A saw guide for use with a hand power saw comprising in combination a guiding platform with two generally planar edges which underlie or form two guiding edges for guiding the shoe plate of a hand power saw across a workpiece to make cuts at various angles, and two workpiece guide bars; one guide bar is generally stationary, engaging the end surface of a workpiece to initially align the guide; the other guide bar is slideable, engaging the opposite end surface of a workpiece. The sliding guide bar is releasably clamped in position. Both guide bars work in unison to hold the saw guide in relation to both workpiece edges, allowing the saw guide to slide along the top surface of a workpiece, but not swivel out of position. Two kerf gauges are slideably interlocked at both ends of the stationary guide bar. These gauges measure a cut line along both the top surface and edge surface of a workpiece. These gauges are easily swapped or replaced for use with different power saws, blades or blade tilts. These gauges may be used for quick and accurate alignment of the saw guide.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to saw guides, and in particular to a portable saw guide for use with hand power saws.
2. Description of Related Art
Making an accurate, smooth cut in a workpiece with a hand held power saw has been a long standing problem. The very portability of the hand power saw, with its ability to be carried to a workpiece, limits itself since it has no precise path defined for passing through a workpiece. Some of the prior art teaches a conversion of the saw into a non-hand held power saw, closely approximating a radial arm saw, table saw or the like, but in so doing it loses its very portability.
Other prior art teaches a device which attaches to the hand power saw, but in all cases the attached guide must project beyond the shoe plate of the saw in some fashion, thus limiting its use in certain applications.
This invention relates to prior art which teaches a separation of the guide from the hand power saw, so leaving the saw itself completely unencumbered for freehand cuts if desired. In each of the prior art cases, there are problems which have not been resolved, especially for cuts of 90 degrees and 45 degrees in long, wide boards of the type used in deck construction, decorative herringbone wall construction, and the like. Also, there have been problems in determining the cut line of a saw. In order to provide background information so the invention may be completely understood and appreciated, reference may be made to a number of prior art patents as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,077 to R. H. Gram discloses a guide which is specifically designed for 90 degree and generally 45 degree cuts and is adequate for such, however the design is such that a workpiece being cut leans against a longitudinally sliding workpiece guide which is mounted in the center of a saw guiding platform. Thus, the available guiding surface for a saw is generally half the width of the saw guiding platform, and the guiding platform itself must be generally twice as wide as a workpiece being cut, thus the device must be generally twice as wide as is necessary, becoming less portable and more awkward to use. In addition, since a workpiece leans against only one workpiece guide, the free hand of the operator must grasp the workpiece and hold it in position both laterally and longitudinally to prevent movement of the device during a cut. While somewhat awkward, this can be accomplished, as long as the operator's free hand is dextrous enough to do it, but an operator with limited mobility who is unable to grasp the workpiece could not use this device without limiting its portability.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,457 to S. Winters discloses a guide which is designed for 90 degree and generally 45 degree cuts, and which shows a variation to allow swiveling of the guiding platform in relation to the workpiece guide, to make various mitered cuts. This device is adequate to accomplish its desired purpose, however it embodies the same two problems addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,077 above. In addition, it does not embody a kerf index or gauge of any kind.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,479 to J. F. Eberhardt discloses a guide which is designed for 90 degree cuts, and is adequate for such, however it is not designed for 45 degree cuts. Also, while a semi-dextrous or non-dextrous free hand may be able to hold the device in position, it was not designed for this, and slippage would probably result. Additionally, while the device incorporates a kerf gauge, the gauge is attached to the device with screws, so is not readily swapped with different size gauges if working with saws of different shoe plate widths, different size blades, or different blade tilts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,434 to R. W. Young and U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,028 to G. K. Patterson both disclose devices which guide 90 degree cuts, with modifications to accomplish miter cuts up to 45 degrees. Both are portable, appear easy to use, and contain kerf gauges, however these devices must be firmly grasped and held in position with a dextrous hand necessitating the use of the thumb. Also, if the workpiece is especially wide, the thumb would not be able to reach far enough to hold the devices in position, which could result in slippage. In addition, these devices were designed to be used by a right handed person, or different versions could be made for a left handed person, but they could not be used by both left and right handed persons. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,434 embodies a kerf gauge housing for receiving a retractable kerf gauge, which also serves as a guiding edge, which extends further beyond the workpiece than is necessary for simply guiding the power saw. This same device also embodies a number of complex curves and shapes in its parts which would make it more difficult and expensive to manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,175 to D. E. McCloud discloses a device which was primarily designed to guide 90 degree and 45 degree cuts, and firmly hold the workpiece in position during the cut. This device is adequate to perform this function, however the device completely encircles the workpiece, and would be awkward to use for mid cuts on long boards, especially during multiple mid cuts, which would require repetitively sliding the device over the end and along the board into position, thus wasting much time. Also, the clamping means to hold the workpiece in position consists of two opposing wedges which, being separate from the main body of the device, could be misplaced, lost, or dropped and damaged, especially during busy worksite construction. Also, this device incorporates a central sheet, sandwiched midway between the opposing U-shaped and triangular surfaces, which provides strength, but limits the workpiece to being placed on only one side of the central sheet, thus the device must be constructed generally twice the thickness of the thickest workpiece to be used, thus making the device at least twice as thick as necessary. In addition, this device does not embody a kerf index or gauge of any kind.
There are many other devices which accomplish similar results, but the above cited references come closest to the intent of the invention. Whatever their precise merits, features and advantages, none of them achieves or fulfills the purposes of the present invention.


There has been provided an improved reinforcing web for multicellular honeycomb converter core bodies. The reinforcing web contains at least one flat thin metal strip to which is secured at least one corrugated thin metal strip as by brazing or welding. The reinforcing web is located centrally of the core body and gives the converter bodies hereof sufficient axial strength to survive the severe durability tests imposed by the automotive manufacturers.

This invention will be described in connection with embodiments especially adapted for use in exhaust lines from various types of engines, e.g., internal combustion engines of the spark ignited or compression ignited types, stationary or mobile, or gas turbines. It will be understood that the converters of the present invention may be used to effect various chemical reactions, particularly those occurring in fluid streams, especially gas streams, and which reactions are catalyzed or uncatalyzed.
Catalytic converters containing a corrugated thin metal (stainless steel) monolith have been known since the early 1970's. See Kitzner U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,768,982 and 3,770,389 each dated 30 Oct. 1973. More recently, corrugated thin metal monoliths have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,009 dated 8 Dec. 1987 to Cornelison et al which discloses a process for making precoated corrugated thin metal strips in a continuous manner, and accordion folding them into predetermined shapes; U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,302 dated 1 May 1979, U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,681 dated 16 Jun. 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,186 dated 4 Aug. 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,590 dated 3 May 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,860 dated 30 Aug. 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,120 dated 28 May 1985. U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,947 dated 11 Jun. 1985, U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,435 dated 3 Mar. 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,051 dated 12 May 1987 all to Nonnenmann alone or with another and which disclose multicellular honeycomb converters with corrugated and flat thin metal strips all brazed together; U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,694 dated 10 Dec. 1991 to Whittenberger which discloses spirally wound converters with corrugated strips and flat strips. International PCT Publication WO 90/12951 published 9 Apr. 1990 seeks to improve axial strength by form locking layers of insulated plates. Another reference which seeks to improve axial strength is U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,275 dated 8 Oct. 1991 to Kannainian et al. Reference may also be had to international PCT Publication No. 92/13626 filed 29 Jan. 1992. This application relates to a multicellular honeycomb converter body along an axis of which fluid can flow through a plurality of channels. The honeycomb has at least two discs in axially spaced relation to each other. According to the specification, there is at least one bar type support near the axis by which the discs are connected together and mutually supported. The invention is said to make possible design of the first disc for fast heating up through hot exhaust gas passing through, or applied electrical current. The honeycomb body serves as a support for catalyst in the exhaust system of an internal combustion engine. Another reference is German Patent Application 4,102,890 A1 filed 31 Jan. 1991 and published 6 Aug. 1992. This application discloses a spirally wound corrugated and flat strips combination wherein the flat strip contains slots and perforations and is electrically heatable. The flat strips include a bridge between leading and trailing portions. Groups of strips are separated by insulation means. Another reference is U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,743 dated 7 Apr. 1992. This patent discloses a honeycomb catalyst carrier body of round, oval, or elliptical cross-section including a jacket tube and a stack of at least partially structured sheet metal layers intertwined in different directions in the jacket tube. The stack has a given length and a given width. At least one of the sheet metal layers has a greater thickness over at least a part of one of the dimensions than others of the layers. Such at least one layer is formed of thicker metal or of a plurality of identically structured metal sheets in contiguous relation.
A common problem with many of the prior devices has been their inability to survive severe automotive industry tests which are known as the Hot Shake Test and the Hot Cycling Test.
The Hot Shake test involves oscillating (100 to 200 Hertz and 28 to 60 G inertial loading) the device in a vertical attitude at a high temperature (between 800 and 950 degrees C.; 1472 to 1742 degrees F., respectively) with exhaust gas from a gas burner or a running internal combustion engine simultaneously passing through the device. If the device telescopes, or displays separation or folding over of the leading or upstream edges or the foil leaves, or shows other mechanical deformation or breakage up to a predetermined time, e.g., 5 to 200 hours, the device is said to fail the test.
The Hot Cycling Test is run with exhaust flowing at 800 to 950 degrees C. (1472 to 1742 degrees F.) and cycled to 120 to 150 degrees C. once every 10 to 20 minutes for 300 hours. Telescoping or separation of the leading edges of the thin metal foil strips, or mechanical deformation or breakage is considered a failure.
The Hot Shake Test and the Hot Cycling Test are hereinafter called "Hot Tests" and have proved very difficult to survive. The structures of the present invention will survive these Hot Tests.
In the following description, reference will be made to "ferritic" stainless steel. A suitable ferritic stainless steel is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,023 dated 8 Nov. 1983 to Aggen. A specific ferritic stainless steel allloy useful herein contains 20% chromium, 5% aluminum, and from 0.002% to 0.05% of at least one rare earth metal selected from cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, yttrium, and praseodymium, or a mixture of two or more of such rare earth metals, balance iron and trace steel making impurities. A ferritic stainless steel is commercially available from Allegheny Ludlum Steel Co. under the trademark "Alfa IV."
Another stainless steel metal alloy especially useful herein is identified as Haynes 214 alloy which is commercially available. This alloy and other useful nickeliferous alloys are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,931 dated 9 Jun. 1987 to Herchenroeder et el. These alloys are characterized by high resistance to oxidation and high temperatures. A specific example contains 75% nickel, 16% chromium, 4.5% aluminum, 3% iron, optionally trace amounts of one or more rare earth metals except yttrium, 0.05% carbon, and steel making impurities. Haynes 230 alloy, also useful herein has a composition containing 22% chromium, 14% tungsten, 2% molybdenum, 0.10% carbon, a trace amount of lanthanum, balance nickel.
The ferritic stainless steels, and the Haynes alloys 214 and 230, all of which are considered to be stainless steel, are examples of high temperature resistive, oxidation resistant (or corrosion resistant) metal alloys that are useful for use in making thin metal strips for the reinforcing webs hereof, as well as the multicellular honeycomb converter bodies, or monoliths, hereof. Suitable metal alloys must be .able to withstand "high" temperatures, e.g., from 900 degrees C. to 1200 degrees C. (1652 degrees F. to 2012 degrees F.) over prolonged periods.
Other high temperature resistive, oxidation resistant metal alloys are known and may be used herein. For most applications, and particularly automotive applications, these alloys are used as "thin" metal strips or layers, that is, having a thickness of from about 0.001" to about 0.005", and preferably from 0.0015" to about 0.003".

