A motor control circuit for a power tool includes a function switch which has a first battery contact, a speed control contact, a bypass contact and, a second battery contact connected in that order in a line. The function switch also has a movable contact which sequentially connects the first battery contact to the bypass contact, the speed control contact to the second battery contact, and the bypass contact to the second battery contact. A solid state switch has conduction path connecting the speed control contact to the second motor terminal wherein the conduction path is controlled in response to an oscillator signal.

The present invention relates to variable speed controls for direct current electric motors; and more particularly to such controls for operating hand-held, battery powered tools which are driven by an electric motor.
Hand-held power tools, such as electric drills and dry-wall screwdrivers, utilize a DC electric motor to rotate a bit which either drills a hole or turns a screw. These power tools often have a pistol-like grip with a trigger which is manually operated by the user of the tool with the speed of the motor being controlled by the degree to which the user presses the trigger. This allows the speed of the drill or screwdriver bit to be varied depending upon the particular application for the tool. For example, the speed of a drill bit can be controlled to correspond to the hardness of the material being drilled; e.g. the harder the material, the slower the drill bit should rotate.
The trigger, which is spring biased into an off position, is mechanically connected to a switch which closes upon the user depressing the trigger from that off position. The trigger also is mechanically connected to a wiper of a potentiometer in the speed control circuit and the resistance of the potentiometer changes with trigger movement. One type of control circuit responds to changes in the potentiometer resistance by pulse width modulating the electric current applied to the motor. That is, the electric current is applied in the form of pulses having duty cycles that vary to control the motor speed. The greater the duty cycle, the longer the current pulse, and the faster the motor operates.
The trigger operates several contacts of the speed control switch and it is desirable to have the switch be compact and cost effective while providing smooth control of the tool's speed.

Variable speed control switch for direct current electric power tools


A tool box includes a cover mounted to a base which receives a receiving member, an extension rod, a collapsible member and a light means therein which is actuated by a switch member disposed to the box. The receiving member receives a plurality of bits and is pivotally disposed to the base member, a spring member is disposed between the base member and an underside of the receiving member to pop up the receiving member when the cover is opened. The extension rod can be inserted into a polygonal passage defined in an end of the box so as to connect with a bit. The collapsible member has a magnetic member disposed to a distal end thereof so as to magnetically adhere bits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool box comprising a receiving member for receiving bits therein, a light means, a magnetic rod and an extension rod for connecting the bit.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Conventional tool boxes has only one goal which is that the tool box may receive a lots of tools therein so that a user needs not to carry different individual tools with him/her. In some situations, especially when using the tools in home, the user only uses one or two types of tools such as are a screwdriver with different shapes of bits. Therefore, a big tool box does not meet the need very well, that is to say, a smaller tool box is more useful when being used in home. Furthermore, the conventional tool box cannot provide a bright working condition itself so that when the screwdriver is used in a narrow and dark cavity, the user has to find someone to hold a light to assist him/her. In this case, the conventional tool box itself has no function at all.
The present invention provides an improved multi-purpose tool box having extension rod and different bits received therein, a light means disposed in the tool box so that the light means can be used together with the extension rod and the bit. The multi-purpose tool box well resolves the problems as mentioned above.


A semiconductor device (7) has a number of bonding leads (1, 2, 3) with more than one individual bonding lead (1) being arranged on an individual contact area (4) of a semiconductor chip (5) or a wiring component (6) of the semiconductor device (7). The bonding leads (1, 2 and 3) of a stack (8) form ohmic transitions (12, 13) in their boundary layers. For this purpose, the stacked contact elements (9, 10) have different materials with a different material composition.

Bonding leads are understood in this context as meaning any kind of contacting of the contact areas of the semiconductor chip or the contact terminal areas of a wiring component serving for the onward routing of electrical supply lines and/or electrical signal lines. A wiring component of this type may also have bonding leads, which are used in many power semiconductor devices to transport electrical currents by means of bonding wires from an active upper side of a semiconductor chip to corresponding contact terminals or to corresponding contact terminal areas of a wiring component. In this case, the overall cross section of bonding wires of this type restricts the maximum current handling capability of the device as a whole.
In the document JP 2000 082721-A, copper links are used in a MOSFET power semiconductor device in place of aluminum bonding wires, with the effect of increasing the current handling capacity. However, copper links of this type have the disadvantage that they have to be specifically designed and adapted for each contact area of a semiconductor chip. Furthermore, process control is more expensive than in the case of simply increasing the number of bonding leads or bonding wires in a semiconductor device.
The document EP-A-0 265 927 discloses arrangements which optionally have a number of bonding wires arranged one on top of the other on a contact area of an active upper side of a semiconductor chip or on corresponding contact terminal areas of a wiring component. The bonding wires in this known document are made of gold. However, gold bonding wires with a diameter of between 20 μm and 50 μm are not recommendable for power semiconductor components in comparison with aluminum bonding wires of 50 μm to 600 μm. On the one hand, to achieve the same cross section, a large number of gold bonding wires would be required for wiring of the semiconductor chip, which quickly brings this technology to its limits, and on the other hand solid thick gold bonding wires of around the same size as aluminum wires are a cost factor which would disadvantageously escalate the costs for the production of power semiconductor devices of this type.
The document DE 1 032 40 69 A1 discloses a circuit arrangement with a method for the conductive connection of contact areas on semiconductor chips. Aluminum bonding wires are also used in the case of this publication for power semiconductor devices, the bonding leads being stacked in order to reduce the required chip contact areas, which for aluminum wires with a diameter of 600 μm already need a considerable amount of space on a semiconductor chip in order to electrically connect the semiconductor chip to a wiring component even in the stacked state. While the bonding leads are stacked one on top of the other on the semiconductor chip, since the available area of the semiconductor chip is relatively small in comparison with the available area of a wiring component, the bonding wires on the contact terminal area of a wiring component may well be arranged next to one another, in that the bonding wires are correspondingly splayed out from the common contact area and attached on a larger area of the contact terminal area of the wiring component.
Nevertheless, it has been found that bonding wire stacks of this type, whether for power semiconductor devices with stacked aluminum bonding wires or for signal-processing semiconductor devices with thin stacked gold bonding wires, represent a risk to the formation of a low contact transition resistance, especially since bonding of aluminum bonding wire on aluminum bonding wire or of gold bonding wire on gold bonding wire or of copper bonding wire on copper bonding wire is used in the case of the previously known stacking technologies. One disadvantage that has been observed with these stacked bonding leads is that the boundary layers between the contact elements sometimes become brittle on account of the susceptibility of copper and/or aluminum bonding wires to oxidize. Another disadvantage is that, during bonding, the relatively high melting temperatures of these metals must be reached in a locally restricted area, which can likewise have disadvantageous effects on the properties of the stacked bonding leads and on the monocrystalline semiconductor material lying there under or the material of the wiring component.

Semiconductor device with a number of bonding leads and method for producing the same


Systems and/or methods for providing internetworking among application services layers (ASLs) of different network technologies may be provided. For example, a tunnel anchor point (TAP) may be established. The TAP may be configured to enable communication between a local application in the network and a remote application in a different network. At the TAP, an ASL tunnel may be created to the local application in the network to facilitate the communication. Additionally, a message from the local application may be received where at least a portion of the message may be configured to be provided to a remote ASL and the remote application in the different network to which the local application wishes to communicate. At least the portion of the message may be provided to the remote ASL and the remote application in the different network.

Today, many network technologies use Application Service Layers (ASLs) to simplify or facilitate communications between applications, devices, and the like. Such ASLs may include a collection of functions that may be implemented in a reusable and/or modular manner as a support layer for applications and/or devices. For such ASLs to be successfully adopted and mass deployed, efficient methods of inter-networking ASLs of different networking technologies with one another may need to be provided or used. Such inter-networking may be important to support end-to-end communication between applications communicating with one another across inter-connected networks having different ASLs. For these types of use cases, challenges can arise since attributes of one ASL (e.g. interfaces, types of services, and the like) may differ from those defined by another ASL. For example, the ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0 resource structure may differ greatly from the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) machine to machine (M2M) resource structure. To complicate matters further, in many situations networks may already be deployed, and updating the ASLs in these networks to add support for interfacing to the ASLs of other network technologies may not be feasible due to technical, business, and/or accessibility limitations.

Methods, systems and apparatuses for application service layer (ASL) inter-networking


A computing device reads an entire image of an object. The entire image is spliced by a plurality of part images. A user selects an area on the entire image. The computing device determines a first number of first pixel points between a center point of the selected area and a center point of each covered image. The converted images are part images that the selected area covers. The coordinate values of the center point of the selected area are calculated according to the first number of pixel points and a size of each pixel point of the entire image. The computing device calculates coordinate values of each point of a selected area according to the size of each pixel point and the coordinate values of the center point of the selected area.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to image management systems and methods, and particularly to a system and a method for measuring images of an object.
2. Description of Related Art
A video measuring system (VMS) is used for scanning an object to obtain images of the object. If the object is too large, the VMS may only scan a portion of the object at one time and obtain a number of separate images of the object. If a user wants to analyze characteristics of surfaces of the object as a whole, the separate images are not helpful for the user. Therefore, there is a need for improvement in the art.

