoelectric imaging sensor structured to electrically discontinue charge generation and accumulation thus permitting electronic shuttering, and also on-chip frequency filtering. It is also an objective of the present invention to provide for a method for use of a photoelectric imaging sensor that implements electronic shuttering and frequency filtering.

Photoelectric imaging sensor and method having a metallized plate capacitively coupled to an electron emitting plate

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Implementations disclose a handoff feature for a content sharing platform. A method includes maintaining a session history of a session that occurred at a first client device, the session history identified by a visit identifier (ID) and comprising a set of recently-watched content items on a content sharing platform, determining that a user associated with the session is active on a second client device, transmitting, to the second client device, a session continuation notification associated with the visit ID and a navigation end-point of the session, receiving, from the second client device, a request for a watch page user interface (UI) of a content item corresponding to the navigation end-point of the session, and transmitting, to the second client device, instructions to load the watch page UI and to request additional components of the watch page UI using the visit ID.

Content-sharing platforms and their corresponding websites and mobile applications ("apps") allow users to play and watch music and videos. With increasing availability of different mediums to access services or applications (such as a content sharing platform), requests to these centralized services or applications are originating from a variety of sources. Despite the different access mediums, the underlying reason for using the services remains the same.

Handoff feature for content sharing platforms


This invention provides a compression apparatus capable of flexibly responding to a change in service condition. The compression apparatus comprises a compressor main body for housing rotatively driven rotors, an intake channel connected to an intake port of the compressor main body and equipped with a suction adjusting valve, a discharge channel connected to a discharge port of the compressor main body and equipped with a discharge pressure sensor, a revolution speed setting unit for causing a rotor to have a revolution speed that matches a set number of revolutions, a valve controlling unit for controlling the suction adjusting valve based on a discharge pressure detected by the discharge pressure sensor in such a manner that a pressure of the discharge channel is maintained at a set pressure, and a controller for defining the set number of revolutions and the set pressure based on a condition selected by a user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compression apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H01-313694, there have been known compressors with structure for rotatively driving compressor rotors composed of a pair of male and female screw rotors by means of a motor or the like device that functions as a driving machine through a pulley with a belt, or a speed increasing or decreasing gear implemented by a combination of main and pinion gears.
In the compressors, the inside of a package is divided into two internal spaces. The internal space of a primary side houses a compressor main body, the motor for driving the screw rotors in the compressor main body through the pulley with the belt, and an oil separation and recovery unit. On the other hand, the internal space of a secondary side is equipped with a sirocco fan attached to an output shaft of the motor, an after cooler, and an oil cooler. Further, an air inlet is disposed on an outer wall of the internal space of the primary side, while a through hole for allowing air to flow from the internal space of the primary side to the internal space of the secondary side is formed in the partition wall.
To adjust a revolution speed in such a compression apparatus, the diameter of the pulley, geometry of the belt, a gear ratio, or other features must be changed (i.e. replacement work for replacing components such as the pulley, the belt, or the gear should be performed). However, the replacement work requires a certain amount of time. For this reason, it is unpractical, in the compressor of the above-described type, to frequently change service conditions of the compressor, such as specifications of an object to which compressed air is supplied.


In a karaoke apparatus, a tone generator responds to a request of a karaoke song for generating musical tones of the karaoke song having a given gender so as to accompany a live singing voice having an actual gender. A voice changer is provided for selectively conducting either of male-to-female conversion effective to upward shift a pitch of the live singing voice and female-to-male conversion effective to downward shift a pitch of the live singing voice. A voice analyzer is provided for analyzing the live singing voice to determine the actual gender of the live singing voice. A parameter generator is provided for comparing the determined actual gender of the live singing voice with the given gender of the karaoke song so as to control the voice changer to select either of the male-to-female conversion and the female-to-male conversion if the actual gender differs from the given gender so that the pitch of the live singing voice can be shifted to match the given gender of the karaoke song.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a karaoke apparatus for converting an input voice and outputting the converted voice.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a variety of karaoke apparatuses have been developed that have a voice converting capability of providing a variety of effects by performing frequency conversion or the like on an inputted voice. For example, a karaoke apparatus is known in which a pitch or a formant of an input voice is shifted to convert a male voice into a female voice and vice versa. The formant represents resonance frequency characteristics of a vocal tract of a karaoke player.
This conversion between male voice and female voice by the conventional karaoke apparatus allows the karaoke player to manually specify the gender conversion. For example, when a male singer sings a female vocal song, he manually specifies the conversion mode of male-to-female. Then, if a female singer wants to sing a female vocal song, the previous conversion mode must be cleared. These operations must be performed every time a different song is sung, thereby presenting much inconvenience to the karaoke users. In addition, the complicated operations often result in the voice conversion setting errors. For example, although the input is a male voice, if the female-to-male conversion is specified, the input of the low voice is shifted to a further low voice, thereby sometimes offending the ear of audiences. Moreover, in the conventional voice conversion, the pitch shift and the formant shift are performed on an input voice regardless of its quality or property. therefore, depending on the voice quality, the converted voice often sounds unnatural.

Karaoke apparatus converting gender of singing voice to match octave of song


The present disclosure provides a CSMA time slot providing and obtaining method and device, a networking method and device, and a system. The CSMA time slot providing method includes: generating a beacon frame, where the beacon frame carries a CSMA time slot and attribute information used to identify an applicable device of the CSMA time slot; and sending the beacon frame and providing the CSMA time slot for the applicable device, so that the applicable device sends a packet by using the CSMA time slot. The CSMA time slot providing and obtaining method and device, the networking method and device, and the system provided by the present invention can designate an applicable device of a CSMA time slot.

Carrier sense multiple access (Carrier Sense Multiple Access, CSMA) is a distributed medium access control protocol. Each site (node) in a network competes to send a data frame by using a CSMA time slot. FIG. 1 is a network architecture diagram of a typical communication network. As shown in FIG. 1, a concentrator, level-1 sites, level-2 sites, and level-3 sites that request to access the level-2 sites are included. In an ad hoc networking stage, the concentrator allocates a CSMA time slot, that is, carries a CSMA time slot shared by all the sites to upload data in a beacon frame, and delivers the beacon frame to the level-2 sites. All the level-3 sites obtain the CSMA time slot and perform carrier sensing, and can send an access-request packet to the level-2 sites that are requested to be accessed only when the CSMA time slot is idle.
It can be seen that, when the concentrator provides a CSMA time slot for the network sites in the foregoing manner, all the level-3 sites share the CSMA time slot, and when there are multiple level-3 sites requesting for access, it cannot be known and managed in advance that which level-3 site (level-3 sites) can successfully send an access-request packet to take priority to access the concentrator in the network. However, in some actual application scenarios, the concentrator expects to designate, according to a certain rule, level-3 sites having different time slots to access in different periods, for example, a level-3 site that accesses a certain designated level-2 site; therefore, when a CSMA time slot is provided, an applicable site of the CSMA time slot needs to be designated. However, a current CSMA time slot providing method cannot designate an applicable site of the CSMA time slot.

CSMA time slot providing and obtaining method and device, networking method and device, and system


A method for processing a user interface in a mobile station comprises segregating application program data for constructing the user interface such that content data is separate from display style data, and storing the segregated application program data. The method also comprises constructing the user interface such that the content data corresponds to the display style data, and converting the format of the content data using the display style data. The method may further comprise displaying converted content data. The method may further comprise segregating application program data for constructing the user interface such that the soft key data is separate from the content data and the display style data. The display style data may comprise style sheet data.

In general, a display screen for a mobile station is limited in the amount of content displayed. A related art display method uses a certain list style and displays soft keys (e.g., graphic icons) according to the listed items. A basic structure of a user interface (UI) in a mobile station displays content along with format information (e.g., style sheets), without separation. Due the lack of separation between content and style sheets, although an application (e.g., application program) has the same display style, a UI for the application program must be newly coded when a new application program is developed. Furthermore, when a style displayed on the screen of the mobile station needs to be changed, code pertaining to the UI for every application program must be searched and corrected.


A stock solution for making pelleted livestock feed or pet food, comprising: a) 20-50 wt %. of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of formic, acetic, propionic, butyric and mixtures thereof, b) 15-30 wt. % of ethoxylated castor oil surfactant having an HLB from 4 to 18 and a molar ratio of 1 molecule of castor oil to 40-60 molecules of ethylene oxide, c) 0-20 wt. % of propylene glycol, d) 0-50 wt. % of water, and a pelleted feed made therewith.