Reinforcing web for a multicellular converter


Substituted benzyl carbamates of the formula ##STR1## in which: R is a member selected from the group consisting of halogen, trifluoromethyl, cyano, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 haloalkyloxy, phenoxy, pyridyloxy, and substituted phenoxy and substituted pyridyloxy substituted with one or more members of the group consisting of halogen and trifluoromethyl;. R.sub.1 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl; and PA0 R.sub.2 is a member selected from the group consisting of pyridyl, phenyl and substituted pyridyl and substituted phenyl substituted with one or more of the group consisting of H, cyano, halogen,C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy and C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 haloalkyl;. and their use as herbicides are disclosed herein.

This invention relates to substituted benzyl carbamates, a process for producing them and their use as herbicide intermediates. In particular, this invention relates to substituted benzyl carbamates of the formula ##STR2## in which: R is a member selected from the group consisting of halogen, trifluoromethyl, cyano, NO.sub.2, C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 haloalkyloxy, phenoxy, pyridyloxy, and substituted phenoxy and substituted pyridyloxy substituted with one or more members of the group consisting of halogen and trifluoromethyl;
R.sub.1 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl; and PA0 R.sub.2 is a member selected from the group consisting of pyridyl, phenyl and substituted pyridyl and substituted phenyl substituted with one or more of the group consisting of H, cyano, halogen, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy and C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 haloalkyl.
The compounds of the present invention, as will be seen from the description and test data which follows, have utility in preparing both pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides useful against a wide range of plant species. The compounds are of particular interest when used in pre-emergence application.
The terms "herbicide" and "herbicidal" are used herein to denote the inhibitive control or modification of undesired plant growth. Inhibitive control and modification include all deviations from natural development such as, for example, total killing, growth retardation, defoliation, desiccation, regulation, stunting, tillering, stimulation, leaf burn, and dwarfing. The term "herbicidally effective amount" is used to denote any amount which achieves such control or modification when applied to the undesired plants themselves or to the area in which these plants are growing. The term "plants" is intended to include germinant seeds, emerging seedlings and established vegetation, including both roots and above-ground portions.

Substituted benzyl carbamates and their use as herbicides


The time for detecting an object position for measuring a print position displacement is shortened. A printing apparatus control method includes printing, by a printing unit, an image including an object on a sheet; reading, by a reading unit, the image on the sheet on which the image including the object is printed; generating first image data according to the reading of the image by the reading unit; determining an area to detect a position of the object from second image data generated based on the generated first image data having resolution lower than that of the second image data; detecting the position of the object from the determined area; obtaining a print position based on the position of the object detected by the detecting unit; and controlling, based on the obtained print position, the printing unit to print the image on the sheet.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing apparatus control method, and a storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
When images are printed on both sides of a sheet, a printing apparatus firstly forms a toner image on a front side of the sheet and fixes the toner image by heat in a fixing unit. In this case, due to the heat form the fixing unit, the sheet is contracted. Then, this image forming apparatus forms a toner image on a back side of the contracted sheet. This causes a displacement of a print position in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction on the front side and back side, respectively, of the sheet.
In a printing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-173109, on a sheet which has a reference position mark at a predetermined position, four measurement position marks which are different from the reference position are printed at predetermined positions. Then, the printing apparatus reads the image of the sheet (hereinafter, referred to as a chart) including the reference position mark and the four measurement position marks, searches all pixels of the generated image data, and detects the position of the reference position mark and the positions of the four measurement position marks. Next, the printing apparatus obtains coordinate of each of the four measurement position marks based on distances between the position of the detected reference position mark and the respective four measurement position marks, and corrects the print position.
To obtain the displacement of the print position, a scaling rate in the main scanning direction, and a scaling rate in the sub scanning direction properly, the position of the reference position mark and the positions of the four measurement position marks in the image data need to be detected correctly.
In the printing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-173109, it takes time to process the detection of each position of the four measurement position marks in the image data, since it is needed to search all the pixels in the image data generated by scanning the image of the chart.

Printing apparatus, printing apparatus control method, and a storage medium


A method of evaluating a person""s olfactory perception by determining his ability to distinguish, differentiate, recognize, recall and remember distinct odors and scents when the person is presented with various odor-emitting samples. The odor-emitting samples are divided into several groups wherein the individual groups comprise two identical and one slightly different odor-emitting sample. Additionally, another group is presented to the person which comprises several individual odor-emitting samples which differ markedly from all of the other samples presented. The odor-emitting samples from the individual groups are presented to the person sequentially and the results are reported and then compared with other persons subject to the same tests. The person""s olfactory perception acumen is thus recorded. This invention has great utility for many fast-growing and dynamic fields such as the food and beverage industry, academia and research facilities.

