A method of controlling the hydration of a cementitious composition comprising the steps of:. i) providing a cementitious composition containing an amount of a neutralized salt of an alpha-monohydroxy carboxylic acid effective to retard the cementitious composition, said carboxylic acid containing two or more carboxylic acid groups, and subsequently,. ii) adding an additional amount of said neutralized salt of an alpha monohydroxy carboxylic acid or a second neutralized salt of an alpha monohydroxy carboxylic acid in an amount sufficient to activate hydration of the retarded cementitious composition, said cementitious composition comprising hydraulic binder and water.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hydration control of cementitious systems and more particularly to the use of neutralized salts of .alpha.-monohydroxy di- and multifunctional carboxylic acids to obtain hydration control.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hydration control refers to control over the setting time of cement, i.e. controlled retardation followed by subsequent activation of cement hydration. Hydration control is useful in a number of different situations, e.g. in the reclaiming of unused concrete such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,917, in situations where concrete is prepared at a remote location and subsequently transported to the worksite in a set delayed state for reasons of expense and/or convenience such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,832 for cementing operations carried out, e.g. in offshore platform grouting, and in shotcrete applications where long worktimes followed by very rapid set are often required.
Hydration control may be desired from initial mixing or at some later time after hydration has already begun. In the situation where the cementitious composition is prepared at a remote location and then transported to the worksite, retardation is desired from the outset with subsequent activation at some later point. In other situations, e.g. the reclaiming of concrete, hydration of the cement has already begun but needs to be retarded for a period of time, generally overnight or for a weekend, until it is desired to use the concrete.
Hydration control has been achieved in some situations using two different admixtures, i.e. a retarder to delay the set and an accelerator to activate the set of the cementitious system. However, many of the materials commonly employed as retarders are acidic, e.g. gluconic acid, citric acid and phosphoric acid, having a pH of less than 2.5, while most of the traditional accelerators are basic, e.g. strongly alkaline solutions of silicates and aluminates, having a pH greater than 12 and therefore, both admixtures are undesirable from environmental and safety standpoints.

Hydration control of cementitious systems


Systems and methods for analyzing a PCIe network using a graph-theory based analysis are disclosed. A management CPU is coupled to the root complex of the PCIe system and is operable to survey potential CPU-resource combinations in a PCIe system and assign a group of PCIe resources to a CPU. A first switch and a second switch are coupled to the root node, and a first CPU and a first group of PCIe resources are coupled to the first switch. The management CPU assigns a group of PCIe resources to a CPU based on the isolation of the first and second CPUs or a distance between the first and second CPUs and the groups of PCIe resources. According to some embodiments, for potential pairs of devices and NTB/CPUs, the distance between components is assessed, possible alternative paths are identified, and the isolation of the pair is determined.

Various traditional communication and interconnection topologies are used in modern networks to communicate information (e.g., basic tree, fat-tree, CLOS, 2D or 3D torus, etc.). There are also various protocols used in implementing the topologies, such as Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and PCI-Express (PCIe). Some of these protocols may be implemented in relatively simple communication environments or networks. PCIe is one of the most widely used interconnection mechanisms between central processing units (CPUs) and their immediate peripherals. Conventional PCIe environments or networks typically have only a single PCIe root complex. In these limited and confined environments, conventional PCIe approaches attempt to provide a high throughput, low-latency, packet based and switched interconnection technology.

Dynamic assignment of groups of resources in a peripheral component interconnect express network


System and method to select a contact handling mode in a contact center, the method including: receiving, by a communication interface, a contact from a customer; calculating, by a processor of the contact center, an expected wait time by the customer based upon historical contact information stored in a memory of the contact center; calculating an expected cost of queueing the customer for the expected wait time; and selecting the contact handling mode based upon the expected cost of queueing the customer.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to contact center operation, and, in particular, to a system and method to use statistical measures of waiting time to determine the mode of handling that an arriving call should be accorded.
2. Description of Related Art
An incoming call or contact to a conventional contact center is queued while a routing engine of the contact center tries to find the first available agent or resource matching certain criteria in order to handle the call. The calls can be queued in the system for a very long while waiting for an available agent or resource. However, the call while queued occupies resources such as network bandwidth, CPU, etc., which could be used to handled other calls. This results in degraded service offered to customers and can lead to higher operating costs for call center operator. Thus, queued calls incur a cost to the call center operator, and conventionally this cost is ignored by decision making algorithms. The call may result in a financial loss to the contact center if it waits too long in queue.
Therefore, a need exists to provide an improved process to select a mode of handling a customer call, which takes into account the cost of queueing a call, in order to provide greater expected levels of profit for the contact center operator, and ultimately improved customer satisfaction.

System and method for cost-based automatic call distribution with statistically predictable wait time


An information record and playback apparatus configured to perform record and playback operations of an optical disk which is provided with data recording tracks having a surface wobbled at a predetermined frequency and a plurality of prepits formed with a predetermined phase relation to the position for data recording. The apparatus includes at least a demodulation circuit which operates for a predetermined error flag be indicated at the position of the assumed LPP data bit, when the error pattern is detected to be other than xe2x80x981xe2x80x99 or xe2x80x980xe2x80x99, that may be caused, for example, by noise. Erasure correction with the Reed-Solomon code therefore becomes feasible using the error flag. This achieves error correction of a number of errors even using fewer added data, thereby offering advantages in increasing efficiency in the error correction.

1. Field
This patent specification relates to an information record and playback apparatus in use for information recording media such as optical disks, magneto-optical disks and other similar media, and more particularly, to a demodulation circuit in such apparatus configured to carry out address demodulation.
2. Discussion of the Background
In data recording media such as optical disks, for example, it has been known to provide data prefabricated on the disk and include address information utilized for specifying the position for recording data, and information such as synchronization signals and wobbling signals for controlling the disk rotation, and other similar data.
As optical recording media capable of additionally writing (or recording) information data on the basis of these pre-data, also known previously are CD-recordable (CD-R) disks which have the approximately same storage capacity as compact disks (CDs).
The pre-data are in general prepared by forming in advance recording tracks such as grooves and lands for recording information data, in which the pre-data to be recorded are first frequency modulated (FM) to obtains FM signals. Subsequently, the pre-data to be recorded are incorporated into the disk by forming recording tracks to have a wobbling surface with the wobbling frequency corresponding to the FM signal frequency.
In order to additionally record information data into the CD-R disks, a playback apparatus detects wobbling signals from the wobbling pattern on the disk to obtain a wobbling frequency, then extracts standard clock signals for controlling the disk rotation on the basis of the wobbling frequency. In addition, the apparatus generates necessary drive signals for controlling the rotation of a spindle motor in use for the CD-R disk rotation, then generates recording clock signals including timing signals in synchronous with the CD-R disk rotation.
Also in the CD-R disks, address information on the disks needed for information data recording is obtained by first playing back the pre-data during the data recording and subsequently detecting the position to record on the basis of the pre-data, to thereby be able to achieve the recording.
High density recording media have also been put into practical use recently, such as digital video disks or digital versatile disks (DVDs), which has an increased storage capacity over the previous CDs.
Among the higher density storage media exemplified by the DVDs, information data tracks (e.g., grooved tracks) are formed, having the aforementioned wobbling surface on the basis of the frequency corresponding to standard clock signals. This method is used in optical recording media such as write once type DVD recordable (DVD-R) and DVD Rewritable (DVD+RW) media.
Regarding error correction for the pre-data recorded into the DVD-R and DVD+RW disks, it is necessary to add a plurality of data to be utilized in the error correction, since the position and pattern of an error have to be computed. The error correction data are typically exemplified by the Reed-Solomon code which has been in use for not only DVD disks but also CDs and digital audio tapes (DATs).
As the data to be added for the error correction using the Reed-Solomon code, parity words consisting of at least 2t words are necessary for correcting an error of t words.
For example, for land prepit data (which is hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x98LPPxe2x80x99), a parity word consisting of three words is added to an address information data of three words, and one oneword error in the address information can be corrected. In contrast, for the case of address data in pre-groove (which is hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x98ADIPxe2x80x99), a five-words parity word is added to an eight-words address multiplex (MUX) information data, and one two-words error in the address MUX information can be corrected.
As described above, in error correction steps for the address data played back from the DVD type disks, there have previously persisted drawbacks such as low efficiency in the error correction, for example, in which the number of words which is successfully corrected is relatively small compared with the number of added parity words.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide an information record and playback apparatus, having most, if not all, of the advantages and features of similar employed apparatuses, while eliminating many of the aforementioned disadvantages.
It is another object of the present disclosure to provide an information record and playback apparatus which is capable of achieving improved efficiency in error correction for DVD type optical disks.
The following brief description is a synopsis of only selected features and attributes of the present disclosure. A more complete description thereof is found below in the section entitled xe2x80x9cDescription of the Preferred Embodimentsxe2x80x9d
An information record and playback apparatus disclosed herein is configured to perform record and playback operations of an optical disk which is provided with data recording tracks having the surface wobbled at a predetermined frequency and a plurality of prepits formed on the surface with a predetermined phase relation to the position for data recording.
The apparatus includes a preset signal generation unit configured to detect the prepits, and generate and output prepit signals; a data decoding circuit configured to decode the prepit signals, and extract decoded information data; a data error detection unit configured to compare the pattern of information data to that of a predetermined data, and output the decoded information data added with a predetermined error flag, if both of the patterns are not in coincidence each other; and a data error correction unit configured to compute the position of an error on the basis of the error flag and provide error correction to the decoded information data.
The data error correction unit is configured to carry out erasure correction with the Reed-Solomon code prior to error correction of the decoded information data. In addition, the data error correction unit carries out the detection of the position of, and the correction of, error data bits using only data bits demodulated by the data demodulation unit if a number of error flags that is added by the data error detection unit exceeds a predetermined number.
In another aspect disclosed herein, an information record and playback apparatus is configured to perform record and playback operations of an optical disk which is provided with data recording tracks having the surface wobbled so as to be capable of indicating information data by phase inversion according to the dual phase modulation method.
The apparatus includes a wobbling signal generation unit configured to detect wobbling components previously recorded on the data recording track and generate wobbling signals; a data decoding unit configured to phase-demodulate the wobbling signals and extract decoded information data; a data error detection unit configured to integrate the decoded information data for each pattern of the data, compare a data pattern of the decoded information data with a predetermined value to obtain a comparison result, detect an error for the data pattern on the basis of the comparison result, and output the data pattern added with a predetermined error flag; and a data error correction unit configured to compute the position of the error on the basis of an error flag to subsequently provide error correction to the decoded information data.
The data error correction unit is configured to carry out inversion processing of the decoded information data when the decoded information data form a predetermined data pattern, such that the integration value of data pattern reaches either a maximum value or a minimum value, and output the data pattern added with a predetermined error flag if a resultant integration value of the data pattern is obtained between the maximum and minimum values.
In addition, the data error correction unit is configured to carry out erasure correction with the Reed-Solomon code prior to error correction of the decoded information data. Further, the data error correction unit is configured to carry out the detection of the position of, and the correction of error data bits using only data bits demodulated by the data demodulation unit if a number of error flags that is added by the data error detection unit exceeds a predetermined number.