1. Field of the Invention
A liquid formulation for conditioning animal feed.
2. Background
Most of the animal industry uses pelleted feed. Pelletization is a transformation of powdered feed (mash feed) into small granules having all the required nutrients for an animal. Typically, production from the raw materials through pelletization accounts for 60-70% of the cost of making animal feeds. Finding a procedure or modification to decrease the cost of feed production without reducing feed quality has been one of the most important areas of research in the animal industry. Several studies indicate that pelleting improves feed conversion by as much as 12%. This improvement in performance is attributed to decreases in feed wastage, ingredient segregation, and energy expenditures by the animal while eating (Behnke, K. C., 1994, "Factors affecting pellet quality" pp. 44-54, Proc. Maryland Nutr. Conf. Feed Manuf., College Park, Md. Maryland Feed Ind. Council. and Univ. Maryland, College Park. Briggs; J. L., D. E. Maier, B. A. Watkins, and K. C. Behnke, 1999, "Effect of ingredients and processing parameters on pellet quality", Poult. Sci. 78: 1464-1471). Durable pellets reduce waste, reduce segregation, improve palatability and allow larger meals to be eaten in less time. Chicks given mash feed spent 14.3% of a 12 hour day eating vs. 4.7% for pellet-fed chicks (Jensen L., L. H. Merin, C. V. Reddy and J. McGinnis, 1962, "Observations on eating patterns and rate of food passage of birds fed pelleted or unpelleted diets", Poult. Sci. 41:1414-1419).
The process of pelletization requires a conditioning step, which involves steam to gelatinize the starch in the diet and to produce better binding, thereby increasing the durability of the pellets. Starch gelatinization is a process in which water, in the form of steam, is diffused into the starch granules causing swelling (Parker, R. and S. G. Ring, 2001, "Mini Review: Aspects of the Physical Chemistry of Starch", J. Cereal Sci. 34: 1-17). As the gelatinized starch cools it forms a gel, which acts as an adhesive, causing particle binding (Lund, D., 1984, "Influence of time, temperature, moisture, ingredients and processing conditions on starch gelatinization", CRC Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 20:249-273). The addition of high amounts of moisture also lowers the onset temperature required for starch gelatinization to occur. Gelatinized starch has generally been thought to improve enzymatic access to glucosidic linkages and consequently improve digestibility in the animal (Parker, R. and S. G. Ring, 2001, "Mini Review: Aspects of the Physical Chemistry of Starch", J. Cereal Sci. 34: 1-17).
Feed pellets are damaged during loading, unloading, storage, conveying and transferring to feeders. The handling and transport of the feed often results in a reduction in the percentage of intact pellets, increased broken pellets and an increase in feed fines. It is thought that for every 10% increase in fines, there is a loss of one point of feed conversion, which then requires more feed to be eaten to produce the same amount of meat (McKinney et al, 2004: Harper). The present invention provides excellent pellet properties, in which the percent fines are reduced at least 10% compared to a control sample treated with water, more typically 15% to 20%.
During conditioning, steam adds up to 6% moisture to feed. Each percent of moisture added to the feed through steam raises the mash feed temperature about 23° C., which improves the conditioning process by optimizing pellet mill operation and pellet durability (Fairfield, D., 2003 "Pelleting for Profit-Part 1", Feed and Feeding digest 54 (6) 2003). This added moisture is lost when the pellet is cooled down. Several studies have shown that the addition of water beyond the moisture added during the conditioning process can improve pelletization (Fairchild, F. and D. Greer, 1999, "Pelleting with precise mixer moisture control", Feed Int. 20 (8): 32-36; Moritz, J. S et al, 2003 "Feed manufacture and feeding of rations with graded levels of added moisture formulated at different densities", J. Appl. Pout. Res. 12:371-381). Motitz et al and Hott et al reported an increase in PDI and a decrease in energy usage by the addition of 2.5 to 5% moisture to a corn-soybean based diet at the mixer (Moritz, J. S. et al, 2001, "Effect of moisture addition at the mixer to a corn-soybean-based diet on broiler performance", J. Appl. Poult. Res. 10: 347-353; Hott et al, 2008, "The effect of moisture addition with a mold inhibitor on pellet quality, feed manufacture and broiler performance", J. Appl. Poult. Res. 17:262-271).
Moisture addition to the feed at the mixer was shown to increase pellet quality and decrease pellet mill energy consumption. Moisture addition was also found to reduce the temperature difference ΔT) between the conditioned mash and the hot pellets, which indicates a decrease in die wear. Moisture added to feed in a mixer becomes bound in the various heat-related reactions, such as starch gelatinization resulting in an increased PDI. This moisture is not as easily removed from pellets as moisture added during the conditioning process. However, the extra moisture can migrate to the pellet surface, which can result in a significant molding hazard. The use of a surfactant in moisture additives facilitates the absorption of water into the mash feed, thereby reducing the molding hazard.
Animal feed manufacturers currently use water, which does not penetrate totally into the mash feed. We have found that addition of a non-ionic surfactant improves this water penetration, thereby improving pellet quality as well as pelletization parameters. For poultry and swine integrators the need for fungicides is of no economic importance because feed is consumed within 3-5 days of manufacturing, which is insufficient time for mold to grow.
The present invention is a highly concentrated formulation of ethoxylated castor oil plus chemicals to prevent damage from extreme cold temperatures. Because the surfactant formula is so concentrated, its transportation and handling costs are low, so this formula offers significant cost advantages to feed producers operating in cold climates.
Ethoxylated castor oil emulsifier is produced by the reaction of castor oil with ethylene oxide. Ethoxylated castor oil emulsifiers are of various chain lengths, depending on the quantity of ethylene oxide used during synthesis. The molar ratio can vary between 1 molecule of castor oil to 1-200 molecules of ethylene oxide, producing an ethoxylated castor oil emulsifier named according to the formula PEG-x (PolyEthylene Glycol, where x is the number of ethylene oxide moieties) castor oil emulsifier (Fruijtier-Polloth, C., 2005, "Safety assessment on polyethylene glycols (PEGs) and their derivatives as used in cosmetic products", Toxicology 214: 1-38). These emulsifiers have been widely used to solubilize water-insoluble drugs for human and animal treatments. They are non-volatile, stable compounds, which do not hydrolyze or deteriorate on storage.
Castor oil is obtained from the seeds of Ricinus communis and consists primarily of the triglycerides of ricinoleic, isoricinoleic, stearic and dihydroxystearic acids. Castor oil is 90% ricinoleic acid (12-Hydroxyoleic acid), a nontoxic, biodegradable and renewable resource. Other emulsifiers with similar properties can be derived from different oils, e.g. soybean, canola, tree tall, and other vegetables oils. Synthetic emulsifiers can also be utilized provided they are approved for use in animal feed.
Several PCT applications have been filed for uses of ethoxylated castor oil surfactants in feed ingredients and complete feed.
WO 99/60865 relates to the use of a surfactant-water emulsion that is added to animal feed before or after heat treatment. The emulsion helps maintain or reduce water lost during heat treatment. This emulsion consists of 1 to 8 parts water and 0.005 to 0.5 parts surfactant, and has a melting point of greater than 15° C. The present invention is a solution, rather than an emulsion, and remains a clear solution at freezing temperatures.
Patent WO 97/28896 teaches an aqueous mixture of molasses, fat, oil, acids and water which contains an ethoxylated castor oil as a dispersant that prevents separation of the mixture. The present invention contains no molasses and uses selected types of ethoxylated castor oil (PEG-40, PEG-60) to improve cold weather properties, while maintaining pelletization performance.
WO 96/11585 discloses an animal feed containing a polyethylene glycol compound that includes an ethoxylated castor oil having molecular weight of 5,000-11,000. In one embodiment the ethoxylated castor oil of the invention has sixty ethoxylated molecules, and a molecular weight of 3,700-3,850.
WO 95/28091 describes adding ethoxylated castor oil to conventional dry animal feed, which is said to improve availability of nutritious substances, to increase animal growth and to decrease mortality. The ethoxylated castor oil has from 8-35 ethoxylated molecules which differs from ethoxylated castor oil having 40-60 ethoxylated molecules, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,463 discloses an ethoxylated castor oil for animal feed to improve the availability of nutritious substances. The ethoxylated castor oil is said to aid in the formation of fat micelles in the intestinal tract, thus improving fat digestion/absorption. Typical inclusion rates in the feed are 100 ppm of ethoxylated castor oil, compared to 11-23 ppm in the present invention. At the proposed inclusion rate, the present invention improves pelleting process efficiency and pellet quality but has no apparent effect on the availability of nutritious substances.
These patents mentioned above describe adding ethoxylated castor oil surfactant, preferably as an emulsion, to improve the digestibility of hydrophobic substances in animal feeds, but as formulated they do not provide benefits for the production process, such as decreased energy consumption, improved pellet quality, or high solubility even in cold weather.
The present invention provides a concentrated surfactant solution that is resistant to harsh temperatures changes, and, when added to feed before pelleting, improves milling efficiency and pellet quality.
Various patents and publications are referenced throughout this specification. The disclosures of each document are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Cold weather formulation for conditioning animal feed


Techniques for causing a component loader associated with a hotpatch mechanism to execute a user-mode component which, when executed, creates a user-mode process, thread, or held reference are described herein. The component may further indicate to the component loader that it lacks hotpatch data, causing the component loader to unload the component. In some implementations, a kernel-mode module may initially provide the component to the hotpatch mechanism with an entrypoint of the component set to zero and with hotpatch data for the component loader. The hotpatch mechanism may apply the hotpatch data, modifying the component loader such that the component loader requests execute rights for a section object for the component. The kernel-mode module may then set the entrypoint such that the component becomes executable, and provides the section object and component to the hotpatch mechanism to cause the component loader to execute the component.