The present invention relates to a method of evaluating an individual person""s sense of olfactory perception. More specifically, the invention concerns a method for assessing an individual""s ability to differentiate between, recognize, remember, and recall different odors and scents.
An individual person""s olfactory perception is generally considered to be one of the principal methods by which that person is able to make certain judgments. These judgments are important considerations which are noted and used strategically by many highly profitable and dynamic industries, such as those pertaining to perfumes and cosmetics, food preparation and supply, toxic materials such as paint and cleaning supplies, and many others. Therefore it is of great import that a method to determine which products are offensive (or pleasing) to the olfactory senses is as efficient as possible.
Olfactometers and chemosensory olfactory assays are well known. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,492,934 and 5,380,765). In this line of research, the general benefits of differential olfactometers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,248), suprathreshold odor intensity olfactometers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,983), physiological stimulatory models (U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,386), and even odor concentration measuring devices (U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,583) have been discovered. U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,893, discloses an apparatus for the detection of odor having a dielectric sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,156 discloses another olfactometer in which a plurality of compartments are used by humans to xe2x80x9csniffxe2x80x9d different animal litter odors. U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,385 discusses the plurality of xe2x80x9csniffing portsxe2x80x9d of odoriferous sources. None of these aforementioned patents, each of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, suggests, however, that a plurality of odoriferous sources (or samples) is grouped into a plurality of groups, each group for the purpose of gauging individual human olfactory perception. Stated another way, the aforementioned patents do not discuss a method of testing a person""s olfactory perception.
The main purpose of identifying individuals with high olfactory perception is for the optimization of testing duties where accurate olfactory data is critical (e.g., the cosmetics, food, and wine industries, and in research and acadaemia).
The present invention was developed with the understanding that the sense of smell is relative, and certain testing institutions require the services of individuals who have high olfactory perception. The present invention provides a vehicle by which individuals can be xe2x80x9cscoredxe2x80x9d on their olfactory perception.
A test person""s olfactory perception is evaluated and then determined by first providing the test subject with a palette of varying odors and fragrances, and then having that person describe, in full detail, each scent sample. That person may describe his olfactory experiences in any way possible, including a description of his/her memories and feelings. This data is checked for accuracy and then recorded. Successive test takers are then given a xe2x80x9crank,xe2x80x9d relative to the other subjects.
That determination leads to the identification of a xe2x80x9csuperelitexe2x80x9d group of olfactory testers who can be joined together to produce a highly specialized team. Their main purpose would be to perform olfactory tests for any interested business, academic institution or research facility.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to establish a method by which a person""s olfactory perception may be evaluated for accuracy, recall ability, and ease of recognition.
It is another object of the present invention to establish a method that identifies a group of testers with high levels of olfactory perception, so that these testers can be utilized to conduct stringent scent tests.
It is a feature of this invention that a variety of scent samples are divided into groups which contain at least two identical samples and a third sample which differs slightly from the other two. The person being subject to the olfactory perception test would be required to identify the identical odors first, and then the third dissimilar odor. Data concerning accuracy and recognition speed is recorded for each individual. The person is then asked to describe the reasons for his/her choices. These reasons can include his/her thoughts, feelings, and memories associated with such choices. This data is also recorded. The final data is then compared with those of other test persons, whereupon the test person is xe2x80x9cscoredxe2x80x9d with respect to his/her xe2x80x9colfactory ranking.xe2x80x9d This ranking system is based on the test subject""s accuracy and speed in choosing the correct scents.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide another method for identifying individuals with high olfactory perception whereby an additional, special group of samples containing markedly different scents are presented to the test subjects. This embodiment utilizes general, daily olfactory scents, and does not require the tester to distinguish between unknown products and their scents. Some examples of scents generally encountered on a daily basis include foods(tomatoes, leeks, potatoes), spices (parsley, cinnamon, pepper), and unusual products (cleaning materials, lacquer, and paint). It is also desirable that these scents be furnished in groups of ten, based on the teachings of the prior art.
The above objectives, methods and features have great utility for an interested industry preparing to unveil a new product which may emit a special odor. That special odor may be either aggressively marketed (such as perfume or food products) or downplayed (such as home cleaning supplies and paint). The methods contained herein eliminate the need for large and cumbersome testing procedures, which are often not very accurate. Also, these methods are cost and time-effective. The methods contained herein eliminate the need to test scents on hundreds of random people with minimal success. The methods here produce permanent results in that a relatively small and valuable team of people can be organized.

Method to determine olfactory perception


An electrical interface (125, 215) interconnects an electrical device (110) with a removable battery package (120). The electrical interface (125, 215) includes deflectable cantilever contacts (260) that are preferably located within the battery package (120). Each cantilever contact (260) has a portion (261) anchored to a substrate (250), and a deflectable portion (262) biased against a housing member (240), which deflectable portion (262) is externally accessible via a slot (248) within the housing member (240). Preferably, the cantilever contacts (260) are located within a recessed area (245) on an interior surface (241) of the housing member (240). A corresponding projection (346) extends externally on the housing member (240). The external projection (346) facilitates a plug and socket arrangement for mating the battery (120) to the electrical device (110). The substrate (250) is preferably formed from flexible film material and is structurally supported by a backer (270) attached to the housing member (240).

Portable electronic devices, such as two-way radios, typically include a rechargeable battery that is removably connected to the electronic device. Ordinarily, the battery is electrically coupled to the electronic device via an electrical interface that includes a portion on the electronic device and a portion on the battery. The electrical interface generally has movable contacts and fixed contacts. The movable contacts facilitate the establishment of electrical contact between both portions of the electrical interface by accommodating for variations due to tolerances and like.
Fixed contacts are typically more inexpensive to incorporate within a product than are movable contacts. Hence, it is customary to find fixed contacts employed on the battery to minimize product costs. Such electrical contacts have been traditionally formed using discrete contact elements electrically coupled to circuitry within the battery. The discrete contacts may be affixed directly to a circuit carrying substrate used in the internal operations of the battery, or may be affixed to a battery housing member using a rivet, or other type of fastener.
Movable contacts are generally incorporated within that portion of the electrical interface on the host device. A movable contact tends to have more parts than a fixed contact, and thus is more expensive to incorporate into a product. Prior art approaches to movable contacts include the use of pogo pins, cantilever contacts, springs, and the like. By incorporating such movable contacts on the electronic device, the more expensive portion of the electrical interface can be incorporated into the higher priced unit, i.e., the electronic device. As a user is likely to purchase several batteries for each electronic device purchased, it is thought that by incorporating the less expensive component of the electrical interface on the battery, the overall cost to a customer is reduced.
It has been observed that a movable contact is much more susceptible to damage from corrosion, shock, jamming, and the like. When such contact is damaged, the electronic device must be taken out of service for repair or replacement of the contact. This deprives the user of the use of the electronic device, and thus runs contrary to the objective of reducing overall expense to the user. Fixed contacts, which have no movable parts, can be formed to be less prone to damage through normal use.
In an electrical interface, it is desirable to incorporate the reliability of fixed contacts while providing for the tolerance accommodation afforded by movable contacts. Therefore, there exists a need to provide for the incorporation of fixed and movable contacts in an electrical interface between an electronic device and a removable battery that is reliable and cost effective.

Battery interface structure for an electrical device


A method for separating air by cryogenic distillation. A first compressor compresses air to a first pressure, and sends part of that air to a second compressor which compresses that part to a second pressure. Part of the air at the second pressure is cooled in a heat exchanger and sent to a third compressor where part of it is compressed to a third pressure. Part of the air at the third pressure is liquefied and sent a column system. Around half of the total liquefied air sent to the column system will have originally been compressed by the third compressor. Part of the air at the first pressure is cooled in a heat exchanger and part of the cooled air at the first pressure is then expanded to the pressure of the column system. The expanded air is sent to the column system.

Gaseous oxygen produced by air separation plants are usually at elevated pressure about 20 to 50 bar. The basic distillation scheme is usually a double column process producing oxygen at the bottom of the low pressure column operated at 1.4 to 4 bar. The oxygen must be compressed to higher pressure either by oxygen compressor or by the liquid pumped process. Because of the safety issues associated with the oxygen compressors, most recent oxygen plants are based on the liquid pumped process. In order to vaporize liquid oxygen at elevated pressure there is a need for an additional motor-driven booster compressor to raise a portion of the feed air or nitrogen to higher pressure in the range of 40–80 bars. In essence, the booster replaces the oxygen compressor.
In the effort to reduce the complexity of an oxygen plant, it is desirable to reduce the number of motor-driven compressors. Significant cost reduction can be achieved if the booster can be eliminated without much affecting the plant performance in terms of power consumption. Furthermore, the air purification unit conceived for a traditional oxygen plant would operate at about 5–7 bar which is essentially the pressure of the high pressure column, and it is also desirable to raise this pressure to a higher level in order to render the equipment more compact and less costly.
A cold compression process as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,980 provides a technique to drive the oxygen plant with a single air compressor. In this process air to be distilled is chilled in the main exchanger then further compressed by a booster compressor driven by an expander exhausting into the high pressure column of a double column process. By doing so, the discharge pressure of the air compressor is in the range of 15 bar which is also quite advantageous for the purification unit. One inconvenience of this approach is the increase of the size of the main exchanger due to additional flow recycling which is typical for the cold compression plant. One can reduce the size of the exchanger by opening up the temperature approaches of the exchanger. However, this would lead to inefficient power usage and higher discharge pressure of the compressor and therefore increasing its cost. An illustration of this prior art is presented in FIG. 1, in which an oil brake is added to the system to dissipate the power required for the refrigeration. In larger plants, an expander can replace the oil brake.
In FIG. 1 all the feed air is compressed in compressor 1, purified in purification unit 2 and sent as stream 11 to the warm end of the heat exchanger 5. All the feed air is cooled to an intermediate temperature, removed from the heat exchanger as stream 7 and compressed in cold compressor 8. The compressed stream 9 is sent back to the heat exchanger at a higher intermediate temperature, cooled to a temperature lower than the inlet temperature of the cold compressor 8 and divided in two. Stream 15 is sent to the Claude expander 13 which is braked by the compressor 8 and an oil brake. The rest of the air 10 is liquefied in the heat exchanger and divided into two parts, one part being sent to the high pressure column 30 and the rest 34 being sent to the low pressure column 31.
An oxygen enriched liquid stream 28 is expanded and sent from the high pressure column to the low pressure column. A nitrogen enriched liquid stream 29 is expanded and sent from the high pressure column to the low pressure column. High pressure gaseous nitrogen 14 is removed from the top of the high pressure column and warmed in the heat exchanger to form a product stream 24. Liquid oxygen 20 is removed from the bottom of the low pressure column 31, pressurized by a pump 21 and sent as stream 22 to the heat exchanger 5 where it vaporizes by heat exchange with the pressurized air 10 to form gaseous pressurized oxygen 23. A top nitrogen enriched gaseous stream 25 is removed from the low pressure column 31, warmed in the heat exchanger 5 and then forms stream 26.
Some different versions of the cold compression process were also described in prior art as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,379,598, 5,596,885, 5,901,576 and 6,626,008.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,598 a fraction of feed air is further compressed by a booster compressor followed by a cold compressor to yield a pressurized stream needed for the vaporization of oxygen. This approach still has at least two compressors and the purification unit still operates at low pressure.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,885, a fraction of the feed air is further compressed in a warm booster whilst at least part of the air is further compressed in a cold booster. Air from both boosters is liquefied and part of the cold compressed air is expanded in a Claude expander.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,576 describes several arrangements of cold compression schemes utilizing the expansion of vaporized rich liquid of the bottom of the high pressure column, or the expansion of high pressure nitrogen to drive the cold compressor. In some cases, motor driven cold compressors were also used. These processes also operate with feed air at about the high pressure column's pressure and in most cases a booster compressor is also needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,008 describes a heat pump cycle utilizing a cold compressor to improve the distillation process for the production of low purity oxygen for a double vaporizer oxygen process. Low air pressure and a booster compressor are also typical for this kind of process.
Therefore it is a purpose of this invention to resolve the inconveniences of the traditional process by providing a solution to simplify the compression train and to reduce the size of the purification unit. This can moreover be achieved with good power consumption. The overall product cost of an oxygen plant can therefore be reduced.

