A high temperature industrial roof assembly having two refractory bricks with adjacent faces, opposing hanger recesses, a hanger rod extending from the recesses to the top of the assembly, the refractory bricks being held in an adjacent position by a securing device, a hanger rod with a locking mechanism at one end and a hook at the other end, a hanger having opposed refractory engaging projections adapted to engage the hanger recesses, a hanger rod hole allowing free rotation about the hanger rod end above the locking mechanism, and a locking mechanism engagement recess which when engaged with the locking mechanism prevents rotation of the hanger rod in relation to the hanger at 90 degree increments and provides that depression of the one end of the hanger rod into the locking mechanism engagement recess permits rotation of the hanger rod with respect to the hanger. The locking mechanism comprises opposing tabs. The hanger forms at least one slot adapted to permit the opposing tabs of the locking mechanism to pass through the hanger. The hanger forms engagement recesses adapted to receive the opposing tabs, the engagement recesses being offset laterally with respect to the at least one slot.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to refractory assemblies and components thereof for use in industrial furnace roofs. More particularly, this invention relates to roof assemblies and components particularly suitable for repairing suspended refractory brick roofs.
2. Description of Prior Art
Refractory bricks are used in roof construction of high temperature industrial furnaces such as reverberatory furnaces. In furnace roof construction, the refractory bricks are suspended from a support structure which may be from several inches to about 2 feet above the brick roof. The refractory bricks are suspended from the support structure by various suspending means such as metallic hangers which hold the bricks at one end and hook over the support structure at the other end. Reverberatory furnaces are frequently operated for many years without shutdown. However, the life of the suspended roof which is usually constructed from refractories is from 6 months to 3 years. This makes patching of the roof furnace during operation necessary. Some roof refractory structures are panelized so that entire sections may be removed and replaced, or individual pairs of bricks in the panel may be patched by use of assemblies of this invention. In roofs which are not panelized, the roof is constructed by placement of individual or pairs of bricks. The assembly of this invention may be used, as well, in repair of non-panelized furnace roofs.
The refractory bricks used in high temperature furnace construction have a rectangular cross-section. Normally, in patching refractory roofs, two bricks are assembled with a hanger supporting both bricks in the patching assembly. The cross-section of the patching assembly is rectangular, normally occupying a space of 41/2 by 7 inches. When patching the refractory roof, the opening for the patch assembly may have a long dimension which runs parallel to the longitudinal center line of the furnace or at right angles to it, depending upon the shape of the hole to be patched. The support structure, whether panelized construction is used or individual pairs of bricks are used, normally runs at right angles to the center line of the furnace.
Most patching or repair assemblies previously available, due to the opening being greater in one dimension than the other, require use of two types of assemblies. Since the plane of the hook of the hanger and the long dimension of the brick patching assembly were not rotatable with respect to each other, it has been necessary to provide one assembly with a hanger hook for attachment to the support structure parallel to the long dimension of the patch assembly and one with the hanger hook at right angles to the short dimension of the patch assembly. Therefore, it has been necessary to provide more than the required number of patch assemblies at the job site because it is not usually known until engaging in the repair which way the patch assembly will be introduced into the furnace. One approach to overcoming this disadvantage and utilizing patch assemblies having a hanger with a hook which may be used in both directions has been to provide a hanger with a mushroom-shaped head loosely fitting on the hanger casting recess, thereby allowing the hanger hook to rotate 360 degrees with respect to the bricks. This eliminates the inventory problem, but creates serious disadvantages in use because the refractory is free to rotate on the end of the hanger thereby making it difficult to insert the patch into the hole in the hot furnace roof, especially in cases where the patch must be inserted at an angle. Many of the same problems arise in new furnace construction.
These problems are solved by the industrial furnace roof assembly of our earlier U.S. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,243 which teaches an industrial furnace roof assembly in which brick pairs are suspended by an assembly of a hanger which mates with voids in both bricks, and a hanger rod which supports the hanger. The hanger has a square, upset-forged head which serves as the bearing surface for the hanger. The hanger rod passes through a hole in the hanger and is bent to form a hook which can be hung from a supporting member such as a pipe. In accordance with the '243 patent, the hanger rod is first passed through the hole in the hanger. The hanger, with the hanger rod engaged, is then seated into the void of one brick. A second brick is placed against the first brick such that the casing and hanger are at the split line of the two bricks. It is very common for an assembly of bricks, hanger and hanger rod to be encased in a steel casing and shipped as a complete assembly.
However, material handling of brick assemblies as taught by the '243 patent is complicated by the irregularity of the assembled brick pair with the hanger rod protruding out from the brick. Special care must be taken during packaging to assure that the bricks are properly supported without damage to the hanger rods. In addition, brick assemblies require more storage space.

Industrial furnace roof assembly and components thereof


A compact vapor separator for a fuel injection system reduces the size of the fuel system mounted on the side of an outboard engine. The girth of the outboard motor's power head consequently is decreased. In one embodiment, the vapor separator employs a plurality of rotary vane-type pumps. The pumps are sized to produce a sufficient flow rate and fuel pressure, while minimizing power consumption. At least one of the fuel pumps can be located on a periphery of a housing of the vapor separator and can be removably attached thereto to facilitate easy removal and assembly for service and repair. The vapor separator also can include a redundant seal arrangement to generally isolate an exterior casing of the fuel pump from the fuel and to seal an upper end of the housing. In another embodiment, a dividing wall separates the fuel pump from an fuel supply inlet of the fuel tank. The wall inhibits gas bubble migration toward the inlet of the fuel pump. The fuel pump thus draws less vapor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art
Several outboard motors recently have become equipped with fuel injection systems in response to increased concerns regarding hydrocarbon emissions. Such systems, which are monitored and controlled by an electronic control unit, significantly reduce hydrocarbon emissions, while improving fuel economy and performance.
Fuel injection system typically include a vapor separator and a high-pressure pump. The pump delivers pressurized fuel to the individual fuel injectors. An engine typically includes one, and sometimes two fuel injectors per cylinder. The pump must be of a sufficient size to supply fuel to the injectors at a desired pressure, while producing a significant flow rate through a fuel recirculation branch of the fuel delivery system to reduce the temperature of the fuel at the inlet to the fuel injector. Prior fuel delivery systems thus have included a large centrifugal type (e.g. Wesco-type) fuel pump in order to meet these needs.
Large-size pumps, however, generally increase the size of the engine, and thus the size of the power head. The power head of an outboard motor generally extends above the transom of the watercraft and, consequently, the power head produces aerodynamic drag on the watercraft as the watercraft speeds over the water. The size and shape of the power head directly affect the amount of drag produced. A large-size pump thus negatively increases the drag experienced by the outboard motor.
Many outboard motors which employ fuel injection system use an integrated vapor separator/fuel pump assembly. That is, a single housing encloses the fuel tank of the vapor separator and the fuel pump. The fuel pump draws fuel directly from the fuel tank. Although this design somewhat reduces the size of these components, the integrated design makes it difficult to service or repair the pump. A service technician must remove the entire housing and then disassemble the housing in order to gain access to the pump. This act commonly destroys the housing seal. The technician must then disconnect and remove the pump from the housing. After servicing, the technician reassembles the unit in the reverse manner, replacing the housing seal. These steps overly complicate the assembly and service procedures, and add cost to the service and maintenance of the outboard motor.
Another drawback of prior unitary vapor separator/fuel pump assemblies resides with the position of the pump inlet relative to the fuel tank of the vapor separator. Fuel vapor and air are separated from liquid fuel in the fuel tank of the vapor separator. The influent port to the fuel pump, which also commonly is located in the fuel tank, tends to draw in gas bubbles before the bubbles surface in the fuel tank of the vapor separator, especially where the pump influent port lies near the point where the fuel enters the tank through the supply inlet port. Vapor bubbles in the fuel line significantly alters the fuel ratio of the fuel/air charge delivered to the cylinder combustion chambers. Inefficiencies and rough running of the engine result from this effect. In addition, in some fuel delivery systems, the bubbles can produce a vapor-lock and prevent fuel flow through the high-pressure portion of the fuel delivery system.

Vapor separator for fuel injected engine


A metal halide lamp includes a light transmitting container filled with a rare gas, a halide of indium in an amount of 0.1 mg/cc to 1.5 mg/cc, at least one halide of a rare earth element selected from terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, or thulium. The metal halide lamp has an emission spectrum distributed over the visual inspection range, a high luminous efficacy, a high color temperature, and long lifetime.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal halide lamp used as a light source of a liquid crystal projector and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, liquid crystal projectors or the like are known as means for enlarging and projecting an image of characters, figures, etc. Since a certain optical output is required for such an image projector, a metal halide lamp, which has a high luminous efficacy, is widely used as a light source for the image projector in general. In this kind of metal halide lamp, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-219546 for example, an iodide of Nd, Dy, and Cs has been generally used as a halide to be filled in an arc tube.
The lamp in which the iodide of Nd, Dy and Cs is filled (hereinafter described as Dy--Nd--Cs--I series lamp), as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-219546, has an excellent luminous efficacy, however, it has the disadvantage that devitrification occurs in an early stage of its lifetime, particularly because of high reactivity between neodymium iodide (NdI.sub.3) and silica glass of the arc tube. The lack of transparency decreases the intensity of light beam, reduces the luminous intensity and disperses the light beam, resulting in nonuniform illumination intensity and reduced brightness on a screen of the liquid crystal projector. Specifically, the drawback of the Dy--Nd--Cs--I lamp as use as the light source of a liquid crystal projector is that the lifetime of the liquid crystal projector is short.
Recently, from the viewpoint of saving energy, there is a demand for a light source having a higher luminous efficacy than that of the Dy--Nd--Cs lamp. "Luminous characteristics of metal halide lamp containing rare earth halide" (Journal of Lighting Society, vol. 65 No. 10, 1981, page 17) discloses that a light source having a high luminous efficacy can be obtained by combining a rare earth halide with a halide of Tl or In. However, the low correlated color temperature of the light source disclosed therein is unsuitable for a light source of such things as a liquid crystal projector. An example of a light source disclosed therein is a metal halide lamp in which InI and TmI.sub.3 are filled, and a correlated color temperature estimated from the relative spectral distribution diagram disclosed therein is about 4500 K. On the other hand, a white color reference for an image projector such as liquid crystal projectors is about 9000 K.