With Internet use forming an ever greater part of day to day life, security exploits that steal or destroy system resources, data, and private information are an increasing problem. Governments and businesses devote significant resources to preventing intrusions and thefts related to these security exploits. Security exploits come in many forms, such as computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, keystroke loggers, adware, and rootkits. These exploits are delivered in or through a number of mechanisms, such as spearfish emails, clickable links, documents, executables, or archives. Some of the threats posed by security exploits are of such significance that they are described as cyber terrorism or industrial espionage.
Many security exploits attack vulnerabilities of the operating system kernel. Once those exploits have established themselves in the kernel, the exploits use any of a number of mechanisms to create user-mode processes or threads. The user-mode processes or threads allow the exploits to act in user-mode, which provides greater freedom of action to the exploits. These mechanisms have their difficulties, however. For example, an exploit may include a dynamic-link library (DLL) and try to coerce or trick a user-mode process into loading the DLL. This requires substantial programming effort, though, as the exploit is unable to rely on the operating system's loader. In another example, an exploit may write a DLL to disk and cause a user-mode process to load the DLL, but such writes to disk may be detected by security software.

Executable component injection utilizing hotpatch mechanisms


A sports ball collection, transport and combination sports goal device is provided, comprising a set of hingedly attached frame members and an internal netted bag attached thereto. The frames are rounded sections of tubular material that are connected at their terminal ends at two hinge devices. The hinges allow the rounded frame sections to be opened and closed with respect to one another, providing access to the internal netting or closure thereof. In an open configuration, the frames provide a structure to hold the netted bag in an open position, wherein balls may easily be placed into the bag. In a closed position, the frame members mate together to form a closed bag and handled device for improved carrying and transport of the device and sports ball contained therein. In an alternate configuration, the frames may be positioned to act as a sports goal for recreational purposes, or to facilitate entry of sports balls within the bag cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sports equipment containers and collection devices. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a combination sports ball carrying device, sports net and storage device that improves collection time of a particular sports ball and handling of a loaded device thereafter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Practicing or training activities related to sports games that require a ball to conduct the game benefit when a plurality of balls is available for use. Availability of more than one ball reduces down time for individuals engaging in the activity. This is particularly true for team sports, wherein several individuals come together to practice their sport. The practice is best conducted with several balls, wherein each player is given ample contact time with the ball or interaction therewith to facilitate a comfort level, association and muscle memory when handling the ball during a sports game. The use of several available balls is true for practicing sports such as soccer, football, basketball, baseball, tennis, and any other sports activity that involves a ball to play.
Collection of such balls after a practice has ended is generally a tedious task, particularly for exhausted players, in environments of high heat or for those few individuals made responsible for collecting all of the provided balls without help from the rest of the participants. This task is made tedious specifically because of the structure of devices traditionally utilized for the collection and containment of such sports balls. Traditional ball bags incorporate a netted bag with a drawstring closure. These devices are formless and flexible, and offer no structure to aid in the process of loading the bag with the balls. The opening of the bag is unsupported and therefore requires two hands to spread the mouth of the opening to accommodate the diameter of the sports ball. Loading such devices is difficult with only one participant, as the ball must be handled in conjunction with the opening of the bag, which is not easily opened with a single hand.
Solutions this common problem have been to resort to shoveling the balls into an opened bag while supporting its opening using one hand and a foot to pin the base of the opening into a stable position against the ground. Alternatively, two individuals may be utilized to complete this task, one in which supports the bag opening while the second retrieves and places the balls into the bag opening. Both of these methods are not convenient or ideal for the given task. A device is required that solves these common drawbacks in the art and in the sports ball bag segment.
The present invention provides an improved sports ball collection and transport device that comprises a frame structure to support the opening of a netted bag. The netted bag contains the sports balls within the frame, while the frame provides a structure to support the bag in an open position and likewise in a closed position. The frame further provides a structure that hingeably forms a handle device for which a practitioner may easily carry and transport the device and any balls carried therein. It fulfills a long-felt need within the art and area of sports ball collection and transport.
Several devices have been disclosed in the prior art for facilitating the collection of sports balls and for improved containment thereof. These devices have drawbacks inherent in their design or flaws in their approach that limit their usefulness when compared to the structure and operation of the present invention. While they are independently novel, perform a given task or fulfill a given requirement, they do not describe the structure or spirit of the present invention.
Such devices include U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,414 to Kilduff, wherein a sport equipment bag is described having an outer, water-resistant shell and ventilation assemblies situated about its exterior for promoting free circulation of air through the bag. The ventilation assemblies include an opening formed into the outer shell that is covered by a mesh lining and a zippered flap. While the Kilduff device provides a large bag adapted for carrying sports equipment, its construction does not describe the present invention. Likewise, its ability to quickly load sports balls and other equipment from a working position into a stored position is limited by the user's ability to manually place each item into the bag interior. The bag further lacks the ability to function as a sports net, which is a configuration supported by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,075 to Green is another device in which an apparatus for picking up, transporting and storing sports balls is disclosed that comprises two opposing planes separated by tension elements. The two planes are forced downward onto a sports ball, thereby stretching the tension elements to allow the planes to surround and grasp the ball. The pressure of the ball places the tension element under strain, which compresses the two planes against the ball and holds it in place. The planes are sufficient length to accommodate a plurality of balls using the same technique of picking up and storing each ball. This device is best suited for picking up ball individually on a playing field for storage and transport. Although for a similar purpose, the structure of the device is not representative of the present invention. Further, the Green device is not adapted to act as a sports goal when not in use as a ball container, and the mode of loading and carrying the Green device differs from the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,160 to Girard describes a portable backstop device with an upstanding, inverted and U-shaped frame with support legs and a base. The device functions as a rebound device or backstop protection device for sports involving balls or projectiles. Its construction allows for the rapid collection of sports balls and containment thereof, but it is not adapted for use as a ball bag or sports equipment carrier. This device employs a frame with a mounted net therearound, but lacks the novel features provided in the present invention, namely the combination of uses. The present invention provides a dual purpose device that can function as a ball collector, sports goal and sports ball transport container.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,343 to Cho describes a portable net device for stopping the flight of sports balls and other projectiles, comprising a coiled main member and a base member forming two closed loops and a central region of meshed netting. The coiled member allows improved portability of the device, while its intent is similar to the Girard patent in which the netting provides a backstop or net for shooting a projectile thereinto. The Cho patent lacks the ability to function as a multipurpose device, while the present invention provides a similar capability as the Cho patent while adding the ability to transport and store a plurality of sports balls in an easily-carried device. The present invention may serve as a back stop or goal device, but is adapted to form its frame together to form a handle, while the netting forms a closed basket around the sports balls within the frame members.
The present invention provides a new and unique device that improves current methods for collecting sports balls after a practice or training session. A plurality of balls may be placed within a meshed bag that is attached to two hingedly attached and semi-circular frame members. The frame members support the bag opening and allow closure thereof, providing a user with an easily graspable handle for carrying the device and its loaded contents. A shoulder strap is also provided for improved convenience and carrying ability. The frames can be hingedly rotated to any angle with respect to one another, allowing different sized opening for the bag or uses for the device in practice. Its structure and design elements substantially diverge from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing sports ball collection and carrying devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.

Sports equipment collection and transport device


The relay apparatus relays frames in which a plurality of network identifiers are set and comprises a frame determining unit, a converting unit, and a sending unit. The frame determining unit determines whether a frame received at a communication port is a specific frame or not. The converting unit converts, when it is determined that the received frame is a specific frame and when the communication port is a blocking port, a network identifier set in the specific frame to another network identifier among the plurality of network identifiers. The sending unit sends the specific frame, the network identifier of which has been converted by the conversion unit, from a port opposing the communication port.