Process and apparatus for the separation of air by cryogenic distillation

L'Air Liquide, Société Anonyme à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Proédés Georges Claude


A polymer resin film of the present disclosure has a plurality of through holes extending through the thickness of the polymer resin film. The through holes penetrate a substrate structure of the resin film. The through holes have openings formed in both a first principal surface and a second principal surface of the film. The through holes have a shape in which the area of a cross-section perpendicular to a direction in which the through holes extend is constant from the first principal surface of the film to the second principal surface of the film or increases from the first principal surface toward the second principal surface. The openings in the first principal surface have a diameter of 3 μm or more and 80 μm or less. A variation in a porosity defined by the openings in the first principal surface is 10% or less.

Polymer membranes having air permeability through their thickness are used in various applications such as use as air-permeable membranes and use as sound-permeable membranes. Polymer membranes having air permeability but not having water perviousness (water permeability) through their thickness can be used in applications requiring waterproofness, such as use as waterproof air-permeable membranes and/or waterproof sound-permeable membranes. Typical examples of the former type of polymer membranes are non-woven fabrics. Non-woven fabrics are membranes produced by entangling long fibers or short fibers without weaving. Air can pass through the thickness of non-woven fabrics via interstices between randomly entangled fibers.
Other examples of polymer membranes having air permeability through their thickness are stretched porous membranes having a structure in which a huge number of pores resulting from stretching are distributed. Patent Literature 1 discloses a waterproof air-permeable membrane consisting of a stretched porous membrane of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.

Polymer resin film, and air-permeable membrane, sound-permeable membrane, acoustic resistor, air-permeable membrane member, sound-permeable membrane member, acoustic resistor member, and audio device that include the polymer resin film, and method for producing the polymer resin film


A nut runner control system includes a plurality of nut runners, a plurality of subcontrollers connected to the nut runners, respectively, for controlling the nut runners, and a master controller connected to the subcontrollers for presetting and modifying drive conditions for the nut runners and for monitoring the nut runners based on data indicating operating conditions of the nut runners and received through the subcontrollers, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nut runner control system and a method of monitoring nut runners, and more particularly to a nut runner control system and a method of monitoring nut runners such that drive conditions for the nut runners are set up and modified by a master controller, the nut runners are controlled through subcontrollers, respectively, and operating conditions of the nut runners are monitored by the master controller through the subcontrollers.
2. Description of Related Art
The assembly process for various industrial products such as automobiles is more and more automated to meet increased efficiency and labor saving requirements. For example, some threaded parts such as bolts, nuts, or the like are automatically fastened by a system of nut runners.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 58(1983)-66672 discloses a system comprising a plurality of nut runners for tightening threaded parts. In order to prevent the fastening torques of the nut runners from varying from each other, torque preset means for the respective nut runners preset preliminary torques smaller than desired tightening torques, and when the tightening torques have reached the preliminary torques, the nut runners are temporarily stopped, and then the nut runners are operated again to tighten the threaded parts with the desired tightening torques after elapse of a certain period of time.
If the preset preliminary torques are to be changed, however, they have to be modified for the respective nut runners. It has been quite tedious and time-consuming to preset and modify the drive conditions for the respective nut runners.
In the nut runner control system, it is desirable to monitor the conditions of how the threaded parts are tightened by the nut runners and how the nut runners are operating, so that any trouble will be prevented from occurring and repairs will quickly be carried out should a problem happen.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 55(1980)-18349 shows a system in which the period of time from the start of a tightening process of a nut runner to the time at which the tightening torque has reached a prescribed torque is measured to determine whether the threaded part has been successfully tightened or not. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 59(1984)-118380 discloses a system in which the rotational angle and tightening torque of a nut runner are detected and compared with preset angle and torque data to determine whether the tightening process is successful or not.
The process of determining whether a threaded part has been tightened as desired in these disclosed systems works well only when the nut runner and its associated devices operate normally, but cannot determine any tightening failures resulting from malfunctions of the nut runner itself and its associated devices. Therefore, when such a tightening failure happens, the cause of the tightening failure cannot be found. As a result, a number of nut runners cannot efficiently be operated in a production line based on the conventional control system.

Nut runner control system and method of monitoring nut runners


The present disclosure relates to an apparatus to be used in a system that adapts a pallet to cargo handling system. This includes the use of adaptor panels to alter the length of the pallet so that it may conform to a standard pallet length. The present disclosure also relates to a method of use for the adaptor system in applying it to a pallet.

Commercial operators that are a part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program should be able to load, secure and transport military cargo. Military containers and pallets do not readily interface with commercial cargo handling systems because they generally have different standard sizes and a different edge shape. Commercial operators are generally forced to add complexity at the cost of additional weight to their existing cargo handling systems to accommodate the military ULDs.


A method for manufacturing a resistive memory device is disclosed and comprises following steps. Firstly, a bottom electrode is formed over a substrate. Next, an oxidation process is performed to the bottom electrode to form a metal oxide layer, wherein a hydrogen plasma and an oxygen plasma are provided during the oxidation process. Then, a top electrode is formed on the metal oxide layer.

Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates in general to a method for manufacturing a resistive random access memory device.
Description of the Related Art
Resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) is a type of a memory having a component called a memristor (contraction of "memory resistor"), whose resistance varies when different voltages are imposed across it. The ReRAM device works by changing the resistance of the memristor to store data.
Metal oxide ReRAM is a type of ReRAM working by varying the resistance in the metal oxide. It is necessary to form a metal oxide layer in the metal oxide ReRAM. Improvements of the method for forming the metal oxide layer are in highly demand for the quality and performance of the ReRAM.