Indium halide and rare earth metal halide lamp

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention provides a method for the preparation of disaccharides, such as glucosaminyl muramic acids peptides and derivatives. The method includes condensing a protected muramic acid ester with a 1-organothio- or 1-fluoroglucosamine derivative in the presence of a suitable promoter to produce a protected glucosaminyl muramic acid ester. The protected glucosaminyl muramic acid ester may be used to prepare disaccharide peptides, such as N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetylmuramyl dipeptides, which have demonstrated immunological activity. Protected muramic acid esters and 1-organothio- or 1-fluoro-glucosamine compounds which may be employed as intermediates in the method are also provided.

Intact microbial agents are known to have immunomodulatory activity as demonstrated by anti-infectious activity, anti-cancer activity, and adjuvant activity. This activity is evidenced by an increase in both humoral and cellular immune response. The active components of these microbial agents, as found, for example, in microbial agents of the class mycobacteriaceae, nocardia, and micrococcus, consist of the peptidoglycan cell wall skeleton and more particularly the repeating N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetylmuramyl peptide units. From this peptidoglycan, N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine-D-isoglutamine, also known as muramyl dipeptide (MDP), has been identified as the minimal unit possessing immunological activities.
A large number of MDP derivatives have been synthesized and shown to possess immunological activity. While the monosaccharide muramyl dipeptides are immunilogically active, studies have established that the disaccharide dipeptide, which corresponds to the basic repeating unit of the cell wall peptidoglycan, possesses greater immunomodulating activity. This is shown, for example, by the anti-cancer activity of the monomeric units when given intravenously to mice bearing the Lewis lung carcinoma or the MCA mammary carcinoma (see, e.g., Sava et al., Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy, 15, 84-86 (1983)). Similarly, in humans, immunotherapy utilizing a disaccharide peptide derivative, such as N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetylmuramyl-L-Ala-D-isoGlu-L-Ala-glyceroldipalmit oyl, has been more effective than a related monosaccharide peptide derivative, such as N-acetylmuramyl-L-Ala-D-isoGlu-L-Ala-phosphatidylethanolamine (see, e.g., Vosika et al., Journal of Immunotherapy, 10, 256-266 (1991)). Disaccharide peptides have also demonstrated enhanced efficacy in vaccine preparations.
The general use of the disaccharide peptide and related analogues has, however, been hampered by the cost of production. Typically, either the disaccharide dipeptide or the basic disaccharide itself (N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetylmuramic acid) is isolated from the cell walls of micrococcus lysodysticus through a process of cell fractionation, delipidation, enzymatic digestion, and extensive column chromatography. Alternative methods for isolation of the disaccharide and/or disaccharide dipeptide from biomass have included purification from the peptidoglycan complex excreted in penicillin treated cultures of a Brevibacterium Diverticulum mutant, enzymatic preparation from peptidoglycan of Actinomadura R39, and enzymatic preparation from hydrolysate of L. plantanum cell wall. The yields from such biologically based procedures are typically extremely low, on the order of 2% or less.
A variety of routes for the preparation of disaccharide structures by chemical synthesis have been reported as well. While a number of the reported routes have been successful in producing a disaccharide, the chemical synthetic methods have typically been characterized by low yields, large numbers of steps, difficult to handle reagents, stringent requirements on reaction conditions and/or lack of flexibility with regard to starting materials and products.
For example, methods of preparing disaccharides based on the condensation of a N-protected glucosaminyl donor with the hydroxyl group of glycosyl acceptor have been disclosed. The reported methods include condensations of N-protected glucosaminyl donors having a variety of leaving and/or activating groups (e.g., bromo, chloro, fluoro, methylthio, phenylthio, oxazoline, and trichloroacetimidate) with a glycosyl acceptor. Reports of condensations employing an N-protected 4-hydroxymuramic acid ester derivative as the acceptor have been extremely rare, however, perhaps because of the increased steric hindrance provided by the lactyl ether group. In order to avoid this problem, synthetic routes to protected glucosaminyl muramic acid ester compounds have typically delayed the introduction of the lactyl group until after the glycosylation step.
The condensation of an N-protected glucosaminyl chloride donor with an N-protected 4-hydroxymuramic acid ester acceptor has been disclosed. The condensation, however, is carried out in the presence of at least a full equivalent of silver triflate and must be run under a very specific set of reaction conditions which include the absence of base.
There is, accordingly, a continuing need for improved processes for the production of disaccharide dipeptide compounds via a chemical synthesis which includes the direct glycosylation of an N-protected 4-hydroxymuramic acid ester derivative.

Preparation of glucosaminyl muramic acid derivatives


The present invention provides a compact color illumination device (100) for emitting collimated light. The illumination device comprises a reflector cup (102), a blazed diffraction grating (108) formed on the inner surface of the reflector cup, and a plurality of light emitting sources (110) positioned linearly in a focal plane of the reflector cup. Each light emitting source emits a different color of light that is incident on the blazed diffraction grating. The light emitted by the light emitting sources is reflected by the blazed diffraction grating, wherein the reflected light is collimated.

In the recent years, there has been a lot of development in the area of compact color illumination devices. As a result, highly collimated compact color illumination devices have found application in all areas where the conventional illumination devices have failed to meet user requirements. These areas include mobile display devices such as a micro-projectors and the flashlight for camera embedded in cell phones. Other application areas include biosensors, and instruments used in medical imaging and surgery. Conventional illumination devices have high power consumption, provide low optical output and low lighting efficiency, and have a bulky size. Therefore, conventional illumination devices are not suitable for use in pocket-sized or other small instruments and equipments.
A full color micro-projector utilizes color sequential technology to obtain improved optical power efficiency and image quality. The color sequential technology uses time division multiplexing to produce colors. A repetitive sequence of red, green, and blue sub-frames is created sequentially in the micro-projector such that the human eye integrates the sub-frames into full-color frames. With the help of the color sequential technology, high display resolution and color saturation can be obtained.
In the current development of compact illumination devices, a package of Red-Green-Blue (RGB) color light emitting chips, arranged in the shape of a triangle, is utilized to achieve color mixing. The triangle arrangement of the package results in each of the light-emitting chips competing for the center spots. As a result, the emitted light patterns do not align perfectly because of the spatial separation of the RGB chips. The light output efficiency also suffers because of the triangle topology.
Furthermore, most light sources for illumination are Lambertian sources, and the intensity of the Lambertian source is directly proportional to the cosine of the angle between the viewing direction and the surface normal to the light source. Lambertian illumination sources cannot be used efficiently in applications such as micro-projectors because the light cone would have to be modified by complicated optics due to the wide angle distribution of the light emission. Moreover, it is difficult to collimate such a color illumination source with high accuracy.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.


Retrievable sensor devices and methods are provided that can be easily installed and removed from a sub-sea system without the need to stop the flow of working/process fluid. In particular, a retrievable sensor is provided that can be configured to be located remote from the process fluid to allow for easy access. In other embodiments, an actuator is provided that allows for pressure adjustments to be made during installation and/or removal of the sensor so as to avoid damage to the sensor and/or other system components and to avoid any process fluid/material leakage. Methods are also provided for installing/removing a retrievable sensor, as well as for adjusting a pressure of a retrievable sensor.

Sub-sea oil and gas processing typically involves high-pressure, high-temperature, and high-volume and throughput processing equipment and systems. Ambient sea conditions can be harsh as they are generally high-pressure and remote from surface operations. Additionally, sub-sea processing systems often have hazardous process fluids and materials, such as petroleum sludge and sand, which results in a need for sub-sea processing systems that are substantially leak-free. Sub-sea processing components and systems can range in size from less than a meter to hundreds of meters. Due in part to the size of the systems and in part to the harsh ambient conditions faced by sub-sea systems, system components can often be difficult to access and retrieve.
Retrievable sensors, such as retrievable pressure and/or temperature sensors, are sensors which can be replaced while process fluids are present in the area in which a sensed condition is to be measured. In some processing systems, retrievable sensors are employed in a variety of configurations, which can include large clusters of components often referred to as sub-sea trees or "christmas" trees. The sensors are often disposed in a flange or bore in a pipe wall to allow for direct measurement of the process fluid. However, such sensors can be extremely difficult to access. To perform repairs or otherwise retrieve and/or replace components of retrievable sensors and other sub-sea systems, existing techniques often require pulling the whole construction to the surface of the water to be repaired on the deck of a ship. Such methods can be costly and require a lengthy stoppage in production while the construction is repaired on the surface. Additionally, known methods of retrieving sub-sea system components such as sensors can place the components at risk for rupture, for example due to the high pressures of process fluids and/or ambient conditions. Alternative and less costly methods can include the use of remotely-operated sub-sea vehicles.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sub-sea sensor assembly that allows for replacement in use without the requirement to open up the pipe wall or suspend the production/process. There is also a need for a sensor assembly that is readily accessible, easily removable, and substantially leak-free.


