The invention relates to new small RNAs and ORFs of E. coli as mediators of cell and intercell regulation.

In the last few years, the importance of regulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) as mediators of a number of cellular processes in bacteria has begun to be recognized. Although instances of naturally occurring antisense RNAs have been known for many years, the participation of sRNAs in protein tagging for degradation, modulation of RNA polymerase activity, and stimulation of translation are relatively recent discoveries (see Wassarman, K. M. et al. 1999 Trends Microbiol 7:37–45 for review; Wassarman, K. M. and Storz, G. 2000 Cell 101:613–623). These findings have raised questions about how extensively sRNAs are used, what other cellular activities might be regulated by sRNAs, and what other mechanisms of action exist for sRNAs. In addition, prokaryotic sRNAs appear to target different cellular functions than their eukaryotic counterparts that primarily act during RNA biogenesis. It is unclear whether this difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic sRNAs is accurate or stems from the incompleteness of current knowledge. Implicit in these questions is the question of how many sRNAs exist in a given organism and whether the current known sRNAs are truly representative of sRNA function in general.
To date, most known bacterial sRNAs have been identified fortuitously by the direct detection of highly abundant sRNAs (4.5S RNA, tmRNA, 6S RNA, RNase P RNA, and Spot42 RNA), by the observation of an sRNA during studies on proteins (OxyS RNA, Crp Tic RNA, CsrB RNA, and GcvB RNA) or by the discovery of activities associated with overexpression of genomic fragments (MicF RNA, DicF RNA, DsrA RNA, and RprA RNA) (Okamoto, K. and Freundlich, M. 1986 PNAS USA 83:5000–5004; Bhasin, R. S. 1989 Studies on the mechanism of the autoregulation of the crp operon of E. coli K12 In: Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, State University of New York at Stonybrook; Urbanowski, M. L. et al. 2000 Mol Microbiol 37:856–868; Wassarman, K. M. and Storz, G. 2000 Cell 101:613–623; Majdalani, N. et al. 2001 Mol Microbiol 39:1382–1394; for review see Wassarman, K. M. et al. 1999 Trends Microbiol 7:37–45). None of the E. coli sRNAs were found as a result of mutational screens. This observation may reflect the small target size of genes encoding sRNAs compared to protein genes, or may be a consequence of the regulatory rather than essential nature of many sRNA functions. The complete genome sequence of an organism provides a rapid inventory of most encoded proteins, tRNAs, and rRNAs, but it has not led to the immediate recognition of other genes that are not translated. In particular, new bacterial sRNA genes have been overlooked, as there are no identifiable classes of sRNAs that can be found based solely on sequence determinants.

Identification of new small RNAs and ORFs of

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


An apparatus for charging a shaft furnace, in which each of plane faces of a second segment of a guiding member of a unit for distributing a burden over a cross section of the furnace is formed so that its first line of intersection with a first vertical plane passing through its geometric center and tangentially to a circle lying in a horizontal plane and having the center on an axis of the furnace and the radius equal to the distance from the furnace axis to the geometric center, is inclined at angle ".alpha." to the horizontal plane, the intersection lines of all plane faces forming a polygonal line, each subsequent length of the polygonal line, in a burden flow direction, making a greater angle of inclination with the horizontal plane than the preceding one, and a second line of intersection of each plane face with a second vertical plane passing through its geometric center and the furnace axis is inclined at angle ".beta." to the horizontal plane, with angle ".beta." increasing with the burden flow.

As of now, in the quest to intensify the iron-making process the efforts are directed to improving the blast-furnace process through optimum distribution of a gas flow over a shaft section of the blast furnace, which determines the quality of iron produced, the specific fuel consumption for its production and the blast furnace output as a whole. The uniform distribution of the gas flow over the furnace section is attained by controlling the rate of blowing and changing the layer contours of ore and coke components of the burden which is fed into a throat zone by a charging device installed on the furnace cone. Therefore, the requirements that are placed upon the charging device are to provide a desired contour of the burden layer over the furnace cross section with minimum nonuniformity in the circumferential grain-size distribution of the burden in the throat zone, and, essentially, a controlled thickness of the burden layer charged.
Conventional blast furnace charging apparatuses include a double-cone charging apparatus equipped with movable throat plates, which is disclosed in DE A 2125062.
The above apparatus for charging a shaft furnace comprises a bin having an inlet and an outlet, the bin being connected through flanges with a top portion of the furnace. The bin outlet is located in a furnace chamber, within its throat zone, and closed by a cone-shaped locking member. The locking member is adapted to move vertically. The furnace throat zone is provided with movable plates which carry distributing plates with a reflecting surface facing the bin outlet. The plates are uniformly circumferentially disposed and adapted to radially move along the guides which are rigidly fixed to the furnace shell.
In operation of the apparatus, the locking member is displaced towards the furnace chamber, and a burden is admitted through an annular gap formed to the peripheral region of the throat zone. If the blast-furnace process is disturbed, it is required to change the contour of the charged burden layer. To this end, the plates are radially displaced towards the furnace axis until they reach a position in which the path of the falling burden intersects the surface of the distributing plates, which results in altering the burden flow direction so that the burden moves towards the furnace axis. The above prior art apparatus, however, changes the contour of the burden layer charged only in the peripheral annular region due to the restricted displacement of the movable plate, which reduces the potentials of the apparatus, limiting the burden laying control only to 1/3 the furnace radius.
Most closely approaching the present invention by the combination of technical features and the achieved result is an apparatus for charging a shaft furnace, comprising a bin for a burden, the bin having an inlet and an outlet, a unit for distributing the burden over a cross section of the furnace, said unit being mounted in a throat zone beneath the bin outlet and adapted to rotate about the furnace axis. The burden distributing unit comprises a horizontal member having at least two guiding members circumferentially disposed around its periphery, each of the guiding members being connected with the horizontal member and consisting of two segments which are arranged sequentially in the direction of the burden flow. A first segment is located in the immediate vicinity to the horizontal member, and a second segment is comprised of at least two plane faces and has a burden shoot edge facing the furnace throat zone (WO Application No. 92/19776, C21B 7/20).
Owing to the design of the distributing unit, the burden body leaving the bin outlet is divided into at least two flows which form a charge layer in the throat zone with approximately even circumferential grain-size distribution. This is attained due to laying the burden pellets of the same size symmetrically about the furnace axis, thereby significantly reducing the nonuniformity of the circumferential burden weight distribution in the furnace. The uniform circumferential arrangement of the guiding members, with the first segment being disposed in the immediate vicinity to the horizontal member, makes it possible to change the radial direction of the burden flow to the circumferential one. On the guiding member second segments, the circumferential direction of the burden flow changes to the tangential one or towards the furnace axis under the effect of the resultant of frictional, centrifugal and Coriolis forces. This enables the burden to be charged to any throat region and provides the possibility to form a required stockline contour in the throat zone. This is attained by a single type of motion, in particular, by rotation of the burden distributing unit about the furnace axis. The above structural features of the charging unit provide the improvement in the blast-furnace process parameters and the reduction in energy losses. The rotary drive of the unit has a simpler structure.
In operation, a burden portion is charged from the burden bin on the horizontal member of the burden distributing unit and further along the guiding members into the furnace chamber. A burden layer is formed in the furnace throat zone by virtue of rotation of the burden distributing unit. Owing to the possibility to vary the rotational speed of said unit, the apparatus provides a desired stockline contour in the shaft furnace. This improves the blast-furnace process characteristics. However, a required stockline contour is not provided when laying the burden by the above apparatus in the region adjacent to the furnace axis, since the non-optimal spatial orientation of the plane faces of the guiding member second segment hinders the admission of a sufficient amount of material into the furnace axial region. As a consequence, the optimum gas distribution over the furnace cross section is not provided, resulting in the increased coke consumption and some reduction in the output. In addition, in the prior art apparatus the position of plane faces of the guiding members fails to be unambiguously defined which makes the manufacture of the apparatus as such problematic, and further hampers the attainment of a desired stockline contour in the furnace throat zone.

Zakrytoe Aktsionernoe Obschestvo Nauchno-Proizvodstvenny I Kommerchesky Tsentr "Totem "


A multi-session event invitation is described. A productivity application initiates operations to provide the multi-session event invitation upon detecting a request to schedule an event with session options. Invitee(s) and information associated with the session options is determined for the event. Next, the multi-session event invitation is generated based on the information associated with the session options. Furthermore, the multi-session event invitation is transmitted to the invitee(s).

Automation and improvements in processes have expanded scope of capabilities offered for personal and business information consumption. With the development of faster and smaller electronics, providing elaborate features (that improve functionality) in schedule management have become feasible. Indeed, systems provided to manage schedules have become common features in modern personal and work environments. Such systems execute a wide variety of applications ranging from productivity applications to schedule management applications.
Increasingly, cloud based content providers are utilized for managing schedule(s) associated with user(s), where the cloud based content providers have client interface(s) that automatically monitor information associated with the user(s). However, there are currently significant gaps when creating an event invitation with multiple choices for a time-period of the event. Personnel resources are unnecessarily consumed for creation and management of the event invitation. Lack of relevant event invitation creation schemes cause poor management of personnel resources when attempting to generate an event invitation with multiple time-period selections.