Method for manufacturing a resistive random access memory device


A vehicle seat includes a pad of a seat cushion and/or of a backrest, a massage device having a plurality of pressurizable elements integrated into the pad in order to influence the contour of the seat and each of which can be controlled separately, and a control device for controlling the massage device, wherein, in addition to the massage device, a seat climate control system can also be controlled by the control device.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a vehicle seat comprising a pad of a seat cushion and/or of a backrest and a massage device.
Such a vehicle seat is for example known from the Mercedes-Benz S class (series W221). Seven massage chambers and four programs are thereby provided, which furnish a stimulation of the back musculature with a rolling movement.
German Patent Document No. DE 10242760 A1 discloses a further vehicle seat, where cushion-like elements are provided, which can be pressurized individually via a control unit. In this manner, a static contour of a seat is defined or can be adjusted on the one hand, and different massage functions can be realized by the application of elements on the other hand.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a vehicle seat with which a larger relaxation effect or a comforting effect can be achieved.
In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a vehicle seat comprises a pad of a seat cushion and/or of a backrest, which comprises a massage device with a plurality of pressurizable elements, which are integrated into the pad for influencing the contour of the seat and which respectively can be actuated separately, and with a control device for controlling the massage device, wherein a seat climate control can be controlled using the control device in addition to the massage device. The connection of the massage device to the seat climate control results in a higher relaxation effect for the occupant, as the heat or chill effect supports the massage effect and thereby intensifies the comfort of the occupant.
In an aspect of the present invention at least two seat heating zones of a seat heater can be controlled using the control device. Thereby, it is possible for the occupant to decide at any time via the control device, which seat heating zone or seat heating zones of the at least to zones of the seat heater shall be switched on.
In a further aspect of the invention, the individual pressurizable elements can be controlled in different sequences or massage programs by means of the control device. A specific massage function—for example in a back region or in the shoulder region—can thereby for example be realized in a simple and effective manner by means of a periodic change or combined actuation of individual pressurizable elements.
According to an aspect of the invention, the individual pressurizable elements are formed as cells of a massage mat, by which punctiform changes of the contour of the seat can essentially be achieved. When the individual elements or cells are integrated into a massage mat, the assembly of the massage device within the pad of the vehicle seat is eased on the one hand. On the other hand, the position of the individual elements is thereby also fixed in a precise manner, so that particularly a sliding of a displacement can also be avoided during the massage.
By means of the punctiform changes of the contour of the seat when pressurizing the individual elements, only a relatively small region of the pad is moved or of the contour of the seat is influenced by actuating a single element. The punctiform pressurization has the advantage that the manifold of the massage functions that can be realized by the seat is increased.
In an aspect of the invention the massage mat comprises at least 18 elements or cells for at least 14 massage zones. By dividing the pad into at least 14 zones for at least 18 elements, with at least one element provided in each zone, certain back zones can for example be massaged in a targeted manner.
In another aspect of the invention, at least four preset or individually settable massage programs are provided in the control. An implementation or personally preferred massage sequences or known massage types can in particular be realized hereby, as for example a reflex zone massage with a targeted massage of individual regions of the body.
The elements can be pressurized pneumatically or electro-pneumatically. Individual elements can thereby be actuated in a simple manner. The use of air compared to a fluid with regard to possible leakage problems is thereby advantageous.
The seat heater can be formed as a carbon or flex heater. Very flexible seat heaters are thus used, which adapt to the change of the contour of the seat during the massage. Particularly, carbon heaters are very resistant against mechanical stresses as for example bending, changing or tension loads.
It is also advantageous if the pressurizable elements are formed as massage elements for massaging a vehicle occupant and at least one functional element is provided, which comprises a heating and a cooling device. The functional element can hereby optionally be operated as a heating or as a cooling device. Thereby, two devices separate from each other do not have to be provided for the cooling or heating, but one and the same heating and cooling device can be used optionally for heating or for cooling. This simplifies the technical installation effort of the functional element, whereby the vehicle seat enables a cooling or heating in a simplified manner.
By means of the cooperation of heat, or particularly a chill acting for a short time, with the pressure provided by the massage element, a particularly comforting, relaxing effect can be achieved for the vehicle occupant. Analogously to a hot treatment (hot stone therapy) or cold stone treatment (cold stone therapy), the introduction of heat into deeper body zones of the vehicle occupant can lead to a state of deep relaxation and an increased well-being. The local chilling of the body of the vehicle occupant supports the blood circulation and the lymph flow in a comfortable manner. Typical heat application areas can hereby be back pain and/or muscle and joint pain. Typical chill applications can be present with headaches, sprains and/or muscle strains with inflammatory occurrence. A change from cold to warm can particularly act against chronic hardenings and/or tensions.
The switchover of the at least one functional element from the heating operation to the cooling operation and vice versa can take place in a particularly simple manner, if the at least one functional element is formed as a Peltier element. Such a Peltier element has a warm side due to applying an electrical voltage and a cold side. By reversal of the current direction, the warm side can then be use as a cold side and the cold side be used as a warm side. The switchover between cooling and heating can thus take place in a particularly quick manner.
The functional element can be arranged in a region of the vehicle seat pressurized by the at least one massage element. Thus, not only heat or chill can be provided locally, but the provision of chill or heat can be coupled locally to the pressure provided by the massage element and a cold or a warm pressure point can thus be provided optionally. A temporal coupling of pressure and heat or pressure and chill with alternating heat and chill can also be provided. Particularly, increasing or decreasing pressure can accompany increasing or decreasing heat or optionally chill. The increase and the decrease of the thermal effect and of the pressure can take place in the opposite direction, at least at times.
Because the heat or chill can be provided by the functional element that can optionally be operated as the heating device or as the cooling device, the entire vehicle seat does not have to be heated or chilled, whereby a high energy efficiency can be achieved. The heat or the chill can hereby particularly be provided only in the region of the massage elements.
The massage elements arranged in the rear partial region of the backrest are designed to pressurize ischium bumps, that is, the lower, thickened regions of the ischium of a vehicle occupant. If the massage elements are thus filled with a pneumatic or hydraulic medium, the ischium bumps are lifted.
Compared to this, the massage elements arranged in the lower partial region of the backrest are formed to pressurize the two ilia of the pelvis of the vehicle occupant with a pressure directed to the front.

Vehicle seat comprising a pad of a seat cushion and/or of a backrest and a massage device


A hoist spooling assembly for spooling a cable about a drum while preventing relative movement between the cable and the drum. The hoist spooling assembly evenly delivers force from a roller to the cable while reducing the incidence of spooling problems, including mechanical wear of the cable and formation of loops and kinks in the cable.

Poor hoist spooling can be characterized by the presence of gaps between cable wraps, multiple cable layers on a drum designed for single-layer cable wrapping, mechanical cable damage, reduced productivity, reduced cable life, and/or operator injury. Mechanical damage to a cable can be caused by "bird-caging" and formation of loops and/or kinks.
These problems often arise when a hoist spooling assembly is used to lift or lower a drill string. As a drill string is lowered into a drill hole, its velocity will sometimes decelerate relative to the constant velocity of the cable line of the main line hoist. This deceleration can be attributed to an obstruction or to the viscous effects of drilling mud or water in the drill hole. This change in relative velocities can result in an excess amount of cable, which, in turn, can lead to formation of a loop. If such a loop is pulled through the hoist spooling assembly, a kink can form, thereby damaging the cable such that the cable is unfit for service. Kinks of this kind often form when the hoist operator stops activating the winch and the drill string breaks free of the obstruction, thereby allowing the full weight of the drill string to be applied to the cable with loops present. If the loops are large enough, then they can also get caught on—and irreparably damage—any tensioning mechanisms or encoders of the assembly. Slack in the cable can also arise when there are gaps between cable wraps. When these gaps occur, the length of the cable in a single wrap is longer than the length of the cable in a properly spooled wrap. Thus, when the cable shifts laterally on the drum, the extra length creates slack that can cause damage as described herein.
When a hoist is used to lift the drill string, a hoist plug must typically be threaded on the drill rods. Often, the hoist plug is lowered into the drill string with an excessive amount of unwound cable having little or no tension. Subsequent activation of the hoist can cause a sudden application of tension force to the cable, which is typically at a fleet angle of 1 to 2 degrees relative to a center of the drum. This sudden application of force can result in a side load that forces the cable to "jump" towards the center of the drum, thereby creating a gap. Over time, these spooling errors can perpetuate until the rope is damaged or until the operators are required to re-spool the rope, which can result in severe operator injury.
Accordingly, there is a need in the pertinent art for apparatus and methods for preventing relative motion between a cable and a drum, optimizing the interface between a roller and the cable, and improving the overall functionality and robustness of a hoist spooling assembly in drilling applications.

Hoist spooling assembly and methods of using same


A vehicle apparatus is provided to enable a clutch to be re-engaged without creating a shock when there is rollback of the wheels, which are driven by an electric motor via the clutch. The vehicle apparatus comprises a travel direction command determining section, an electric motor counterelectromotive force detecting section and a wheel rotational direction determining section. The travel direction command determining section is configured to determine whether a forward travel command or a reverse travel command has been issued. The electric motor counterelectromotive force detecting section is configured to detect a counterelectromotive force of an electric motor that drives a wheel of a vehicle. The wheel rotational direction determining section is configured to determine whether the wheel is rotating in an opposite direction to a vehicle travel direction command determined by the travel direction command determining section, based on a determination that a polarity of the counterelectromotive force detected by the electric motor counterelectromotive force detecting section does not match the vehicle travel direction command determined by the travel direction command determining section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus for use with electric motor driven wheels, such as in an electric motor four-wheel drive vehicle, wherein an internal combustion engine drives one pair of wheels among the front and rear wheels, and the motive power from an electric motor appropriately drives the other pair of wheels via a clutch. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus that discriminates the rotational direction and controls the drive of the electric motor-driven wheels.
2. Background Information
A hybrid four-wheel drive vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application No. 2002-218605, is in which a pair of electric motor driven wheels are appropriately driven by the motive power from an electric motor via a clutch. This vehicle drives the front or rear wheels by an internal combustion engine, and the rear or front wheels are capable of being driven by an electric motor via a clutch, wherein the electric motor is directly driven by the electrical power from a four-wheel drive specialized generator that is coupled to and driven by the internal combustion engine.
In summary, the hybrid four-wheel drive is enabled by generating electrical power by applying a load to the generator of a magnitude up to the point where the wheels driven by the engine are about to undergo acceleration slippage, or applying a load to the generator corresponding to just the surplus torque portion of the engine when acceleration slippage has occurred; driving the electric motor by the electric power generated thereby, and at that time transmitting to the electric motor driven wheels the motive power from the electric motor via the clutch, which has been engaged.
Basically, leaving the clutch in a released state when not in four-wheel drive avoids a decline in fuel economy by ensuring that the electric motor driven wheels do not excessively pull on the electric motor. However, the clutch is left in an engaged state because it is preferable to shift to a four-wheel drive state due to the significant risk that the engine driven wheels will experience acceleration slippage when starting from a stop.
When starting from a stop, a load is applied to the generator corresponding to the amount that the accelerator pedal is depressed, thereby generating electric power. That generated electric power drives the electric motor, and the vehicle is thereby started from a stop in a four-wheel drive state.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved vehicle control apparatus. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


