An engaging plate is provided on a handle, and a lock lever is provided to be engaged with a hook of the engaging plate. A spring is provided to urge the lock lever so as to engage the lock lever with the hook to lock the handle. The handle is released by a slide plate provided to be engaged with the lock lever. A pushbutton is fixed to the slide plate for pushing the slide plate. When the slide plate is pushed, the lock lever is rotated to release the lock lever from the hook.

The present invention relates to a handle device for an audio equipment such as a car stereo or a portable stereo, and more particularly to a handle device having a lock mechanism for an audio equipment mounted on a vehicle.
The car stereo is mounted in a dashboard of the motor vehicle. The process for mounting the car stereo in the dashboard is a very troublesome work, so that it takes a long time with labor to attach the car stereo.
On the other hand, in order to prevent the stealing of the car stereo, there has been provided a car stereo which is detachably mounted in a holder secured to the dashboard so that the car stereo can be taken out by the user.
FIG. 8 shows a conventional detachable car stereo. A holder 1 having an opening 1a is secured to a dashboard of a motor vehicle (not shown). A body of a car stereo 2 having a handle 3 is detachably mounted in the holder 1 passing through the opening 1a. The handle 3 is rotatably mounted on the car stereo 2 by screws 4.
The car stereo body 2 is pushed in the holder 1 and pulled out from the holder 1 by the handle 3 as shown by arrows.
FIG. 9 shows a lock device of the handle 3. The handle 3 is provided with a hole 4b for the screw 4 and a recess 3b formed on an upper portion of the hole 4. The car stereo body 2 is provided with a threaded hole 4a formed in a side plate 2a thereof for the screw 4 corresponding to the hole 4b of the handle 3, and a projection 3a outwardly projected from the upper portion of the hole 4a corresponding to the recess 3b of the handle 3.
When the car stereo body 2 is mounted in the holder 1, the handle 3 is set on a predetermined receiving position, where the projection 3a engages with the recess 3b. Thus, the handle 3 is locked.
In order to take out the car stereo body 2 from the holder 1, the handle 3 is pivoted in the opposite direction by fingernails of the user to disengage the projections 3a from the recesses 3b, and then, the stereo is pulled out.
However, in the conventional device, the projections 3a engages with the recess 3b without a click. Consequently, operation feeling is bad. Further, it is difficult to pull out the handle 3 from the retracted position by the fingernails.
FIG. 10 shows another example of the conventional detachable car stereo in which 1 push arm 3c is provided for pulling a handle 3'. The handle 3' is rotatably mounted on the body 2 of the car stereo at the opposite side portions of an operation panel 2b by shafts 4c. The push arm 3c is adapted to forwardly rotate the handle 3' when the push arm 3c is compressed toward the body 2.
However, since the push arm 3c is provided near the shaft 4c, a large force is required to push the arm 3c. Furthermore, the handle 3' and the push arm 3c are made of metal plate so that it is inharmonious with the operation panel 2b made of plastic. Therefore, the appearance of the operation panel 2b is bad.
FIG. 11 shows a further example of the conventional detachable car stereo without a handle.
A car stereo body 2' has engaging members (not shown) provided on the opposite side portions thereof. When the body 2' is mounted in the holder 1, the engaging members engage with the holder 1. A pair of release tools 2c are provided for removing the car stereo 2' from the holder 1. The engaging members are moved by the release tools 2c to release the engagement. Thus, the car stereo 2' can be pulled out from the holder 1.

Handle device having a lock mechanism for an audio equipment


A T-bar partition support clip for securing a rectangular channel shaped partition track to a T-bar ceiling support includes first and second spaced, parallel, vertical leg portions formed from a deformable sheet metal material. Upper ends of the first and second vertical leg portions are perpendicularly connected to coplanar first and second horizontal leg portions. The first and second horizontal leg portions are connected by a vertically extending clip portion possessing vertical sidewalls connected by a top web. A pair of juxtaposed inwardly extending protuberances are formed by punch indentations in central regions of the vertical sidewalls. The vertical sidewalls converge inwardly and downwardly from a maximum lateral separation adjacent the web to a minimum lateral separation adjacent junctions of the vertical sidewalls with the first and second horizontal leg portions. In use the clip portion is inserted over a top ridge of a T-bar ceiling support with the protuberances in engagement with a reduced neck portion of the T-bar ceiling support. Free ends of the vertical leg portions are manually deformed around sidewalls of the partition track to secure the track to the T-bar support. The support clip allows the operation to be rapidly and inexpensively performed without tools and without marring the surface finish of the T-bar ceiling support.

The present invention relates to T-bar partition support clips, and more particularly pertains to an improved T-bar partition support clip designed for use with conventional T-bar ceiling supports. In a conventional construction method, a ceiling support grid is formed by suspending a plurality of T-bar supports by wires and positioning ceiling panels in the open spaces between the T-bar supports. The present invention is directed to an improved clip and associated method for mounting a partition channel track for use in erecting partition walls in conjunction with this conventional construction method.


Immunogenic compositions useful for the treatment of ulcers or tumors whose growth is dependent on or stimulated by gastrin hormones are disclosed. The immunogenic compositions induce antibodies in a subject which selectively neutralize the specific hormones. Pharmaceutical compositions comprising effective amounts of the immunogenic compositions and methods of treatment using the compositions are disclosed. A method of reversing the inventive treatments by neutralizing the antibodies induced in vivo is also disclosed.

