An instrument for performing a medical procedure includes a drive shaft, a holding clutch, a drive clutch, and an actuator. The holding clutch only allows advancement of the drive shaft, while the drive clutch transfers an advancement force from the actuator to the drive shaft. The dual clutch system allows a lever to be used as the actuator so that a user can generate large actuation forces manually (and optionally remotely) without significant physical effort. This capability can beneficially improve the usability and effectiveness of percutaneous surgical systems, such as those for vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty.

For many individuals in our aging world population, undiagnosed and/or untreatable bone strength losses have weakened these individuals' bones to a point that even normal daily activities pose a significant threat of fracture. In one common scenario, when the bones of the spine are sufficiently weakened, the compressive forces in the spine can cause fracture and/or deformation of the vertebral bodies. For sufficiently weakened bone, even normal daily activities like walking down steps or carrying groceries can cause a collapse of one or more spinal bones. A fracture of the vertebral body in this manner is typically referred to as a vertebral compression fracture. Other commonly occurring fractures resulting from weakened bones can include hip, wrist, knee and ankle fractures, to name a few.
Fractures such as vertebral compression fractures often result in episodes of pain that are chronic and intense. Aside from the pain caused by the fracture itself, the involvement of the spinal column can result in pinched and/or damaged nerves, causing paralysis, loss of function, and intense pain which radiates throughout the patient's body. Even where nerves are not affected, however, the intense pain associated with all types of fractures is debilitating, resulting in a great deal of stress, impaired mobility and other long-term consequences. For example, progressive spinal fractures can, over time, cause serious deformation of the spine ("kyphosis"), giving an individual a hunched-back appearance, and can also result in significantly reduced lung capacity and increased mortality.
Until recently, treatment options for vertebral compression fractures, as well as other serious fractures arid/or losses in bone strength, were extremely limited—mainly pain management with strong oral or intravenous medications, reduced activity, bracing and/or radiation therapy, all with mediocre results. Because patients with these problems are typically older, and often suffer from various other significant health complications, many of these individuals are unable to tolerate invasive surgery. In addition, to curb further loss of bone strength, many patients are given hormones and/or vitamin/mineral supplements—again with mediocre results and often with significant side effects.
In an effort to more effectively and directly treat vertebral compression fractures, minimally invasive techniques such as vertebroplasty and, subsequently, kyphoplasty, have been developed. Both techniques involves the percutaneous injection of a flowable reinforcing material, usually polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA—commonly known as bone cement), into a fractured, weakened, or diseased vertebral body. Shortly after injection, the liquid filling material hardens or polymerizes, desirably supporting the vertebral body internally, alleviating pain and preventing further collapse of the injected vertebral body.
In a vertebroplasty procedure, a needle is inserted directly into a vertebral body, and the bone cement is dispensed from the needle. Because the liquid bone cement naturally follows the path of least resistance within bone, and because the small-diameter needles used to deliver bone cement in vertebroplasty procedure typically require either high delivery pressures to ensure that the bone cement remains within the already compromised vertebral body is a significant concern in vertebroplasty procedures.
Kyphoplasty addresses this issue by first creating a cavity within the vertebral body (e.g., with an inflatable balloon to enable the procedure to be performed percutaneously) and then filling that cavity with bone filler material. The cavity provides a natural containment region that minimizes the risk of bone filler material escape from the vertebral body. An additional benefit of kyphoplasty is that the creation of the cavity can also restore the original height of the vertebral body, further enhancing the benefit of the procedure.
In both vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures (as in any procedure in which filler material is delivered percutaneously to a target location in a body), the ability to apply higher pressures to the filler material can beneficially enhance the safety, efficacy, and/or flexibility of the procedure. For example, the use of higher viscosity bone cements can reduce the likelihood of extravasation, and the use of smaller diameter delivery tools (e.g., cement delivery needles or nozzles) can minimize trauma to the patient and provide greater placement flexibility.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide surgical tools and techniques that can generate high pressures for use in surgical procedures.


Apparatus and methods are provided for a welding-type power system that includes an engine configured to drive an electric generator to provide power to a power output, wherein a power signal is applied to the power output. A sensor monitors the power signal, and a controller determines a change in the power signal based on a feedback signal received from the sensor, and controls the engine to start or stop operation in response to the change in the power signal.

Conventional welding-type power supplies provide power for welding-type tools. Some such power supplies are coupled to a fossil fuel-powered engine that drives an electric generator. In some cases, the engine continues to operate even when no power is being drawn from the system, thereby wasting fuel, increasing wear on the engine, and adding exhaust to the environment. A system that can limit engine operation when no power is being drawn is therefore desirable.

Methods and apparatus for automatic engine control


The present invention relates to a method for stabilising the operation of a voltage controlled oscillator driven by a phase locked loop, the voltage controlled oscillator delivering an RF signal and receiving through at least one spurious path a harmonic component of a frequency equal or proximate to that of the RF signal, capable of disturbing its operation by injection pulling. According to the present invention, the method comprises a step of injecting into the voltage controlled oscillator an injection pulling compensation signal, the phase and the amplitude of which are adjusted so as to neutralise the effects of the spurious harmonic component. Application particularly to phase modulation IQ circuits in radiotelephony.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to voltage controlled oscillators or VCOs.
The present invention relates more particularly to an RF circuit comprising a voltage controlled oscillator delivering an RF signal, a phase locked loop to control the voltage controlled oscillator, a modulation circuit receiving the RF signal and delivering a modulated signal comprising at least one RF harmonic component capable of disturbing the voltage controlled oscillator by injection pulling.
2. Description of the Related Art
In radio frequency circuits using VCOs, the performances of the VCOs are deteriorated by leaks of harmonic signals, due to "injection pulling" also known as "injection locking".
The present invention aims to remove, or at least to reduce, the injection pulling in the VCOs.
For a better understanding, FIG. 1 shows a classical application of a VCO in the area of radiotelephony. In this Figure a circuit RFCT comprising a VCO, a circuit forming a phase locked loop or PLL circuit and a modulation circuit TXCT can be distinguished.
The VCO delivers to the modulation circuit TXCT a voltage V1 the frequency F1 of which is controlled by the PLL circuit. For that purpose, the PLL circuit comprises a divide-by-N frequency divider DIVN that receives the voltage V1 at input and that delivers a signal of frequency F1/N to one input of a phase comparator PCOMP. The phase comparator receives a reference frequency FREF at another input. This frequency FREF is, for example, delivered by a divide-by-M divider DIVM the input of which is linked to a quartz oscillator. The output of the comparator delivers a control signal Vcont that is applied to one control input of the VCO through a loop filter LOOPF having a determined bandwidth. The signal V1 is therefore frequency and phase controlled and its frequency F1 is equal to N/M*FREF.
Here the circuit TXCT is a data transmission circuit by phase modulation IQ (quadrature modulation PM) provided for a mobile telephone for example.
The circuit TXCT receives an analog signal Sx and the signal V1 from the VCO at input, and delivers a signal RFSx intended to be applied to an RF antenna, that is phase modulated by means of two quadrature signals I and Q.
The circuit TXCT comprises a divide-by-K divider DIVK the input of which receives the signal V1 and the output of which delivers a modulation PM carrier FRF, FRF being equal to F1/K, K generally being equal to 2 or to 4. The signal Sx is digitised by a converter ADC, then it is applied to an encoder modem CODEM then is applied again to a processor IQGEN. The processor IQGEN delivers, in a baseband of frequency FBB, phase I and quadrature Q signals. The signal I is applied to one input of a mixer IMIX through an amplifier IAMP, and the signal Q applied to one input of a mixer QMIX through an amplifier QAMP. The mixer IMIX receives the carrier FRF at another input and the mixer QMIX receives the carrier FRF phase-shifted by 90° at another input, delivered by a phase shifter DPH. The outputs of the mixers IMIX, QMIX are applied to an adder IQAD that delivers the modulated signal RFSx. The signal RFSx is applied to an output amplifier RFAMP the output of which forms the output of the transmission circuit TXCT.
The signal Sx generally contains data to be transmitted, such as a coded voice for example, and has a spectrum of frequencies representative of the modulation schema provided for by the standard implemented (such as GMSK in GSM for example). Considering, as an example, that the signal Sx is a single tone, the circuit IQGEN then delivers two pure quadrature sine curves I=cos (FBB) and Q=sin (FBB). The result of the phase modulation IQ is, in this case, a single tone of frequency FRF+FBB the image component FRF−FBB of which is removed by the quadrature modulation, and the carrier FRF of which is also removed.
Due to imperfections in the modulation circuit, or "non-linearity", the output signal comprises in addition to the wanted component H1 of frequency FRF+FBB, harmonics H2, H3, H4, . . . . At least one of these components is proximate to the oscillation frequency F1 of the VCO. It is the first harmonic H1 (wanted component) when the divider DIVK does not exist or has a division value equal to 1 (K=1), the second harmonic H2 when the divider DIVK is a divide-by-2 divider (K=2) or the fourth harmonic H4 when the divider DIVK is a divide-by-4 divider (K=4). When K=2, the frequency of the second harmonic H2 is in fact equal to 2FRF+2FBB (i.e., F1+2FBB) and is very proximate to the center frequency F1 of the VCO as the frequency of the baseband FBB is low before the carrier FRF, generally in the order of a few Gigahertz. Similarly, when K=4, the fourth harmonic H4 has a frequency of 4FRF+4FBB (i.e., F1+4FBB) that is proximate to the center frequency of the VCO.
It is well known that the involuntary injection of this harmonic component into the core of the VCO, by various spurious paths, deteriorates the performances of the VCO.
Various methods are known to overcome this disadvantage.
One known method involves producing the VCO on a substrate distinct from the one bearing the phase modulation IQ circuit TXCT. This substrate is arranged in a sheathed case and comprises means for connecting to the circuit TXCT that are equipped with insulating barriers preventing the spurious harmonics sent by the circuit TXCT from "rising" to the core of the VCO. These barriers generally comprise filters, "balun" type connectors, insulators, buffer circuits . . . and must be provided in all the conduction paths linking the VCO to the circuit TXCT, including the power supply paths. This solution is however complex to implement and increases the cost price of the RF circuits, which is passed on at the end of the chain to the selling price of the mobile telephones.
Other methods are based on providing a phase modulation IQ circuit architecture in which the VCO is quite insensitive to the spurious harmonics.
Therefore, the heterodyne systems use several VCOs and several cascade-arranged mixers, and a premodulation stage using an intermediate frequency IF. In the output stage, the frequency of the modulated signal is clearly offset in relation to the natural frequency of the VCO, and the harmonics capable of interfering with the VCO are harmonics and/or mixing products of high rank that are greatly attenuated.
However, the disadvantage of the heterodyne systems is that they require the use of at least two VCOs, as well as additional mixers and filters, and are therefore costly and bulky.
Another solution to counter the injection pulling includes providing a copy loop in the VCO. This copy loop allows harmonic frequencies to be obtained that are offset in relation to the center frequency of the VCO, and are located outside its bandwidth (determined by the loop filter). However, this solution also requires using several VCOs, generally three VCOs at least.
Various architectures of RF modulation circuits or of VCOs that are quite insensitive to injection pulling are described particularly in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,321,1074, 5,144,260 and 6,281,758.