In Ethernet (registered trademark) network, there is a case of taking a ring network topology in which bridge apparatuses are connected in a ring-shape. This topology enables a physical redundant route to be provided between arbitrary bridge apparatuses on the network and enables network reliability to be enhanced.
In the Ethernet (registered trademark) network having the ring network topology, however, such a phenomenon occurs that a data frame is permanently circulated with the result that normal communications can not be performed. An STP (Spanning Tree Protocol), a ring protocol, etc are utilized for preventing this type of phenomenon. The STP is a protocol for providing a logical route tree by transferring and receiving a control packet named BPDU (Bridge Protocol Data Unit) between the bridge apparatuses on the basis of given priority levels. According to the STP, on the occasion of generating the tree, a port of the bridge on an unselected route is logically blocked. With this scheme, a data frame relay route between the arbitrary bridge apparatuses is uniquely determined.
FIG. 12 is a view illustrating an example of an operation of the ring protocol. FIG. 12 depicts a ring network 1 in which bridges 11, 12, 13 and 14 are connected in the ring-shape. The ring protocol is implemented in the ring network 1, where a port of the bridge 12, with which the bridge 11 connects, is blocked. The data frame sent to a user B from a user A is thereby forwarded uniquely on a route such as the bridge 12-the bridge 14-the bridge 13. On the other hand, if a fault occurs within the network, the communications resume on a route where any fault does not occur by dynamically changing the blocking point.
By the way, a VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) technology is exemplified as a technology of configuring the network like this as a virtual network that is not limited by a physical topology. In the VLAN, a plurality of virtual networks (broadcast domains) are formed by segmenting a broadcast domain owing to a function of a switch device (a layer-3 switch, a layer-2 switch, etc). Further, the VLAN is classified into several categories such as a port-base VLAN and a tag VLAN, in which virtual network configuring methods are different. The tag VLAN is of a technology standardized by IEEE802.1Q, wherein one single port of the switch device can belong to a plurality of virtual networks by adding a 4-byte VLAN tag field to an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a frame format of the tag VLAN specified by IEEE802.1Q. The VLAN tag field is added to between a source address field and a type field, and contains a tag protocol identifier (TPID: Tag Protocol IDentifer) and tag control information (TCI: Tag Control Information). A 12-bit VLAN identifier (which will hereinafter be abbreviated to VLAN ID) is set in the TCI. The VLAN ID is information for identifying the segmented virtual networks, in which numeral values of 1 through 4094 are specified as usable values.
In a ring network where the tag VLAN is implemented, a technique of periodically confirming normality of forwarding a data frame involves using a technique of periodically transmitting and receiving a conduction confirmation frame. As for the VLAN ID of this conduction confirmation frame, there are a technique (conventional technique 1) of setting the VLAN ID specially prepared for the conduction confirmation and a technique (conventional technique 2) of setting an VLAN ID being used.
Note that the conventional techniques related to the invention of the present application are disclosed in the following documents. Patent document 1 given below discloses a packet forwarding method for actualizing an uninterrupted switching function by generating a copy of the packet when a fault occurs, transferring those separately on different routes and forwarding any one of the two packets on the receiving side. The Patent document 1 is Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-102157.

Relay apparatus, conduction confirmation method thereof and conduction confirmation circuit


Vehicle tires with solid materials, such as rubber and polymer, are designed to increase the safety of the vehicle without the risk of having a flat tire. The tires are non pneumatic and have treads. The tires are for use on a variety of vehicles, including cars, bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, trucks, buses, aircrafts, earthmovers, tractors, trailers, carts, heavy equipments, and lawnmowers.

The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention(s). It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or material, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of non-pneumatic tires and more specifically relates to non pneumatic vehicle tires and pneumatic vehicle tires with tread patterns.
2. Description of the Related Art
A tire is traditionally a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel's rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance. Most tires, such as those for automobiles and bicycles, provide traction between the vehicle and the road while providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock.
The fundamental materials of modern pneumatic tires are synthetic rubber, natural rubber, fabric and wire, along with carbon black and other chemical compounds. They consist of a tread and a body. The tread provides traction while the body provides containment for a quantity of compressed air. Before rubber was developed, the first versions of tires were simply bands of metal that fitted around wooden wheels to prevent wear and tear.
The tread is the part of the tire that comes in contact with the road surface. The portion that is in contact with the road at a given instant in time is the 'contact patch'. The tread is a thick rubber, or rubber/composite compound formulated to provide an appropriate level of traction that does not wear away too quickly. The tread pattern is characterized by the geometrical shape of the grooves, lugs, voids and sipes. Grooves run circumferentially around the tire, and are needed to channel away water. Lugs are that portion of the tread design that contacts the road surface. Voids are spaces between lugs that allow the lugs to flex and evacuate water. Tread patterns feature non-symmetrical or non-uniform lug sizes circumferentially to minimize noise levels at discrete frequencies. Sipes are valleys cut across the tire, usually perpendicular to the grooves, which allow the water from the grooves to escape to the sides in an effort to prevent hydroplaning.
Treads are often designed to meet specific product marketing positions. High performance tires have small void ratios to provide more rubber in contact with the road for higher traction, but may be compounded with softer rubber that provides better traction, but wears quickly. Mud and snow tires are designed with higher void ratios to channel away rain (water) and mud, while providing better gripping performance. Specialized tires will always work better than general/all purpose/all weather tires when being used in the conditions the specialized tires are designed for.
Today, the majority of tires are pneumatic inflatable structures, comprising a doughnut-shaped body of cords and wires encased in rubber and generally filled with compressed air to form an inflatable cushion. Pneumatic tires are used on many types of vehicles, including cars, bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, trucks, buses, aircrafts, earthmovers, tractors, trailers, heavy equipments, carts, and lawnmowers. Metal tires are still used on locomotives and railcars.
Tire production starts with bulk raw materials such as rubber, carbon black, and chemicals and produces numerous specialized components that are assembled and cured. Many kinds of rubber are used, the most common being styrene-butadiene copolymer. The tire is an assembly of numerous components that are built up on a drum and then cured in a press under heat and pressure. Heat facilitates a polymerization reaction that cross-links rubber monomers to create long elastic molecules. These polymers create the elastic quality that permits the tire to be compressed in the area where the tire contacts the road surface and spring back to its original shape under high-frequency cycles. The present tire making process of pneumatic tires has many short-comings. Further, pneumatic tires are prone to rapid wear causing a large environmental footprint. Pneumatic tires may also be dangerous during blowouts and require maintenance on a steady basis. A reliable and safe solution is desirable.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Pub. And Pub. Nos. 6,988,521; 3,901,300; 2012/0234444; 2010/0084910; 4,784,201; and 5,343,916. This art is representative of non-pneumatic tires. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.
Ideally, solid rubber vehicle tires should provide safety and convenience and, yet would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for reliable solid rubber (non-pneumatic) vehicle tires to avoid the above-mentioned problems.

Non pneumatic vehicle tires and pneumatic vehicle tires with tread patterns


A vehicle structure includes a fuel tank configured to store a fuel supplied to an internal-combustion engine of a vehicle and a battery configured to store an electric power supplied to an electric motor of the vehicle to drive the vehicle. A gravity center of the battery is lower than a gravity center of the fuel tank, and at least a part of the fuel tank overlaps with the battery in a top plan view of the vehicle.

A vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle and a range extended electric vehicle, which includes an internal-combustion engine and an electric motor, has been developed. The vehicle includes both of a fuel tank to store fuel for the internal-combustion engine and a battery to store electric power for the electric motor.


Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for context and action-based application design. A method for implementing a business application includes, in a computer system having a context repository in which at least two context templates can be stored, each of the context templates representing a meta-model of a business situation, and an action repository in which at least two action definitions can be stored, which action definitions define at least an input or output of a service, instantiating a context based on a context template stored in the context repository such that the instantiated context can be a model of a business situation, associating at least one action definition with the instantiated context, and mapping at least one parameter of the instantiated context with at least one input or output parameter of the associated action definitions and using the mapped parameter as input data to the service or outputting data from the service to the parameter when the business application can be running.

The present invention relates to data processing by digital computer, and more particularly to context and action-based application design.
Business applications aid users in performing their activities within an enterprise. For example, a business application can guide a user through the steps of a certain business process in a particular order, e.g., hiring a new employee. Business applications typically include a number of services. For different steps in a business process, the business application can provide the user with one or more services at a user interface (UI), such as filling in and submitting a form to a database and ordering items.
A service is typically implemented as a set of procedures or functions hosted on network server. A business application can request data from the server by submitting a set of parameters to the set of procedures or functions on the server.
Services can be implemented as Web services that allow a user of a web browser to request extended markup language (XML) data from the server by submitting parameters to the server. Web services, also referred to as application services, are services that are made available from a business's Web server for Web users or other Web-connected programs. Web services can include services such as storage management and customer relationship management (CRM).
With a transition from client-server based database application paradigm to a service based paradigm, applications can be more independent a backend and support a more flexible recomposition of services to support new business processes. In one particular example, applications referred to as composite applications compose a new application based on existing services and components.