Peptic ulcer disease exists in two forms, duodenal ulcers and gastric ulcers. Central to the cause of duodenal ulcers, is the production of excess stomach acid and pepsin and a rapid gastric emptying time. This results in an increase in duodenal exposure to secreted acid and enzymes, and in mucosal damage.
The second form of the disorder, gastric ulcer disease, may be caused by increased stomach acid and a breakdown of the complex stomach defenses that normally protect the gastric mucosa from acid damage. Although the two conditions have different etiologies, both benefit from a reduction in gastric acid secretion.
Because excess stomach acid is a central cause of ulcers, antacid preparations are commonly used as one method of treatment. This method merely neutralizes stomach acid after it is produced. Consequently, large quantities of antacids must be consumed on an ongoing basis to neutralize acid which is continually produced in the stomach. Antacids do not cure the disease because they do not affect the source of acid production.
Gastric acid is produced in a specialized stomach cell, the parietal cell. Parietal cells can be stimulated to secrete acid by acetylcholine, histamine and gastrin, upon the binding of each of these compounds with specific receptors on the surface of the cell. Of these the most potent stimulator of acid secretion is the peptide hormone gastrin.
Current approaches to the control and cure of peptic ulcers center upon devising drugs that inhibit the ability of one or more of these compounds to stimulate acid production or secretion. The most effective group of drugs approved for sale are the H2 antagonists (e.g. Tagamet.RTM. and Zantac.RTM.) which block the histamine H2 receptors on gastric parietal cells and inhibit acid secretion. These drugs, however, require relatively large doses on a daily basis and may induce several undesirable side effects. In cases where H2 antagonists have cured ulcers, relapses occur in almost 100% of cured individuals within a year of discontinuation of treatment. Other drugs have also exhibited problems, including low efficacy and unacceptable levels of toxicity. In the case the peptide hormone gastrin, no successful chemical antagonists have been identified.
Gastrin has several important functions in the gastrointestinal tract, the two most important being stimulation of acid secretion and stimulation of the growth of cells in the gastrointestinal tract. The hormone exists in at least two molecular forms, heptadecagastrin ("G.sub.17 ") and tetrateseracontagastrin ("G.sub.34 ") named according to the number of amino acid ("AA") residues in each molecule. G.sub.34 and G.sub.17 are identical in structure at the carboxy terminus, which is the binding site of the hormones with receptors. G.sub.17 constitutes the 17 carboxy terminal ("C-terminal") end residues of G.sub.34. G.sub.34 consists of the 17 C-Terminal end residues which comprise G.sub.17 and an additional different amino acid sequence of 17 amino terminal ("N-terminal") residues. When G.sub.34 is split by trypsin a G.sub.17 subunit and a non-hormonal 17 amino acid subunit results. Though G.sub.17 is usually obtained by trypsin cleavage of G.sub.34, each form may also be generated separately from its own prohormone.
Although G.sub.17 and G.sub.34 are thought to be equipotent on a molar basis as stimulator of acid release, G.sub.34 is most probably responsible for the stimulation of growth of the gastrointestinal mucosa and the maintenance of the basal acidity of the stomach. G.sub.34 is the principal form present during interdigestive periods. G.sub.34 has a serum half life approximately six times as long as G.sub.17 (40 minutes versus 6 minutes) and is produced in both the stomach and the duodenum. Alternatively, G.sub.17 is the primary stimulator of meal-induced gastric acid secretion. G.sub.17 is 1500 times more potent than histamine and makes up 90% of the antral (stomach) gastrin. G.sub.17 accounts for roughly 60%-70% of the gastrin-mediated acid release.
The prior art in the area of gastrin immunology mainly concerns the induction of antibodies useful for identifying anatomic sites containing or producing gastrin G.sub.17 or G.sub.34 in laboratory animals; see Sugano, K., et al., 1985, "Identification and characterization of glycine-extended post translational processing intermediates of progastrin in porcine stomach", J. of Biological Chemistry 250: 11724-11729; Vaillant, C., et al., 1979, "Cellular origins of different forms of gastrin: The specific immunocytochemical localization of related peptides. J. Histochem Cytochem 27:932-935; Larsson, L. I. et al., 1977, "Characterization of antral gastrin cells with region-specific antisera". J. Histochem. Cytochem 25: 1317-1321. The antisera reported in these publications contained antibodies of numerous specificities, for a variety of antigenic epitopes on gastrin molecules.
Attempts to control gastrin levels by anti-gastrin antibodies induced by active immunization or passive administration of preformed antibodies such as those reported in Jaffe, B. M., et al., 1971, "Gastrin resistance following immunizations to the C-terminal tetrapeptide amide of gastrin, Surgery 69: 232-238; Jaffe, B. M., et al., 1970, "Inhibition of endogenous gastrin activity by antibodies to the carboxyl terminal tetrapeptide amide of gastrin", Gastroenterology 58: 151-156; Jaffe et al., 1969, "Inhibition of endogenous gastrin activity by incubation with antibodies to the C-terminal tetrapeptide of gastrin. Surgery 65: 5633-639 are different from the present invention in that the immunogen used was derived from the carboxyl terminal tetra-peptide amino acid sequence common to G.sub.17, G.sub.34, and to another important hormone, cholecystokinin ("CCK"). The immunogen of Jaffe et al. is thus of no practical value as an anti-gastrin vaccine component; on the contrary, it would produce a deleterious state in which all gastrin activity and other hormone function of G.sub.17, G.sub.34, together with CCK, would be blocked and eliminated by immunization.
This invention provides a novel immunological approach to the control and regulation of gastrin induced disorders such as peptic ulcers. According to the invention, antibodies are induced in the patient by active immunization with immunogens that selectively target specific forms of gastrin. Alternatively, the patient can be passively immunized with anti-gastrin antibodies specific for certain forms of gastrin.
In addition to peptic ulcers, other diseases appear to be related to the hormonal and stimulatory effects of gastrin. These diseases may also be treated by the selective anti-gastrin treatment of the invention.
An area of major medical importance for which the neutralization of gastrin hormonal activity has great therapeutic potential concerns the control of tumors and pathological conditions that are stimulated by gastrointestinal hormones. Several cancers of the gastrointestinal tract and associated tissues are stimulated to grow by the trophic action of gastrin. See Lamers, C.S.H.S., and Jansen, J.B.M.S., 1988, "Role of Gastrin and Cholecystokinin in Tumours of the Gastrointestinal Tract", Eur. J. Cancer Clin. Oncol. 22: 267-273. Gastrin promotes the growth of colon carcinoma, gastric carcinoma and gastric carcinoids. Gastrin antagonists may inhibit the growth of human colon cancer and enhance host survival as has been shown in mice; see, Beauchamp, R. O., et. al. 1985, "Proglumide, A Gastrin Receptor Antagonists, Inhibits Growth Of Colon Cancer And Enhances Survival In Mice." Ann. Surg. 202: 303-309. The neutralization of gastrin tumor promoting activity may provide an important therapy for these diseases.
A second important application of gastrin neutralization therapy concerns conditions in which the hormone is overproduced. Certain cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, apudomas, produce extremely large quantities of gastrin. In either case, the excess hormone produced by the apudoma or pituitary tumor will have adverse physiologic effects on organs or tissues containing receptors for the hormone. Excess gastrin production by apudomas stimulates hypertrophy of the acid secreting epithelium of the stomach, leading to excess stomach acid secretion, peptic ulcer, and neoplastic changes in the epithelium.
Available treatment for tumors stimulated by gastrin and for tumors that produce gastrin consists primarily of surgical resection of the cancerous tissue. This approach is frequently unsuccessful; in many instances the tumors cannot be located or are present in anatomic sites that are inoperable. In most instances these tumors do not respond well to radiation or chemotherapy regimens. New treatments are needed to supplement present procedures.
A therapeutic method of selectively neutralizing the biological activity of these hormones would provide an effective means of controlling or preventing the pathologic changes resulting from excessive hormone production.
The method of cancer therapy described in this invention has several advantages over present treatment methods. The method is non-invasive, selectively reversible, does not damage normal tissue, does not require frequent repeated treatments, does not cross the blood brain barrier and has reduced side effects.
The therapy may be selectively reversed by injecting the patient with a pharmaceutical composition comprising a neutralizing epitope molecule. This molecule should comprise the epitope sequence free of an immunogenic carrier. This non-immunogenic molecule will bind to the free antibodies previously induced against the epitope in the host.

Immunogenic compositions against gastrin peptides


An impact energy absorbing propeller shaft may include a collet integrally and rotatably inserted between a spline portion formed on an outer circumferential surface of a front shaft and a spline portion formed on an inner circumferential surface of a rear shaft, and an O-ring fitted with an outer circumferential surface of a rear end portion of the collet, fixedly holding a rear end portion of the front shaft, and fixedly supporting the collet inside the rear shaft.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impact energy absorbing propeller shaft. More particularly, the present invention relates to an impact energy absorbing propeller shaft capable of absorbing and reducing impact energy at the time of a collision accident of a vehicle.
Description of Related Art
A propeller shaft mounted in a vehicle is a component that is positioned between a transmission (or transfer) and a rear differential of a vehicle to transmit power of an engine, and used to transmit power to rear wheels of a four-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive vehicle.
A general propeller shaft in the related art includes a front tube (or front shaft) which is connected, by means of a joint, to the transmission to which power of the engine is input, and a rear tube (or rear shaft) which is connected, by means of a joint, to the rear differential that transmits power to the rear wheel, and the front tube and the rear tube are connected by a constant velocity joint.
Recently, as safety in respect to a vehicle collision is considered important, various efforts have been devoted to reduce a collapse load of the propeller shaft and improve collision performance.
The propeller shaft, which serves to transmit power at normal times, is deformed by impact energy that is applied in an axial direction at the time of a collision accident in a front and rear direction of the vehicle, and damages the main components of the vehicle or causes an injury to a body of an occupant. Therefore, recently, a propeller shaft having a function of absorbing impact energy is applied to a number of vehicles in order to prevent damage to components and injuries to occupants at the time of a collision accident of the vehicle.
As the propeller shaft having a function of absorbing impact energy, a propeller shaft with a swaging tube structure is typically and mainly used.
FIG. 1 illustrates the propeller shaft with a swaging tube structure in the related art. The propeller shaft 1, similar to the related art, has a swaged tube portion 2 which is formed at one side of the propeller shaft 1 and has a diameter that is reduced by a swaging process. Therefore, the swaged tube portion 2 is pushed into a non-swaged tube portion 3 with a non-reduced diameter at the time of a collision accident, thereby absorbing impact energy.
However, the propeller shaft in the related art having the aforementioned function of absorbing impact energy has problems in that time and costs required to perform a process of forming the swaging tube structure are increased, and strength of the propeller shaft deteriorates due to stress concentration caused by plastic swaging processing.
In order to solve the above problems, a technology regarding a propeller shaft, which has a tube structure that is coupled by using a shear pin and allows the shear pin to be broken at the time of a collision so as to absorb impact energy, has been proposed in the related art.
However, the propeller shaft in the related art, which has the aforementioned function of absorbing impact energy at the time of a collision accident of the vehicle, is not satisfactory in terms of the number of components and a collapse load, and as a result, the continuous development of the propeller shaft is required.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.