Voltage controlled oscillator comprising an injection pulling compensation circuit


A network element for a telecommunications network includes a port for connection to a transmission line of the telecommunications network. A plurality of transmission line interfaces each include a scheduler to transmit traffic in port transmission slots allocated to the transmission line interface. An interface controller is stored in a storage medium of the network element. The interface controller is operable to selectively couple at least two transmission line interfaces to the port and to allocate a disparate portion of port transmission slots to each of the transmission line interfaces coupled to the port.

Telecommunications networks have traditionally been circuit-switch networks that have transmission paths dedicated to specific users for the duration of a call and that employ continuous, fixed-bandwidth transmission. Due to growth in data traffic created by the Internet and its related technologies, however, telecommunications networks are being moved to a packet-switching transmission model. Packet-switch networks provide a large range of digital services, from data to video to basic voice telephony. Packet-switch networks can allow dynamic bandwidth and may be connectionless with no dedicated path or connection-oriented with virtual circuits and dedicated bandwidth along a predetermined path.
Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is a connection-oriented packet-switching technology in which information is organized into small, fixed length cells. ATM carries data asynchronously, automatically assigning data cells to available time slots on demand to provide maximum throughput. Compared with other network technologies, ATM provides large increases in maximum supported bandwidth, designed-in isoynchronous traffic support, support for multiple types of traffic such as data, video, and voice transmissions on shared communication lines, and virtual networking capabilities, which increase bandwidth utilization and ease network administration.
ATM cells are routed through a telecommunications network at high speeds using a switching label included in the cell. The switching label has two sections that define a virtual path (VP) and a virtual channel (VC) in the network through which the cell is routed. The use of virtual paths and virtual channels allows physical bandwidth in the network to be subdivided and separately commercialized.
Because of the low latency and predictability throughput ATM offers, it is capable of providing quality of service (QoS) features. QoS is defined in terms of the attributes of end-to-end ATM connections and is important in an integrated service network, particularly for delay-sensitive applications such as audio and video transmissions, as well as voice-over IP. Other applications in which QoS may be important include traditional data communications, imaging, full-motion video, and multimedia, as well as voice.
Performance criteria for describing QoS for a particular connection include cell loss rate (CLR), cell transfer delay (CTD), and cell delay variation (CDV). ATM traffic is classified as either constant bit rate (CBR) traffic, real-time or non real-time variable bit rate (VBR) traffic, available bit rate (ABR) traffic, and unspecified bit rate (UBR) traffic depending on the QoS parameters applied to the traffic. CBR and VBR traffic utilize dedicated bandwidth and are intended for real time applications. ABR traffic is intended for non-real time applications which can control, on demand, their transmission rate in a certain range. Like ABR, UBR traffic is intended for non-real time applications which do not have any constraints on the cell delay and cell delay variations.
CBR, VBR, and other dedicated bandwidth traffic can be transmitted in a virtual channel assigned to a customer. Transmission of ABR, UBR, and other types of dynamic bandwidth traffic, however, is dependent on variable conditions and transmission line constraints. As a result, dynamic traffic sources must compete with each other for available bandwidth in a transmission line. This limits QoS levels that can be provided by a telecommunications carrier and commercialization of the telecommunications system.

Method and system for transmitting traffic in a virtual tunnel of a transmission line


Systems and methods for treating unwashed fruit with fruit bloom that provide a first ultraviolet (UV) energy with one or more flashes using a first set of one or more flash lamps to a first surface of each of a plurality of blueberries and provide a second UV energy with one or more flashes using a second set of one or more flash lamps to a second surface of each of the plurality of blueberries. The system determines a fruit bloom level associated with the plurality of blueberries after provision of the first and second UV energies and determines an adjustment to a parameter of at least one of the first and second UV energies based on the fruit bloom level. The system provides UV energy with the adjusted parameter to a subsequent set of blueberries to remove microorganisms from the blueberries while retaining fruit bloom.

Food products can be treated with ultraviolet (UV) light at appropriate wavelengths to kill contaminants. At wavelengths of about 260 nm-270 nm, UV alters molecular bonds within microorganismal DNA, producing thymine dimers that can kill or disable organisms, including bacteria and viruses.
Ultraviolet light radiation can be provided in a continuous manner with a mercury lamp, or with a xenon flash lamp. Flash lamps provide a broad band of UV light using short duration, high intensity flashes of light that includes light in the 260-270 nm range. One advantage of flash lamps is that they introduce less heat into the product being irradiated compared to mercury lamps. The ultraviolet energy can be provided with a flash lamp using one flash or a succession of flashes. Each flash introduces energy, and it is desired to have a certain minimum accumulated energy to break the molecular bonds in the DNA; that is, one can multiply the energy per flash times the number of flashes to reach a desired accumulated energy.
Some food products, particularly fruits, have a whitish substance on the outside, called a bloom. This bloom is a naturally-occurring shield on blueberries, apples, grapes, pears, and certain other fruits. The bloom is considered safe to eat, and it can help preserve the fruit. But consumers often wash it off or remove it after purchasing, but before eating; for example, a person might wipe off an apple to "shine it" before eating. Some might mistakenly believe that the bloom is an insecticide or pesticide. The bloom can indicate freshness, particularly in blueberries, and it also helps to preserve freshness.

Ultraviolet treatment of food products to kill microorganisms while retaining fruit bloom


A liquid crystal device (LCD) and a driving method thereof are disclosed. The LCD includes a display panel, a data driven circuit configured for providing data voltages to the data lines, and a power reducing module. The display panel includes data lines, scanning lines intersecting with the data lines, and a matrix of pixels arranged in intersections of rows and columns. The power reducing module is configured for storing a most-reload-image, comparing the data of the most-reload-image and the data of an input image, determining if the input image is a reload image increasing a power consumption of the data driven circuit, and changing a polarity inversion method of a timing controller. By changing the polarity inversion method of the timing controller basing on the input images, the display performance is guaranteed and the power consumption of the data driven circuit is reduced at the same time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to liquid crystal display technology, and more particularly to a liquid crystal device and the driven method thereof for reducing the power consumption of the data driven circuit.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Liquid crystal devices (LCDs) typically are driven by a passive matrix method or an active matrix method. Regarding the active matrix LCDs, a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix form. The pixels are incapable of emitting lights and thus the thin film transistors (TFTs) within the pixels are needed such that the TFTs can be turn on or off to provide appropriate data voltages to the liquid crystal within the pixels. In addition, the TFTs cooperatively operate with backlight sources such that the LCD can display images.
Each of the pixels in the active matrix LCD is driven by polarity inversion method. That is, the data voltage generated from the polarity inversion is applied to the liquid crystals in each of the pixels. However, the adjacent pixels arranged in the pixel matrix have to be driven by the same polarity. Generally, the polarity inversion method includes frame inversion, column inversion, row inversion and dot inversion. During the period after the current frame has been inputted completely and before the current frame is inputted, the frame inversion relates to that the polarity stored in the pixels of the frame is the same (all positive or all negative). The column inversion relates to that the polarity of the pixels on one column is the same and the polarity of the pixels on the adjacent columns are inversed. The row inversion relates to that the polarity of the pixels on the same row is the same and the polarity of the pixels on the adjacent rows are inversed. The dot inversion relates to that the polarity of each of the pixel is inversed to the polarity of adjacent pixels.
During the driving process, the polarity of the data voltage is inversed such that the data driven circuit generates heat, which results in a higher temperature. That is, the data driven circuit consumes power. Among the four polarity inversion methods, the frame inversion consumes the lowest power and the display performance is the worst. The dot inversion has the best display performance while the power consumptions is the highest. The power consumption and display performance of the column inversion and the row inversion are better than the average.
To obtain better display performance, generally, the dot inversion is adopted to drive the liquid crystals in the pixels. Not only the power consumption is high, the temperature of the data driven circuit gets higher and higher when reloading the images, and thus the power consumptions is increased.