System and method for measuring images of object

HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.


A method for performing noise adaptation of a target speech signal input to a speech recognition system, where the target speech signal contains both additive and convolutional noises. The method includes estimating an additive noise bias and a convolutional noise bias; in the target speech signal; and jointly compensating the target speech signal for the additive and convolutional noise biases in a feature domain.

Current automatic speech recognition systems perform reasonably well in laboratory conditions, but degrade rapidly when used in real world applications. One of the important factors influencing recognizer performance in real world applications is the presence of environmental noise that corrupts the speech signal. A number of methods, such as spectral subtraction or parallel model combination, have been developed to address the noise problem. However, these solutions are either too limited or computationally expensive.
Recently, a Jacobian adaptation method has been proposed to deal with additive noise, where the noise changes from noise A to noise B. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,359 to Yamaguchi describes such a scheme for model adaptation in pattern recognition, based on storing Jacobian matrices of a Taylor expansion that expresses model parameters. However, for this model to perform well, it is necessary to have noise A and noise B close to one another in terms of character and level. For example, the Jacobian adaptation technique is likely to work well where noise A is measured within the passenger compartment of a given vehicle traveling on a smooth road at 30 miles per hour, and where noise B is of a similar character, such as the noise measured insude the same vehicle on the same road traveling at 45 miles per hour.
The known Jacobian adaptation technique begins to fail when noise A and noise B lie far apart from one another, such as when noise A is measured inside the vehicle described above at 30 miles per hour and noise B is measured in the vehicle with windows down or at 60 miles per hour.
This shortcoming of this known Jacobian noise adaptation technique limits its usefulness in many practical applications because it is often difficult to anticipate at training time the noise that may be present at testing time (when the system is in use). Also, improvements in Jacobian noise adaptation techniques are limited in many applications because the computational expense (processing time and/or memory requirements) needed makes them impractical.
Another concern relates to compensation of convolutional noise. Convolutional noise can be distinguished from the above-discussed additive noise in that convolutional noise results from the speech channel. For example, changes in the distance from the speaker to the microphone, microphone imperfections, and even a telephone line over which the signal is transmitted all contribute to convolutional noise. Additive noise, on the other hand, typically results from the environment in which the speaker is speaking.
An important characteristic of convolutional noise is that it is multiplicative when the speech signal is in the spectral domain, whereas additive noise is additive in the spectral domain. These characteristics cause particular difficulties with respect to noise compensation. In fact, most conventional approaches deal either with convolutional noise or additive noise, but not both.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for feature domain joint channel and additive noise compensation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


There is disclosed an improved poppy straw of a stably reproducing Papaver somniferum for the extraction of thebaine and/or oripavine, the threshed straw having thebaine and oripavine constituting about 50% by weight or greater of the alkaloid combination consisting of morphine, codeine, thebaine and oripavine.

The 14-hydroxymorphinans, such as, oxycodone, naloxone, naltrexone, nalbuphine and nalmefene are important opiate derivatives due to their behavior as potent analgesics and/or narcotic antagonists. The most practical synthetic routes to the preparation of these pharmaceuticals have utilized the alkaloid, thebaine, as a starting material. Other important opiate derivatives such as the ring-C bridged compounds buprenorphine and etorphine are also most practically prepared from thebaine.

In accordance with one conventional process, thebaine is oxidized to 14-hydroxycodeinone by use of m-chloroperbenzoic acid in an acetic acid/trifluoroacetic acid mixture or by a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and formic acid. 14-hydroxycodeinone is catalytically reduced to oxycodone. Oxycodone is a product sold for use as and analgesic and its production consumes large amounts of thebaine.
Oxycodone can be, in turn, O-demethylated with boron tribromide to yield oxymorphone. After blocking of the hydroxyl groups with a suitable blocking agent, such as, acetyl groups, the oxymorphone derivative is reacted with cyanogen bromide in a von Braun demethylation to yield an N-cyanodihydronormorphinone derivative that is thereafter hydrolyzed to 14-hydroxydihydronormorphinone (noroxymorphone). Noroxymorphone can be readily converted to nal-compounds by N-alkylation with appropriate alkyl halide, or acylation with appropriate acyl halide or anhydride, followed by reduction. A more generally applicable process, converts the oxycodone of the above process to noroxycodone by the von Braun N-demethyiation followed by conversion to a 3—O-methyl-nal-compound using N-alkylation with an appropriate alkyl halide, or by alkylation with an appropriate alkyl halide, or acylation with appropriate acyl halide or anhydride, followed by reduction. The 3—O-methyl-nal-compound is reacted to a nal-compound by O-demethylation.
A synthesis using thebaine to produce the ring-C bridged opiate, buprenorphine, is shown in Scheme A1.

Another synthesis using thebaine to produce the 14-hydroxymorphinan, naltrexone as representative of the nal-compounds, is shown in Scheme A2.

Although these syntheses are effective, the availability of thebaine is limited and its cost high. The high cost of thebaine contributes to the high cost of the 14-hydroxymorphinans derived from it.
One reason for the limited availability of thebaine, and its high cost, is that total synthesis is difficult. U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,668 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,813 discuss the scarcity of thebaine and teach the total synthesis, or alternative synthesis, of the 14-hydroxymorphinans. Yet, the demand for thebaine remains.
A second reason for the limited availability of thebaine, and its high cost, is that the primary source of thebaine is extraction from the poppy plant, Papaver somniferum. Morphine is the major alkaloid that accumulates in capsules of Papaver somniferum. Thus, the supply of thebaine is to a great degree limited to some fraction of the demand for morphine.
Further synthetic routes to the preparation of the 14-hydroxymorphinans are known using the alkaloid, oripavine, as a starting material.

Oripavine has not been used as a starting material for the 14-hydroxymorphinans in any practical sense because it is not recoverable from Papaver somiferum in any practical yield. Thus, there is now no real shortage of this material, but only because there has never developed any demand for it.
A synthesis using oripavine to produce the ring-C bridged opiate, buprenorphine, is shown in Scheme A3.
As compared to the synthesis from thebaine, this synthesis has an additional step. However, the protecting group, X, can be chosen from groups, such as, acetyl, benzoyl or trialkyl silyl so that the removal of X in the last step can be a high yielding and fast reaction as compared to the demethylation required with the use of thebaine.
Another synthesis using oripavine to produce the 14-hydroxymorphinan, naltrexone as representative of the nal-compounds, is shown in Scheme A4.
As compared to the synthesis from thebaine, this synthesis has an additional step. However, as above, the protecting group, X, can be chosen from groups, such as, acetyl, benzoyl or trialkyl silyl so that the removal of X in the last step can be a high yielding and fast reaction as compared to the demethylation required with the use of thebaine.
Alkaloids are extracted from the poppy capsules of Papaver somniferum by two commercial methods. In one method, the immature capsule is cut and the latex collected from the wound. The air dried latex is opium which, according to the Merck Index, 11th edition, contains alkaloids in the amounts shown in Table I. In a second method, the mature poppy capsules and the poppy capsule stems are collected, and threshed to remove the seeds and form a straw. When necessary, the straw is dried to a water content below 16%. Solvent or water extraction is employed to remove the alkaloids from the straw. For the varieties of Papaver somniferum normally grown by the Applicants herein, the straw, on a dry basis, contains alkaloids in the amounts shown in Table I.
TABLE Iopiumstrawmorphine, %10–161–3codeine, %0.8–2.50.05–0.3  oripavine, %  0–0.1  0–0.05thebaine, %0.5–2  0.15–0.65As can be seen, the yield of thebaine and oripavine is confounded with that of other alkaloids.
Where solvent or water or super critical fluid, such as CO2, extraction is employed to remove the alkaloids from the straw, such method, as practised, involves the production of "Concentrate of Poppy Straw". Concentrate of Poppy Straw is defined as "The material arising when poppy straw has entered into a process for the concentration of its alkaloids, when such material is made available in trade," (MULTILINGUAL DICTIONARY OF NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES UNDER INTERNATIONAL CONTROL, United Nations, New York, 1983). Not inconsistent with the foregoing defininition, Concentrate of Poppy Straw is defined as "the crude extract of poppy straw in either liquid, solid or powder form which contains the phenanthrene alkaloids of the opium poppy," 45 U.S. Federal Register 77466, Nov. 24, 1980. When in liquid form, the liquid is preferably concentrated before entering into commerce. The generally preferred Concentrate of Poppy Straw is the powder form which results from simply removing the solvent or water following extraction of the poppy straw. In a more narrow sense, Concentrate of Poppy Straw should contain the alkaloids of Papaver somniferum in substantially their raw proportions. However, more broadly, certain of the alkaloids, or portions thereof, may be deleted from the Concentrate of Poppy Straw so long as at least two of the alkaloid components remain in their raw proportions, one to the other.
It is the object of the present invention to produce poppy straw of Papaver somniferum containing increased yields of thebaine and/or oripavine. It is another object of the present invention to produce such poppy straw containing little or no codeine or morphine.
It is an object of the present invention to produce opium of Papaver somniferum having increased yields of thebaine and/or oripavine. It is another object of the present invention to produce such opium having little or no codeine or morphine.
It is an object of the present invention to produce concentrate of poppy straw of Papaver somniferum having increased yields of thebaine and/or oripavine. It is another object of the present invention to produce such concentrate of poppy straw having little or no codeine or morphine.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide for an improved process for the production of thebaine and/or oripavine. The improved process utilizes a mutagenized poppy plant of Papaver somniferum providing thebaine and/or oripavine in improved yield.
There is also provided by the present invention a method whereby the thebaine and/or oripavine yield of a poppy plant of Papaver somniferum may be improved.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a poppy plant of Papaver somniferum having an improved yield of thebaine and/or oripavine with little or no morphine or codeine.