The present invention relates to a device and a process for aiding the maintenance of a complex system, especially an aircraft.. According to the invention, said device comprises units for determining and recording, iteratively, during the operation of the complex system, monitoring data representative of the actual operation of at least one element of the complex system, a unit for determining, on the basis of the recorded monitoring data and with the aid of degradation models, at least one damage level of said element, and a unit for determining, on the basis of this damage level, at least maintenance deadlines for said element, and a unit for signaling these maintenance deadlines to an operator of said complex system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for aiding the maintenance of a complex system, as well as a device for implementing this process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within the context of the present invention, the expression complex system is understood to mean a system comprising a plurality of components, especially electronic, mechanical and hydraulic components, exhibiting numerous interconnections. Complex systems of this type exist in a great variety of fields of activity, such as for example in industry, in the automobile sector or in aviation.
For the maintenance of a complex system of this kind, in particular an aircraft such as a helicopter, in the simplest cases a maintenance plan is formed which catalogs the potential failures of said complex system and describes the refurbishment procedures suitable for the situation encountered. This known approach has a major drawback due to the unforeseen and unforeseeable nature of the moment of the failure so that it is often completely inadvisable, or even impossible, to implement it, for safety reasons.
By way of illustration, with regard, for example, to the lubricating of the engine of a vehicle, this known approach presupposes that the oil is neither changed nor checked, but that the consequences of the loss of lubrication are awaited in order to carry out a maintenance action, which is of course absurd.
To remedy this drawback, another known maintenance procedure advocates the use of a concept of preventive maintenance, which in its simplest version consists in periodically exchanging or overhauling parts or elements of the complex system. In the aforesaid exemplary illustration, this approach consists in carrying out drainage at regular time intervals, for example every three months (a period which is presumed to be sufficient in order for the oil for example of an optimally running automobile to be degraded). The drawback of this maintenance procedure relates to the operational constraints (availability, cost) related thereto, since the maintenance is performed prior to failure, usually on parts which are still serviceable.
It will be noted that another known procedure advocates that the state of the parts be monitored directly, this entailing drawbacks due to the quality of the observation criteria, to their representativity, to the constraint imposed on the user of the complex system and to the risks of errors.
In practice, the constructor of the complex system or the maintenance operator seeks, among the various possible maintenance options, the best compromise between the risk of an unforeseen failure, and one which is therefore penalizing in respect of safety or availability, and prior maintenance, which is therefore expensive and constraining.
However, this compromise generally entails a maintenance deadline which is very much ahead of the optimal deadline and, usually, the changed parts are still in a satisfactory state of serviceability when they are replaced.
Accordingly, for parts such as the settings for the blades of a helicopter, for example, for which any maintenance error is proscribed for obvious safety reasons, the margins regarding the timescales for changing parts are considerable and/or the maintenance regarding the monitoring of the state of the parts is very unwieldy.

Process and device for aiding the maintenance of a complex system, especially an aircraft


A process for preparing a composite, continuous-fiber-containing filament which entails:. a) unwinding a continuous fiber bundle from a bobbin, PA1 b) loosening the fiber bundle, in order to separate the bundle substantially into individual fibers, PA1 c) impregnating the individual fibers with a thermoplastic polymer powder, and PA1 d) recompacting the fiber bundle and providing a flexible sheltering sheath around the bundle, whereby the fiber bundle is caused to have a substantially elliptical cross-section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a composite, continuatuous-fiber-containing filament.
2. Description of the Background
The present invention relates to a flexible, composite, thermoplastic filament which contains endless (i.e., continuous) fibres and to the process for preparing it.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a flexible, composite, thermoplastic filament constituted by fibre bundles of endless fibres of any kinds, whether mineral, or organic or metal fibres, impregnated with a thermoplastic powder and coated with an external flexible, thermoplastic sheath, which may either be of the same type, or of a different type, as of the thermoplastic component of the powder.
In a large number of applications, heretofore dominated by the use of metal materials, composite materials were proposed which are constituted by a polymeric matrix and an inorganic reinforcer component, above all fibreglass or carbon fibres. Under conditions under which particularly high performance are required as regards the mechanical strength, long-fibre or, above all, endless-fibre composites are proposed.
The first type of long-fibre or endless-fibre composite, developed as an alternative to the metal materials, was characterized by having a matrix constituted by thermosetting polymers, typical example of which are epoxy resins, unsaturated polyester resins and bismaleimides. Fabrication technologies for processing these type of materials were, and still are, preimpregnation and pultrusion.
Both said technologies require that the fibres are caused to flow through suitable solutions of the thermosetting material, with consequent environmental problems and high process cost, owing to the need for managing the re-use and/or the storage of the used solvents.
In order to obviate this type of drawbacks, more recently composite materials were introduced which use thermoplastic polymers as their matrix. In this case, the relevant fabrication technology implies, when the composite is a long- or endless-fibre one, the preliminary fabrication of a semifinished intermediate.
An example of preparation of such a type of semifinished intermediate is reported in U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,106; in which the formation of a composite by impregnation of a continuous reinforcer filament in a thermoplastic molten mass is disclosed.
A further example of semifinished intermediate for composite with thermoplastic matrix is reported in Journal of Applied Polymer Science--Applied Polymer Symposium, vol. 47, p. 501, 1991, in which the preparation is described of an endless filament by spinning a mix constituted by reinforcer fibres and thermoplastic fibres.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,678 discloses the formation of a composite article by impregnating a fibre bundle with thermoplastic powders and coating said fibre bundle with an also thermoplastic sheath.


In a vacuum coating apparatus with a rotary-driven substrate carrier, the bearing of the substrate carrier is implemented as a quasi-hydrostatic rotary transmission feedthrough. For receiving the parts to be coated, a mounting is provided which is operationally connected to a drive shaft. The drive shaft has a bearing disk. In operation this bearing disk is hydrostatically supported wherein the bearing can take place on both sides of the bearing disk via at least one annular channel for each side. The drive shaft is carried radially in the wall of the apparatus and the annular channels are disposed in a spring-supported housing. The bearing disk, in turn, is provided with radial channels which are operationally connected with axial channels of the shaft portion of the drive shaft. In this way the bearing of rotary-driven substrate carriers in the vacuum coating apparatus is solved.

The present invention relates to a vacuum coating apparatus with rotary-driven substrate carrier.
In coating heavy parts or a large number of parts of average weight in vacuum apparatus, a rotary table or a revolving plate for example, are set up in a rotary transmission feedthrough in the cover or in the floor of the apparatus. For many processes only the second solution is possible. It is therein necessary to decouple high loads from the central rotary feedthrough. A bearing of the substrate carrier by means of a friction bearing is not possible due to the limitation of material selection in time vacuum. The problem of the bearing therefore exists in rotary-driven substrate carriers of vacuum coating apparatus. The present invention intends to solve this problem.

Vacuum coating apparatus with rotary-driven substrate carrier


The present invention provides an immunogenic composition comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component. A charged group is covalently attached to a dendritic cell ligand and is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.

There is an ever increasing interest in the development of compositions which can be used to raise an immune response in humans and other animals in particular to protect against disease. In generating an immune response it is necessary for the antigen to encounter dendritic cells. Dendritic cells are immune cells and form part of the mammalian immune system. Their main function is to process antigen material and present it on the surface to other cells of the immune system, thus functioning as antigen-presenting cells.
The targeting of antigens to dendritic cells has been contemplated previously and lipopeptides which include lipids which Toll-like receptors on dendritic cells have been shown to elicit strong immune response (WO 2004/014956 & WO 2004/014957, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein be reference)
For any peptide to be able to induce an effective antibody response it must contain particular sequences of amino acids known as epitopes that are recognised by the immune system. In particular, for antibody responses, epitopes need to be recognised by specific immunoglobulin (Ig) receptors present on the surface of B lymphocytes. It is these cells which ultimately differentiate into plasma cells capable of producing antibody specific for that epitope. In addition to these B cell epitopes, the immunogen must also contain epitopes that are presented by antigen presenting cells (APC) to specific receptors present on helper T lymphocytes, the cells which are necessary to provide the signals required for the B cells to differentiate into antibody producing cells.
In the case of viral infections and in many cases of cancer, antibody is of limited benefit in recovery and the immune system responds with cytotoxic T cells (CTL) which are able to kill the virus-infected or cancer cell. Like helper T cells, CTL are first activated by interaction with APC bearing their specific peptide epitope presented on the surface, this time in association with MHC class I rather than class II molecules. Once activated the CTL can engage a target cell bearing the same peptide/class I complex and cause its lysis. It is also becoming apparent that helper T cells play a role in this process; before the APC is capable of activating the CTL it must first receive signals from the helper T cell to upregulate the expression of the necessary costimulatory molecules.
Helper T cell epitopes are bound by molecules present on the surface of APCs that are coded by class II genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The complex of the class II molecule and peptide epitope is then recognised by specific T-cell receptors (TCR) on the surface of T helper lymphocytes. In this way the T cell, presented with an antigenic epitope in the context of an MHC molecule, can be activated and provide the necessary signals for the B lymphocyte to differentiate.
In general then, an immunogen must contain epitopes capable of being recognised by helper T cells in addition to the epitopes that will be recognised by B cells or by cytotoxic T cells. It should be realised that these types of epitopes may be very different. For B cell epitopes, conformation is important as the B cell receptor binds directly to the native immunogen. In contrast, epitopes recognised by T cells are not dependent on conformational integrity of the epitope and consist of short sequences of approximately nine amino acids for CTL and slightly longer sequences, with less restriction on length, for helper T cells. The only requirements for these epitopes are that they can be accommodated in the binding cleft of the class I or class II molecule respectively and that the complex is then able to engage the T-cell receptor. The class II molecule's binding site is open at both ends allowing a much greater variation in the length of the peptides bound (Brown, J. H., T. S. Jardetzky, J. C. Gorga, L. J. Stern, R. G. Urban, J. L. Strominger and D. C. Wiley. 1993. Three-dimensional structure of the human class II histocompatibility antigen HLA-DR1. Nature 364: 33) although epitopes as short as 8 amino acid residues have been reported (Fahrer, A. M., Geysen, H. M., White, D. O., Jackson, D. C. and Brown, L. E. Analysis of the requirements for class II-restricted T-cell recognition of a single determinant reveals considerable diversity in the T-cell response and degeneracy of peptide binding to I-ED J. Immunol. 1995. 155: 2849-2857).

