An oven appliance and flame arrester therefore are provided herein. The flame arrester may include a first member and a second member. The first member may extend in a lateral direction along a portion of the opening. The first member may define a chamber aperture extending along an arrest axis in fluid communication with the cooking chamber. The second member may extend from the first member and away from the cooking chamber. The second member may define an intake aperture extending non-parallel to the arrest axis. A fluid passage may be defined between the first member and the second member in fluid communication between the intake aperture and the chamber aperture.

Oven appliances generally define one or more enclosures supporting one or more heating elements. For instance, oven appliances can include a cabinet defining an insulated cooking chamber therein for receipt of food items for cooking. Generally, one or more doors are provided on the cabinet to selectively permit and restrict access to the cooking chamber.
A door of the oven appliance may form a seal against the cabinet to assist with insulating the cooking chamber or with containing cooking fumes within the cooking chamber. Nonetheless, it may be desirable to permit a certain amount of air to enter the cavity in order to facilitate proper combustion. It may also be desirable to have one or more outlets for moisture to escape the cavity. However, if food items or residue ignite during a cooking or cleaning cycle of the oven appliance, the pressure of the fluid within the cooking chamber may increase. In certain appliances or conditions, it is possible that pressure increase may force the door to open, allowing heat, gases, and fumes generated in the cooking chamber to escape. In other appliances, it is also possible that an undesirable amount of heat or flames may escape through any openings to the cooking chamber, such as openings that may otherwise permit air or moisture to/from cooking chamber.
Accordingly, an oven appliance with features for dissipating pressure increases in the cooking chamber would be beneficial. In particular, a flame arrester that dissipates pressure increases in the cooking chamber of an oven appliance would be useful. Additionally, a flame arrester with features for halting or quenching flames from the cooking chamber of an oven appliance would be advantageous.

Oven appliance and a flame arrester for an oven appliance


An extrudable polyvinyl alcohol composition useful for packaging and molding applications is prepared by melt blending polyvinyl alcohol and thermoplastic polyethylene oxide to provide a product which has improved pH stability and salt solution solubility. Useful extruded articles prepared from such compositions include films and containers.. A method for extruding the polyvinyl alcohol composition comprises:. adding sufficient energy to the polyvinyl alcohol composition to both melt it and essentially eliminate the polyvinyl alcohol crystallinity in the melt, and PA0 simultaneously removing energy from the melt at a rate sufficient to avoid decomposition of the polyvinyl alcohol.. The thermoplastic polyethylene oxide may be added to the polyvinyl alcohol before the polyvinyl alcohol is melted and its crystallinity eliminated or blended with the thus thermally treated polyvinyl alcohol and then melt extruding the polyvinyl alcohol/polyethylene oxide blend.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) is a water soluble, biodegradable resin with excellent aroma and oxygen barrier properties and resistance to most organic solvents. Other desirable attributes of PVOH include anti-static properties, grease and oil resistance and heat sealability. The polymer is used extensively in adhesive, textile sizing and paper coatings. However, the end uses of PVOH have been limited despite its excellent chemical, mechanical and physical properties to those uses in which it is supplied as a solution in water. This limitation is partly due to the fact that vinyl alcohol polymers in the unplasticized state have a high degree of crystallinity and show little or no thermoplasticity before the occurrence of decomposition which starts at about 170.degree. C. and becomes pronounced at 200.degree. C., which is below its crystalline melting point.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,222 discloses a method for making thermoplastic (melt extrudable) PVOH compositions which comprises providing sufficient energy to a PVOH which is at least partially crystalline to both melt the PVOH and substantially eliminate the crystallinity in the PVOH melt while simultaneously removing energy from the PVOH melt at a rate sufficient to avoid decomposition of the PVOH. The melt is then extruded, preferably into a strand, rapidly cooled and cut into pellets for subsequent thermoprocessing into the desired product or article.
As a result of the availability of such thermoplastic PVOH compositions, the desirable physical and mechanical properties of PVOH combined with thermoplasticity have opened new market opportunities for PVOH, especially in packaging applications where the contents must be dissolved or dispersed in water. Examples of such packaging applications for these PVOH materials include pesticides which are applied as a water spray, caustic cleaners or detergents which are dissolved during use, and process chemicals such as pigments, dyes or carbon black which are dissolved or dispersed in water. The advantages of using a water soluble film for packaging the above materials include the following:
elimination of human exposure to highly toxic or concentrated chemicals; PA0 improvement in measuring accuracy; and PA0 elimination of the need to clean and discard toxic chemical containers after use. PA0 a) 5 to 95 wt % PVOH, PA0 b) 5 to 95 wt % thermoplastic PEO; and PA0 c) 1 to 30 wt % plasticizer, based on PVOH.
While there are water soluble PVOH films available for packaging these materials, they typically have at least one deficiency. First, the commercially available PVOH films lack the alkaline stability necessary for packaging caustic cleaning products. Normally, the partially hydrolyzed PVOH resin is used to produce a cold water soluble film for packaging alkaline products. However, the partially hydrolyzed PVOH in contact with alkaline materials will undergo further hydrolysis reaction to produce a fully hydrolyzed PVOH film. This fully hydrolyzed PVOH film becomes cold water insoluble due to an increase in the overall degree of hydrolysis. In addition, the fully hydrolyzed PVOH film is highly crystalline. This crystallinity causes the film to be more brittle and susceptible to cracking at low humidity which may result in an accidental spill of the chemicals if the package is broken.
A second drawback of PVOH resin is salt solution insolubility. The PVOH resin has a slower rate of solubility in salt water containing low levels of mono- or divalent salts and will precipitate out of solution at salt concentration over 10 wt %. This shortcoming limits the end use of PVOH packaging additives that need to be delivered to brackish media, as in the case of additives for oil drilling or related industries.
Many attempts have been reported in the literature to overcome some, but not all of the above mentioned shortcomings. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,441,547; 3,505,303 and 4,747,976 discuss modifications or copolymerization of PVOH to produce a pH stable product. Other approaches have been through the blending of PVOH with other water soluble polymers to overcome the shortcomings of PVOH resins. These approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,850,741; 3,695,989; 4,692,494 and 4,481,326.

Extrudable polyvinyl alcohol compositions containing thermoplastic polyethylene oxide


A disclosure is made of a subterranean connecting method and a connecting apparatus therefor which are suitable for use when two shield machines are used to excavate a pair of tunnel sections from both ends of a tunnel, and the tunnel sections are connected to each other in mid course. During underground connection, it is important to secure sealing and water retarding with respect to soil and water pressure exerted by the ground in the vicinity of the connecting section. For this purpose, in the connecting apparatus, a penetration ring is arranged in one of the shield machines, and a penetration chamber in which the penetration ring is accommodated is arranged in the other shield machine. Both the both shield machines face each other with a slight gap remaining therebetween and, subsequently, the penetration ring is moved forward and penetrates into the penetration chamber of the mating shield machine. By this penetration, the area between both the shield machines are closed by the penetration ring. In this condition, both the shield machines are disassembled, and the wall surface of the connecting section including the penetration ring is covered, so completing the subterranean connecting step. According to the connection using such a penetration ring, sealing and water retarding with respect to the soil and water pressure in the vicinity of the connecting section can be secured.

The present invention relates to a subterranean connecting method for construction of a shield tunnel and a connecting apparatus therefor, in which two tunnel sections are excavated by the use of two shield machines simultaneously from the two tunnel sections, and the two tunnel sections are connected to each other to form the single tunnel.
Conventionally, a subterranean connecting method for construction of a shield tunnel of this kind has been known as shown in FIG. 32.
In FIG. 32, the reference character G denotes the ground in the vicinity of a connecting area between two tunnel sections which are excavated from both sides of a shield tunnel. A shield machine 1, which is located on the right side in the drawing sheet and has excavated one tunnel section T.sub.a, and a shield machine 2, which is located on the left side and has excavated the other tunnel section T.sub.b, face toward each other with the ground G.sub.i having a predetermined spacing (of the order of about 30 cm) remaining. The tunnel sections T.sub.a and T.sub.b formed in rear of the respective shield machines 1 and 2 have their respective wall surfaces which are covered respectively with segments 3a, 3a, . . . and 3b, 3b, . . . . A plurality of boring-type freezing tubes 4a and 4b are arranged within the ground G at the forward ends of the respective shield machines 1 and 2. The boring-type freezing tubes 4a and 4b are arranged at a predetermined inclined angle (a=17.degree.-25.degree.) with respect to skin plates 1a and 2a and at a predetermined pitch in the peripheral direction. Plastered freezing tubes (not shown) are also arranged on the entire inner peripheral surfaces of the respective skin plates 1a and 2a and the segments 3a and 3b at the foremost locations.
Brine (cooling liquid) is circulated through the boring-type freezing tubes 4a and 4b arranged at the skin plates 1a and 2a and through the plastered freezing tubes, whereby the ground G.sub.f at the outer peripheries of the respective skin plates 1a and 2a is frozen so as to surround the ground G.sub.i. Subsequently, the front sections 5a and 5b of the respective shield machines 1 and 2 are disassembled The ground G.sub.i remaining between the shield machines 1 and 2 is then excavated, and the wall surface of the ground G.sub.i is covered, whereby two tunnel sections T.sub.a and T.sub.b excavated from the left- and right sides are connected to each other. Thus, the shield tunnel is completed.
However, the conventional subterranean connecting method for construction of the shield tunnel has the following drawbacks. First, water sealing and protection against soil collapse are not complete resulting in less safety as both shield machines do not contact to each other forming a gap of normally about 30 cm. Further, a freezing method of construction, which is chiefly employed as an auxiliary method of construction, requires much cost of construction and a long construction time. The strength of frozen ground is reduced due to the mixing of salinity specially in case of the construction under the sea bed. There is an effect or influence of expansion of the frozen ground at freezing and the subsidence of ground at thawing. Control or management of the frozen ground is difficult.