Providing multi-session event invitation


A method and apparatus for maintaining a substantially uniform mass flow of granular material out of a container. The apparatus includes a converging transition portion defining an input opening which converges to an output opening. The output opening has a transverse opening dimension (x). An elongated chimney portion is coupled to the converging transition portion at the output opening. The elongated chimney portion has a height dimension (y) The ratio of the transverse opening dimension (x) relative to the height dimension (y) is determined by an angle of repose of the granular material to maintain a substantially uniform mass flow of granular material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the storage of granular material such as animal feed, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for maintaining uniform mass flow of granular material out of a container.
2. Description of the Related Art
In various industries such as those involving agriculture and manufacturing, it is often necessary to store relatively large amounts of granular material. In agriculture, for example, it is often necessary to store substantial quantities of feed for animal husbandry operations. When used in such industries, the granular material is often initially loaded into an opening located at the top of a container which is used for temporary storage of the granular material. The granular material is then later removed from the container immediately prior to use through an opening located at the bottom of a funnel-shaped portion of the container.
Depending on the nature of the granular material that is being stored, there are often difficulties associated with using such containers. For example, granular material may often include a number of different constituents which tend to separate when loaded into a container. For example, feed for chickens generally includes a fine constituent which tends to be located in the center of the container while the container is being loaded, as well as a coarse constituent which tends to be located near the walls of the container when the container is being loaded. Because the constituents separate in this manner when they are loaded into the container, it is not generally possible to remove the granular material from the container with the same proportion of constituents as was present when the granular material was loaded into the container. In animal husbandry operations, this separation of the constituents of the feed may typically cause lower productivity. Accordingly, there is a need for substantially uniformly distributing the constituents of the granular material within the container.
In addition, granular material which is loaded into a container may not be evenly distributed within the container in that there may be a large variation in the height of the granular material around the uppermost region of the container. Not only does this reduce the effective storage capacity of the container, but the areas within the container which are not filled with granular material allow moisture to accumulate which tends to cause the granular material to degrade to various processes such as by the formation of mold. Accordingly, there is also a need for substantially evenly distributing the granular material within the container.
Moreover, granular material which is stored in the container may tend to absorb moisture at the lower funnel-shaped portion of the container during a rainfall. This generally occurs because the funnel-shaped portion of the container converges at an outlet portion and the flow of rain is thus routed directly to the outlet portion along the sides of the container. Again, this condition degrades the granular material, as well as clogs up the outlet portion. Accordingly, there is an additional need to divert the flow of rain away from the lower funnel-shaped portion of the container to maintain the lower funnel-shaped portion of the container in a substantially dry condition during a rainfall.
Still further, as the granular material is removed from the container at the lower outlet portion using a conventional boot and auger assembly, the granular material tends to unload unevenly and have a non-uniform mass flow. In worst case conditions, a side unloading condition may occur within the container, where the granular material is generally flowing out of the container more along one side of the container causing the slower flowing granular material to concentrate along a higher wall. This uneven distribution of granular material within the container may result in collar warpage or damage along the lower outlet portion and, in extreme circumstances, panels along the lower funnel shaped portion may split and give way under the uneven loading of the granular material. Furthermore, this type of unloading may also cause what is known as "bridging" of the granular material within the container where pockets or portions of the granular material are removed leaving a subsequent bridge of granular material which, over time, may fall or "feed crash" within the container, further causing potential structural problems to the container.
Various methods and devices have been developed in an effort to distribute granular material entering a container. As shown in FIG. 1, one particular type of device, generally known as a spreader, has been used for distributing grain within a grain bin. Such a spreader is typically located at the upper region of the grain bin and includes a slide which is rotated by a motor. As the granular material is delivered to the slide, the granular material flowing along the slide is distributed at various locations within the grain bin.
While such a spreader has been used generally successfully in distributing grain within a grain bin, there are nevertheless several disadvantages associated with such a spreader. For example, the use of a motor to rotate the slide necessarily increases the cost of the spreader. In addition, the use of a motor to rotate the slide tends to make the operation of the spreader susceptible to motor failure and therefore less reliable. Furthermore, it is not generally easy to determine whether or not the motor driving the slide has indeed failed thereby causing the slide not to rotate because the slide and the motor are generally hidden from view. Finally, such a spreader has generally only been associated with the distribution of grains in grain bins and has not generally been used to distribute animal feed in feed bins.

Method and apparatus for maintaining uniform mass flow of granular material out of a container


Systems and methods for integrating online and in-store shopping are disclosed. The systems include a cashier station located in a store. The cashier station has a register, a product ID input device, and a screen accessible to a customer at the cashier station. An online site configured to facilitate ecommerce transactions between users and the store is also provided. The cashier station is in communication with the online store whereby recommended products are presented to the customer on the screen in response to the input of a product ID at the cashier station allowing the customer to make additional related purchases from the online site contemporaneously with the in-store purchase.

Retail stores sell a large variety of products to customers. Many times these customers may be looking for multiple related products or such related products that may be available but the customer may not be aware of them.
For retailers, these related products present additional sales opportunities that can be lost in at least one of two ways. First, given limited shelf space and logistical support, not all related items are carried in the store. This means that even when the customer is aware that they have a need for the related product, they do not have the opportunity to purchase the product. Second, the customer may not be aware of the need of the related product at the time they make an in person purchase. In this case, even if in stock at the location, the customer may not purchase the related product.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide information to customers, at the point of sale, of items and products related to a product being purchased. There is yet a further need for systems and methods to provide information regarding related products.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Integrated online and in-store shopping experience


An escalator is arranged such that a first special step having a movable footplate capable of rising and falling is combined with a second special step adjacent to the upstream side of the first special step and having a projectable and retractable lift mechanism. The projectable and retractable lift mechanism supports the movable footplate of the first special step in part of a plurality of running steps provided endlessly in a line. When mounting a wheelchair, the movable footplate runs along the inclined path area with the movable footplate supported at the same height as the second special step by operating the lift mechanism in the horizontal path area of the travel path. The movable footplate ensures a rearward footplate dimension sufficient to carry the wheelchair. Accordingly, the wheelstops for the front wheels of the wheelchair are made to project, thereby better defining the wheelchair carrying position and improving the safety and shortening the time taken when mounting and transporting a wheelchair.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an escalator apparatus which can transport cars or wheeled conveyances, for instance prams or wheelchairs and the like, in addition to passengers. In particular, it relates to an escalator apparatus which is arranged with wheelstops for wheels of the cars such as prams or wheelchairs.
2. Description of the Related Art
For instance, an escalator apparatus described above is disclosed by Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-51956. The escalator disclosed the publication comprises wheelstops for rear wheels which wheelstops are provided in a position near to a back end of a movable footplate in a first special step in order to prevent a wheelchair from rolling off, and a wheel stop drive mechanism is provided as a means for moving the wheelstops for the rear wheels so as to project and retract in holes in the movable footplate of a first special step, guided by guides. Further one edge part of each of the wheelstops is formed fork-shaped, and the fork-shaped parts are constructed to project and retract from the first special step.
However, because first, second and third special steps assume a state whereby surfaces of all of an upper part of the footplates are at a uniform height and horizontal in a horizontal path area at a bottom of a travel path, and the wheelstops retract to a bottom of the special steps by the holes in the movable footplate, it is not clear where the wheelchair should be placed in this state.
Therefore, if the wheelchair is placed in a wrong position, there is a risk of it becoming extremely unstable as the rear wheels come to project above the movable footplate of the first special step from behind, or the wheelchair may be mispositioned on the first and second special steps and lean on the inclined path. Further as the wheelstops are formed fork-shaped and the fork-shaped parts are constructed to project and retract from the first special step, there are problems about strength such that it is easy to break and so on.
Moreover, if a carrying area of the wheelchair is not well defined, there are problems in that the operation of placing the wheelchair takes time, it is difficult to place the wheelchair while the escalator is continuing to operate, and it has not proved possible to provide for a reduction in the time taken to convey the wheelchair.
Further in the escalator as described above, a wheelstop projecting and retracting mechanism is completely separated from the wheelstop drive mechanism once the movable footplate has risen relative to a main step body under the support of the lift mechanism.
This is because the wheelstop projecting and retracting mechanism, which makes the wheelstops for the rear wheels move to project or retract in linked movement with the wheelstop drive mechanism, is mounted within the movable footplate, and the wheelstop drive mechanism, which obtains rotational drive force by bias from the main escalator structure, is mounted in the main step body which is the non-rising portion of the first special step in order to move the wheelstops for the rear wheels so as to project or retract.
In other words, a pinion of the wheelstop projecting and retracting mechanism is separated from a chain of the wheelstop drive mechanism.
In this separated state, there is the problem that the wheelstops for the rear wheels drop down due to running vibration and the like since the wheelstop projecting and retracting mechanism is free and the holding force on the wheelstops for the rear wheels is lost. A special-purpose holding mechanism is needed to prevent this.
Moreover, since the wheelstop drive mechanism within the main step body, which is the non-rising portion, is also independent and becomes free, a holding mechanism is also needed to prevent a holding pin, which meshes with a drive pinion, from becoming mispositioned due to running vibration or the like.
Consequently there is the problem that it is also necessary to provide two independent holding mechanisms in one of the special steps, which greatly complicates the construction.
Further, although the wheelstop projecting and retracting mechanism does separate and re-engage with the wheelstop drive mechanism, there is a possibility that if, for example, alignment is poor during re-engagement, the pinion may not mesh smoothly with the chain with the result that these two members may experience friction, motive force may not be transmitted smoothly, and the wheelstops for the rear wheels may not be able to move to project and retract properly.
Further, an escalator apparatus as another related art is disclosed by Early japanese Patent Laid Open Publication (Kokai) Sho. 61-178391.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, a laterally elongate pinion 100 is freely rotatably journalled within leading step 101 having a support plate 101a and a pair of left and right racks 102a and 102b mesh with the pinion 100 such that they can be alternately raised and lowered in the vertical direction. The pair of left and right racks 102a and 102b are provided with a respective pair of rollers 1033 and 103b such that the two racks 102a and 102b can be alternately raised and lowered. The pinion 100 is linked to racks 104a of engaging element 104 by means of gearwheel mechanisms such that they can be slid forward and backward. An operating lever 105 of the pinion 100 is vertically mounted on a support shaft 106 on lower truss 107. A stop switch 108 is provided beside the top end of the operating level 105 to enable driving of the escalator to be stopped.
Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 3 through 5, on conveying the wheelchair, by using a call button 109 provided at the level portion at the embarkation point to change over a switch 110, a drive device 111 is driven, with the result that a rack 111a rotates a pinion 112a. A bevel gear 112b of transmission shaft 113 of the pinion 112a therefore rotates the bevel gear 113a meshing therewith. When this happens, pinions 114a and 114b of rotary shaft 112 move racks 115a meshing therewith rearwards, causing engaging elements 115 that are unitary with the racks 115a to project rearwards and then stop. The engaging elements 115 are thus brought into engagement with a stop portion 116a of horizontal support mechanism 117.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, as moving steps 118 move along the inclined portion of guide rail 119, horizontal support mechanism 117 is extended upwards so that footplate 120 of a following step 120a is held horizontally at the same height as the leading step 101.
Since, as shown in FIG. 1, rotation of pinion 100 raises the rack 102a whereas the other rack 102b is in contrast lowered, the wheelchair can be operated in the ordinary condition without engaging elements 115 interfering with the operating level 105.
However, if for some reason the engaging element 115 is not effectively operated and the rack 102a is not raised, the engaging element 115 remains projecting rearwards with the result that the rack 102b strikes the operating lever 105. This turns the operating lever 105 rightwards about the support shaft 106, causing it to operate the stop switch 108, stopping operation of the escalator.
Escalator operation is also stopped at the getting-off point by operation of stop switch 108 in the same way.
However, in the escalator described above, the amount of extension or retraction of racks 102a and 102b is determined in accordance with the amount of operation of engaging elements 115 so if operation of the engaging elements 115 were to be halted midway, the racks 102a and 102b would also be arrested midway. Thus, the operation of operating lever 105 is not positive. In addition, there would be a risk of damaging adjacent moving steps. Overbalancing of the wheelchair might also be expected.