Immunogenic composition and uses thereof


A condenser for condensing vapor to liquid for cooling a switchgear having a heat generating component inside an enclosure and tubing structure associated with the heat generating component. A working fluid is disposed within an end portion of the tubing structure. The condenser includes a hollow tubular base defining a volume and having first and second opposing opened ends. A plurality of fins extends from a periphery of the base. The fins are in spaced relation and disposed about the entire circumference of the base. A first end cap is coupled to the base so as to close the first opened end. A second end cap is coupled to the base to close the second opened end. The second end cap has port structure constructed and arranged to fluidly communicate the tubing structure with the volume.

Switchgear configurations have current limits based on the heat rise over ambient room temperature. It is generally desired to limit the maximum temperature of the hottest spot on the switchgear main bus to 105° C. (a rise of 65° C. over an assumed ambient temperature of 40° C.), as directed by the standard IEEE 37.20.2. Typical medium and high-voltage metal-clad switchgear arrangements have maximum continuous current ratings of about 3000 A, due to heat generation. It is desirable to increase this current rating to 4000 A and above.
With reference to FIG. 1, a conventional heat pipe based cooling system, generally indicated at 10, offers an additional path for heat dissipation to the ambient environment outside a switchgear enclosure 12. Such a system is disclosed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 13/444,888, filed on Apr. 12, 2012. Heat can be transported from a heat source very effectively by making use of a thermally driven evaporation and condensation process, and subsequently dissipated to a heat sink. Heat pipes are vacuum tight systems, partially filled with a working fluid. A dedicated evaporator section (heat input from the switchgear), generally indicated at 14, can be connected to a condenser 16 (heat output to the environment) by means of flexible and very compact heat pipe or tubing structure 18. Such a system can be employed as an integral part of the switchgear enclosure system without breaching the requirements for self-contained compartments.
The switchgear equipment could be cooled by one common heat pipe network, with one condenser serving as heat sink, or with several heat pipes, which are operated in parallel and with independent, rectangular-box type condensers 16. The condenser 16 is preferably located at the backside or on top of the switchgear housing 12.
The condenser outlays account for about 50% of the total cost of the system. Also, a conventional condenser 176 is built from one large aluminum rectangular body with six independent chambers for each of the heat pipes, which leads to a heavy construction that is cumbersome for installation.
Thus, there is a need to provide condenser structure that reduces manufacturing cost and that is modular and easy to install in a limited space.

Passive cooling system for switchgear with star-shaped condenser


A transfer scheme for speech and voice band signals and ISDN digital signals which is capable of reducing a transmission bandwidth required for communications of speech, FAX, voice band data and ISDN digital signals that are to be entered from the STM network to the ATM network, and reducing the ATM cell assembling delay time, is disclosed. In the ATM cell multiplexing at the transmitting side, the signal type judgement results for the signals entered from the STM network are notified to the ATM cell multiplexing unit, and these signals are multiplexed into the ATM cell according to the notified signal types so that it becomes possible to multiplex the signals for each input signal type separately, and it becomes possible to treat the STM signals with different network qualities for different signal types as a single ATM connection in which only the input signals with the same quality requirement are multiplexed within the ATM network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transfer scheme for speech and voice band signals and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) digital signals which transfers speech and voice band signals and ISDN digital signals entered from an STM (Synchronous Transfer Mode) network to an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network by assembling ATM cells from them and transferring ATM cells entered from the ATM network to the STM network by converting them into STM signals, at a connection point between the ATM network and the STM network.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the conventional STM network, signals are constantly transmitted through transmission channels regardless of presence or absence of communications such that unnecessary signals will occupy the transmission channels, and therefore it is impossible to realize an efficient utilization of transmission bandwidth. Also, at a time of transferring valid signals, the speech and voice band signals constantly occupy a certain transmission bandwidth even with respect to those signals which do not necessarily require the transmission bandwidth of one channel, so that it has been impossible to realize an efficient utilization of transmission channels.
Moreover, in the STM network in which signal compression is to be used, a compression scheme to be used is fixed, or the multiplexing of a plurality of signals after the compression is carried out in units of an input channel group that are fixed in advance. In a DCME (Digital Circuit Multiplication Equipment) used as a speech compression equipment, it is impossible to judge a type of each received signal when compressed signals are received, so that there is a need to constantly carry out inter-equipment communications between transmitting and receiving DCMEs in order to make a mutual synchronization.
As described, conventionally, signals after the compression can be multiplexed only in units of an channel group that are fixed in advance, the transmitting network is always the same network, and the network quality for signals is always the same regardless of signal types so that it has been impossible to carry out separate communications depending on a signal type and it has been impossible to transfer signals of each signal type to a network suitable for its required quality.
Also, in the case of changing the compression scheme dynamically with respect to one communication call at the transmitting side using a plurality of compression schemes, there is a need to constantly carry out communications for control purpose between the transmitting side equipment and the receiving side equipment and make a synchronization between these equipments in order for the receiving side to recognize the compression scheme applied to each received signal, and it is necessary to provide a transmission bandwidth for this purpose.

Transfer scheme for speech and voice band signals and ISDN digital signals using reduced transmission bandwidth over ATM


Additional options for the placement of wagers in the game of baccarat are provided, to expand the potential interest and excitement of the game. The various betting or wagering options include different types of "surrender," in which a player may surrender a portion of his/her bet, depending upon the value or count of the first two cards of the player and banker hands, or only the player hand. The present invention also provides for the placement of bets on a "natural" hand(s), wherein a total count of eight or nine is achieved with only two cards, either of the banker or player hand. Other options are those of "super tie" wagers, in which a player may bet on player and banker hands of identical count which each have a predetermined value, and "jackpot" ties, similar to super ties but also requiring every card in the two hands to be of the same value, i.e., 4 or 6 of a kind. Yet another option is that of betting on the occurrence of flush hands, wherein all cards in the two hands are of the same suit. Methods of play using the above betting options are disclosed.

Risk taking and gambling have always been a part of human nature, and accordingly a multitude of games of chance have been developed to meet this need. Many such games involve cards, but most such card games involve play against another player, and one player's fortune is to at least some extent dependent upon the skill (or lack thereof) of the other player(s). Also, many, if not most such games, have relatively complex rules, which require the player(s) to engage in a fair amount of preparation and study in order to become proficient at the game.
Accordingly, simpler games have been developed, which require no appreciable amount of effort or thought on the part of the player(s). Baccarat, while having an aura of elegance, is one such game having relatively simple rules. However, the simplicity of the rules has led to a corresponding simplicity in the relatively few types of wagers which may be placed during the play of the game, which may limit interest on the part of the player(s) and thus further limit the casino in terms of profit and payout.
The need arises for a baccarat game providing for additional types of wagers over and above the standard bets, which are limited to betting on either the player or the banker hand, or in some games a tie between the two hands. The game should provide added interest by providing for "surrender" bets, in which a player may surrender half of his/her bet before the hand is played out, rather than risk losing all of the bet; "natural" bets, i.e., two cards having a total value of eight or nine; "super" tie and "jackpot" tie bets, in which not only is betting on a tie hand allowed, but also the specific count of the tied hands and (for jackpot ties) matching card values, e.g., four or six of a kind; and finally for flush hands, in which the four, five, or six card total of the player and banker hands are all of the same suit. While the rules of the game would remain the same, thus encouraging entry into the game by players without the time or inclination to learn a complex game, the different types of wagers permitted serve to add interest for those players who would enjoy making additional wagers on the game.