A fiber reinforced composite structure for transmitting high shear loads includes a laminate with an edge defining a buttress groove. The buttress groove includes a pressure flank oriented substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the structure to transmit shear loads in one direction only. The laminate is formed of a plurality of plies having fibers disposed in a matrix material at angular orientations relative to the longitudinal axis of the structure. A first plurality of the plies have fibers oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis and a majority of the other plies have fibers oriented at an angle .theta. relative to the longitudinal axis corresponding to a direction of the largest tensile component of the shear load.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fiber reinforced composite structures and, more particularly, to fiber reinforced composite structures formed with threads or grooves for transmitting high shear loads.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The buttress type of thread is often used in applications where exceptionally high shear stresses are to be transferred in one direction only between load bearing structures. The contacting flank of the thread, which takes the thrust, is commonly referred to as the pressure flank and is nearly perpendicular to the longitudinal thread axis of each load bearing structure such that the radial component of the thrust is reduced to a minimum. Because of the small radial thrust, the buttress form of thread is particularly applicable where tubular members are screwed together, as in the case of breech mechanisms of large guns, airplane propeller hubs, and columns for hydraulic presses. Grooves having substantially the same cross-sectional configuration as the buttress form of thread are often referred to as buttress grooves.
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating a common form of buttress groove 10 in a load bearing structure 12. A number of such grooves are typically formed at axially spaced locations along a longitudinal axis 14 of the load bearing structure 12 to define therebetween one or more ridges 16, which can be teeth or threads depending upon the manner in which a load or thrust T is to be transferred between the load bearing structure 12 and another load bearing structure 13. Thrust T is oriented in an axial direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 14 of the load bearing structure and is shown as a force exerted by load bearing structure 13 against the load bearing structure 12. It will be appreciated that an equal and oppositely directed counterforce (not shown) is exerted by load bearing structure 12 against load bearing structure 13. For purposes of the following description, the loading force or thrust T exerted by load bearing structure 13 will be considered to be forwardly directed relative to load bearing structure 12 and the counterforce exerted by load bearing structure 12 will be considered to be rearwardly directed relative to load bearing structure 12.
A load-resisting rear face or pressure flank 18 of each buttress groove 10 of load bearing structure 12 extends upward in a transverse direction substantially perpendicular or normal to the longitudinal axis 14 of the load bearing structure 12 from a root 20 at the base of a ridge 16 to a crest 22 at the top of the ridge. The load-resisting pressure flank 18 can also be inclined toward the front end of structure 12 at an angle .beta., taken relative to normal, ranging from about 1.degree. to about 5.degree.. Crest 22 of a given ridge 16 extends forward in parallel with the longitudinal axis 14 of the load bearing structure 12 from the pressure flank 18 to a front face or flank 24 oriented at an angle .alpha. relative to the pressure flank. The angle .alpha., commonly referred to as the thread angle, is typically about 45.degree. for a buttress groove but can range from about 30.degree. to about 60.degree..
Buttress grooves were originally developed to transfer loads between structures made of isotropic materials, such as metals. It would be desirable, however, to form buttress grooves in load bearing structures made of fiber reinforced composite materials to reduce weight and/or increase stiffness and strength. Unlike isotropic materials, however, the mechanical properties of fiber reinforced composite materials tend to be anisotropic in that the mechanical properties of the fiber reinforced composite material, such as shear strength and stiffness, are dependent upon the orientation of the reinforcing fibers. In the case of laminated fiber reinforced composite structures, the mechanical properties of the composite material are related to the orientation of fibers in the individual plies making up the structure.
In order to better understand how individual plies of a laminated fiber reinforced composite structure are oriented, a laminate X-Y coordinate system can be defined locally relative to a load bearing structure 12 as shown in FIG. 1, wherein the X axis corresponds to the axial or longitudinal axis 14 of the load bearing structure 12 and the Y axis corresponds to the lateral or radial direction, depending upon whether the load bearing structure is flat or cylindrical. Referring still to FIG. 1, it can be seen that X is taken to be positive in the rearward direction or opposite the direction of loading or thrust T, and Y is taken to be positive in the direction of grooves 10. The Z-direction or axis of the laminate X-Y coordinate system is into the plane of the figure and represents the interlaminar or through-the-thickness dimension of the laminated fiber reinforced composite structure. A similar laminate X'-Y' coordinate system can be defined locally for load bearing structure 13, as shown in FIG. 1, wherein X' is taken to be positive in the direction of loading or thrust T exerted by the load bearing structure 13 and Y' is taken to be positive in the direction of grooves 10. "Ply orientation," as used herein, refers to the angular orientation .theta. of the reinforcing fibers of an individual ply relative to the X-axis of the local laminate coordinate system; and, looking at FIG. 1, .theta. is taken to be positive in the clockwise direction or toward the buttress grooves 10.
Prior art fiber reinforced composite structures, such as those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, have typically employed balanced and symmetric laminate architectures in combination with buttress grooves 10 formed through the thickness of the laminates to transfer loads to the composite structure. Only four adjacent plies 26, 27, 28 and 29 are shown for each prior art composite structure 12; it will be appreciated, however, that since the composite structures are formed of balanced and symmetric laminates, the sequential order of the plies or pattern indicated by the four plies shown will be repeated in reverse order as needed to achieve a desired laminate thickness. In FIG. 2, the reinforcing fibers 30 of the first ply 26 are oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis 14 of the load bearing structure 12 or at 0.degree. relative to the X axis. Accordingly, ply 26 is referred to as a 0.degree. ply. Ply 27 is immediately adjacent or beneath ply 26 and includes fibers 30 oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 14 of the 4, load bearing structure 12 or at 90.degree. relative to the X axis. Accordingly, ply 27 is referred to as a 90.degree. ply. Ply 28 is immediately adjacent or beneath ply 27 and includes fibers 30 oriented at 45.degree. relative to the X axis or substantially parallel to the front flank 24 of each groove. Accordingly, ply 28 is referred to as a +45.degree. ply. Ply 29 is immediately adjacent or beneath ply 28 and includes fibers 30 oriented at an angle .theta. of -45.degree. relative to the X axis such that the fibers are substantially perpendicular to the front flank 24 of each groove. Accordingly, ply 29 is referred to as a -45.degree. ply. The pattern shown in FIG. 2, commonly referred to as a [0/90/+45/-45].sub.s layup, repeats itself in reverse order through the thickness of the laminate so that, for example, the next four plies would be a -45.degree. ply, a +45.degree. ply, a 90.degree. ply and a 0.degree. ply, respectively.
In FIG. 3, the first and second plies 26 and 27 are 0.degree. plies, the third ply 28 is a +45.degree. ply and the fourth ply 29 is a -45.degree. ply. This pattern, commonly referred to as a [0/0/+45/-45].sub.s layup, repeats itself in reverse order through the thickness of the laminate so that, for example, the next four plies would be a -45.degree., a +45.degree. and two 0.degree. plies, respectively.
From the above, it will be appreciated that the prior art composite structures make use of an equal number of +45.degree. plies and -45.degree. plies, presumably to carry the shear loads generated in the structure; and, while the shear strength of such laminated fiber reinforced composite structures appears promising, it would be desirable to improve the shear strength of fiber reinforced composite structures having buttress grooves without increasing the number of plies or the thickness of the structure.

Composite structure for transmitting high shear loads

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


A magnetic core surrounds a coil and has a plurality of first core sections arrayed along the widthwise direction of a recording medium orthogonally to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and a second core section disposed at both ends in the widthwise direction within a hollow section of the coil. The second core section is formed so that the cross-sectional area thereof in the conveyance direction of the recording medium grows progressively larger from the center of the widthwise direction towards the end thereof.

The present disclosure relates to a fuser device and an image forming apparatus provided with the same, and in particular to a fuser device utilizing electromagnetic induction heating and an image forming apparatus provided with the same.
A fuser device utilizing electromagnetic induction heating is provided with, for example, a heating member, a pressure-applying member pressed against the heating member, a magnetic core having a predetermined Curie temperature, and a coil for generating a magnetic flux using the magnetic core to inductively heat the heating member. The fuser device generates an eddy current in an inductive heat-generating layer provided within the heating member via the magnetic core using the magnetic flux generated by the coil, generates heat in the heating member using joule heat generated by the eddy current, and heats the heating member to a predetermined fusing temperature.
The coil is, for example, looped around the beating member along the lengthwise direction thereof, and the magnetic core extends along the paper widthwise direction (that is, lengthwise direction of the magnetic core) in the gap formed by the rings of the looped coil. The coil is configured so that, for example, an inner part of a U-shaped mapping part at the end of the lengthwise direction of the coil roughly corresponds to the end of the maximum paper width subjected to fusing. Such a configuration may suitably dispose the coil with respect to the heating member provided with the inductive heat-generating layer, and enables uniform heating along the paper widthwise direction.

Fuser device and image forming apparatus provided with same


A load bearing solenoid operated valve having a one piece body with threads on opposite ends thereof for connection to a system placing the valve in tension or compression. An inlet port is formed in one end of the body and a plurality of cross ports are formed to communicate with the inlet. A sleeve valve/armature member which is magnetizable is slidably received over the body and has radial ports which are moved axially for valving the body cross ports. An annular flux collector ring and a pole piece are disposed on the body on opposite axial sides of the sleeve valve. A bobbin with coil thereon is received over the body and sleeve and a magnetically permeable cover over the coil completes the flux loop about the coil.