Information record and playback apparatus


An upflow water clarifier for treating a liquid that contains dissolved or suspended solids has a central pier disposed in the center of a conical section angled at an angle of about 40 degrees to about 60 degrees with respect to the horizontal. Water enters the clarifier at the bottom and is removed at the top. The central pier bears at least part of the weight of an observation deck and includes a mechanism for discharging sludge from the clarifier. The pier can also house both a sludge discharge line and an effluent withdrawal line, and as a support for a radial trough used to collect the effluent. The pier may also serve as an aid during construction.

An upflow water clarifier, such as those disclosed in Wyness U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,146,471 and 4,765,891, is a specific type of clarifier that has a prominent conical portion with the larger diameter at the upper end. Typically, the walls of the clarifier are angled at between about 40 degrees and 60 degrees with respect to the horizontal, although angles outside of this range can also be used. Contaminated water enters the clarifier near the lower end, while clarified effluent is removed from near the upper end. Inside, the water is given a rotational movement, often in part by feeding it into the clarifier in a tangential direction, resulting in a generally upward helical flow of the water within the clarifier.
The increasing diameter of the clarifier toward its upper end causes a decrease in velocity of the flow of liquid as it moves upwardly. As the velocity decreases, suspended solids having a higher density than water agglomerate and separate from the water, forming a revolving sludge blanket that remains behind as clarified water continues upward until being withdrawn as clarified effluent.
Conventionally, the effluent has been removed from the clarifier over weirs, and collected at one or more drop boxes at the periphery of the upper end of the clarifier, while sludge is periodically removed through a sludge concentrator located on the central axis of the clarifier. Traditionally, the sludge concentrator has taken the form of a cone suspended from an overhead observation deck that traverses the top of the clarifier, and has been used to concentrate and reduce the volume of the sludge before it is removed.

Upflow water clarifier with central pier


‘NCIV2’ is a new tetraploid cultivar of deciduous holly with a compact, roughly rounded growth habit, and prolific, large, showy orange fruit.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct winterberry holly cultivar hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'NCIV2'. This new holly was developed at North Carolina State University, Mills River, N.C. 'NCIV2' was selected from a population of seedlings grown from an open-pollinated selection of Ilex verticillata (NCSU 1998-538, unpatented, parentage unknown). 'NCIV2' was selected based on its compact form and prolific, large, orange, showy fruit. DNA content of 'NCIV2' was determined using flow cytometry and found to be approximately twice that of I. verticillata 'Winter Red' (unpatented) indicating that 'NCIV2' is a natural tetraploid.
The first asexual propagation of 'NCIV2' was carried out in July 2008 by rooting stem cuttings at the North Carolina State University, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station, Mills River, N.C. and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings over a 7 year period. 'NCIV2' roots readily from softwood cuttings treated with a basal dip of 2,500-5,000 ppm indole butyric acid (potassium salt) in water. 'NCIV2' has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.


Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with the present invention provide an improved query server that overcomes the shortcomings of existing domain name searching techniques by performing a multitude of searches simultaneously, transparent to the user. Specifically, the improved query server searches for existing domain name records in various domains and then displays the results in a formatted manner, thus eliminating the need for a user to perform individual searches.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to data processing systems and, more particularly, to a method for determining if an Internet domain name has been registered in a specific domain.
B. Description of the Related Art
Internet domain names are related to Internet Protocol (IP) numerical addresses. Every xe2x80x9chostxe2x80x9d that is linked directly to the Internet (e.g., computers) must be identified by a specific IP numerical address. Data transmission over the Internet is in fact accomplished by directing the data to such numerical addresses. An IP address includes four numbers separated by periods. Currently, each number must be between 0 and 255.
Numerical addresses, however, are difficult for humans to remember. Consequently, a domain name may be used as part of what amounts to a type of mnemonic for that IP address. For example, the domain name infoway.com, forms part of ns.infoway.com, which is an easier-to-remember mnemonic for the host located at IP address 188.8.131.52. In this way, the mnemonic is at least roughly analogous to the letters that are sometimes used to signify a specific telephone number, e.g., 1-800-FLOWERS is a mnemonic for 1-800-356-9377.
The availability of Internet domain names (e.g., xe2x80x9cibm.com,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cmicrosoft.com,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cnetscape.com,xe2x80x9d etc.) is now a significant business issue, because a domain name is the identifier by which an individual, a company, a governmental entity, an educational institution, etc. (referred to collectively as simply xe2x80x9ccompaniesxe2x80x9d) can be found on the Internet.
As is well known in the art, minor variations in a name can be registered with the InterNIC as domain names. The InterNIC, is a registration service for registering domain names located at Network Solutions, Inc., Herndon, Va. For example, it has been reported that the domain names 1-800-DENTIST.COM and 1800DENTISTCOM are owned by two different entities.
In addition, companies. that have, or aspire to have, an international Internet presence must keep in mind the domain name scheme in other countries. For example, it has been reported that xe2x80x9capple.comxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9capple.co.ukxe2x80x9d are owned by different companies, as arexe2x80x9capple.netxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9capple.org.xe2x80x9d
Domain names are specific to a domain, which is a geographic area defined at a global-level or at a country-level. A global-level domain covers all countries worldwide. Examples of global-level domains include .com, .edu, .gov, and .org. A country-level domain covers only a given country. Examples of country-level domains include .us for the United States and .fr for France. Additionally, country-level domains may contain an indication of a sub-domain within the domain. When a sub-domain is specified for a domain name, the domain name is recognized only in that sub-domain and not the domain that it is a part of.
The term xe2x80x9cdomain name systemxe2x80x9d (DNS) refers to a distributed database that is responsible for translating the Internet names into numerical addresses (e.g., 22.214.171.124), routing mail to its proper destination and many other services. The DNS comprises DNS servers or other machines that runs software permitting it to query a database (hosted either locally or on another machine) referred to as a DNS database. The DNS database contains records associating particular domain names with specific Internet Protocol (IP) numerical addresses (e.g., 22.214.171.124).
A user that wishes to check the availability of a domain name in, for example, five different countries will typically submit a separate Whois query, or its equivalent, to the domain-name registration authority in each country. Whois queries provide a way of finding registering organization names, e-mail addresses, administrative technical and billing contacts, postal addresses, and telephone numbers, of those who have registered domain names. Whois is available for use from xe2x80x9chttp://rs.intemic.org,xe2x80x9d and available for download at xe2x80x9chttp://www.shareware.com.xe2x80x9d The queries might be automated to the extent that the countries in question support automated electronic queries (e.g., via a Web browser form), but in other countries the queries must be initiated by some other means, e.g., FAX, mail, email, phone call, etc. In either case, to perform a query for registered domain names in multiple countries, a user would have to submit a separate search request to each domain, thus making the searching process very time-consuming and cumbersome. It is therefore desirable to improve systems that search for domain names.
Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with the present invention provide an improved query server that overcomes the shortcomings of existing domain name searching techniques by performing a multitude of searches simultaneously, transparent to the user. Specifically, the improved query server searches for an existing domain name records in various domains and then displays the results in a formatted manner, thus eliminating the need for a user to perform individual searches.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided in a data processing system with DNS servers, each responsible for maintaining registration records of domain names for an associated domain. This method receives user input containing a domain name and specified ones of the domains, transmits a request for a search of the domain names to the DNS servers associated with the specified domains, receives search results from the DNS servers associated with the specified domains, and displays the search results. The search results indicate, for each of the specified domains, whether a domain name record exists in the specified domain.

