Methods of and apparatus for Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei exhibiting a given value of spin-lattice relaxation time, T1, are disclosed. The method comprises applying two excitation blocks to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, there being a given delay time between the two blocks, detecting resonance response signals, and comparing the response signals from respective blocks. The delay time is less than the T1 value of the nuclei.

Substances which have relatively low NQR frequencies (perhaps 1 or 2 MHz or less) and relatively long values of T1 (perhaps 500 ms, 5 or 10 s or more) include the explosives PETN and TNT, Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) and 27Al in alumina. For example, PETN has resonance frequencies around 0.9 MHZ, a T1 of roughly 30 s at room temperature, as well as a spin-spin relaxation time (T2) of approximately 20 ms. It is noted in passing that T2 is preferably defined herein as the exponential constant measured by means of a Hahn echo or similar pulse sequence.
NQR testing is used for detecting the presence or disposition of specific substances, and in particular polycrystalline substances. It depends on the energy levels of quadrupolar nuclei, which have a spin quantum number I greater than xc2xd, of which 14N is an example (I=1). 14N nuclei are present in a wide range of substances, including animal tissue, bone, food stuffs, explosives and drugs. One particular use of the technique described herein is in the detection of the presence of substances such as explosives or narcotics. The detection may be of baggage at airports, or of explosives or drugs concealed on the person or buried underground or elsewhere. Other nuclei of interest are 27Al(I=5/2) and 63Cu(I=3/2). 27Al is present in minerals, cement and concrete, whilst 63Cu is present in ores and many high Tc superconducting materials.
In conventional Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample is placed within or near to a radio-frequency (rf) coil and is irradiated with pulses or sequences of pulses of electro-magnetic radiation having a frequency which is at or very close to a resonance frequency of the quadrupolar nuclei in a substance which is to be detected. If the substance is present, the irradiant energy will generate a precessing magnetization which can induce voltage signals in a coil surrounding the sample at the resonance frequency or frequencies and which can hence be detected as a free induction decay (f.i.d.) during a decay period after each pulse or as an echo after two or more pulses. These signals decay at a rate which depends on the time constants T2* for the f.i.d., T2 and T2e for the echo amplitude as a function of pulse separation, and T1 for the recovery of the original signal after the conclusion of the pulse or pulse sequence.
As described in International Patent Application No. WO 96/26453 in the name of British Technology Group Limited, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference, spurious interfering signals (also termed xe2x80x9cringingxe2x80x9d) which are not associated directly with or due to the nuclear resonance may sometimes arise from a sample during NQR tests.
For example, one group of materials which can cause interference problems includes metallic conductors. Such materials may be commonly found in many types of objects in baggage. It has been discovered that the interference may be particularly pronounced when a sample includes metallic or ferromagnetic material as a layer of plating on another material, especially, it has been found, when the plating layer comprises Nickel. Objects which are particularly prone to such problems include screws or key-rings. The cause of this type of interference has not been proven, but it is believed to emanate from ferromagnetic or like resonance effects in the B1 field of the sample coil, and be due to a form of magneto-acoustic ringing. It should be emphasised that this interference is not an artefact of the particular detection apparatus used, but a feature of the material itself. Also it will be understood that, in the context of the detection of the presence of a particular substance in a sample, it would usually not be the particular nuclear species to be detected but the remainder of the sample which would give rise to the interfering signals.
The spurious interfering signals (or xe2x80x9cartefactsxe2x80x9d) commonly have decay characteristics very similar to those of true NQR signals, and, furthermore, are often many times stronger; they can last for several milliseconds. The phase of those inter fering signals and that of the resonance response signal following a single radio-frequency excitation pulse are entirely determined by the rf phase within the pulse. There is, however, one important distinction. When two or more pulses are used, the phase of the NQR response signal, whether it be a free induction decay (f.i.d.) or an echo, depends on the relative phases of the two preceding pulses, unlike that of the interfering signal, which is determined almost entirely by that of the immediately preceding pulse.
This distinction has been exploited in WO 96/26453 in an attempt to remove the interfering signal from an NQR response signal. The proposed solution involves the use of at least one pair of excitation pulse sequences (or blocks) in which the phase of the pulses is controlled in such a way that when the response signals from the two member sequences of the pair are compared the spurious signals can be largely eliminated whilst the genuine NQR signals can be retained.
It has been discovered pursuant to the present invention that, when applying a multiple pulse sequence such as one of those described in WO 96/26453, the response off-resonance varies with frequency in a periodic fashion. An example of a typical off-resonance response to a multiple pulse sequence for a typical substance is shown in FIG. 1. The response has been found to have narrow peaks and wide troughs which are believed to be due to the pulsed nature of the excitation; the separation of the peaks is believed to be related to the pulse repetition rate. Furthermore, the resonance frequency of the peaks varies with temperature and other such environmental parameters. Unless the excitation is exactly at the resonance frequency, or exactly at the frequency of one of the other peaks, there will not reliably be any response signal. Therefore, for example, in a typical situation (such as airport security checking) where the exact temperature of the sample is not known, the usefulness of such multiple pulse sequences may be reduced.
Further, it has been found pursuant to the present invention that the off-resonance behaviour of multiple pulse sequences can cause particular problems when they are used in pairs as described above to reduce spurious signals, particularly if the substance under test has a relatively low resonance frequency and/or long spin-lattice relaxation time.
The present invention seeks to maintain or improve upon the level of spurious signal suppression achieved using the technique described in WO 96/26453, but to improve the off-resonance response, especially for long T1 substances. The invention also seeks to improve the sensitivity of NQR tests. The invention is based in part upon the discovery, pursuant to the invention, that an improvement in the off-resonance response and the sensitivity of the NQR test may result if the delay time between the two excitation pulse blocks mentioned above is carefully controlled.
Prior to the present invention, it was considered that sufficient time must be left between the two excitation blocks to allow the NQR magnetization generated during the first block to recover. However, it has now been discovered pursuant to the present invention that, by having a delay between the two blocks which is insufficient for the magnetization to recover, the off-resonant response behaviour and the sensitivity of the NQR test may be considerably improved.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei exhibiting a given value of spin-lattice relaxation time, T1, the method comprising:
applying two (or possibly more) excitation blocks to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, there being a given delay time between the two blocks;
detecting resonance response signals; and
comparing the response signals from respective blocks;
wherein the delay time is less than the T1 value of the nuclei.
By having a delay between the two blocks which is less than the T1 value of the nuclei (that is, a delay which gives insufficient time for the magnetization to recover), the off-resonant response behaviour and the sensitivity of the NQR test may be considerably improved. This may allow improved detection of substances displaying weak NQR signals, in situations where the exact temperature of the sample is not known.
Each excitation block (or sub-block) may comprise one or more excitation pulses which generates an NQR response. Preferably, each excitation block comprises at least two, three, five or ten pulses, although it may comprise a multiplicity of pulses, say more than one hundred or even more than one thousand pulses. Suitably, the separation between each pulse may be less than, preferably less than one tenth of, the ring-down time (decay time) of the spurious interfering signals. Preferably, the separation between the pulses in a block is the same. Preferably the separation between the pulses is as defined in WO 96/26453 in relation to the SSFP and PSL pulse sequences. For example, the separation may be less than ten times, or five times, or three times or twice the value of the free induction decay time T2*. Indeed, the separation may be less than T2* or a half T2*.
Preferably (in any embodiment whatsoever), where there are a plurality of pulses in each block (or sub-block), there is no phase alternation between those pulses. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cphase alternationxe2x80x9d connotes a variation of phase of more than 90xc2x0, preferably more than 135xc2x0, and more preferably of roughly 180xc2x0. Accordingly, xe2x80x9cno phase alternationxe2x80x9d implies a variation of phase certainly less than 180xc2x0, preferably less than or equal to 135xc2x0, and more preferably less than or equal to 90xc2x0.
Preferably, the comparison takes the form of a combination of the responses from the respective blocks such that the NQR signal is enhanced while any spurious signals are reduced. In one embodiment, the comparison takes the form of a subtraction of the responses from the respective blocks, possibly with some weighting being given to one of the blocks to account for differences in the signal levels generated by the blocks. In other embodiments involving blocks having two or more constituent sub-blocks, the responses from the sub-blocks of one block are combined with the responses from either corresponding, or indeed non-corresponding, sub-blocks of the other block, such that the overall NQR signal is enhanced.
Advantageously, the delay time is less than half, preferably less than a quarter, more preferably less than a tenth and even more preferably less than a hundredth of the T1 value. In short, it is preferable that the delay time is very much less than the spin-lattice relaxation time of the nuclei.
It is also preferred that the delay time is greater than the spin-spin relaxation time, T2, of the nuclei, and hence advantageously the delay time is greater than once, preferably greater than twice, more preferably greater three times and even more preferably greater than five times the T2 value. This can ensure effective relaxation of the magnetization in the x-y plane.
On the other hand, preferably, the delay time is less than ten times and more preferably less than five times the T2 value, since this can maintain the duration of the test within a reasonable limit.
For typical nuclei of interest, preferred ranges of the delay time are between 1 and 1000 ms, preferably between 5 and 500 ms, more preferably between 10 and 100 ms and even more preferably between 20 and 60 ms.
One important feature of the present invention alluded to above is the discovery pursuant to the invention of the nature of the off-resonance performance in NQR of multiple pulse sequences. In order to improve the performance, preferably the first and second blocks, and the delay time therebetween, are arranged such that, if the resonance frequency of the nuclei were varied over a given range, the first and second blocks would generate response signals whose variation with frequency over the given range would in combination be less than for the response signals from separately either the first or second block. By arranging the first and second blocks and the delay time therebetween thus, the periodic variation of the response signals with frequency can be to an extent mitigated. It is in particular preferred if the peaks in the frequency response characteristic of one excitation block are arranged to coincide generally with the troughs in the characteristic of the other block, and vice versa.