The present invention relates to solenoid operated hydraulic valves which are mounted as part of a load bearing assembly such as a damper rod employed in a motor vehicle suspension system. Solenoid operated hydraulic valves employed for such applications are subjected to cyclic tensile and compressive loads on the structural components thereof which are often aligned in sequence along the central axis of the solenoid armature for achieving efficiency and economy in manufacturing and assembly.
As a load bearing member in a suspension system, the valve must meet certain dimensional requirements in addition to having a load bearing capability; and, heretofore has resulted in an assembly of components by weldment and threaded connections which has been found to be prohibitively expensive for high volume mass production of motor vehicle components particularly for passenger car and light truck applications. Furthermore, severe limitations in allowable dimensional variations have often required post assembly machining operations which have added to the manufacturing costs.
A known valve assembly is shown in FIG. 4 with a first load bearing end member 1 threadingly engaging a second annular body member 2 with a flux collector ring member 3 attached to a shoulder or body member 2. Load bearing member 1 has internal threads 1A formed in the upper end thereof for attachment to a load applying member. The lower end of body member 2 is provided with an inlet port 6. The moveable armature/valve member 4 and pole piece 5 and a ported sleeve member 7 are disposed between members 1 and 2 prior to threaded assembly thereof. The assembly of FIG. 4 is thus relatively complex by virtue of the plurality of parts and their joining and is relatively costly to fabricate and assemble in mass production.
Thus, it has been desired to provide a solenoid operated hydraulic valve assembly which is intended to function as a load bearing member in an assembly and to provide such a device which is easy to assemble and install and is relatively low in manufacturing costs.
The present invention provides a solenoid operated hydraulic valve intended for use as a structural load bearing member in an assembly and has a load bearing surface on oppositely disposed ends thereof with an inlet port aligned with the load bearing surfaces on a one piece valve body having a side port formed therein which communicates with the inlet port. An annular flux collector is disposed on the body and a sleeve having magnetically permeable material is disposed over the side port and movable on the body for opening and closing the side port. An annular pole piece is disposed on the body remotely from the flux collector and a coil of electrically conductive material is disposed about the sleeve which is moved upon energization of the coil.
In the preferred embodiment, the load bearing surfaces and the inlet port are coaxially aligned and an outlet port communicating with the side port is provided and is disposed to discharge in a direction generally parallel to the inlet port. The present invention thus provides a unique and novel load bearing solenoid operated hydraulic valve assembly which has a one piece body with an inlet port formed therein for insertion as a load bearing member in a fluid operated system.

Load bearing solenoid operated valve and method of making same


In order for a conduction path to have a reduced number of sliding portions for conduction, without increase in inductance nor resistance, thereby permitting an enhanced accuracy of inspection, a pair of plungers (3, 4) biased in opposite directions by a coil spring (2), to be electrically connected to a wiring plate (10), have electrical connections in which, in a tubular portion (15) as a tight wound spiral portion (15a) fixed on one plunger (4) to allow linear flow of electrical signal, the other plunger (3) is brought into slidable contact.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a microcontactor probe, such as an electrically conductive miniature contactor, socketpin (SCP), or thinprobe (THP), that has a plunger as a needle member adapted for contact on a contact target, such as a liquid crystal display substrate, TAB, or package substrate (PKG), to take out an electric signal to be transmitted to external circuitry via a signal transmission line, such as a lead wire. The present invention further relates to an electric probe unit constituted with a plurality of microcontactor probes.
2. Background Art
Conventional electric probe units for electrical inspections, such as of a printed circuit board's conductor pattern or electronic device, employ microcontactor probes constituted with a plunger as a conductive needle member, a holder for holding the plunger to be axially movable to go in and out, and a coil spring for resiliently biasing the plunger in a direction for a projecting end thereof to project from a front end (as an axial end) of the holder, thereby allowing for the projecting end of the plunger to resiliently contact a contact target of an object to be inspected.
As such an example, there has been known a microcontactor probe 100 shown in FIG. 13, as it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 10-239349, in which a plunger assembly 5 that has a pair of plungers 3 and 4 joined to both ends of a coil spring 2 is accommodated to be installed in support holes 8 and 9 formed in insulating holders 6 and 7, allowing for reciprocal movement of the paired plungers 3 and 4, while the installed plungers 3 and 4 are urged to project outward and prevented from falling.
In the installed condition, the plungers 3 and 4 accommodated in the support holes 8 and 9 are prevented from falling, with their stepped parts engaged either with the lower holder 6 and the other with the upper holder 7. The coil spring 2 has a tight wound spiral portion 2a in an intermediate part thereof. The intermediate tight wound spiral portion 2a has a length for stem parts 3a and 4a of the plungers 3 and 4 to contact thereto in a waiting state (the state in which the plunger 3 is not brought into contact on an inspection target).
The above-noted probe 100 is used for inspection, in an electrically connected condition in which a projecting end of the upper plunger 4 resiliently contacts a lead conductor 11 that is fixed to a wiring plate 10 laminated on the holder 7, by bringing a projected end of the lower plunger 3 into resilient contact on the inspection target 12 of the object of inspection. In the inspection, a conduction path L of electronic signal develops, as shown by solid line arrows in FIG. 13, extending from the inspection target 12 to the lower plunger 3, for conduction from the stem part 3a to the step part 4a of the upper plunger 4 via the intermediate tight wound spiral portion 2a, and passing the upper plunger 4, leading to the lead conductor 11, whereby the inspection target 12 as a printed circuit formed on the substrate 13 can be inspected for short-circuiting or disconnection.
In this condition, the conduction path L that has to pass the single coil spring 2 includes the intermediate tight wound spiral portion 2a, where significant fractions of electric signals are linearly conducted in an axial direction of the coil spring 2, thus preventing a high-frequency signal from flowing a coarse wound spiral portion of the coil spring 2 which would have an additional inductance and an additional resistance.
In the microcontactor probe 100, however, the conduction path L includes, as shown in FIG. 13, lower and upper sliding portions A and B for conduction between the intermediate tight wound spiral portion 2a and the stem parts 3a and 4a of the lower and upper plungers 3 and 4, respectively, which two sliding portions A and B for conduction cause dispersion of resistance, resulting in a reduced accuracy of inspection, as a problem.
Further, the microcontactor probe 100 goes unstable if the contact pressure to be exerted by the plunger 3 on the inspection target 12 is not great to some extent, as it gives rise to a high contact resistance due to such a cause as a failure to break an oxidized skin of the inspection target 12 for example. There is thus required a great contact pressure, which however is concurrently exerted via the plunger 4 also on the lead conductor 11, which means that in application to a mass production the lead conductor 11 is subjected to a great contact pressure imposed thereon every test (that amounts to hundreds of thousands to millions times), resulting in a reduced service life at the substrate 13 (or the wiring plate 10) due to an early rupture or the like, as another problem.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Microcontactor probe with reduced number of sliding contacts for Conduction, and electric probe unit


Apparatus and method for providing a termination point for service emulation instances in an access network is provided. In an embodiment, the service emulation instances are implemented utilizing, for example, pseudowires. Communications to and from the access network are aggregated and transmitted via one or more pseudowires to a service emulation instance terminator. The service emulation instance terminator converts the traffic to its native form and, if necessary, converts the traffic to a different type of format or service. The service emulation instance terminator then frames the traffic for the appropriate type of service and transmits the traffic to the service edge. Traffic received from the service is removed prepended with a pseudowire label and aggregated with other traffic. The aggregated traffic is transmitted to the customer via the access network. If necessary, an interworking function may convert the traffic from one type of service to another type of service. Further, functionalities of equipment such as frame relay switching or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switching may be realized in the service emulation instance terminator.

A commercial telecommunications network operated by a service provider supports voice and data communications between customer locations and includes an access network and a core network. Generally, customer devices communicatively couple to the access network, which in turn connects to the core network. The access network includes what many people refer to as "the last mile," that is, the connectivity from a customer location, such as an office building, to a point where a service provider has significant facilities, such as a metro hub or a "service edge" at the periphery of the core network. In contrast to the access network, the core network usually provides transport of large aggregate flows over long distances and handles the selective routing of each customer's voice and data traffic to other locations served by the network. The access network generally comprises a series of switches, aggregators, multiplexers, demultiplexers, routers, hubs, and the like which collectively serve to provide connectivity between customers' equipment and the core network.
Customer sites in the vicinity of a service provider's edge, or an intermediate hub that provides connection to the service edge, must be connected to the service edge via some form of access circuit. Traditionally, it has been more practical for a core network service provider to operate a few strategically placed facilities to serve a large number of customers in a metropolitan area rather than to extend the service provider's core network to every physical location where customers may reside. Providing access services between a customer's location and a metro hub or a service edge may involve installing electrical or optical cables between the service provider and the customer site. In some cases, the service provider installs and owns this access link connected directly to the customer location. More often, however, the existing facilities of a local telephone carrier are leased to provide this connectivity. The well-established local telephone facilities provide at least twisted-pair subscriber loop connectivity to virtually every potential customer location in a metropolitan area. In the case of larger business locations and multi-tenant commercial sites, local telephone facilities typically comprise a large quantity of telephone wires or broadband access to the sites.
The services required by customers, residential or business, vary greatly in the type of access services, bandwidth, quality of service (QoS), type of legacy equipment, and the like. Types of services typically include frame relay services, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) services, broadband services, point-to-point private line services, voice services, and the like. Typically, the access network provides transport, aggregation, grooming, and switching for each of these types of services independently, which in turn requires the access service provider to provision each of these services separately. Each type of service utilizes different interface and framing standards, and in particular, each type of service typically utilizes different sets of protocols. As a result, current switches must be equipped to interface with and evaluate flows for each type of interface for which the switch is expected to route. Further, some types of services, such as frame relay services, may require certain types of switching equipment which may need to be replaced over time.
Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the burden associated with supporting the various types of services throughout the access network and to aggregate traffic prior to transmitting the traffic through the access network. Further, there is a need for a more efficient means of providing certain functionality of equipment that may need replacement over time.