A baling press with a bale pressing channel, a ram for pressing material in the bale pressing channel, the ram having a pressing face and a slot in the pressing face, a tying assembly on a first side of the bale pressing channel with a loop supply member for forming a loop across the bale pressing channel and movable between an extended position projecting through the slot and a retracted position. The press further has a slot clearing member movable between an extended position projecting through the slot and a retracted position on one side of said bale pressing channel. The slot clearing member and the tying assembly are on opposite sides of a feeding passage. The bale pressing channel is open for discharging cleared material on a side opposite of the location of the slot clearing member in its retracted position. A method of operation is also described.

The present invention relates to a baling press and to a method of operating a baling press.
To facilitate storage, handling and transportation of loose material, such as waste paper and cardboard, waste plastic, straw, it is usual to press the material into bales.
To prepare the bales, the material is compressed in a baling press. A baling press typically includes a bale pressing channel in which a pressing ram is reciprocally movable to and fro, new material to be baled being added each time after the press has been retracted. The counter pressure against which the bales are pressed is obtained by resistance encountered by the material as it is pressed through the pressing channel, which, to that end, has a cross-section that decreases in downstream direction over at least a portion of its length. Initial counter pressure may be obtained by mounting obstacles in the pressing channel.
For facilitating separation of the pressed material into distinct bales and for keeping the bales together, string material is usually tied around the bales. The string material is for instance wire or rope material. The wire material is for instance steel or plastic wire and the rope material is for instance plastic or natural fiber material that may be twisted or braided and include one or more strands of twisted fiber material. A number of loops of the string extending around the bale is usually obtained by feeding strings from two sources along opposite sides of the bale to be formed, tying the strings together near the downstream end of the bale to be formed and tying together the strings near the upstream end of the bale after the material for forming that bale has been pressed.
Tying together the strings is usually accomplished by twisting or twining end sections of the wire material from a mutually parallel configuration as is for instance described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,377 or by tying ends of rope material to each other as is for instance described in European patent application EP 2 941 951.
For passing the string from one side of the bale pressing channel to an opposite tying side where it is to be tied to the string fed from that tying side, loop supply members in the form of rods having a loop supply member at a distal end are provided. An example of such a loop supply member is described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,597. Each time after a bale is pushed out of the pressing chamber, the loop supply members are extended via slots in the pressing ram and passages in walls of the pressing channel, catch the strings at the side opposite the tying side and are retracted to pull the strings over to form a temporary loop projecting until out of the pressing channel. During retracting movement, the loop supply members also entrain the string into temporary loops so that the temporary loops of strings from both sides commonly extend along the loop supply members so that the strings can be tied to each other.
In particular when compressing relatively wet and/or fine material, the slots in the baling press and in the passages in the walls of the pressing channel for allowing the loop supply members to pass through tend to become clogged up, to such an extent that reliable binding of the bales is no longer ensured.
In German patent applications 2 523 043, 3 939 944 and 3 036 562, European patent application 0 492 260, it is proposed to close off the slots in the pressing rams. U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,858 proposes a stationary probe that passes through grooves in the pressing ram when the pressing ram moves to its retracted position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,913 proposes that loop supply members push material out of the slots when extended to pick up string material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,619 proposes movable closing plates that close off ports in walls of the pressing channel.

Baling press and method of pressing and tying bales in a baling press


A resistive memory device and a method for fabricating the resistive memory device. The memory device includes a first electrode and a resistive memory element in electrical contact. The memory device also includes a non-programmable stabilizer element in electrical and thermal contact with the resistive memory element. The stabilizer element has at least one physical dimension based on a physical characteristic of the resistive memory element such that the maximum resistance of the stabilizer element is substantially less than the maximum resistance of the resistive memory element.

This invention relates to computer memory, and more particularly to a resistive memory device design and method for fabricating a resistive memory device.
Resistive memory is a growing technology due to problems associated with scaling charge-based memory devices. However, the resistance of the resistive memory cell is not necessarily stable. Instability in resistance causes issues such as read errors, especially for multi-level cell operations. For example, phase change material in the phase change memory can be programmed to a crystalline or amorphous phase. The phase change material shows a large resistivity contrast between two phases, which create a room for multi level cell. However, the resistivity of the phase change material in the amorphous phase shows instability due to dependence on instability factors such as temperature change and temporal drift. Instability of the materials' resistivity greatly affects the operations of memory cells.

International Business Machines Corporation


A variable number plate fixing frame is provided with a pair of symmetric side brackets which are removably attached to a main frame body. A number of different spare side brackets are provided so as to permit a person to vary the appearance of the fixing frame for a change by simply replacing the side brackets with other ones without detaching the screw secured number plate. Each side bracket is provided with a tenon at each end thereof which is in tight engagement with a mortise disposed on each end of a receiving cavity disposed at the right and left side of the main frame body and having a shape conforming to that of the side brackets so that the brackets can be firmly and replaceably disposed therein. The upper and lower edges of the main frame body is provided with a recess in which different decoration stickers can be disposed just for a change in the appearance of the fixing frame.

The present invention relates to a variable number plate fixing frame particularly for use on a vehicle. The fixing frame is secured to the body of a vehicle by screws with two side brackets thereof removably attached to the main frame body rods by way of tenon and mortise joint, and a number plate of a vehicle is mounted to the fixing frame by way of the screws used to secure the frame to the vehicle. There are a plurality of various side brackets which-can be selected to engage with the main frame body so as to permit the fixing frame to vary in appearance.
Conventional number plates of vehicles are secured to the bodies of vehicles directly by screws or bolts and nuts without use of a fixing frame. But, recently many types of decorational fixing frame have been used, they are secured to the bodies of vehicles with the number plates mounted thereto. The fixing frames are not variable in their outer appearances, and must be detached and replaced when the users would like to have different ones for a change.

Variable number plate fixing frame for vehicle


Apparatus for projecting a pattern includes a laser source, a collimating lens and a diffractive optical element (DOE) to diffract the collimated laser beam into a specific dot pattern for sensing the depth of a three dimensional (3D) surface.

The present invention relates to optical projection using diffraction for uses such as three dimensional (3D) surface measurements for facial recognition or other purposes.
Optical projection of a pattern is used in applications such as 3D surface measurements. The positions of a pattern of dots caused by beams projected onto a flat surface can be determined. When the same pattern of dots is projected on a 3D surface to be measured, the positions of the dots will deviate from their designed positions as a result of the different intersection height on the 3D surface. These deviations can be measured and correlated to the different distances, or depth, of the 3D surface, and a 3D image can be generated.
One configuration uses a laser beam which is divided into multiple beams to generate the pattern of dots on the 3D surface, which are reflected back to a detector. FIG. 1 shows an example of a pattern of beams/dots, such as beam 101, projected onto a face 102. When a Diffractive Optical Element (DOE) is used to divide the incoming beam into N beams according the pattern design, the power of each diffracted beam (e.g., 1st order beam 101) is roughly equal to ηP/N where η is the diffraction efficiency and P is the incoming laser power. In most cases, the diffraction efficiency cannot reach 100 percent. The remaining power (1−η)P will remain in the un-diffracted beam (0th diffracted order), shown as beam 100, and scattering noise. The ratio of the power between the un-diffracted beam (0th diffracted order) to one of the diffracted order is equal to (1−η)N/η. For large N such as 1000 or more, even with 98% efficiency, each diffracted beam will have 0.098% of the incoming laser power and the 0th order has 2% of the incoming laser power. That means the 0th order has more than 20 times more laser power than the other diffracted orders. In order to detect the diffracted dot (101), a remote sensor may require the diffracted dot to have certain amount of laser power.
When used for facial detection, the laser power must be limited to avoid damaging the person's eyes. Even with non-visible IR lasers, too high a power of the laser can result in burning the retina. Because the 0th order 100 is 20 times higher, the laser power at the 0th order may exceed the minimum power for the safety of the eye.
US Published Patent Application No. 2011/0075259 described a technique to reduce the ratio of 0th order power to the diffracted order power by sub-dividing the DOE into M DOEs. Each sub DOE will have N/M dots. Now for each diffractive order in a sub DOE, the laser power of each diffractive beam is ηP1M/N. P1 is the laser power striking on each sub DOE. Under the best circumstances P1 for each sub DOE is equal to P/M. As a result the laser power of each diffracted beam is unchanged and equal to ηP/N. On the other hand the of 0th order power of each sub DOE is only (1−η)P/M. The ratio of the power between the un-diffracted beam (0th diffracted order) to one of the diffracted order is now equal to (1−η)N/Mη. Let's continue with the previous example and assume M is equal to 9. The 0th order beam to the diffracted beam ratio becomes 2.26. As a result, there is significantly less chance for 0th order to exceed the eye safety limit of laser power.