It has been discovered pursuant to the present invention that the off-resonance response and the sensitivity of the NQR test may be further improved by applying excitation between the two excitation blocks. Therefore the method may further comprise applying excitation between the two excitation blocks. Preferably, the excitation is in the form of one or more excitation pulses, such pulses being termed herein xe2x80x9cbridging pulsesxe2x80x9d. By the use of such excitation the behaviour of the second block can be adjusted so that the overall pulse sequence can produce the desired improved result. In particular, the excitation between the two blocks can be used to improve the combined off-resonance behaviour of the two blocks.
In one preferred embodiment, an excitation pulse (herein termed xe2x80x9crefocussing pulsexe2x80x9d) is applied, at a time substantially coincident with the last echo generated by the first block.
In another preferred embodiment an excitation pulse (herein termed xe2x80x9cwindmill pulsexe2x80x9d) is applied at a time adjacent the centre of the delay time between the two blocks.
In another preferred embodiment, excitation pulses are applied between the excitation blocks to provide saturation. Such pulses may be termed xe2x80x9csaturation pulsesxe2x80x9d.
Various preferred features of the excitation applied between the two blocks are as follows.
If one (or more) excitation pulse is applied between the two blocks, the (or each) pulse may have an effective flip angle of between 20xc2x0 and 160xc2x0, or 200xc2x0 and 340xc2x0, or 30xc2x0 and 60xc2x0, or 70xc2x0 and 110xc2x0, or 160xc2x0 and 200xc2x0. It is noted in passing that the term xe2x80x9ceffectivexe2x80x9d in relation to a 90xc2x0 flip angle is used to connote the NQR equivalent of a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) 90xc2x0 flip angle; in fact all flip angles referred to herein are xe2x80x9ceffectivexe2x80x9d flip angles.
If a plurality of excitation pulses is applied between the blocks, the second such pulse may be of the same or different flip angle as the first.
Each excitation block may comprise a first excitation sub-block and a second excitation sub-block, the response to one of the first and second sub-blocks in one block being compared to the response to one of the first and second sub-blocks in the other block. This can afford the advantage that by dividing the blocks into sub-blocks the off-resonance performance of the entire sequence can be enhanced, especially if the sub-blocks in each main block are different. Preferably, the response to the other of the first and second sub-blocks in one block is compared to the response to the other of the first and second sub-blocks in the other block as well.
This important feature is provided independently. Accordingly, the invention provides a method of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei exhibiting a given value of spin-lattice relaxation time, T1, the method comprising applying two excitation blocks to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, each excitation block comprising a first excitation sub-block and a second excitation sub-block, there being a given delay time between the two blocks, detecting resonance response signals, and comparing the response to one of the first and second sub-blocks in one block and the response to one of the first and second sub-blocks in the other block, the delay time being less than five times the T1 value of the nuclei (that is, a delay which gives insufficient time for the magnetization to recover).
Preferably, the delay time is less than three times or twice the T1 value of the nuclei; and more preferably the delay time is less than the T1 value itself. Advantageously, the delay time is less than half, preferably less than a quarter, more preferably less than a tenth and even more preferably less than a hundredth of the T1 value.
The first sub-block in each excitation block may be different from the second sub-block in each excitation block. For example, each sub-block may comprise a plurality of pulses, and the repetition rate of the pulses in the first sub-block may be different from the repetition rate of the pulses in the second sub-block. This can make the off-resonance response different between the first and the second sub-blocks, so that the combined off-resonance response can be improved.
If each excitation block comprises a plurality of excitation pulses, preferably the time between the first and second such pulse in the first block is different from the corresponding time for the second block. This has been found to be a particularly effective way of improving the off-resonance performance of the combined response signal from the first and second blocks.
For efficiency and optimum reduction in spurious signals, preferably each excitation block comprises a multiplicity of excitation pulses and at least the majority of the pulses in one block are substantially the same as the corresponding pulses in the other block.
One multiple pulse sequence of particular efficiency has been found to be a Pulsed Spin Locking (PSL) type sequence. In putting such a sequence into practice with the present invention, preferably each block comprises an initial preparation pulse followed by at least one pulse of different phase from the preparation pulse.
The feature that the time between the first and second such pulse in the first block is different from the corresponding time for the second block can be used particularly effectively in the context of a PSL type sequence. Accordingly, preferably, for one of the blocks the time between the preparation pulse and the immediately following pulse is half the time between subsequent pulses in the block, whereas preferably for (the other) one of the blocks the time between the preparation pulse and the immediately following pulse is substantially the same as the time between subsequent pulses in the block.
Another particularly effective pulse sequence in the context of the present invention is a Steady State Free Precession (SSFP) type sequence. In putting this sequence into practice for the present invention, preferably each excitation block comprises a plurality of excitation pulses, the time between each such pulse being the same.
In fact, repeated use of an SSFP type pulse sequence in a T1 limited fashion has been foundxe2x80x94surprisinglyxe2x80x94to afford a number of benefits in reducing spurious interfering signals. Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei exhibiting a given value of spin-lattice relaxation time, T1, the method comprising:
applying two (or more) excitation blocks to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, there being a given delay time between the two blocks, each excitation block comprising a plurality of excitation pulses, the time between each such pulse being the same; and
detecting resonance response signals;
wherein the delay time is less than five times the T1 value of the nuclei.
Preferably, the delay time is less than three times or twice the T1 value of the nuclei; and more preferably the delay time is less than the T1 value itself. Advantageously, the delay time is less than half, preferably less than a quarter, more preferably less than a tenth and even more preferably less than a hundredth of the T1 value.
The method may further comprise comparing the response signals from the respective blocks.
One particular preferred embodiment has been found to be where the phase of each pulse is the same. Also, if a plurality of pulses is provided in each block (or sub-block), preferably each (or most) of the pulses in that block (or sub-block) has the same or nearly the same phase; this may exclude the initial pulse in each block, which may be of a different phase. Preferably each (or most) of the pulses in that block (or sub-block) have phases which are within 90xc2x0 of each other.
Each excitation block may comprise at least one excitation pulse, and at least one of the pulses may be a phase split pulse.
Although reference has been made above largely to the use of two excitation blocks, one or more further pairs of blocks with the appropriate delay (for example, less than the T1 value of the nuclei, as taught previously) between each block of the pair could be used. Each pair of blocks may have substantially the same delay between the blocks, or the delays may be different. Each pair may be applied at a (slightly) different excitation frequency, in order to improve off-resonance performance.
The invention also provides apparatus for Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei, comprising:
means (such as an rf probe) for applying two (or more) excitation blocks to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, there being a given delay time between the two blocks:
means (such as the or another rf probe) for detecting resonance response signals from the blocks; and
means (such as a processor) for comparing the response signals from the respective blocks;
wherein the delay time is between 1 and 1000 ms, preferably between 5 and 500 ms, more preferably between 10 and 100 ms and even more preferably between 20 and 60 ms.
Preferably, the first and second blocks, and the delay time therebetween, are arranged such that if the resonance frequency of the nuclei were varied over a given range, the first and second blocks would generate response signals whose variation with frequency over the given range would in combination be less than for the response signals from separately either the first or second block.
Preferably, the excitation applying means is adapted to apply excitation between the two excitation blocks. The excitation applying means may be adapted to apply an excitation pulse at a time substantially coincident with the last echo generated by the first block. The excitation applying means may be adapted to apply an excitation pulse at a time adjacent the centre of the delay time between the two blocks. The excitation applying means may be adapted to apply an excitation pulse between the two blocks and the pulse may have an effective flip angle of between 20xc2x0 and 160xc2x0, or 200xc2x0 and 340xc2x0, or 30xc2x0 and 60xc2x0, or 70xc2x0 and 110xc2x0, or 160xc2x0 and 200xc2x0. The excitation applying means may be adapted to apply a plurality of excitation pulses between the two blocks, the second such pulse being of the same or different flip angle as the first.
Each excitation block may comprise a first excitation sub-block and a second-excitation sub-block, and the comparing means may be adapted to compare the response to one of the first and second sub-blocks in one block and the response to one of the first and second sub-blocks in the other block.
In a closely related apparatus aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei exhibiting a given value of spin-lattice relaxation time, T1, comprising means for applying two excitation blocks to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, each excitation block comprising a first excitation sub-block and a second excitation sub-block, there being a given delay time between the two blocks, means for detecting resonance response signals, and means for comparing the response to one of the first and second sub-blocks in one block and the response to one of the first and second sub-blocks in the other block, the delay time being less than five times T1, for example, between 1 and 1000 ms, preferably between 5 and 500 ms, more preferably between 10 and 100 ms and even more preferably between 20 and 60 ms.
The first sub-block in each excitation block may be different from the second sub-block in each excitation block. For example, each sub-block may comprise a plurality of pulses, and the repetition rate of the pulses in the first sub-block may be different from the repetition rate of the pulses in the second sub-block.
The present invention also provides apparatus for Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei, comprising:
means for applying two (or more) excitation blocks to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, there being a given delay time between the two blocks, each excitation block comprising a plurality of excitation pulses, the time between each such pulse being the same; and
means for detecting resonance response signals;
the delay time being less than five times T1, for example, between 1 and 1000 ms, preferably between 5 and 500 ms, more preferably between 10 and 100 ms and even more preferably between 20 and 60 ms.
One particular preferred embodiment has been found to be where the phase of each pulse is the same.
Preferably, means for comparing the response signals from the respective blocks are provided.
Method and apparatus features of the invention may where appropriate be interchanged.