Context and action-based application design


An independent suspension for use in a front wheel or a rear wheel of an automobile is provided. It produces a varied characteristic of camber variation for a fixed roll center height and a fixed scuff variation and, consequently, improves freedom of suspension design and offers enhanced operational stability. An upper arm is divided into a knucle side upper arm and a vehicle side upper arm, the two upper arms are interconnected so as to be shakeable in the direction of vertical movement of the wheel, and the vehicle side upper arm and a lower arm are interconnected through the medium of a rigid member having the opposite ends thereof adapted for free vibration. This independent suspension is particularly suitable for use in the Wishbone type independent suspension.

For the absorption of various vibrations and impacts exerted by a road surface to a traveling automobile, suspensions furnished with a buffer action are interposed between the automobile body and the axles. These suspensions fulfil important functions of supporting the automobile on the road surface, transmitting the propulsive force from drive wheels to the automobile body and, at the same time, moderating the impacts from the road surface and protecting the automobile against breakage, and further improving comfortableness of ride and stability of operation. With the growing trend of automobiles toward higher speeds, these functions have come to be viewed as factors of increasing significance capable of determining the limits to speed increase. Scientific studies are being promoted comprehensively on the system and have been developing numerous mechanisms and component elements as a consequence.
The suspensions are generally required to be pliable in the vertical direction and rigid in the longitudinal and lateral directions. From the structural point of view, they are broadly divided under two categories, i.e. the axle suspensions and the independent suspensions. The axle suspensions are generally used in front wheels and rear wheels of trucks and in rear wheels of passanger cars. In contrast, the independent suspensions are predominantly used in front wheels and rear wheels of passenger cars which attach primary importance to comfortableness of ride and stability of operation.
The independent suspensions are designed to allow laterally opposite wheels freedom of independent motion instead of requiring them to be interconnected through the medium of one axle. From the structural point of view, they may be broadly divided into Wishbone type, MacFarson type, trailing arm type, and swing axle type. These independent suspensions, as compared with the axle suspensions, have the advantage that when either of the laterally opposite wheels runs on an object projecting from the road surface, the independent suspension serving the particular wheel acts like the knee joint of man, enabling the wheel exclusively to jog vertically thereby preventing the automobile body from a tilt and allowing the automobile to operate stably by effectively avoiding the phenomenon of rolling.
In the various types of independent suspensions, the Wishbone type suspensions are used most widely as mentioned in Japanese Utility Model Application Disclosure SHO 53(1978)-26,020. The independent suspensions of this type are characterized by the fact that since the link mechanisms using two arms produce a parallelepipedal action, the wheels served by the suspensions move substantially vertically and the tires mounted thereon, therefore, contact horizontally the road surface at all times and enjoy a highly satisfactory road surface contact property. They are handicapped by weight and cost because of their complexity in structure as compared with the MacFarson type suspensions. Moreover, they have room for further improvement in respect that the two arms used in each suspension go to decreasing the inner volume of an engine room because they are adapted to thrust into the engine room. The advantage of the Wishbone type independent suspensions that they are robust structurally and excellent in operational stability manifested as during the cornering has come to attract attention again in recent years.
In order that the automobile bodies furnished with such Wishbone type suspensions may fulfil such requirements as alleviation of frictional wear of tires, ability to control the operation of steering, and prevention of transmission of vibrations to the steering handle, the lengths of an upper arm and a lower arm, the positions of fixation thereof (the distance separating them), etc. must be suitably selected.
The lengths of the upper arm and the lower arm and the positions of their fixation (the distance separating them), however, are restricted to a large extent by the spaces allocated to the layout of the upper arm and the lower arm in an automobile on which the suspensions are actually mounted. For the purpose of improving the stability of operation during a gyration, for example, the idea of disposing control arms in such a manner that the camber relative to the road decreases to 0(zero) degree even during the gyration may be conceived. It is, therefore, desirable to give the upper arm a suitable length such that the angle of vibration of the upper arm due to the vertical motion of the corresponding wheel will conform to the angle of vibration of the automobile body during a gyration. An addition to the length of the upper arm, however, results in inevitable protrusion into the engine room of a fulcrum serving to support pivotally the upper arm. Since the effort directed to improving the operational stability brings about serious adverse effects on the design of automobile style, the design of engine, etc., the conventional suspensions have been compelled to sacrifice their performance to a certain extent.
Further, in the conventional suspensions, the layout of the upper arm and the lower arm as viewed from the front side of the automobile body is univocally decided by the characteristic of variation in roll center height, the characteristic of variation in scuff, and the characteristic of variation in camber and the range of selection of the magnitude of each of these characteristics is extremely restricted by the magnitudes of the other two characteristics. The conventional suspensions, therefore, are destitute of freedom of design. A study of the layout of the upper arm and the lower arm whose characteristic of variation in camber is such as to give 0(zero) degree as the angle of camber relative to the road, for example, reveals that this layout degrades the operational stability during a gyration because it results in an undue increase of the variation in scuff and consequently aggravates the lateral vibration of the automobile body or the displacement of the roll center.
Further, it is desirable as described above that the camber angle of the wheels should vary, during a gyration, in the direction of negative camber proportionately to the angle of vibration of the automobile body so as to reduce the angle of camber to 0(zero) degree relative to the road. When any of the wheels, during a straight travel of the automobile, runs on an object projected from the road surface and generates a bump stroke exceeding a stated limit, the wheel gives rise to a camber thrust. It may well be concluded, therefore, that the control of the inclination toward negative camber is desirably started at the time of occurrence of this camber thrust for the sake of improving the operational stability during the straight travel. Since the conventional suspensions show a large inclination toward negative camber in proportion as the vertical stroke of wheel increases, they have never been able to satisfy simultaneously the operational stability during a gyration and the operational stability during a straight travel.
In the independent suspensions of the types disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Disclosure SHO 64(1989)-189710, Japanese Utility Model Application Disclosure SHO 62(1987)-189,904, etc., for example, a link is interposed between an upper arm and a knucle and this link and a lower arm are interconnected through the medium of a connecting link so that the optimum camber characteristic to be required may be attained by causing the link to produce a rotational displacement and impart a lateral displacement to one end part of the knuckle proportionately to the vertical vibrations of the upper arm and the lower arm. The adoption of a link mechanism of this nature, however, is not desirable for the construction of suspensions because this link mechanism exerts a draft in the axial direction on the ball joint disposed in the connecting part of the knuckle.


An acoustic transducer design having a slotted oval-shaped shell and active transducer elements located on the inner surface of the shell is disclosed. The design provides a high power, ultra-low frequency oval projector having a number of applications, including underwater seismic prospecting and fish mitigation.

Acoustical transducers convert electrical energy to acoustical energy, and vice-versa, and can be employed in a number of applications. In the detection of mobile vessels, for example, acoustic transducers are the primary component of sonar devices, and are generally referred to as projectors and receivers. Projectors convert electrical energy into mechanical vibrations that imparts sonic energy into the water. Receivers are used to intercept reflected sonic energy and convert the mechanical vibrations into electrical signals. Multiple projectors and receivers can be employed to form arrays for detecting underwater objects.
In a typical application, marine seismic vessels tow vibrators and discharge air guns, explosives and other acoustic projectors to generate seismic energy in marine geophysical testing. The seismic energy comprises a pressure pulse that travels through the water and underlying subsurface geologic structures. The energy is partially reflected from interfaces between the geologic structures and is detected with geophone or hydrophone sensors.
Conventional transducers, however, are associated with a number of unsolved problems. For instance, currently known transducer designs are generally not capable of producing large amounts of acoustical energy at low frequencies on the order of two kilocycles or less, and in particular, under 400 Hz. Similarly, there appears to be no transducer that operates with considerable efficiency so as to provide large power outputs over low frequency ranges.
Physical limitations on transducer design further complicate solving such deficiencies. For example, effective mechanical stress management is important for deep depth capability, as well as for the ability to produce high acoustic power levels.
Generally, the family of sonar projectors capable of generating low frequency operate in a wall flexure mode. These projectors include flextensionals, inverse flextensionals, bender discs, wall-driven ovals (also know as "WALDOs"), and slotted cylinder projectors. Slotted cylinders can typically operate at frequencies lower than the frequencies at which flextensionals and WALDOs can operate given a fixed wall thickness and effective diameter.
However, the achievable low frequency range of such slotted cylinders is still limited (nothing below 400 Hz), given the current need for low frequency transducers. Lower frequencies can be obtained by thinning the transducer wall thickness. On the other hand, as the wall thickness is decreased, mechanical stresses due to the wall flexure increase. For flextensionals and WALDOs to match the lower frequency capability of slotted cylinders, their walls would have to be thinned to a point where hydrostatic pressures would compromise their structural integrity.
What is needed, therefore, are robust, ultra-low frequency acoustic transducer designs.