Optical projector with off-axis diffractive element


A shaft 6, which is a tubular body, includes a laminate of fiber reinforced resin layers. This fiber reinforced resin layer includes a matrix resin and a fiber. When a portion with a minimum thickness in the entire shaft is defined as a thinnest part, the entire thinnest part exists in a range of a first position to a second position. The first position is a position where an axial distance from a tip of the shaft is 50% of a full length of the shaft. The second position is a position where the axial distance from the tip of the shaft is 75% of the full length of the shaft. In this shaft 6, a flexural rigidity value EIc (N/m2) of the shaft at a point which is 175 mm away from a rear end of the shaft is two times or greater and three times or less of a flexural rigidity value EIm (N/m2) of the thinnest part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
A golf club shaft flexes during a swing. In particular, in the early stage of a downswing, the flexure of the shaft is caused by the inertia of a head. The shaft flexes so as that the head delays relative to the travel direction of the downswing in the early stage of the downswing. The angular acceleration of the shaft decreases gradually from the downswing to the impact to release the flexure of the shaft. This release of the flexure accelerates the speed of the head to obtain a large flight distance.
The shaft has a flexural rigidity distribution. The flexural rigidity distribution influences the flexure during the swing. The flexural rigidity distribution influences the behavior of the shaft during the swing.
A flex point (flex point ratio) has been known as an index showing the characteristics of the flexural rigidity of the shaft. A shaft having a tip side that easily forms a flexure is generally referred to as low flex point. A shaft having a rear end side that easily forms a flexure is generally referred to as high flex point. The referred low flex point or high flex point has been known in the market as the index showing the characteristics of the shaft. However, the standards of the low flex point and high flex point are not necessarily unified among the persons skilled in the art. The current situation is that a plurality of standards for the flex point exist.
Examples of the inventions relating to the flexural rigidity distribution of the shaft include Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-169871, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-34550 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-206932.


There are provided a method and an apparatus which form silicon dots having substantially uniform particle diameters and exhibiting a substantially uniform density distribution directly on a substrate at a low temperature. A hydrogen gas (or a hydrogen gas and a silane-containing gas) is supplied into a vacuum chamber (1) provided with a silicon sputter target (e.g., target 30), or the hydrogen gas and the silane-containing gas are supplied into the chamber (1) without arranging the silicon sputter target therein, a high-frequency power is applied to the gas(es) so that plasma is generated such that a ratio (Si(288 nm)/Hβ) between an emission intensity Si(288 nm) of silicon atoms at a wavelength of 288 nm and an emission intensity Hβ of hydrogen atoms at a wavelength of 484 nm in plasma emission is 10.0 or lower, and preferably 3.0 or lower, or 0.5 or lower, and silicon dots (SiD) having particle diameters of 20 nm or lower, or 10 nm or lower are formed directly on the substrate (S) at a low temperature of 500 deg. C. or lower in the plasma (and with chemical sputtering if a silicon sputter target is present).

As a method of forming silicon nanoparticles, such a physical manner has been known that silicon is heated and vaporized in an inert gas by excimer laser or the like, and also an in-gas vaporizing method is known (see Kanagawa-ken Sangyo Gijutu Sougou Kenkyusho Research Report No. 9/2003, pp 77-78). The latter method is configured to heat and vaporize the silicon by high-frequency induction heating or arc discharge instead of laser.
Such a CVD method is further known that a material gas is supplied into a CVD chamber, and silicon nanoparticles are formed on a heated substrate [see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-179658 (JP2004-179658A)].
In this method, nucleuses for growing silicon nanoparticles are formed on the substrate, and then the silicon nanoparticles are grown from the nucleuses.
However, the method of heating and vaporizing the silicon by laser irradiation cannot uniformly control an energy density for irradiating the silicon with the laser, and therefore it is difficult to uniformize the particle diameters and density distribution of silicon dots.
In the in-gas vaporizing method, the silicon is heated nonuniformly, and therefore the particle diameters and the density distribution of silicon dots cannot be uniformized without difficulty.
In the foregoing CVD method, the substrate must be heated to 550 deg. C. or higher for forming the nucleuses on the substrate, and the substrate of a low heat resistance cannot be employed, which narrows a selection range of the substrate material.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a method in which silicon dots having substantially uniform particle diameters and exhibiting a substantially uniform density distribution are formed directly on a silicon dot formation target substrate at a low temperature.
Also, it is an object of the invention to provide a silicon dot forming apparatus by which silicon dots having substantially uniform particle diameters and exhibiting a substantially uniform density distribution can be formed directly on a silicon dot formation target substrate at a low temperature.

Silicon dot forming method and silicon dot forming apparatus


An electronic apparatus includes a controller that intermittently drives a receiver in a predetermined cycle, the receiver receiving a positioning signal to generate predetermined information, and the controller determines an upper limit of a period to be spent for the generation of the predetermined information on the basis of a period spent for the generation in the past.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an electronic apparatus, a receiver control method, and a program.
2. Related Art
GNSS apparatus (GNSS: global navigation satellite system), such as a sports watch, have become increasingly commonplace. In a receiver of a GNSS apparatus, however, the duration of a battery tends to shorten because the receiver, for example, repeatedly performs large-burden computation (integration operation) in order to increase reception sensitivity in a poor signal reception state.
To lower electric power consumed by the receiver, it is believed to be effective to apply a method for intermittently driving the receiver. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,173 discloses a technology for calculating a standby mode time duration by using variables measured by a GPS receiver (GPS: global positioning system).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,173, however, does not explicitly show a specific method for calculating the time duration from the measured variables. Therefore, when the receiver is simply driven in an intermittent manner, even a slight decrease in received signal magnitude could cause a significant decrease in successful reception rate (successful positioning rate, successful decoding rate) or a significant increase in power consumption.

Electronic apparatus, and receiver control method


An assembly 10 fed by a pressurised pipe 2 and comprising three differently rated spray nozzles 11, 12, 13 is mounted on a spray boom so that 11, 12 and 13 traverse the same area. The nozzles 11, 12, 13 are independently remotely pneumatically controlled to give an overall spray rate range of from 0.4 to 2.5 liter/min., useful in precision farming.

For many purposes, especially in agriculture, it is desirable to be able to apply spray of a consistent mean droplet size and spray fan angle or cone angle, and evenly distributed, over a range of volumetric spray rates. For agricultural spray nozzles, spray output is classified by the British Crop Protection Council as Fine, Medium or Coarse based on mean droplet size, and chemical manufacturers may specify one of these classifications for applying their product.
However, a typical mass-produced flat-fan-spray nozzle cannot achieve the desired consistency if the flow rate deviates by more than 20% above or below its rated output, and even sophisticated nozzles cannot cope well with deviations beyond 30%.
A requirement for a wider range of flow rates can arise for example in so-called precision farming, that is, applying matter (such as fertiliser or weedkiller) to the ground in amounts varying from spot to spot according to the requirements ascertained from a previous mapping of the ground. The mapping and the application of matter can be made to coincide on the ground using global-positioning-satellite techniques.


A pair of press tools, such as punches, are mounted on a tool support for axial reciprocation between extended and retracted positions with respect to the support. The tool support may be defined by a press slide, bed or component part of a tooling package mountable thereon and is provided with a hydraulic fluid receiving cylinder for each of the tools. Each tool is interconnected with a piston received in the corresponding cylinder and the cylinders are in flow communication with one another. Accordingly, if one of the tools engages a workpiece before the other during operation of the press, the one tool is displaced in the direction of retraction causing the other tool to be displaced in the direction of extension until both tools engage the workpiece, thus to avoid eccentric loading of the press slide and frame. Both tools have a neutral position with respect to their extended and retracted positions and, upon movement of the press slide away from the work, a biasing arrangement returns the extended one of the tools to its neutral position and the displacement of the corresponding piston causes the retracted tool to be returned to its neutral position.