Subterranean connecting method for construction of shield tunnel and connecting apparatus therefor


The present invention provides an improved process for the preparation of Cefixime of formula (I), a cephalosporine antibiotic with an improved quality in regard to color and solubility. This process includes: (i) reaction of 7-β-(4-chloro-2-alkoxycarbonyl methoxyimino-3-oxobutyromido)-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid (V) with thiourea at pH 5.0 to 6.0 at temperature 25-40° C. in water, (ii) carbon treatment to the reaction mixture in presence of sodium dithionite or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) followed by filtration, (iii) acidification of the filtrate obtained in step (ii) to pH 2.0 to 3.0 with acid at 50-80° C. to give cefixime ester (IV) (iv) alkaline hydrolysis of cefixime ester of formula (IV) in water followed by acidification to pH 5.0 to 6.0, (v) precipitation of cefixime (I) by adding ketone solvent followed by acidification to pH 2.0 to 3 and (vi) isolation of solid.

The present invention relates to an improved process for the preparation of cefixime of formula (I), with an improved quality having better color and solubility. Cefixime (I) is an orally active third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic and is more potent against gram-negative bacteria.
The process for the preparation of the cefixime of formula (I), is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,825,345 B2 (WO 99/51607) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,214 which involves condensation of 7-amino-3-vinyl-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid (II) with the benzothiazolyl ester of (Z)-2-(2-amino-4-thiazolyl)-(Z)-2-(aryl/alkoxycarbonylmethoxyimino)acetic acid (III, R1 represents (C1-C4) alkyl group or aryl group) to produce ester compound of formula (IV) wherein R1 represents (C1-C4) alkyl group or aryl group and R2 represents hydrogen; followed by hydrolysis to produce cefixime of the formula (I).

GB 2 330 140 discloses a process for the preparation of cefixime of formula (I) which comprises treating cefixime methyl ester of formula (IV) wherein R1 represents methyl and R2 represents hydrogen with an inorganic base such as K2CO3 or Na2CO3 in mixture of dimethylformamide (DMF) and water, which has the following problems: (i) color and quality are poor, (ii) fails in residual solvent (i.e. DMF).
GB 2 330 141 discloses a process for the preparation of the compound of formula (I) which comprises treating cefixime methyl ester of formula (IV) wherein R1 represents methyl and R2 represents hydrogen in an organic solvent such as dichloromethane with aqueous solution of inorganic base such as K2CO3 or Na2CO3 and phase transfer catalyst such as quaternary ammonium salts of general formula R4N+X− wherein R is n-butyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl and X is Cl−, Br−I− or OH−. We found that the color, quality and yield of the product obtained from bi-phasic reaction are poor.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,214 and EP 0,763,043 (derived from WO 95/33753) discloses the process for the preparation of cefixime of formula I by hydrolysis of cefixime diester of formula (IV) wherein R1 and R2 both represent tert.butyl, by using hazardous trifluoroacetic acid and anisole.
The PCT application WO 99/052 913 discloses the hydrolysis of cefixime diester of formula (IV) wherein R1 represents tert.butyl and R2 represents naphthylmethyl, by using phenol and protonic acid.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,755 B2 particularly discloses the process of preparation of cefixime of formula I from cefixime ester (IV) wherein R1=C1-C4 alkyl group and R2 represents hydrogen, by hydrolysis with sodium hydroxide in water-water immiscible solvent such as ethyl acetate.
The publication J. Antibiotics (1985), 38, 1738 discloses various processes for the preparation of cefixime of formula (I) and the processes for purification that involve use of column chromatography. The purification by column chromatography cannot be used in large-scale operations, there by making the process commercially not viable.
The steps described in the above publications are more complicated and also suffer from low yield and poor quality.
The inventors have directed their research efforts towards developing a process for the preparation of cefixime which overcome not only the drawbacks of the prior art but which is operationally simple and reproducible on an industrial scale, moreover it gives cefixime trihydrate possessing good quality, colour and solubility profile.
Further the process of present invention avoids use large amounts of solvents for the coupling process as mentioned in the prior-art methods, and thus makes it commercially viable.


A control system for controlling a work machine including a working unit including elements and actuators that drives the elements includes: a first hydraulic pump and a second hydraulic pump each of which supplies operating oil to at least one of the actuators; and a control device that calculates a distribution flow rate of operating oil distributed to each of the actuators based on an operating state of the working unit and switches, based on the calculated distribution flow rate, between a first state in which the operating oil supplied from both the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump is supplied to the actuators and a second state in which the actuator to which the operating oil is supplied from the first hydraulic pump is different from the actuator to which the operating oil is supplied from the second hydraulic pump.

A work machine including a working unit is known. For example, when the work machine is an excavator, the working unit has a bucket, an arm, and a boom. A hydraulic cylinder is used as an actuator for operating the working unit. A hydraulic pump that discharges operating oil is used as a drive source of the hydraulic cylinder. A work machine including a plurality of hydraulic pumps for driving the hydraulic cylinder is known. Patent Literature 1 discloses a hydraulic circuit including a merging valve that selectively merges or splits the operating oil discharged from a first hydraulic pump and the operating oil discharged from a second hydraulic pump.

Control system, work machine, and control method


A sensor (MRE) or memory element (ME) having a free (1, 2, 3) and a pinned (Mp, 6) magnetic layer separated by a separation layer (5). The free layer comprises a sandwich structure comprising two magnetic layers (1,2), coupled anti-ferromagneticallly by a thin non-magnetic layer (3), the easy magnetization direction for the two magnetic layers being directed transversely to the longitudinal axis (1) of the stripe.