Method of manufacturing an acoustic transducer

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration, INC


A system for radiotherapy includes a first imaging system and a second imaging system. The first imaging system generates projection images of an area of interest of an object, and the second imaging system generates portal images of the area of interest of the object synchronously with the generation of the projection images. The radiotherapy system further includes a processing system that receives data associated with the projection images and data associated with the portal images and reconstructs 3D and 4D portal images from the projection images and the portal images.

The present invention relates to image guided radiotherapy. Presently, online treatment dose construction and estimation include portal ex-dose reconstruction to reconstruct treatment dose on a conventional linear accelerator. Specifically, the exit dose is measured using an MV portal imager to estimate treatment dose in the patient. However, this method has not been employed for patient treatment dose construction, since the dose reconstruction method lacks patient anatomic information during the treatment, and the scattered exit dose is difficult to calibrate properly.
In the past, a single pre-treatment computed tomography scan has been used to design a patient treatment plan for radiotherapy. Use of such a single pre-treatment scan can lead to a large planning target margin and uncertainty in normal tissue dose due to patient variations, such as organ movement, shrinkage and deformation, that can occur from the start of a treatment session to the end of the treatment session. For the foregoing reasons, there is a need in the radiotherapy field for a new and improved imaging system.

Portal and real time imaging for treatment verification


Element of a rotating electrical machine, of the rotor or stator type, comprising a plurality of stacks of magnetic sheets each equipped with a tooth comprising notches intended to accommodate electrical windings, and pins arranged between two successive bundles of sheets forming an air-flow duct. A portion of the pins is distributed asymmetrically on the tooth of the stator or rotor sheet with respect to a median axis of the width of the tooth.

The stator and/or the rotor of a rotating electrical machine may comprise a stack of magnetic sheets of substantially circular shape held together by tie rods or bars. The tie rods or bars compact and hold the magnetic sheets. The stator magnetic sheets have a recess in their center. The rotor sheets are circular in shape and include a recess in their center.
During the operation of a rotating electrical machine, in motor mode or generator mode, it dissipates a portion of the energy received in the form of heat generated by the iron losses and Joule losses of the rotor and the stator. This heat generation increases the temperature of the rotor-stator assembly and degrades the efficiency of the rotating electrical machine.
To maintain the performance of the rotating electrical machine, it is necessary to cool the rotor-stator assembly.
For the purpose of cooling the rotor-stator assembly, one solution consists of inserting spacers between the magnetic sheet bundles forming the rotor and/or the stator of the rotating electrical machine, in order to delimit an air-flow duct in the rotor and/or the stator. The spacers are distributed in the sheets such that the rigidity of the rotor or the stator is not compromised. Each spacer bears a load of approximately 130 kg. This load depends on the compaction pressure of the magnetic sheets and the section of the spacer.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of circular spacers arranged on the tooth of a stator magnetic sheet according to the state of the art. The circular spacers 1 are hereinafter referred to as pins. A stator magnetic sheet has a yoke 2 and a plurality of teeth 3 located on the inner periphery of the sheet.
FIG. 2 also shows a configuration of circular spacers 1 arranged on the tooth of a rotor magnetic sheet according to the state of the art. A rotor magnetic sheet has a yoke 4 and a plurality of teeth 5 located on the inner periphery of the sheet.
According to the width of the tooth and so as not to perforate the magnetic sheets in contact with the at least one pin 1, a plurality of pins 1 are arranged in a circle shown by dotted lines whose center is on the axis of rotation of the rotor of the rotating electrical machine and the radius is equal to the distance separating the center of the circle and the center of a pin.
In this regard, reference may be made to documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,515,523, 7,175,386, 3,360,725, US 2014/0064983 and US 2015/0093252 which describe spacers for gas and steam turbines for the improvement of heat exchanges.
However, the devices described in these documents are not transferable to a rotating electrical machine.
Reference may be made to document U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,526, which describes the placement of pins on the teeth of a rotor sheet. The pins are distributed such that three pins form a triangle or such that the pins are offset with respect to one another.
Reference may also be made to document U.S. Pat. No. 6,815,848, which describes the placement of pins on the teeth of a rotor sheet.
However, the pins are arranged on the teeth of the magnetic sheets such that, on each tooth, at least two pins are aligned in a circle whose center is on the axis of rotation of the rotor of the rotating electrical machine and the radius is equal to the distance separating the center of the circle and the center of a pin.
When the air flow passes through the air-flow duct, the pins located in a circle of the same diameter obstruct the air-flow duct.
As a result, the heat exchanges are degraded.
It is therefore proposed to overcome the disadvantages associated with the arrangement of the pins according to the state of the art.

Rotating electrical machine comprising asymmetrical heat exchange pins

GE ENERGY POWER CONVERSION TECHNOLOGY LTD


The present invention aims to be able to provide an efficient public key digital watermark method which is specialized to information common to contents. In the method, arrangement order of digital data in input digital contents is set to become predetermined arrangement order so that the input digital contents constitute an error correction code.

In recent years, development of computers and development of networks are remarkable, whereby various kinds of information data such as character data, image data, voice data and the like are handled in the computers and the networks. Therefore, contents business for dealing in so-called digital contents such as digital still images, digital moving images, digital music and the like on the network becomes remarkably active.
Incidentally, since the target of the contents business is the digital data, such a fact brings about an environment that a duplicate of homogeneous data can be easily generated. For this reason, in order to protect the copyright of the data which can be easily duplicated in the above environment, a process for embedding copyright information and/or user information in the image data and/or the voice data as a digital watermark is often executed.
Here, it should be noted that a digital watermark technique is the technique for executing a predetermined process to the image data and/or the voice data so as to concealedly or secretly embed another information in the image data and/or the voice data. In this connection, if the digital watermark is extracted from the digital data, then the copyright information, the user information, discrimination information and the like can be acquired from the extracted digital watermark, whereby it is possible to follow up illegal copy and illegal use.
By the way, in the commercially available digital watermark technique, any algorithm thereof is not published ordinarily. This is because security in the digital watermark technique is based on the premise that the algorithm, information concerning information embedded location, and the like are concealed. Here, such a digital watermark technique is called a private key digital watermark here.
Incidentally, the digital watermark method capable of publishing the algorithm of a digital watermark (digital watermark algorithm), the embedment location of digital watermark information and the like is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,285. More specifically, in this method, the digital contents are wholly subjected to an error correction encoding process, whereby, even if the embedded information at the published location is damaged, the damaged embedded information can be restored from the whole of the digital contents.
Moreover, in the above digital watermark method, error correction is executed without depending on the digital watermark algorithm, whereby it is possible to publish the digital watermark algorithm. That is, the digital watermark method by which the digital watermark algorithm and the information-embedded location can be published is called a published key digital watermark here.
More specifically, in the published key digital watermark disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,285, the watermark information is embedded in a first area of an image by the published digital watermark method, and an error correction code (that is, the information used for restoring the watermark information) is embedded in a second area different from the first area. Here, although it is possible to publish the first area in which the watermark information is embedded, it is necessary to conceal the second area in which the error correction code is embedded.
Moreover, the published key digital watermark disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,285 is used to embed various information such as copyright information, user information and the like. Here, with respect to the same digital content, the user information is inevitably different if the user is different. In contrast, the copyright information is always the same with respect t the same digital content. However, any method which is specialized only to embed information such as the copyright information which is common to the certain content is not proposed conventionally.