Liquid crystal device and the driven method thereof

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd


In certain implementations, methods and apparatus include an antenna assembly having at least two overlapping and movable surface microwave plasma antennas. The antennas have respective pluralities of microwave transmissive openings formed therethrough. At least some of the openings of the respective antennas overlap with at least some of the openings of another antenna, and form an effective plurality of microwave transmissive openings through the antenna assembly. Microwave energy is passed through the effective plurality of openings of the antenna assembly and to a flowing gas effective to form a surface microwave plasma onto a substrate received within the processing chamber. At least one of the antennas is moved relative to another of the antennas to change at least one of size and shape of the effective plurality of openings through the antenna assembly effective to modify microwave energy passed through the antenna assembly to the substrate.

Substrates are processed or otherwise exposed to plasma for numerous reasons. Examples include etching material from the substrate, depositing a material on the substrate, or to treat or otherwise modify a material already deposited on the substrate without necessarily etching it therefrom. The invention was principally motivated in plasma processing associated with semiconductor substrates. In the context of this document, the term "semiconductor substrate" or "semiconductive substrate" is defined to mean any construction comprising semiconductive material, including, but not limited to, bulk semiconductive materials such as a semiconductive wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). The term "substrate" refers to any supporting structure, including, but not limited to, the semiconductive substrates described above.
Plasma generation and application can occur in a number of manners, for example by RF and microwave means. One particular type of plasma generation includes surface microwave plasma. In the context of this document, "surface microwave plasma" is defined as a plasma generated in a gas against a substrate being processed by transmitting microwave energy from a plurality of discrete, spaced microwave emitting sources, and whether conducted in existing or yet-to-be-developed manners. One existing manner of doing so is by use of an antenna, such as a surface plane antenna (SPA) or a radial line slot antenna (RLSA). By way of example only, examples can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,399,520 and 6,343,565.
Existing such antennas are typically composed of a material that is blocking of microwave energy (i.e., metal) and which includes an array of microwave transmissive openings formed therethrough. The openings might be completely void of material, or might include solid or other microwave transmissive material, for example silicon dioxide. Appropriate microwave energy applied to the backside of the antenna propagates radially across the antenna and through the individual openings. A gas is flowed between the antenna and the substrate being processed for generating a surface microwave plasma from the gas by the energy applied through the openings. Such can be used to provide a very low power plasma, which is radially equally distributed across a substrate surface being processed and which can be precisely controlled.
The size, shape, and correspondingly, the effective pattern of openings on the surface plane antennas is typically determined by or optimized for the species of gases which are used for the plasma processing. Specifically, different gases (of course, including mixtures of gases)-have different ionization potentials in part due to atomic weight and the availability of electrons in outer shells. Accordingly ideally, the size and shape of the openings are optimized depending upon what gas is being utilized. Typically, this means that different antenna designs are utilized for different processing gases, including mixtures of different processing gases. This can undesirably require the changing of the surface plane antennas intermediate processing with different gases, or providing a compromise antenna for certain mixtures of different gases which is not often optimized for any one gas or mixture of gases.
While the invention was motivated in addressing the above-described issues and problems, it is in no way so limited. The invention is only limited by the accompanying claims as literally worded, without interpretative or limiting reference to the specification and drawings, and in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.

Method of exposing a substrate to a surface microwave plasma, etching method, deposition method, surface microwave plasma generating apparatus, semiconductor substrate etching apparatus, semiconductor substrate deposition apparatus, and microwave plasma generating antenna assembly


A successive approximation type AD converter circuit for comparing an analog input signal with an output analog signal of a DA converter with a comparator to input a digital signal output in accordance with a comparison result to the DA converter to determine a digital signal obtained if the output analog signal of the DA converter is equal to the analog input signal, as an AD-converted output signal, includes: an AD converter for AD-converting the analog input circuit in accordance with a sampling period for sampling the analog input signal and a comparison period for comparing the sampled analog input signal with the output analog signal of the DA converter with the comparator; and setting means for independently setting a cycle time of a first clock signal for determining the sampling period and a cycle time of a second clock signal for determining the comparison period.

Nowadays, a successive approximation type AD converter circuit has been known as an AD converter circuit that is configured in a simpler form and is highly consistent with a CMOS process that enables lower-cost fabrication, and can realize usually-needed AD conversion time and conversion efficiency. Owing to its high consistency with the CMOS process and its smaller footprint, the successive approximation type AD converter circuit is incorporated in a microcontroller (MCU) in many cases. The successive approximation type AD converter circuit is proposed in, for example, following Patent Documents.
[Patent Document 1]    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 4-220016
[Patent Document 2]    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-86550
[Patent Document 3]    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 7-264071
[Non-Patent Document 1]    http://edevice.fujitsu.com/jp/manual/MANUAL1/alllistj.html#WEB3, CM26-10107-1, MB95100A/H SERIES hardware manual

AD converter circuit and microcontroller


Certain embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus for closing off an opening above, below, or between electronic equipment in a rack. The rack includes a pair of equipment rails. The electronic equipment is mounted to the equipment rails. The apparatus includes a base, a roller shade, and a handle. The roller shade is rotatably connected to the base and includes a free end extending from the base when the roller shade is rotated. The handle is connected to the free end of the roller shade. The base is removably connected to the equipment rails at a first position. The handle is removably connected to the equipment rails at a second position spaced apart from the first position such that the free end of the roller shade is extended to close off the opening in the rack.

The present invention relates to a filler panel, and more particularly, a roller shade filler panel for a rack.
Filler panels are well known in the art. Typically, filler panels are capable of accommodating only one size of opening. However, as electronic equipment is added to and subtracted from a rack, the size of the opening changes. Therefore, there is a need for a filler panel that is capable of accommodating more than one size of opening.


A computer-implemented process of remediating device security vulnerabilities is carried out by determining identifications of electronic devices associated with an entity and calculating, for each device, a security cyber-vulnerability score. For instance, the cyber-vulnerability score is calculated by generating a device cyber-vulnerability score based upon known threats and vulnerabilities, generating a device level cyber-vulnerability score by augmenting the generated device cyber-vulnerability score based upon at least one device level parameter, generating an environmental cyber-vulnerability score, and computing an overall cyber-vulnerability score based upon the device level cyber-vulnerability score and the environmental cyber-vulnerability score. The computer-implemented process also comprises prioritizing the electronic devices based upon the computed overall cyber-vulnerability score, identifying whether a patch is available for at least one electronic device, and initiating a remediation/mitigation workflow to patch at least one electronic device.

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to managing cyber-related issues in electronic devices, and in particular to remediating or mitigating cyber-related operability issues in electronic devices (including special purpose electronic device), remediating or mitigating device vulnerabilities, controlling device vulnerability workflows, combinations thereof, etc.
Cyber-attacks are malicious acts that target computer information systems, infrastructures, computer networks, and other computing devices. Cyber-attacks typically gain unauthorized access to susceptible computer devices and/or systems to perform one or more nefarious acts, which can include stealing information, making alterations, corrupting or destroying information, spying on data communications, holding information or access for ransom, etc. Cyber-attacks affect virtually every industry with a presence on the Internet. As a specific example, the healthcare industry is facing an increasing risk of cyber-attacks. In this regard, cyber-attacks can affect patient safety, expose patient information, and affect health care facility operation.


An overhead door system including a frame, a door leaf and a first hydraulic cylinder. The door leaf is pivotally mounted to the frame. The first hydraulic cylinder has a first cylinder end and a second cylinder end. The first cylinder end is operably attached to the frame. The second cylinder end is operably attached to the door leaf. The first hydraulic cylinder is capable of moving the door leaf between a closed configuration and an open configuration. At least one of the frame and the upper door panel has a slot formed therein. When the door leaf is in the closed configuration, the first hydraulic cylinder is substantially recessed in the slot.

Overhead doors are commonly used to provide relatively large openings such as in machine sheds, barns and airplane hangars. The overhead doors typically utilize a hydraulic cylinder or electric actuators to assist with moving the door leaf between open and closed configurations. An example of one such overhead door system is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0225895, which is assigned to the assignee of this application.