The invention relates to a device comprising an elongated field-sensitive ferromagnetic layer of which the magnetization is sensitive to an applied magnetic field. Within the concept of the invention xe2x80x98elongatedxe2x80x99 means that layer has an elongated shape i.e. the dimension of the layer in a first direction (the xe2x80x98lengthxe2x80x99) is greater than the dimension (the xe2x80x98widthxe2x80x99) in a direction perpendicular to the first direction. The first direction is commonly called the xe2x80x98longitudinal directionxe2x80x99. The field-sensitive layer may be, for example, (part of) a flux guide or (part of) a magnetoresistive element. The field-sensitive layer may be the second layer of a device comprising a first and a second layer of ferromagnetic material separated by a spacer layer of non-ferromagnetic material, the first and second layer being formed such that the magnetization of the first ferromagnetic layer is maintained in a fixed or pinned direction in the presence of an applied magnetic field, while the magnetization direction of the second ferromagnetic layer is able to change in the presence of an applied magnetic field, the second layer comprising an elongated layer of magnetoresistive material, the device comprising means for directing a sensing current through the elongated layer in a current direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the layer or perpendicular to the plane of the film. Such a device may be a magnetoresistive sensor or memory element, such as a TMR (Tunnel Magneto Resistance) or GMR (Giant Magneto Resistance) sensor or memory element. The layer of non-magnetic material, which separates the first and second layer of a ferromagnetic material, is often called xe2x80x9cspacer layerxe2x80x9d in the case of a GMR sensor or memory element, and xe2x80x9cbarrier layerxe2x80x9d in the case of a TMR sensor or memory element. In the following text, the more general term xe2x80x9cseparation layerxe2x80x9d will be used in order to indicate the spacer layer or the barrier layer of a GMR or a TMR element, respectively.
A device of the type described in the opening paragraph is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,185, wherein a sensor is shown. The first layer is also called the xe2x80x98pinned layerxe2x80x99 and the second the xe2x80x98free layerxe2x80x99.
Within the concept of the invention, a xe2x80x98free layerxe2x80x99 is a layer whose magnetization direction is able to change at applied fields with a strength lower than the strength of the field required for changing the magnetization direction of the xe2x80x98pinnedxe2x80x99 layer. Such changing may be a nearly free rotation so as to follow the applied magnetic field such as, for example, in sensors or a changing between two anti-parallel states such as, for example, in memory elements.
It is often preferred that the elongated field-sensitive layer, when used in a magnetoresistive element for GMR devices in which a sensing current is parallel to the longitudinal direction, has a relatively large ratio of the length (l) over the width (w) of the layer, and thus forming a stripe. Such a ratio leads to a large resistance of the stripe, and hence, for a given sense current Isense, a given relative resistance change xcex94R/R and a given sheet resistance R↑, to a large voltage difference between the two extreme states of the element:
xcex94V/V=(l/w)xc2x7xcex94R/Rxc2x7R↑xc2x7Isensexe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
However, such devices with a l/w ratio greater than 1, and especially when having a large t(thickness)/w(width) ratio, prove to have a relatively large field that is required to change the magnetization direction of the free layer. In practice this hampers, for example, the use of GMR spin valves as MRAMs (Magnetic Random Access Memories), because large currents would be required to switch the element, leading to the necessity to use a transistor which is much larger than the magnetic element itself. Another example is the application of AMR and GMR sensors for measuring angles, using an elongated, preferably long and narrow stripe shaped MRE (magnetoresistive Element) (i.e. one having a l/w ratio greater than 1) and more preferably having a large t(thickness)/w(width) ratio. A small and preferably zero net magnetic anisotropy is required, as the magnetization of such a sensor should be saturated for all directions of the (moderate) applied field to enable an accurate angle reading to be performed.
The above equation (1) refers to the situation with the current in the plane of the layers. Recently sensor or memory element structures in which the current is directed perpendicular to the plane of the layers have attracted much attention. Examples are spin tunneling structures (a sandwich structure of two ferromagnetic layers with an oxidic tunneling barrier in between). For these structures no large l/w ratio is required from the point; of view of output voltage. However, the need for a large l/w ratio may nevertheless arise in specific sensor (such as read heads) or magnetic element designs.
The problem discussed above becomes particularly serious upon the miniaturization of sensor and memory elements to a scale at which stripe widths enter the nanometer range (w less than 1 xcexcm).
It is an object of the invention to provide a device with a reduced net magnetic anisotropy and/or reduced switching field.
To this end, a device in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the field-sensitive ferromagnetic layer comprises a sandwich structure comprising two magnetic layers, with parallel easy magnetization axes due to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and with opposite magnetization directions due to anti-ferromagnetic coupling by a non-magnetic layer 3 separating the two layers 1 and 2, while the magnetization directions due to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy for the two magnetic layers are directed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the field-sensitive ferromagnetic layer.
Terms known to the person of skill in the art are used in the present specification. Some of these are summarized herebelow. The layer of non-magnetic material, which separates the first and second layer of a ferromagnetic material, is often called xe2x80x9cspacer layerxe2x80x9d in the case of a GMR sensor or memory element, and xe2x80x9cbarrier layerxe2x80x9d in the case of a TMR sensor or memory element. In the following text, the more general term xe2x80x9cseparation layerxe2x80x9d will be used in order to indicate the spacer layer or the barrier layer of a GMR or a TMR element, respectively. Magnetocrystalline anisotropy is the dependence of the (free) energy of a ferromagnetic material on the direction of magnetization of the material, resulting from the internal structure in the material. The total magnetic anisotropy of a ferromagnetic body such as a layer is the result of magnetocrystalline anisotropy, plus a contribution from the shape anisotropy of the body. The shape anisotropy is due to the dependence of the total energy in the magnetostatic field due to the magnetization of the body. The external shape of the body defines preferred directions of magnetization of the body. Magnetic anisotropy creates a situation in which the total energy of the body is lowest when the magnetization direction is parallel or antiparallel to one specific direction, or to several directions which are equivalent from the point of view of the symmetry of the body. Such a direction is called an easy axis direction. For layer structures the shape anisotropy is such that the preferred magnetization directions are confined to the plane of the layer or of a stock of layers (a film). This is a situation of application for a number of embodiments in this patent application (i.e.: there is no contribution from magnetocrystalline anisotropy which more than counteracts the shape anisotropy). In addition, the magnetization within the plane of the layer can have one or more easy directions. In a number of embodiments in this patent application the situation is considered in which the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the magnetic free layer is uniaxial, i.e., in which there is only one preferred easy direction with the plane of the layer (film). This situation can be created, e.g., by growth of the layer (film) in a magnetic field parallel to the required easy axis direction, or by growth of a layer (film) on a substrate on which the magnetic layer (film) develops an internal structure which gives rise to the required uniaxial symmetry.
By patterning a thin ferromagnetic layer (film) in the form of a narrow stripe, using e.g. lithography, shape anisotropy gives rise to a preferred magnetization direction parallel to the length direction of the stripe.
The invention has a number of advantages:
1. The large switching field in conventional devices is caused by a relatively large shape anisotropy.
2. Providing a sandwich structure comprising two ferromagnetic layers, coupled anti-ferromagnetically by a preferably thin non-magnetic layer, the easy magnetization direction for the two magnetic layers being directed perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the field-sensitive layer, leads to a decrease of the shape anisotropy field, compared with conventional devices, because the effective saturation magnetization of the pair of anti-ferromagnetically coupled layers is smaller than that for a single layer. The proper expression for the effective shape anisotropy field Hshape,eff for an infinitely long stripe (l/w infinite) becomes:
Hshape,eff=(t1.Msat,1xe2x88x92t2.Msat,2)/wxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
xe2x80x83where t1, (Msat,1) , and t2, (Msat,2) are the layer thicknesses (saturation magnetization) of the magnetic layers 1 and 2, respectively. The layer numbering is such that t1.Msat,1 greater than t2.Msat,2. Thus the effects of the two layers are of opposite sign and counteract each other, giving a compensating effect. It has been assumed that the anti-ferromagnetic coupling across the separation layer is very strong, as compared with the shape anisotropy field. In practice, this can be realized using, for example, subnanometer Ru or Rh layers. For a finite length 1, the shape anisotropy field is generally smaller, but the effect of compensation still applies.
3. Providing a sandwich structure comprising two magnetic layers with parallel easy magnetization axes due to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and with opposite magnetization directions due to anti-ferromagnetic coupling by a non-magnetic layer 3 separating the two layers 1 and 2, while the magnetization directions due to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy for the two magnetic layers is directed perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the stripe leads to an increase of the effective magnetocrystalline anisotropy field HMCA, as compared with conventional devices, because the anisotropy energy has increased with the addition of a second layer, whereas the effective magnetization of the sandwich has decreased. Assuming, again, that the anti-ferromagnetic coupling across the separation layer is very strong, the proper expression for the effective magnetocrystalline anisotropy field HMCA becomes:
HMCA=2(t1.K1+t2.K2)/xcexc0(t1.Msat,1xe2x88x92t2.Msat,2)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
xe2x80x83where K1, and K2 are the anisotropy constants for layers 1 and 2, respectively.
The simultaneous occurrence of the latter two effects leads to a reduction of the total net effective anisotropy field because the easy axis direction due to the shape anisotropy field and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy field are perpendicular to each other. It is remarked that in general for a sensor the applied field to be measured is perpendicular to the direction of the effective anisotropy field, and that in the case of an MRAM in general the applied field used for switching must contain a component that is parallel to the anisotropy field. Preferably, the ratio of the shape anisotropy field Hshape,eff and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy field HMCA
Hshape,eff/HMCA (see equations 2 and 3)=0.5 xcexc0(t1.Msat,1xe2x88x92t2.Msat,2)2/(w.(t1.K1+t2.K2)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(4)
lies between 0.5 and 1.5. The net effective anisotropy field is then greatly reduced.
As is apparent from the equations and will be exemplified by embodiments, the different functional dependences of the shape anisotropy field and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy field on the ratio of the thicknesses t1/t2 allow such conditions to be fulfilled by a proper choice of the ratio of thicknesses t1 and t2 or the ratio f t1.Msat,1/t2.Msat,2.
These and further aspects of the inventions will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereafter.

Magnetoresistive sensor or memory elements with decreased magnetic switch field


An audio loudspeaker enclosure is presented. The enclosure has surfaces which resonate across a broad band of low frequencies produced by the loudspeaker, thus enhancing the quality of low frequency sound reproduction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an enclosure for audio loudspeakers, and more particularly, to an improved enclosure which resonates across a low frequency band to enhance low frequency sound reproduction.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Loudspeaker enclosures are generally well known. Typically, various loudspeaker and enclosure combinations are used to reproduce music as part of a home or commercial audio entertainment system. At low frequencies, i.e., less than 250 Hz, it is known that direct radiating loudspeakers tend to be omnidirectional, producing soundwaves from the front and back of the loudspeaker which are of equal intensity, but opposite phase. The forward and backward traveling soundwaves thus interfere destructively, reducing effective power output and reducing the volume of sound produced at those frequencies.
This problem can be solved through the use of a baffle, and an enclosure for the loudspeaker acts as a baffle. The backward traveling soundwaves are bounced off the back surface of the enclosure to interfere constructively, rather than destructively, with the forward traveling soundwaves. Thus, increased power and efficiency result from a well designed baffle. However, since wavelength is inversely proportional to frequency, a relatively large volume enclosure is required at low frequencies.
The use of baffles introduces another problem. The resulting enclosure is subject to developing resonance at one or more frequencies. This resonance increases power output at the resonating frequencies and results in a "boominess" that dominates, or at least interferes with faithful sound reproduction across the broad range of frequencies in the source program. Since this resonance occurs only at particular frequencies, the prior art enclosure designs have sought to eliminate the resonance completely, and rely solely on the source program and amplifying and equalization equipment to obtain an improved sound reproduction at low frequencies. See U.S. Pat. No. RE 31,483 (Hruby). It would be desirable to take advantage of the tendency to develop low frequency resonance to reinforce and enhance the reproduction of low frequency source material.


A support center receives an error message from a remote storage system indicating that an error, such as a kernel panic, has occurred on the remote storage system. The error message is processed to determine the type of error, whether the type of error is known and whether a solution is known for the type of error. If the type of error is unknown, a core file upload request is automatically generated and sent to the remote storage system.