Aspects of the invention are related to a method for allocating spare resources in a device. The exemplary method comprises: determining spare resources available in a plurality of consecutive time quanta; determining a plurality of candidate operations, wherein each candidate operation is associated with a cost profile with respect to time and a benefit value; and allocating the spare resources for performance of one or more of the candidate operations.

Efficient resource scheduling is useful in extending the battery life in a mobile device. However, in today's mobile devices, certain resources, such as computational power (i.e., computational cycles), bus availability, and battery consumption, cannot be allocated in continuous amounts. In other words, sometimes more resources than necessary have to be allocated and expended. Therefore, the allocation of resources in non-continuous amounts may result in expended spare resources that go to waste.
Certain applications utilized by mobile devices may benefit from the continual availability of relatively small amounts of spare resources. Such applications may include continuous implicit security and authentication applications, and map applications that require frequent location fix updates, etc.

Optimizing the allocation of spare resources


The removable mullion assembly allows a mullion to be removed, thereby allowing wider objects to pass through double doors. The top fitting of the assembly includes a spring loaded retaining bolt which locks the mullion in place. A locking mechanism attached to the top fitting allows the retaining bolt to be disengaged from the mullion. However, in the event of a fire, a meltable platform within the top fitting releases a deadlock, which mechanically blocks the retaining bolt from disengaging the mullion.

A mullion is a vertical member that allows two single doors to be used in a double door opening. A mullion is installed in the center of the door opening near the meeting edges of a pair of doors. The mullion is attached to the sill by a bottom fitting and to the head by a top fitting. Two strikes are mounted on opposing sides of the mullion, one for each of the two single doors.
It is often desirable to remove the mullion to provide a full double door opening. For example, if the double doors are on an auditorium, the mullion can be removed to allow large equipment to be brought into the room. Removable mullions are known in the prior art, as are removable mullions having locks to prevent unauthorized removal. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,000,062 to McCandless discloses a removable mullion that can be attached to a double door frame without the use of fasteners.
Often, the double doors to a large public room are also rated as fire doors. Fire doors typically have a locking mechanism between the doors with a meltable member. In the event of a fire, the meltable member in the lock is destroyed by the heat of the fire, thus keeping the doors from being opened, allowing the fire to spread. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,074 to Yeh discloses a fire protection door lock. The Yeh '074 lock includes a plastic member that restrains a spring bolt. When the plastic member melts, the spring bolt engages. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,259 to Cohrs et al. discloses a door latch with a meltable fuse mechanism. The Cohrs et al. '259 device is used on a door with a push pad that translates a latch assembly. When the fire fuse melts, the translation linkage is disrupted. A need exists for a similar fire safety element in the top fitting of a removable mullion assembly. Such a top fitting should allow for easy installation and removal of the mullion. It should also prevent removal of the mullion when a fire is present.


The invention relates to a device for compensating for fluctuations in the light which is emitted by a light source and propogates along a light path. The device has a first light-sensitive sensor. The sensor detects the intensity of the light at a first location along the light path in a spatially resolved manner and generates electrical image signals. Furthermore, a second light-sensitive sensor is provided, which detects the intensity of the light at a second location along the light path and generates electrical output signals.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,140 discloses a device for compensating for spectral fluctuations in a light source. The device has photodiodes, in particular, which detect the red, green and blue spectral regions of a light source. The image signals detected by a photodetector are corrected in accordance with the spectral intensity distribution determined by the photodiodes in order to compensate for variations in the image signals which are caused by spectral fluctuations in the illumination.
Taking this as a departure point, it is desirable to provide a device which permits the compensation of variations in an image signal which are caused by fluctuations in the illumination.

Device for compensating for fluctuations in a light source and film scanner


A sprinkler head housing encloses, supports, and provides access to a sprinkler head in order to allow maintenance and access to the sprinkler head. The sprinkler head housing includes a top and a wall descending therefrom. The sprinkler head housing can accommodate sprinkler heads having differently sized diameters.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to sprinkler head housings that hold, support, and provide easy access to pop-up sprinkler heads.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pop-up sprinkler systems are well known and used for watering lawns. Most sprinkler heads are made by one of several manufacturers. Each manufacturer produces a sprinkler head having its own size, measured by the diameter of its top. Typically, these pop-up sprinkler systems include a plastic sprinkler head having a body, a connector on the bottom of the body that attaches to a water supply hose, and a nozzle through which the water sprays. The entire sprinkler head is buried in the ground so that their tops are flush with the surface of the ground. When water is pumped to the sprinkler head, a nozzle in the sprinkler head pops up and sprinkles water.
Due to their location on the surface of the ground, sprinkler heads are exposed to physical stresses such as people stepping on them and lawnmowers accidentally cutting them and rolling over them. In addition, by buring the sprinkler head in the ground, the sprinkler head is not able to flex downward and give under any pressure from the surface. As a result of these stresses, sprinkler heads are often damaged and require maintenance and replacement.
Another problem with sprinkler heads is that the connection between the sprinkler head and its hose often loosens and deteriorates with time. As a result, the connection needs to be maintained or replaced.
Another problem with sprinkler heads are that the nozzle become clogged with dirt and accumulated minerals. Mineral build-up especially problematic in sprinklers because untreated, hard well water is often used with sprinklers to save expense over treated water. If the sprinkler head is buried, the entire head often must be undug to repair the nozzle.
Traditionally, to maintain or replace a sprinkler head, the dirt surrounding the sprinkler head must be removed, then the sprinkler head can be repaired and then the dirt must be replaced. The process of digging requires extra tools like a spade and can leave unsoded dirt spots around each sprinkler head.
An object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head housing which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a sprinkler head housing including a top having an inner support abutting a sprinkler head, and a wall descending from the top. The wall should be at least as tall as the sprinkler head.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the top can be circular and can include a rim and the wall fits under the rim. By using such a construction, the wall can be made from a flexible sheet wrapped upon itself. To maintain the shape of the flexible sheet even when the top is removed the sprinkler head housing can include straps surrounding the wall. Another way to maintain the shape of the wall made from the flexible sheet is to form two holes in the wall and then connect the two holes with a wire. A construction made from a flexible sheet wrapped into a wall, has the advantage of reduced cost to manufacture. In addition, the space required during shipping is minimized by including a housing made from a flat sheet as opposed to an assembled housing.
The wall should be at least as tall as the sprinkler head. By having such a height, the sprinkler head housing provides large enough space to guarantee full access to the sprinkler head, especially the bottom of the sprinkler head where the hose connects to the sprinkler head.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the wall of the sprinkler head housing has an outlet formed in it. The outlet allows for tubing feeding water to the sprinkler head to enter the sprinkler head housing. This is especially useful when the sprinkler head housing has an elbow joint at its bottom to allow it to connect to a horizontal hose.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the inner support includes a bracket abutting the sprinkler head that allows the sprinkler head housing to accommodate different brands of sprinkler heads having different diameters. While the invention encompasses sprinkler head housings that accommodate only one size of sprinkler head, it is preferable to form a sprinkler head housing that can accommodate different sizes of sprinkler head. According to the invention, the inner support can include a plurality of brackets. These brackets have different widths so as to support different sprinkler heads having different, complementary diameters. The different lengths hold and support different diameters of sprinkler heads. If the sprinkler head is too large to fit in the sprinkler head housing with all of the brackets, the brackets are removed from longest to shortest until the sprinkler head does fit snugly against the brackets of the inner support. To form a removable bracket, the bracket can be made from thin plastic that is snapped off and removed from the inner surface.
To support a sprinkler head evenly from all sides a first plurality of brackets having a length corresponding to a first sized sprinkler head can be distributed evenly about the inner surface of the top. Likewise, a second plurality of brackets having a second length corresponding to a second sized sprinkler head can be distributed evenly about the inner surface of the top. In the same, any number of brackets can be added so that the sprinkler head housing can accommodate that number of differently sized sprinkler heads.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
An object of the invention is to allow access for maintenance and replacement of the sprinkler head without requiring digging.
A further object of the invention is to hold and support the sprinkler head in a vertical position that is flush with the surface of the ground.
A further object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head housing that can accommodate various sized sprinkler heads, particularly the standard sizes made by manufacturers of sprinkler heads.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a sprinkler head housing, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.