Overhead door system with concealed hydraulic cylinder


Described is a process for conditioning of sensor signals for at least one of undercarriage regulation and control. The objective of this process is to superimpose on processed first signals which represent the acceleration of the vehicle body the low-frequency information absent from the signal of a vehicle body acceleration sensor by a circuit of simple design through a defined superimposition with the sensor signals corresponding to at least one of the spring deflection path and the spring deflection velocity. For that purpose, the sensor signals to be superimposed are processed in filter units whose transfer functions show a specific functional correlation.

The invention concerns a process for the conditioning of sensor signals utilized for the control and regulation of motion sequences, specifically for undercarriages of passenger cars and trucks.
Essential for the design of the undercarriage of an automobile is an efficient suspension and/or damping system. Such suspension and/or damping system normally consists either of a suspension arrangement with a fixed spring constant, paralleled by a damping device with adjustable damping, and/or of a suspension arrangement with adjustable spring constant. Furthermore, an essential element of such a suspension and/or damping system is an efficient process for control or regulation of the adjustable undercarriage. Based on information from sensor signals that monitor the suitability of the vehicle for road conditions i.e. road worthiness of the vehicle, such a process provides activation signals for the actuators of the adjustable undercarriage.
A suspension and/or damping system should ideally control or regulate the adjustable undercarriage in such a way that, for one, allowance is made for road safety and, for another, the passengers and/or shock-sensitive load of a vehicle are afforded maximum travel comfort. From the vantage point of the suspension and/or damping system, these are conflicting objectives. High travel comfort can be achieved through a maximally soft undercarriage adjustment, whereas with regard to high road safety a maximally hard undercarriage adjustment is desirable.
Known from the German patent application P 39 18 735.7 is a process for the damping of motion sequences on undercarriages of passenger cars and trucks. The activation signals for control or regulation of the adjustable undercarriage are essentially generated by the processing of sensor signals in filter arrangements. These filters are so conceived that the sensor signals that provide information on the roadworthiness of the vehicle will be influenced in their amplitude and/or phase pattern. Activation signals for the adjustable undercarriage are generated by this influencing, effecting thereby an adaptation to the current motional state of the vehicle, in such a way that at critical driving situations an undercarriage adjustment serving road safety and in uncritical driving situations a comfort adjustment is effected.
A comfort undercarriage adjustment can be achieved, for instance, in that the adjustable undercarriage features a maximally soft adjustment, i.e., for instance a slight damping in the case of an adjustable shock absorber. Control or regulation of the undercarriage that is more efficient by far, for instance in view of the bouncing, pitching and rolling oscillations of the vehicle body that determine the travel comfort, can be achieved through a so-called frequency contingent "skyhook" regulation such as described in the German patent application P 39 18 735.7 and in the German patent disclosure 37 38 284.
In the so-called skyhook control, the body acceleration is reduced thus bringing about an improvement of the travel comfort, whereas the road safety is not directly increased. Generally known in undercarriage control, this control concept is based on the model notion of a damping and/or suspension system which acts on vehicle body mass and is connected with an inertial fix point. Since such an inertial damping and/or suspension system cannot be directly realized in practice, the damping and/or suspension system arranged between the vehicle body mass and the wheel mass (refer to FIG. 1) is appropriately activated as a substitute.
Such a regulation or control is to be given preference whenever the momentary driving situation is not critical. In these driving situations, which in the normal vehicle operation usually occur much more frequently by far, not only relative path signals such as the spring deflection path are utilized for the control or regulation of the adjustable undercarriage, but also the absolute speed of the vehicle body is allowed for. The variables mentioned here will be explained in detail in FIG. 1.
An essential element for realizing the skyhook control is knowing the absolute vehicle velocity and/or of the buildup path. These variables are generally obtained from the signals of an acceleration sensor through appropriate signal conditioning.
Since each sensor has a limited working range outside of which the sensor does not deliver a useful signal, a signal conditioning is necessary, for instance in the form of band-pass filters. This band-pass filtering can be realized electronic-digitally, for instance by processing in computer units a differential equation that represents the transfer properties, or in an electronic-analog way by simulation of a differential equation representing the transfer properties, using electronic components. In order to obtain the useful signals of a sensor, the sensor signals are usually influenced in their frequency response by band-pass filters such as high-pass and low-pass filters. Moreover, depending on the requirements of the regulation or control with regard to the input data, integrating stages and/or differentiating stages are passed which, in turn, are of an electronic-digital or analog design.
When using the signals of a body acceleration sensor for the skyhook control, the integrity of the control or regulation is limited in the low-frequency range (about 0.1 to 1 Hz) of the vehicle body movements. This is attributable to the fact that the signals of the acceleration sensors used are filtered by filter units with high-pass type transfer behavior in order to avoid offset and drift effects.
For damping the inherent movement of the masses of a linear two-mass vibrator, the German patent disclosure 37 38 048 proposes to determine from the vehicle body acceleration path and spring deflection path or the spring deflection signals, respectively, the vertical absolute velocities of body and wheel. These absolute velocities are weighted and utilized for activation of the damping elements. In so doing, the German patent disclosure 37 38 048 is based on an ideal capturing and integration of the body acceleration.
The problem underlying the present invention is to provide an optimized processing of real vehicle body acceleration signals.

Method of generating control/regulation signals for a vehicle chassis


A bidirectional two-terminal ungated thyristor (9) having two wide-base portions (25, 27). The bidirectional two-terminal ungated thyristor (9) has a first semiconductor device having a first narrow-base portion (28) in series with a first wide-base portion (25), and a second semiconductor device having a second narrow-base portion (26) in series with a second wide-base portion (27). A width of the first wide base portion (25) and a width of the second wide base portion (27) are decreased to decrease a total base width. The first and second wide-base portions (25, 27) having a decreased width produce a low forward voltage drop across the bidirectional two-terminal ungated thyristor (9); thus, improving a power dissipation capability of the bidirectional two-terminal ungated thyristor (9).

This invention relates, in general, to thyristors and, more particularly, to bidirectional two-terminal thyristors.
In general, thyristors are a family of four layer PNPN type devices that function as switches in power control applications. Thyristors are available as unidirectional and bidirectional devices. A power dissipation of a unidirectional thyristor may be lowered by narrowing a width of its wide-base region. The wide-base region may be narrowed by, for example, fabricating the unidirectional thyristor in a thin semiconductor substrate.
The narrower wide-base region provides a lower forward voltage drop across the unidirectional thyristor; thereby permitting an increase in its current carrying capability while allowing an acceptable power dissipation. Lowering the power dissipation of a bidirectional thyristor by using the thin semiconductor substrate is unfeasible because of the fragility of the semiconductor substrate for practical thicknesses. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a method for decreasing a forward voltage drop, commonly referred to as an on-state voltage drop, without compromising a structural integrity of the semiconductor substrate.


A system for automatically configuring I/O devices is provided in accordance with the present invention. The system includes a plurality of I/O devices operatively coupled to each other and a sub-system for determining physical locations of the I/O devices with respect to one another. The sub-system assigns node addresses to each I/O device—each assigned node address corresponds to the physical location of the respective I/O devices.

Control systems are at the core of modern manufacturing. These systems control diverse processes from steel and automotive products to mass distribution products associated with food and beverages, for example. In general, control systems require a processor and related program to direct a related system of Input/Output (I/O) interfaces (e.g., I/O modules) which in turn report and control industrial processes. I/O modules may be selected to perform digital style (e.g., 120V input/output) and/or analog style control (e.g., 4-20 ma input/output), for example. Also, generally associated with control systems are related racks, power supplies and control networks for housing, powering, and communicating with the associated I/O modules.
Over time, industrial system demands have steadily increased. For example, system demands for lower costs and increased flexibility are increasingly necessary for modern factories to compete on the global stage. Lower system costs provide manufacturers with a competitive advantage by realizing a better return on capital investments. Flexibility enables a manufacturer to respond to changing market dynamics as product and sales requirements change. Unfortunately, conventional systems many times are burdensome to install/upgrade and often require manufacturer's to install more system components than necessary. Thus, conventional systems generally do not provide the requisite flexibility and associated lower costs required by modern systems.
As an example of some of the problems associated with conventional systems, consider an initial system design requiring "X" number of associated I/O points. Often times, in order to minimize system costs, I/O points are selected for the smallest possible grouping to control a process. This grouping may likely include a rack to house the I/O, an interface module (e.g., communications/control module) to control and interact with the I/O, and associated power supply to power the system. If the system were designed initially to provide future expansion, empty rack positions and/or additional rack/power/interface components may then need to be maintained in order to provide for future system requirements. If the system were designed only for initial I/O requirements, additional racks, power supplies and interface modules are likely to be added to accommodate future requirements. In either case, system costs are initially higher to account for future expansion requirements, and/or higher in the future to add system requirements. Consequently, conventional systems generally require either higher initial and/or future costs in order to provide ever changing system capabilities.
Another problem associated with conventional systems is related to configuration requirements. Often, when systems are initially installed and/or upgraded, significant configurations are required to add additional I/O groupings. These requirements may include adding a rack number (e.g., number of a network adapter) to a network list, defining additional I/O requirements, programming additional memory to receive the I/O and potentially setting switches related thereto. Furthermore, system wiring such as communications and power cables generally increase. These additional steps will likely increase system installation and maintenance costs.
Due to cost and flexibility issues associated with conventional control systems, there is a strong need in the art for an improved system for mitigating system costs and providing a flexible and economical system for future expansion requirements.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pointbus architecture and automatic sequential addressing