NQR method and apparatus for testing a sample by applying multiple excitation blocks with different delay times


Systems, apparatuses and methods may provide away to render edges of an object defined by multiple tessellation triangles. More particularly, systems, apparatuses and methods may provide a way to perform anti-aliasing at the edges of the object based on a coarse pixel rate, where the coarse pixels may be based on a coarse Z value indicate a resolution or granularity of detail of the coarse pixel. The systems, apparatuses and methods may use a shader dispatch engine to dispatch raster rules to a pixel shader to direct the pixel shader to include, in a tile and/or tessellation triangle, one more finer coarse pixels based on a percent of coverage provided by a finer coarse pixel of a tessellation triangle at or along the edge of the object.

Image quality of current graphics processing systems may be subject to variation in coarse pixel shading (CPS) because of a lack of adaptive shading functionality for anti-aliasing in a graphics pipeline shader. Traditional graphics processing systems may perform pixel blending techniques using fixed raster rules or sample coverage for anti-aliasing. These traditional graphics processing systems and techniques may be limited in the ability to improve performance and efficiency, as well as adapt to real-time conditions such as the data being processed, resource availability, and/or power.

Anti-aliasing adaptive shader with pixel tile coverage raster rule system, apparatus and method


A network includes a network control center which stores network management software capable of supporting user-composed programs for automatically managing apparatus at remote sites, each apparatus including a microprocessor, memory and input/output devices interconnected by a bus, connected to remote site equipment. The network control center includes a single partitioned memory device, or various memory devices. A master site memory section stores a master site listing of all of the remote sites. A master function memory section stores a master function listing of all possible functions to be executed by the apparatus at each site. In managing the network of apparatus, a user composes a listing of plural sites selected from the master site listing and a listing of functions for each site from the master function listing, which are stored in a correlated listing memory section. After the correlated listing has been stored, upon a single execution signal set by the user, commands representing the selected functions are transmitted over communication links to the selected sites, without further participation by the user, and the apparatus at the selected sites executes the functions upon receipt of the commands.

It has been known to provide units to electrically monitor operational and environmental conditions of equipment located at operating sites. It has also been known to combine control units with monitoring units in order to control equipment when conditions out-of-range of programmed parameters are detected, and to allow a controller to correct the problem causing the out-of-range conditions. The equipment may be computers, data transmission equipment, sub-stations, processing equipment or other types of equipment, and may be unmanned, or may be manned by operators during the day but unmanned at night. Also, such sites even when operators are in attendance may have no maintenance personnel in attendance day or night.
One type of such monitor and control unit is a programmable controller disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,654. As disclosed in this patent, the programmable controller is connected to sense equipment conditions and generate an alarm when conditions are sensed that deviate from a desired range of parameters, and then automatically dial one or a series of telephone numbers to locate maintenance or supervisory personnel through the use of the public telephone network. The controller is equipped to transmit over the telephone network to an operator at a dialed location, information about the alarm condition in the form of synthesized voice messages. The operator can use push-buttons on his telephone to produce dual tone, multi-frequency (DTMF) signals to enter various user access codes to receive information about the alarm conditions and to set switches and the like to control the equipment at the site.
In addition, through use of the push-button telephone, the operator can access the controller at the site through the use of a valid password to enter new parameters and can reprogram the controller at the site to correct conditions as they are recognized by the operator. For this purpose, the controller is programmable to define the source of control commands and the response to the control commands, depending on whether the apparatus is in an operator-controlled or automatic mode. In addition to the aforesaid U.S. Patent, further details of this type of programmable controller may be obtained by referring to application Ser. No. 07/149,671, filed Jan. 28, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,703. The disclosures of these applications and patents are incorporated by reference.

Method of automatically managing a network or remote function-excecuting apparatus from a programable network control center


Volume of fluid feed channels is adjusted for drop generators that are staggered with respect to a feed edge. In one embodiment, barrier islands are positioned, sized, and/or shaped to adjust the volume. In another embodiment, protrusions or walls thereof are positioned to adjust the volume.

The art of ink jet printing is relatively well developed. Commercial products such as computer printers, graphics plotters, and facsimile machines have been implemented with ink jet technology for producing printed media. The contributions of Hewlett-Packard Company to ink jet technology are described, for example, in various articles in the Hewlett-Packard Journal, Vol. 36, No. 5 (May 1985); Vol. 39, No. 5 (October 1988); Vol. 43, No. 4 (August 1992); Vol. 43, No. 6 (December 1992); and Vol. 45, No. 1 (February 1994).
Generally, an ink jet image is formed pursuant to precise placement on a print medium of ink drops emitted by an ink drop generating device known as an ink jet printhead. Typically, an ink jet printhead is supported on a movable print carriage that traverses over the surface of the print medium and is controlled to eject drops of ink at appropriate times pursuant to command of a microcomputer or other controller, wherein the timing of the application of the ink drops is intended to correspond to a pattern of pixels of the image being printed.
A typical Hewlett-Packard ink jet printhead includes an array of precisely formed nozzles in a nozzle plate that is attached to an ink barrier layer which in turn is attached to a thin film substructure that implements ink firing heater resistors and apparatus for enabling the resistors. The ink barrier layer defines ink channels including ink chambers disposed over associated ink firing resistors, and the nozzles in the nozzle plate are aligned with associated ink chambers. Ink drop generator regions are formed by the ink chambers and portions of the thin film substructure and the nozzle plate that are adjacent the ink chambers. The ink drop generators are commonly arranged in columnar arrays that are adjacent respective ink feed edges. For reasons such as timing logic and electrical interconnection, the ink drop generators of a given column are staggered relative to the adjacent ink feed edge, wherein ink chambers are at differing distances from the ink feed edge.
The thin film substructure is typically comprised of a substrate such as silicon on which are formed various thin film layers that form thin film ink firing resistors, apparatus for enabling the resistors, and also interconnections to bonding pads that are provided for external electrical connections to the printhead. The ink barrier layer is typically a polymer material that is laminated as a dry film to the thin film substructure, and is designed to be photodefinable and both UV and thermally curable. Ink is fed from one or more ink reservoirs to the various ink chambers around ink feed edges that can comprise sides of the thin film substructure or sides of ink feed slots formed in the substrate.
An example of the physical arrangement of the nozzle plate, ink barrier layer, and thin film substructure is illustrated at page 44 of the Hewlett-Packard Journal of February 1994, cited above. Further examples of ink jet printheads are set forth in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,719,477 and 5,317,346.
Considerations with an ink jet printhead having staggered nozzles (heater resistors) include variation in ink drop size along an ink drop generator column which adversely affects print quality.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method for ejecting fluid from a device comprising: forming a plurality of fluid drop generators including: a plurality of heater elements located at different distances from a feed edge; a plurality of fluid chambers disposed over the plurality of heater elements, respectively, each fluid chamber defined by opposing walls that extend toward the feed edge; and a plurality of barrier islands each disposed between the opposing walls to define a pair of fluid channels; and selecting the size of the plurality of barrier islands to substantially equalize fluidic resistances in the plurality of fluid chambers.
In another exemplary embodiment, a method for ejecting fluid from a device comprising: forming a plurality of fluid drop generators located at different distances from a feed edge, the plurality of fluid drop generators having a plurality of fluid regions for receiving fluid and a plurality of barrier islands disposed within the fluid regions, respectively; and varying the volume of the plurality of fluid regions by varying the size of the plurality of barrier islands to thereby equalize fluidic pressure in the plurality of fluid regions.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, a fluid ejecting device comprising: a substrate having a feed edge and a plurality of heater elements located at different distances from the feed edge; a barrier layer having a plurality of fluid chambers disposed over the plurality of heater elements, respectively, the plurality of fluid chambers each defined by opposing walls that extend toward the feed edge; and a plurality of barrier islands disposed between the opposing walls, the size of the plurality of barrier islands is selected to substantially equalize the fluidic resistances within the plurality of fluid chambers.