Heat dissipating electronic components and circuitry in a communication chassis are cooled by moving air at least through a midplane, between two groups of channels that are laterally oriented relative to one another. In an illustrative embodiment, channels of one group are oriented vertically while channels of another group are oriented horizontally. Each channel, regardless of whether it is vertical or horizontal, is defined by space in the chassis between adjacent circuit boards. Circuit boards on one side of the midplane are electrically connected to circuit boards on the other side of the midplane by orthogonal connectors on the midplane. The midplane additionally has openings that enable movement of air between vertically-oriented channels and horizontally-oriented channels. Circuit boards of the two orientations are cooled by increasing air pressure in vertically-oriented channels or by decreasing air pressure in horizontally-oriented channels or both, depending on the embodiment.

Density and power dissipation of electronics used in telecommunications is increasing. Effective cooling design is a critical component of the design of the chassis (also called "shelf") commonly used to house such electronic equipment. Prior art methods of cooling are illustrated (FIG. 1) by the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA), a series of industry specification standards for next generation carrier grade communications equipment, such as ATCA 3.0. The ATCA specification defines the physical and electrical characteristics of such as form factors, power, cooling, management interfaces, and the electromechanical specification of ATCA-compliant boards.
FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a prior art shelf 100 in conformance with ATCA. Shelf 100 has fans 121 and 122 located adjacent to a rear side of shelf 100. When fans 121 and 122 are operated, air is pulled into shelf 100 at a front side into a bottom plenum 110. From plenum 110, a portion of air is pulled into a planar channel 111 between two front boards, as illustrated by arrows 101 and 102. From planar channel 111 air is pulled into a top plenum 112 as shown by arrows 104 and 105. In addition, air is also pulled from bottom plenum 110 into another planar channel 113 that is defined between two rear transition modules (RTMs), as illustrated by arrow 103. Air in channel 113 is pulled into the top plenum 112 as illustrated by arrow 106.
Inventors of the current patent application believe that improvements in the prior art air flow shown in FIG. 1 are desired.

Cooling a chassis by moving air through a midplane between two sets of channels oriented laterally relative to one another


Systems and methods for interactive front-end graph analysis are provided herein. According to one embodiment, a front-end application receives, from a compiler, first meta-information for a particular graph analysis procedure, where the first meta-information identifies a set of input parameters for passing graph information to the particular graph analysis procedure. The front-end application registers, using the first meta-information, the particular graph analysis procedure as an available command. The front-end application also receives second meta-information that identifies, for each respective graph object of a set of one or more graph objects, a respective set of graph characteristics. In response to receiving a request to apply the particular graph analysis procedure to the set of one or more graph objects, the front-end application enforces a set of one or more constraints based on the first meta-information and the second meta-information.

Graph analysis is a subfield of data analysis that generally encompasses systems and methods for analyzing datasets modelled as graphs. The graphs that are analyzed typically organize the underlying dataset into a set of nodes or vertices connected by edges, each of which may have a particular direction. A graph captures fined-grained, arbitrary relationships between different data entities within a dataset. Graphs can be used to model a wide variety of systems and relationships including, without limitation, communication networks, linguistic structures, social networks, data hierarchies, and other physical or virtual systems. By analyzing the relationships captured by a graph, data scientists, applications, or other users can obtain valuable insights about the original dataset.
Graph analysis is often performed in an exploratory manner. For instance, a data scientist may apply different analysis algorithms on the dataset (or a subset of it) in an ad hoc manner until some valuable insight about the dataset is digested. In order to support such exploratory use cases, some traditional database management systems (DBMS) and specialized graph processing systems provide command-line front-ends through which users may submit database queries and procedures. According to one such approach, a general shell application is used to submit standard query language (SQL) statements and Procedural Language/Structured Query Language (PL/SQL) blocks to a database server. Such generalized shell applications allow a user to query and perform standard database operations on graph objects, but generally do not provide any specialized support for performing graph analysis operations. Therefore, the interactivity and operability of such generalized shell applications are significantly limited.
According to another approach, a specialized shell application may be configured to support domain-specific graph languages, such as Gremlin. These shells allow users to submit commands specifically tailored for graph analysis. For instance, the graph language may support pre-defined graph operations for manipulating graph objects via graph traversals. These shells are typically built upon general interpreter frameworks and rely on the type-checking capability of the baseline systems. Generalized type-checking does not capture the nuances of a graph analysis environment, which may lead to unintentional and potentially costly errors on the part of the user. As an example, the user may apply a particular algorithm, intended for a bipartite graph, to a non-bipartite graph. If left unchecked, data may become corrupted or otherwise unreliable during graph analysis. Consequently, the user may incorrectly interpret the data and/or overlook potentially useful insights.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Advanced interactive command-line front-end for graph analysis systems


Reload characteristics of a development member such as a donor roll are monitored by using a machine exposure system (ROS or LED Bar) to generate a test image composed of a short (in the process direction) high density solid area patch followed by a long mid and lower density areas (solid or halftone), the later corresponding to Reload Defect (RD) exhibited by the development member. Typical dimensions of the test image would be a 15 mm square high density patch followed by a 200.times.15 mm mid and lower density regions. This test image voltage profile is placed in a skipped image frame inserted into a long job, or is effected during cycle-out/down following a shorter job run, and is scheduled at infrequent periodic intervals, for example, every 2000 prints. The resultant developed toner pattern on the photoreceptor is monitored, for example, with a reflectance or transmission density sensor such as the Toner Area Coverage (TAC) sensor used in the 4700.TM., 4850.TM., and 5775.TM. imaging products or an Extended Toner Area Coverage (ETAC) sensor. The toner dispense rate is adjusted to obtain a desired level of Reload Defect in the developed toner patter which corresponds to the optimum level of Toner Concentration in the development system.

The present invention relates to toner (developer) supply control in electrostatographic printing/digital copying machines in which an electrostatic latent image is formed on an imaging member by a printing head and is subsequently developed with toner. The imaging member may, for example, be a photoreceptor belt and the printing head may be a laser device which directs a laser beam at the photoreceptor for imagewise discharge thereof.
In a typical electrophotographic printing process, a photoconductive member is charged to a substantially uniform potential so as to sensitize the surface thereof. The charged portion of the photoconductive member is exposed to selectively dissipate the charges thereon in the irradiated areas. This records an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive member. After the electrostatic latent image is recorded on the photoconductive member, the latent image is developed by bringing a developer material into contact therewith. Generally, the developer material comprises toner particles adhering triboelectrically to carrier granules. The toner particles are attracted from the carrier granules either to a donor roll or to a latent image on the photoconductive member. The toner attracted to a donor roll is then deposited on a latent electrostatic images on a charge retentive surface which is usually a photoreceptor. The toner powder image is then transferred from the photoconductive member to a copy substrate. The toner particles are heated to permanently affix the powder image to the copy substrate.
To maintain print quality over the course of a job, toner concentration must be maintained during the job. This usually means adding toner to the developer housing in a controlled fashion during the entire run.
In a digital xerographic engine, the number of pixels printed can be roughly correlated to the amount of toner to be used, and hence the amount of toner which should be dispensed to maintain proper toner concentration. Printing machines in which that approach is adopted are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,409,901, 4,847,659 and 4,908,666. Noted by the UK PO as relevant to the parent UK application is Canon U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,112, issued Aug. 28, 1984 to A. Suzuki, et al.
Also, particularly noted is U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,002 re the Xerox Corporation "6500" color copier toner dispensing control system.
Following is a discussion of additional prior art, incorporated herein by reference, which may bear on the patentability of the present invention. In addition to possibly having some relevance to the question of patentability, these references, together with the detailed description to follow, may provide a better understanding and appreciation of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,698 granted to LeSueur et al on Apr. 20, 1993 discloses an electrostatographic laser printing/digital copying machine in which a latent image is generated on a circulating imaging member in accordance with digital image signals and subsequently developed with toner, the number of pixels to be toned is used as an indication of the rate at which toner is being depleted from the developer mixture. The device for dispensing fresh toner to the developer mixture is operated in dependence on the number of pixels to be toned so that there is a pre-established relationship between the pixel count and the length of time for which the dispensing device is in operation. If the efficiency of the dispensing device falls, the pre-established relationship is adjusted so that the toner density in the developed images remains constant. If a predetermined level of adjustment is reached, it is taken as an indication that the supply of toner in the printer is low, and should be replenished.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,214 granted to Thomas A Henderson on Mar. 28, 1995 discloses a toner concentration sensing system for an electrophotographic printer which system controls the concentration of the toner in developer mixture in an electrophotographic printer. Toner is applied on a test patch on a charge-retentive surface in a manner consistent with a desired toner density on a test patch, and the actual toner density on the test patch is measured. The charge applied to the charge-retentive surface is then adjusted in response to the measured actual toner density to obtain the desired toner density on a subsequent test patch. The change in charge applied to the charge-retentive surface is used to detect a shortage of toner in the developer.
Xerographic development processes which employ donor rolls, such as Hybrid Scavengeless Development, (HSD) can exhibit a print defect when localized high toner consumption depletes the available toner in one part of the donor roll surface, and the system is unable to replenish the depleted toner in one revolution of the roll. This leads to a repetitive, periodic, gradually declining "ghost" image disturbance propagating in the process direction behind the area of high consumption; this is termed the Reload Defect (RD).
One known strategy to minimize the reload defect is to bias the Toner Concentration (TC) operating point toward the high-TC side of the latitude window. This is effective on a single machine in the short term, but increases the failure frequency in a population of machines and leaves less latitude for long-term effects such as sensor drift, developer contamination, and aging of mechanical components. This strategy can also contribute to excessive dirt generation and resultant machine contamination, most likely requiring manual intervention at setup to determine a unique toner control setpoint for each machine.
A preferred strategy is to operate the xerographic process consistently at a TC level just high enough to prevent customer perception of the reload defect. This optimum TC value will differ from housing to housing due to differences in developer flow, mechanical spacings, electrostatics, developer age and state, and operating environment.
It would be desirable to effect "constant reload level" control by measuring the reload defect level during or just after customer usage, and automatically adjusting the TC setpoint to keep the system at its optimal operating point. This strategy will automatically compensate for long-term effects such as TC sensor drift and contamination, developer aging and contamination, and wear of mechanical components.