A hydrodynamic clutch includes a hydrodynamic circuit formed by at least a pump wheel and a turbine wheel in a clutch housing with a drive-side housing wall extending to the axis of rotation, and a bridging clutch with a piston capable of shifting axially relative to the drive-side housing wall. The turbine wheel is connected to a hub, which is connected for rotation in common to a takeoff, and is axially supported between the hydrodynamic circuit and the clutch housing, and has first and second flow passages which are axially offset from each other. The hub has a drive-side end with an axial bearing area which can be moved into axial contact with an axial bearing, which is either an axial contact surface on the drive-side housing wall or is assigned to the drive-side housing wall.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a hydrodynamic clutch device of the type including a clutch housing which is rotatable about an axis of rotation and has a drive-side housing wall, a hydrodynamic circuit including a pump wheel and a turbine wheel in the clutch housing, and a bridging clutch having a piston capable of shifting axially relative to the drive-side housing wall, the piston separating a pressure space adjacent to the drive-side housing wall from a supply space.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hydrodynamic clutch device designed as a hydrodynamic torque converter is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,329. A pump wheel cooperates with a turbine wheel and a stator to form a hydrodynamic circuit in a clutch housing; this circuit cooperates with a bridging clutch. The bridging clutch has a piston, which can be connected to a drive-side housing wall of the clutch housing and shifted in the axial direction. The piston is centered by a seal on a housing hub, which is mounted on the drive-side housing wall. This housing hub, which acts as a component of the clutch housing, serves as an axial stop for another hub, which holds the turbine wheel and possibly also a component of a torsional vibration damper. For this purpose, the side of this hub facing the housing hub is provided with a stop element, while the opposite axial side is supported by an axial bearing against the stator, which is provided as a component of the hydrodynamic circuit.
First flow channels are provided in the housing hub, and second flow channels are provided in the stop element assigned to the hub. The flow channels of the housing hub are in flow connection with first flow passages in the hub, whereas the flow channels in the stop element are in flow connection with second flow passages in the hub, where the first flow passages are axially offset from the second flow passages. By way of the first flow passages, at least one first takeoff-side flow route is connected to a pressure space, which is bounded at least essentially by the drive-side housing wall of the clutch housing and the piston, and by way of the second flow passages at least one second takeoff-side flow route is connected to a supply space, which is adjacent to the side of the piston facing away from the pressure space.
The disadvantage of the known hydrodynamic clutch device is the considerable expense which is associated with the housing hub mounted on the drive-side housing wall, because this housing hub not only must be dimensioned in the axial direction in such a way that it positions the hub, which holds the turbine wheel and/or a component of the torsional vibration damper axially with respect to the stator, but also must be dimensioned radially in such a way that it centers the hub and also the piston of the bridging clutch. It must also be ensured, furthermore, that the flow channels of the housing hub are at least essentially aligned with the flow passages of the hub.


A transmitter for a communication system comprises a digital pre-distortion (DPD) circuit and adaptation circuitry. The DPD circuit is configured to generate a digital intermediate signal by compensating an input signal for distortions resulting from an amplifier. The amplifier is configured to output an output signal based on the digital intermediate signal. The DPD circuit includes one or more an infinite impulse response (IIR) filters configured to implement a first transfer function based on a first parameter, and a second transfer function based on the first parameter and a time constant. The DPD circuit is configured to generate an adjustment signal based on the first transfer function and the second transfer function. The adaptation circuitry is configured to update the first parameter based on the adjustment signal, the input signal, and the output signal.

Power amplifiers are generally used in communication systems to provide a gain to a signal that is being transmitted, e.g., a transmitted signal. For example, power amplifies may be used in wireless communication systems to provide a gain to a transmitted signal. Power amplifiers provide a mechanism for load matching of the medium on which a signal is to be transmitted. However, the linearity of the output of power amplifiers used in communication systems may be relatively limited, reducing performance of the communication systems. In many instances, digital pre-distortion (DPD) can be used to enhance linearity of the output response of a power amplifier. Further, adjusting various parameters within the DPD may be utilized to minimize any non-linearities within the DPD.

Time constant tracking for digital pre-distortion


A glass run for use in a motor vehicle includes an outer side wall, an inner side wall and a bottom wall and has a generally U-shaped cross-section. An outer seal lip and an inner seal lip project from distal ends of the outer side wall and the inner sidewall into an interior of the glass run. The bottom wall has a shock absorbing lip which obliquely projects from one side end thereof into the interior of the glass run. And a depressed part is fanned in an exterior surface of the bottom wall for defining a space with the door frame, and a cushioning member is secured in the depressed part of the bottom wall.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a glass run for attachment to an inner periphery of a door frame of a motor vehicle for guiding a door glass as it is raised and lowered.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a glass run 10 is attached to an inner periphery of a door frame 12 of a vehicle door 14 for guiding a door glass 16 which is raised and lowered. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and shows a conventional attaching structure of the glass run 10.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, conventionally, the glass run 10 is fitted in a channel 40 formed in the door frame 12 to guide the door glass 16 upwardly and downwardly, and provide a seal between the door glass 16 and the door frame 12. The glass run 10 is formed by connecting extruded straight parts 18 adapted to be attached along an upper side, a front vertical side and a rear vertical side of the door 14, with corner parts 20, each being formed by molding in conformity with a corner of the door frame 12.
A door weather strip 22 is attached to an outer periphery of the door frame 12, and an opening trim weather strip 24 is attached to a flange provided in a door opening portion of a vehicle body, thereby sealing between the vehicle door 14 and the vehicle body.
As shown in FIG. 2, the glass run 10 includes an outer side wall 26, an inner side wall 28 and a bottom wall 30, and has a generally U-shaped cross-section. An outer seal lip 32 and an inner seal lip 34 respectively extend from open ends of the outer side wall 26 and the inner side wall 28 towards an interior of the glass run 10. And an outer cover lip 36 and an inner cover lip 38 respectively extend from open ends of the outer side wall 26 and the inner side wall 28 towards the bottom wall 30 along exterior surfaces of the outer side wall 26 and the inner side wall 28.
The glass run 10 is attached to the door frame 12 by inserting the outer side wall 26, the inner side wall 28 and the bottom wall 30 in the channel 40 such that the outer cover lip 36 covers a lower end of an outer body panel 42 and the inner cover lip 38 covers a lower end of an inner body panel 44.
When the door glass 16 enters an interior of the glass run 10, an outer periphery of the door glass 16 is sealed and held with the outer seal lip 32 and the inner seal lip 34.
When the door glass 16 is raised to a closed position, an upper end of the door glass 16 pushes the bottom wall 30 of the glass run 10 upwardly. At this time, the bottom wall 30 does not absorb the upward movement of the door glass 16 completely so that the upper end of the door glass 16 pushes the channel 40 via the bottom wall 30 to cause occurrence of noises which degrade driving comfort. When the upper end of the door glass 16 pushes the bottom wall 30, the bottom wall 30 deforms to shift the upper end of the door glass 16 from a prescribed closing position so that the seal lips 32 and 34 may be undesirably deformed to lower the sealing properties.
Accordingly, in order to absorb the upward movement of the door glass, a tubular part has been provided in the bottom wall, or a sponge member has been attached to the bottom wall (see Publication of unexamined patent application No. Hei 8-318740 and Publication of unexamined utility model application No. Sho 62-413, for example). In order to provide a tubular part 46 in the bottom wall 30, as shown in FIG. 3, the hollow extruding method is normally adopted, but in order to keep atmospheric pressure in the tubular part 46 during extrusion, a high level pressure control is needed. Therefore, it is difficult to hold the configuration of the tubular part 46, and it is also difficult to increase the rate of extrusion, whereby preferable productivity is not effected. Where a sponge member is attached to the bottom wall, the sponge member with a great thickness cannot be provided in a narrow space between the bottom wall and the door frame, whereby a sufficient shock absorbing force is not effected. On the other hand, if the sponge member is made thick to increase its shock absorbing force, the stability of the bottom wall relative to the door frame may be degraded.
There has been also proposed to provide a lip in the inner side wall adjacently to the bottom wall for contacting the upper end of the door glass, and absorbing the shock caused by the pushing of the upper end of the door glass (see Publication of examined utility model application No. Hei2-15694, for example) In this case, however, the lip does not exhibit sufficiently high elasticity so that a sufficiently strong shock absorbing force cannot be effected. In addition, where this lip has been used for a long period, it has been repeatedly pushed by the door glass to cause permanent deformation, whereby the shock absorbing effect may be lowered.
There has been also proposed to gradually increase the wall thickness of the bottom wall outwardly for enabling the bottom wall to readily flex and absorb shock caused by the pushing of the upper end of the door glass (see Utility model No. 2578541, for example) In this case, however, the shock caused byte pushing of the door glass cannot be sufficiently absorbed with the flexion of the bottom wall, and it is difficult to obtain a large space enough for the thick bottom wall between the bottom wall and the door frame. Consequently, a sufficiently strong shock absorbing force cannot be effected.