In many types of computer networks, it is desirable to be able to perform certain management related functions (e.g., configuring, performing diagnostic functions, debugging, software upgrades, etc.) on a computer or other form of processing system from a remote location. One important management function is troubleshooting the processing system to prevent errors and/or fix errors that have occurred.
One particular application in which it is desirable to have this capability is in a storage-oriented network, i.e., a network that includes one or more storage servers that store and retrieve data on behalf of one or more storage clients. A storage server runs an operating system that is susceptible to a number of fatal errors from which it cannot safely recover. One common error is a memory violation where the operating system attempts to read an invalid or non-permitted memory address. Hardware failures or other software failures may also occur. When the operating system detects an internal fatal error it may initiate an action known as a kernel panic.
During a kernel panic, a snapshot of the system's memory may be dumped (core dump) into a core file. A core file is a diagnostic aid used by support engineers to help diagnose and fix system problems. A core file is usually sent to a system support center (e.g., a support enterprise) by manually uploading it to the support center. However, core files may be large (e.g., 12 gb) in size, and because they are typically transferred using secure methods, it often takes a significant amount of time (e.g., up to two-days) to upload a complete core file to the support center. During a core upload, if a problem arose that stopped the transmission of the core file, the process may need to be restarted from the beginning, which adds to the overall transfer time.
Getting a core file to a support center as quickly as possible, so that support engineers can begin diagnosing and fixing a problem, is often extremely important for continued operations. Traditionally, upon receiving notice of a panic, the support center must contact the customer with the storage server onsite and request that they retrieve and upload a core file from the storage server. This manual process introduces a significant delay involved with engaging a customer contact.
Additionally, the manual process requires the customer to upload the core file via ftp, http and https which are simple protocols that do not offer resiliency. In the event that the customer loses connectivity, the core file upload would need to be manually reinitiated without a guarantee that it can be resumed from the last uploaded portion of the core. The size of core files adds to the probability that the transfer will be interrupted.


In a sealing gasket, multiple metallic gasket layers are interlocked together by cooperating self-aligning gripping members that mesh together. First and second gasket layers each have an engagement surface, a sealing surface and an aperture therethrough. Each engagement surface has disposed thereon a plurality of gripping members extending radially outwardly from a periphery of the apertures. The engagement surfaces of the first and second gasket layers are brought into face-to-face engagement such that the gripping members of the first gasket layer mesh together with the gripping members of the second layer to maintain the proper alignment of the first and second gasket layers and prevent lateral movement of the gasket layers with respect to one another.

Gaskets are often used to seal mating mechanical components. In one application, a cylinder head gasket for an internal combustion engine is formed from a plurality of metallic gasket layers laminated together. In addition to providing a seal between the engine block and the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine, the metallic layers further provide structural support, as well as radial strength to resist gasket blow-out due to combustion chamber generated pressures.
Typically, the metallic layers are laminated together by welding to insure that the gasket layers remain properly secured and aligned during operation of the engine. However, welding is undesirable for a number of applications. For example, welding is a time consuming process that involves specialized tooling, thus increasing manufacturing costs. Further, due to the high weld temperatures generated, the metallic layers may become warped, thereby compromising sealing effectiveness. Additionally, weld beads formed by the welding operation may interfere with mating members before they are fully tightened together, thereby reducing the force available for sealing the gasket layers.
To avoid the difficulties associated with welding, it has been known to provide a metallic gasket with a plurality of bending strips of a first metal plate that engage holes in a second mating metal plate to connect the first and second metal plates together. While the use of bending strips is less expensive than welding, a bending strip produces localized stress loading, which may compromise gasket sealing effectiveness over time. Further, the edges of the bending strip are unprotected. Therefore, the bending strip may become accidentally dislodged from the hole or otherwise damaged. In addition, the bending strips often have limited effectiveness in gaskets that are subject to high frictional forces. The frictional forces may cause buckling and sliding of the metallic plates, thereby resulting in the bending strips becoming partially disengaged from the first plate. Thus, once again, sealing effectiveness is potentially compromised.
Another known gasket assembly includes providing a spacer ring disposed between each gasket layer. The spacer ring is formed with annular serrations on its opposite surfaces. When the gasket assembly is positioned between the cylinder head and the engine block, the compression forces therebetween cause the serrations of the spacer plate to deform and grip the gasket layers to hold the gasket layers together and increase sealing effectiveness. However, there is no means for positively locking the plates to one another when significant vibrations result from engine operation. Thus, the frictional forces deforming the spacer ring serrations against the gasket layers may be overcome such that the gasket layers slide apart from one another during engine operation, resulting in reduced sealing effectiveness and possible engine damage. Further, there is no mechanism for insuring proper gasket layer alignment prior to compression.
Therefore, there exists a need for effectively locking gasket layers together such that frictional forces do not compromise the alignment or sealing effectiveness.

Multi-layered gasket having meshing gripping members


An impact printer having a platen, an impact printing member such as a printing wire, a driver such as a driving coil for driving the impact member, a controller for controlling the driver and a temperature detector. Before printing data is printed, the temperature detector compares the temperature of the printer to a set point. If the temperature is too low, a warm-up signal is provided and the driver displaces the printing member to such an extent that printing does not occur. The warm-up signal can also cause the gap between the platen and the printing member to widen to such an extent that printing cannot occur.

This invention relates generally to an impact printer and, in particular, to an impact printer in which printing is effected by striking the tips of printing wires against an ink ribbon.
Conventional impact printers commonly include printing wires disposed in wire guides and driven by electric coils, for impacting an ink ribbon against recording paper. These printers have drawbacks because ink from the ink ribbon enters a gap existing between the printing wires and the wire guides. This ink interferes with the motion of the printing wires which can result in omitted dots or uneven printing darkness.
A lubricant is commonly included in the print head of conventional impact printers to improve the durability of the elements within the head. However, the lubricant can hinder the movement of the printing wires or levers that drive the printing wires. This also results in omitted ink dots and uneven printing darkness.
To overcome these problems, conventional printers commonly include a warm-up operation before printing begins. The warm-up is typically controlled by a combination of (1) a timer which outputs a warm-up signal when it detects that a printing signal has not been received for a predetermined period of time and (2) a pulse generator responsive to the warm-up signal for driving the printing wires, but to a small extent so that printing does not occur. This warm-up operation is also described in Japanese Post-Examination Publication Number 58-45351 (1983).
This prior art warm-up method suffers from the following drawbacks. The warm-up process only occurs when it is detected that printing was not carried out for a predetermined period of time. However, it does not take the temperature of the ink and lubricant into consideration. Temperature has a substantial effect on the ability of ink from the ink ribbon and the lubricant to interfere with movement of the printing wires and the levers driving the printing wires. Accordingly, unnecessary warming-up is frequently carried out which decreases the throughput of the printer.
Other conventional warm-up methods that depend on temperature have drawbacks. If the warm-up printing wire driving conditions are set so that warming-up occurs when the temperature is low and the wires move without causing printing to occur, the output of the force of the printing wires typically becomes too strong when the temperature is ordinary or high. This can result in staining the printing paper. If warming-up driving conditions are set so that the printing paper will not be stained, the effectiveness of the warming-up operations is diminished at low temperatures.
Conventional impact printers therefore have inadequacies due to these shortcomings. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an impact printer which avoids the shortcomings of the prior art and prints clear uniform characters without skipping data, improperly varying the print darkness or staining the paper as well as avoiding excessive down time.


Systems, apparatuses and methods are provided herein for a self-service drug locator interface. In one embodiment, a method of providing a self-service drug locator includes, receiving, from a customer, one or more identifiers associated with one or more drugs through a customer self-service drug locator interface. The system then selects a plurality of pharmacies meeting one or more search parameters, wherein the one or more search parameters comprise a maximum distance from a location or a geographical region. Inventories of the plurality of pharmacies are queried to determine whether the one or more drugs are in stock in each of the plurality of pharmacies. A list of recommended pharmacies is generated based on the querying of the inventories of the plurality of pharmacies and provided to the customer.

Traditionally, when a patient receives a medical prescription from a doctor, the patient would bring the prescription to a pharmacy to receive the medication. Systems have been implemented to allow hospitals to directly send a prescription order to a pharmacy of a patient's choosing. However, sometimes, when the patient arrives at the pharmacy, the patient is notified that one or more of the medicines in the prescription is not in stock at the pharmacy. Since patients' need for medicine is often urgent and time sensitive, they cannot always wait for several days for a medicine to be restocked at a pharmacy. In order to obtain his/her prescribed medication, a patient will have drive to one or more other pharmacies and wait in line to see if other pharmacies have their medication in stock. This process is often time consuming and frustrating to the patient, and can result in the patient purchasing medicine at a price higher than the price offered at the original pharmacy. This also causes a loss of revenue to the first pharmacy the patient visits.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

Apparatus and method for a self-service drug locator kiosk


The present disclosure provides a depth map generation apparatus, including a camera assembly with at least three cameras, an operation mode determination module and a depth map generation module. The camera assembly with at least three cameras may a first camera, a second camera and a third camera that are sequentially aligned on a same axis. The operation mode determination module may be configured to determine an operation mode of the camera assembly. The operation mode includes at least: a first mode using images of non-adjacent cameras, and a second mode using images of adjacent cameras. Further, the depth map generation module may be configured to generate depth maps according to the determined operation mode.