Method of determining unavailability of an internet domain name


A portable content playback device that includes the ability to accept a media with electronic playback credits, i.e. a smart card, that is pre-loaded with credits. Alternatively, the device may have internal memory that is capable of storing electronic credits. Consequently, when a user plays the content that is protected so that it may only be played only in a “pay per play” application credits are deducted from the media that manages the amount of electronic credits available to the user.

With the advancement of E-Commerce and Electronic Music Distribution (EMD), users will purchase content over the Internet and record the content on media at their remote, or home location. One proposed business model for EMD is "pay per play." whereby a user will only pay for content to the extent that the content is played by the user. While this model may be easy to implement in the home environment, where content playback equipment can be connected through a network that monitors the number of plays, a problem is how to implement "pay per play" in the portable player environment.
For purposes of this document, the term "content" can be interpreted to mean music content, video content, computer software content, computer gaming content and similar types of content which can be downloaded from the Internet. The term "media" or "recording media" or similar terms are intended to encompass tape, disc, magnetic, optical, magneto-optical, silicon and other storage technologies which can be adapted to store digital representations of content.

Portable music player with pay per play usage and method for purchase of credits for usage


A recognition training apparatus according to the present invention includes a generation unit configured to generate relevance between a specific domain and a candidate of a recognition target based on ontology information expressing a concept structure of the specific domain, a selection unit configured to select the recognition target from the candidate of the recognition target based on the relevance generated by the generation unit, and a training unit configured to train a recognizer using training data regarding the recognition target selected by the selection unit.

Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a technique for training a recognizer which recognizes a recognition target from data.
Description of the Related Art
Recently, there are services which analyze activity patterns of people and crowds or detect and report specific events from moving image data pieces captured by monitoring cameras. In order to realize the services, recognition techniques of machine training are essential which can detect attributes of objects such as persons or vehicles, types of actions such as walking or running, and types of personal belongings such as bags or baskets from moving image data pieces captured by monitoring cameras. The services are used in various environments such as, nursing-care facilities, ordinary homes, public facilities such as stations and city areas, and stores like supermarkets and convenience stores. In addition, there are various needs of users to the services even in the same environment. Therefore, flexible and highly accurate recognition techniques of machine training are required which are applicable to various environments and use cases.
A technique for realizing flexible and highly accurate recognition by machine training is described in Ross Girshick, Jeff Donahu, Trevor Darrel, and Jitendra Malik, 2014, "Rich feature hierarchies for accurate object detection and semantic segmentation", IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) (hereinbelow, referred to as the non-patent literature 1). According to the technique described in the non-patent literature 1, first, general-purpose convolutional neural networks (hereinbelow, abbreviated as CNN) which is applicable to 1000 categories are trained in advance using large-scale supervised data pieces such as ImageNet. After the training, the number of categories are limited according to specific needs of a user, and training is performed in detail. The training in advance and the training in detail are respectively referred to as pre-training and fine-tuning. There is an advantage that pre-training of the CNN which requires an enormous number of parameters enables obtainment of a highly accurate recognizer corresponding to the specific needs in a relatively short time in the fine-tuning. In addition, since large-scale data pieces are used in the pre-training, it is expected that an issue that the enormous number of parameters overfit a specific recognition target can be reduced.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-31637 describes a method for selecting any one of a plurality of pre-trained hierarchal neural networks and performing fine-tuning thereon using an input impression degree in prediction of an impression of a musical piece determined by a human sensitivity.
However, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-31637 uses a structure of the common hierarchal neural network in the pre-training and the fine-tuning. Thus, it is difficult to flexibly change a recognition target according to a user needs.
On the other hand, according to the technique described in the non-patent literature 1, the number of outputs of the CNN can be changed, so that a recognition target can be flexibly changed in the pre-training and the fine-tuning. However, it is not necessarily the case that 1000 categories of ImageNet which are the recognition targets of the pre-training cover a need of a user who will use the CNN in the future. If the needs is not covered in the pre-training, an enormous number of parameters is required to be learned again in the fine-tuning, and benefits from the pre-training namely shortening of a training time and avoidance of overfit cannot be reaped. The pre-training can be performed on every recognition target by further increasing the number of categories to avoid the issue, however, a further enormous number of parameters is required to recognize innumerable recognition targets. However, a recognition target finally required by a user is small in scale in some cases, and there is an issue that an unnecessarily complicated CNN is trained in many cases. On the other hand, a great labor is required to manually select a recognition target used in the pre-training from innumerable recognition targets in consideration of a user needs.

Recognition training apparatus, recognition training method, and storage medium


A touch pad for an electronic device is provided. The touch pad includes a circuit board member; and a detection member mounted in at least one area of the circuit board member to detect a user's contact, wherein the detection member includes a plurality of film layers; and detection patterns disposed on at least two adjacent film layers, among the plurality of film layers, so as to be misaligned with each other, wherein the detection patterns at least partially overlap each other.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to a touch pad for an electronic device that can minimize interference between an antenna device and the touch pad.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic devices have been provided to enable users to execute various functions. With the enhancement of multimedia functions using portable electronic devices, the electronic devices have been equipped with large display devices, and with the common use of high-capacity and high-speed wireless communication, various functions have been integrated into one electronic device, for example, one mobile communication terminal.
In addition, considering portability, compactness and weight reduction of electronic devices have been indispensably required. Physical keypads have been removed from electronic devices on account of touch screen functions of display devices. As a result, electronic devices have become smaller and slimmer. However, as electronic devices are equipped with large display devices for multimedia functions, such as reproduction of videos, etc., compactness and weight reduction of portable terminals are inevitably focused on a reduction in the thickness thereof.
However, there is a difficulty in ensuring the installation space of an antenna device while making an electronic device compact and light. For example, an antenna device is generally installed on other circuit components in a stack structure. In this case, the antenna device has to be separated from the other circuit components by a sufficient distance in order to maintain the radiation characteristic of the antenna device. However, there is a limitation in mounting the antenna device with a sufficient distance from the other circuit components due to the nature of a portable electronic device. In addition, it is not easy to ensure a separate space that does not overlap the other circuit components in the electronic device having modules mounted thereon for various functions.
Accordingly, the antenna device and the circuit components are disposed close to each other in a stack structure. In this case, the radiation power of the antenna device or the performance of the circuit components (for example, a touch pad) has to be regulated in order to prevent a radiation signal of the antenna device from being blocked or distorted. However, this leads to a degradation in the performance of the antenna device or the circuit components.


An apparatus for leaving space between paper and a head of an ink-jet printer includes a plurality of paper insertion angle change ribs located in front of a paper guide for controlling the paper raised. The paper guide is mounted at the front side of a deflector guide of the head. Therefore, the angle of the paper inserted to the head is changed, as the place where the paper curls up is changed. As a result, maximum space between the paper and the head is attained. The head is not contacted with the paper, and thus is not stained with ink on the paper so that there is the improvement of reliability of products.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for leaving space between paper and a head of an ink-jet printer. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus preventing the head from inappropriately staining paper with ink by preventing inadvertent contact between the paper and the head.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There are various kinds of paper for printing, such as papers of elasticities of 24 pounds, 20 pounds (regarded as being strong paper) and 16 pounds (regarded as being weak paper). When a paper with weak elasticity is used as a print medium, the head may inappropriately stain the paper with ink. On this matter, exemplars of the contemporary art include U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,301 issued to Martin et al. discussing "a system for use in an ink-jet printer having a printhead and an opposing platen capable of movement toward and away from the printer's printhead to define a record media gap therebetween." The system has a record media detector 24. The detector "includes mounting bosses 24a which are captured by hinge member 22b so as to pivotally mount the detector to record media guide 22. U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,188 issued to Castellano discusses "a head [which] comprises a closed container carrying internal and external electrodes and a nozzle and is mounted removably on a carriage on which it is held by a permanent magnet in such a way that the head bears with the external electrode against a metal sheet." A protuberance "adjacent to the nozzle" presses against the metal sheet "which in turn presses the paper against a platen." The protuberance establishes "the jet-to-paper spacing." U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,430 issued to Jones et al. discuss "a print head tilt angle positioner [which] includes a scroll cam, a tilt arm, a flexure, a tilt angle adjuster, and a biasing spring." This is part of a machine "to control the distance of the print head from the image receiving drum." U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,744 issued to Niikura et al. discuss "a recording apparatus for recording information with a recording head having a plurality of recording elements while keeping a designated distance between the recording head and a recording medium [which] has an information acquisition device for acquiring distance information between the plurality of recording elements and the recording medium." U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,094 issued to Tanaka et al. discuss "a leaf plate [which] is disposed in abutment, through a guide path of printing paper, with a feed roller whose peripheral surface is in contact with the guide path." By bringing the transported printing paper to the projections, "thus, the distance between the nose portion of the ink jet head and the printing paper in the printing position is made uniform and the quality of printing is improved." U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,151 issued to Martin et al. discuss "a printer mechanism to control pen-to-print medium spacing during printing." The platen includes ribs adapted for "reducing uncontrolled bending of the print medium in the print zone." The ribs "preferably extend parallel" to a direction of travel of the print medium. From my study of these exemplars of the contemporary practice and the art, I find that there is a need for an improved and effective apparatus preventing the head from inappropriately staining paper with ink by preventing inadvertent contact between the paper and the head.