Feed channels of a fluid ejection device

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A multi-subframe scheduling method, device and system are disclosed. The method includes: a base station side scheduling transmission of a plurality of subframes through a piece of downlink control information DCI; and according to an acquired multi-subframe scheduling mode and scheduling parameters, a user equipment UE receiving and sending the plurality of subframes according to an indication of the DCI.

Uplink physical channels of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system include: a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The single carrier Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology is used in the uplink of the LTE, reference signals and data are multiplexed by means of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM).
And downlink physical channels of the LTE system include: a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), a Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH), a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH), a Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH) and an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel (EPDCCH).
In the LTE system, uplink control information is transmitted by a PUCCH and downlink control information is transmitted by a PDCCH. Wherein, the PUCCH is used for transmitting Uplink Control Information (UCI), the UCI includes a Scheduling Request (SR), positive acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK/NACK) of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and downlink Channel State Information (CSI) fed back by User Equipment (UE). Wherein, the CSI includes three forms: a Channel Quality Indication (CQI), a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) and a Rank Indication (RI). Sending of the CSI includes two ways: periodic CSI and aperiodic CSI, wherein the periodic CSI is that, after an Evolved-Node B (eNB) performs configuration through upper layer signaling, the UE sends the CSI in a fixed way according to a certain time interval, and the aperiodic CSI is that the eNB performs triggering through DCI, and the UE performs sending after receiving the DCI.
In the LTE system, uplink reference signals are divided into a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). Wherein, the DMRS is divided into a PUCCH-specific demodulation reference signal and a PUSCH-specific demodulation reference signal, which are respectively used for different channel transmissions. The DMRS is mainly used for estimation of uplink channels and coherent detection and demodulation of the eNB base station terminal; and the SRS is mainly used for measurement of the uplink channels, so that the eNB performs frequency selectivity scheduling. In order to support such frequency selectivity scheduling, the UE is required to perform measurement on larger bandwidths, and generally it will exceed the bandwidth of the data transmission, therefore, the SRS is a "broadband" reference signal. The SRS is divided into two kinds: a periodic SRS and an aperiodic SRS, wherein, the periodic SRS is an SRS configured by the system and sent according to a certain period, and the aperiodic SRS is triggered by the base station through DCI and is sent after the UE receives the DCI of the base station triggering the aperiodic SRS.
The PDCCH is used for transmitting Downlink Control Information (DCI), the DCI is mainly used for scheduling the PDSCH and PUSCH, that is, after receiving the DCI, the UE receives the PDSCH sent from an Evolved-Node B (eNB) according to an indication of the DCI, or sends the PUSCH to the eNB according to the indication of the DCI. The DCI mainly includes: resource indication information (Resource block assignment), a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), a Downlink Assignment Index (DAI), a Channel State Information request, a Cyclic shift for DMRS and Orthogonal Cover Code (OCC) index and a Transport Block Size (TBS) and so on. After receiving the above DCI, the UE receives the PDSCH sent from the eNB according to indication information in the DCI, or sends the PUSCH to the eNB.
The above TBS represents a size of a transport block, in the LTE system, in order to improve the system spectrum efficiency, the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology is introduced, that is, multi-antenna units are used at both a sending end and a receiving end of a wireless system, with abundant space multidimensional characteristics of wireless scatter channels, it is to work by means of multiple-input end/multiple-output end, thereby achieving an effect of improving the system channel capacity. After the MIMO is introduced, each carrier supports multiplex transmission of a plurality of Transport Blocks (TBs), and in this case, the eNB is also required to notify the UE of a TBS of each TB.
And when the UE is scheduled to send uplink subframes through the DCI, the DAI is called as an uplink DAI (UL DAI), which is used for representing the number of ACKs required to be fed back in the uplink subframes that will be sent by the UE; and when the UE is scheduled to receive downlink subframes through the DCI, the DAI is called as a downlink DAI (DL DAI), which is used for representing that a currently received subframe is which downlink subframe that is scheduled in a scheduling window.
In the LTE system in the related art, scheduling includes two kinds: dynamic scheduling and semi-persistence scheduling. Wherein, the dynamic scheduling is: the eNB scheduling the UE according to the related communication requirements, that is, the eNB sending a piece of DCI, and the UE receiving one PDSCH or sending one PUSCH according to the current DCI; the semi-persistence scheduling (SPS) is: the eNB activating the semi-persistence scheduling through the DCI, after the semi-persistence scheduling is activated, the UE receiving the PDSCH or sending the PUSCH according to a fixed interval, and the eNB not needing to give a notification through the DCI until the eNB deactivates the semi-persistence scheduling through the DCI, moreover, in the LTE standard in the related art, the maximum MCS of the SPS scheduling is limited to 15.
In the LTE system, at present, in the dynamic scheduling, a piece of DCI can only trigger the UE to receive one PDSCH or send one PUSCH. However, in fact, with respect to a low-speed mobile user, when the user has continuous data to be transmitted, if the same scheduling parameter can be used in a plurality of subframes to perform transmission, at this point, the control overhead of the dynamic transmission will be higher, thereby reducing the system performance; and in the SPS scheduling, due to the limitation that the maximum MCS is 15, high order modulation cannot be used at present, thus user transmission with a larger data volume cannot be supported.

Multi-subframe scheduling method, device and system


A virtual conferencing system is described which implements an interactive timeline. For example, one embodiment of the virtual conferencing system comprises: a plurality of clients, each of the clients comprising state management logic to maintain a current state of a virtual conference; a virtual conferencing service to establish audio and/or video connections between the plurality of clients during the virtual conference, the virtual conferencing service further including a state synchronization service communicatively coupled to the state management logic on each client to ensure that the current state of the virtual conference is consistent on each client; a virtual conferencing graphical user interface (GUI) to be rendered on the plurality of clients, the virtual conferencing GUI configured, via signals sent from the state synchronization service, to display a video stream of one or more current speakers during the virtual conference; and an interactive timeline to be rendered on at least one of the plurality of clients, the interactive timeline comprising a plurality of graphical elements representing different segments of the virtual conference, wherein selection of a first graphical element corresponding to a first segment causes the client on which the interactive timeline is displayed to transmit one or more commands to the virtual conferencing service to cause the virtual conferencing service to implement one or more operations associated with the segment, the one or more operations including modification of the virtual conferencing GUI on the clients in accordance with requirements of the segment.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of computer systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for an automated online video conferencing timeline
Description of the Related Art
"Web conferencing" or "virtual conferencing" refers to various forms of online collaborative services including web seminars, webcasts, and peer-level web meetings. Web conferencing systems today support real-time audio and video streaming between participants, typically under the coordination of a central web conferencing server. Applications for web conferencing include online classrooms, meetings, training sessions, lectures, and seminars, to name a few.
In some virtual conferencing systems, the meeting organizer or moderator is provided with control over the current state of the virtual conferencing system via a graphical control panel. For example, to initiate a debate between multiple students in a virtual classroom, the instructor uses the control panel to manually rearrange the graphical user interface to include two or more speaker positions and identifies the students to participate in the debate. Similarly, to subdivide the class into breakout groups, the instructor uses the control panel to manually specify the size of the breakout groups, identify the students in each group, and provide the necessary materials for each group to use during the breakout session. When the breakout period is over, the instructor again uses the control panel to rearrange the graphical user interface to review the results of each breakout group. As another example, when a poll is to be conducted, the instructor uses the control panel to initiate the poll, which may involve additional modifications to the graphical user interface.
Requiring the instructor (or other moderator) to manually perform all of the above operations during the course of a class (or other virtual conference) can be distracting and time consuming. Consequently, what is needed is a system and method to automatically implement control functions during the course of a video conference.

System and method for a virtual conference interactive timeline


An image pickup apparatus includes a lens, and a solid-state image sensor for converting light which passes through the lens into an electric signal. A signal processing circuit serves to process the electric signal outputted from the solid-state image snesor. A Gray code counter serves to count pulses of a first clock signal and to generate Gray codes in response to the first clock signal. A latch device functions to feed a second clock signal and a synchronizing signal to the solid-state image sensor and the signal processing circuit in response to the Gray codes generated by the Gray code counter respectively. The Gray code counter circuit includes n-bit counting stages where n denotes a predetermined natural number, and a plurality of logic decoders for feeding logic outputs to input terminals of the respective counting stages, the logic outputs being equivalent to a product of a first logic output of a (k-1)-th-bit counting stage and second logic outputs of a (k-2)-th-bit counting stage and lower-bit counting stages where k denotes a natural number between 3 and n.

This invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and a counter circuit used therein.
Some of image pickup apparatuses such as video cameras use a solid-state image sensor composed of photodiodes and charge-coupled devices (referred to as CCDs hereafter). A driver for such a solid-state image sensor greatly affects the performance of the image pickup apparatus. As will be explained later, a prior art driver and a background driver have some problems.

Image pickup apparatus having a Gray counter

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A tool for effecting inspection, maintenance and/or replacement of pins within a lock cylinder. The inventive device includes a cylindrical portion having an outside diameter corresponding to a diameter of a plug being removed from a lock cylinder. A non-cylindrical portion colinearly extends from the cylindrical portion and includes a reducing exterior wall characterized by a decreasing radius from a longitudinal center of the tool. The non-cylindrical portion permits a desired number of pins to be lowered from the lock cylinder at a desired speed for inspection, maintenance and/or removal thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lock servicing devices and more particularly pertains to a lock cylinder maintenance tool for effecting inspection and maintenance of pins within a lock cylinder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of lock servicing devices is known in the prior art. Known prior art lock servicing devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,860 issued Jul. 21, 1987 to John C. Detloff for "Apparatus for Disassembling Locks"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,994 issued Jun. 30, 1987 to John C. Detloff for "Locksmith's Tool For Installing Springs and Driver Pins Into Pin Tumbler Locks"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,314 issued Dec. 15, 1981 to Ernest I. Simpson for "Tool for Changing Master Pins In an Almont Lock"; U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,899, issued Jun. 18, 1974 to George J. Kitts for a "Lock Core Puller For Spring Retained Locks"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,007 issued May 23, 1972 to Ernest L. Schlage for "Cylinder Loading Tool".
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a lock cylinder maintenance tool for effecting inspection and maintenance of pins within a lock cylinder which includes a cylindrical portion having an outside diameter corresponding to a diameter of a plug being removed from the lock, and a non-cylindrical portion colinearly extending from the cylindrical portion and including a reducing exterior wall characterized by a decreasing radius from a longitudinal center of the tool, wherein the non-cylindrical portion permits a desired number of pins to be lowered from the lock at a desired rate for inspection and/or removal thereof.
In these respects, the lock cylinder maintenance tool according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of effecting inspection and maintenance of pins within a lock cylinder.


A track light mounting arrangement includes a plurality of tracks fastened to locating frames, a plurality of electric boxes slidably coupled to the tracks to hold a respective lamp assembly, a plurality of sliding switches respectively coupled to the electric boxes and moved forward to turn on the respective lamp assemblies or backward to turn them off. Circular distribution boxes may be installed for coupling tracks radially by connecting devices, so that a plurality of track lights can be electrically connected and arranged in all directions.

The present invention relates to a track light and more particularly, a track light mounting arrangement which permits a plurality of track lights to be conveniently installed and arranged in desired directions.
Various track lights have been disclosed and have appeared on the market. These track lights must be installed with transformers so that a direct current power supply can be obtained from an alternating current power supply through the transformers. Due to the power limitation of transformers, the total power consumption of a set of track lights can not surpass the capacity of the matched transformer. The limitation allows only a limited quantity of track lights to be connected together. Furthermore, when several sets of track lights are to be installed together, the arrangement of the transformers greatly complicates the electric wiring and the installation procedure.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above circumstances in view. According to one aspect of the present invention, couplers are provided for coupling tracks together so that a plurality of lamp assemblies can be installed without causing the problem of overvoltage. According to another aspect of the present invention, a circular distribution box can be used to connect a plurality of tracks in radial directions by couplers and connecting devices, so that a plurality of track lights can be arranged on the wall in all directions. According to still another aspect of the present invention, a sliding switch is provided to control the operation of the respective track light positively and smoothly.


In a spark plug of the invention, as the top end edge of a terminal 13 is located within a middle trunk portion 2g of the insulator 2 with a longer reach of the screw portion 7, it acts as a support against fracture, more likely causing the problem of strength. Thus, the wall thickness of the middle trunk portion 2g at a position corresponding to the top end edge of the terminal 13 is sufficiently secured to be 0.42 or larger, based on the value of (Dxe2x88x92d)/D, whereby it is possible to prevent the inconvenience such as fracture of the insulator, particularly, the middle trunk portion 2g from occurring owing to some strong force of bending, impact or torque applied on the insulator 2, when the spark plug is attached.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spark plug for use in an internal combustion engine such as an automobile engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A spark plug for the purpose of igniting, for example, a gasoline engine for automobile, is attached on a cylinder head of the engine by means of a screw portion formed in a metal shell. A spark discharge gap formed by a ground electrode and a center electrode is located within a combustion chamber in this attached state to ignite a fuel-air mixture. Here, an electrode portion for forming the spark discharge gap is subjected to a combustion mixture gas during engine operation, and heated to considerably high temperature. Recently, a suction valve and an exhaust valve in the combustion chamber occupy larger areas along with the increasingly higher output of the internal combustion engine for use with the automobile. Therefore, it is required to reduce the size of the spark plug for use to ignite the mixture gas, and the temperature inside the combustion chamber tends to rise more highly owing to the operation of a supercharger such as a turbo charger.
In order to maintain a full life of the spark plug under the severe service conditions, it is required that the heat radiation (heat release) of the electrode portion is effected to sufficient extent. The heat of the spark plug is radiated via various passages, but in particular in a passage leading from an insulator through the screw portion of the metal shell to a cylinder head, a large quantity of heat flow will escape, and this passage plays an important role for effecting the heat radiation. In a commonly used spark plug, the length (reach) of this screw portion has a maximum value of at most about 19 to 20 mm, but lately an attempt of improving the heat radiation performance of the spark plug has been made by further lengthening this thread reach.
By the way, as the screw portion is made a long reach, the insulator made of ceramic such as alumina is obliged to be longer. In this case, there is the problem that if any impact or excessive torque is exerted in attaching the spark plug, the insulator is likely to fracture or crack. For example, in a case of a spark plug having a resistor incorporated into the insulator, the resistor is disposed through a through hole of the insulator between the terminal and the center electrode, but when a bending force is applied to the insulator, the top end edge of the terminal located within the through hole is liable to act as a support against fracture, resulting in the problem that the insulator is more likely to break.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a spark plug which is able to maintain the breaking strength of the insulator even if the screw portion is lengthened, and is structured less likely to cause inconvenience such as breakage of the insulator, when the spark plug is attached.
In order to solve the above-described problems, a spark plug according to the present invention comprises an axial center electrode, an axial insulator covering the outside of the center electrode, a metal shell shaped like a barrel that is open at both ends and disposed outside the center electrode, and a ground electrode for forming a spark discharge gap with respect to the center electrode, the ground electrode connected to the metal shell, characterized in that the forward side of the insulator is defined as the side where the spark discharge gap is located in an axial direction of the insulator, the backward side being defined as the opposite side, a screw portion portion has a thread reach of 25 mm or greater on an outside circumferential surface located at the forward end portion of the metal shell, and a portion of the insulator located within the metal shell half way in the axial direction has a peripheral flange portion protruding outward and a middle trunk portion adjacent the forward side of the flange portion, wherein a through hole is formed in the axial direction of the insulator, a terminal is secured at the rear end side of the insulator, the center electrode is secured at the front end side of the insulator, and an electrically conductive binder layer is disposed between the terminal and the center electrode within the through hole, the terminal having the top end edge located with getting into the middle trunk portion of the insulator, and wherein the wall thickness of the middle trunk portion is determined to satisfy the relation such as,
0.42xe2x89xa6(Dxe2x88x92d)/Dxe2x89xa60.79
where the outer diameter of the middle trunk portion at a position corresponding to the top end edge of the terminal is D, and the inner diameter of the through hole in the middle trunk portion is d.
In a typical spark plug, an insulator 201 has a flange-like large flange portion (referred to as a flange portion) 201a formed to be caulked to a metal shell 200, and a middle trunk portion 201b closer to the top end of the insulator 201, as shown in FIG. 4A. In the spark plug having a thread reach of 20 mm or less, a terminal 202 is adjusted in length to have its top end edge within the flange portion 201b. On the other hand, with a larger thread reach, there is the need of lengthening the middle trunk portion 201b of the insulator 201. However, since the length of a resistor or an electrically conductive binder layer 203 such an electrically conductive glass seal layer can not be extended freely owing to the restrictions from its electrical characteristics or production conditions, a way of extending the top end portion of the terminal 202b is employed.
As a result, in the case where it is necessary to have a structure in which the top end portion of the terminal 202b extends into the middle trunk portion 201b, the top end edge of the terminal 202, which is located within the middle trunk portion 201b that is thinner than the flange portion 201a, acts as a support against fracture, when a bending force is exerted externally, and there is more likelihood of causing the crack C, as shown in FIG. 4B. In particular, in a spark plug of long reach type having a thread reach of 25 mm or greater according to the present invention, the length of the middle trunk portion 201b is necessarily longer, so that a larger bending moment is caused by application of an outside force and exerted on a support against fracture, resulting in the severe problem such a breakage. Thus, in the present invention, the wall thickness of the middle trunk portion at a position corresponding to the top end edge of the terminal is sufficiently set to be 0.42 or larger, based on the previous value of (Dxe2x88x92d)/D, whereby the endurance strength against the bending of insulator or impact thereon is remarkably improved, and further, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience such as fracture of the insulator when the spark plug is attached. However, if the value of (Dxe2x88x92d)/D is beyond 0.79, the inner diameter d of the through hole is too small to secure the thickness of center electrode fully, leading to malfunction of the spark plug to cause degraded heat releasing characteristic. Note that the value of (Dxe2x88x92d)/D is preferably set in the range from 0.43 to 0.60.
FIGS. 4A and 4B is a typical view illustrating a common structure of the spark plug, but not representing the public nature of the constitutional elements of the present invention.