A dual-camera image recognition system uses two cameras to capture the images of objects at the same time. The dual-camera image recognition system calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of an object based on relationship between the positions of the object in the images captured by the left camera and the right camera and the distance between the two cameras.
Some dual-camera image recognition systems designed for body movement recognition may use two cameras that are 12 cm or 6 cm apart. Some dual-camera image recognition systems specifically designed for hand gesture recognition may use two cameras that are 3 cm apart. However, existing dual-camera image recognition systems may only function in a single mode.
The disclosed method and system are directed to at least partially solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.

Depth map generation apparatus, method and non-transitory computer-readable medium therefor


An improved denture adhesive contains a particular amount of a specified ratio of sodium carboxymethylcellulose and poly(ethylene oxide) in a mineral oil base.

Recently, denture adhesive liquids have been proposed or introduced as adhesives for denture wearers. When wet with water, these denture adhesive liquids expand to become a viscous gel which acts as a cushion and an adherent between the dentures and the gum tissue. As example of such denture adhesive liquids these may be mentioned, for example, the products FORGET and DENTROL of Norcliff-Thayer and Block Drug, respectively. The former is understood to contain 32% sodium carboxymethylcellulose, 13% ethylene oxide homopolymer and 55% mineral oil while the latter is understood to contain 22% sodium carboxymethylcellulose, 13% ethylene oxide homopolymer and 65% mineral oil. While these formulations may be effective in securing dentures within the oral cavity for short periods of time, it has generally been necessary to apply more than one application per day to obtain sufficient adhesion throughout the day. Such multiple applications are inconvenient and at times are impractical or impossible and, therefore, these heretofore known denture adhesive liquids are not totally acceptable and in some cases undesirable. It has therefore been desirable to provide a denture adhesive of superior adherent properties over prolonged periods of time.

Denture adhesive of sodium carboxymethylcellulose, poly(ethylene oxide) homopolymer and mineral oil


This invention relates to generally to geosynthetic materials which can be used for earthen reinforcement, and more particularly to a novel geosynthetic material exhibiting less strain under an initial tensile load then presently available geosynthetic materials. The novel geosynthetic material includes a first plurality of spaced-apart generally parallel fiber strands, a second plurality of spaced-apart generally parallel fiber strands positioned adjacent to and forming a plurality of intersections with at least a portion of the first plurality of strands, an organic tying member fixedly connecting portions of fiber strands of the first plurality of fiber strands with intersecting corresponding portions of the second plurality of fiber, and a bonding agent adhering predetermined regions of selected fiber strands of the first plurality of fiber strands with predetermined regions of selected fiber strands of the second plurality of fiber strands, wherein at least a portion of the fiber strands selected from the group consisting of the first plurality of fiber strands, the second plurality of fiber strands and combinations thereof comprise glass fibers. The present invention also relates to a novel geosynthetic composite including the novel geosynthetic material in combination with a second geosynthetic material, e.g. a geotextile fabric or geomembrane. The present invention also relates to a novel reinforced soil composite which includes a soil material in combination with the novel geosynthetic material of the present invention.

The phrase "geosynthetic material" is broadly used to refer to a large class of engineered products that are used in a variety of geostructural applications including soil stabilization, support for earthworks, erosion barriers and retaining walls, among others. The phrase "geosynthetic material" may refer to structures or to the basic components of structures. The phrase "geosynthetic materials" as used herein does not include materials employed in the construction of buildings or materials used as an interlayer in the construction of concrete and/or asphalt roadways or roadway patch materials, as these are not geostructures, i.e. earthen structures or structures used to control or reinforce earthen structures.
The applications where geosynthetic materials are often employed may be broadly classified into six major functions: reinforcement of soil; separation of soil layers; soil filtration; controlled drainage; erosion control; and providing moisture barriers in or about soil. Soil reinforcement refers generally and broadly to increasing tensile and/or shear strength of earth or particulate structures, such as in retaining wall structures, steep grades and other applications that compel tensile and/or shear strength enhancement of particulate substrate properties. Some of the types of geosynthetic materials that perform these functions include: 1) geotextiles (also known as "geotextile fabrics" or "geofabrics", which include interwoven, non-interwoven or nonwoven fabric-like materials generally for separation/reinforcement); 2) geogrids (sometimes considered a subclass of geotextiles and which include grid-like structures having relatively large grid openings therein, generally for soil reinforcement); 3) geomembranes (sheet-like materials having little or no permeability to moisture, generally for moisture barrier applications); 4) geosynthetic clay liners (liners often consisting of a layer of bentonite or other very low permeability material supported by geotextiles, geogrids or geomembranes generally for moisture barrier applications); 5) erosion control products (any number of fabric-like, grid-like or sheet-like materials used to restrain the movement of soil or other components of particulate substrates, whether by wind, water or otherwise); and 6) specialty geosynthetics (generally referring to geosynthetics not otherwise classified).
The presently available geosynthetic materials, particularly geotextiles and geogrids, are predominately formed from polymeric materials. For example, several polymeric geogrids are available from Strata Systems, Inc. of Cumming, Ga., as described in technical sales brochures entitled: Strata Systems. Inc., A Better Way to Build; STRATAGRID 100; STRATAGRID 200; STRATAGRID 300; STRATAGRID 400; STRATAGRID 500; STRATAGRID 600 and STRATAGRID 700. The Strata Systems, Inc. geogrids are manufactured from polyester yarns knitted by warp knit weft insertion into a grid-like structure having a uniform network of apertures and providing tensile reinforcement in one principal direction. A polymeric coating, (e.g. a polyvinyl chloride coating) provides additional mechanical as well as chemical and ultraviolet radiation degradation protection.
Also for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,796 discloses a geogrid comprised of bicomponent fibers comprising a polyethylene terephthalate core within a sheath of a polyolefin and including carbon black for ultraviolet (UV) stabilization. The grid is a warp knit, weft inserted geogrid in which the fibers are knit into a fabric and heat bonded together. The bicomponent fibers are described as providing an improved resistance to creep. The grid is not topcoated with coatings such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) topcoats. Avoiding the topcoating process is described therein as beneficial in reducing manufacturing costs and reducing potential environmental problems.
Also for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,421,439, 4,837,387 and 5,187,004 describe a supporting fabric, primarily for supporting soil materials. The fabric is a tri-layered non-coplanar grid of synthetic warp and weft yarns having limited fabric elongation or, in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,004, an ability to support chemically aggressive materials, particularly soil materials. The warp yarns are described as being formed of polyester and polyethylene terephthalate. Other polymeric yarns are listed as acceptable alternatives. The references describe the weft yarns as being made of the same material as the warp yarns or of a different material. An example is given of the combination of polyester warp yarns with polypropylene weft yarns.
As a further example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,960,349 an 5,091,247 describe an interwoven geotextile grid. The grid is formed of a plurality of spaced apart polymeric pick yarn bundles interwoven with a plurality of spaced-apart polymeric warp yarn bundles. A plurality of pairs of leno yarns parallel to the warp yarns add additional strength to the fabric, as do polymeric locking yarns. The grid is coated with a suitable PVC or other plastic coating such as latex, urethane or polyethylene coatings.
An erosion control mat which includes a grid-like scrim having a web of unconsolidated fibers disposed thereon is disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,249,893 and 5,358,356. The scrim and web are described as being formed of polypropylene, polyester, nylon, rayon, polyethylene, cotton or combinations of any two or more thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,086 discloses a fabric which includes a grid composed of a first group of synthetic threads arranged substantially transversely to a second group of synthetic threads, wherein the first and second groups of threads are bonded to each other by knit yarn stitch bonds. According to the reference, because the fabric does not include an adhesive found in many fabrics, the basic yarn elongation is the only factor affecting fabric elongation, so that fabric elongation is precisely controllable. At column 4, lines 10-12, the reference states that the preferred synthetic material is a polyester or polypropylene. The fabric of the reference is used as an intermediate between a cracked road surface and an asphalt patch to be placed over the crack, wherein the fabric operates to prevent reflective racks from reflecting from the cracked road surface and into and through the asphalt patch.
Additional examples of polymeric based geosynthetic materials may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,374,798, 4,610,568, 4,662,946, 4,756,946, 4,851,277, 5,156,495, 5,419,659, 5,567,087, and 5,651,641.
One important limitation common among polymerically based geosynthetic materials, particularly geogrids, is that such materials are subject to substantial strain. Strain refers to the elongation of the geosynthetic material under tensile load, generally normalized with respect to cross-sectional area. Depending upon the orientation of the tensile load with respect to the geosynthetic material, the strain may occur along the longitudinal, transverse or both directions of the geosynthetic material. Strain resulting in 5 to 30 percent or more elongation of polymeric geosynthetic material is not uncommon, even at tensile loads which are only about 20 to 50 percent of the short term ultimate strength of the polymeric geosynthetic material. Another limitation common among polymerically based geosynthetic materials, particularly geogrids, is that such materials are subject to creep. Creep refers to the elongation of the geosynthetic material under a sustained tensile load. Yet another drawback of many polymeric based geosynthetic materials is that they deteriorate when subjected to ultraviolet radiation, either limiting the durability of such materials or requiring additional coatings and the like to protect the geosynthetic materials from the adverse effects of the ultraviolet radiation. A still further drawback of many polymerically based geosynthetic materials is that the weight of such materials per unit area is substantial, particularly where the material has been designed to withstand substantial loads, making such materials challenging to transport and install.
Grid-like structures formed of materials other than polymerically based materials are known, but such structures are not commonly used as geosynthetic materials. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,699,542, 4,957,390, 5,110,627, 5,246,306, and 5,393,559 generally describe reinforcements for asphaltic pavings comprising a grid of continuous glass fibers stitched at intersections of the crosswise and lengthwise strands to hold the grid shape. The grid may be overcoated with an asphaltic or resin coating to impart a semi-rigid nature to the grid. The resins may be selected from asphalt, rubber, modified asphalt, unsaturated polyesters, vinyl ester, epoxy, polyacrylates, polyurethanes, polyolefins and phenolics. The grid is laid on top of an underlying paving and adhered to it and an asphaltic paving layer is then applied on top of the grid.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,491,617, 4,539,254, 4,762,744, 4,780,350, 5,439,726, disclose the use of similar grid-like structures in bituminous roofing membranes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,207 discloses an open grid fabric for reinforcing wall systems such as stucco walls, where the grid is affixed to a supporting wall such as a foam insulation board, and is then overcoated with the stucco material. The open grid fabric improves impact resistance for durability. The grid is formed of first and second sets of substantially parallel rovings which are combined using certain knits, leno weaves or adhesive methods. The rovings are direct-sized with at least a silane sizing. Warp rovings and weft rovings are tied together in a knitting process by a tie yarn. Preferred warp rovings and weft rovings are fiberglass strands, but others such as nylon, aramid, polyolefin and polyester may be used in various combination. The tie yarn is described as typically a low weight polyester, however the tie yarn may be formed from other materials as listed at column 7, lines 43-48 of the reference. The rovings of the open grid fabric are further locked together by a polymeric resin, such as polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, styrene butadiene rubber, urethane, silicone, acrylic and styrene acrylate polymers.
An interwoven fabric of glass fiber or other inorganic warp and weft in which one or more selected warp ends are secured at each weft crossover by a bond of thermoplastic material, suitably nylon or polyester, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,623. The thermoplastic material is melted to bond the crossovers together and prevent unraveling of the interwoven fabric. Such fabric is used, according to Bates et al., as internal reinforcing mesh in plied roofing papers or heavy duty wrapping papers and the like.
A technical bulletin of PPG Industries, Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pa., entitled "HERCUFLEX.TM. Strand: The Applications Are Endless", (about 1990), which is hereby incorporated by reference, suggests the use of HERCUFLEX.TM. fiberglass strand for geotextiles.
Impregnated Fiber-Glass Yarn For High-Strength Geosynthetic Reinforcement, Girgis, M., High-Tech Fibrous Materials, Chapter 22, pp. 337-350, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. (1991) describes the use of fiber-glass yarn for geosynthetic reinforcement. See also, Impregnated Fiber Glass Yarns For Reinforcing Industrial Coated Fabric, Girgis, M., J. of Coated Fabrics, Vol. 17, pp. 230-241 (April 1988) which describes the use of polymerically coated glass fibers in geotextile applications, among others.
Walls Reinforced With Fiber Plastic Geogrids In Japan, Miyata, K., Geosynthetics International Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 1-11 (1996) describes geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining walls reinforced with high tensile strength and stiffness fiber reinforced plastic using a geogrid produced by impregnating high tensile strength continuous glass fiber bundles with vinyl-ester resin which was then molded to give the required geogrid geometry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,390 describes a fiber grid reinforcement which includes a plurality of first fiber bundles and a plurality of second fiber bundles which perpendicularly intersect the plurality of first fiber bundles to form a grid. The fibers in each bundle and fiber bundles are bound to one another by a resin material. Column 3, lines 39-40 of the reference indicate that the fibers may be selected from glass fibers, and at lines 47-50 indicate that the resin can be a vinyl ester resin, unsaturated polyester resin, epoxy resin, phenol resin, among others.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,766 to Freed describes a shaped barrier for erosion control and sediment collection which includes a plurality of strands emanating outwardly from a foundation common to all of the strands, wherein the strands may be formed of glass, among other substances.
Chemically treated fibers, including glass fibers, and fabrics made thereof are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,390,647, 4,663,231, 4,762,750, 4,762,751, and 4,795,678.
Despite the foregoing, most engineering fabrics or geotextiles in widespread use today are made from polymeric materials or fibers. It would be advantageous to provide a geosynthetic material which is not polymerically based and which does not suffer from substantial strain and/or creep, ultraviolet radiation sensitivity, weight per unit area, and/or the biological/chemical sensitivity common to some of the polymerically based geosynthetic materials presently available.