A game controller is configured to selectively pair with a companion device using a first communication protocol and one or more gaming systems using a second communication protocol. The game controller is configured to send a pairing request to the companion device using the first communication protocol based on companion-device pairing data stored in a storage subsystem of the game controller. The game controller is configured to send a pairing request to a last-paired gaming system with which the game controller last paired using the second communication protocol based on gaming-system pairing data stored in the storage subsystem. Responsive to the game controller being unable to pair with the last-paired gaming system and while the game controller is paired with the companion device, the game controller is configured to send an error notification to the companion device using the first communication protocol.

A game controller may pair with a gaming system using a communication protocol. In some examples, a game controller may pair with different gaming systems using different communication protocols. In some scenarios, multiple gaming systems may be available to pair with a game controller. In such a scenario, a typical game controller may pair with a gaming system having the highest communication signal strength of the available gaming systems.

Companion device aided game controller pairing


A caulk cartridge cap is designed to enable the storage of unused portions of products of the types supplied within caulk cartridge type containers to thus maintain them in a reusable condition. The cap operates as a closure for purposes of resealing a caulk type cartridge to prevent the premature drying out or aging of the materials stored within the cartridge and to also prevent blockage within the cartridge applicator tube. The cap includes an orifice retention rod which is positionable within the applicator tube, and a self-threading insert positioned within the cap is then used to threadably attach the cap to the cartridge. Modified embodiments of the cap include the use of a tether, a scraping edge formed on the orifice retention rod, and a bracket assembly to which the cap is rotatably attached and which may be mounted to a conventional caulk cartridge holding gun.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to closures, and more particularly pertains to a cap which may be used to seal a caulk cartridge type container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of closures to seal open containers is known in the prior art. Regardless of the fact that there are literally thousands of different types of closures and caps available for sealing containers, there has apparently been no attempt to provide a reusable closure for a caulk cartridge type container so as to prevent the drying out or premature aging of caulking material contained within the container after it has been opened. In this regard, the caulk cartridge cap according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of all of the closures and caps presently available, and in so doing provides a cap primarily developed for the purpose of facilitating the storage of unused portions of caulking material. More particularly, the present invention recognizes the need in the prior art for a new means of resealing caulk cartridge type containers and is thus designed to substantially fulfill this need.


A brake system has a first piston (2) which is coupled to a brake pedal (3), a second piston (4) used to actuate a master cylinder (1), a third piston (5) actuated by the first piston (2) and movable into a force-transmitting connection with the second piston (4), and a pedal travel simulator. The first and the third pistons are coupled depending on the displacement of the third piston (5). The pressurization of a space (11) between the second and the third piston loads the second and third pistons (4, 5) in opposite directions. A pressure-supplying module (13) enables both filling and evacuation of the space (11) as well as its evacuation. A fourth piston (8) between the first piston (2) and the third piston (5) delimits a hydraulic compartment (9) in interaction with the third piston (5). A valve assembly (10) varies the pressure introduced into the space (11).

The present invention relates to a brake system for motor vehicles comprising a master cylinder to which wheel brake cylinders are connectable, a first piston which is coupled to a brake pedal by way of a push rod that transmits actuating forces, a second piston which actuates the master cylinder, a third piston which can be actuated by the first piston and is movable into a force-transmitting connection with the second piston, with at least one elastic element forming a pedal travel simulator that imparts a pleasant pedal feeling to the operator in a 'brake-by-wire' operating mode, with a means to couple the movements of the first piston and the third piston being activated depending on the displacement travel of the third piston in a housing, with a space between the second and the third pistons to which hydraulic pressure is applicable, wherein a pressurization of the space loads the second and the third pistons in opposite directions, as well as a pressure supplying module, which allows both filling the space with pressure fluid and evacuating it.
'Brake-by-wire' brake systems are employed in motor vehicle technology at an increasing rate. In the brake systems, the brake can be actuated 'independently' in response to electronic signals without any action on the part of the driver. The electronic signals can be output by an electronic stability program ESP or a collision avoidance system ACC, for example. When an independent actuation of this type is superposed on an actuation by the driver, the driver of the motor vehicle notices a reaction in the brake pedal. This reactive effect on the brake pedal can be surprising and unpleasant for the driver so that, in a critical situation in traffic, the driver will not apply the brake pedal to an extent that complies with this situation because the reaction to the brake pedal that is due to the independent actuation of the brake is irritating him.
DE 10 2004 025 638 A1 discloses a brake system of the type mentioned hereinabove. An 'independent actuation' of the prior-art brake system or pressurization of the space is executed in the 'brake-by-wire' operating mode by the electrically controllable pressure-supplying module by means of a likewise electrically operable valve device, which opens or closes a hydraulic connection between the space and the pressure-supplying module, respectively. The fact is considered disadvantageous in the prior-art brake system that boosting of the actuating force generated by the operator is possible only when the electronic unit and the energy supply (battery) provided in the vehicle are intact.
In view of the above, an object of the invention is to disclose a brake system of the type initially referred to, wherein the actuating force is boosted even if the electronic control unit or the electric energy supply fails.


An efficient method for the preparation of backbone-substituted imidazolinium salts for use as N-heterocyclic carbene ligands, e.g., for organometallic catalysts is provided. These functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene ligands are used to prepare solid-supported catalysts, e.g., for olefin metathesis.

Olefin metathesis has gained a prominent place in the chemist's arsenal as a powerful tool for carbon-carbon bond formation due to the development of highly active and versatile catalysts (Handbook of Metathesis; Grubbs, R. H., Ed.; Wiley-VCH). The efficiency and usefulness of these catalysts depend on various factors among which the nature of the ligands present in the catalyst.
Owing to their electronic properties, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) have contributed to the increased stability and reactivity of catalysts, particularly in ruthenium-based olefin metathesis (Scholl et al., Tetrahedron Letters 1999, 40, 2247; Scholl et al., Organic Letters 1999, 1, 953-956; Huang et al., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1999, 121, 2674-2678).
Solid-support reagents have been used in chemical syntheses and present many advantages among which the ease of removal/purification from reactions, the safer handling of dangerous or toxic chemicals and the recycling of recovered reagents. For instance, solid-supported catalysts provide an effective strategy to eliminate metal contamination of the metathesis products. However, the preparation of solid-supported catalysts for metathesis can be challenging and result in a catalyst with lower reactivity.
Thus, there is a need for solid-supported catalysts with good reactivity for olefin metathesis and an efficient method for their preparation.

Functional N-heterocycles for solid-supported catalysis


The present invention relates to a quill to be used to superabrasively machine complex shapes, such as airfoil shapes, into a substrate. The quill has a shaft portion, an enlarged head portion adjacent the shaft portion, and a tapered grinding portion adjacent the enlarged head portion. The tapered grinding portion has a layer of grit material selected from the group consisting of diamonds and cubic boron nitride thereon. In a preferred embodiment, the quill is a vitrified or plated cubic boron nitride quill on the grinding portion. A method of using the tool is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a tool and a method for machining complex airfoil shapes in materials such as nickel or titanium alloys.
In the past, airfoil shapes have been machined using a variety of different techniques. These techniques included flank milling, electro-chemical machining (ECM), and conventional point milling. These techniques however are slow and the tools used to perform them do not have a particularly long life especially, in hardened alloyed materials such as nickel alloys. The cutting forces produced during the milling operation result in high loads on the workpiece which can result in airfoil deflection and chatter that results in poor surface finish. It is also difficult using these techniques to produce surface finishes that meet part requirements without additional processing such as hand polishing or media finishings.
Thus, there is a need for an improved tool and an improved method for machining complex airfoil shapes in less time at lower loads.


The present invention is a turbine engine component comprising a superalloy substrate, a bond coat overlying the substrate having a thickness in the range of about 0.0005 inch to about 0.005 inch, a thin alumina scale overlying the bond coat, and a thermal barrier coating (TBC) overlying the thin alumina scale, the TBC having a thickness in the range of about 0.0025 inch to about 0.010 inch, and comprising at least mischmetal oxide.