Apparatus for leaving space between paper and head of ink-jet printer


A device for mixing compressed air and abrasive and providing the air/abrasive mixture to a delivery gun for use in artistic abrasive blasting. The device is provided with a vessel having an upper chamber for holding abrasive. Compressed air is supplied to a head space located in the upper chamber above the abrasive. An air delivery line extends from the head space to a mixing chamber located below the upper chamber in order to supply compressed air thereto. An adjustable mixing valve admits abrasive from the upper chamber into the mixing chamber where the abrasive is mixed with the compressed air before it exits the mixing chamber on its way to the delivery gun.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a device for mixing air and abrasive for use in artistically etching glass by abrasive blasting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various means are employed to etch designs into glass. One means is to employ a chemical etching agent, such as hydrofluoric acid on the portion of glass to be etched. Chemical etching agents do not provide adequate control over the degree of etching achieved in order to be practical for artistic etching. Also, use of hydrofluoric acid presents potential health and safety concerns as it will aggressively attach human tissues if the user accidentally gets the hydrofluoric acid on his body.
Another means which is widely used to etch glass is a grinding wheel, usually a copper wheel, which can-be used to cut the glass. This means is generally employed to produce fine cut glass and lead crystal pieces.
A means which has more recently appeared for etching glass is to use various types of heated materials which are applied to the glass in order to chip the glass thermally.
A final means which is used to etch glass is by abrasive blasting. Various mixing devices have been employed to mix a pressurized carrier, such as air, with an abrasive, such as sand, so that the mixture of air and abrasive can be delivered where it is needed in order to etch the glass. In order to do artistic abrasive etching, it is critical to be able to precisely control the ratio of air to abrasive flowing from the delivery gun during the entire time the delivery gun is activated. Also, the flows of abrasive and air must be adjusted in order to achieve varying degrees of etching depth. Specifically, the abrasive rate of flow has to be simultaneously varied from a low rate of about 2 ounces per minute for shadow etching up to a maximum rate of about 14 pounds per minute for deep etching, and the air pressure has to be varied from a low pressure of about 3 pounds per square inch (psi) up to a maximum pressure of about 50 psi.
Controlling the differential pressure across the mixing valve is also critical so that pressure in the mixing chamber is always less than or equal to, but is never greater than, the pressure on the abrasive contained in the vessel. If the differential pressure is not properly maintained, flow of abrasive ceases because flow through the mixing valve is reversed, sending air from the mixing chamber, through the mixing valve and into the vessel, instead of allowing the normal flow to occur, i.e., flow of abrasive from the vessel, through the mixing valve and into the mixing chamber.
The present invention is capable of producing consistently correct air to abrasive ratios in its air/abrasive mixture over a wide range of abrasive flow rates and air pressures while constantly maintaining proper differential pressures across the mixing valve. The present invention controls the ratio of air to abrasive flow by three means. First, the ratio is controlled by controlling air flow to a head space of the vessel by means of an adjustable air regulator. Second, the ratio is controlled by controlling the abrasive flow from the vessel to the mixing chamber. The abrasive flow is controlled by means of an adjustable mixing valve and by means of the differential pressure created between the mixing chamber and the vessel which are connected via an air delivery line extending from the vessel's head space to the mixing chamber. The air delivery line supplies air to the mixing chamber and insures that the differential pressure between the vessel's head space and the mixing valve is either positive, i.e., the head space's air pressure exceeds the mixing chamber's air pressure, as when abrasive blasting is being performed, or zero, i.e., the head space's air pressure is the same as the mixing chamber's air pressure, as when abrasive blasting has ceased. And third, the ratio is controlled by limiting the amount of abrasive which accumulates in the mixing chamber when abrasive blasting is temporarily suspended, thus preventing an increased proportion of abrasive from being included in the air/abrasive mixture when abrasive blasting resumes.
Important objectives of the present invention include the provision of a mixing device capable of having flows of both air and abrasive easily adjusted while the device is in service, a mixing device which prevents significant buildup of abrasive in its mixing chamber when abrasive blasting is temporarily suspended, a mixing device which will consistently deliver a given air to abrasive ratio, a mixing device which constantly maintains a desirable differential pressure across its mixing value and a mixing device with a straight mixing chamber in order to reduce abrasion to the device by the air/abrasive mixture.


A modulator circuit for a switching regulator including first and second ramp generators, a comparator circuit and a reset circuit. The switching regulator provides a compensation voltage indicative of output voltage error. The ramp generators generate leading- and trailing-edge ramp voltages which are compared to the compensation voltage for determining pulses on a pulse modulation signal. The reset circuit prevents the leading-edge ramp voltage from resetting if the leading-edge ramp voltage has not reached the compensation voltage while ramping. The reset circuit further clamps the leading-edge ramp voltage until the pulse modulation signal is asserted again. In a multiphase configuration, each leading-edge ramp voltage is suspended if any leading-edge ramp voltage is clamped. An offset voltage may be added to the compensation, leading-edge, or trailing-edge voltages when a mode select signal indicates a reduced load condition. The offset voltage may be adjusted based on various operating conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to switching regulators and, more particularly, to regulator controllers and associated control schemes for switching regulators between PWM and PFM modes of operation for improved efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
Voltage regulators convert voltage from a source, such as AC (alternating current) power or a rechargeable battery, to provide the proper voltage levels for electrical circuits and components of an electronic device. Many electronic devices operate under a variety of load conditions in which the voltage regulator maintains the desired voltages with variable load current. It is desired to improve efficiency of the electronic device during variable load conditions and transitions between different operating modes.

Method and apparatus for efficient transitioning between different operating modes of a regulator


Cracking of crude oil or crude oil residues is accomplished in an adiabatic reactor which follows a partial combustion zone with the injection of superheated or shift steam into the combustion gases.. Advantages are that the carbon monoxide produced by partial combustion is converted to carbon dioxide which is easily removed, there is no need to supply a separate source of fuel or hydrogen, and coke formation is substantially eliminated. The cracked oil produced in the process can be used as a quench oil and/or fuel to feed the partial combustion zone. The yields of olefins and aromatics is increased over processes using superheated steam cracking.

This invention relates to a process for the cracking of crude oil using partial combustion gases wherein superheated steam, crude oil and oxygen are injected into a partial combustion zone at one or more points.
It is known in the prior art that crude oil and other hydrocarbon fractions may be thermally cracked by mixing superheated steam and the oil together and allowing the pyrolysis to proceed adiabatically. See, for example, French Pat. No. 1,577,043 dated Aug. 1, 1969, and S. Araki, et al. "Pyrolysis of Hydrocarbons Using Superheated Steam as Heat Carrier", World Petroleum Congress, Moscow, USSR. (September, 1971). These processes allow crude and heavy hydrocarbon fractions, which would foul conventional tubes, to be cracked and have the advantage that the steam diluent and heat carrier may be readily condensed from the products and a savings is thereby made as only the product gases need to be compressed for separation. Among the disadvantages of these processes are expense associated with the generation of the superheated steam in the 1699.degree. to 2000.degree. C. range generally required. Also among the by-products formed in the cracking process are heavy aromatic liquids and coke which foul reactors and heat exchangers and which contain high quantities of sulfur and metals which must be disposed of. Some of the problems associated with the generation of superheated steam have apparently been solved by using a hydrogen burner to generate high temperature gases, but the yields that may be obtained in this manner are still low and the by-products still remain a problem.
Other process for pyrolysis of heavy hydrocarbons involve the use of a partial or complete combustion burner, where the crude oil or fractions thereof to be cracked is sprayed into the hot gases from the burner. Examples of these are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,244,636; 2,698,830; 2,912,475; 3,178,488; 3,236,763; 3,408,417; British Pat. No. 1,440,424; and Belgium Pat. No. 838,290. These processes avoid some of the problems associated with the generation of high temperature steam and (when partial combustion is used) also produce hydrogen gas which lowers the heat requried for cracking, increases ethylene yield, and aromatics yield, and reduced coke formation. See, for example, Kunugi, et al. "Pyrolysis of Hydrocarbons in Hydrogenselective Production of Ethylene" World Petroleum Congress (1967).
The main disadvantage of these processes is that large quantities of non-condensable gases (especially carbon monoxide) are produced, which must be compressed to be removed. This involves a considerable cost for large compressors and large size separation equipment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,824 a process is disclosed in which crude oil is first distilled to separate asphaltic components. The distillate is then cracked using partial combustion gases from a methane burner to generate ethylene with recycling of the asphaltic components to the burner. The main disadvange of this process appears to be the generation of pitch which must be disposed of.