A method and apparatus for detecting a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud point of interest (POI), the apparatus comprising a 3D point cloud data acquirer to acquire 3D point cloud data, a shape descriptor to generate a shape description vector describing a shape of a surface in which a pixel point of a 3D point cloud and a neighboring point of the pixel point are located, and a POI extractor to extract a POI based on the shape description vector is disclosed.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to technology for computer graphics or computer vision.
2. Description of the Related Art
A point cloud is a set of data points in some coordinate system. In a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system, the data points may be defined by X, Y, and Z coordinates, and may represent an external surface of an object. Point clouds may be collected and processed by a depth camera or a three-dimensional (3D) scanner. In a field of computer vision and smart robotics technology, a point of interest (POI) detection algorithm of a 3D point cloud may be used for surface registration technology or object recognition technology.
POI detection algorithms may be characterized in terms of sparseness, distinctiveness, and repeatability. In detail, a number of POIs may be required to efficiently perform a description matching algorithm, each of the POIs may need to distinctively indicate information on a surface structure thereof, and the POIs may need to be repetitively detected under different data conversion conditions.

Method and apparatus for detecting point of interest (POI) in three-dimensional (3D) point clouds


A display panel and manufacturing method thereof, and electronic device are provided. The display panel comprises a flexible substrate, thin film transistor layer comprising a drain, anode layer, light-emitting layer, cathode layer and photoresist layer arranged sequentially in a stacked manner, wherein the anode layer and drain are electrically connected; the photoresist layer comprises a first photoresist layer, second photoresist layer and third photoresist layer arranged sequentially at intervals; all of the first, second and third photoresist layer are disposed on the surface of cathode layer; a first dielectric layer filling the space between the first and second photoresist layer, and a second dielectric layer filling the space between the second and third photoresist layer are included, and the first and second dielectric layer are used to absorb light incident from one side of photoresist layer away from cathode layer so as to improve contrast of the display panel.

When an electronic device is used outdoor, the display panel of the electronic device has a strong reflection on the sunlight, resulting in a low contrast of the electronic device. To improve the contrast of an electronic device, the usual way is to attach a layer of polarizer (POL) over the display panel. However, when the polarizer absorbs the external sunlight, the light emitted from the display panel is also absorbed by the polarizer by about 55%, thus the contrast of the electronic device not being improved significantly. Hence it would be desirable to provide a new display panel structure to improve the contrast of the display panel significantly.

Display panel and manufacturing method of display panel and electronic device

WUHAN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS SEMICONDUCTOR DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A process for making a stabilized aqueous zeolite suspension involving: (a) providing an aqueous zeolite suspension; (b) providing at least one nonionic sugar surfactant; (c) providing at least one electrolyte; and (d) adding the sugar surfactant and electrolyte to the aqueous zeolite suspension to form a stabilized aqueous zeolite suspension.

Zeolites, especially those of the zeolite A type, are commonly employed as builders in detergent compositions. They have largely replaced the use of the more conventional polyphosphates. Their advantages lie not only in their high calcium binding capacity, but also and in particular in their high ecotoxicological compatability.
Zeolites are typically manufactured from in the form of an aqueous suspension which may either be stored and marketed as such or may be subjected to spray drying. Zeolites have extremely poor solubility in water, so that suspensions of zeolites readily sediment. In the most favorable case, this leads to phase separation although, normally, considerable quantities of the solid sink to the bottom of the vessels in storage, harden and have to be subsequently removed, size-reduced and re-suspended which results in the expenditure of considerable amounts of time, effort and finances. In other cases, the viscosity of the suspensions increases to such an extent that transfer to another vessel or circulation by pumping is difficult, if not impossible, and in any event involves considerable product losses.
There has been no shortage of attempts in the past to stabilize aqueous zeolite suspensions in such a way that they remain stable in storage for a sufficient time and can be transported through pipes without blocking them.

Process for preparing zeolite slurries using a nonionic sugar surfactant and electrolyte


Phase-locked loop charge pump driven by low voltage input. In one aspect, a phase-locked loop circuit includes a phase frequency detector operating at a low voltage and providing low-voltage sourcing control signals and low-voltage sinking control signals at the low voltage. A charge pump operates at a high voltage and includes a sourcing control circuit coupled to the low-voltage sourcing control signals and selectively causing the charge pump to source the sourcing current to an output of the charge pump based on the low-voltage sourcing control signals. The charge pump also includes a sinking control circuit that receives the low-voltage sinking control signals and selectively causes the charge pump to sink the sinking current from the output of the charge pump based on the low-voltage sinking control signals.

Phase-locked loops (PLLs) are used extensively in electronic circuits to generate a signal that has a fixed relation to the phase of a reference signal. A PLL circuit raises or lowers the frequency of a controlled oscillator signal until it matches the reference signal in both frequency and phase. Phase-locked loops are widely used in electronic applications to, for example, generate stable frequencies, recover a signal from a noisy communication channel, or distribute clock timing pulses in digital logic designs.
In conventional PLL circuits, all PLL components operate at the same voltage supply level. Thus, an oscillator providing a reference signal, a phase frequency detector, a charge pump, low pass loop filter, voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), and frequency divider all may operate at, for example, 3.3 volts. However, in a more recent deep sub-micron process, the operating voltages of all the digital blocks can be reduced, e.g. to around 1 volt, to save power while achieving higher speed. These digital blocks can include the frequency divider, prescaler, phase frequency detector, VCO, and reference signal oscillator. A higher voltage, however, is still desired as the operating voltage for the charge pump to minimize jitter, noise, leakage, and linearity distortion, and to achieve a high tuning range for the VCO.
To allow the charge pump to operate at a higher voltage level, an open drain circuit or a cross-coupled voltage level shifter is typically used to convert the low voltage control signals from the phase frequency detector to a higher voltage level that controls the charge pump. However, the low speed performance of voltage level shifters may cause large jitter and noise in the PLL circuit. Likewise, an open drain circuit is a significant contributor of jitter and noise in the PLL. Other designs compromise the optimization by requiring that all components of the PLL circuit function at the same voltage level, either at the higher voltage or at the lower voltage.
Accordingly, a system and method that operates a charge pump in a PLL circuit at higher voltage while operating other components of the PLL circuit at a lower voltage without significantly increasing jitter and noise in the PLL circuit, would be desirable in many applications.