This invention relates to the art of press tooling and, more particularly, to a load equalizing arrangement for plural press tools.
It is often desirable to provide a single press with plural sets of opposed tools to enable a number of pressing operations to be achieved simultaneously during each working stroke of the press. Such tool sets may, for example, be defined by opposed sheet metal shaping dies, opposed punch and die components, and the like, and the plural pressing operations performed thereby may either be like or different with respect to the work performed by the tooling. In any event, a difference in workpiece thickness from that for which the tools are adjusted results in undesirable eccentric loading of the press slide and frame upon engagement of the tooling with the workpieces. This is especially true where the press slide is of the single point drive type in which the driving force is through a single axis centrally of the slide and the press tools are laterally spaced from the slide axis. In this respect, if one tool pair engages a workpiece therebetween before the other tool pair, the working force is transmitted axially of the first tool pair while the other tool pair is unloaded. Thus, the slide is eccentrically loaded due to the spacing of the tooling from the slide axis, and this load is transmitted by the slide to the press frame resulting in severe wear of the slide guides and possibly failure of the guides and press frame. Moreover, such wear of the slide guides leads to inaccuracy with respect to lateral positioning of the slide and thus inaccuracy with respect to cooperative interengagement between the opposed tool components. These problems often make it impractical to perform plural press operations simultaneously in a single point mechanical or hydraulic press.
Such eccentric loading can be avoided by mounting multiple tools on the press for axial displacement relative to one another, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,937,908 to O'Brien, so that a working force is not applied until all of the tools engage corresponding workpiece portions. Such relative tool displacement alone, however, introduces undesirable limitations on the use of a press for performing sequential working operations on a given workpiece at multiple working stations of a press and/or performing different working operations on a given workpiece at a single working station of a press. In this respect, once the tools are relatively positioned during engagement thereof with a workpiece, such positioning is maintained during the subsequent return and work stroke of the press. In a press wherein a workpiece is advanced step-by-step to sequential tooling stations for the sequential performance of different work thereon, such initial tool positioning can result in interference between the workpiece and tooling during workpiece transfer and/or between the tooling and the workpiece feed mechanism during the workpiece transfer, thus subjecting the tooling, workpiece and transfer mechanism to potential damage. While these problems might be avoided in connection with a press having a slide stroke sufficiently long to assure necessary workpiece-tool and tool-feed mechanism clearances, it will be appreciated that such a requirement not only limits use of the tooling arrangement to certain presses but additionally results in inefficient press operation and limits the versatility of both the tooling and presses with which the tooling might otherwise be used.
Further in the foregoing respect, it is often desired to provide a press with a plurality of work stations each capable of performing the same working operation on a given workpiece using alternately available like tools on one of the press slide and bed members, or sequentially performing different tooling operations by alternately available different tools on the press member. More particularly, in hot forming a plurality of workpieces at different work stations of a press, shuttle mechanisms are often provided for sequentially presenting cooled tooling on successive strokes of the slide to enable the tooling just used to cool or be cooled. This enables operating the press at an efficient stroke rate. Similarly, tool shuttles are often provided to sequentially position functionally different tooling at a given work station during succeeding slide strokes for different working operations to be performed on a given workpiece at the work station. Often, such shuttling mechanisms require predetermined positioning of tools relative thereto to enable operation of the shuttle. Thus, relative load equalizing positioning of tooling during one stroke of such a press tooling arrangement, without more, could cause inoperability of the shuttle mechanism. Even if such inoperability is not a problem, it remains that such relative positioning can result in tool-workpiece and/or tool-feed mechanism interference and/or damage which as mentioned above can be avoided only by limiting use of such tooling to a press having sufficient stroke length to assure clearances to avoid such interference.


An information handling system is provided. The information handling system includes a first network switch configurable, the first network switch having a computer processor in communication with a plurality of ports for receiving and sending frames and a memory coupled to the computer processor and including a media access control (MAC) address table. The computer processor is configured to read frames, each frame having a header, and is also configured to associate a MAC address with a parent link aggregation group (LAG) except while a downstream link failure is detected. The computer processor is configured to associate the MAC address with a sub-LAG while a downstream link failure is detected. Methods for directing traffic through a virtual link trunking (VLT) domain during failure of a downstream link are also provided.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is related to information handling systems. In particular, embodiments disclosed herein are related to traffic on interconnect links between network devices.
2. Discussion of Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Currently, some information handling systems may take the form of a plurality of Layer-2 switches connected together in various arrangements using a variety of protocols. In some information handling systems, groups of links between one switch and another switch may be joined together and managed as a group. To provide redundancy and to enable load balancing, one switch may be connected to a pair of switches by two groups of links that are managed together as a single group. However, such link aggregation can become counterproductive in the event of a link failure. Thus, current aggregation handling in information handling systems has not been completely satisfactory.

Systems and methods for layer-2 traffic polarization during failures in a virtual link trunking domain


A wiper device that includes: a wiper motor that swings a wiper blade that is coupled to the wiper motor through a wiper arm to-and-fro over a window pane between an upper return position and a lower return position; and a drive component that gradually increases power supplied to the wiper motor until the rotation speed of the wiper motor reaches a specific speed when the wiper motor has been restarted from a stationary state of the wiper blade between the upper return position and the lower return position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiper device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2011-218998 discloses a wiper device that prevents a wiper arm from starting up with a jerk when the wiper device is restarted after stopping partway, so as to eliminate a user being disconcerted by jerky wiper action.
However, in the wiper device disclosed in JP-A No. 2011-218998, there is an issue that the action of the wiper arm is sluggish until the wiper blade recovers, since a wiper motor is driven at a start-up speed that is slower than a standard motor speed when restarting.
Moreover, in the wiper device disclosed in JP-A No. 2011-218998, there is also an issue that when restarting, the wiper motor is driven at the start-up speed that is slower than the standard motor speed in normal operation, followed by operation at the standard motor speed after the rotation speed of the wiper motor has reached the standard motor speed. This necessitates complex control requiring an expensive microcomputer.


In a method for coating a substrate in a vacuum chamber having a rotating magnetron, wherein a substrate is guided past the magnetron in a substrate transport direction and is coated by a material, which has been isolated from a target connected to the magnetron, and, optionally with the material reacting with a reactive gas present in the vacuum chamber, homogeneity of the coating layer on a substrate is improved by stabilizing the working point by way of the target rotation. This is achieved in that a periodic change of a first process parameter caused by the target revolution is compensated for by a periodic change of a second process parameter having a determined level and/or by employing two magnetrons having different rotational speeds.