Higher operating temperatures for gas turbine engines are continuously sought in order to increase their efficiency. However, as operating temperatures increase, the high temperature durability of the components of the engine must correspondingly increase. While significant advances have been achieved with iron, nickel and cobalt-base superalloys, the high-temperature capabilities of these alloys alone are often inadequate for components located in certain sections of a gas turbine engine, such as the turbine, combustor and augmentor. A common solution is to thermally insulate such components in order to minimize their service temperatures. For this purpose, thermal barrier coatings (TBC) formed on the exposed surfaces of high temperature components have found wide use.
To be effective, thermal barrier coatings must have low thermal conductivity and adhere well to the component surface. Various ceramic materials have been employed as the TBC, particularly yttria (Y2O3) stabilized zirconia (ZrO2), commonly known as YSZ. This material is widely employed in the art because it can be readily deposited by plasma spray and vapor deposition techniques. In addition, YSZ has good erosion and impact resistance. An example of the latter is electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD), which produces a thermal barrier coating having a columnar grain structure that is able to expand with its underlying substrate without causing damaging stresses that lead to spallation, and therefore exhibits enhanced strain tolerance. The component is supported in proximity to an ingot(s) of the ceramic coating material (e.g., YSZ in a vacuum), and an electron beam is projected onto the ingot(s) so as to melt the surface of the ingot and produce a vapor of the coating material that deposits onto the component. Such EB-PVD deposited TBCs are generally deposited to a thickness in the range of about 0.005 inch to about 0.010 inch. Adhesion of the TBC to the component is often further enhanced by the presence of a metallic bond coat, such as a diffusion aluminide or an oxidation-resistant alloy such as MCrAlX, where M is iron, cobalt and/or nickel, and where X is yttria and/or another rare earth oxide
However, the application of a TBC by the EB-PVD process is expensive and time consuming due to the thickness of the coating. Also, maintenance of the EB-PVD apparatus is performed as a function of operation of the apparatus, so fewer parts having a thick coating can be processed in the period of time between maintenance operations. In addition, the thickness of the coating increases the load on the coated part in a high acceleration G-load environment, particularly for TBC coated blades in a high pressure turbine. One of the properties of the TBC that determines the required thickness of the TBC is the thermal conductivity of the TBC, since a coating with lower thermal conductivity does not have to be as thick as a coating with higher thermal conductivity in order to obtain the same thermal protection for the substrate. Developments in the past have led to TBCs with lower thermal conductivity simply by changing the manner in which the TBC is applied using EB-PVD.
One such method is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,465 ('465) to Rigney et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The '465 patent is directed to a method of improving the thermal conductivity of the TBC resulting from an EB-PVD by moving the article to be coated further from the ingot or source of ceramic material.
In view of the above, there is considerable motivation to further reduce the thickness of the TBC through the use of materials that are lower in thermal conductivity. However, limitations of the prior art are often the result of the relatively narrow range of acceptable and readily available materials. Accordingly, new materials for use in the EB-PVD process are continuously being sought for depositing coatings, and particularly ceramic coatings such as TBCs.
What is needed is a new type of material for use in the EB-PVD process that has lower thermal conductivity, better erosion resistance, and/or better impact resistance than presently available TBC materials and is processible for use in TBC materials. In particular, a material is needed that has a lower thermal conductivity, and at least comparable erosion resistance, and/or impact resistance as YSZ.


A hot water heater includes a hot water tank having a cold water inlet line and a hot water outlet line, an electronically controlled mixing valve fluid coupled to the cold water inlet line and the hot water outlet line and mixed output line and a controller operatively coupled to the mixing valve. A temperature sensor is operatively coupled to the mixed output line and the controller, the controller being operative in response to the sensor to detect a temperature of the water in the mixed output line, compare a setpoint temperature to the detected temperature of the water in the mixed output line, and regulate a flow of one or both of cold water from the cold water input line and hot water from the hot water output line through the electronically controlled mixing valve to maintain the detected temperature at the setpoint temperature.

The present disclosure generally relates to appliances, and more particularly to controlling hot water capacity and temperature in a water heater system.
Mixing valves in hot water heater systems are generally used to increase the hot water capacity of a hot water tank. By increasing the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank, and then mixing the hot water flow from the hot water tank with cold water in a mixing valve, the realized capacity of the hot water tank is increased. Typical hot water systems that include a mixing valve generally seek to manage scalding risk and avoid temperature spikes that a user may experience without any interaction with a temperature control of the water heater.
The mixing valves for hot water heaters generally comprise a through-channel that is connected in series with a hot water supply line. A cold water inlet communicates with the through channel at an upstream side of a thermostat element. The thermostat element is located in the through-channel and functions to control the temperature of water passing from the mixing valve. A regulator valve element is located in a fluid passage between the cold water inlet and the through-channel. The regulator valve element is controlled by the thermostat element to regulate the quantity of cold water that is admitted into the through-channel to mix with the hot water.
The thermostat element that controls the regulator valve element of the mixing valve senses the temperature of the hot and cold water mix and controls the regulator valve element to provide a mix ratio which results in a pre-determined outflow temperature. The thermostat is typically adjustable to provide the pre-determined outflow temperature, also referred to herein as the hot water setpoint temperature. The mixing valve can detect the temperature of the water in the hot water supply line and introduce cold water into the hot water line when the hot water temperature is too high and reduce the temperature of the delivered water. However, these types of mixing valves can generally produce wide variations in the output temperature of the hot water that is delivered. It would be advantageous to be able to control an output of a mixing valve in a hot water system based on a user desired setpoint temperature for the hot water.
Water heaters are typically set to heat the water in the hot water tank to temperatures above approximately 120 degrees Fahrenheit. While a tank will typically have a limiting tank temperature of approximately 187 degrees Fahrenheit, it can be advantageous to be able to increase the temperature of the water in a hot water to temperatures of approximately 165 degrees Fahrenheit in order to reduce the probability of the occurrence of bacteria, such as legionella bacteria.
The typical hot water heater mixing valve is not capable of failure detection. If the mixing valve is faulty or the temperature is set too high, the temperature of the water delivered from the hot water heater can be too high. It would be advantageous to increase the hot water usability capacity of a hot water tank while minimizing the risks associated with the higher temperature hot water.
It can also be difficult to control the temperature of the hot water delivered from the hot water heater due to the mechanical nature of the mixing valve. With the typical mixing valve, a setpoint is chosen that approximates the desired hot water output temperature. It would be advantageous to be able to more precisely control the temperature of the hot water delivered from the hot water heater based on a desired user temperature setpoint.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a hot water heater mixing valve that addresses at least some of the problems identified above.

Electronic mixing valve in standard hot water heater


A packaging for high-power devices such as Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors includes a direct bonded copper substrate (DBC), such as beryllium oxide (BeO), soldered directly to a heat generating surface of the high-power device. The direct bonded copper substrate (DBC) is, in turn, soldered directly to a liquid cooled heatsink (HS). The packaging improves the thermal management of the heat generated by the high-power device, and is applicable for use in a switching circuit for a 3-phase electric traction motor (M). The assembly also provides for improved wirebonding design in order to use each high-power device to its fullest.