An antenna switch control circuit for use in achieving antenna selection diversity in TDM RF receivers. RSSI for at least one antenna is monitored during time slots containing information not of interest. This information can then be compared with other antenna performance information to allow a selection to be made such that the receiver generally operates with the antenna receiving the strongest signal. In one embodiment, all possible antennas are monitored during a time slot containing information not of interest. In another embodiment, RSSI for the selected antenna can be monitored during the time slot of interest, such that antenna selection can again be varied should the selected antenna diminish in performance.

Radio receivers that make use of antenna selection diversity are known in the art. In general, such a receiver makes use of a default antenna, and only makes use of the alternate antenna when the signal being received by the default antenna diminishes below an acceptable threshold (the threshold may either be a preselected constant or a value that fluctuates somewhat and represents, for example, an average value of the default antenna received signal). The criteria for measuring antenna performance may be, for example, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI).
Time division multiplexed (TDM) RF communications systems are also known in the art. Such systems divide information to be broadcast into packets, which packets are then broadcast in predetermined time slots. A typical TDM system establishes a short time frame (for example, a few milliseconds) made up of two or more time slots, wherein the basic time frame format repeats continuously. A typical receiver will monitor, decode, and process further as appropriate information contained in time slots of interest, and receive but ignore information contained in other time slots. (Additional information regarding TDM RF systems can be found in U.S. Ser. No. 843,882 and Ser. No. 843,961, both as filed on Mar. 25, 1986 and both incorporated herein by this reference.)
A need exists to accommodate antenna selection diversity in a TDM RF receiver.


The invention proposes a connecting plug device for electrical equipment and more particularly rows of solenoid valves in the case of which on one side of a housing there is a contact arrangement for cooperation with an arrangement of mating contacts on the item of electrical equipment. On two further sides of the housing there is a respective set of electrical plug connecting contacts. One plug connecting contact is connected with one plug contact of the contact arrangement and at least one further plug connecting contact is connected with the corresponding opposite plug connecting contact and with a further plug contact electrical, while the remaining plug connecting contacts are connected with the plug connecting contacts arranged offset in relation to the respective opposite plug connecting contacts. Different numbers of such connecting plug devices may be plugged together in different numbers and connected with a corresponding number of solenoid valves, the foremost connecting plug device automatically ensuring the desired association of connections with the individual solenoid valves.

The invention relates to a plug connecting device for electrical equipment and more especially for magnetic solenoid valves arranged in rows, comprising a housing and a plug contact arrangement arranged on one side of the housing and adapted to be united with a plug contact arrangement on the electrical equipment.
Known plug connecting devices in the form of a male element for solenoid valves are provided with an individual electrical power supply cable for the respective solenoid valve. If there is a large number of solenoid valves arranged in rows there then has to be a correspondingly large number of cables which have to be laid and attached. The result is that it is comparatively simple to confuse a plug during a repair or servicing and such confusion may lead to plant failure owing to the incorrect operation of a pneumatic or hydraulic system.
It is furthermore a known practice to employ multiple plugs adapted to the desired number of solenoid valves or contact arrays producing all the connections. However individual adaptation is complex and expensive and for each application it is necessary to manufacture a special plug or a special contact arrangement.

Plug connecting device for electrical equipment


A rotary manifold valve mechanism for sequentially connecting a plurality of fluid flow ports with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, in which a stationary valving element has connections respectively with the fluid inlet and fluid outlet, and an operatively associated rotatable manifold is provided with the flow ports. In one form of the invention the valving element is stationary and positioned within the manifold element which is drivingly rotated by a connected shaft, while in a modified form the valving element is positioned outwardly of the manifold element which in this case comprises the shaft and wherein the flow ports are formed on the shaft periphery.

The present invention relates generally to fluid control valves, and is more particularly concerned with a unique rotary valve mechanism which is particularly adapted for use with fluid operated engines of the type utilizing nutating discs and associated thrust force producing devices, and which also finds general application in many other fields of use.
One such heretofore known engine operates on pressurized fluid, and in one form embodies the use of a plurality of circumferentially spaced fixed cylinder-piston units which are sequentially supplied with a pressurized fluid, the piston thrust forces being applied against a swash plate to cause rotation of a connected shaft.
It has been observed that the successful operation of engines of the foregoing type is dependent largely upon the effective and efficient valving control of the pressurized operating fluid connections to the cylinder-piston units of the engine, and particularly in synchronized relation to the engine shaft rotation.
The present invention seeks to provide a unique compact rotating valve of the manifold type having a driving connection with the driving shaft of the engine, and which embodies features of construction and operation that make it admirably suitable not only for operation with such engines, but also for general use as a valving unit for controlling distribution of a pressurized fluid through a plurality of flow ports.