Crude oil cracking using partial combustion gases


The present disclosure discloses a lid, including a lid body with a hole; an elastic sleeve having a bore extending therethrough, a part of the elastic sleeve extending through the hole, the elastic sleeve elastically deformable between a torsional state and a non-torsional state; an elastic spout extending through the bore of the elastic sleeve, the elastic spout being open when the elastic sleeve is in the non-torsional state and being deformed to close when the elastic sleeve is in the torsional state; a rotating member configured for twisting the elastic sleeve to the torsional state; a locking member having a locking state for keeping the elastic sleeve in the torsional state, and a releasing state for allowing the elastic sleeve to return to the non-torsional state; and an elastic member interacting with the locking member for driving the locking member to remain in the locking state.

In the prior art, a container with a spout is widely used. The container generally includes a lid and a container body connected to each other. The spout is inserted and fixed on the lid. When the container is accidentally tilted or tipped over, the liquid will fall out through the spout, spilling on the table or splashing the user, causing inconvenience to the user.

Zhejiang Haoda Science & Technology Co., Ltd


A stereoplotter with carriages and two distinct lens systems for viewing a pair of overlapping aerial photographic transparencies positioned on the carriages to produce a three dimensional optical model visible at the binocular viewer of the stereoplotter. The carriages are independently adjustable in two directions, and respond to both manual and computer control. A floating mark, or reticle, is introduced into the plane of the photographic transparency by each lens system. The operator, by manipulating manual or other controls, moves the floating marks into an apparently fused, or overlapping relationship, and then moves the fused mark along the surface of the optical model to generate a moving trace in X, Y and Z coordinates.. Panoramic aerial photographs have posed significant problems for known stereoplotters, for an overlapping pair of photographs, to be viewed without distortion, required different magnification for each lens system. The different magnifications, however, caused one floating mark, or the other, to change size relative to the amount of magnification and therefore to overlap or obliterate its counterpart so that the Z coordinate of the optical model could not be accurately determined.. The instant invention interconnects the zoom lens and reticle utilized in each lens system in the stereoplotter in such a manner that the magnification of the zoom lens is inversely related to the effective area of the variable area diaphragm, the projected image of which constitutes the floating mark, or reticle. Consequently, if the magnification of the zoom lens is doubled, the effective area of the variable area diaphragm is halved, and vice versa.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to lens systems for use in stereoplotters, and more particularly to an adjustable lens system wherein a zoom lens and a reticle, or floating mark, of the lens system are adjustably interconnected in an inverse relationship.
2. Prior Art
Aerial photography has gained widespread acceptance as the most efficient manner of surveying large geographic areas, including terrain that is inaccessible from the ground. The photographs previously were taken in rapid fire, consecutive fashion from a camera mounted in an airplace, with fixed lens and a cone providing a point perspective geometry. The resulting overlapping photographs were subsequently viewed and analyzed stereoscopically. The distortions in the photographs, which are due to the curved surface of the earth, ground elevations, film shrinkage, atmospheric refraction, tilt, tip or swing of the plane, etc., are rectified by diverse optical, mechanical or electrical techniques so that the end product closely approximates an orthogonal projection, or othophotograph.
In recent years, earth satellite devices and extremely high altitude airplanes equipped with panoramic cameras have provided mappers and remote sensing experts with extraordinary high resolution photographs permitting a quantum jump in capability for observing and mapping of the earth's surface. Unfortunately, the panoramic photograph, being a line perspective rather than a point perspective of the older and more conventional type photography, presented to the photogrammetric instrument designer a more complex problem. With point perspective photography of the conventional mapping procedure, homologous images appearing on the overlapping stereoscopic pair of photos, have the same approximate scale, and therefore stereoscopic observation is accomplished binocularly at a fixed common magnification.
In the case of panoramic photography, homologous images can vary considerably in scale. Thus, it is essential in order to obtain satisfactory stereoscopic observation that the binocular observation optics have independent variable magnification for each of the two optical trains.
Stereoplotting instruments are available to accomodate panoramic stereo pairs, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,555 granted Jan. 7, 1964, to U. V. Helava. However, this instrument and others of a like nature suffer from a defect which seriously limits the performance of the concept insofar as permitting accurate observation and measurement commensurate with the wealth of data inherent in the photographs.
To view a pair of overlapping photographs, either conventional or panoramic photographs, one photographic transparency is placed on a first translatable carriage and the second photographic transparency is placed on a second carriage. A separate optical train is provided for each carriage, and a binocular viewer is situated at the front of the stereoplotter for viewing the optical model created by the overlapping area of the photographic transparencies. Handwheels or other manual controls enable the operator to adjust a floating dot, or reticle, introduced into the field of each photographic transparency until the pair of dots fuse, or overlap completely, as seen through the binocular viewer.
In order to adjust the floating mark for each photographic transparency, a zoom lens is utilized in each lens system. However, in known stereoplotters, when the zoom lens magnifies the image passing therethrough toward one eyepiece of the binocular viewer, the floating mark is enlarged proportionately. Thus, the floating mark associated with one lens system is much larger than the other floating mark, and difficulty is encountered in causing the marks to fuse. Alternately, the disparities in the sizes of the floating marks causes distortions and errors in the tracing of the optical model. Such shortcomings have retarded the use of panoramic photographic transparencies taken from a satellite or very high altitude airplane as an accurate aerial surveying tool.

Interconnected, adjustable zoom lens and reticle utilized in lens systems for stereoplotter


A storage system for vertical and horizontal storage of hangered apparel includes first and second chains having inwardly directed pins. Rods for mounting on the pins include a first fixed end have a bore to mount on one pin and a second retractable end having a bore to mount on the second pin. An actuator tube is mounted over the second end of the rod and is affixed to the sliding retractable end by pins extending through slots in the rod. When the actuator tube is slid inwardly, the end is retracted so that the rod can be mounted first on the one pin on the fixed end and then positioned over the second pin. The actuator is then slid outwardly to mount the rod. A spring biases the retractable end outward.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a storage retrieval system, and more particularly, pertains to an apparel storage system for apparel or other items where removable rods are conveyed vertically and horizontally about the interior of the storage system via opposing track systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Basic apparel storage usually has included simple devices, such as a wheeled bar assembly giving little though to compactness or vertical space usage. Often personnel would require the dangerous use of items, such as chairs, stools or stepladders to gain access to hangered apparel stored on multi-level racks, thus causing concern about the safety of carriage of often heavily loaded cloths racks downwardly from a lofty perch. Other systems provide for preselection of hangered items or for horizontal storage or movement of the hangered items.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing an apparel storage system which has excellent ground level accessibility and which also provides for both horizontal and vertical storage and compactness of storage due to efficient vertical and horizontal space utilization.


When a video signal including a component modulated onto a subcarrier (such as a PAL signal) is subjected to a non-linear pre-emphasis known for MAC signals, with the object of reducing the effects of noise encountered in transmitting the composite signal through an f.m. channel, problems of noise and differential gain remain. These problems are overcome by subjecting the composite signal to a filtering step, before application of the non-linear processing, so as to filter out the subcarrier, the chrominance subcarrier in a PAL signal, and to compand the chrominance sidebands. Preferably a notch filter is used which has a notch shaped as a Gaussian curve.