Apparatus and method for providing a network termination point


Apparatuses, systems, methods, and computer program products are disclosed for organizing automatic control in automation systems from a system description, using deconstruction of complex equipment graphs. A system control scheme is automatically generated from a deconstruction of an equipment graph into controllable sets of prioritized sub-systems. An equipment graph comprises one or more subsystems of equipment. Prioritized sub-systems comprise a unique routing path through an equipment graph. Prioritized sub-systems comprise the ability to be actuated and are divided into groups of sub-system sets. Groups of sub-system sets comprise synchronous and asynchronous sets and are created for conjoined routing paths of parallel sub-systems.

Modern buildings contain a varied and complex set of systems for managing and maintaining the building environment. Building automation systems are used to automate the control of many separate systems, such as those used for lighting, climate, security, entertainment, etc. Building automation systems can perform a number of functions, such as automation of equipment scheduling, monitoring of various building parameters, optimization of resource consumption, event or alarm reporting and handling, and many others.
Building automation system implementation requires programmatic understanding of what equipment is available to the building automation system and how that equipment may be utilized. For example, the building automation system needs to account for information such as what equipment can be run simultaneously, what groups of equipment work together to achieve a particular objective, etc. Automatic discovery of this information is challenging with current methodologies.

Automatic control method of generating sub-systems and sub-system arbitration from the deconstruction of a complex equipment graph


Methods of inducing thrombopoiesis and/or treating thrombocytopenia in a subject are provided. Accordingly there is provided a method comprising contacting stem cells with a differentiation potential towards platelets or hematopoietic progenitor cells derived therefrom with Livin, thereby inducing thrombopoiesis. Also provided is a method comprising contacting cells with a differentiation potential towards platelets with tLivin, thereby inducing thrombopoiesis. Also provided are compositions and isolated population of cells for inducing thrombopoiesis and/or treating thrombocytopenia in a subject.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to compositions and methods for inducing thrombopoiesis.
Platelets are circulating cell-derived fragments that are required for the maintenance of hemostasis. These small, anucleate fragments represent the first line of defense against hemorrhage following vascular injury, and are crucial for blood coagulation. Thrombopoiesis is the complex process of platelet production from megakaryocytes (MKs), and even to date is incompletely understood. Functional platelets are the terminal differentiation product of this process. Specifically, in the bone marrow (BM), MKs give rise to circulating platelets through commitment of the multipotent hematopoietic stem cell to the MK lineage, proliferation of the progenitors and terminal differentiation of MKs by blebbing of their membrane and production of platelet fragments. This process is characterized by DNA endoreplication, followed by cytoplasmic maturation and expansion. Platelets form as the fully mature MK develops cytoplasmic extensions, or pseudopodial protrusions, that extend in proximity to sinusoidal endothelial cells (Deutsch V R and Tomer A. Br J Haematol. 161(6):778-93 (2013), Tvassoli and Aoki, Blood Cells, 15:3-14 (1989)). Platelets bud from the ends of these protrusions and thereafter enter the circulation. The ability of MK to produce platelet buds is ultimately exhausted, and it undergoes terminal apoptosis.
A number of diseases, such as ITP and TTP, or conditions result in low levels or poor functioning of blood platelets. For example, pancytopenia and prolonged thrombocytopenia, which remain a significant clinical challenge for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and high dose chemotherapy. Chemotherapy or irradiation-associated depletion of hematopoietic precursors in the BM results in hemorrhagic and life threatening infectious complications. Engraftment of transplanted cells or regeneration of normal hematopoiesis and blood count recovery is usually accomplished within 2 to 5 weeks. The reason for this delay has been attributed to insufficient MK precursors in the grafts48.
Currently available treatments for thrombocytopenia and related conditions include, for example, corticosteroids, IVIG, splenectomy, and whole blood or platelet transfusion, methods which are either palliative and non-specific, or drastic and expensive. Platelets for such procedures are obtained by plateletphoresis from normal donors. However the efficiency of such costly transfusions can be limited since platelets have a relatively short shelf-life of about 5 days. Furthermore, patients are often refractory to subsequent transfusions. Injections of Thrombopoietin (TPO), the physiologic regulator of thrombopoiesis, and TPO mimetics to increase platelet count has not been clinically effective due to a lag period before the level of platelets was affected.
Thus, there remains a need for new and improved methods for stimulating or enhancing the production of platelets.
The IAP family of proteins has been shown to inhibit apoptosis induced by a variety of stimuli mainly by binding and inhibiting specific caspases25. Eight human IAPs have been identified to date: c-IAP1, c-IAP2, NAIP, Survivin, XIAP, Bruce, ILP-2 and Livin.
Livin, also known as baculoviral IAP repeat-containing 7; BIRC7, MAP, ML-IAP and Livin inhibitor-of-apoptosis, contains a single baculovirus IAP repeats (BIR) domain at the N-terminus and a carboxy-terminal RING domain29-31. The BIR domain was shown to play a role in the anti-apoptotic function of IAPs26,27. Livin encodes two highly similar splicing variants, termed Livin α and 13 that differ only in 18 amino acids located between the BIR and the RING domains, which are present in the α but not in the β isoform. Following apoptotic stimuli, both Livin isoforms α and β undergo a specific proteolytic cleavage that trims the 52 amino acids at the N-terminus of Livin. From each isoform a truncated C-terminal Livin is thus produced, of approximately 30 kDa (also termed p30) and 28 kDa (also termed p28), respectively, containing the full BIR and RING domains (Ashhab, Y. et al. FEBS letters, 495: 56-60 (2001)). These truncated forms of Livin are collectively referred to as tLivin. Recent reports show that tLivin is not only devoid of Livin anti-apoptotic activity but also acquires a pro-apoptotic effect32,33. Thus, Livin is unique among the IAP members, exerting both anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic activities making it a regulator of apoptosis rather than anti-apoptotic protein32,33.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,517,949 discloses Livin-derived peptides with pro-apoptotic activity. Specifically provided are peptides p30-Livin α and p28-Livin β, derived from Livin α and β truncation, respectively, as well as compositions thereof. These peptides display pro-apoptotic activity and as such are used for the enhancement and/or induction of apoptosis, as well as for the treatment of cancer.

Compositions and methods for inducing thrombopoiesis

Hadasit Medical Research Services and Development Ltd.


Devices, systems, and methods may implement one or more techniques for anchoring computer generated objects within an augmented reality scene. One or more techniques may include capturing an image frame via a camera sensor, for example. One or more techniques may include determining a ground plane of the image frame and/or identifying a wall plane of the image frame. One or more techniques may include generating a model of a guide reticle and/or linking a virtual tether connecting the guide reticle to a digital object to be rendered relative to the guide reticle. One or more techniques may include rendering the guide reticle and the virtual tether to a display of, for example, a mobile image capture computing device relative to the wall plane and the ground plane. One or more techniques may include rendering the digital object to the display relative to the guide reticle and the virtual tether.

Advancements in electrical component design and fabrication have resulted in computing hardware becoming smaller and smaller, allowing them to fit in smaller, more compact form factors. In turn, those smaller computing hardware components have been integrated into mobile computing devices, including smartphones, tablets, wearables, etc. Such components include touchscreen displays, various sensors (e.g., proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, etc.), cameras, wireless communication interfaces, etc.
As a result, mobile computing devices have become seemingly ubiquitous. Technologies have emerged to leverage the components of the computing devices. One such technology is computer-mediated reality and augmented reality. Computer-mediated reality manipulates the perception of a user's environment by adding information to or subtracting information from the environment through the use of a mobile computing device. Augmented reality blends a user's environment with digital information (e.g., virtual objects, computer generated content, etc.), generally in real time. In other words, the digital information is embedded, or overlays, the actual environment.
However, placement of such computer generated content into an image of an augmented reality scene, such that it appears to be in direct contact with real physical planar surfaces, is non-trivial due to a lack of context with respect to the size, height, and distance of the computer generated content relative to a view of the camera from which the image was captured. Using data collected from a depth camera (e.g., an RGB-D camera, a ranging camera, a time-of-flight (ToF) camera, etc.), for example, in which RGB information is accompanied with per-pixel depth information, determining the intersection between computer generated content and physical objects can be rather trivial, since the depth and surface structure of physical surroundings relative to the camera is explicitly known. Within standard RGB imagery, however, there is no inherent ground-truth information to determine the position and orientation of computer generated content relative to either the imaging camera or physical surfaces within the image itself.

Technologies for anchoring computer generated objects within augmented reality