Systems and methods of monitoring a discharge in a plasma process are disclosed. The methods include supplying the plasma process with a periodic power supply signal, determining a first signal waveform in a first time interval within a first period of the power supply signal, determining a second signal waveform in a second time interval within a second period of the power supply signal, the second time interval being at a position within the second period corresponding to a position of the first time interval within the first period, comparing the second signal waveform with a reference signal waveform to obtain a first comparison result, determining that the first comparison result corresponds to a given first comparison result, and in response, time-shifting one of the second signal waveform and the reference signal waveform, and comparing the time-shifted signal waveform with the non-time-shifted signal waveform to obtain a second comparison result.

Coating of substrates, for example glass substrates, by means of cathode sputtering in plasma processes is a well-known process. Cathode sputtering can be performed conventionally or by use of a reactive gas. In the latter case, it is called reactive sputtering. A plasma is generated by means of a current or voltage source, which removes material from a target. The removed material is then deposited on the substrate. Before deposition, the atoms of the target material can combine with gas atoms or molecules in a reactive process.
In reactive processes, medium frequency (MF) generators may be used. Such generators typically operate at frequencies in the range from 10 to 500 kHz. Furthermore, pulsed generators may be used, in particular bipolar pulsed generators. Those generators have in common that they produce a periodic output signal. The periodic output signal is supplied to the plasma process. Typically, the output voltage of such generators is supplied to the plasma chamber by means of two electrodes, which are in turn used as cathode and anode. Both electrodes are connected to a target respectively. The generators may be freely oscillating generators or generators having a controlled frequency.
In particular, if reactive processes are being used, arcs can occur. If arcs occur, they may damage the substrate or the targets. Therefore, arcs should be avoided or, if an arc is detected, it should be quickly extinguished. To be able to extinguish an arc, it is necessary to detect arcs quickly and reliably. To detect arcs, the output signal of the power supply, i.e., a power supply signal, may be observed. In particular, if the output signal changes its value periodically, like in bipolar pulsed or MF plasma processes, the output signal at a specific time in a later period can be compared with a corresponding value at the same time in a previous period. Problems arise, when the output signal rises or falls very quickly. Especially, in bipolar pulse powered plasmas this is very relevant. If this happens, false arcs may be detected, i.e., an apparent arc may be detected even though there is no arc present. This can lead to an interruption of the plasma process, which is undesirable. On the other hand, if the threshold for arc detection is made too large to avoid these false arc detections, real arcs may be detected too late or not at all.

Monitoring a discharge in a plasma process


The application relates to a method and a system (200) for deploying cloud services to a cloud computing network (230) where the cloud services are to be provided to mobile cloud customers. Current cloud services are not optimized to take into account cloud service customers that are mobile which results in inefficient use of the transmission resources in the network. The problem is solved by a method and a system (200) for pre-deploying the required cloud service to a feasible cloud service processing environment (211-213) that is closest to the location where the cloud customer (221-223) plans to be at a certain estimated time of arrival and duration.

Cloud computing is perceived as the technology enabling an on-demand provisioning of highly reliable virtualized resources such as compute, storage and network, which can be all-time accessed from everywhere.
Promising achievements in terms of virtualization technologies made in the last decade, which enabled data centre owners to better utilize their infrastructure have become instrumental drivers of the success we are now witnessing around cloud computing.
Cloud computing is known as a layered paradigm. Depending on the service being offered it can be referred as:                Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): Enables consumers to use applications that run on a cloud computing network.        Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): Enables consumers to create and deploy applications that make use of the cloud computing network.        Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): Enables consumers to access processing, storage, networks and other fundamental resources in order to deploy and run arbitrary software.
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) provide mechanisms and network infrastructure that enable service providers to improve the accessibility of their content to end-users (customers).
A key component in a CDN network is a cache that is typically located close to the end-user and is in charge of caching content, thus reducing the time to fetch that content.
Another important component of a CDN is the function that finds out where a certain end-user should fetch the requested content. To determine that, the CDN will use the IP address of the end-user, apply some logic that takes into account where the CDN has the requested content cached, and then finally, redirect the client to the best located cache. CDNs are good at serving content (web pages and bulky video and audio files) but do not provide mechanisms to serve cloud service (e.g. SaaS). CDNs can be seen as smart storage boxes, servers, but which are lacking many computing capabilities.
Cloud computing on the other hand does not provide this flexibility, especially not if the cloud customers are moving around such as truck drivers, sales persons, repair men etc that are depending on mobile broadband to access its firm's cloud services.

Method and system for cloud service deployment


Provided are a gas detection method and a gas detector which have a high durability to silicone poisoning and is capable of detecting the type and the concentration of a target gas to be detected with certain accuracy even when the detector is used in an environment where a silicone compound exists. The gas detector employs a contact combustion-type gas sensor which includes two gas detection elements, each intermittently driven, and in which only one gas detection element is supplied with a gas through a silicone removal filter. Acquired in an energization duration of each of the gas detection elements are two or more pieces of output data by the one gas detection element and two or more pieces of output data by the other gas detection element, which constitutes output variation patterns for a test gas. The output variation patterns are contrasted to a reference output variation pattern of each of four largely divided types of reference gases of a paraffinic hydrocarbon gas, a solvent gas, a hydrogen gas, and an argon gas, with the reference output variation patterns being acquired in advance, thereby identifying the type of the target gas being detected in the test gas.

For example, a certain type of contact combustion-type gas sensor used to detect a flammable gas is configured to include a gas detection element with a gas sensitive part firmly fixed to the surface of a temperature-measuring resistor that generates heat when energized, where the gas sensitive part is formed by an oxidation catalyst carried on a carrier made of metal oxide sintered compact.
In such a contact combustion-type gas sensor, when a silicone compound or a poisonous substance such as hexamethyldisiloxane or silicone oil exists in the atmosphere of a space to be measured, the poisonous substance is adsorbed and accumulated on the surface of the oxidation catalyst (poisoning). This causes the performance (reactivity) of the oxidation catalyst to deteriorate and the detection sensitivity to gradually degrade.
In view of such a problem, for example, it is conceivable to dispose a silicone removal filter and thereby prevent the poisoning of the gas detection element. A gas sensor that is provided with such a silicone removal filter is disclosed, for example, in Patent Literature 1.


The present invention is directed to a squeegee apparatus which includes a main housing including an inlet end and an outlet end, the outlet end including an extrusion face and a protruding lip member, the inlet end including an inlet opening and the extrusion face including at least one outlet opening, wherein the inlet opening and the at least one outlet opening are in fluid communication with each other within the main housing. The present invention is also directed to a method for repairing a thermal barrier coating with a squeegee apparatus including supplying a repair composition into the inlet opening of the squeegee apparatus and depositing the repair composition from the at least one outlet opening onto the damaged region and concurrently traversing the squeegee apparatus over the damaged region while contacting a thermal barrier coating adjacent to the damaged region with the lip member.

Higher operating temperatures of gas turbine engines are continually being sought in order to increase the efficiency of the engines. However, as operating temperatures increase, the high temperature durability of the components of the engine must correspondingly increase. Significant advances in high temperature capabilities have been achieved through the formulation of nickel, cobalt and iron based superalloys. These superalloys can be designed to withstand temperatures in the range of about 1000 to about 1100° C. or higher. Nonetheless, when used to form components of the turbine, such as combustor liners, augmentor hardware, shrouds and high and low-pressure nozzles and blades, the superalloys alone could be susceptible to damage by oxidation and hot corrosion attack. Accordingly, these components are typically protected by an environmental and/or a thermal barrier coating ("TBC"). In general, TBCs can be used in conjunction with the superalloys in order to reduce the cooling air requirements associated with a given turbine. Ceramic materials, such as yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), are widely used as a TBC or topcoat of TBC systems. These materials are employed because, for example, they can be readily deposited by plasma-spraying and physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques, and they also generally exhibit desirable thermal characteristics. In general, these TBCs can be utilized in conjunction with the superalloys in order to reduce the cooling air requirements associated with a given turbine.
In order to be effective, TBCs need to possess low thermal conductivity, strongly adhere to the component and remain adhered through many heating and cooling cycles. The latter requirement is particularly demanding due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion between the ceramic materials and the superalloy substrates that they protect. To promote adhesion and extend the service life of a TBC, an oxidation-resistant bond coating typically takes the form of a diffusion aluminide coating or an overlay coating, such as MCrAlX where M is iron, cobalt and/or nickel and X is yttrium or another rare earth element. During the deposition of a ceramic TBC and subsequent exposures to high temperatures, such as during engine operation, these bond coats form a tightly adherent alumina (Al2O3) layer or scale that adheres the TBC to the bond coat.
The service life of a TBC is typically limited by a spallation event brought on by, for example, thermal fatigue. Accordingly, a significant challenge has been to obtain a more adherent ceramic layer that is less susceptible to spalling when subjected to thermal cycling. Though significant advances have been made, there is the inevitable requirement to repair components whose thermal barrier coatings have spalled. Though spallation typically occurs in localized regions or patches, a conventional repair method has been to completely remove the TBC after removing the affected component from the turbine or other area, restore or repair the bond coat as necessary and recoat the engine component. Techniques for removing TBCs include grit blasting or chemically stripping with an alkaline solution at high temperatures and pressures. However, grit blasting is a slow, labor-intensive process and can erode the surface beneath the coating. The use of an alkaline solution to remove a TBC also is less than ideal because the process typically requires the use of an autoclave operating at high temperatures and pressures. Consequently, some conventional repair methods are labor intensive and expensive, and can be difficult to perform on components with complex geometries, such as airfoils and shrouds. As an alternative, U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,078 to Nagaraj et al. teach selectively repairing a spalled region of a TBC by texturing the exposed surface of the bond coat, and then depositing a ceramic material on the textured surface by plasma spraying. While avoiding the necessity to strip the entire TBC from a component, the repair method taught by Nagaraj et al. requires removal of the component in order to deposit the ceramic material.
In the case of large power generation turbines, completely halting power generation for an extended period of time in order to remove components whose TBCs have suffered only localized spallation is not economically desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,476,703 discloses an in-situ method and composition for repairing a thermal barrier coating, which is based on a silicone resin system. U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,578 discloses an in-situ method for repairing thermal barrier coating with a ceramic paste. In situ methods of repairing a damaged component, such as TBC coating, are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,509,735, 8,563,080, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0174837. A repair composition is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,875,464. A commercially available repair composition, AIM-MRO SR Resin Patch, may also be used for TBC repair.
However, there remains a need for an apparatus that would allow for effective application of repair composition to damaged regions of TBC. Such effective application includes application of a repair composition not only to flat surfaces but also to non-planar curved surfaces, which also suffer from TBC damage in turbine assemblies. Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide a novel squeegee apparatus designed for dispensing and effectively applying a repair composition and methods of use thereof.