Image processing device, image processing method thereof, computer program, and computer-readable storage medium


A hypothermic therapy heater blower control system for use with patient warming blankets flowing warm air over the patient wherein the control system includes a data display indicating the temperature of the supplied air and the circuitry includes audible and visual alarms to indicate overheating or failure modes. The circuitry includes dual safety heater shut-off circuits and also includes a self-testing cycle which tests all of the major safety features and shut-offs, and in the test mode the circuitry simulates an over temperature condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to patient warmer heater blower control systems wherein hot air is distributed over the patient's body through an air pervious blanket, the circuitry controlling the temperature of the air utilizes several safety features to prevent overheating and a self-test cycle to simulate overheating for testing operational characteristics.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hypothermic therapy systems are used to return the patient to a normal body temperature after surgery, shock, immersion in water, or the like. In such instances, it is necessary to bathe the patient's body in warm air to return the body temperature to normal.
Known hypothermic therapy devices include inflatable envelopes or blankets placed above, below, or around the patient's body having small orifices directed toward the patient whereby the warm air is directly applied to the patient. As the temperature of the air being imposed upon the patient must be closely regulated and predetermined, a control system for the apparatus supplying the heated air must include accurate temperature regulation features to prevent overheating of the patient which could inflict serious injury or even be fatal.
While it is known to use thermostatic controls with air heaters utilizing electric resistant heating elements, such thermostatic controls simply sense the temperature of the gas, air or adjacent apparatus, and in the event of malfunction the circuitry is not self-analyzing and overheating may occur.
Known hypothermic therapy systems using electric resistant heaters to heat air do not employ temperature indicators to assess the actual temperature of the air being supplied and do not employ dual safety circuits to de-energize the heater element and do not employ self-testing circuits for determining the operability of the circuit safety features, and the possibility for malfunctioning exists in presently available systems.


The invention relates to a centrifugal pump, especially for blood, comprising a pump rotor which is arranged in a rotational manner and without a bearing in a liquid-tight and gas-tight closed housing, except for at least one inlet opening and at least one outlet opening. The rotor is also the rotor of a drive motor. The rotor is symmetrical with respect to the centre plane thereof and comprises an upper and a lower covering. The rotor and/or the pump housing are formed in such a way that the axial distances between the upper and the lower coverings and the upper and lower housing walls are smaller in the radially inner region of the rotor than in the radially outer region. In the radially inner region of the rotor, each lateral rotor chamber comprises a flow-restrictor gap which, when in operation, influences back flows oriented in a radially inward manner in the lateral rotor chambers, such that during an axial deflection of the rotor above and below the rotor, various pressure distributions appear, enabling forces acting upon the predominant surface of the coverings to be produced, the forces bringing about an axial stabilisation of the rotor and acting, in the same manner, against tilting of the rotor inside the housing.

The invention relates to a centrifugal pump, in particular for blood in cardiac substitution or assist devices, as generically defined by the preamble to claim 1. In particular, the invention relates to an electrically driven rotary pump of the radial/centrifugal type for permanent implantation in patients with terminal cardiac insufficiency who require mechanical support of their blood circulation.
Blood pumps, especially blood pumps or pumps for other vulnerable fluids, must meet special requirements:
1. High hydraulic efficiency, to keep the heat loss given up to the blood or fluid slight and to keep the energy storing means small.
2. Entirely contactless rotation of the rotor inside a hermetically sealed pump housing, thus precluding any wear, abrasion, and local heat development from mechanical friction.
3. Avoidance of standing eddies and flow stasis zones as well as minimal dwell times of the blood or fluid in the pump, to avoid damage to the fluid and the activation of blood coagulation.
4. In blood pumps, minimizing the cell-damaging shear stresses to which the blood is exposed on passing through the pump.
5. Security against mistakes by eliminating complex sensor-based positional regulations of the rotor while simultaneously reducing energy consumption.
6. Eliminating a drive motor with a supported shaft that is subject to wear.
Blood pumps of conventional design, in which the drive of the rotor is done by an electric motor with a supported shaft that penetrates the pump housing and is provided with a shaft seal are therefore unsuited for permanent implantation. Hermetically sealed housings, through whose wall the pump rotor is set into rotation by means of a magnetic coupling, do eliminate leaks but still require an external electric motor. Furthermore, the pump rotor in the housing must be guided by end journal bearings that are bathed with blood; these bearings wear and from local heating denature blood proteins and are capable of activating the coagulation system, which can lead to emboli from abrasion and clots.
A completely contact-free rotation of the pump rotor in the blood can be achieved by means of passive and active magnet bearings, hydrodynamic slide bearings, or a combination of these principles.
Any possible use of this principle must take Earnshaw's theorem into account, which states that it is not possible to keep a body floating in space in a stable position by means of constant magnetic, electrical, or gravitational fields. Any apparent position of equilibrium is in fact unstable, since the body is in that case at a maximum of potential energy. In at least one axis in space, a stabilizing force acting on the system is therefore required. This force must be all the greater, the farther the body is located from the site of the maximum energy. Conversely, only slight restoring forces are necessary, if the system is located a priori in the vicinity of the unstable equilibrium.
Magnetically supported pump rotors with open blades are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,817. Here, a combination of passive magnet bearings for radial stabilization and sensor-based active axial electromagnetic suspension is described. Besides the complex production, this embodiment requires an elongated gap between the rotor and the housing with only inadequate purging and high energy consumption for the axial stabilization, which must counteract the considerable hydraulic axial shear that is generated by an open impeller.
Blood pumps with complete magnetic suspension are described in European Patent Disclosures EP 0 819 330 B1 and EP 0 860 046 B1. Here, the rotor of the pump is embodied as a rotor of a permanent-magnetically excited electrical synchronous machine. The torque is generated by a revolving, radially engaging electromagnetic stator field, as is the position control of the rotor in the radial direction. Separate control windings of the stator are used for this purpose, which convert the signals of spacing sensors into centering forces by way of electronic closed-loop control circuits. Because of the externally located stators for the drive and positional regulation, this pump requires a relatively large amount of installation space. The stabilization of the other three spatial degrees of freedom that cannot be actively triggered is done by passively acting magnetic reluctance forces. Problems also arise in versions with open impellers because of the high hydrodynamic axial shear, which unavoidably occurs. To overcome them, additional active or passive magnet bearings as well as hydrodynamic aids in the form of nozzles, impact plates, inflow tubes, flow resistors, and sealing gaps are proposed, all of which increase the complexity of the system, lessen its efficiency, create flow stasis zones, induce high shear stresses, and are thus entirely unsuitable for the realization of a blood pump, especially for permanent implantation.
Bearingless blood pumps with magnetic suspension and open impellers are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,093. However, the transmission of the torque is done here by an axially engaging encircling electromagnetic stator field. The axial rotor position and the tilting of the rotor in the housing are stabilized by a sensor-based electromagnetic feedback by means of actuators, while at the same time passive permanent magnet bearings provide the radial centering. The problems of the axial instability of an open impeller are solved—besides by electromagnetic feedback by means of sensors and actuators—by a fluidically effected compensation. This compensation is based on the action of a throttle gap, located on the outer circumference of the rotor, which as a function of the axial rotor position either limits or enables the back flow on the side of the rotor facing away from the blades. In this version as well, there is the risk of high shear stresses and the generation of flow stasis zones on the back side of the rotor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,703 also describes an electromagnetically suspended centrifugal pump. Here, the drive of a covered impeller is effected by means of a unilaterally axially engaging permanent-magnet face-end rotary coupling or by an encircling stator field, whose forces of attraction cause the pump rotor at the housing to strike the wall unless the axial rotor position is regulated by a sensor-based active electromagnetic feedback. If this regulation fails, mechanical emergency bearings in the form of end journal bearings, slide bearings, point bearings, and hydrodynamic pressure bearings are provided, which are meant to prevent a life-threatening seizing of the pump rotor. All these proposals share the disadvantage of mechanical wall contact between the rotor and the housing, with the known consequences of damage to the blood.
International Patent Disclosure WO 01/42653 A1 describes a centrifugal pump with electromagnetic active position regulation of the pump rotor in all six degrees of freedom in space; the position, speed and acceleration of the rotor are not detected by sensors but derived from current signals of the active magnet bearings. This disadvantageously makes for an extremely complex mechanical construction of the rotor and multiple stators as well as extremely complex regulating electronics with an additional energy requirement, especially since to avoid high axial destabilizing forces, an ironless motor has to be used, which because of its poor efficiency heats up sharply.
The aforementioned disadvantages of active electromagnet bearing of the pump rotor were the impetus for a number of inventions in which complicated sensors and electronics were meant to be eliminated by means of hydrodynamic stabilization of the rotor/impeller.
For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,177 and International Patent Disclosure WO 01/72351 A2, a hydrodynamic support bearing are used for radial stabilization of the rotor of an electrical direct current machine, and it carries the open pump rotor. A disadvantage here is the long axial length of the narrow, eccentric bearing gap, in which high shear stresses are operative, and which for being washed out requires auxiliary blades and a purging circuit from the high- to the low-pressure side of the pump. This arrangement involves the familiar risks of high shear and inadequate heat dissipation, which lead to traumatization of the blood.
These disadvantages are partly avoided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,797. In it, in a rotationally symmetrical housing, the pump rotor is embodied such that its surfaces on all sides form wedge-shaped gaps relative to the housing, in the direction of the active faces inclined in the direction of the relative motion. The pump rotor and housing thus form a hydrodynamic three-dimensional slide bearing, as is entirely usual in mechanical engineering. The supporting fluid film of blood, which acts as a lubricant for these wedge-shaped faces, covers a large area and especially at the circumference of the rotor is subjected to high shear stress, for which typical values of 220 N/m2 are given. This shear stress is thus within a range in which damage to blood cells, especially thrombocytes, from shear must be feared. Other disadvantages of this version are that the open pump rotor is surrounded on all sides relative to the housing by narrow gaps, in which high viscous friction prevails. The necessity of splitting the rotor into segmental blocks, to allow the blood to pass from the inlet to the outlet of the pump, stands in the way of optimizing the fluid-mechanical efficiency of the pump. Accordingly, for an implantable blood pump with low energy consumption, which is a worthwhile goal, the stated hydraulic degrees of efficiency of at most 11% are prohibitively low. The long axial length of the rotor moreover causes hydrodynamic radial shear on the rotor, which can necessitate a split spiral conduit, which favors the development of thromboses. Moreover, the housing is complicated to manufacture. The embodiment of a covered pump rotor shown in FIG. 20, with a surface structured in wedgelike shape in sectors, does not overcome these disadvantages, especially since it cannot be seen what path the blood is supposed to take to flow through such a rotor.
A quite similar version of hydrodynamic axial stabilization of an open pump rotor by means of floating wedge-shaped faces inclined in the direction of rotation is described in International Patent Disclosure WO 00/32256. Once again, the disadvantages are damage to the blood and a complicated housing construction. The radial centering of the rotor is moreover done here not by hydrodynamic but rather by permanent magnet reluctance forces of a face-end rotary coupling or of an electromagnetic drive motor.
WO 99/01663 discloses a hydraulically suspended pump rotor, which is meant to float by Archimedes buoyancy, since it has the same density as the fluid to be pumped. This pump must be embodied with two inlets, or the inflow must be diverted inside the pump by 180°; the result is large wetted internal surfaces as well as questionable hydrodynamic stability.
WO 01/70300, for hydrodynamic stabilization, proposes a conical rotor with slitlike openings for the flow to pass through and guide faces, through which a fluid flow oriented counter to the housing is generated that is meant to have a stabilizing effect. If that does not suffice, an active magnet bearing is provided for radial stabilization, but this represents additional electronic complication and expense. In a number of patents (WO 00/32257, WO 00/64508, EP 1 027 898 A1, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,070), combinations of the most various principles are employed for stabilizing the pump rotor: ball-spur bearings, passive permanent magnet radial bearings, active-sensor-based electromagnetic axial bearings, hydrodynamic wedge-shaped face bearings with both an axial and a radial action, supplemented by such auxiliary constructs as profiling of the rotor and/or of the housing by means of overlays, ribs, and disks, conduits, and other provisions.
It is notable that at least three of these principles must always be employed in combination in order to assure contactless rotation of the impeller in the pump, and that in the wedge-shaped face bearings, given the stated gap width of approximately 0.013 to 0.038 mm, shear stresses (of over 600 N/m2) occur, which are highly likely to damage blood.
A critical assessment of the prior art discussed consequently shows that the contactless rotation of the rotor of a centrifugal pump in the housing is attained either by means of high complexity and expense for sensors and electromagnetic regulation, or at the cost of a high hydrodynamic load on the blood from damaging shear stresses.