Glass run for motor vehicle with door glass shock absorber


An acoustic apparatus comprising a yoke, a main speaker mechanism disposed on a first surface of the yoke, and a sub speaker mechanism disposed on a second surface of the yoke opposite to the first surface and adjacent to the main speaker mechanism, the main speaker mechanism including a first magnet disposed on the first surface of the yoke, a first top plate disposed on the first magnet, a vibration-transmitting panel attached to the yoke and contactable with a vibrating member in a communication device, and a first voice coil attached to the vibration-transmitting panel and inserted in a first magnetic gap formed between the yoke and the first magnet, the sub speaker mechanism including a second magnet disposed on the second surface of the yoke, a second top plate disposed on the second magnet, a vibrating plate attached to a frame disposed to surround the yoke and a second voice coil attached to the vibrating plate and inserted in a second magnetic gap formed between the yoke and the second magnet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an acoustic apparatus suitable for communication devices such as a mobile phone, portable television, and computers.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, an acoustic outputting apparatus for a mobile phone is composed of two speakers in general. One example of such a conventional mobile phone is described referring to FIG. 5A to 5C. In FIGS. 5A to 5C, the mobile phone 51 has a display 51a, an operational part 51b, and a liquid crystal display 52, which is disposed on a front surface of the display 51a and corresponds to an image plane. Numeral 53 denotes a speaker for talking, which is disposed on the front surface of the display 51a outside of an area of the liquid crystal display 52, and releases a sound through sound-releasing holes 54 opening in the front surface of the display 51a. Numeral 55 denotes a mainly ringing speaker, which is disposed on a back surface of the display 51a in accordance with augmentation of the liquid crystal display and releases a sound through sound-releasing holes 56 opening in the back surface.
There is known a complex speaker in which an outer magnetic-type circuit and an inner magnetic-type circuit are structured into one frame (for reference, see JP2002-335597, [0010] to [0013], FIG. 1).
However, because the conventional mobile phone as described above has a structure hearing a sound from the speaker remote from the image plane in the back surface of the mobile phone while watching an image on the front surface of the mobile phone and the sound hears from a position remote from the image, there are problems that matching effect of sound and image is not acquired, a loss of acoustic pressure and a drop of treble occur, and acoustic re-producing ability which ordinary speakers have in themselves is not acquired. In the speaker having the structure disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document, because a thickness of a film as a vibrating plate is thinner, there are problems that it has a boundary for an output of the receiver, is suitable for a talking speaker, but cannot respond to a large output as a speaker aimed at a call waiting tone or beep.
There is known an acoustic apparatus having a sub speaker mechanism and a receiver mechanism disposed adjacent to each other (for reference, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open 2003-102093).
However, in the conventional acoustic apparatus, a vibrating plate and a protector for protecting the vibrating plate are required for both speaker and receiver mechanisms. This results in an acoustic apparatus having a great thickness.


A hand washing and drying apparatus comprising a washing and drying chamber including at least one access port providing access for inserting at least one hand to be washed, a wash liquid dispenser in fluid communication with the interior of the washing and drying chamber for dispensing wash liquid within the washing and drying chamber, a blow dryer in fluid communication with the interior of the washing and drying chamber for providing a directed supply of drying air within the washing and drying chamber, a towel dispenser in communication with the interior of the washing and drying chamber for dispensing a towel, e.g., a disposable paper towel, within the chamber, and a waste disposal for disintegrating a spent towel dispensed from the towel dispenser and exhausting disintegrated waste through a drain. The apparatus further may include a control device for controlling the operation of the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hand washing and drying apparatus, and more particularly to an automatic hand washing and drying apparatus comprising a self-contained hand washing and drying chamber including in combination a hand washing liquid dispenser, a blow drying apparatus, a towel dispenser and a waste disposal device.
The present invention is an improvement to the automatic hand washing and drying apparatus disclosed and claimed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,579.
The present invention has particular utility in environments requiring frequent hand washing and drying operations. Examples of such environments include health care facilities, such as medical and dental offices, child care facilities, industrial clean rooms, and the like. The present invention also has particular utility in food handling environments, including food processing and dispensing applications. The present invention also has particular utility in heavily used public rest rooms, for example in airports, bus and train stations, and the like. Moreover, the hand washing and drying apparatus of the present invention has utility either as a free standing unit or in addition to existing washing facilities, and may be used in any environment that utilizes hand washing and drying.
2. Related Art
In the mid 19th Century it was first scientifically proved that frequent hand washing could prevent the transmission of a specific disease. Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician working in the maternity clinics of the Vienna General Hospital, observed that the maternal mortality from puerperal fever (sepis, child bed fever) was very low in the wards of the midwives. Their activities were largely confined to the ward and entailed the frequent washing of hands. In contrast, in the sections staffed by doctors and medical students, the incidence of disease was high and its mortality frightening. Observing that the doctors and students often came into the maternity ward directly from the dissecting rooms, Semmelweis reasoned that they might carry the disease from the dissected cadavers to the patients. He therefore ordered the doctors and students to wash their hands in a chlorine solution before entering the maternity ward. In a few months, the mortality from child bed fever declined dramatically, and the dread disease literally was washed away, decades before the milestone discoveries of microbes, microbial and a sepsis.
Studies also have demonstrated that hand washing is equally as important in many non-medical settings. Current literature in the fields of health care sanitation, and environmental protection contains many studies dealing with the transmission of disease by the hands. For example, studies have shown a significant decrease in disease transmittance in child care centers where children and providers of care are encouraged to wash frequently.
Many hand washing devices, including automatic, combined washing and drying devices are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,059,815 (Parsons), 3,992,720 (Davis), 4,295,233 (Hinkel), and 5,074,322 (Jaw) relate to hand washing and drying stations having an open configuration for accessing a hand washing device or a hand washing and drying device. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,817,651 (Crisp), 4,402,331 (Taldo), 3,918,987 (Kopfer), 3,757,806 (Bhasker) 4,688,585 (Vetter), 5,193,563 (Melech), 4,219,367 (Cary) and 5,265,628 (Sage) all relate to an automatic, contained, hand washing device generally including a pair of insertion ports for individually receiving a users hands and forearms to wash or wash and dry same.
Although each of the above-discussed devices may have advantages in certain applications, each has drawbacks. Wash stations that are not substantially enclosed often result in splashing of water when used. Drying by means of a towel, now usually made of disposable paper, requires the user to dispose of the towel in a designated receptacle, and often results in undesirable dispersal of wet towels outside of the designated receptacle. Although many hot air blow dryer devices are known, such blow dryer devices generally require a drying cycle in excess of one minute, often too long for the impatient or hurried user. Moreover, air blowing devices not substantially enclosed spray water and disseminate particulate matter into the environment. It is commonly observed that in rest rooms, the wash basin, soap dispenser, towel dispenser and disposal are usually at some distance from each other, resulting in splashing, ineffective use of receptacles, frequent periodic maintenance requirements, and an unclean and unsafe environment, such that the potential user often walks away, even in a setting in which washing of the hands is mandatory.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,867 (Robinson), U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,523 (Goldstein) and Japanese Kokai Patent Document No. 5-325065 (Hamabe) each relate to a combination hand drying unit including a blow dryer and a towel or towel dispenser. The Robinson '867 patent discloses the use of a blow dryer provided side-by-side with a paper towel dispenser, the Goldstein '523 patent discloses the use of a blow dryer disposed immediately below a paper towel dispenser, and the Hamabe JP '065 reference discloses the use of a blow dryer provided immediately above a cloth towel. Each of these drying devices provides the advantage of quick drying of the hands using a towel in combination with blow drying means. However, each of these drying devices is provided remote from a washing station, in an open, wall-mounted configuration, which has drawbacks including dispersion of water and particulate matter during the drying operation, and/or accumulation of sold wastes requiring frequent periodic maintenance and waste disposal.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,579 (Chardack) remedies many of the above-discussed drawbacks. The Chardack '579 patent discloses an automatic hand washing and drying apparatus including combined blow drying means and towel dispensing means disposed in a washing and drying chamber. The Chardack '579 patent also discloses such a washing and drying apparatus in combination with a vacuum disposal system for collecting spent towels for bulk sanitary disposal. Although this apparatus provides significant advantages over other conventional automatic washing and drying devices, this apparatus also has a drawback in that it accumulates solid waste and requires periodic maintenance including disposal of the spent towels collected by the vacuum disposal system. Recycling centers generally do not accept used paper towels for recycling. Moreover, the number of regulations governing recycled waste products continues to rise, and disposal of bulk waste paper products presently is expensive. Accordingly, the need exists for an improved, inexpensive and sanitary hand washing and drying apparatus and method.