The present invention is directed generally to packaging for high power dissipation electronic devices, and more particularly to packaging for high power electronic chips and/or semiconductor devices, and applications of such packaging.
As advances in the manufacture of electronic devices, such as electronic or semiconductor chips, permit the devices to be made smaller in size, packaging for such devices is becoming outdated. A typical example of this evolution is with the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) chip, shown in FIG. 1. The chip is usually manufactured in the shape of a small rectangle including small parallel IGBT cells each having an emitter terminal E, a common gate terminal G, and a common collector terminal C on an opposite surface. High power IGBTs have been the devices of choice for most high current switch designs. IGBTs are normally assembled as high current switch power modules using standard semiconductor package design as shown in FIG. 2.
The collector surface C of the IGBT chip, which is the primary heat-generating surface, is soldered to a copper layer, which is further attached to a ceramic substrate soldered to a heavy copper base. These layers together with an external packaging form a unit which may be further attached, via a thermal grease layer, to a heat sink. The heat sink may be air-cooled or liquid-cooled depending on the application.
FIG. 2 shows that the packaging includes numerous layers, together with a heavy copper base, adding to the weight and bulkiness of prior art packaging. Moreover, the stackup construction of this packaging design has too many thermal barriers and is limited by poor thermal management for the high heat-generating IGBT chip. In addition, a layer of thermal grease or a thermal blanket must be used between the heavy copper base and the heat sink in order to insure the continuation of a thermal path between the device junction and the heat sink.
As the size of the IGBT chip evolves into a smaller size, the heat-generating surface also becomes smaller, and surpasses the thermal management (i.e., the cooling ability) of the prior art packaging design. For this reason, manufacturers will use several IGBT chips electrically connected in parallel in order to increase the heat-generating surface area. Although this parallel design also increases the current rating for the assembly, the current ratings for single IGBT chips continues to improve, and is often sufficient for a desired application. It is therefore undesirable for many applications to have multiple IGBT chips within the package.
Because the current rating for a single IGBT chip is often sufficient for the designer's application, the use of four IGBT chips does nothing but quadruple the cost for the assembly.
In short, the prior art packaging for IGBT chips (and other high power chips) results in a bulky, heavy, and costly packaging having poor thermal management.
The wirebonding of the prior art assembly for an IGBT chip is shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows four IGBT cells on the same IGBT chip connected in parallel and to the first copper surface of FIG. 2.
The wire bonding techniques used by prior art manufacturers, shown in FIG. 3, prevents the entire chip for each IGBT in the assembly to be used. A first wire bonding connection W1 connects a common emitter bar 10 to the emitter of a first IGBT cell 12. A second wire bonding connection W2 connects the emitter of the first IGBT cell 12 to the emitter of a second IGBT cell 14. As per Ohm's Law, the current flowing from the common emitter bar 10 to the first IGBT cell 12 meets only the resistance contained within wire bond connection W1 (=R1). The current flowing from the common emitter bar 10 to the second IGBT cell 14 meets the resistance of both wire bonding connections W1 and W2 (=R1+R2). Assuming that wire bond connection W1 has the same length as wire bond connection W2, the current flowing through the second IGBT cell 14 is one-half that flowing through the first IGBT cell 12 (i.e., 2R1 versus R1).
As a result, the current density and power density are not distributed evenly between the two parallel IGBT cells 12,14. The junction to heat sink thermal resistance of the cell assembly increases significantly because the active area (i.e., the heat-generating area) lies primarily beneath the first IGBT cell 12, in effect reducing the active area by one-half. A similar analysis can be made for the remaining IGBT cells (not labeled) on the IGBT chip of FIG. 3.
Turning to FIGS. 4 and 5, the bulky packaging of the prior art is shown. These packages may be used to implement a 600 amp/600 volt 3-phase switch circuit, as shown in FIG. 6. Each switch in the circuit is capable of switching up to 600 amperes of peak current and blocking voltage up to 600 VDC. The three switches in the circuit can be used separately as three single-current switches, or connected in parallel to form a single 1800 ampere/600 VDC switch. Two of the same 3-phase switches can be used together to form a 600 amp/600 VDC 3-phase bridge circuit as shown in FIG. 7.
In FIG. 7, each switch includes a collector Ci, an emitter Ei, and an antiparallel or commutation diode Di. The Switch Si is activated through the transistor's gate Gi (not shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 for simplicity).
In order to form the 600 amp/600 volt 3-phase bridge 11 of FIG. 7, six single 600 amp/600 volt IGBT switch modules or three dual 600 amp/600 volt IGBT switch modules are used. Each switch module includes collector terminals Ci, emitter terminals Ei, gate terminals Gi, and commutation or anti-parallel diodes Di. These labels correspond to those shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 for the prior art packaging. The bridge circuit is designed by connecting the switch circuits between high current buses ("+" and "-") of a propulsion battery. Each phase of the 3-phase traction motor M is connected to a corresponding pair of IGBT switches, in the manner shown in FIG. 7. Each pair of switches, connected between the high current buses, are also connected to respective high-capacity capacitors CP1-CP3.
As shown in FIG. 8, the prior art IGBT modules may be screwed to a liquid-cooling heat sink. External bus bars and screw connections are used to connect the high current buses and the capacitors (only one of which is shown in FIG. 8). The final assembly of the discrete bridge of FIG. 8 measures approximately 4.5.times.12.times.1.5 inches, and weighs approximately 20 pounds. The long distance connection between the propulsion battery, the drive/control circuit board (not shown), and each of the IGBT modules causes undesirable oscillations that can seriously affect the reliability of the power devices.
As a result, the prior art packaging for electronic devices, such as high-current IGET chips, are bulky, heavy, unnecessarily expensive, and suffer from poor thermal management due to numerous thermal barriers and inefficient wire bonding techniques. Their assembly or repair also requires the tedious disconnection of the several components seen in FIG. 8. Furthermore, the IGBT power modules using standard package design cannot be hermetically sealed, and use silicon gel coatings and molded covers which are not approved for most military or high-reliability applications.

Packaging for electronic power devices and applications using the packaging


A remote handling apparatus includes a joystick device, a load lifting device and a counterforce controller. The joystick device includes a counterforce generator that generates operation counterforce via a stick that accepts manual operation. The counterforce controller includes a pulsed counterforce controller and/or a deviation counterforce controller. The pulsed counterforce controller calculates a time rate of change of a dynamic load value of the load object, and outputs a counterforce command signal indicating a counterforce command value for generating pulsed counterforce. The deviation counterforce controller calculates a deviation amount of a dynamic load value from a static load value, and outputs a counterforce command signal indicating a counterforce command value for generating a counterforce. Embodiments may be implemented as an auxiliary apparatus, which is attached to an existing remote handling apparatus.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a remote handling apparatus for a load object, and an auxiliary apparatus thereof. More particularly the present disclosure relates to a remote handling apparatus for a load object that is operated by a joystick, and an auxiliary apparatus thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A handling apparatus used by an operator to remotely control a target object at nuclear power generation facilities or the like has been turned into practical use. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-107188 (e.g. FIG. 12, FIG. 13) discloses a refueling machine at a nuclear power generation facility. Normally such a refueling machine includes an apparatus to control the lifting of an operation object by manual operation. In the present application, a handling apparatus for an operation object that an operator remotely operates is called "remote handling apparatus", and the operation object is called "load object".
Operation input devices of a remote handling apparatus that an operator directly touches are roughly classified into: a switch input device which accepts the lifting operation by a switch, such as a button, and a joystick device that accepts operation by a lever or stick. Actually in a conventional nuclear power generation facility, an operator manually operates an operation input device to lift a load object, relying on an image of the load object captured by camera and an indicated-value of the load sensor which measures the constantly changing load value of the load object.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram depicting the configuration of a conventional remote handling apparatus 7000 that uses a joystick device 710. The joystick device 710 has a stick 712 used for manual operation by an operator, and the stick 712 includes a potentiometer 714 which is a position sensor for detecting input position coordinate values based on the inclination of the stick controlled by the operator. For example, in the joystick device 710, the neutral position is the intermediate position of one input axis of the stick 712. From this neutral position as the center, one direction corresponds to ascending and the other direction corresponds to descending, and this neutral position corresponds to stopping. A controller 720 converts the input position coordinate value of the potentiometer 714 into a command signal for a motor 732 of a lifting device 730 according to this correspondence. The operation of the motor 732 is converted into operations for ascending, stopping or descending of a load object 500 via an appropriate multiplication/reduction mechanism, such as gears. The inclination of the input axis of the stick 712 of the joystick device 710, that is, the position of the input coordinate, corresponds to the velocity of ascending, stopping or descending the load object 500. A load sensor 740 for measuring the dynamic load value of the load object 500 is attached to the lifting device 730, and the value indicated by the load sensor 740 is presented on a display device 750 to the operator who is operating the joystick device 710. Images of the load object 500 and the peripheral area thereof photographed by the camera 760 are also presented to the operator on a display device 770, which is positioned at eye level directly in front of the operator.
In Fuji Electric Journal Vol. 85, Issue 1, January 2013, it is reported that a load signal, generated depending on the state of contact with a peripheral object, can be recognized as a counterforce in the joystick, so that the operator recognizes the handling state as a tactile sense.

Remote handling apparatus for load object and auxiliary apparatus thereof


A parallel local area network server is capable of sharing data and routing messages between workstations in a local area network. An apparatus according to the invention includes a plurality of processing nodes, each constituted by at least a single data processor, and an interconnect by which the processing nodes communicate. A plurality of mass storage devices are associated with the processing nodes, and a plurality of workstation computers are connected to the processing nodes. Each processing node includes is adapted to route messages to workstation computers associated with other processing nodes and to access data located both locally and at data storage devices associated with other processing nodes. A method according to the invention includes receiving a message at a first processing node and determining if the message is directed to a workstation computer at a second processing node and sending the message to the second processing node for subsequent delivery to the workstation computer. If the message includes a request for a specific data, a second determination is made if the specific data is in the local cache memory of the first processing node. If the specific data is not in the local cache memory, determination is made if the specific data is in a mass storage device at the first processing node, and if so the mass storage device is accessed to obtain the specific data. If the specific data is not in the local mass storage device, a message is forwarded to a remote processing node to request the specific data. Once this data is obtained, it is sent to the requesting workstation computer. The network server system according to the invention thus provides the functions of a file server and a local area network switch, thereby eliminating performance limitations associated with overloaded connections between file servers and LAN switches in conventional local area networks.