Signature sensing for optimum toner control with donor roll


In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a request to establish at least a portion of a media session between a session exchange device and a network entity based on at least a portion of a session description. The session exchange device and the network entity being associated with a media over internet protocol (MoIP) network. The method includes receiving an indicator at the session exchange device that the portion of the session description is not associated with a predefined data-transfer-rate value. A request for a user-defined data-transfer-rate value is sent in response to the indicator.

One or more embodiments of the invention relate generally to bandwidth management, including, for example, to methods and apparatus for media signal management within a media over internet protocol (MoIP) network based on a session description.
Voice telecommunications have historically been conducted via dedicated telephone networks using telephone switching offices and either wired or wireless connections for transmitting the voice signals between users' telephones. Such telecommunications, which can use the public switched telephone network (PSTN), can be referred to as circuit-committed communications. Because of the circuit-based nature of the PSTN, the bandwidth of a connection often depends on the capacity of the circuits that make up the connection.
MoIP, also referred to as session over internet protocol (SoIP), provides an alternative communication system that uses discrete internet protocol (IP) packets of digitized information to transmit media content such as voice content, video content and/or data, over the internet or within an intranet via wired and/or wireless connections. MoIP technology includes voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology, which is used primarily to transmit voice signals over an IP network. Known MoIP communication system components do not provide bandwidth management of media signals. Thus, a need exists for methods and apparatus for media signal management within a MoIP network based on a session description.

Methods and apparatus for bandwidth management within a media over internet protocol network based on a session description


Eubacterial cells which produce non-formylated proteins, polypeptides and/or peptides and methods for making such non-formylated products. The eubacterial cells may be produced by inactivating or deleting the def (deformylase) and/or fmt (Met-tRNA transformylase) gene(s) from the def-fmt operon of the corresponding wild-type strain.

In eubacteria, peptide synthesis is initiated at methionine start codons which are read by N-formyl methionine tRNA. Prior to translation initiation the methionyl moiety of the charged tRNA is N-formylated by the action of Met-tRNAi transformylase (E.C.22.214.171.124). The N-formyl group is removed from the native protein by polypeptide deformylase (E.C. 3.5.127), and the initiator methionine can then be cleaved off by methionine aminopeptidase, completing the primer methionine cycle. In contrast, archaea and eukaryotes have a primer methionine cycle devoid of N-formylating and deformylating activities (for review see Mazel, D., Pochet, S. and Marliere, P.: Genetic characterization of polypeptide deformylase, a distinctive enzyme of eubacterial translation. EMBO J. 13 (1994) 914-923, and Mazel et al., 1996).
Expression of eukaryotic proteins in eubacterial hosts often results in the production of recombinant proteins that retain an N-terminal forrnylrnethionyl residue (examples include bovine somatotropin (Bogosian, G., et al., (1989) Biosynthesis and incorporation into protein of norleucine by Escherichia coli J. Biol. Chem. 264:531-539); eel growth hormone (Sugimoto, S., Yamaguchi, K. and Yokoo, Y.: Isolation and characterization of recombinant eel growth hormone expressed in Escherichia coli. J. Chromatog. 515 (1990) 483-494); human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (Clogston, C. L., Hsu, Y. R, Boone, T. C. and Lu, H. S.: Detection and quantitation of recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor charge isoforms: comparative analysis by cationic-exchange chromatography, isoelectric focusing gel electrophoresis, and peptide mapping. Anal. Biochem. 202 (1992) 375-383); bovine fatty acid-binding protein (Specht, B., Oudenampsen-Kruger, E., Ingendoh, A., Hillenkamp, F., Lezius, A. G. and Spener, F.: N-terminal variants of fatty acid-binding protein from bovine heart overexpressed in Escherichia coli. J. Biotechnol. 33 (1994) 259-269); bovine cytochrome P450 (Dong et al FASEB J. 9 (1995) A1486); Methanothermus fervidus histone A (Sandman, K., Grayling, R. A., and Reeve, J. N. Improved N-terminal Processing of Recombinant Proteins Synthesized in Escherichia coli. Biotechnology 13 (1995) 504-506); human interleukin-5 (Rose, K., Regarney, P., Anderegg, R, Wells, T., Proudfoot, A., Human interleukin-5 expressed in Escherichia coli has N-terminal modifications. Biochem J. 286 (1992) 825-828); human parathyroid hormone (Rabbani, S. A., Yasuda T., Bennett H. P. J., Sung, W. L. Zahab, D. M., Tam, C. S. Goltman, D., and Hendy, G. N. Recombinant Human Parathyroid Hormone Synthesized in Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Chemistry 263:3 (1988) 1307-1313; Hogset, A., Blingsmo, O. R., Gaurvk V. T., Saether, O., Jacobsen, P. B., Gordeladzo, J. O., Alestrom, P. and Gautvik, K. M. Expression of Human Parathyroid Hormone In Escherichia coli Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 166:1 (1990) 50-60); human gamma-interferon (Honda, S., Asano, T., Kajio, T., and Nishimura, O. Escherichia coli-Derived Human Interferon-.gamma. with Cys-Tyr-Cys at the N-Terminus is Partially Nα-Acylated. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 269 (1989) 612-622)). In addition retention of N-formyl methionine has been found in endogeneous E. coli proteins (Hauschild-Rogat, P. N-formylmethionine as a N-terminal group of E. coli ribosomal protein. Mol. Geri. Genet. 102 (1968) 95-101, Marasco, W. A., Phan, S. H., Kruusch, H., Showell, H. J., Feltner, D. E., Nairn, R, Becker, E. L. and Ward, P. A.: Purification and identification of formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine as the major peptide neutrophil chemotaetic factor produced by Escheriehia coli. J. Biol. Chem. 259 (1984) 5430-5439; Milligan, D. L. and Koshland, Jr., D. E.: The amino terminus of the aspartate chemoreceptor is formylmethionine. J. Biol. Chem. 265 (1990) 4455-4460). Since N-formylated peptides are a major indicator of eubacterial infections for the mammalian immune system and are highly immunogenic, incomplete deformylation precludes; for example, the use of N-formylated preparations for therapeutic purposes. Several approaches to circumvent this problem have been proposed, e.g., expression in the presence of trimethoprim and thymidine (Sandman et al., 1995), overexpression of peptide deformylase in the host (Warren, W. C., Bentle, K. A., Schlittler, M. R, Schwane, A. C., O'Neil, J. P. and Bogosian, G. (1996): increased production of peptide deformylase eliminates retention of formylmethionine in bovine somatotropin overproduced in Escherichia coli. Gene 174, 235-23), expression as a protein fusion either with an N-terminal peptide that can be removed in vitro by a specific protease or with an N-terminal leader peptide which is cleaved during transport of the nascent protein in a non-cytoplasmatic compartment. Finally, the N-formyl group may also be removed by mild acid hydrolysis, or the fraction of the protein retaining N-formyl methionine may be separated from the correctly processed protein by purification procedures.
Each of these approaches has significant disadvantages. Addition of trimethoprim and thymidine is costly, requires manipulation of the culture that will express the recombinant protein, and may slow down growth of the host. Overexpression of peptide deformylase requires a stable plasmid construct in the host that has to be selected for; moreover, deformylation may be less than 100% effective. Expression of fusion proteins requires exact molecular constructions; chemical hydrolysis with acid may cause damage to the rest of the protein. Finally, none of these approaches guarantees a final preparation that is absolutely free of N-formylated peptides derived either from the recombinant protein or from contaminations with endogeneous host peptides.

Descendants of bacteria devoid of N terminal formylation useful for the production of proteins and peptides


A notch cutting machine 10 cuts a precision notch in an oilfield tubular according to API specifications. The machine includes a base 12 for positioning either within the tubular for cutting an internal notch, or on the outer surface of the tubular for cutting an external notch. An electrically powered servo motor 14 is mounted on the base for rotating a motor shaft 21, and a linear translator 16 linearly moves a support block 18 a preselected distance in response to a selected rotation of the shaft. An electrode 22 has a tip surface 23 configured for cutting the notch in a tubular. The electrode is fixed with respect to a head 20 by an air responsive holder 80, and pressure to the head may be briefly terminated so that tip surface 23 comes into planar engagement with the surface of the tubular to be notched. An electrical source 24, a pressurized air source 28, and an EDM oil source 32 provide power, air pressure, and an EDM oil coolant, respectively, to operate the notch cutting machine.