Automatic hand washing and drying apparatus including combined blow drying means, towel dispensing means and waste disposal means


A method of beam forming an array, by computer processing a cross covariance, of the reference sub array seismic signal data signal, by having an unknown shape comprising receiving acoustic signals, via the array, and computing the data and segmenting the array into an initial segment of a known shape and at least a second segment, and beam forming the initial segment to provide a beam formed output, and using the beam formed output to obtain weights, for the second segment of the array.

Conventional passive sonar systems detect acoustic signals emanating from an "underwater object;" that is, any device that moves through the water while emitting acoustic signals that sonar can detect. Torpedoes and submarines are examples of such "underwater objects." Sonar systems employ a variety of technologies to detect and locate such underwater objects. Generally, however, acoustic signals from a specific object define a complex wavefront and pass a towed horizontal array or a stationary vertical array of hydrophones at different times. U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,732 to Roy et al. for Methods and Arrangements for Signal Reception and Parameter Estimation and U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,640 to the same inventors as in this application for an Inverse Beamforming Sonar System and Method are examples of such sonar systems. Some sonar systems, implement a beamforming process to correlate the signals received at each hydrophone and to decompose these signals into a signal representing the bearing to a particular underwater object.
Generally, for a linear array of hydrophones towed behind a vessel such as a surface ship or submarine, the longer and straighter that linear array is, the better one can focus those elements of the array to "look" in a particular direction. A problem arises, however, during ship maneuvers wherein a course change causes a distortion of the towed array. If one does not know the array shape while the array is distorted, target tracking and focus is impaired.
Prior compensation techniques for the aformentioned problem include estimating the array shape based on the vessel's own change in course and resulting path through the water, and providing heading sensors on each of the hydrophone array elements, for example. Models that estimate array shape based on course maneuvers have proved problematic to implement and in certain cases invalid (e.g. for long arrays of about 400 hydrophones, or more) as empirical data tends to show that a towed array does not follow the channel formed by the vessel during own ship maneuvers. Moreover, during severe maneuvers, heading sensors disposed on the hydrophones are extremely inaccurate and hence do not provide adequate information to accurately track contacts during such periods. In tactical situations, such as tracking a potentially hostile target, a relatively severe maneuver may be necessary to evade an action by the target (e.g. a torpedo fire). It is most desirable to maintain the track of the target through the maneuver.
Another technique, commonly called the "bright star technique", utilizes a known strong signal emanating, for example, from a noisy surface ship. In this method, a large number of possible array shapes are processed and the signal data is beamformed based on the input array shapes. The strongest response in the direction of the strong signal is used to focus the beam in that direction. This approach, however, requires both a strong signal and a relatively long time interval for focusing and adjusting the input array parameters to arrive at a focused output beam. In many tactical situations, however, neither a strong target nor a long conversion time is available. Accordingly, it is highly desirable to obtain a system and method for quickly and efficiently maintaining the track of a target when the array shape is unknown and/or when heading sensor data is unreliable or unavailable.

Subarray matching beamformer apparatus and method


A semiconductor device of an embodiment includes an oxide semiconductor layer. The oxide semiconductor layer includes a metal oxide containing at least one first metal element selected from the group consisting of indium and tin and at least one second metal element selected from the group consisting of zinc, gallium, aluminum, tungsten, and silicon. The oxide semiconductor layer includes a first region in which at least one anion element selected from the group consisting of fluorine and chlorine is contained within a range of 1 atomic % or more and less than 8 atomic % in the metal oxide.

An oxide semiconductor transistor using an oxide semiconductor in a channel region has a characteristic of a small channel leakage current. In such an oxide semiconductor transistor, a metal oxide containing one kind or two kinds or more of metal elements such as indium (In), tin (Sn), zinc (Zn), and gallium (Ga) is used, for instance. Such a metal oxide having, for example, an amorphous structure has characteristics of a large band gap and high mobility but may have poor characteristics as a semiconductor.


A slip-controlled hydraulic vehicle brake system includes a first hydraulic pump configured to draw brake fluid out of wheel brakes or out of a hydraulic accumulator connected to the wheel brakes. The brake system also includes two further hydraulic pumps configured to be connected to a brake master cylinder for a rapid pressure buildup. To pump against a high brake pressure while the vehicle brake system is actuated, only the first hydraulic pump is used, while the other two hydraulic pumps are separated from the brake master cylinder and run “at idle” at the same time. The necessary mechanical driving power of the hydraulic pumps is thereby reduced, and a very rapid pressure buildup is nevertheless possible.

The disclosure relates to a slip-controlled hydraulic vehicle brake system having the features described below.
German Offenlegungsschrift DE 195 01 760 A1 discloses a slip-controlled hydraulic vehicle brake system, the brake circuits of which are connected via isolation valves to a brake master cylinder. It has wheel brakes, which are connected via pressure buildup valves to the isolation valves and via pressure lowering valves to a suction side of a hydraulic pump. For wheel-specific brake pressure control, each wheel brake has a pressure buildup valve and a pressure lowering valve. A hydraulic pump is provided in each brake circuit, wherein the hydraulic pumps of the brake circuits are driven jointly by an electric motor as a drive or pump motor. Hydraulic pumps in slip-controlled vehicle brake systems are also referred to as return pumps. For a rapid brake pressure buildup when the brake master cylinder is not actuated and the vehicle brake system is unpressurized, the known vehicle brake system has an intake valve, by means of which a suction side of the hydraulic pump can be connected to the brake master cylinder. The pressure buildup valves and pressure lowering valves can be regarded as wheel brake pressure modulation valve arrangements, by means of which wheel brake pressures can be controlled in each vehicle wheel on a wheel-specific basis. In this way, antilock control, traction control and vehicle dynamics/antiskid control operations are possible, for which abbreviations such as ABS, ASR, ESP and FDR are customary. These slip control operations are known per se and will not be explained in greater detail here.
In German Offenlegungsschrift DE 10 2010 043 403 A1, the hydraulic pump in one brake circuit is replaced by three hydraulic pumps or hydraulic pump elements connected hydraulically in parallel, which are driven jointly.
For the hydraulic pumps of such vehicle brake systems, there are two requirements, which are diametrically opposed: on the one hand, they must be capable of pumping brake fluid against a brake pressure prevailing in the vehicle brake system when the brake master cylinder is actuated. In this case, the prevailing pressure is very high when the brake master cylinder is actuated with maximum muscle power by a vehicle driver. The hydraulic pump and the drive motor must not come to a halt. The opposite case is a brake pressure buildup when the brake master cylinder is not actuated and the vehicle brake system is unpressurized, which requires a large delivery volume flow from the hydraulic pump to achieve a rapid pressure buildup. Achieving a high or even the maximum pressure is not decisive here, a moderate or medium pressure being sufficient. The rapidity of the pressure buildup and, associated with this, the rapidity of actuation of one or more wheel brakes is crucial in a vehicle dynamics/antiskid control operation because a tendency for a vehicle to skid can only be counteracted effectively by a very rapid braking intervention at one or more vehicle wheels: the more rapid the braking intervention, the more effectively a tendency to skid can be counteracted. The two requirements lead to a hydraulic pump which is per se overdimensioned and to a drive motor which is per se overdimensioned. A relatively large and heavy drive motor with a high electric power consumption, which does not come to a halt, even at the maximum brake pressure in the vehicle brake system, but drives the hydraulic pump, is required.

Slip-controlled hydraulic vehicle brake system


An internal combustion barrel engine having rotating cylinders and pistons which together form combustion spaces. The combustion spaces are maintained at a substantially constant volume while a compressed air-fuel mixture is combusted therein.