Fast-response phase-locked loop charge-pump driven by low voltage input


The present invention relates to agonists of the human bitter-taste receptors hTAS2R46, hTAS2R47 and hTAS2R50 and their role in bitter taste transduction. The invention also relates to methods for identifying molecules that modulate, e.g. suppress, or enhance hTAS2R46, hTAS2R47 and hTAS2R50 bitter taste transduction or bitter taste response.

Investigators have recently turned their attention to understanding the biological mechanisms of taste, and in particular bitter taste. For a review of the literature see, for example, Caicedo A. and Roper S D. (2001) Science 291: 1557-1560; Dulac C. (2000) Cell 100: 607-610; Kinnamon S. C. (2000) Neuron 25: 507-510; Lindemann B. (2001) Nature 413: 219-225; and Margolskee R F. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 277: 1-4.
Bitter taste is aversive, and as such provides humans with a mechanism of protection against poisonous substances, which are generally bitter-tasting compounds. More subtly, bitter-tastants also affect the palatability of food, beverages, thereby influencing human nutritional habits as is more fully discussed by Drewnowski in "The Science and Complexity of Bitter Taste", (2001) Nutr. Rev. 59: 163-169. They also affect the palatability of other ingestibles such as orally administered pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Understanding the mechanism of bitter taste transduction has implications for the food and pharmaceutical industries. If the bitter taste transduction pathway can be manipulated, it may be possible to suppress or eliminate bitter taste to render foods more palatable and increase patient compliance with oral pharmaceutics.
Taste transduction involves the interaction of molecules, i.e. tastants with taste receptor-expressing cells which reside in the taste buds located in the papillae of the tongue. Taste buds relay information to the brain on the nutrient content of food and the presence of poisons. Recent advances in biochemical and physiological studies have enabled researchers to conclude that bitter taste transduction is mediated by so-called G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs are 7 transmembrane domain cell surface proteins that amplify signals generated at a cell surface when the receptor interacts with a ligand (a tastant) whereupon they activate heterotrimeric G-proteins. The G-proteins are protein complexes that are composed of alpha and beta-gamma sub-units. They are usually referred to by their alpha subunits and classified generally into 4 groups: G alpha s, i, q and 12. The G alpha q type couple with GPCRs to activate phospholipase C which leads to an increase in cellular Ca2+. There are many Gq-type G-proteins that are promiscuous and can couple to GPCRs, including taste receptors, and these so-called "promiscuous" G-proteins are well known in the art. These G-proteins dissociate into alpha and beta-gamma subunits upon activation, resulting in a complex cascade of cellular events that results in the cell producing second messengers, such as calcium ions, that enable the cells to send a signal to the brain indicating a bitter response.
There is also anatomical evidence that GPCRs mediate bitter taste transduction: clusters of these receptors are found in mammalian taste cells containing gustducin. Gustducin is a G-protein subunit that is implicated in the perception of bitter taste in mammals see, for example, Chandrashekar, J. et al (2000) Cell 100: 703-711; Matsunami H. et al. (2000) Nature 404: 601-604; or Adler E. et al. (2000) Cell 100: 693-702. cDNAs encoding such GPCRs have been identified, isolated, and used as templates to compare with DNA libraries using in-silico data-mining techniques to identify other related receptors. In this manner it has been possible to identify a family of related receptors, the so-called T2R or TAS2R family of receptors, that have been putatively assigned as bitter taste receptors.
Humans are able to detect with a limited genetic repertoire of about 30 receptor genes thousands of different bitter compounds. Since their discovery in the year 2000 (Adler E. et al. (2000) supra; Chandrashekar J. et al. (2000) supra; Matsunami H. et al (2000) supra) only few mammalian TAS2Rs have been deorphanised, i.e. ligands, in particular agonists have been identified. The murine mTAS2R5 (Chandrashekar J. et al (2000) supra) and the rat rTAS2R9 (Bufe B. et al. (2002) Nature Genetics 32:397-401) respond to the toxic bitter substance cycloheximide, the mouse mTAS2R8 and the human hTAS2R4 respond to high doses of denatonium and, to a lesser extend, to 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil (Chandrashekar J. et al. (2000) supra), the human hTAS2R10 and hTAS2R16 respond selectively to strychnine and bitterglucopyranosides, respectively (Bufe B. et al (2002) supra). Although for some TAS2Rs a limited promiscuity (mTAS2R8, hTAS2R4) or specificity for a group of chemically related compounds (hTAS2R16) was reported, the relative selectivity of ligand recognition by the receptors published to date does, by far, not explain the enormous number of bitter tastants recognised by the mammalian gustatory system. There are several possible mechanisms conceivable to increase the number of tastants recognised by a limited number of taste receptor genes, the simplest way would be to have receptors which exhibit a broad tuning to a great number of structurally divergent ligands.
As stated before, thousands of different bitter compounds can elicit bitter taste. Consequently, not all bitter tasting substances can be prevented to elicit bitter taste by blocking only a small subset of receptors within the bitter taste receptor family. In order to carry out a method for isolating additional agonists or antagonists to complement already known ones, it is therefore necessary to deorphanize bitter taste receptors and gain insight in what particular agonists are targeting the receptors for which no agonists or antagonists are known. The knowledge about the receptor specificity for a given agonist is prerequisite to the implementation of a method to isolate structurally related agonists or antagonists which may be at least as potent in activating or suppressing the bitter taste receptor activity as the original compound and which may feature additional advantages such as lower toxicity, better solubility, improved stability and so forth. A bitter taste receptor agonist isolated by such method can furthermore be utilized to identify a respective antagonist for the same receptor. Furthermore, agonists and antagonists can be isolated and modified in such a way that they are capable of targeting a broader range of known bitter taste receptors with high affinity to achieve a more effective enhancement or suppression of bitter taste.
In addition to the deorphanization of the human bitter taste receptor hTAS2R50, the present inventors teach that the human bitter taste receptors hTAS2R46, hTAS2R47 and hTAS2R50, respond to the specific bitter compound, namely, andrographolide, amarogentin, antazoline and berberine chloride for hTAS2R46; andrographolide, amarogentin, artemorine, berberine chloride, brucine, camphor, and cascarillin for hTAS2R47; and andrographolide and amarogentin for hTAS2R50. Therefore, the disclosure of the present patent application allows the implementation of a method to isolate effective agonists or antagonists for particularly these receptors.

Methods of identifying agonists and antagonists of hTASR bitter taste receptors

Deutsches Institut fuer Ernaehrungsforschung


A semiconductor device includes a plurality of pads, a plurality of data input/output units connected with the plurality of pads and enabled in response to a plurality of enable signals, and a group programming unit suitable for grouping the plurality of pads into a number of pad groups in response to a mode register set (MRS) code and group information, and generating a number of groups of enable signals corresponding to the number of pad groups, wherein a number of groups of the data input/output units are sequentially enabled in response to respective groups of the enable signals.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor design technology, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device, a semiconductor system including the semiconductor device and a method for driving the semiconductor system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a semiconductor device includes a data input/output unit for stable data input/output operations. The data input/output unit plays the role of converting externally inputted data into a signal suitable for internal circumstances and converting internally outputted data into a signal suitable for external circumstances.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional semiconductor device.
Referring to FIG. 1, a semiconductor device 10 includes a plurality of pads DQ0 to DQ7 which are connected with an external controller (not shown), a plurality of data input/output units 11 which are one-to-one connected with the plurality of pads DQ0 to DQ7 and exchange a plurality of data INDATA<0:7> and OUTDATA<0:7> with the external controller through the plurality of pads DQ0 to DQ7, and a control unit 13 configured to generate a common enable signal EN for enabling the plurality of data input/output units 11.
Operations of the semiconductor device 10 will be described below.
When the control unit 13 activates the common enable signal EN, the plurality of data input/output units 11 are simultaneously enabled and simultaneously input/output the plurality of data INDATA<0:7> and OUTDATA<0:7> through the plurality of pads DQ0 to DQ7.
However, in such the semiconductor device 10, a concern may be caused in that crosstalk is likely to occur between the data inputted/outputted through adjacent pads among the plurality of pads DQ0 to DQ7. Crosstalk means a signal interference phenomenon that occurs between channels. In particular, crosstalk may occur when signals transition.
Moreover, in the semiconductor device 10, because the plurality of data input/output units 11 are simultaneously controlled by the common enable signal EN, unnecessary power consumption may result when inputting/outputting data through partial pads of the plurality of pads DQ0 to DQ7.

Semiconductor device, semiconductor system including the semiconductor device, and method for driving the semiconductor system


The invention is a device for representing changes in barometric pressure comprising an electronic barometric pressure sensor 2 and a digital differentiating circuit in which a differential quotient .DELTA.P/.DELTA.t is found which is connected to a display of the speed of the change in barometric pressure with mathematical sign and numerical figure. The electrical supply for said barometric pressure sensor 2 is obtained in cyclical intervals. The cyclically determined measured barometric pressure values are checked for plausibility, only the plausible measured barometric pressure values being used to find the differential quotient .DELTA.P/.DELTA.t.