Electrical machining techniques utilize an electrode spaced closely adjacent a workpiece so that pulsed electrical current is passed between the electrode and the workpiece through a small gap, thereby machining the workpiece. A series of time-spaced, discrete electrical discharges created across the machining gap thus erosively remove material from the workpiece. The high current density discharges across the gap commonly occur at sonic or ultrasonic frequencies and in the presence of a dielectric fluid which fills the gap during the machining process. More particularly, electrical machining generally includes electrical discharge machining (EDM), electrochemical machining (ECM), electrochemical-discharge machining (ECDM), and other machining processes which utilize electroerosive techniques to machine material from a workpiece.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,318,793 and 3,610,865 disclose electrical machining techniques developed in the 1960s and the 1970s. The '793 patent discloses an electrohydraulic servo feed system which allegedly has advantages over a hydraulically actuated servo feed system for moving the electrode with respect to the workpiece. An EDM cutting machine which immerses the electrode in a liquid bath is disclosed in the '865 patent. U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,659 discloses apparatus for electrical machining a work surface. The system includes a gap-sensing circuit with the electrode being emersed in a liquid dielectric bath, and a servo motor for moving the electrode.
Precision notches may be cut in a oilfield tubular for the purpose of calibrating ubular inspection equipment. Specifics regarding notches for calibrating the inspection equipment are standardized by the American Petroleum Institute (API), and each notch generally has a length substantially greater than the width. Both the depth of the cut notch and the length and width of the notch are carefully controlled in order to reliably calibrate both electromagnetic and sonic inspection equipment. Also, API specifications have mandated that notches be cut at different orientations with respect to the axis of the tubular, with some of the notches being aligned with the axis of the tubular, other notches being traverse to the axis of the tubular, and still other notches being at preselected angles with respect to the axis of the tubular.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,383 discloses a machine for cutting the inside of a tubular utilizing oxy-arc techniques. A plurality of claws and rollers are provided for positioning the equipment within the tubular. U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,368 discloses a disintegrator arc tool for cutting the interior wall of a tubular as the tool moves an electrode toward and away from a work surface. Electrical voltage is supplied to the electrode for performing the electrical machining operation, and a non-conductive emersion fluid is supplied for filling the gap between the electrode and the work surface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,933 discloses another machine for cutting the interior surface of a tubular. An articulated arm mechanism and a force rod are disclosed in one embodiment for selectively positioning the electrode within the tubular, while a hydraulic technique involving a master cylinder and a slave cylinder are disclosed in an alternate technique for positioning the electrode within the tubular. The electrode may be rotated to any desired angular relationship with respect to the axis of the tubular. In one embodiment, a jaw mechanism is provided for releasably gripping the electrode. In another embodiment, a biasing spring and detent balls are provided for allowing the electrode to move relative to its support.
When used for cutting precision notches on the interior or the exterior of an oilfield tubular, the above equipment is expensive to manufacture and difficult to maintain. The equipment is also complex, and a good deal of training and expertise is required to properly operate the equipment. When the surface of the tubular to be precision cut is irregular or slightly corroded, the tool may not cut the desired API specified notch in the tubular. Accordingly, the notch cutting and calibration process may have to be repeated several times. Particularly when the notch is cut in the interior of the tubular, the operator may not be able to determine that an improper notch has been cut, and accordingly the test equipment calibration may be incorrect. Even with a proper API notch cut in an oilfield tubular surface by an experienced operator, a large amount of operator time is required to cut the notch, thereby increasing the cost of the inspection calibration operation.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and improved equipment for cutting precision notches in both the interior surface and exterior surface of an elongate metal tubular is hereinafter disclosed. Those familiar with prior art equipment and techniques for cutting precision notches in tubulars have long sought and will appreciate the advantages of the present invention, as hereinafter disclosed.

EDM cutting machine for precision notching tubulars


A toilet bowl brush with an integrated refillable reservoir for storing and dispensing cleaning fluids. The toilet bowl brush, also, has (1) a wide top shield to protect user's hand from contamination during the cleaning process, (2) a non-slip soft handle with a thumb button for dispensing the cleaner, (3) a mechanism for dispensing the fluid and (4) a removable tip for changing the brush tip when it becomes worn. The brush tip includes perforations which allow the fluid to be dispensed through the tip by gravitational force.

The cleaning of a toilet bowl, in the bathroom, is often considered the task of house cleaning. A brush secured at the end of an elongated handle is usually used for cleaning a toilet bowl. Cleaning chemicals, which are often used when cleaning such bowls, tend to stain the bowls and hard water retained in the bowel usually leaves an undesirable residue in the bowl.
The available brushware for cleaning of toilet bowls usually have elongated handles with brush tip. The cleaning agent to be used has to be taken from a separate container. The handles of the existing toilet brushes are long which makes the cleaning of the inner bowl area difficult. Also, once the bristles of the brush tip are worn or broken, the entire brush has to be disposed off.
The use of liquid dispensing brushes is known in the prior art. More specifically, liquid dispensing brushes heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art, which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. These types of squeezable brushes are usually used for applying hair color.
Design Pat. 452,080 S granted to Petner, describes a bottle brush. The ornamental design for a bottle brush showed the brush tip attached on a bottle. The bottle can be used to the store cleaning agents or disinfectants.
The Matossian Design Pat. 367,174 describes a toilet bowl cleaning brush with liquid dispenser. The liquid dispenser can be used to store the cleanser. The brush bristles are secured on the top of the dispenser by the means of screw threads.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,723,015 granted to Bernhard, et al., discloses a toilet brush. It is equipped with a rinsing brush as well as a brush head on a brush handle. The brush handle has a container for cleaner or disinfectant is detachably mounted. The container is connected to the bristle head by a tube that can be closed off by a valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,002 granted to Fensteheib R. J. describes a disposable toilet cleaning brush. The brush is provided with a squeezable reservoir or hollow bristles in the brush tip for storing cleaning agent. The cleaning agent can be taken in dried or liquid form and may be dispensed from brush bristles. The brush tip, after cleaning process can be removed from the brush and may be disposed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,891, granted to Rehman et. al. describes a squeezable liquid dispensing brush provided with an inboard and an outboard extent. Inboard extent is provided with a plurality of bores formed therein. Each of the plurality of bristles has an inboard end mounted on a lower surface of outboard extent. The liquid flows through the outboard extent.
German patent 496,181 shows hollow bristles to which end a liquid cleaning agent, supplied through a brush handle, can be ejected. The bristles are angled outside from the center of dispensing head. The bristle hollows are constant diameter.
The problems of hygiene and self-protection under contamination are not tackled in prior art. The brush tip once worn cannot be changed. The aforementioned reasons are acknowledged in designing the present invention.


An optical imaging lens may include a first, a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth and a sixth lens elements positioned in an order from an object side to an image side. The optical imaging lens may satisfy AAG/(T3+T6)≥2.500, wherein a sum of five air gaps from the first lens element to the sixth lens element along the optical axis is represented by AAG, a thickness of the third lens element along the optical axis is represented by T3, and a thickness of the sixth lens element along the optical axis is represented by T6.

In recent years, the popularity of electronic photographic devices has made the demand for the photographic device application more and more diverse. In addition to the requirement for good image quality, the expansion of the field of view and the stability of the imaging quality of the device at different temperatures are also receiving more and more attention.
In addition, the conventional optical imaging lens with six lens elements has a large distance from the object-side surface of the first lens to the image plane along the optical axis, which is disadvantageous for the thinning of the photographic device. Therefore, in order to satisfy the demand for the modern application of the optical imaging lens, producing an optical imaging lens with a short lens length, large field of view angle, high thermal stability and good image quality is research and development focus.

Genius Electronic Optical (Xiamen) Co., Ltd.


An embodiment LED driver system comprises a power transistor configured to be selectively activated for generating a driving current for an array of LEDs, the power transistor having a first conduction terminal coupled to the array of LEDs and a second conduction terminal coupled to a reference resistor; an operational amplifier having a non-inverting input for receiving a reference voltage, an inverting input coupled to the second conduction terminal of the power transistor, and an output terminal coupled to a first conduction terminal of a transmission gate having a second conduction terminal coupled to a control terminal of the power transistor and a control terminal for receiving an enable signal; and a slew rate control unit configured to control the slew rate of the driving current.