The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The present invention relates to engines of all sorts. More particularly, the present invention relates to an internal combustion engine of a barrel-type configuration in which the cylinder axes are arranged around a central longitudinal axis of the engine, and even more particularly to a barrel-type engine having a rotating cylinder bank.
Internal combustion engines have been around for a long time. The basic components of the engine are well known in the art and include the engine block, cylinder head, cylinders, pistons, valves, crankshaft and camshaft. The cylinder heads, cylinders and tops of the pistons typically form combustion chambers into which fuel and air are introduced so that combustion takes place. Useful work is generated from the hot, gaseous products of combustion acting directly on the top or crown surface of the piston. Generally, reciprocating linear motion of the pistons within the cylinders is transferred to rotary motion of a crankshaft via connecting rods. One common internal combustion engine is known as an Otto-type internal combustion engine and employs a four-stroke cycle in which power is derived from the combustion process over four separate pistons movements (strokes): intake stroke, compression stroke, expansion (power) stroke, and exhaust stroke. In traditional Otto-type automotive engine applications, the cylinders are typically stationary and are typically arranged in one of three ways: (1) a single row (in line) with the centerlines of the cylinders commonly vertically oriented; (2) a double row with the centerlines of opposite cylinders converging in a V (V-engine); or (3) two horizontal, opposed rows (opposed or pancake engine). Two additional Otto-type cylinder configurations were also experimented with, primarily between 1900 and 1950, and include (1) a radial configuration where the cylinder axes are arranged like spokes of a wheel with the lower rod ends mounted on a common crank shaft journal, and (2) a barrel configuration with cylinder axes arranged parallel around the central longitudinal axis of the engine. Barrel configurations generally include a stationary cylinder bank and the power is transferred to the crankshaft in one of three ways (1) with the lower ends of the connecting rods connected to a gear arrangement, (2) with the lower ends of the crankshaft connected to a wobble plate, and (3) with the lower ends of the rods pushing a cam surface.
A subclass of barrel engines are those with a rotating cylinder bank and such engines generally come in one of three configurations: (1) a two or four-cycle arrangement in which the rotating cylinder bank drives an angled thrust plate from which power is taken off as shown by way of example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 980,491; 1,345,808; 2,382,280 and 4,779,579; (2) a two-cycle arrangement in which a pair of rotating cylinder banks share a common cylinder head unit and in which the outer rod ends each drive an angled thrust plate as shown by way of example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 968,969; 1,255,664 and 1,779,032; and (3) a two-cycle arrangement in which a pair of rotating cylinder banks share a common piston and in which a pair cylinder head units are provided at each end thereof as shown by way of example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,830,208 and 5,103,778. It is believed, both radial and barrel engines, in particular, fell out of favor after World War II.
Beginning in the early part of the twentieth century, the conventional Otto-type reciprocating engine began to assume dominance as the most practical approach, even though it was recognized that the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine was such that about two-thirds of the energy developed through the combustion of the fuel was wasted. That is, roughly ⅓ of the fuel energy is delivered to the crankshaft as useful work, ⅓ is lost in waste heat through the cylinder walls, heads and pistons, and ⅓ is lost out of the exhaust.
The Wankel engine, which is also known as a rotary engine, is denoted as such because it utilizes a single triangular rotating piston which forms combustion chambers as it rotates within a stationary figure eight-shaped "cylinder". The Wankel engine does not employ connecting rods as the rotating piston is linked directly to the crankshaft. The Wankel engine is also a four-stroke cycle engine, and while it has several advantages over the Otto-type engine, it produces higher emissions, has a shorter lifespan, and lacks torque at low speeds, which leads to greater fuel consumption.
Applicant's U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0131807 provides an improved barrel configuration with a rotating cylinder bank and angled thrust plate. However, it is always desirable to make improvements such as but not limited to improvements in thermodynamic efficiency, emissions, manufacturability, and/or power or torque of the engine.

Rotating barrel type internal combustion engine


A Process for Joining Plastic Moldings Plastic moldings can be joined with one-component or two-component adhesives, the connecting joint being spanned by metal strips. The metal strips are at least partly embedded in the adhesive layer. This process is particularly suitable for repairing damaged plastic moldings, more particularly automobile parts, for example fenders. The moldings repaired by the process according to the invention are restored to their original performance properties, more particularly dimensional rigidity, impact strength and appearance. In the event of scrapping, the moldings thus repaired are fully recyclable by conventional methods.

In several branches of industry, above all in the automotive industry, metal moldings are being increasingly replaced by plastic moldings. Plastic moldings are used on the one hand to save waste and on the other hand to simplify production cycles. In the automotive industry, for example, tailgates of automobiles, wing sections and, in particular, fenders of plastic moldings are being used to increasing extent. These plastic moldings may consist of a number of different plastics or composites, including for example polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene terpolymers (ABS), polyamide, polyurethane, polyepoxides and polyesters (particularly in the form of sheet molding compounds (SMC) or bulk molding compounds (BMC)). In addition, so-called polymer blends, for example EPDM-modified polyethylenes and polypropylene materials, are often used.
These plastic moldings can be damaged in the operation of the machines, apparatus and, in particular, vehicles (automobiles) equipped with them. In particular, the fenders of automobiles are often damaged in wrecks.
Hitherto, the damaged moldings have generally been replaced by new parts and not repaired.
This approach has two major disadvantages so far as the consumer is concerned. On the one hand, it is far more expensive to replace the damaged plastic molding by a new part than to repair it by simple methods. On the other hand, the damaged plastic molding has to be disposed of. This hitherto necessary disposal of bulky and unwieldy parts is highly undesirable on environmental grounds, in addition to which the disposal costs contribute significantly towards increasing the repair costs.
Accordingly, there has been no shortage of attempts to develop processes for repairing damaged plastic moldings although they have all been found in practice to show serious disadvantages.
EP-A-186081 proposes using metal plates coated with hotmelt adhesives based on thermoplastic copolymers for bodywork repairs. The plates thus coated are then bonded over the damaged area. However, this process can only be used for metal parts and not for plastic moldings because, in this case, the area to be repaired has to be preheated to temperatures at which the hotmelt adhesive based on thermoplastic block copolymers softens, i.e. it has to be heated to temperatures above 100.degree. C. Many plastic moldings, particularly those based on thermoplastic materials, lose their dimensional stability and their mechanical properties at temperatures as high as these, so that the process proposed in EP-A-186081 is not suitable for repairing plastic moldings.
EP-A-315101 describes a method for repairing damaged articles of composite materials. According to this document, the damaged area of the composite material is mended by bonding metal or pieces of cured composite material to the surface surrounding the damaged area. The adhesive used is a rubber-modified vinyl ester resin composition. In another embodiment, an uncured reinforcing material is impregnated with a rubber-modified vinyl ester resin composition, placed over the prepared damaged zone and cured there. Graphite fiber cloths and glass fiber cloths are proposed as the reinforcing material. According to EP-A-315101, the metal or composite material is applied to the entire damaged area. There is nothing to indicate whether this repair process is also suitable for repairing plastic moldings of thermoplastic materials.
The damaged areas of plastic moldings, particularly fenders of automobiles, very often develop relatively long cracks which drastically reduce the mechanical strength of the molding. Efforts to repair such damage in the conventional way by applying reinforcing metal parts or glass fiber cloths to the entire damaged area with an adhesive have shown that the mechanical properties of the molding thus repaired are considerably poorer than those of the original undamaged molding. Where metal patches are applied to the entire damaged area, it has been found, for example in the pendulum impact test, that the bond splits over a large area. In repairs carried out with glass fiber mats, the adhesive bond begins to tear and distort the molding at the original crack in tensile tests. In pendulum impact tests, too, the fiber cloth tears at the original crack. Accordingly, there is a need to develop a process which would enable damaged plastic moldings, particularly those used in the automotive industry, to be repaired with simple means. In addition, the process would ensure that not only would the repaired part be satisfactory in appearance, it would also be equivalent to the new part in its mechanical properties.


A mop head retaining clamp has a mop handle receiving base member. A lower clamp arm, with retaining teeth is pivotally connected to the base at one end of the arm. The other end of the arm is pivotally connected to one end of a side arm member. The other end of the side arm member is pivotally connected to a handle attached to a lockable insert. The insert is sized to fit snugly into a cavity in the base member and is removeably locked in place by the interaction of the insert's extended front surface with a lipped section extending from the cavity. A mop head attached with this clamp is securely fastened to its mop handle during use, but it can be readily disengaged when the mop head needs to be replaced.

Swab mops having mop heads made of yarn, cotton, or similar cloth-type strands are commonly used to clean soiled surfaces and to absorb moisture from wet surfaces. Of course during use, these mop heads become soiled and, after prolonged use, become worn and are no longer effective in cleaning operations, and the mop heads and mops on which they are mounted must be discarded. As a result, mops with removable mop heads are popular, in that when a mop head becomes unusable, it can be removed and replaced with a new mop head, thus preventing the entire mop from being discarded. To accomplish this, mop head holders or retaining clamps are used for removeably retaining mop heads on mop handles. However, no retaining device has been developed which truly securely maintains a mop head on its mop and which easily and readily allows the user to replace an old mop head with a new one, without difficulty and without the mess associated with removing an old, soiled and often wet mop head.


The invention relates to apparatus for simultaneously dispensing a plurality of measured quantities of a liquid, the apparatus comprising:. a slide-valve body, a succession of liquid accumulation chambers, respective expulsion gas feed channels associated with said chambers, a selector member movable in said housing between a filling position and a dispensing position, and sealing structure placed in said housing between the slide-valve body and the selector member. When the selector member is in the filling position, liquid flows through the various chambers in succession, and when the selector member is in the dispensing position, the liquid contained within each chamber can flow out under the action of said expulsion gas.

One solution for simultaneously dispensing a plurality of measured quantities of a liquid into individual treatment vessels consists in providing as many valves as there are vessels, the valves being connected firstly to a common source of said liquid, and secondly to filler orifices opening out respectively into said vessels. The time each valve is open serves to control the quantity of liquid dispensed. That solution rapidly becomes very expensive to implement when the treatment vessels are numerous and a plurality of successive treatment or rinsing liquids need to be delivered to the vessels, since the number of valves needs to be multiplied accordingly. Also, there can be a problem of bulk due to the number of valves.

Method and apparatus for dispensing a plurality of measured quantities of the same liquid