Known from DE-PS 34 31 130 is a device of the aforesaid type that displays a speed of change in barometric pressure in terms of a numerical figure and direction. However, this device does not make independent stand-alone battery operation possible. High permanent current consumption is disadvantageous in an analog display comprising a magnetic coil measuring element. Furthermore, the pressure sensor also requires a lot of current. This makes it impossible to have continuous operations using battery-supplied power for several months.
The object of the invention is therefore to create a device of the aforesaid type that makes possible battery operation over several months.

Device for displaying change of barometric air pressure


Dual load path fastener systems, and methods for their use, are described herein. In one embodiment, a dual load path fastener system includes first and second fasteners. The first fastener has a first end portion, a second end portion spaced apart from the first end portion, and a hole extending through the first and second end portions. The second fastener is configured to extend through the hole in the first fastener with a third end portion of the second fastener protruding beyond the first end portion of the first fastener and a fourth end portion of the second fastener protruding beyond the second end portion of the first fastener. The fastener system of this embodiment further includes a spacer portion configured to support the third end portion of the second fastener in such a way that the third end portion is longitudinally supported independently of the first fastener.

Various types of mechanical fasteners are known for connecting parts together. Nut and bolt combinations are typically used when high strength and/or disassembly is required. Under certain circumstances, however, even high-strength nut and bolt combinations can fail. Such failure can occur, for example, because of material defects, corrosion, fatigue, stress, etc.
In a typical joint having one or more bolts, each bolt provides a single load path at its location. Consequently, bolt failure at one location can result in a total loss of strength at that particular location, which in turn can cause undesirable load redistribution. To avoid single-point failures, dual load path fastener systems can be used in those applications where structural redundancy is required.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of one type of dual load path fastener system 100 ("fastener system 100") configured in accordance with the prior art. The fastener system 100 includes an outer bolt 110 extending through a first part 101 and a second part 102. The outer bolt 110 threadably engages a nut 127. Tightening the nut 127 puts the outer bolt 110 in tension and clamps the first part 101 to the second part 102.
The fastener system 100 further includes an inner bolt 120 extending through a hole 121 in the outer bolt 110. The inner bolt 120 engages internal threads 116 in a first head portion 112 of the outer bolt 110. Tightening the inner bolt 120 puts it in tension and compresses a flange of a cap 118 between a tip portion 113 of the outer bolt 110 and a second head portion 122 of the inner bolt 120.
If the outer bolt 110 fails in shear, the inner bolt 120 will carry the load, thereby providing a redundant load path or "fail-safe" feature in shear. If the outer bolt 110 or the nut 127 fails in tension, however, the inner bolt 120 may not carry the load. Thus, the fastener system 100 may be "zero failure tolerant" in these failure modes. For example, if the nut 127 fails, this will—at the very least—result in a loss of preload at the bolt location. Similarly, if the first head portion 112 of the outer bolt 110 fails, this will also result in a loss of preload—if not a total loss of tension capability—at this location. Loss of preload can have a number of negative consequences, including load redistribution to adjacent fasteners. This can overload the adjacent fasteners and/or the mating parts, ultimately leading to part or system failure.


An atomizer including a gas exit, an outlet adjacent the gas exit, and a deflector for deflecting gas issuing from the gas exit over the outlet for drawing a substance to be atomized out from one outlet and atomizing the substance in the gas issuing from the gas exit characterised in that the deflector is movable between a first position in the path of the gas issuing from the gas exit for atomization and a second and non-atomizing position.

The present invention relates to atomizers and, in particular, to atomizers of the type which include a gas exit, at least one outlet in the region of the gas exit and a deflector for deflecting gas issuing from the gas exit across the at least one outlet whereby a substance to be atomized is drawn out of the at least one outlet and atomized. These atomizers atomize liquids or powders into the gas.
Most conventional atomizers of the above type operate continuously whether atomization is required or not. Strictly speaking, when such atomizers, frequently called nebulisers, are used in medical applications, atomization is only required during the inhalation phase of a breathing cycle so that a drug can be administered by deposition in the lungs. In practice a patient usually inhales for about 30 percent of the breathing cycle, consequently, use of a continuously operating atomizer results in a large proportion of the atomized drug being wasted.
Some designs of medical atomizer overcome such wastage by giving the patient a trigger to start the atomization when they begin to inhale. Such a trigger controlled type of atomizer is not satisfactory since the patient must coordinate inhalation with trigger operation.
In one conventional atomizer a gas duct leads gas under pressure to a gas exit, a reservoir for holding the substance to be atomized is formed around the base of the gas duct, and a sleeve placed around the gas duct defines a passageway through which the substance to be atomized may pass to at least one outlet. A fixed deflector in the form of a bar is disposed in line with the gas outlet so that gas issuing from the gas exit is deflected so as to pass over the outlet or outlets. The passage of gas over each outlet draws the substance to be atomised from the reservoir, through the passageway to each outlet. The deflected gas atomizes the substance, and atomized particles of the substance are carried away during the inhalation phase of the patient since the patient breathes air or gas in through the atomizer some of the drug is lost while the patient is not inhaling.
Atomizers are used in other applications. For example, powders or liquid may be sprayed from a jet, the liquid or powder being atomized and entrained by a propellant. In conventional sprays, operation is controlled by a valve for releasing propellant. When the valve is released, the spraying operation is stopped and some of the liquid or powder collects in the jet since insufficient propellant has been released. The collected spray either dries to block the jet or is propelled by a re-started spraying operation in large droplets. Where paint is being sprayed, this causes splatter and uneven deposition on a surface to be painted.
It is an object of this invention to reduce at least some of the above disadvantages of the above-mentioned prior art.
The present invention is defined in the appended claims.


A liquid crystal display includes: a liquid crystal panel; a plurality of lamps supplying light to the liquid crystal panel; external electrodes provided at both ends of the lamps; common electrodes including a plurality of electrode holders for fixing the external electrodes of the lamps in a surrounding manner and supplying power to the lamps; a first support side disposed on the external electrodes provided at the plurality of lamps and the common electrodes; and a common electrode support extending from the first support side to support the common electrodes and having a heat circulation passage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display and, more particularly, to a liquid crystal display capable of minimizing noise by preventing deformation of a common electrode made of a metal material and an external electrode of a lamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, currently, the applications for a liquid crystal display (LCD) are growing due to its characteristics that it is lighter, thinner, and driven at a low power consumption. Thus, the LCD is being commonly applied to mobile computers such as notebook computer, office automation equipment, audio/video equipment, or the like.
The LCD displays a desired image on its screen by controlling the amount of transmission of light according to a video signal applied to a plurality of control switch elements arranged in a matrix form.
The LCD includes a liquid crystal panel including a color filter substrate, an upper substrate, and a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, a lower substrate, and a liquid crystal layer filled therebetween, and a driver that supplies a scan signal and image information to the liquid crystal panel to operate the liquid crystal panel
Compared with a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or an LED (Light Emitting Diode), the LCD is not a self-emissive display device and thus does not emit by itself, so it requires a backlight assembly for providing light to the liquid crystal panel.
Light sources for generating light in the backlight assembly include a CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent lamp), an EEFL (External Electrode Fluorescent Lamp), the LED, or the like.
In general, the CCFL has been commonly used as a light source of the LCD, but the use of the CCFL has many problems. First, because an inverter needs to be connected to each CCFL in a one-to-one manner, there is a limitation in reducing the size of the LCD and making the LCD thinner. Second, the fabrication costs increase. Third, the luminance of each lamp varies according to an output voltage and frequency of a transformer installed at an output terminal of each inverter, so the luminance of a displayed screen image is not uniform.
Thus, recently, the EEFL is increasingly employed as the light source for the LCD, and research for the EEFL is actively ongoing.
The EEFL has such a structure that an electric field is formed in a glass tube via an external electrode formed on an external wall surface of both ends of the lamp to discharge a gas within the lamp. Compared with the CCFL, the EEFL can have a relatively long life span and obtain the uniform luminance because a plurality of external electrode fluorescent lamps can be connected in parallel through a single inverter.
The structure of the general LCD having the EEFL as a light source will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4b.
With reference to FIG. 1, the general LCD includes a liquid crystal panel 1 for displaying an image, a backlight assembly that supplies light to the liquid crystal panel 1, and an upper cover 7 and a lower cover 8 for receiving and fixing the liquid crystal panel 1 and the backlight assembly therein.
The backlight assembly includes lamps 2 that emit light, an optical sheet 9 positioned at an upper potion of the lamps 2 to increase light efficiency, first support sides 4 positioned at upper portions of both ends of the lamps 2, and second support sides 5 positioned at lower portions of both ends of the lamps 2.
Each lamp 2 includes a glass tube 2a in which phosphor is coated on an inner wall to emit light, and an external electrode 2b provided at both ends of the glass tube 2a.
In the general LCD, common electrodes 3 are mounted on the second support sides 5 to supply power to the external electrodes 2b of the lamps 2. The common electrodes 3 includes an electrode holder 3a contacting with the external electrodes 2b of the lamps 2 in a surrounding manner to fix the lamps 2 and supplying power to the lamps 2 and common units 3b having a two-bar shape and connected with both ends of the electrode holders 3a. Power supplied to the common electrodes 3 from the exterior is applied to the external electrodes 2b of the lamps 2 through the electrode holders 3a to form an electric field in the lamps 2, to thus allow the lamps 2 to emit light.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of common electrode supports 4a are provided on the first support sides 4. The plurality of common electrode supports 4a extend from an inner surface to come in contact with the common electrodes 3 to support and fix the common electrodes 3. The common electrode supports 4a are formed such that they have a width similar to the width of the lamps 2 of the first support sides 4 in a lengthwise direction so as to be in contact with the common units 3b having the two-bar shape at one time.
With reference to FIG. 3, the general LCD having such a configuration as described above has the following problem. Because the common electrode supports 4a serve as barriers barring between the lamps 2, heat generated from the lamps 2 is not circulated but kept in the narrow space, the temperature in the first and second support sides 4 and 5 goes up sharply when driven. Then, the common electrodes 3 made of a metal material and the external electrodes 2b of the lamps 3 expand according to the temperature increase, to frictionally contact with the first and second support sides 5 and 5 made of a plastic material to generate noise.
In addition, after the LCD is driven for a certain time period, when power is cut off, the common electrodes 3 and the external electrodes 2b of the lamps 2, which have been expanded by heat during the driving operation, are contracted to frictionally contact with the first and second support sides 4 and 5 to generate noise.
The problem will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4a and 4b.
FIG. 4a is a graph showing changes in the strength of noise according to the lapse of time based on a driving start time of the related art LCD as a reference, and FIG. 4b is a graph showing changes in the strength of noise according to the lapse of time based on a power cutoff time of the related art LCD as a reference after the LCD is driven for a certain time period.
With reference to FIG. 4a, when the related art LCD was operated (or driven), the detected noise level has a maximum value of about 39.5 [dB], which is a value that was measured at 481 seconds after the start of operation. Also, referring to FIG. 4b, when the power of the related art LCD was cut off after the LCD operated for a certain duration, the detected noise level has a maximum value of about 34.5 [dB], which is a value that was measured at 133 seconds after power cut off.
Thus, because the related art LCD generates the noise 39.5 [dB] and 34.5 [dB], which are sufficient to make the user uncomfortable, the user would feel stressed in using the related art LCD.