A method and system is provided for interleaving multiple cycles streams from clients seeking SDRAM access. More particularly, a master scoreboard register is established for enabling the interleaving of many clients SDRAM access requests into a single stream optimized for maximum packing density of the different streams, thereby reducing the overhead associated with each individual stream. In one embodiment, at least one Master Score Board Register (MSBR) is provided for storing the order of cycles to go out of a controller/processor and to the SDRAM. If there is a set bit in a particular location in the MSBR then it means that the cycle is occupied and already allocated and cannot be used for anything else. If the bit is not set then the cycle that bit represents a vacant slot is ready for use by a client. Upon receipt of an SDRAM request, an interleaving engine identifies the bit locations in the MSBR associated with the requested cycles. It is then determined whether any of the requested bits are spoken for in the MSBR. If so, the client's command sequence is rejected for at least the present clock cycle and the MSBR is incremented and the requested bits are checked again during the next clock cycle.

The present invention relates generally to the field of computer systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods for accessing SDRAM devices in such computer systems.
Accessing SDRAM devices require a very specific sequence of commands to be performed on the bus. The order of the commands presented on the bus is not fixed and varies according to the mode the SDRAM devices are configured to, the bus frequency and the type of access requested. There are also many rules about the spacing between commands with many commands having a minimum spacing between other commands and other commands having no minimum spacing. The issue is further complicated by the fact the command sequences from two different access can overlap each other. This is a feature of the SDRAM that sequences of commands need not necessarily be executed serially one after another but can overlap. This overlapping feature of SDRAM devices can greatly improve the efficiency of the accesses effectively eliminating much of the overhead associated with SDRAM memory access and improves bandwidth efficiency by exploiting the use of opening multiple banks within the SDRAM device.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art of computer systems for an improved method and system for providing access to SDRAM devices.

System and method for interleaving SDRAM device access requests


This invention relates to a process for the production of enzymatically hydrolysed egg proteins comprising a first hydrolysis step in which intact egg proteins are subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis by a first protease, an intermediate heating step in which the product of the first hydrolysis is heated to a temperature not exceeding 75° C., a second hydrolysis step in which the product of the intermediate heating step is subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis by a second protease and an inactivation step in which the product of the second hydrolysis is heated to a temperature between 85 and 90° C. and maintained at this temperature for at least 30 minutes. The invention extends to an egg pasta product containing hydrolysed whole egg.

Food allergies, of which the most common is cows' milk allergy, are caused, in most cases, by a reaction to the proteins in the food. In the early years of life the immune system is still developing and may fail to recognise and tolerate such dietary proteins. The result is that the baby or child or young animal treats the dietary protein as a foreign substance and develops an allergic response to it. Food allergies may affect not only humans but also other mammals such as dogs and cats.
Usually, food hypersensitivity appears just after a susceptible baby, child or young animal first encounters a new food. The first dietary proteins generally encountered by human babies at least are cows' milk proteins and, as noted above, cows' milk allergy is the most common food allergy. It is generally accepted that babies with established cows' milk allergy have an increased risk of developing allergies to other dietary proteins such as egg and cereal proteins but even those babies who have successfully developed oral tolerance to cows' milk proteins may subsequently develop allergies to other dietary proteins such as egg and cereal proteins when these are introduced into the diet at weaning.
From a dietary point of view there are two ways to treat an established allergy—either foods containing the allergen must be avoided altogether, or the foods must be treated to eliminate their allergenic potential, for example by extensive hydrolysis. Infant formulas containing extensively hydrolysed cows' milk proteins (peptides consisting of not more than five amino acids) are manufactured for this latter purpose.
Infant formulas containing less extensively hydrolysed cows' milk proteins have been proposed to help reduce the risk of developing cows' milk allergy, particularly for children thought to be at risk of the same (that is, children having at least one close family member who suffers from an allergy). Such products, are often described as hypoallergenic which term is defined in European Directive 96/4/EC in the context of milk as containing hydrolysed proteins the allergenicity of which is at least 100 times less than that of the unhydrolysed proteins. One process for the production of hypoallergenic cows' milk proteins is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,532
Many other approaches have been proposed to reduce the allergenicity of cows' milk proteins but by comparison with this, relatively little attention has been paid to other dietary proteins which frequently provoke allergic reactions such as egg proteins. Eggs are an excellent source of high quality proteins which typically account for about 12% by weight of the edible part of the egg. Eggs may not only be consumed in their native state for example as boiled or poached eggs or omelettes for example but they are also frequently used as ingredients in other foodstuffs for both nutritional and functional purposes. For example, eggs may be used as colourants and binding agents in dishes such as pasta and as thickening and gelling agents in dishes such as puddings, quiches and sauces.
However, the egg protein ovalbumin in particular has been linked to the development of allergy. Indeed, reduction of allergenicity of egg proteins may be an even greater need then reduction of allergenicity of cows' milk proteins given that allergy to cows' milk proteins usually disappears spontaneously between the age of two and five years whereas allergy to egg proteins is generally slower to disappear and may even persist throughout life. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a process for producing hypoallergenic egg proteins as well as novel food products containing hydrolysed egg proteins.