1. Field of the Invention
When PAL or other similar subcarrier based video signals are transmitted through a satellite or other f.m. channel, the resulting chrominance signal to noise ratio is generally less than the luminance signal to noise ratio. This arises because of the triangular noise spectrum which results in high noise density around the colour subcarrier frequency (see FIG. 1).
This invention relates to a method for applying non linear pre-emphasis and de-emphasis in such a way that both the luminance and chrominance signal to noise ratios can be improved. The sensitivity of the signal to interference is also improved by the application of this technique.
2. Prior Art
Non linear pre/de-emphasis has been developed for MAC packet family signals. See, for example the E7 technique described in EBU Technical Document 3258. The signal is split into two frequency bands using high pass and low pass filters. The high frequency components are subjected to a non linear processing and then re-combined with the un-modified low frequency components. FIG. 2a shows de-emphasis circuit configurations which require only one filter. The complementary filter is produced by subtraction of the low pass or high pass filter output from the input signal. The non linearity, N, is generally of the form shown in FIG. 2b, which may be expressed by the following equation: EQU V.sub.o =Ve.sup.(q/KTM)(Vi-Vo) -Ve.sup.-(q/KTM)(Vi-Vo)
where
V.sub.o =voltage output from transfer function PA0 V.sub.i =voltage input to transfer function PA0 T=absolute temperature PA0 K=Boltzmann's constant PA0 q=charge on the electron PA0 and V and M are shape factors.
When the complementary non-linear pre-emphasis technique (using similar filters F.sub.1 or F.sub.2, and a non-linear function N.sup.-1) is used on a signal, the effect is to boost the level of low level signals occurring at high frequencies, leaving high level signals at these frequencies substantially unaffected. If the pre-emphasised signal passes through an f.m. channel noise will disproportionately affect the high frequencies in the signal, as mentioned above. When the signal is subsequently de-emphasised the noise affecting low level signals at high frequency will be reduced in level along with the low level signals. The noise affecting high level signals at high frequency is not altered.
If such a technique is applied to a signal including a subcarrier, such as a PAL signal, the absence of a noise improvement for high level high frequency signals is a significant problem for the signal modulating the subcarrier, e.g. the chrominance signal. This is because the noise affecting high level high frequency luminance is masked by the high frequency variation of the signal itself, whereas the chrominance signal is at high frequencies because of its modulation on a subcarrier, rather than because of intrinsic high frequency variation occurring in the chrominance, and so when colour saturation is high (i.e. for high level chrominance) there will not be a masking effect to hide the noise.
A second problem is that the effect of the pre-emphasis network would be to produce large amounts of differential gain, i.e. the gain would vary depending on the chrominance subcarrier level. Conventional receivers cannot adjust to gain changes which are level dependent and so a subcarrier based signal pre-emphasised in the known manner would not be compatible with conventional receivers. Receivers not equipped with the de-emphasis circuit would display a seriously impaired picture.
One way of overcoming these problems would be to apply non-linear pre-emphasis to the YUV components before PAL coding. The de-emphasis would be applied to the YUV components after de-coding. This has the problem that three circuits are required in the receiver. Additionally, these signals may not be available in the receiver. It is the object of this invention to provide a non linear de-emphasis which can be implemented using a single circuit applied to a composite waveform, e.g.
signal, in such a way that it can provide both luminance and chrominance noise improvement, preferably in a compatible way so that existing receivers not employing the de-emphasis circuitry will produce an essentially unimpaired picture.

Compatible non linear pre-emphasis for composite video signals


Disclosed is a laser beam welding technique which can be utilized to accomplish clad welding and repair of the internal surface of a tube. The technique uses the addition of filler metal to build up the internal surface of the tube. The apparatus includes a laser energy source connected to an elongated weld head by an optical fiber. The elongated weld head is rotatable and contains a mirror canted at a forty-five (45) degree angle. The laser beam generated by the laser source enters the weld head through a rotary joint, passes through focusing lenses, and is reflected to the interior surface of the damaged tube by the canted mirror. Means are provided to rotate the weld head which causes the beam to travel circumferentially around the interior of the tube. Means are also provided to feed metal fill material to the location where the focused beam contacts the interior surface of the tube. The result is a smooth clad welding repair on the inside surface of the tube which restores the strength of the tube and leaves no crevices for future corrosion attack. In addition, the internal diameter of the tube is very close to the original diameter of the tube thus obviating pressure drop associated with the sleeving type repair and allowing for subsequent repair of the tube at positions beyond the first area of repair.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the repair of heat exchanger tubes and, more particularly, to the laser weld repair of steam generator tubes in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant.
2. Description of Related Art
In nuclear power plants utilizing the pressurized water reactor cycle, heat is released in the reactor from the fission of nuclear fuel. The heat is removed from the reactor by continuously circulating fluid called reactor coolant. After being heated in the reactor, the coolant flows to a heat exchanger, commonly referred to as the steam generator, where it gives up heat and then returns to the reactor for further heating. In the steam generator, the nuclear reactor coolant heats a secondary water which is then used to drive a steam turbine. After exhausting from the steam turbine, the steam is condenser and returned to the steam generator for further heating by the reactor coolant. The reactor-steam generator coolant loop is normally referred to as the primary loop and the steam generator-turbine loop is usually referred to as the secondary loop.
The steam generator is typically a shell and tube type heat exchanger with the primary coolant passing through the inside of the heat exchanger tubes and the secondary water passing over the outside surface of the tubes and contained by the shell of the heat exchanger. Heat transfer from the reactor coolant to the secondary water occurs over most of the length of the tubes. To effect a seal at the end of the tubes, and thus prevent mixing of the reactor coolant and the secondary water, the ends of the tubes are connected to a tube sheet comprising a flat plate with apertures therethrough for receiving the ends of the tubes. The ends of the tubes are either seal welded to the tube sheet or expanded in the apertures to effect a sealed joint. The peripheral edges of the tube sheet are sealed to the shell of the steam generator and to a reactor coolant water box.
Steam generators are usually oriented such that the tubes generally run in a vertical direction and can be of the straight through or return flow type. In the straight through type steam generator, the tubes are straight and connected to tube sheets at both ends. The reactor coolant enters a water box at the top of the steam generator, flows through the tubes and is collected in a water box at the bottom of the steam generator. More common is the return flow type steam generator in which the tubes are an inverted "U" shape having both ends connected to the same tube sheet at the bottom of the steam generator. The water box below the tube sheet contains a division plate oriented to effectively seal that portion of the tube sheet containing tube inlets from that portion containing outlets. In this manner, reactor coolant flows into the inlet portion of the water box, through the inverted "U" tubes and into the outlet portion of the water box. In either the straight through or return type steam generator, the tubes are very long and require support along their length. This is accomplished by positioning support plates within the shell of the heat exchanger at various positions along the length of the tubes. The support plates contain apertures through which the tubes pass and have their peripheral edges connected to the shell of the steam generator.
To facilitate installation of the tubes and to allow for differential thermal expansion between the tubes and the shell, the apertures in the support plates are oversized to allow sliding of the tube relative to the support plate. However, the apertures in the plate must be small enough to provide adequate horizontal support for the tubes and to prevent excessive tube vibration during operation. Thus crevices are formed between the support plates and the tubes. These crevices collect debris and corrosion products during operation of the steam generator thereby promoting crevice corrosion, In addition, the joints between the tubes and the tube sheet previously described contain crevices which lead to crevice corrosion.
Steam generator tubes are susceptible to several types of corrosion mechanisms that can ultimately lead to leakage or significant wall thinning. These include primary water stress corrosion cracking,, secondary side intergranular attack, secondary intergranular stress corrosion cracking and secondary side wastage. Primary side degradation typically occurs at locations of high tensile residual stress such as expansion transition areas, inner row U-bends, and tube support locations. Secondary side degradation occurs at locations where impurities can concentrate, providing corrosion sites, such as tube-to-tube sheet crevices, tube support plate-to-tube interfaces, anti-vibration bars interfaces, and sludge pile regions. Current mitigation techniques for these corrosion-induced problems include:
Steam generator replacement PA1 Plugging degraded tubes PA1 Electroplating tube interior surfaces PA1 Sleeving degraded tubes
Steam generator replacement is a drastic solution involving substantial capital investment and months or years of plant down time with the attendant loss of revenue accompanying extended plant outages.
Plugging of the degraded tubes takes the tube out of service, reducing the steam generator efficiency. The ability to plug tubes is based on the "plugging margin" that is calculated based on operating experience for each steam generator. Once the "plugging margin" has been expended, further plugging of tubes reduces the capacity of the steam generator and the entire plant must be de-rated, operated at a capacity less than design.
Electroplating the steam generator tubes with nickel allows the tube to remain in service. Furthermore, nickel plating will seal small leaks and prevent further degradation, but does not restore structural integrity of the tube. Therefore, a major limitation of electroplating is that it is effective only on small cracks that are detected early so that repair can be accomplished before the strength of the tube is seriously degraded.
Sleeving is a more expensive mitigation technique, but allows the tube to remain in service, Sleeving is accomplished by inserting in the damaged portion of the steam generator tube a short, tubular sleeve having an external diameter slightly less than the internal diameter of the steam generator tube and welding the sleeve to the tube. The sleeve is generally made of the same material as the tube and, in effect, replaces the damaged section of tubing. Therefore the structural integrity of the tube is restored by this method of repair. Sleeving is generally performed when the steam generator "plugging margin" is approached.
One approach to sleeving is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,846 issued Nov. 19, 1991 to William E. Pirl and incorporated by reference herein. In that patent, the sleeve is welded to the tube using a laser beam welding head positioned inside the tube. Laser energy from a laser source is directed through a fiber optic cable to the welding head where a canted mirror reflects the beam onto the interior surface of the sleeve. The weld head rotates in one axial position along the tube near one end of the sleeve and the laser beam delivers sufficient heat to fuse the sleeve to the tube in a narrow, circumferential band around the sleeve/tube interface. The weld accomplished by this method is what is commonly referred to in the art as an autogenous weld in that the base metal of the sleeve and tube are melted and fused and no additional filler metal is added during the welding process. The weld head is then repositioned at the other end of the sleeve and another autogenous weld is accomplished.
Although sleeving in this manner can restore the structural integrity of the tube, it has a number of disadvantages. First, the sleeve necessarily decreases the internal diameter of the tube passage adding increased pressure drop to the flow of coolant through the tube when the steam generator is placed in service. Also, if the repair is located in the lower portion of a tube, such as at the tube sheet, subsequent repair of tube degradation above the location of the first sleeve is prevented because another sleeve of the correct dimensions cannot be inserted past the already installed sleeve. Second, the autogenous welds at both ends of the sleeve are usually recessed from the end of the tube because it is very difficult to accomplish a quality fillet weld on the end of the sleeve without adding filler metal. Because these welds are recessed from the ends of the sleeves, a crevice remains between the sleeve and the tube in the region between the end of the sleeve and the weld. Also because the welds themselves are narrow, circumferential bands, the external area of the sleeve between the bands forms a crevice with the tube. The damage to the tube which necessitated the repair, such as a crack or a pin hole, allows entrance of water into this crevice. These crevice areas are again susceptible to many forms of corrosion when the steam generator is placed back in service.
Attempts have been made to use a continuous, autogenous weld inside the tube, without the use of a sleeve, in order to repair damaged tubes. These efforts have failed because the corrosion which led to the damage leaves oxidized surfaces which result in flaws and voids when autogenous welding is used. If filler material is used in the welding process, the filler material can contain deoxidizing and viscosity control agents which prevent the flaws and voids associated with autogenous welding.
Thus, it is apparent that improved mitigation techniques are needed to meet the future demands of the PWR power plants. Once the tube plugging margin has been used and a large quantity of sleeves (i.e. >10% of the tubes) have been installed to permit continued operation, tube degradation eventually leads to a decision to replace the steam generator, de-rate the plant, or decommission the facility. Alternative repair technology is needed that can provide extended tube service to the end of plant life, at an economical cost.