A method is provided for assembling a shaft having a metal matrix composite mid shaft and monolithic high strength alloy forward and aft shafts. The forward and aft shafts are each inertia friction welded to separate annular transition pieces which include a barrier layer operative to prevent the formation of intermetallic compounds. Special tooling is used to avoid applying shear stresses to the transition piece during welding. The welded forward and aft subassemblies are subsequently heat treated before inertia friction welding them to the mid shaft.

The present invention relates generally to gas turbine engines, and, more specifically, to rotors or drive shafts therein.
An aircraft gas turbine engine typically includes one or more drive shafts for transferring torque from one rotating component to another. For example, in a turbofan engine, the fan is driven by the low pressure turbine (LPT) by a first drive shaft, and the compressor is driven by the high pressure turbine (HPT) by a second drive shaft disposed concentrically around the first drive shaft.
The drive shafts must be formed of suitable high temperature, high strength materials for carrying loads during operation at elevated temperatures. Both shafts are subject to torsion loads as the turbines drive the corresponding fan and compressor. The pressure forces acting across the fan, compressor, and turbines place the corresponding drive shafts under tension during operation. The drive shafts are also subject to bending and gravity loads as the engine elastically deflects during aircraft movement.
Various forms of composite materials are being developed for use in such shafts for reducing the overall weight of the engine while maintaining suitable strength under the specific operating conditions, for example titanium metal matrix composites. However, shafts constructed from composite materials typically must include monolithic metallic end pieces at the required mechanical joints in the engine such as bolted flange joints or spline joints, which are used to connect the drive shafts to the other components of the engine.
These monolithic end pieces can not be bonded directly to the composite portions of the shaft, because this would result in the formation of intermetallic compounds at the interfaces between the dissimilar materials, causing brittleness and unpredictability in the joint properties. It is known to avoid the formation of intermetallic compounds by using a layered transition piece which incorporates a barrier material such as a niobium alloy.
These transition pieces have relatively lower strengths than the other components of a shaft. Therefore, the transition pieces must be processed in a manner to avoid any damage or weakening thereof, in order to preserve an adequate overall margin of strength in the completed shaft. Furthermore, in order to obtain high strength levels in the monolithic end pieces of the shaft, they must be properly heat treated, without subjecting the metal matrix composite components to excessive temperatures.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved gas turbine engine drive shaft having reduced weight while maintaining stiffness and strength at elevated temperature, and including suitable mechanical joints for connection with adjoining components.

Inertia welded shaft and method therefor


An air control device includes an air suction port, air discharge ports, and an air control system. The air suction port takes in air. The air discharge ports discharge the taken-in air. The air control system discharges the air through the air discharge ports alternately for respective preset times. An air control method includes: taking in air; and discharging the air alternately through air discharge ports for respective preset times.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to air control devices and an air control methods.
2. Related Art
A pneumatic drill driving device is known as a conventional hand tool (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-228049, for example). The pneumatic drill driving device is capable of applying a feed operation in a tool axis direction to a drill using air pressure. A drill driving device capable of this type of feed operation is also known as an air-feed drill unit. In implementing drilling work in use of a drill, it is difficult to discharge chips smoothly

Air control device and air control method


Superconducting detection coils for a superconducting quantum interference device are foraged on a flexible printed wiring film having a pair of opposed edges. The flexible printed wiring film is capable of being shaped into a cylinder by bringing the opposed edges toward each other. A superconducting wiring pattern is formed on the flexible printed wiring film and has at least one substantially U-shaped wiring portion. The U-shaped wiring portion forms at least two circular wiring patterns when the printed wiring film is shaped into a cylinder by bringing the opposed edges toward each other. The superconducting wiring pattern also has a first and a second electrode portion for connecting the circular wiring patterns to at least one superconducting quantum interference device. A resistor is electrically connected between the electrode portions of the superconducting wiring pattern.

The present invention relates to the structure of detection coils used in a magnetic sensor employing superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) which are applied to high-sensitivity magnetic sensors.
SQUIDs have been heretofore applied to detection of weak magnetic fields. Bobbin-shaped detection coils composed of superconducting wires are often used in SQUID fluxmeters.
FIG. 10 shows conventional first-derivative detection coils of the bobbin type. Shown are a bobbin 11, a superconducting coil wire 12, electrodes 13, and a damping resistor 14. The superconducting coil wire 12 is so arranged in a groove formed in the bobbin 11 that upper and lower coils are wound in opposite senses. The superconducting coil wire 12 is connected with the electrodes 13 which are connected with the damping resistor 14.
FIG. 11 shows the structure of conventional second-derivative detection coils of the bobbin type. Upper and lower coils are wound in the same sense. An intermediate coil is wound in the opposite sense with twice as many turns as the number of turns of the upper and lower coils. The wires of the first-derivative and second-derivative detection coils of the bobbin type are strands except for the circular portion of the coils so that magnetic flux is prevented from intersecting the wires. The first-derivative detection coil of the bobbin type detects the difference between the magnetic field signal detected by the upper coil and the magnetic field signal detected by the lower coil, i.e., the magnetic gradient is detected. The second-derivative detection coil of the bobbin type detects the difference between the magnetic field gradient detected by the upper and intermediate coils and the magnetic field gradient detected by the intermediate and lower coils. Therefore, the accuracy of the areas of the coils, the shape accuracy, the accuracy of the positional relation between them, the accuracy of the degree of the parallelism between them, and other factors affect the magnetic gradient sensitivity.
In the above-described conventional first-derivative detection coils of the bobbin type, the groove in the bobbin which accommodates the superconducting coil wire is required to be machined with high accuracy. Also, when the superconducting coil wire is laid, a triangular gap is formed at the boundary between each circular coil portion and strand. This makes it difficult to improve the accuracy of the areas of the coils, the shape accuracy, the accuracy of the positional relation between them, and the accuracy of the degree of the parallelism between them. As a result, the magnetic field gradient sensitivity and the reproducibility of the characteristics are deteriorated. Furthermore, the coils are difficult to manufacture, because high skill is needed for the manufacture. In addition, when the damping resistor is connected in parallel with the detection coils, it is difficult to connect the resistor directly to the detection coils. Therefore, the resistor has been connected close to the locations in which the coils are connected with the SQUID. Hence, the efficiency of the conventional devices has been low.

Magnetic field detection coils with superconducting wiring pattern on flexible film


A method and apparatus of a device that classifies a mesothelioma image is described. In an exemplary embodiment, the device segments the mesothelioma image into a region of interest that includes information useful for classification, and a background region, by applying a first convolutional neural network. In addition, the device tiles the region of interest into a set of tiles. For each tile, the device extracts a feature vector of that tile by applying a second convolutional neural network, where the features of the feature vectors represent local descriptors of the tile. Furthermore, the device processes the extracted feature vectors of the set of tiles to classify the image.