Practically all existing office computer systems, such as that depicted in FIG. 1, comprise a number of workstation computers 13 connected to some local area network (LAN) 11. One or more dedicated computers act as a file server 10. These file servers provide access to attached storage devices, such as disk drives 14, which contain the shared data files. These data files are retrieved or updated by the file server in accordance with requests transmitted by workstation computers over the local area network. The local area network also carries communications between workstation computers.
The local area network 11 is essentially a shared data transmission medium. As such, the capacity of the medium is shared between the workstation computers 13 attached to it. In order to effect higher performance of the local area network, LAN switches 12 are used. These are also known as filtering bridges. In this type of arrangement the local area network is split into several independent segments 11A and 11B which are interconnected with a LAN switch. The LAN switch is programmed with, or automatically discovers, data regarding the connection arrangement of workstation computers and corresponding segments. Because of this data, LAN switch is able to route traffic only to relevant segments of the LAN, thus eliminating unnecessary traffic on other segments of the local area network. For large local area networks, a substantial number of segments can be created to be interconnected by multiple LAN switches.
Algorithms and systems for remote access to shared files are well known in the conventional technology. Such systems and techniques are described in numerous publications, such as Managing NFS and NIS by Hal Stem, published by O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., Jun. 1991).
Conventional arrangements allow aggregate LAN capabilities in excess of the normal capacity of the LAN physical medium. While this approach achieves aggregate LAN capacities far in excess of that of LAN physical media, the capacity of the segment 11B between the file server 10 and the LAN switch 12 remains limited. When a substantial number of workstation computers 13 request access to shared data files, via their respective segments 11A and LAN switch 12, the segment 11B can quickly become overloaded.
To avoid the problem of overload in segment 11B several approaches have been used in conventional systems. The first approach is to make use of high-speed interconnection technologies, such as the 100-Mbps Ethernet. However, this approach is severely limited by the difficulty inherent to processing and transmitting radio-frequency signals. These difficulties severely limit the maximum usable capacity of the file server. Use of the single high-speed data path renders the overall system very fragile since any failure in the high-speed data path is likely to disable large parts of the entire local area network.
A second approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,724 to Akizawa et al. (1994). The system disclosed therein includes a plurality of file servers running very complicated and elaborate load-balancing software. The complexity of required software (as well as its high cost) and the difficulty of administration of numerous separate file servers render this approach impractical. Further, such systems also require extensive modification of software running on workstation computers to support switching to alternative file servers in case of a failure in a particular file server or in a portion of the system linking the workstation computers to file servers. All of these considerations render this approach far too expensive for most applications.
In a third approach a packet router is used instead of the LAN switch 12, so as to separate the logical network into a plurality of different sub-networks. A file server is attached to more than one sub-network, so the traffic from different sub-networks will reach the file server through different physical links. This approach does not scale (upwards in performance) well and requires use of an expensive router. This system also requires administrative changes in configurations of workstation computers (to be performed by skilled personnel) every time a workstation computer is moved from one sub-network to another. Local area networks built using this approach are vulnerable to failures in both the packet router and the file server.
A number of examples of additional approaches to improvement of performance of local area networks are found in the following documents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,627 to Hillis (1996); U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,704 to Baty et. al. (1993); U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,856 to Kogge (1995); U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,517 to Cok (1990); U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,453 to Row et. al. (1994); U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,131 to Row et al. (1992); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,272 to ballew et. al. (1996). All of these references disclose methods for improving the performance of file servers by using multiple processing units working in parallel. However, each system fails to address the issue of the capacity of the link between the file server and the LAN switch. These examples also fail to improve reliability of the whole LAN since they are primarily directed only to the reliability of single components within the local area network.

Apparatus and method for sharing data and routing messages between a plurality of workstations in a local area network


A device is provided for the self-administration of cannabinoids. The device includes a container having an opening on a first end thereof, a cap which releasably engages said first end of said container, and an assembly, including first and second modules, which is removably placed inside of the container. The first module includes a first element equipped with first and second threading, a receptacle for said solid medium, said receptacle being equipped with at least one surface feature which slidingly engages said first threading, and a solid medium which is seated in said receptacle and which contains at least one cannabinoid. The second module is equipped with a filter and has a first threading disposed on a first terminal portion thereof. Various accessories may be releasably attached to the container or assembly. Methods of using the device are also described.

Cannabinoids are a class of chemical compounds that are biochemically active with respect to cannabinoid receptors in the human brain. This class of compounds include the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the primary psychoactive compound found in cannabis.
The recreational and medical use of cannabinoids has become common in many countries. In such uses, cannabinoids are frequently provided as sticky oils or waxes known as "concentrates". Such concentrates (which are also referred to as wax dabs, budder, honey oil, 710, and by various other names) contain concentrated doses of cannabis that are made by extracting THC and other cannabinoids, typically by using a solvent such as butane or carbon dioxide.
Various devices have been developed in the prior art for vaporizing or smoking cannabis or concentrates. For example, various glass pipes have been developed which may be utilized to smoke concentrates. These include the glass pipes sold under the trade name "The Honeycomb Oil Rig", which features a honeycomb percolator designed to limit the intake of tar during smoking.
Various so-called pen vaporizers have also been developed in the art. These include the pen vaporizers marketed under the tradename AtmosRx Jr Vaporizer™, which comprise a mouthpiece, a heating chamber, a battery, a USB charger and a packing tool. These also include the 650 mah wax dab pen vaporizers sold under the tradename Evolve™, which are equipped with a coil cap containing a quartz heating coil therein. The heating coil vaporizes the wax dab, while the coil cap prevents the melted wax from leaking out, and also keeps prevents the mouthpiece from becoming too hot.
Other notable vaporizers include the ceramic vaporizer sold under the tradename Cheech & Chong's The Ripper Ceramic Vaporizer Kit™, and sometimes referred to simply as The Ripper™. This vaporizer is designed for use with waxy oils and concentrates, and features a full-ceramic coil-less atomizer intended to provide even heat distribution. The Ripper™ has a single control LEI) button, a 950 mAh battery and a five-click lock feature for safety. The Ripper vaporizer purportedly heats up fast to provide 15 seconds of continuous use, and is said to generate thick clouds of vapor. The removable mouthpiece exposes the chamber that can be easily loaded with the provided dab tool, while the flat base provides stability. The compact device measures 11.5 cm (4.5 inches) in length, and comes packaged in a decorative box filled with an array of accessories. This concentrate vaporizer is rechargeable through the provided micro USB charger. The accessories include a ripper vaporizer, a 950 mAh battery, a ceramic atomizer, a micro USB charger, a dab tool with a silicone sleeve, and a user manual.
Other notable devices in the art include the herb pipe sold under the tradename Sparkplug™. The components of this pipe are detachable to obfuscate the fact that this piece is actually a pipe designed for smoking herbs. The pipe has a detachable lid on its bowl that can be unscrewed, thus allowing the user to preload the pipe and store it without any spillage until use. The metal body is said to ensure that the smoke cools down on its way to the user's lungs. For best results, the seller recommends that a metal screen be placed in the bowl of the pipe to prevent the inhalation of ash and herb crumbs.
Other metal pipes known to the art include the anodized aluminum smoking pipes sold under the brand name A'maze'd™. These smoking pipes include a 'maze' filtration system, which purportedly works by directing smoke through a 32 cm long convoluted path to cool it down.
Still other metal pipes known to the art include those sold under the tradename "Bud Bomb". These devices are equipped with an internal helical chamber through which smoke travels as it is inhaled by the user, thus cooling it down. The device may be disassembled into its four component pieces (the mouthpiece, helix, main cover and the bowl chamber) for cleaning. Accumulated tar within the device can purportedly be cleaned off by heating the device over a flame.
Other metal pipes known to the art include the three-piece metal smoking pipes sold under the tradename The Piecepipe™. This device, which is also designed to function as a keychain, is a precision made, three-piece smoking device. For cleaning, the pipe has a cylinder that can be divided into two halves. The stash chamber is designed to hold extra tobacco or a herbs. This device is equipped with air pockets that keep the mouthpiece from getting hot. In operation, the user clicks and locks the device into position to enable its different modes. These include a stealth mode for odor-free storage; a smoking mode for smoking; and a stash mode for storing tobacco or herbs. The device may also be fully unclicked to enable a clean mode.

Discrete apparatus for self-administration of cannabinoids


A placemat defining a translucent upper surface supporting a red/yellow obscuring design; a plate formed of a transparent red material; and a latent image formed on the placemat obscured by the red/yellow design, the plate being placed upon the placemat overlying the latent image to filter out the obscuring design and reveal the latent image.

A great number of toy kitchen utensil and cooking sets have been provided in which a plurality of dishes and pots and pans as well as associated implements are provided in miniature form for the child user. In addition, picnic sets having a plurality of toy dishes, cups, glasses and utensils have also become well known in the art. There remains, however, a continuing need in the art for evermore improved, interesting and unusual toy picnic sets.

Toy picnic set having latent image placemat


An image encoding device includes a degree of importance calculating unit that calculates a degree of importance on each of a plurality of input images which are consecutively input, a degree of importance period calculating unit that calculates a degree of importance period which is a period of the degree of importance, an average degree of importance calculating unit that calculates an average degree of importance which is an average of degrees of importance of times corresponding to a current in each of a plurality of previous degree of importance periods, an image quality control parameter calculating unit that calculates an image quality control parameter based on the average degree of importance, and an image encoding unit that encodes the input image using the image quality control parameter and generates video data.