This invention provides for biocompatible and biodegradable syringeable liquid, implantable solid, and injectable gel pharmaceutical formulations useful for the treatment of systemic and local disease states.

Present modes of drug delivery such as topical application, oral delivery, and intramuscular, intravenous and subcutaneous injection may result in high and low blood concentrations and/or shortened half-life in the blood. In some cases, achieving therapeutic efficacy with these standard administrations requires large doses of medications that may result in toxic side effects. The technologies relating to controlled drug release have been attempted in an effort to circumvent some of the pitfalls of conventional therapy. Their aims are to deliver medications on a continuous and sustained manner. Additionally, local control drug release applications are site or organ specific.
In response to these issues, reservoir delivery systems have been explored. Non-biodegradable drug delivery systems include, for example, Vitrasert® (Bausch & Lomb Inc.), a surgical implant that delivers ganciclovir intraocularly; Duros® (Alza Corp.), surgically implanted osmotic pump that delivers leuprolide actetate to treat advanced prostate cancer; and Implanon™ (Organon USA Inc.), a type of subdermal contraceptive implant.
Biodegradable implants include, for example, Lupron Depot® (leuprolide acetate, TAP Pharm. Prods., Inc.), a sustained-release microsphere-suspension injection of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) analog for the treatment of prostate cancer; and the Posurdex® dexamethasone anterior segment drug delivery system (Allergan, Inc.) (commercial licensure pending FDA approval).
Additionally, polyethylene glycol conjugations (pegylation) to reduce the frequency of administration are now in use. One example is Macugen® (pegaptanib sodium injection, (OSI) Eyetech, Inc./Pfizer Inc.), a pegylated anti-VEGF aptamer, for use in treating wet macular degeneration.
There remains a need for a more economical, practical, and efficient way of producing and manufacturing drug delivery systems that could be used locally or systemically, in solid, semi-solid, or liquid formulations.

Conveniently implantable sustained release drug compositions


A multiple boiler has at least two separate heating systems incorporated therein. Whereas boilers with two heating supplies have been known, they have been complicated systems that require heating to occur outside a water tank. The multiple boiler has an insulated water tank with a heater to heat the water in the tank without circulating water outside the tank. At least one circulating coil is located in the tank in heat exchange relationship with water in the tank.

Boiler systems wherein water tanks are heated either by interior means or by exterior means are well known. Furthermore, it is known that a hot water boiler may have two separate hot water outlets, one for domestic hot water and the other for a heating system in the building. Examples of such devices are shown in Meyers U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,625 and in Pompei et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,350. Both of these systems however show complicated units wherein water or liquid is circulated from a tank and the heating occurs when the water is not in the tank. Such systems are generally expensive and complex.


The present invention provides a display board assembly including a display board having a dry-erase surface, a recess in the dry-erase surface of the display board, and a support member removably received at least partially within the recess and defining at least one receptacle configured to receive at least one of a dry-erase marker and an eraser.

Many conventional dry-erase display boards typically include a rectangular dry-erase surface and a tray fixed to one edge of the display board to support markers, erasers, or other items. As such, conventional dry-erase display boards may only be mounted to a wall or other surface in a single orientation—with the tray of the display board oriented substantially horizontally—so that dry-erase markers, erasers, and/or other items may be supported and retained within the tray of the display board. Other conventional dry-erase display boards do not include any tray or structure for supporting or retaining markers, erasers, or other items. This often results in the markers or erasers being misplaced or not readily accessible to a user of the display board.


A water tapping point with a hot water inlet; a cold water inlet, a hot water space, a cold water space, a mixing chamber, a hot water outlet from the hot water space and a cold water outlet from the cold water space. A characteristic feature of the invention is passage means extending between the hot water outlet and the cold water outlet and provided with means for connection to a common return water pipe. The invention also relates to a tap water network comprising a plurality of tapping points. The tap water network needs only one return water pipe.

The present invention relates to a water tapping point and a tap water network effectively impeding bacterial growth, in particular, legionella bacteria growth, in the water tapping point as well as in the water network.
One problem of known tapping points is that especially the hot water space and the mixing chamber constitute an environment for the growth of water-borne bacteria, especially the feared legionella bacteria that can increase in numbers up to 10,000-fold within 48 hours if the water temperature is about 35xc2x0 C. The legionella bacterium does circulate in water as a free-living organism, and is also a part of a very complex micro-environment that is found, for example, on the inside of water tanks, water pipes and mixers. The biofilm, which there consists of micro-organisms, becomes a thin layer of slime and is surprisingly resistant to influences such as biocides used specifically for the purposes of combating the growth of the bacteria. A biocide may effectively kill all free-living bacteria in the water, but the bacteria in the biofilm will often survive and start to multiply in the water as soon as the conditions allow it. This capability of xe2x80x9chidingxe2x80x9d makes certain bacteria e.g. legionella very difficult to effectively control. The problem is increasing, supposedly related to the more widespread use of modern apparatuses having spaces with stagnant water allowed to cool down or warm up to the hazardous temperature region of 25-50xc2x0 C. A typical example of such apparatus and a potential source of legionella bacteria being modem thermostatic mixers. Bacterial growth is considered to cease at temperatures above 50xc2x0 C.
Recent attempts to address this problem have included mixers where an operator can use a special tool to temporarily flush the mixer and the water supply system with scalding hot water for several minutes with the aim of killing the bacteria during a round of all the tapping points in a hospital or care establishment, for example. A computer-controlled automated system for the regular flushing of mixers with hot water has also been suggested. Further experience has shown sanitizing effects are achieved by continuously supplying the water with oxidising biocides such as chlorine, bromine or ozone. Flushing methods are taught in e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,572 and references therein. However, all such procedures imply a great deal of manual labor and consequently costs for the service operator in, for example, a hospital. In addition, the activities in the clinics will be disrupted.
Other attempts of addressing the bacteria problem is by purifying the water in, or close to, the tapping device. Methods and devices include adding ozone (U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,125), using multiple filters (U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,388), adding bactericidal agent through a pumping device (U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,546) and sterilization by UV radiation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,329). Although effective in certain applications e.g. in dental units, their complexity and need for maintenance make them less suitable for large-scale installation such as every tapping device in a hospital or an apartment building. Also the principle of purifying water at a late stage and not addressing the problem of the rapid growth of bacteria could be questioned.
In a recently granted U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,803, by the same applicant as in the present invention the problem of legionella bacteria is addressed by providing a tapping point including a mixer for hot and cold water, with a hot water and a cold water inlet, and a hot water and a cold water space. To impede the growth of especially legionella bacteria within the mixer it is suggested that the mixer additionally is provided with a hot water outlet from the hot water space of the mixer. The outlet is connected to a hot water return pipe and through an arrangement of valves the hot water is always kept under circulation. This will assure that the water will not cool down to the hazardous temperature region 25-50xc2x0 C. Thermally insulated return pipes for hot water are, in fact, often already installed in the water mains network of a building, whereby in such cases, the return pipes only need to be furnished with branches off to the respective tapping point. This will keep the installation and maintenance cost at a reasonable level. U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,803 is incorporated by reference herein.
Traditionally legionella and other bacteria have been considered to be a problem mainly in systems with heated water. Recently attention has been drawn also to the cold water systems. If the cold water is kept immovable for a long period it could heat up to the dangerous temperature region 25-50xc2x0 C., for example during a hot summer day. Another potential risk is that the cold water system is heated by the hot water system. For example in a common thermostatic mixer the cold water spaces can be heated through thermal conduction from the hot water parts. Similarly warming up through thermal conduction could occur if the hot and cold water pipes are poorly isolated and too close to each other. At temperatures below 18xc2x0 C. legionella growth is known to be very limited. To the best knowledge of the inventor no prior art tapping points are designed to limit the heat transfer between hot and cold parts.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,803 it is suggested that the cold water is circulated in the same manner as the hot water. This would be an effective way of limiting the bacteria growth, but it would require a return system also for the cold water. In addition a cooling system would be needed in order to avoid continuously warming up the water. Return pipes for cold water do normally not exist in the mains, nor equipment for cooling the water. This system would in many cases be too complicated and expensive, especially if installed in existing buildings.
To summarize the requirements to keep legionella growth at minimum: The hot water should be hot at all times, and the cold water should be cold at all times and spaces with immovable water should be carefully avoided. To keep the investments and the maintenance cost at reasonable levels the system must not require a complete new backbone network of water mains or tapping points requiring frequent maintenance. None of the prior art fulfills these requirements.
In conventional tap water networks the water is, in certain spaces, allowed to warm up or cool down to temperature regions hazardous for bacterial growth. Known solutions for solving this problem are costly to install, or require frequent maintenance.
One object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a tap water network that effectively impedes bacterial growth in all parts of the network.
Another object is to provide providing a tap water network that effectively impede bacterial growth at reasonable installation and maintenance costs.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, according to the invention, a tapping point is provided that allows continuous circulation of hot water in its hot water parts and continuous circulation of cold water in its cold water parts.
The inventive tapping point gives the possibility to construct a water network with constant circulation of hot and cold water in all parts of the network. Any parts not suitable to circulate with hot or cold water are evacuated and ventilated.
A realization of the above-mentioned objects, according to one aspect of the invention, is a tapping point comprising a hot water inlet; a cold water inlet, a hot water space; a cold water space, a mixing chamber, a hot water outlet from the hot water space and a cold water outlet from the cold water space, providing a flow of hot return water from the hot water outlet and a flow of cold return water from the cold water outlet. An advantage with this arrangement is that the cold water always circulates and therefore remains cold in the cold water space and the warm water always circulates and therefore remains warm in the hot water space. This will effectively impede bacterial growth. In addition convenience is added for the user as cold and hot water will always be present when starting to use the tapping point.
The flow of return water from the hot water outlet and the flow of return water from the cold water outlet are combined into a common flow of return water. In doing so circulation of both the hot water and the cold water is achieved without the need of a separate cold water return network. The common flow of return water is thus arranged to flow in a common return water pipe.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention the water tapping point comprises a hot water inlet; a cold water inlet, a hot water space, a cold water space, a mixing chamber; a hot water outlet from the hot water space and a cold water outlet from the cold water space. The hot water outlet from the hot water space and the cold water outlet from the cold water space are combined, by passage means, into a common return water outlet, the latter being adapted for connection to a common return water pipe.
According to another embodiment of the invention the hot water outlet and the cold water outlet are provided with adjustment valves to control the flow and temperature of the return water. The adjustment valves are typically set once so that the common flow of return water gives a desired flow at a desired temperature which preferably is above 50xc2x0 C.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention the mixing chamber is provided with a pressure sensitive valve, said valve arranged to open when the tapping point is not in use in order to drain and ventilate the mixing chamber and preferably also any equipment connected to the mixer chamber such as a shower hose, for example.