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a rare but highly lethal cancer. It is derived from the lining of the serous cavities, and is associated with asbestos exposure in 80% of cases. (Noonan, C. W. Environmental asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. Ann. Transl. Med. 5, 234, 2017; Lacourt, A. et al. Dose-time-response association between occupational asbestos exposure and pleural mesothelioma. Occup. Environ. Med. 74, 691-697, 2017). It can be latent for several decades and, although strict regulations regarding asbestos use have been put in place in Europe and the US, its incidence rate is still expected to increase over the next several years. (Robinson, B. W. S. & Lake, R. A. Advances in Malignant Mesothelioma. N. Engl. J. Med. 353, 1591-1603, 2005).
MM is an aggressive cancer primarily diagnosed on the basis of histological criteria. Current diagnosis is established by a pathologist through tissue biopsy, and patients are segregated according to the World Health Organization's 2015 classification into three subtypes: epithelioid MM (EMM), sarcomatoid MM (SMM), or biphasic MM (BMM), which contains a mix of both sarcomatoid and epithelioid components. This histological classification serves as the current best practice to predict patient outcome, and can be used to select therapeutic options. (Opitz, I. et al. A new prognostic score supporting treatment allocation for multimodality therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: A review of 12 years' experience. J. Thorac. Oncol. 10, 1634-1641, 2015; Kindler, H. L. et al. Treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma: American society of clinical oncology clinical practice guideline. J. Clin. Oncol. 36, 1343-1373, 2018).
Median overall survival across all mesothelioma patients ranges from 8 to 36 months. EMM patients have the most favorable prognosis, with a median survival of 16 months, followed by BMM and then SMM patients, who have the worst prognosis, with a median survival of five months. (Yap, T. A., Aerts, J. G., Popat, S. & Fennell, D. A. Novel insights into mesothelioma biology and implications for therapy. Nat. Rev. Cancer 17, 475-488, 2017). However, current histological criteria for diagnosing and subtyping MM are associated with significant inter-observer variability between pathologists, which in many cases leads to reduced predictive performance and sub-optimal patient care. (Galateau-Salle, F. et al. New Insights on Diagnostic Reproducibility of Biphasic Mesotheliomas: A Multi-Institutional Evaluation by the International Mesothelioma Panel From the MESOPATH Reference Center. J. Thorac. Oncol. 13, 1189-1203, 2018). Reproducibility issues, as well as the provisional introduction of new subtypes, call for the establishment of new methods to identify predictive biomarkers consistently associated with survival. (Brcic, L., Vlacic, G., Quehenberger, F. & Kern, I. Reproducibility of malignant pleural mesothelioma histopathologic subtyping. Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. 142, 747-752, 2018; Hmeljak, J. et al. Integrative Molecular Characterization of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. Cancer Discov. CD-18-0804 (2018). doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-18-0804; Shrestha, R. et al. BAP1 Loss Predicts Therapeutic Vulnerability in Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma. bioRxiv,2018 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/243477).

Systems and methods for mesothelioma feature detection and enhanced prognosis or response to treatment


Foldable strollers with removable seats and related methods are disclosed herein. An example stroller disclosed herein a wheeled frame, a receiver coupled to the frame, and a seat. The seat includes a mount, a lock disposed in the mount; and a handle having an extended positon and a retracted position relative to the seat. The lock is to move from a first position to a second position when the mount is disposed in the receiver to removably couple the seat to the frame, and the lock to move from the second position to the first position to release the seat from the receiver when the handle moves from the retracted position to the extended position.

Known strollers include a frame to support one or more seats and/or accessories (e.g., a basket).
The figures are not to scale. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts. As used in this patent, stating that any part (e.g., a layer, area, or plate) is in any way positioned on (e.g., located on, disposed on, or formed on, etc.) another part, means that the referenced part is either in contact with the other part, or that the referenced part is above the other part with one or more intermediate part(s) located therebetween. Stating that any part is in contact with another part means that there is no intermediate part between the two parts.

Foldable strollers with removeable seats and related methods


A cutterhead for a peripheral milling machine including a cutterhead body including a generally cylindrical portion and a plurality of circumferential, spaced and offset blade unit mounting cavities extending into the cutterhead body from the periphery of the cylindrical portion for receiving a blade unit. The cutterhead further includes a plurality of blade units each having at least one cutting edge and means for removably securing each of the removable blade units in the corresponding blade unit mounting cavity. The cutting edge of each of the blade units is disposed to align with the cutting edge of each of the other blade units in adjacent mounting cavities to form a substantially helical, stepped blade row when the blade units are secured to the cutterhead body.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cutterheads for peripheral milling machines, which includes surfacers, planers, molders, joiners and similar machines, and, more particularly, to a substantially helical, stepped blade row cutterhead having removable blade units.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The present invention relates to improvements in cutterheads, particularly cutterheads such as those shown in the applicant's commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,074,737, 5,002,104, 5,653,275, 5,603,365, 5,647,416, and 5,738,156, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Helical cutterheads for peripheral milling machine that have particular pitch arrangements reduce the noise generated by the cutterhead while planing a workpiece. These cutterheads generally have a plurality of segmented cutterhead inserts, each of which includes a cutting blade mounted in cooperating or receiving grooves in the cutterhead body. In a typical arrangement, the cutterhead inserts span about one inch along the cutterhead length. The cutterhead inserts are securely mounted in the grooves to form substantially continuous blade rows. The contour of the actual cutting edge of the blade rows preferably follows the contour of the helical groove in the cutterhead.
In one embodiment described in the above patents, the cutterhead inserts have carbide cutting blades brazed or welded to them. The carbide blade, after brazing to the cutterhead insert, is subsequently ground to obtain a helical geometry in keeping with the entire helix of the cutterhead. When the cutting blade is worn out, the entire cutterhead insert must be replaced or returned to a tool shop for re-tipping and regrinding.
In the prior art cutterheads, the brazing method of attachment limits the materials that can be used as the cutting blades to those that can withstand brazing, such as conventional carbide. However, more advanced cutting materials including diamonds, ceramics, coated materials, high cobalt alloys, etc. would be difficult to braze and impractical to use as the entire cutterhead insert. The other patents teach various ways to provide removable blade units to in order to eliminate the need for brazing and simplify the re-tipping process, which requires a high degree of skilled labor.
Thus, there still remains a need for an improved cutterhead that permits other blade materials to be used to form the cutting edge while, at the same time, reduces maintenance by eliminating regrinding and providing for simple blade unit replacement as they are worn or damaged.

Substantially helical, stepped blade row cutterhead having removable blade units


Systems and methods that calculate and display reservoir properties are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of displaying field development opportunities includes receiving production data including production attributes for a plurality of wells, receiving three-dimensional model data including model attributes from one or more fields, cross-linking the production data and the three-dimensional model data, and displaying a graphical user interface. The graphical user interface includes a two-dimensional view of a selected field and a plurality of graphs, each graph of the plurality of graphs including a plurality of bins. Each graph of the plurality of graphs corresponds to a reservoir property. Each bin of the plurality of bins corresponds to a range of values along one of the first axis and the second axis. The plurality of graphs are arranged within the graphical user interface such that the plurality of bins are aligned with one another.

Oil and gas companies may annually update a business plan that is used for budgeting forecasts and resources allocation. This process may involve identifying areas of development where future wells will be drilled. Three-dimensional models of oil and/or gas fields may be used to calculate hydrocarbon volumes to identify prospective areas for development. However, quantifying hydrocarbon volumes through three-dimensional models is a challenging and cumbersome process. Conventionally, a user needs to predefine areas, rules and logics to perform a single volume calculation. This process needs to be repeated if volume calculations are needed for a different area or logics.

Systems and methods to identify and quantify field development opportunities through integration of surface and sub-surface data


An ostomy pouch includes an outer wall (12) having an inlet opening (24) and a filter (20), the outer wall defining an interior volume (14), an internal wall structure (16) disposed within the interior volume, a one-way valve (22) connected to the internal wall structure, and a path (18) formed by the internal wall structure, the path having an opening (28) at one end and the one-way valve at another end, wherein the filter is positioned within the path.

The following description relates to an ostomy appliance, and in particular, an ostomy bag or pouch having an internal structure forming a path configured to direct liquid and/or solid waste away from a filter.
An ostomy appliance or system is a medical device or prosthetic that provides a means for collecting waste from a stoma typically created as a result of a surgical procedure to divert a portion of the colon or small intestine. One type of ostomy appliance is an ostomy pouch system that may be attached to an ostomate around the stoma or the peristomal area.
An ostomy bag or pouch includes an opening configured to receive the stoma so that liquid or solid bodily waste discharged from the stoma may be collected within the pouch. The pouch also includes a coupling ring to allow the pouch to be secured to the ostomate, for example, by way of a corresponding coupling ring adhered to the patient. Further still, some known pouches include a filter disposed in a wall. The filter is typically located nearly opposite to the opening or coupling ring on the pouch. Thus, when bodily waste, such as stool, is introduced into the pouch, the waste may come into contact with and potentially clog the filter.
Some ostomy bags include features designed to direct bodily waste away from the filter. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,623 discloses an ostomy pouch having a deodorizing gas filter. The pouch includes an interior barrier wall that divides the interior of the pouch into first and second chambers, and the filter located in the second chamber. The barrier wall operates to block passage of solids and most liquids from the first chamber to the second chamber. A vent is provided in the barrier wall to permit gas flow from the first chamber to the second chamber. A filter protecting panel in the second chamber directs the gas along a circuitous route as the gas travels from the vent to the outlet and filter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,800 discloses an ostomy bag having an inlet at a first side and a gas-discharging vent at a second side. A deodorizing filter is disposed in communication with the gas-discharging vent. An intermediate wall is disposed between the first side and second side, made of a liquid-impermeable material, and divides a space within the bag into two regions. The intermediate wall includes fluid inlets that allow for gases to pass from the region where waste is received in the pouch to the region where the gas-discharging vent and deodorizing filter are positioned.
However, in conventional ostomy pouches, such as those described above, air flow within the pouch and to the filter is restricted by the intermediate barriers. In addition, liquid and/or solid waste contents (i.e., the bodily waste) stored in the pouch may backflow through vents or fluid flow paths formed in an intermediate barrier. As a result, the waste contents may block the vents, and potentially, the filter. Further, the intermediate barriers and other structures may be complex and require additional material, manufacturing steps, labor, costs and assembly time.
Another ostomy bag, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,764,716, includes multiple non-return valves configured to prevent or limit back flow of bodily waste within the pouch to the filter. However, such an ostomy bag does not have structure defining a path to direct waste away from a filter. In addition, such an ostomy bag having multiple non-return valves may be complex, time consuming and costly to manufacture.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an ostomy bag or pouch configured to direct solid and/or liquid bodily waste away from a filter while allowing sufficient airflow within the bag or pouch to the filter.