Method and apparatus for repairing damaged tubes


A driver with an internal stack of fasteners that feed automatically out the open end of its tubular shaft. Fasteners having spaced grooves complementally fit a plurality of inwardly protruding spaced splines in the driver shaft. The splines also engage the shaft of the fastener to position and stabilize the fastener so that it can be started into a hole. A friction catch adjacent the open shaft end engages the head to prevent inadvertent removal of the fastener from the shaft and a coil spring automatically gently urges the stack toward the open end.

Screwdrivers are exemplary tools that have always required two hands for efficient operation; one hand holds the screw in place to enter a threaded hole while the other hand turns the screwdriver to engage the thread of the screw with the threads of the hole. In order to avoid the concurrent use of two hands, there have been attempts to place two spring biased grippers on the screwdriver so as to temporarily hold a screw against the blade of the screw driver while the operator attempts to engage the threads of the screw into the threads of the hole. Still another idea has been to magnetize the tip of the screwdriver so as to hold a steel screw onto the blade of the screwdriver until the threads of the screw are engaged with the threads of the hole. Neither of these novel ideas has met with more than minor success. The spring grippers rapidly become too loose by being sprung out of shape. The magnetized screwdriver tip has no stability to cause the screw to stand as an extension of the screwdriver shaft, and in no event is it useful with screws made of nonmagnetically attractive materials.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatically fed driver that is stable and easily used with one hand. It is another object of this invention to provide a driver with a hollow shaft that is internally splined and is adapted to contain an alignment of stacked fasteners whose heads are engaged with the splines and releasable from the driver shaft one at a time.


When displaying an image taken as portrait-oriented image in a landscape-oriented display area, a cutout image including a partial area of the portrait-oriented image to be displayed is displayed. At that time, a whole image of the port-oriented image which is rotated based on rotation information thereof may be displayed along with the cutout image.

In recent years, there have been increasingly widespread digital devices (camcorder, digital still camera, camera-equipped mobile phone, and so on) capable of recording and storing an image (video) taken and a sound (audio) as digital data in an optical disk such as a DVD and Blu-ray (registered trademark), magnetic disk such as a hard disk drive, and recording medium such as a semiconductor memory.
Further, as digital broadcasting and hi-vision home televisions have been introduced, an aspect ratio of image to be taken has been shifted from 4:3 to 16:9. Further, regarding a digital still camera, a digital still camera which has the aspect ratio of not only 4:3 but also 16:9 and is capable of taking images in hi-vision size, have appeared on the market.
When such an image is displayed on a home television designed for hi-vision digital broadcasting, an image with aspect ratio of 16:9 is displayed on full screen.
Incidentally, for example when an image is taken with a digital camera, there are several types of usage of the digital camera, including a usage type where the camera is held horizontally (in a normal orientation), a usage type where the camera is held with its right side turned upward (in a 90-degree rotated orientation), and a usage type where the camera is held with its left side turned upward (in a 270-degree rotated orientation). In particular, in the case of taking an image with the camera vertically held, a built-in sensor of the camera detects that the user has taken a picture while vertically holding the camera, and records, as orientation information, a value corresponding to 90 degrees or 270 degrees showing the inclination of the camera to a file header of a JPEG file to be recorded as taken picture data.
Subsequently, when reproducing the JPEG file on the digital camera, the orientation information in the file header of the recorded JPEG file is referred to, and a picture is displayed in an orientation corresponding to an inclination shown by the orientation information. For example, when the value of 90 degrees is recorded in the orientation information, as shown in FIG. 6A, a reproduced image 400 having the aspect ratio of 16:9 is displayed in the vertical orientation on a display screen 150 having the aspect ratio of 16:9 on a LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor mounted on the camera body. Similar display applies to a case where an analog signal output of the digital camera is connected to a home television. On the other hand, when the value of 0 degrees is recorded in the orientation information, as shown in FIG. 6B, the reproduced image 400 is displayed in the horizontal orientation on a LCD monitor.
It is noted that Patent Document 1 discloses, as a related technique, an example method of displaying a still image having an aspect ratio of 4:3 on the monitor screen of the aspect ratio of 16:9.    Patent Document 1: JP 2005-173471 A.

Image reproducing apparatus, image recorder, image reproducing method, image recording method, and semiconductor integrated circuit


A multifunctional bottle washing brush includes a sponge, a plurality of bristles, a handle, an extension stem, an ultraviolet (UV) sterilizer light, and actuatable soap-dispensing mechanism, and a motor. The sponge, the plurality of bristles, the extension stem, and the UV sterilizer light complete an interchangeable brush that removably and terminally mounted to the handle through a rotor of the motor. The actuatable soap-dispensing mechanism that is integrated into the handle is in fluid communication with the sponge to supply a flow of soap while the interchangeable brush is rotatably operated through the motor via a power switch. Resultantly, the multifunctional bottle washing brush is able to efficiently clean dishes while the UV sterilizer light disinfects the sponge and the plurality of bristles.

Generally, a sponge is used as a bottle washing accessory since the sponge can efficiently absorb water and water-based solution during the bottle washing process. Additionally, users can also use a bottle washing brush during the bottle washing process when the sponge is not sufficient enough. One of the problem with the sponge or the bottle washing brush is that the users have pour bottle washing liquid into the respective bottle washing accessory at the beginning and during the bottle washing process. Resultantly, the users have to periodically stop the bottle washing process so that bottle washing liquid can be poured into the respective bottle washing accessory, adding extra time to the bottle washing process and wetting users' hands. Another problem with the sponge or the bottle washing brush is that they can harbor disease-causing bacteria, fungi, and food-borne pathogens compromising the functionality of the sponge or the bottle washing brush.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a multifunctional bottle washing brush that overcomes all of the limitations and non-effectiveness of aforementioned bottle washing accessories currently available. More specifically, the present invention comprises a soap dispenser, a rotating brush, a rotating sponge, and an Ultraviolet (UV) sterilizer light. The present invention keeps users' hands clean while cleaning bottles or other dishes which may need cleaning through the functionality of the soap dispenser, the rotating brush, and the rotating sponge. Additionally, the present invention sterilizes the rotating brush and the rotating sponge by the UV sterilizer light, which disinfects disease-causing bacteria or food-borne pathogens often carried by more traditional bottle washing accessories, while docked in a charging station. As a result, the present invention is able to provide an improved bottle washing accessory that efficiently and effectively cleans bottles or other dishes while providing a self-sterilization to eliminate disease-causing bacteria, fungi, and food-borne pathogens.