In order to drive Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), LED driver systems are known, configured to control the current flowing across the LEDs.
Different kinds of LED driver system architectures are known in the art.
For example, FIG. 1 illustrates an LED driver system 100 having a V2I ("voltage to current") architecture, configured to drive an array of LEDs 102.
The LED driver system 100 comprises an operational amplifier 104 having a non-inverting input configured to receive a voltage Vbuff, an output terminal connected to the control terminal (e.g., the gate) of a transistor 108, for example a n-type metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, and an inverting input terminal connected to a conduction terminal (e.g., the source) of the transistor 108. The inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier 104 is further connected to a first terminal of an external resistor Rext, the second terminal of the latter being connected to a reference terminal (GND terminal) providing a ground voltage.
Another conduction terminal (e.g., the drain) of the transistor 108 is connected to an input terminal of a current mirror 120. The current mirror 120 has an output terminal connected to the input terminal of a resistor ladder Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) 125 for providing a high precision reference current Iref which is a mirrored version of an external current Iext flowing through the external resistor Rext, which is in turn a function of the external resistor Rext and of the voltage Vbuff.
The DAC 125 has an output terminal for providing a reference voltage Vref based on the reference current Iref to a non-inverting input terminal of an operational amplifier 130. The operational amplifier 130 has an output terminal connected to a first conduction terminal of a transmission gate TG1 for providing a voltage Vi. The transmission gate TG1 has a second conduction terminal connected to a control terminal (e.g., the gate) of a power transistor N1, for example an n-type power MOS transistor, for providing a voltage Vo.
The power transistor N1 has a conduction terminal (e.g., the source) connected to a non-inverting terminal of the operational amplifier 130 and to a first conduction terminal of a reference resistor Rset, defining a circuit node 135. The reference resistor Rset has a second conduction terminal connected to the ground terminal GND. The power transistor N1 has a further conduction terminal (e.g., the drain) connected to the array of LEDs 102.
The transmission gate TG1 has a control terminal for receiving a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) control signal CTRL pulsing between a high and a low value.
When the control signal CTRL is at the high value, the first and the second conduction terminals of the transmission gate TG1 are electrically connected to each other, so that the voltage Vo is brought to the voltage Vi, a feedback voltage FDB at circuit node 135 is brought to the reference voltage Vref, and the array of LEDs 102 is crossed by a driving current Iset having a value Iset(h) corresponding to the reference voltage Vref divided by the resistance of the reference resistor Rset.
When the control signal CTRL is at the low value, the first conduction terminal of the transmission gate TG1 is electrically insulated from the second conduction terminal of the transmission gate TG1, and the driving current Iset is at a value Iset(l) equal to zero.
In this way, it is possible to deliver the driving current Iset in the form of current pulses, the duty cycle thereof being based on the duty cycle of the control signal CTRL. By varying the duty cycle of the control signal CTRL (for example at frequencies higher than 100 Hz), it is therefore possible to regulate the intensity of the light emitted by the LEDs. This LED control technique is referred to as digital dimming.
In order to avoid, or at least reduce, control errors when driving the array of LEDs 102 at a low duty cycle, the driving current Iset should have fast rising/falling edges (i.e., a low slew rate).
According to a solution known in the art, fast rising/falling edges are obtained by keeping the voltage Vi output by the operational amplifier 130 close to the target voltage Vo at the gate of the power transistor N1 through the provision of a scaled duplicate of the power transistor N1 and of the reference resistor Rset, connected in such a way to form a duplicate of the feedback loop between the operational amplifier 130 and the power transistor N1, and with a transmission gate controlled by a negated version of the control signal CTRL (i.e., a version thereof having a phase difference of 180°).


An organic electroluminescent device includes first and second substrates facing and spaced apart from each other; a gate line on an inner surface of the first substrate; a semiconductor layer over the gate line, the semiconductor layer overlying a surface of the first substrate; a data line crossing the gate line; a data ohmic contact layer under the data line, the data ohmic contact layer having the same shape as the data line; a power line parallel to, or substantially parallel to, and spaced apart from the data line, the power line including the same material as the gate line; a switching thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line, the switching thin film transistor using the semiconductor layer as a switching active layer; a driving thin film transistor connected to the switching thin film transistor and the power line, the driving thin film transistor using the semiconductor layer as a driving active layer; a connection pattern connected to the driving thin film transistor, the connection pattern including a conductive polymeric material; a first electrode on an inner surface of the second substrate; an organic electroluminescent layer on the first electrode; and a second electrode on the organic electroluminescent layer, the second electrode contacting the connection pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescent device, and more particularly, to a dual panel type organic electroluminescent device that has a reduced number of masks in its fabricating process, and a fabricating method thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Among flat panel displays (FPDs), organic electroluminescent (EL) devices have been of particular interest in research and development because they are light-emitting type displays that have a wide viewing angle as well as a desirable contrast ratio, as compared with liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. Since a backlight need not be provided in conjunction with such organic EL devices, their size and weight is small, as compared to other types of display devices. The organic EL devices have other desirable characteristics, such as low power consumption, superior brightness and fast response time. When driving the organic EL devices, only a low direct current (DC) voltage is required. Moreover, a rapid response speed can be obtained. It is understood in this field that because the organic EL devices are entirely formed in a solid phase arrangement, unlike LCD devices, they are sufficiently strong to withstand external impacts and also have a greater operational temperature range. Moreover, because fabricating an organic EL device is a relatively simple process with few processing steps, it is much cheaper to produce an organic EL device when compared with LCD devices or plasma display panels (PDPs). In particular, only deposition and encapsulation apparatuses are necessary for manufacturing the organic EL devices.
In an active matrix organic EL device, a voltage applied to the pixel and a charge for maintaining the voltage is stored in a storage capacitor. This allows for a constant voltage driving the device until a voltage of next frame is applied, regardless of the number of the scanning lines. As a result, since an equivalent brightness is obtained with a low applied current, an active matrix organic EL device of low power consumption, high resolution and large area may be made.
FIG. 1 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing a basic pixel structure of an active matrix organic electroluminescent device according to the related art. In FIG. 1, a scanning line 2 is arranged in a first direction, and a signal line 4 and a power line 6 are arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, thereby defining a pixel region "P." The signal line 4 and the power line 6 are spaced apart from each other. A switching thin film transistor (TFT) "Ts," an addressing element, is connected to the scanning line 2 and the signal line 4, and a storage capacitor "CST" is connected to the switching TFT "TS" and the power line 6. A driving TFT "TD," a current source element, is connected to the storage capacitor "CST" and the power line 6, and an organic electroluminescent (EL) diode "DEL" is connected to the driving TFT "TD." The organic EL diode "DEL" has an organic EL layer (not shown) between an anode and a cathode. The switching TFT "TS" adjusts a voltage applied to the driving TFT "TD" and the storage capacitor "CST" stores a charge to maintain the voltage applied to the driving TFT "TD".
When a scan signal of the scanning line 2 is applied to a switching gate electrode of the switching TFT "TS," the switching TFT "TS" is turned ON, and an image signal of the signal line 4 is applied to a driving gate electrode of the driving TFT "TD" and the storage capacitor "CST" through the switching element "TS" As a result, the driving TFT "TD" is turned ON. When the driving TFT "TD" is turned ON, a current of the power line 6 is applied to the organic EL diode "DEL" through the driving TFT "TD." As a result, light is emitted. The current density of the driving element "TD" is modulated by the image signal applied to the driving gate electrode. As a result, the organic electroluminescent diode "DEL" can display images having multiple levels of gray scale. Moreover, since the voltage of the image signal stored in the storage capacitor "CST" is applied to the driving gate electrode, the current density flowing into the organic electroluminescent diode "DEL" can be maintained at a uniform level until the next image signal is applied even when the switching element "TS" is turned OFF.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plane view of an organic electroluminescent device according to the related art.
In FIG. 2, a gate line 37 crosses a data line 51 and a power line 42, which are spaced apart from each other. A pixel region "P" is defined between the gate line 37, the data line 51 and the power line 42. A switching thin film transistor (TFT) "TS" is disposed adjacent to the crossing of the gate line 37 and the data line 51. A driving TFT "TD" is connected to the switching TFT "TS" and the power line 42. A storage capacitor "CST" uses a portion of the power line 42 as a first capacitor electrode and an active pattern 34 extending from a switching active layer 31 of the switching TFT "Ts" as a second capacitor electrode. A first electrode 58 is connected to the driving TFT "TD," and an organic electroluminescent (EL) layer (not shown) and a second electrode (not shown) are sequentially formed on the first electrode 58. The first and second electrodes and the organic EL layer interposed therebetween constitute an organic EL diode "DEL."
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line "III—III" of FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, a driving thin film transistor (TFT) "TD" including an active layer 32, a gate electrode 38 and source and drain electrodes 50 and 52 is formed on a substrate 1. The source electrode 50 is connected to a power line 42 and the drain electrode 52 is connected to a first electrode 58. An active pattern 34 made of the same material as the active layer 32 is formed under the power line 42 with an insulating layer 40 interposed therebetween. The active pattern 34 and the power line 42 constitute a storage capacitor "CST." An organic electroluminescent (EL) layer 64 and a second electrode 66 are sequentially formed on the first electrode 58 and constitute an organic EL diode "DEL."
For insulating layers, a first insulating layer 30, for example, a buffer layer, is formed between the substrate 1 and the active layer 32. A second insulating layer 36 is formed between the active layer 32 and the gate electrode 38. A third insulating layer 40 is formed between the active pattern 34 and the power line 42. A fourth insulating layer 44 is formed between the power line 42 and the source electrode 50. A fifth insulating layer 54 is formed between the drain electrode 52 and the first electrode 58. A sixth insulating layer 60 is formed between the first electrode 58 and the organic EL layer 64. The third to sixth insulating layers 40, 44, 54 and 60 include contact holes which allow for connections to be made.
FIGS. 4A to 4I are schematic cross-sectional views showing a fabricating process of an organic electroluminescent device according to the related art. In FIG. 4A, a first insulating layer 30, for example a buffer layer, is formed on a substrate 1 by depositing a first insulating material. After forming a polycrystalline silicon layer (not shown) on the first insulating layer 30, an active layer 32 and an active pattern 34 are formed using a first mask process. In FIG. 4B, after sequentially depositing a second insulating material and a first metallic material on an entire surface of the substrate 1, a second insulating layer 36, such as a gate insulating layer, and a gate electrode 38 are formed using a second mask process. In FIG. 4C, a third insulating layer 40 is formed on the gate electrode 38 by depositing a third insulating material. After depositing a second metallic material on the third insulating layer 40, a power line 42 is formed over the active pattern 34 using a third mask process.
In FIG. 4D, after depositing a fourth insulating material on the power line 42, a fourth insulating layer 44 having first to third contact holes 46a, 46b and 48 is formed using a fourth mask process. The active layer 32 can be divided into a channel region 32a, and source and drain regions 32b and 32c by a subsequent doping process. The first and second contact holes 46a and 46b expose the source and drain regions 32b and 32c, respectively. The third contact hole 48 exposes the power line 42. The source and drain regions 32b and 32c are doped with impurities.
In FIG. 4E, after depositing a third metallic material on the fourth insulating layer 44, source and drain electrodes 50 and 52 are formed using a fifth mask process. The source electrode 50 is connected to the power line 42 through the third contact hole 48 (of FIG. 4D) and to the source region 32b through the first contact hole 46a (of FIG. 4D). The drain electrode 52 is connected to the drain region 32c through the second contact hole 46b (of FIG. 4D). The active layer 32, the gate electrode 38 and source and drain electrodes 50 and 52 constitute a driving thin film transistor (TFT) "TD." The power line 42 and the active pattern 34 are connected to the source electrode 50 and an active layer of a switching TFT (not shown), respectively. In addition, the power line 42 and the active pattern 34 having the third insulating layer 40 interposed therebetween constitute a storage capacitor "CST".
In FIG. 4F, after depositing a fifth insulating material on the source and drain electrodes 50 and 52, a fifth insulating layer 54 having a fourth contact hole 56 is formed using a sixth mask process. The fourth contact hole 56 exposes the drain electrode 52.
In FIG. 4G, after depositing a fourth metallic material on the fifth insulating layer 54, a first electrode 58 is formed using a seventh mask process. The first electrode 58 is connected to the drain electrode 52 through the fourth contact hole 56 (of FIG. 4F).
In FIG. 4H, after depositing a sixth insulating material on the first electrode 58, a sixth insulating layer 60 having an open portion 62 is formed using an eighth mask process. The open portion 62 exposes the first electrode 58. The sixth insulating layer 60 protects the driving TFT "TD" from moisture and contamination.
In FIG. 4I, an organic electroluminescent (EL) layer 64 and a second electrode 66 of a fifth metallic material are sequentially formed on the sixth insulating layer 60. The organic EL layer 64 contacts the first electrode 58 through the open portion 62 (of FIG. 4H). The second electrode 66 is formed on an entire surface of the substrate 1. The first electrode 58 is designed as an anode. For example, the fifth metallic material can be selected to have high reflectance and low work function because the second electrode 66 should reflect light emitted from the organic EL layer 64 and provide electrons to the organic EL layer 64.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an organic electroluminescent device according to the related art. In FIG. 5, first and second substrates 70 and 90, which have inner surfaces facing each other and are spaced apart from each other, have a plurality of pixel regions "P." An array layer 80 including a driving thin film transistor (TFT) "TD" in each pixel region "P" is formed on an inner surface of the first substrate 70. A first electrode 72 connected to the driving TFT "TD" is formed on the array layer 80 in each pixel region "P." Red, green and blue organic electroluminescent (EL) layers 74 are alternately formed on the first electrode 72. A second electrode 76 is formed on the organic EL layer 74. The first and second electrodes 72 and 76, and the organic EL layer 74 interposed therebetween constitute an organic EL diode "DEL." The organic EL device is a bottom type where light is emitted from the organic EL layer 74 through the first electrode 72 and out of the first substrate 70.
The second substrate 90 is used as an encapsulation substrate. The second substrate 90 has a concave portion 92 at its inner center and the concave portion 92 is filled with a moisture absorbent desiccant 94 that removes moisture and oxygen to protect the organic EL diode "DEL." The inner surface of the second substrate 90 is spaced apart from the second electrode 76. The first and second substrates 70 and 90 are attached with a sealant 85 at a peripheral portion of the first and second substrates.
In an organic ELD according to the related art, a TFT array part and an organic electroluminescent (EL) diode are formed over a first substrate, and an additional second substrate is attached with the first substrate for encapsulation. However, when the TFT array part and the organic EL diode are formed on one substrate in this way, production yield of the organic ELD is determined by a multiplication of the TFT's yield together with the organic EL diode's yield. Since the organic EL diode's yield is relatively low, the production yield of the overall ELD becomes limited by the organic EL diode's yield. For example, even when a TFT is well fabricated, an organic ELD using a thin film of about 1000 Å thickness can be judged as bad due to the defects of an organic emission layer. This results in loss of materials and increased production costs.
In general, organic ELDs are classified into bottom emission types and top emission types according to an emission direction of light used for displaying images via the organic ELDs. Bottom emission type organic ELDs have the advantages of high encapsulation stability and high process flexibility. However, the bottom emission type organic ELDs are ineffective for high resolution devices because they have poor aperture ratios. In contrast, top emission organic ELDs have a higher expected life span because they are more easily designed and they have a high aperture ratio. However, in top emission type organic ELDs, the cathode is generally formed on an organic emission layer. As a result, transmittance and optical efficiency of a top emission type organic ELDs are reduced because of a limited number of materials that may be selected. If a thin film-type passivation layer is formed to prevent a reduction of the light transmittance, the thin film-type passivation layer may fail to prevent infiltration of exterior air into the device.