Squeegee apparatus and methods of use thereof


A memory driving device and a method thereof applied for a RRAM array are provided. The memory driving device includes a voltage generator, a current detector, and a controller. The voltage generator generates a write voltage. An RRAM cell of the RRAM array is selected according to a selection signal for receiving the program voltage to generate a program current. The current detector detects the program current. The controller executes a driving procedure which includes: obtaining a voltage distribution for the program voltage; determining the initial voltage and the maximum voltage of the program voltage according to the voltage distribution; gradually increasing the program voltage from the initial voltage to the maximum voltage; determining whether the program current exceeds the reference current; and selecting another RRAM cell when the write current exceeds the reference current.

Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to devices and methods for driving a resistive random-access memory, and more particularly it relates to devices and methods of selecting a forming voltage for a resistive random-access memory.
Description of the Related Art
In integrated circuit (IC) devices, resistive random-access memory (RRAM) is an emerging technology for next-generation non-volatile memory devices. RRAM is a memory structure including an array of RRAM cells, each of which stores a bit of data according to resistance values, rather than electronic charge. In particular, each RRAM cell includes a resistive switching material layer, the resistance of which can be adjusted to represent logic "0" or logic "1." RRAM devices operate under the principle that a dielectric, which has high resistance, can be switched to have low resistance through a conductive filament or conductive path formed therein after performing a forming operation with a sufficiently high voltage. The sufficiently high voltage is the 'forming' voltage.
The conductive filament or path can be formed through different mechanisms, including defects, metal migration, and other mechanisms. Various dielectric materials may be used in RRAM devices. Once the conductive filament or path has been formed therein, the RRAM device may be reset by breaking the conductive filament or path so as to be in a high resistance state, or set by reforming the conductive filament or path with an appropriately bias voltage so as to be in a low resistance state.
Due to process variation, the forming voltage for each of the resistive random-access memory cells varies considerably. Therefore, applied with a constant forming voltage may cause irreversible harm to some resistive random-access memory cells. For precisely providing an appropriate forming voltage to each of the resistive random-access memory cells, an effective device and method for driving a resistive random-access memory is required.

Devices and methods for selecting a forming voltage for a resistive random-access memory


Determining at least one of a prognosis or a therapy for a patient based on a stained tissue section of the patient. An image of a stained tissue section of a patient is processed by a processing device. A set of features values for a set of cell-based features is extracted from the processed image, and the processed image is associated with a particular cluster of a plurality of clusters based on the set of feature values, where the plurality of clusters is defined with respect to a feature space corresponding to the set of features.

Selecting an appropriate therapy for a cancer patient may be facilitated when the patient's cancer can be classified as belonging to a particular type of cancer associated with a particular group of patients. For example, various properties of cancer cells identified from a stained tissue section of the patient may be characteristic of cancer cell properties exhibited by other patients in a particular group. When a patient's cancer can be classified in this manner, survival and therapy data for the other patients of this particular group can be used to formulate a prognosis and inform selection of an appropriate therapy.

Diagnostic and prognostic histopathology system using morphometric indices

The Regents of the University of California


A stretchable-adjustable, cushioning helmet insert employable in the hollow, domed interior of a helmet shell. The insert includes a generally domed cap formed of a reversibly stretchable fabric, and adapted for installation within the interior such a shell, and cushioning structure in the form of plural, spaced cushioning pads positionally affixed to the inside of the cap in a manner whereby expansion and contraction of the cap causes spatial retreat and closure, respectively, of the spacings existing between each pad and its neighboring pads. This insert accommodates proper-fit the “insertion”, into a single-size helmet shell, of the different “effective” head sizes associated with a single user, such as a firefighter, who may, at certain times, be wearing no other headgear, and at other times, may be wearing auxiliary (and somewhat bulky) head-borne equipment, such as an oxygen mask.

The present invention relates to size-adaptable safety headgear, and more specifically to a novel, size-adaptable, safety-cushioning insert for employment inside the shell of a helmet. This insert is also referred to herein as a size-self-adjustable insert. For purposes of illustration herein, a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the setting of a military fire-fighting helmet, such as a Navy Firedome FXA-1 helmet made by the Bullard Company of Cynthiana, Ky., with respect to which the invention has been found to offer particular utility.
In recent years, there has been much activity in the development of various kinds of safety gear, and high on the list for attention in that activity has been a focus on new, more versatile, and more protective headgear. The present invention addresses this headgear focus by proposing a novel, simple, size-adaptive and extremely cushioning-effective insert which is to be installed and used inside the shell of a helmet, such as inside the shell (and within the usual conventional internal suspension structure) of a military fire-fighting helmet, wherein the matter of size-adaptability often has certain special importance.
A military fire-fighter may be called upon, at different times, wearing a protective helmet, to engage in fire fighting either (a) with, or (b) without a special support breathing mask, such as an oxygen mask. Such a fire-fighter must be prepared, at a moment's notice, to don one or both of these pieces of equipment, and does not typically have the "luxuries" either of owning two differently-sized helmets suited to this instant need to mount the correct protective gear where the "effective head size" to be accommodated is larger in one situation than the other, or of having sufficient time to make necessary internal helmet-suspension adjustments as required.
The present invention solves this dilemma. It does so by offering a "stretchable", size-adjustable (stretch-adjustable), cushioning, safety-support structure (a helmet insert), which needs only once to be installed properly in a helmet of the type discussed above, after which time it will always place the recipient helmet in an adaptive condition—a self-adaptive condition—to deal, for example, with the kind of mask/no-mask situation described above, as well as with related situations.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the novel insert thereof takes the form of a domed cap formed of an appropriate, thin, reversibly stretchable fabric, to the inside of which are fastened plural, spaced, position-specific shock-cushioning, compression-responsive pads which are adapted to contact a wearer's head at selected contact locations, or defined regions. The pads are preferably formed of high-capability shock-absorbing assemblies of materials, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,099 B2, issued Oct. 22, 2002, for "Body-Contact Cushioning Interface Structure". The entirety of that issued patent is hereby incorporated by reference into this disclosure to describe a cushioning structure which is ideally suited for employment in this invention. Despite this specific, illustrative incorporation herein, one will recognize that the particular construction of a cushioning pad for use in the present invention is not critical, and does not form any part of the invention.
An insert made in accordance with the present invention is preferably installed in such a helmet shell in any suitable manner that enables it to expand as required within that shell to receive "different-size" heads. A user, such as a fire-fighter, not wearing an oxygen mask, will fit the relevant helmet in place causing preferably just a slight amount stretching and expanding of the fabric cap. The cushioning pads in the cap will bear appropriately against the head at the predetermined contact locations, and the helmet will function well and comfortably. For illustration purposes, a preferred embodiment of the invention is described and illustrated herein installed through conventional hook-and-pile (Velcro®) fastening structure (in the form of confronting, interengaged patches) to the inside of the usual suspension structure provided in a helmet shell of the type generally discussed herein. Slight reversible compressibility of these patches accommodates expansion and contraction of the invention insert as required.
If the use occasion is one requiring that the fire-fighter also wear an oxygen mask, the effective "head enlargement" resulting from this will automatically be accommodated inside the helmet by the occurrence of an appropriate amount of reversible "additional" stretching in the cap. This stretching will not affect the load-cushioning abilities of the pads, since the tension build-up in the cap due to stretching, in accordance with the invention, will effectively be substantially independent of compression in the pads, and thus will not in any noticeable way compromise pad cushioning by "thinning" of the pads due to lateral stretching. Inasmuch as the independent and spaced pads "float" somewhat like islands inside the cap, as the cap expands and contracts (stretches and relaxes), neighboring pads will slightly retreat from and advance toward one another, respectively, and will tend to stay properly positioned relative to the "underlying" head anatomy of a wearer—mask or no-mask.
These and other features and advantage which are offered by the invention will become more fully apparent as the description which now follows is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In all of these drawing figures, components illustrated are neither necessarily drawn to scale, nor shown in exact proportions relative to one another.

Stretchable, size-adaptable fabric helmet insert with shock-absorbing structure