Tapping point and supply water network comprising such tapping point


A vehicle repair and alignment apparatus for correcting and aligning misshapened vehicle frames and outer body panels comprises a frame having a pair of elongate track members with slotted rails provided along the outer edges thereof, vertical pull towers pivotably mounted on a respective semicircular platen slidingly engaged on each rail enabling selective angular orientation of the pull towers with respect to the track members, and two pairs of vertical bolster cylinders powerably positionable in both horizontal directions within the track members each having clamp elements provided on the upper ends thereof for anchoring the vehicle to the apparatus. Horizontal displacements of the bolster cylinder pairs are effected remotely by actuating electric motors while vertical motion of the clamp elments are accomplished by fluid lifters. Proximity sensors on each clamp element automatically signal the limits of vertical motion when a body portion on the underside of the vehicle is within grasp.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for correcting and aligning misshapened vehicle frame and body portions, and more particularly to apparatus of the type having a pair of parallel elongate track members for supporting a vehicle in an elevated position and at least one pull tower carrying pulleys and a flexible connector for exerting pulling forces on various portions of the vehicle, selectively positionable along the outer side of each track member.
Though similar apparatus are known from the prior art, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,783 (Eck, 1989) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,737 (Specktor, 1979), hitherto, to the best knowledge of the inventor, none provide a rapid and largely automated method of securing the vehicle frame or body so as to firmly resist the counter forces subjected to it during the alignment or straightening process.
While bolster means have been disclosed in the prior art, they were usually limited to manually positioned rod like elements which were individually secured to the underside of a vehicle and cooperating receiving spaces in the supporting frame. Aside from inconvenience of the amount of time required for the operation, an operator would have to position himself under the vehicle body and placement of the bolster rods were limited to the positions of available receiving spaces on the support frame.

Apparatus for vehicle straightening and repair

Suite 1, 11F, 95-8 Chang Ping Road, Sec. 1


A polycrystalline silicon thin film having a hydrogen content of not more than 5 atomic %, which can be fabricated on an inexpensive glass substrate (3) such as soda glass or on a glass substrate (3) provided with a metal electrode or transparent electrode. The polycrystalline silicon thin film can be fabricated at such a tempereture by using multiple repetitions of a process comprising the fabrication of an amorphous silicon film, for example, by the CVD method, followed by exposure to a hydrogen plasma for set period of time.

Since conventional methods for the fabrication of a polysilicon thin film require a high temperatures of more than 650.degree. C., a glass substrate with a softening point of less than 650.degree. C. is not able to be used. In order to avoid diffusion of impurities, it is necessary to use a highly pure quartz glass substrate among glass substrates with a softening point above 650.degree. C.
Recently, a low temperature method using an excimer laser has been intensively researched. In this method, however, only a small area such as 5 mm square is able to be crystallized, so that it is necessary to move the substrate in order to obtain complete crystallization over a large area. When the substrate is moved, nonuniformity of crystallization arises in the boundary region depending upon the moving speed of the substrate, so that it is difficult to uniformly form the polysilicon thin film on a large area.
The present invention is made to resolve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the conventional art, namely, it is an object of the present invention to provide a polysilicon thin film and a low temperature fabrication method thereof in which an inexpensive glass substrate such as a soda glass is used as a substrate.

Polycrystalline silicon thin film and low temperature fabrication method thereof


In one embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that, when executed by a processor, are configured to cause the processor to receive a first set of inputs including a motion profile of a machine, a mechanical design of the machine, or both, generate a number of axis solutions for one or more actuators, drives, and load transmission components based on a model using the first set of inputs, generate a production rate versus amount of energy consumed per part curve for each of the number of axis solutions, and display the production rate versus amount of energy consumed per part curves for each of the number of axis solutions. One of the curves includes a point on the curve indicative of a lowest amount of energy consumed for a desired production rate range.

The present disclosure relates generally to industrial automation applications and, more particularly, to systems and methods to enhance machine designs and production rate schedules for minimized energy cost.
Two phases related to machines in industrial applications include a design phase and an operation phase. During the design phase, a user may design a motion profile, and size and select actuators, drives, and load transmission component axes to be implemented in the machine. Also, machine application code is developed during the design phase. During the operation phase, machine operation occurs and the machine application code is executed. For example, the machine application code may execute a production rate schedule that results in a certain energy cost.
Certain studies estimate that energy cost is greater than eighty percent of the total machine lifecycle cost in industrial automation applications. Further, energy costs continue to rise in certain parts of the world, with Europe leading the way with the highest costing energy. Of the eighty percent, a significant cost is the energy consumption associated with the machine production rate, drive/actuator sizing solution, the time-of-day energy cost, and/or tiered energy costs. In some instances, the drive/actuator sizing solution that is selected and/or the machine application code that is developed during the design phase of the machine may lead to inefficient energy usage in the operation phase. Further, machine application code that follows set production rate schedules during the operation phase in different regions of the world may produce different energy costs due to varying time-of-day energy costs for those regions. Additionally, in some regions of the world, such as China, if the energy usage exceeds a specific threshold for a tiered energy cost, the increased energy costs of a subsequent tiered energy cost are applied. Accordingly, it may be desirable to design and control machines more efficiently.

Systems and methods to enhance machine designs and production rate schedules for minimized energy cost


A mechanical link includes a carrier for supporting a conductor within a mechanical link. The mechanical link may include a first arm and a second arm, the second arm being arranged for movement with respect to the first arm, and a flexible helical carrier for supporting a conductor, wherein the flexible helical carrier is received within the first and second arms. The carrier may be, or may include a generally helical member of a flexible material, the generally helical member comprising a continuous support portion having on both sides thereof upstanding wall portions.

There are numerous applications in which it is necessary to guide a flexible member such as an electrical conductor or cable, hydraulic hose or the like between two structures, where one structure is moveable relative to the other. For example, in the aerospace industry it is a common requirement for an electrical cable to provide power to components on moveable control surfaces, whilst in the automotive industry electrical conductors are commonly required to provide power to components in doors, wing mirrors and the like. In all of these applications the conductor must be able to withstand repeated movement of the structure to which it is connected without damage, whilst at the same time minimizing the amount of conductor used, to minimize weight and cost.
Solutions have been developed which house conductors within moveable joints, thereby accommodating the required range of movement whilst also protecting the conductor from damage from objects outside the joint. However, many of these solutions are bulky and complicated. Accordingly, a need exists for a compact and simple mechanism for guiding and protecting flexible members such as conductors.