A monitoring camera is installed at a monitoring place to photograph and record a moving image of a monitoring target. In recording of a moving image of a monitoring target, a moving image to be recorded includes a frame having a high degree of importance, a frame having a low degree of importance, and a frame having an intermediate degree of importance together. For example, in the monitoring camera, a frame in which a person's face or a vehicle's license plate is photographed is an important frame, but a frame in which only a background is shown and a frame having little difference with a previous frame are a frame having a low degree of importance. Further, depending on the installation position of the monitoring camera, many frames having a high degree of importance may be photographed, or many frames having a low degree of importance may be photographed.
If it is possible to photograph and record an important frame at a high image quality and to photograph and record a frame having a low degree of importance at a low image quality when photographing and recording a moving image, it is possible to effectively use a limited memory capacity without damaging the purpose of monitoring, and it is possible to reduce a load of a network without damaging the purpose of monitoring even when a moving image is transmitted. Here, as a factor influencing an image quality of a moving image, there are a frame rate of a moving image and a compression rate in an encoding unit.
In the past, a method of adjusting an image quality according to a degree of importance of a moving image has been proposed (for example, see JP 2009-55341 A). According to the method of the related art, when a plurality of monitoring cameras are installed, it is possible to set an image quality of each monitoring camera according to a degree of importance by setting a recording period of time and a degree of importance (which is represented by an integer value of 1 to 10) of each monitoring camera in advance. Further, even when the number of monitoring cameras has been increased or even when the capacity of a recording device has been changed, an image quality can be adjusted only by resetting a recording period of time and a degree of importance.
Further, according to the method of the related art, by setting a degree of importance of a certain periodic time zone in advance, it is possible to dynamically adjust an image quality, for example, it is possible to change a degree of importance according to a time zone.
However, the method of the related art has the following problems. One is a problem caused as it depends on a hunch to represent a degree of importance by a numerical value in advance, and another is a problem caused as a temporal change in a degree of importance is fixedly set in advance. The problems will be described below.
FIG. 14 is a graph illustrating an example of a change in a degree of importance when a monitoring camera is installed in a retail store. A solid line represents a change in an actual degree of importance. For example, the actual degree of importance is calculated based on the number of visitors. The actual degree of importance increases after 8:00 which is an opening time of the retail store, and decreases before 22:00 which is a closing time. In the method of the related art, a degree of importance is set based on the actual degree of importance such that a degree of importance is high in a time zone of 8:00 to 22:00 which are opening hours, and a degree of importance is low in the remaining time zones, as indicated by a dotted line.
FIG. 15 is a graph illustrating an example of a change in a degree of importance when a monitoring camera is installed in a retail store. In the graph of FIG. 15, actual degrees of importance of different seasons are added to the graph of FIG. 14. In FIG. 15, an alternate long and short dash line represents a change in an actual degree of importance in winter, and a solid line represents a change in an actual degree of importance in summer. If winter is compared with summer, opening hours of winter and summer are the same, that is, from 8:00 to 22:00, but summer is higher in a degree of importance, longer in a time zone, and steeper in rising, and larger in a peak size than winter.
As described above, when a degree of importance is simply set based on opening hours or the like depending on a hunch, the set degree of importance does not match the actual degree of importance in the peak size or the change inclination. Further, the number of visitors used to calculate the degree of importance is influenced by a season such as a daylight-saving time or daylight hours, and also influenced by a surrounding environment such as attending and leaving time of schools or attending and leaving time of companies. Thus, when a temporal change in a degree of importance is fixedly set in advance, it is difficult to cope with a change of a season or a surrounding environment.
Furthermore, when a degree of importance is determined from a moving image to adjust an image quality, if there is a determination error, there is a case in which it is difficult to set a high image quality when a moving image needs to be displayed at a high image quality. For example, when a face detection result is used as a degree of importance, if a person passes in front of a monitoring camera while looking away from it, there is a problem in that it is difficult to detect a face, and it is difficult to switch to a high image quality.
The present technology was made in light of the above problems, and it is desirable to provide an image encoding device, an image encoding method, and an image encoding program which are capable of encoding a moving image using a parameter according to a change in an actual degree of importance, an imaging device that sets a degree of importance according to a change in an actual degree of importance and photographs a moving image, an image encoding device that sets a degree of importance according to a change in an actual degree of importance, a photographing system having the same, a photographing recording system, an image encoding method, and an image encoding program.
An image encoding device according to the present technology includes an image quality control parameter calculating unit that calculates an image quality control parameter based on a degree of importance of a past time corresponding to a current time in a degree of importance period which is a period of a degree of importance of a plurality of input images which are consecutively input, and an image encoding unit that encodes the input images using the image quality control parameter and generates video data.
A photographing system according to the present technology includes the image encoding device, an imaging unit that photographs a subject and generates a video signal, and a signal processing unit that processes the video signal and generates the input image.
A photographing recording system according to the present technology includes the photographing system, and a recording device that is connected to perform communication with the photographing system, and records video data generated by the image encoding device.
An image encoding method according to the present technology includes calculating an image quality control parameter based on a degree of importance of a past time corresponding to a current time in a degree of importance period which is a period of a degree of importance of a plurality of input images which are consecutively input, and encoding the input images using the image quality control parameter and generating video data.
An image encoding program according to the present technology causes a computer to function as an image quality control parameter calculating unit that calculates an image quality control parameter based on a degree of importance of a past time corresponding to a current time in a degree of importance period which is a period of a degree of importance of a plurality of input images which are consecutively input, and an image encoding unit that encodes the input images using the image quality control parameter and generates video data.
According to the present technology, an image quality control parameter is decided using a degree of importance of a corresponding time in a previous degree of importance period, and thus it is possible to encode an input image using a parameter according to a change in an actual degree of importance and generate video data.
As will be described below, there are other embodiments in the present technology. Thus, the disclosure is intended to provide a part of the present technology and not intended to limit the scope of the technology described and claimed herein.

Image encoding device, photographing system, photographing recording system, image encoding method, and non-transitory computer readable medium storing image encoding control program

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A processor-implemented method for diagnostic testing using an expected result parameter is provided. The processor-implemented method may include establishing a known system environment associated with a function under test and setting the expected result parameter corresponding to the function under test and the known system environment. A call is issued by the processor to execute the function under test. Before returning to the caller, the function under test compares an expected result value to an actual result value. The function under test determines an error based on the actual result value being different from the expected result value and performs a low-level diagnostic based on the determined error. Then the processor receives a return value from the function under test based on the issued call.

Computer programming languages have been developing rapidly over the years. Many programs today not only include functions or routines, but also include nested functions or subroutines (i.e. sub-functions). In computer programming, a subroutine is a sequence of program instructions that perform a specific task, packaged as a unit. This unit can then be used in programs wherever that particular task should be performed. Subroutines may be defined within programs, or separately in libraries that can be used by multiple programs. In different programming languages a subroutine may be called a procedure, a function, a routine, a method, or a subprogram. The generic term callable unit is sometimes used.
A subroutine is similar to a computer program that is used as one step in a larger program or another subprogram. A subroutine may be coded so that it can be started (i.e. called) several times from several places during one execution of the program, including from other subroutines, and then branch back (i.e. return) to the next instruction after the call once the subroutine's task is done. Subroutines may reduce the cost of developing and maintaining a large program, while increasing its quality and reliability.
However, error detection in subroutines may be very difficult during software or hardware test execution or customer problem recreation. Usually, by the time an error is detected, storage areas with pertinent information for diagnosis of the error may be overwritten, causing loss of pertinent information. Therefore, it may be advantageous, among other things, to provide earlier and better problem documentation.