The present invention provides a novel polypeptide, I.kappa.B-.beta., which binds to and affects NF-.kappa.B gene activation. Also provided is the nucleotide sequence encoding I.kappa.B-.beta. and methods of identifying compositions which affect I.kappa.B-.beta..backslash.NF-.kappa.B complexes. Methods of treatment of disorders associated with NF-.kappa.B induced gene activation are also described herein.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of regulation of gene expression and specifically to a novel protein, I.kappa.B-.beta., which contributes to the regulation of the transcription factor, NF-.kappa.B.
2. Description of Related Art
The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-.kappa.B) is an inducible transcription factor which participates in the regulation of multiple cellular genes after treatment of cells with factors such as phorbol ester, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-.alpha. (TNF-.alpha.). These genes are involved in the immediate early processes of immune, acute phase, and inflammatory responses. NF-.kappa.B has also been implicated in the transcriptional activation of several viruses, most notably the type 1 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) (Nabel, et al., Nature, 326:711, 1987; Kaufman, et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 7:3759, 1987; Sambucetti, et al., EMBO J, 8:4251, 1989).
NF-.kappa.B is a dimeric transcription factor that binds and regulates gene expression through decameric cis-acting .kappa.B DNA motifs. Although a p50/p65 heterodimer has traditionally been referred to as NF-.kappa.B and remains the prototypical and most abundant form, it has been recognized recently that several distinct but closely related homo- and heterodimeric factors are responsible for .kappa.B site-dependent DNA binding activity and regulation. The various dimeric factors are composed of members of the family of Rel-related polypeptides. One subclass of this family, distinguished by its proteolytic processing from precursor forms and lack of recognized activation domains, includes p50 (NFKB1) and p50B (NFKB2, p52), whereas the second subclass contains recognized activation domains and includes p65 (RelA), RelB, c-Rel, and the Drosophila protein Dorsal. All Rel-related members share a 300-amino acid region of homology, RHD, responsible for DNA binding and dimerization, called the Rel homology domain. In the cytoplasm, NF-.kappa.B and Rel proteins form a "Rel complex".
Activation of the NF-.kappa.B transcription factor and various related forms can be initiated by a variety of agents, including TNF.alpha., phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-2 (IL-2). Activation proceeds through a post-translational event in which preformed cytoplasmic NF-.kappa.B in the Rel complex is released from a cytoplasmic inhibitory protein. A common feature of the regulation of transcription factors which belong to the Rel-family is their sequestration in the cytoplasm as inactive complexes with a class of inhibitory molecules known as I.kappa.Bs (Baeuerle and Baltimore, Cell, 53:211-217, 1988; Beg and Baldwin, Genes Dev. 7:2064-2070, 1993; Gilmore and Morin, Trends in Genetics, 9:427-433, 1993). Treatment of cells with different inducers, e.g., IL-1, TNF-.alpha., LPS, dsRNA or PMA, results in dissociation of the cytoplasmic complexes and translocation of free NF-.kappa.B to the nucleus (Grilli, et al., International Rev. of Cytology, 143:1-62, 1993; Baeuerle and Henkel, Annu. Rev. Immunol., 12:141-179, 1994). The dissociation of the cytoplasmic complexes is thought to be triggered by the phosphorylation and subsequent degradation of the I.kappa.B protein (Palombella, et al., Cell, 78:773-785, 1994; Ghosh and Baltimore, Nature, 344:678-682,1990). Transient I.kappa.B phosphorylation has been observed in several in vivo activation studies (Brown, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A., 90:2532, 1993; Beg, et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 13:3301, 1993).
There are two major biochemically characterized forms of I.kappa.B proteins in mammalian cells, I.kappa.B-.alpha. and I.kappa.B-.beta. (Ghosh and Baltimore, supra; Zabel and Baeuerle, Cell, 61:255-265, 1990). In addition, three other proteins have been cloned or implicated as I.kappa.Bs: chicken pp40, the mammalian I.kappa.B-.alpha. homolog and inhibitor of the chicken oncogene, v-rel (Davis, et al., Science, 253:1268-1271, 1991; Stephens, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 80:6229-6232, 1983); I.kappa.B-.gamma., a tissue specific form that arises from an alternative splice yielding the C-terminus of the p105 protein (Inoue, et al., Cell 68:1109-1120, 1992); and the candidate oncogene, Bcl-3 (Franzoao, et al., Nature, 359:339-342, 1992; Nolan, et al., Mol. Cell Biol., 13:3557-3566, 1993; Ohno, et al., Cell, 60:991-997, 1990). A common feature of all of the cloned I.kappa.B proteins is the presence of multiple copies of a sequence motif known as ankyrin repeats (Beg and Baldwin, supra; Gilmore and Morin, supra).
However, while I.kappa.B-.gamma. has been detected only in mouse pre-B cells (Ghosh, et al., 1990; Inoue, et al., supra), Bcl-3 can only be detected in very low amounts in some tissues. In addition, both I.kappa.B-.gamma. (Liou, et al., EMBO J., 11:3003-3009, 1992) and Bcl-3 (Franzoso, et al., supra, Naumann, et al., EMBO J., 12:213-222, 1993; Nolan, et al., Cell, 64:961-969, 1991; Wulczyn, et al., Nature, 358:597-599, 1992) are specific for NF.kappa.B p50 dimers and only I.kappa.B-.alpha. and I.kappa.B-.beta. interact with p65 and c-Rel, thus indicating that the responsibility for regulating the proto-typical NF-.kappa.B activity is primarily carried out by these I.kappa.B isoforms.
I.kappa.B-.alpha. was cloned previously and its regulation has been studied quite extensively (Beg, et al., Mol. Cell Bio., 13:3301-3310, 1993; Beg, et al., Genes Dev., 6:1899-1913, 1992; Brown, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA, 90:2532-2536, 1993; Davis, et al., supra; Haskill, et al., Cell, 65:1281-1289, 1991; Henkel, et al., Nature, 365:82-85, 1993; Mellitis, et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 21:5059-5066, 1993; Miyamoto, et al., Mol. Cell Biol., 14:3276-3282, 1994; Palombella, et al., supra; Rice and Ernst, EMBO J., 12:4685-4695, 1993; Scott, et al., Genes Dev., 7:1266-1276, 1993; and Sun, et al., Science, 259:1912-1915, 1993). These studies indicated that I.kappa.B-.alpha. regulated NF-.kappa.B activity through a novel auto-regulatory feed-back loop. Signals that led to an induction of NF-.kappa.B activity resulted in the phosphorylation and rapid loss of I.kappa.B-.alpha. protein through proteolysis. However, the induced, nuclear NF-.kappa.B caused the subsequent upregulation of I.kappa.B-.alpha. mRNA levels due to the presence of NF-.kappa.B sites in the I.kappa.B-.alpha. promoter (de Martin, et al., EMBO J.,, 12:2773-2779, 1993; Le Bail, et al., EMBO J., 12:5043-5049, 1993). The newly synthesized I.kappa.B-.alpha. mRNA was translated, and the accumulated I.kappa.B-.alpha. protein helped to shut down the NF-.kappa.B response, thus ensuring that responsive genes were activated only transiently. While this model explained some aspects of the regulation of NF-.kappa.B activity in cells, it failed to explain how some inducers, particularly bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), could cause persistent long-term activation of NF-.kappa.B for as long as 36 hours. Persistent activation of NF-.kappa.B might also occur during differentiation, either in early embryonic development or in the development of B-cells or macrophages. Because a significant portion of the cytoplasmic Rel complexes are bound to I.kappa.B-.beta., it is possible that inducers like LPS or differentiation signals caused persistent NF-.kappa.B activation by affecting I.kappa.B-.beta. complexes. However, the lack of a clone for I.kappa.B-.beta. and reagents specific for the protein had prevented the determination of how and when complexes bound to I.kappa.B-.beta. were activated.
Previous attempts to isolate and purify I.kappa.B-.beta. have been unsuccessful. A study by Ghosh and Baltimore, supra, identified I.kappa.B activity as being associated with a 35 Kd protein in rabbit tissue. Zabel and Baeuerle (Cell, 61:255, 1990) then purified a complex which included p50:p65 and two forms of I.kappa.B, as determined by two distinct activities. While I.kappa.B-.alpha. was purified to homogeneity, I.kappa.B-.beta. could only be partially purified based on a peak fraction of activity. A later study purported to purify a protein having I.kappa.B activity in the range of 40-43 KD and a pI of 4.8-5.0 (Link, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 267:239, 1992). However, the fraction containing this activity was insufficient to allow reproducible peptide maps or amino terminal sequence analysis.
NF-.kappa.B gene regulation is involved in many pathological events including progression of acquired immune deficiency disease (AIDS), the acute phase response and the activation of immune and endothelial cells during toxic shock, allograft rejection, and radiation responses. In addition, NF-.kappa.B gene transactivation may be critical for HIV and CMV replication.
Therefore, identification of compositions which affect I.kappa.B-.beta./NF-.kappa.B complex integrity, and thus, affect NF-.kappa.B transactivation of genes, is critical for identification of specific inhibitors of complex dissociation, which would be effective as anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive agents.

NF-.kappa.B activation regulatory protein, I.kappa.B-.beta.