Dual panel type organic electroluminescent device and method of fabricating the same


In a parallel processor system, a plurality of nodes each comprising a processor and a main storage unit are interconnected through a network, wherein a user process is executed under the control of an operating system in each of the nodes and inter-process communications are performed through the network for transmitting and receiving messages among the nodes. Reception buffers are provided in a main storage unit and addressed by pool pages, which are discontinuous in a logical address domain or in a real address domain, in a virtual space used by the user process executed by each node. Additionally, reception buffer control information is located on the main storage unit for managing the reception buffers. A node, when receiving a message, uses communication information included in the received message and reception buffer control information to calculate a real address in the reception buffers for storing the received message.

The present invention relates to a message reception method and a message communication system, and more particularly to a message reception method and a message communication system suitable for use in a parallel processor system for transferring messages.
Conventionally, for making inter-process communications in a parallel processor system comprising a plurality of nodes each including a plurality of processors, a transmission node copies data to be transmitted from a user space to a kernel space, while a reception node copies data received from the kernel space to a user space. This inter-process communication always requires the intervention of an operating system (OS) for transferring a message. For this reason, overhead occurs due to the copy of data into a buffer. As a method for solving the problem of overhead, a remote memory transfer method is known, for example, as described in JP-A-6-19856. In this remote memory transfer method, an operating system has a communication region having a continuous real address range reside in a memory. In this way, direct data transfer can be carried out between the communication regions of a transmission process and a reception process, thus removing the overhead due to the copy of data into a buffer.

Transferring messages in a parallel processing system using reception buffers addressed by pool pages in a virtual space


A lock assembly for use with a sliding door. The lock assembly includes a non-handed miniature mortise lock having a retractable and extendable tongue able to move between a locked position and an unlocked position. The assembly includes a rotatable spindle and a slidable piece. Manipulation of the slidable piece rotates the rotatable spindle and activates the mortise lock between the locked and unlocked positions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to locks and locking assemblies. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved locking assembly suitable for the locking of a sliding door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Locks generally used in conjunction with a sliding door typically include a locking element having a beak or tongue which hooks into an opening on a corresponding latch, strike or keeper. Such types of locks can be fairly easy to overcome and often times provide little resistance to unauthorized entry through the sliding door or unauthorized unlocking of the lock itself.
Another problem often associated with locks for sliding doors is the tongue may be in an extended, or locked, position while the door itself is open or ajar. The door may be inadvertently closed while the tongue is extended, thereby causing damage to any one or more of the door, the tongue, the lock as a whole or the adjacent keeper. This can result in the undesirable and potentially expensive repair, or even replacement, of any one or more of the aforementioned components.
Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, an example of a prior art locking assembly used in conjunction with sliding doors is shown and described. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an interior escutcheon or latch 11 in a prior art locking assembly 10 for use with a sliding door (not shown). The interior escutcheon 11 includes a movable locking element 12. The locking element 12 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2.
Locking element 12 includes a locking portion 13 and is movable in an upwardly and downwardly direction for the locking and unlocking of locking assembly 10 in response to movement of a control switch 14. Upon activation in a downwardly direction, locking element 12 secures onto an opening in an adjacent keeper (not shown) to secure the locking assembly and to lock the door. This prior art locking assembly also includes a backup lock 16 for providing additional support to the locking elements as needed or desired, such as at night, or if the house, building, etc. will be vacant for an extended period of time. However, as noted above, one problem with such prior art locking assemblies is that the locking elements can be fairly easily disengaged from the keeper to unlock the door in an unauthorized manner, or can be forced open in a relatively simple manner, even if the backup is activated.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved locking assembly suitable for use with a sliding door and that can easily and inexpensively replace the prior art locking assembly already in place with the sliding door to be locked.