Low-level checking of context-dependent expected results

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides a bonded tungsten carbide-based super hard alloy assembly equipped with a first metal member comprised of a steel material having a martensite structure, and defining a first bonding surface and a second metal member comprised of a tungsten carbide-based super hard alloy and defining a second bonding surface directly bonded to the first bonding surface of the first metal member. The martensite structure-containing steel material constituting the first metal member is a stainless steel having an average carbon concentration of 0.10 to 0.40 mass %. The first metal member has a high carbon concentration region at a depth ranging from 0.70 to 3.00 mm from the first bonding surface. The high carbon concentration region has a maximum carbon concentration of 0.3 to 1.2 mass %.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bonded tungsten carbide-based super hard alloy assembly and a process for producing the same. More specifically, the invention relates to a bonded tungsten carbide-based super hard alloy assembly having high bonding strength and excellent mechanical properties and a process for producing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Bonded assemblies of a tungsten carbide-based super hard alloy and a stainless steel have conventionally been used for dies for forming a ceramic honeycomb body (honeycomb body forming dies), precision molds, dies, plugs, and the like.
As honeycomb body forming dies, those produced using the following process can be given as an example (refer to, for example, Patent Document 1). First, a plurality of back holes is formed in a first plate-shaped member so that they are opened on at least one surface side thereof. The other surface side of the first plate-shaped member and a second plate-shaped member are bonded to each other by hot pressing while inserting therebetween copper or the like as a brazing filler metal. Then, slits are formed in the second plate-shaped member in lattice form so as to be associated with the back holes formed in the first plate-shaped member. A honeycomb body forming die is thus obtained. The back holes are usually provided at a position corresponding to (overlapping with) an intersection of the lattice of the slits formed in lattice form. When a honeycomb body is obtained using the ceramic honeycomb body forming die as described in Patent Document 1, honeycomb body forming raw materials containing ceramic raw materials are introduced from the back holes. The honeycomb body forming raw materials are transferred from the back holes having a relatively large inner diameter to the narrow slits and extruded as a formed body with a honeycomb structure from the opening portion of the slits. Thus, the slit portions of the second plate-shaped member are narrow and a high pressure is applied thereto during passage of the honeycomb body forming raw materials so that they are likely to be worn. In the honeycomb body forming die as described in Patent Document 1, therefore, the second plate-shaped member is made of a tungsten carbide-based super hard alloy with high abrasion resistance. The first plate-shaped member is not required to have abrasion resistance as high as the second plate-shaped member so that it is made of a stainless steel. The honeycomb body is fired into a honeycomb structure and the fired one is used as a filter, catalyst carrier, or the like for purifying an exhaust gas of automobiles, and the like.

Bonded object of tungsten carbide-based superhard alloy and process for producing same


A system for pivoting a coupling component for a semi-trailer truck includes a rotation device configured to pivot the coupling component between a primary position and a secondary position, and at least one line, which is guided into the coupling component via the rotation device and wherein the system comprises a pivot arm for entraining the at least one line when the coupling component is pivoted between the primary position and the secondary position.

The present invention concerns a system and a method for pivoting a coupling component.
The connection of a semi-trailer to a tractor unit is sufficiently well known from the state of the art. For this purpose, the semi-trailer typically has a pin element, in particular a kingpin, which engages in a coupled state in a corresponding fifth wheel coupling, or coupling plate with coupling hook, on the tractor unit. In addition to the mechanical connection of the semi-trailer to the tractor unit, successful coupling of the semi-trailer to the tractor unit also includes the connection of lines on the tractor unit side and on the trailer side, such as air pressure lines and electrical lines which are required to supply the lighting system or other electronics. A coupling component is preferably provided for guiding the lines, in or on which the lines are guided to an interface area provided for the desired connection. This coupling component is preferably pivotally mounted so that the lines for coupling can be easily aligned if the tractor unit and the semi-trailer are at an angle, i.e. not aligned, to each other during coupling. The use of a rotation device, especially in the form of a semi-trailer rotation platform, has become established in this respect.
From DE 10 2006 033 900 B3, a line outlet for a semi-trailer of a semi-trailer truck is known, wherein a frame construction is provided with a semi-trailer plate closing on the underside, on which the kingpin is arranged.
To guide the lines, clamping arms are attached to the frame structure at their outermost end so that they can pivot around a vertical axis.
However, the use of the rotation device and the pivoting of the coupling component put a strain on the lines, the required length of which changes depending on the degree of pivoting.
Based on this background, the present invention has the object to provide an improved system for pivoting the coupling component, with which the lines can be subjected to less stress in the long term, in particular without making substantial structural changes to a pivoting mechanism provided for the coupling component.

System and method for pivoting a coupling component


A system and method for reducing the complexity of the reservoir simulation process is described. In more detail, an add-in for spreadsheet software program has been developed allowing a user to input minimal amount of information for a simulation, wherein the add-in exports the data as a file readable by any simulation software. Upon completion of the simulation, the add-in will retrieve the results and display them in an easy-to-interpret manner. Thus, the add-in makes the simulation process easier, robust, and user friendly.

Development and production of hydrocarbon resources (e.g., hydrocarbon reservoirs) used for oil and gas production is a highly capital intensive endeavor. Accordingly, there is enormous economic benefit in optimizing development and management plans for such hydrocarbon resources.
An economic reservoir profitability study is generally based on production profiles determined beforehand. Determination of several oil production profiles, i.e. the evolution of the reservoir production over the course of time, is carried out by selecting several possible scenarios, for example highly likely, likely, and unlikely, related to the uncertain technical parameters of the reservoir and modeling the production based on the selected parameters. Production of a reservoir is defined by the evolution of its fluid production over the course of time. It can be, for example, the evolution with time of the oil and/or gas and/or water production of the reservoir.
Hydrocarbon production and field development scenarios rely heavily on reservoir simulation technology. The economic profitability study is then performed on uncertain economic parameters for each scenario. The scenario method is used so as to limit the number of flow simulations, costly due to calculation time, that are required for the economic profitability study.
The crux of the economic studies is the simulation step. Simulation of a reservoir is difficult because of the amount of data, variables, decision points, and minutia that must be accounted for in a particular model. For example, the development planning process for any particular reservoir often includes defining the optimal type, size, number, location, and timing of surface facilities and/or wells, how and when these facilities and/or wells should be connected, etc. The reservoir management process for any particular reservoir often includes planning optimal type, size, number, location, and timing of infill wells, determining injection and production rates at wells, etc.
The traditional approach to reservoir simulation for most commercial simulation software packages is to separate the workflow physically with a pre-processor program, to assist in building a model in a second program, and view results and interpretation in a post-processor program. Unfortunately, each program is tailored to the specific simulator. Many of these programs (e.g. pre and post processor) are very complex, and often require considerable training and continuous usage to maintain proficiency. Further, these programs are difficult to customize and rarely include all required functionality.
There also exists a class of uncertainty and sensitivity analysis tools designed to operate on simulation input files that require users to parameterize the input assumptions for the model. These systems can be difficult to setup, time-consuming, and can be prone to error.
Thus, there exists a need for a better approach to developing input files for simulators. Ideally, the approach will work with any commercially available simulator, will be easy to use, and will speed the characterization and operational steps for building, running and interpreting reservoir simulation models.


An apparatus is described having an out-of-order instruction execution pipeline. The out-of-order execution pipeline has a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit is to hold a pointer to physical storage space where information is kept that cannot yet be confirmed as being free of potential dependencies on the information. The second circuit is to hold the pointer if the pointer existed in the first circuit when a non speculative region of program code ended and upon retirement of a following speculative overwriter instruction originally coded to overwrite the information.

FIG. 1 shows a basic instruction execution pipeline 100. The basic instruction execution pipeline is observed to include: i) an instruction fetch stage 101; ii) a data fetch stage 102; iii) an instruction execution stage 103; and, iv) a write back stage 104. The instruction fetch stage 101 fetches "next" instructions in an instruction sequence from a cache, or, system memory (if the desired instructions are not within the cache). Instructions typically specify operand data and an operation to be performed on the operand data. The data fetch stage 102 fetches the operand data from local operand register space, a data cache or system memory. The instruction execution stage 103 performs the operation called out by an instruction on the operand data that is specified by the instruction and fetched by the data fetch stage 102. The write back stage "retires" the result of the execution, typically by writing the result into local register space.

Copy-on-write buffer for restoring program code from a speculative region to a non-speculative region


A method and apparatus for advancing initialization messages when initializing an interface is presented. In one embodiment, one of a sequence of training sequence messages are sent in serial mode across the data lanes of a generally-parallel interface between two agents. When one agent correctly receives a fixed number of messages, it may begin sending its messages with an acknowledgement. Thereafter, when that agent correctly receives a fixed number of messages including an acknowledgement, that agent may advance to sending the next training sequence messages in the sequence.

Microprocessor systems have until recently been interconnected via multi-point drop data buses. The processors, memory controllers, input-output controllers (which may generally be termed "agents") would be able to exchange data over a common data bus structure. However, as data transmission rates become higher, limitations in the multi-point drop data buses are becoming a problem. The electrical loadings and reflections in a multi-point drop data bus system may limit the data transmission speed. In order to address these and other issues, newer systems are examining individual, dedicated point-to-point data interfaces between the agents of a system.
There will still exist variances among agents attempting to exchange data via the point-to-point interfaces. Source impedances, path impedances, and termination impedances may all vary due to process variations and other influences. Data skew among the various parallel data lines, and between the clock and data lines, may become more of a problem at higher data rates. For this reason, during an initialization process the two agents at the opposite ends of the point-to-point interface may exchange special data messages to support the initialization process. For example, pre-determined data messages may help initialize a set of deskewing buffers in a parallel interface. It would be possible to simply send a large number of such messages and presume that the two agents would successfully receive and act upon a sufficient number of them. However this may prove to be a time-consuming process. If the process consumes too much time, it may impact system performance if the initialization is needed not just on a relatively-rare system reset event, but also on commonly occurring events such as transitions between normal operating modes and low-power operating modes.

Method and apparatus for acknowledgement-based handshake mechanism for interactively training links