The invention relates to a method for coating a substrate in a vacuum chamber having a rotating magnetron, wherein a substrate is guided past the magnetron in a substrate transport direction and is coated by means of a material detached from a target connected to the magnetron, if appropriate also with a reaction of the material with a reactive gas situated in the vacuum chamber.
It is known to produce layers by means of reactive sputtering. In this case, in a high vacuum, a voltage, usually a voltage of alternating polarity, is applied to a target. The target is permeated by a magnetic field, as a result of which the sputtering effect produced by high vacuum and target voltage is made possible or supported. The combination of target and magnetic field generator is designated as a magnetron, and the sputtering is hence designated as magnetron sputtering.
A gas is then introduced into the process space in a targeted manner, said gas reacting chemically with the target material. The reaction product then deposits on a surface of a substrate. This is referred to as reactive sputtering. Oxidic layers, for example, are obtained by introducing oxygen as reaction gas. It is thus possible, for example, to produce a ZnO:Al layer from a Zn:Al target by means of this reactive sputtering.
In practise, so-called tubular magnetrons have proved to be very worthwhile. In this case, a tube-shaped target (tubular target) is provided, in the inner cavity of which the magnetic field generator or the magnetic system is arranged. During the sputtering process, the tubular target is rotated, such that it rotates continuously around the stationary magnetic field. What is thus achieved is that the entire target surface is always processed by the sputtering process. Therefore, unlike in the case of a planar target, it is not possible for zones of different target removal or different target oxidation to form. This ensures, inter alia, that the target is uniformly sputtered, as a result of which better target utilization is achieved.
Tubular magnetrons are usually used in inline vacuum coating installations. These are longitudinally extended vacuum installations comprising a substrate transport system, by means of which substrates are moved through the vacuum coating installation whilst passing through various processing stations, inter alia including tubular magnetron coating stations.
However, such tubular magnetrons can never be manufactured and installed completely cylindrically. In practical use this leads to a fluctuation of the magnetic field at the target surface currently situated above the magnetic system. This is associated with a fluctuation in the operating point.
Operating point is understood here to mean a point on a multidimensional current-voltage characteristic curve set dependent on a plurality of process parameters. A specific desired point or desired region in the characteristic curve set at which the operating point is intended to lie is predefined in order to achieve specific layer qualities, that is to say that the operating point is normally set such that an optimum of layer properties to be obtained is achieved.
Particularly in the case of reactive processes, the influence of the process parameters on the characteristic curve set is particularly strong or not unambiguous, which is manifested in the form of sudden changes or hystereses. This has the effect that minimal fluctuations of the magnetic field which lead to minimal fluctuations in the impedance entail considerable operating point fluctuations.
A fluctuation of the operating point then has the consequence, particularly in the case of reactive processes, that the layer properties on the substrate fluctuate along the transport direction and that the optimum is rarely attained. Parameters of the layer properties can be, for example, transmission and resistance of the deposited layer. In the case of a fluctuation of the operating point, a mixed layer is then deposited at the substrate continuously passing through, with which mixed layer the optimum of transmission and of resistance can never be attained. By way of example, it has not been possible heretofore, during the reactive production of ZnO:Al layers by the tubular magnetron to get beyond an unsatisfactory degree of transmission.
In the process control, the operating point is kept constant if possible. Regulating methods are known for this purpose, for example plasma emission monitoring (PEM), developed by the applicant, or a power regulation by means of reaction gas feeding with a voltage regulated such that it is constant.
During the power regulation, the generator used for providing the target voltage is operated in a voltage-regulated fashion and the desired power is set by means of the reactive gas flow rate, in particular the oxygen flow rate. When a tubular magnetron is used, during the tube rotation the changes in the magnetic flux at the target surface can result in the readjustment of the reactive gas flow rate, in particular of the oxygen flow rate, while the power can be kept very constant.
However, the regulation of the reactive gas flow rate is also associated with the change of other variables, when producing a ZnO:Al layer the intensity of the Zn line in the optical emission spectrum. That has the effect that, despite very good constancy of the voltage and the power, the operating point is varied by way of the tube rotation and the mixed layers already described occur, in which good properties are combined with poor properties.
If, by way of example, a specific resistance is intended to be set, then said resistance is determined by the high-resistance portion in the layer. Consequently, a limit value of the resistivity has to be undershot in the entire layer. However, the rotation has the effect that one part of the layer is deposited with high resistance but, upon further rotation of the tube, another part is also deposited with low resistance.
Therefore, the operating point has to be tracked by means of the tube rotation, which is not successful solely with oxygen flow rate and power regulation.
The object of the invention, then, consists in improving the homogeneity of the layer on a substrate by means of the target rotation.

Method for coating a substrate in a vacuum chamber having a rotating magnetron


Program distribution arrangements (e.g., carried out by a managing computer) for distributing a corresponding program to an apparatus including a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, such arrangements including: storing program request information indicating a condition required for executing the program; judging whether an apparatus as a distribution destination of the program includes a program execution control unit for controlling execution of the program; partially revising the program to a partially revised program to be distributed, according to the program request information, when the program is to be distributed to an apparatus not including the program execution control unit; and distributing the partially revised program to the apparatus not including the program execution control unit.

The present invention relates to a computer system having at least one apparatus and a managing computer and in particular to a technique for distributing a program to the apparatus.
Recently, an embedded apparatuses such as a mobile telephone and an information home electric appliance has more and more sophisticated functions. For this, like a personal computer, a program is added and updated in the embedded apparatus. Management of addition and updating of a program requires a large load on a user. More specifically, a program is added and updated for a plenty of apparatuses connected via a network to a management server provided in the system.
On the other hand, like a personal computer, an embedded apparatus simultaneously executes a plurality of programs. Here, conflict of a resource of the embedded apparatus occurs between the programs simultaneously executed. The resource of the embedded apparatus may be, for example, a memory, a CPU, or a network connection resource. As a technique for solving this problem, a resource managing function is disclosed in JP 2006-A-31203. The resource managing function adjusts an apparatus resource conflict between a plurality of programs.
Moreover, there are a plenty of types of the embedded apparatus. Furthermore, embedded apparatuses have different configurations (memory amount, presence/absence of peripheral apparatus, and the like). Accordingly, the management of a program to be updated or added to the embedded apparatus requires a large load.
In order to use a service in various apparatuses, a plenty of programs customized for respective apparatuses are required. Alternatively, one program should be set to cope with various apparatuses. In either case, the program developing cost and the managing cost are increased.
JP-A-2002-49485 discloses a system for customizing a program in accordance with an environment of an apparatus as a distribution destination when the program is distributed. In order to execute the program in the apparatus of the distribution destination, program setting items should be set to appropriate values. The setting items include a server address, a user ID, and a database specification. According to the technique of JP-A-2002-49485, an appropriate value is managed for each of the apparatuses as distribution destinations. When the program is distributed, the managed value is automatically set to a predetermined setting item. This simplifies the customization process.
On the other hand, there is a case that an error is caused only when a particular program is executed in a particular apparatus. In this case, a program provider searches for a cause and corrects the program. Furthermore, the program provider instructs the user of the apparatus where the error has occurred, not to use the specific program until correction of the program is completed.

Program distribution method and computer system


The invention concerns a metallocene catalyst composition for preparing linear isotactic polymers, wherein said catalyst composition contains a metal complex and an activator. The invention also concerns a process for preparing linear, isotactic polymers which have a structure of which the tacticity varies within the range of between 25 and 60% of [mmmm] pentad concentration, in which process a C2 to C20 olefin is polymerized in the presence of catalyst composition.

The present invention relates to a new catalyst composition and a process for preparing linear, isotactic polymers, wherein the isotacticity of the linear polymers due to a statistic distribution of stereoscopic errors in the polymer chain, being within the range of from 25 to 60% of pentad concentration.
For a long time, isotactic polymers have been of interest as plastic materials for manufacturing articles of relatively good deformation resistance, such as sheathings of household appliances. In general, such isotactic polymers with propylene as monomer are highly crystalline nature and, therefore, are relatively hard with little or no impact resistance such that they are useful only in applications in which hardness or low impact resistance is desirable.
Most recently, various attempts have been made, aiming at preparing polypropylene with elastic characteristics. EP 0 707 016 A1 specifies a catalyst composition and a process for preparing polyolefins. The catalysts specified in EP 0 707 016 A1 are, in substance, made up of a metallocene compound having an indene ring and a fluorene ring which are bridged via C, Si or Ge. In case of the metallocene compound, it is essential that, in the indene ring system, at least the residue denoted with R4 not be hydrogen. When that residue R4 is hydrogen, the effects will not be attained. The polymers specified in EP 0 707 016 A1 and prepared with metallocenes, especially the polypropylene prepared with those metallocenes, however, have shown unsatisfactory characteristics in regard of the elastic behavior.
It is the object of the present invention to find a new catalyst and a process for making polymers from olefinically unsaturated compounds, which have not only thermoplastic characteristics, but also thermoplastic-elastic characteristics, thus making the polymers useful for many applications.

Catalyst combination and a process for preparing linear, isotatic polymers


A method for analyzing the resolution and/or the accuracy of a transmission unit of a radar sensor is described wherein a transmitter signal is received via a receiving unit. At least one echo signal based on said received signal is simulated. The frequency difference of said transmitter signal and said echo signal is determined. Said frequency difference is filtered and transformed in order to obtain a transform. At least one maximum of said frequency difference in said transform is detected. Spectral properties of said frequency difference in said transform are determined. At least one quality parameter of said spectral properties is outputted. Further, a radar sensor is described.

In the state of the art, it is known to measure a transmitter signal of a transmission unit of a radar sensor in order to obtain a received signal, in particular measuring and analyzing a linear modulated continuous wave emitted by the transmission unit.
This received signal may be shown in a spectrogram, also called a frequency-time area or a frequency-time plane, wherein the frequency of the signal received is illustrated with respect to the time in order to verify a time dependency of the frequency. Usually, the received signal is compared with a perfect line in order to determine its deviation with respect to that perfect line corresponding to a perfect linear modulated continuous wave, for instance. Accordingly, the linearity of the received signal as well as its deviation can be determined easily.
The result obtained is a frequency deviation with respect to the time as it is taken from the spectrogram.
However, the results obtained by such a comparison do not provide any information regarding the resolution and/or the accuracy of the transmitter signal, in particular the transmission unit of the radar sensor.
Since the resolution and/or the accuracy are important parameters in order to determine the quality of the transmission unit, it is desired to have the possibility to gather this information in an easy and simply manner.

Method for analyzing the resolution and/or the accuracy of a transmission unit and radar sensor