A method and a system are disclosed for processing a banknote. The method includes providing a banknote having at least one photonically active security feature, the banknote being moved along a conveyance path; illuminating the at least one security feature with light from a stimulus source; identifying a location of the at least one security feature by detecting an emission from the security feature; directing an excitation source at the identified location; illuminating the at least security feature with light from the excitation source; and detecting a further emission from the photonically active security feature in response to the light from the excitation source. Further the process includes the step of analyzing the shape and size of each object within an image during the search phase to determine if the object has the expected physical attributes of the real feature.

The present invention relates generally to optically-based methods and apparatus for identifying optically coded articles. More specifically, the present invention relates to optically-based methods and apparatus for identifying optically coded objects in the image based on size and shape to target only those objects that possess desirable or required physical attributes.
A class of industrial problems exist in which a large number of items must be separated, identified, counted and/or sorted. Present day methods cover a broad spectrum of solutions. One solution applicable to macroscopic and visually identifiable items involves a manual process wherein workers sequentially select items from among many items in a group by identifying an intrinsic characteristic of an item or by a visually-readable coding system that is incorporated into the item. Once selected, the items are directed, either manually or by use of a conveyance, to a location where items possessing a common attribute are stored or further processed. In cases where inventory control is of interest, the selected items can be counted and tabulated either manually by some direct action by a worker or automatically as the selected item passes through a counting device.
In the commercial laundry industry, for example, rental garments are returned in unsorted groups and washed. Workers select single garments, place the garments on a hanger and subsequently onto a conveyor which deposits the garments into one of several holding areas. An appropriate one of the several holding areas is chosen for an individual garment based on a manually read code applied onto the garment, usually inside the collar, which identifies some attribute common to all garments in a holding location. Typically, attributes include, for example, a day of the week, a route number, or an end user name. Similarly, in the linen supply industry, linens are delivered to a laundry in large, unsorted groups. Workers select individual linen items from a group and identify each item by a characteristic thereof, for example, color, shape and/or size. The selected and identified item is then directed to an appropriate area for washing by a specific wash formulation.
As can be appreciated, the manual labor to identify, count, sort and tabulate items (e.g., linen and/or garment items) has numerous limitations. A limitation in processing throughput is of particular interest herein. In some laundries about 100,000 or more individual items must be processed in a single 8-hour work shift. Since workers are required to perform multiple tasks on each item (e.g., identify, count and sort each item), only a limited number of items can be processed by a typical worker in an 8-hour shift. Further, the burden of manually performing multiple tasks on each item may also lead to inaccuracies in the identifying, sorting and counting processes.
In an effort to eliminate, or at least to minimize, the limitations in the manual processes outlined above, automated solutions have been sought. Conventional automated processes have been developed to improve the accuracy of and to minimize the labor required to identify, count and sort individual items. For example, bar code labels (typically interleaved 2 of 5 symbology) and Radio Frequency (RF) chips have been employed to achieve these results. These techniques, however, do have limited longevity particularly since the labels and chips are exposed to the harsh industrial laundry environment. Additionally, a solution which employs the bar coded labels suffers for it is time consuming and, at times, extremely difficult to locate a label on a large item when the label is not properly aligned with, i.e. in a field of view of, the bar code reading device. While RF chips do not suffer from the alignment problem, RF chips are troublesome due to their unproven longevity and high costs.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,886, issued Mar. 16, 1999 an alternate method of identifying items is disclosed. In this alternate method, photonically active materials, such as patches, labels and threads, can be affixed to garments and linens. A suitable selection of the materials each having, for example, a distinct and uniquely identifiable narrow-band lasing emission are utilized to form optically identifiable codes. The codes permit the identification of the garments, linens and other articles. In one embodiment, two or more fibers or threads, herein after referred to as LaserThread™, exhibit detectable emissions that are incorporated into the garments, linens and other articles to optically encode information into these articles. For example, LaserThread™ may be incorporated into garment labels for uniquely identifying a rental garment, or characteristics thereof, during processing. Similarly, LaserThread™ may be sewn into borders of linens, e.g., into the hem of a table linen, for uniquely identifying linens and/or characteristics thereof. The LaserThread™ emits laser-like emissions when excited with, for example, a laser having specific wavelength, pulse energy and pulse duration. Generally, the required excitation laser has a wavelength in the red to blue region of the visible spectrum and can provide radiant energy densities on the order of, for example, about 10 millijoules per square centimeter when an about 10 nanosecond pulse is directed at the LaserThread™. Exemplary excitation sources include, for example, flashlamp-pumped, Q-switched, frequency doubled Nd:YAG lasers, diode-pumped, pumped Q-switched, frequency-doubled Nd:YAG lasers, and sources derived from other nonlinear products involving principally Nd:YAG lasers or other laser crystals.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,582, a multi-phase gain medium is disclosed as having an emission phase (such as dye molecules) and a scattering phase (such as TiO2). A third, matrix phase may also be provided in some embodiments. Suitable materials for the matrix phase include solvents, glasses and polymers. The gain medium is shown to provide a laser-like spectral linewidth collapse above a certain pump pulse energy. The gain medium is disclosed to be suitable for encoding objects with multiple-wavelength codes, and to be suitable for use with a number of substrate materials, including polymers and textiles.
However, commercially available excitation sources suitable to excite photonically active materials such as, for example, LaserThread™, can be costly. Therefore, it can be appreciated that an identification system design which maximizes the efficiency of excitation pulse energy is important. It can further be appreciated that the efficiency of excitation pulse energy can be maximized by tightly controlling the location and orientation of photonically active materials incorporated within an article to be evaluated. If tight controls are maintained, then a narrow excitation beam of fixed orientation can impinge on the photonically active materials incorporated within the article to be evaluated with a predictable degree of certainty. Alternatively, if the controls of the location and orientation of the photonically active materials are relaxed, then a targeting system is needed to locate the photonically active materials incorporated into the articles such that an excitation beam can be directed to excite the materials.
As was discussed above, the ability to tightly control the orientation of photonically active materials incorporated within an article under evaluation is particularly troublesome during various processing operations. For example, a region of the article containing the material may be soiled or otherwise obstructed and, thus, the irradiation of the photonically active materials is prevented.
Additional there is a desirable capability of a targeting system that can resolve and discriminate physical attributes such as shape and size of photonically active materials embedded in various substrates. This capability is particularly advantageous in the processing of banknotes for purposes of authentication. As discussed above, photonically active material can be implemented in the form of fibers, and the fibers can be randomly distributed within a banknote substrate during the manufacturing process. Each fiber in its pristine size and shape contains the electromagnetically emitting and amplifying materials necessary for producing a characteristic laser-like emission such that only one of the plurality of fibers in a banknote needs to be interrogated to determine banknote authenticity.
A problem arises, however, when a single banknote contains simultaneously two or more populations of photonically active fibers, each with different emissions characteristics of which only one contains the characteristics associated with an authentic fiber. Such can be the case during the banknote paper making process when the paper maker adds repulped paper as a small percentage of the total pulp used to make the banknote substrate to reduce waste and cost. Waste paper from the manufacturing process, also known as broke, is subjected to severe mechanical and chemical action to cause defiberization in the repulping process. Mechanical action can include cutting, shredding and shearing forces, while chemical action can consist of strong alkali, acid and buffer solutions under elevated pressures and temperatures. The various mechanical actions on the photonically active fibers can cut and/or break the fibers to produce a wide distribution in length extending up to pristine fiber length. Electromagnetic emission for a shortened fiber may be spectrally shifted and/or broadened to an extent where the altered emission is spectrally resolvable from pristine-fiber emission. In this case the short-fiber emission would not be deemed authentic and the banknote would be falsely identified as suspect.
It is therefore advantageous to include in a targeting system a means to discriminate against broke fibers to reduce the possibility of misclassifying authentic banknotes. Accordingly, the inventor has realized that it is advantageous to employ a targeting system and an identification system with processes for separating, identifying, counting, optionally sorting and authenticating and validating the authenticity of articles.

Optically based bankenote authentication system having broke discrimination


Provided is a method of authenticating and verifying data packet transmission, and apparatuses for performing the same. The method and corresponding apparatus are configured to encode data packets through erasure coding. The method and corresponding apparatus are also configured to generate authentication packets for the encoded data packets based on hash images of the encoded data packets.

1. Field
The following description relates to a method of authenticating and verifying data packet transmission, and apparatuses for performing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In a data transmission environment, erasure coding applied to transmit data without loss. The erasure coding may include encoding and decoding.
Encoded data packets may be generated by encoding original data packets. In this case, a number of the encoded data packets may be greater than a number of the original data packets. To restore the original data packets through the decoding, a greater or equal number of packets received from among the encoded data packets than the number of the original data packets may be required. However, when at least one modulated packet is included in the received packets, the original data packets may not be restored through the decoding.

Authenticating data packet based on hash image of the data packet in erasure coding-based data transmission