A work vehicle includes a delivery system with a run. The run includes an upstream flow structure having an inlet that is configured to receive metered commodity and a suction generator structure with a flow passage that is in fluid communication with the inlet. The flow passage includes a venturi profile with a restricting section and an expanding section. Furthermore, the run includes a downstream flow structure configured to receive the metered commodity via the flow passage and an airstream that conveys the metered commodity in a downstream direction through the downstream flow structure. A compressed air source is configured to provide pressurized air through the flow passage to create suction to suck the metered commodity away from the metering system and toward the downstream flow structure.

Seeding work vehicles, such as air carts/seeders and other seeding devices, are configured for applying seed, fertilizer, and/or other particulate commodities to a field. The work vehicle may be operatively connected to tilling equipment for applying the commodity under the surface of the soil.
Seeding work vehicles typically include one or more tanks and a metering system that meters out a predetermined quantity of the commodity from the tank as the work vehicle moves across the field. These vehicles often include a delivery system for delivering the commodity to one or more row units for delivery to the soil.

Commodity delivery system for work vehicle with venturi suction generator


An adjustable clamping mount for cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices has a telescoping clamp, a clamp support arm, and a tightening mechanism. The telescoping clamp has two telescoping arms connecting two clamp halves, allowing the clamp to grip mobile devices of practically any size. An attachment clip of the clamp support arm is intended and shaped for attaching to an airplane tray table. The tightening mechanism allows the telescoping clamp and the clamp support arm to be secured in any desired angle relative to each other.

More and more people are using their mobile phones (which are getting larger) and tablets (which are getting smaller) to watch TV shows and movies on planes. People typically are either holding the device in their hand for the entire flight, or putting it on some kind of stand on the tray table and then looking downward the whole time which can cause neck strain. The inventor thought that there must be some device on the market that could attach onto the back of the seat and alleviate this problem.
Turns out, there are not as many options as one would think. Most of them are made for a specific device, so you can't adjust it to accommodate various devices. Other products were large or complicated, or expensive.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mount for mobile devices which is easy to use, can fold for portability, can accommodate any size mobile device, and can be used to conveniently watch media on airplanes.

Adjustable clamping mount for cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices


A speaker enclosure and method of building same is provided for redirecting standing waves outside the enclosure. The enclosure includes an exterior and an interior comprised of a body having six interior surfaces defining the interior. One of the surfaces has a speaker opening and another of the surfaces has a tuned port opening and defines four corners opposite the speaker opening. An element having an acoustically reflective surface faces the interior and is positioned in a plane that intersects and is inclined with respect to each of the interior surfaces that form the corner. A handle system that includes an attachment means is mounted to the exterior of the enclosure. A rotatable and detachable handle is mounted to the attachment means.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to loudspeakers for use in audio systems, and more particularly, to a speaker enclosure and method of building same for overcoming standing wave phenomena by eliminating the generation of standing waves within the enclosure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Eliminating low frequency sound waves generated inside speaker enclosures is an important focus of research and discovery for improving sound quality generated by speaker systems. Drivers positioned within speaker enclosures generate low frequency sound waves into the enclosure which reflect multiple times to create resonances. Resonances are peaks and dips in sound pressure levels that lack coherency and direction, causing sound to be altered. These resonances are often called standing waves and are the result of modes of vibration associated with resonance in extended objects like strings and air columns having characteristic patterns.
Standing waves have a negative impact on low and low-mid frequency integrities and a variety of commonly known measures are available to lessen the standing waves negative effects. Conventional approaches attempt to eliminate standing waves by stuffing the speaker enclosure, for example a bass chamber, with absorption and/or dampening materials. The materials may include fiberglass insulation, foam rubber, cloth, felt or spun wool. The energy created by the standing waves is then dissipated into in dampening material.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a speaker assembly having an enclosure for mounting a low-range speaker driver therein and method for eliminating the standing waves generated by the driver by redirecting the waves to exit the enclosure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a speaker enclosure having an interior defining at least four interior corners wherein at least one corner contains an element mounted thereto having an acoustically reflective surface.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the acoustically reflective surface within the interior of the enclosure in a plane that intersects and is inclined with respect to each of the interior surfaces that form the corner for redirecting the standing waves and utilizing the energy they create, rather than conventional approaches which attempt to absorb the energy.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tuned port within the body of the speaker enclosure for allowing standing waves redirected from the acoustically reflective surface to exit therethrough.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a speaker assembly that combines multiple drivers within an enclosure (for example, subwoofers, woofers, mid-high range drivers, and tweeters) for providing low-range, mid-range and/or high-range speaker sound.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multiple driver speaker assembly having more than one time-aligned chamber body, including a high-range frequency chamber adjacent a low-range frequency chamber within a speaker enclosure, wherein each chamber body has a front wall positioned in different plane.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multiple driver speaker assembly wherein the front wall of the high frequency chamber is recessed within the enclosure as compared to the front wall of the low frequency chamber in order to create a horn lens effect to enhance the dispersion and throw over distance of the sound created.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a speaker enclosure capable of providing more power and increased efficiency for delivering a more natural sound without the need for including dampening materials therein.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a speaker enclosure capable of increasing the efficiency of the amplification of sound which allows for a greater volume of sound to be created with lesser electric power required.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a speaker enclosure which improves the value of sonic levels (decibels) and sonic accuracy (frequency response).
It is another object of the present invention to provide a higher level of acoustical integrity within a speaker enclosure, thereby eliminating the need for resistors within complex crossover networks.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a detachable handle system mounted to the exterior of the body of the enclosure which does not invade the interior or diminish the acoustical integrity of the enclosure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a handle that rotates 360 degrees and locks in a vertical position adjacent the exterior of the enclosure for enabling a user to lift the enclosure without altering the vertical orientation of the enclosure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a handle capable of locking in a plurality of positions when the enclosure is orientated horizontally for serving as an articulating leg supporting the enclosure.

Speaker enclosure and method for eliminating standing waves therein


A wheel hub for attaching to a vehicle includes a hydraulic engine received in a hub shell and attached or secured to the vehicle, for allowing the hub shell to be rotated relative to the hydraulic engine and the vehicle. The hydraulic engine includes a rotatable spindle, and a coupling device coupled between the spindle of the hydraulic engine and the hub shell, to allow the hub shell to be driven or rotated by the hydraulic engine. A plate and a casing are rotatably received in the hub shell, to rotatably support the hydraulic engine in the hub shell with the plate and the casing. A directional control device may be used to control rotational movements between the spindle of the hydraulic engine and the hub shell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wheel hub, and more particularly to a wheel hub having a hydraulic driving mechanism for driving wheels of cycles or vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical wheel hubs comprise a wheel axle attached or secured to cycles or vehicles, and a hub shell rotatably attached onto the wheel axle, and secured to wheels of the cycles or vehicles, for rotatably coupling or attaching the wheels to the cycles or vehicles with the wheel axle.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,551 to Chi, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,121 to Hsieh disclose two of the typical wheel hubs each also comprising a hub shell rotatably attached onto a wheel axle which is attached or secured to the cycles or vehicles, for rotatably coupling or attaching the wheels to the cycles or vehicles with the wheel axle.
However, the typical wheel hubs do not include any driving devices or mechanisms to drive or to rotate the wheels and the hub shells relative to the wheel axles. Normally, the typical wheel hubs include a unidirectional driving device or mechanism disposed therein to control the wheel to rotate relative to the cycle or vehicle in one direction only.
Typical motor cycles, vehicles, trains, trucks, etc. are rotated or driven by motors or engines. Recently, a hydraulic engine has been developed and attached to the motor cycles, the vehicles, the trains, the trucks, or the like, for driving the vehicles, instead of typical motors or engines. One example of the hydraulic engines has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,099 to Mori et al.
However, the typical vehicles may not be driven without the typical motors or engines and the hydraulic engines, and both the typical motors or engines and the hydraulic engines may occupy a great volume of the vehicles.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional wheel hubs for cycles or vehicles.