According to this disclosure, a proxy server is enhanced to be able to interpret instructions that specify how to modify an input object to create an output object to serve to a requesting client. Typically the instructions operate on binary data. For example, the instructions can be interpreted in a byte-based interpreter that directs the proxy as to what order, and from which source, to fill an output buffer that is served to the client. The instructions specify what changes to make to a generic input file. This functionality extends the capability of the proxy server in an open-ended fashion and enables it to efficiently create a wide variety of outputs for a given generic input file. The generic input file and/or the instructions may be cached at the proxy. The teachings hereof have applications in, among other things, the delivery of web content, streaming media, and the like.

Technical Field
This application relates generally to distributed data processing systems and to the delivery of content over computer networks.
Brief Description of the Related Art
Distributed computer systems are well-known in the prior art. One such distributed computer system is a "content delivery network" or "CDN" that is operated and managed by a service provider. The service provider typically provides the content delivery service on behalf of third parties. A "distributed system" of this type typically refers to a collection of autonomous computers linked by a network or networks, together with the software, systems, protocols and techniques designed to facilitate various services, such as content delivery or the support of outsourced site infrastructure. Typically, "content delivery" refers to the storage, caching, or transmission of content, or streaming media or applications on behalf of content providers, and ancillary technologies used therewith including, without limitation, DNS query handling, provisioning, data monitoring and reporting, content targeting, personalization, and business intelligence.
In a known system such as that shown in FIG. 1, a distributed computer system 100 is configured as a content delivery network (CDN) and is assumed to have a set of machines 102a-n distributed around the Internet. Typically, most of the machines are servers located near the edge of the Internet, i.e., at or adjacent end user access networks. A network operations command center (NOCC) 104 may be used to administer and manage operations of the various machines in the system. Third party sites affiliated with content providers, such as web site 106, offload delivery of content (e.g., HTML, embedded page objects, streaming media, software downloads, and the like) to the distributed computer system 100 and, in particular, to the CDN's servers (which sometimes referred to as content servers, or as "edge" servers in light of the possibility that they are located near an "edge" of the Internet). Such content servers may be grouped together into a point of presence (POP) 107.
Typically, content providers offload their content delivery by aliasing (e.g., by a DNS CNAME) given content provider domains or sub-domains to domains that are managed by the service provider's authoritative domain name service. End users that desire such content may be directed to the distributed computer system to obtain that content more reliably and efficiently. Although not shown in detail, the distributed computer system may also include other infrastructure, such as a distributed data collection system 108 that collects usage and other data from the content servers, aggregates that data across a region or set of regions, and passes that data to other back-end systems 110, 112, 114 and 116 to facilitate monitoring, logging, alerts, billing, management and other operational and administrative functions. Distributed network agents 118 monitor the network as well as the server loads and provide network, traffic and load data to a DNS query handling mechanism 115, which is authoritative for content domains being managed by the CDN. A distributed data transport mechanism 120 may be used to distribute control information (e.g., metadata to manage content, to facilitate load balancing, and the like) to the content servers.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, a given machine 200 in the CDN (sometimes referred to as an "edge machine") comprises commodity hardware (e.g., an Intel Pentium processor) 202 running an operating system kernel (such as Linux or variant) 204 that supports one or more applications 206a-n. To facilitate content delivery services, for example, given machines typically run a set of applications, such as an HTTP proxy 207, a name server 208, a local monitoring process 210, a distributed data collection process 212, and the like. The HTTP proxy 207 (sometimes referred to herein as a global host or "ghost" process) typically includes a manager process for managing a cache and delivery of content from the machine. For streaming media, the machine typically includes one or more media servers, such as a Windows Media Server (WMS) or Flash 2.0 server, as required by the supported media formats.
The machine shown in FIG. 2 may be configured to provide one or more extended content delivery features, preferably on a domain-specific, customer-specific basis, preferably using configuration files that are distributed to the content servers using a configuration system. A given configuration file preferably is XML-based and includes a set of content handling rules and directives that facilitate one or more advanced content handling features. The configuration file may be delivered to the CDN content server via the data transport mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 7,111,057 illustrates a useful infrastructure for delivering and managing CDN server content control information and this and other content server control information (sometimes referred to as "metadata") can be provisioned by the CDN service provider itself, or (via an extranet or the like) the content provider customer who operates the origin server.
The CDN may include a network storage subsystem (sometimes referred to herein as "NetStorage") which may be located in a network datacenter accessible to the content servers, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,472,178, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The CDN may operate a server cache hierarchy to provide intermediate caching of customer content; one such cache hierarchy subsystem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,376,716, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
For live streaming delivery, the CDN may include a live delivery subsystem, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,082, and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0173345, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
There are many cases where, using a distributed computing system such as that described in connection with FIGS. 1-2, it is desirable to be able to serve custom or semi-custom content to individual requesting end-user clients, given generic source content. This need may come from the client (which may need, for example, a particular format in which to consume streaming media) or from the content provider (which may desire, for example, that its content be watermarked with information about the client or user to which the content was delivered, or with other information about the circumstances of the delivery). Further, the nature of such requirements may change over time, for example, as new media formats become popular, or new watermarking techniques are deployed, or entirely new demands arise for providing tailored content.
Hence, there is a need to provide an improved content delivery platform that can delivery custom or semi-custom content at scale and while meeting real-time performance requirements. There is also a need for an extensible system that can handle an increasing number of content delivery demands in an efficient way. The teachings herein address these and other needs that will become apparent in view of this disclosure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Proxy server with byte-based include interpreter


A retrofocus projection lens system comprising, in order from a large conjugate side a first lens group having a negative refracting power and including a plurality of lenses, a second lens group having a positive refracting power, and a third lens group having a positive refracting power and including a plurality of lenses. The lens of the first lens group which is nearest to the large conjugate side is an aspherical lens, and the lens of the third lens group which is nearest to a small conjugate side is an aspherical lens. The retrofocus projection lens system desirable satisfy the following conditional expressions (1) to (3): EQU 1.8<D.sub.1 /f<3.0 (1) EQU 1.1<f.sub.2 /f.sub.3 <1.6 (2) EQU 1.5<.vertline.f.sub.1 .vertline./f<2.3 (3). where a symbol f.sub.1 designates a focal length of the first lens group, a symbol f.sub.2 designates a focal length of the second lens group, a symbol f.sub.3 designates a focal length of the third lens group, a symbol f designates a focal length of the projection lens system, and a symbol D.sub.1 designates a gap between the first lens group and the second lens group.

The present invention relates to a retrofocus projection lens system capable of making various types of aberrations small, and a multivision projection display apparatus into which a plurality of retrofocus projection lens systems are incorporated.
A conventional projection display apparatus is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. 138386/1994. In this apparatus, since an image is projected onto a screen by a single image projector, it is difficult to make a depth of the apparatus small. Further, in order to make the depth of the apparatus small, a wide angle projection lens is required.
A wide angle lens is known in the art of single reflex camera, however the following additional features are required in the wide angle projection lens for the multivision projection display apparatus of a small depth.
(a) The wide angle projection lens can correct the distortion which is a particular problem with wide angle lenses satisfactorily.
(b) The wide angle projection lens has an adequate air gap for inserting a mirror for bending an optical path.
(c) The wide angle projection lens has a long back focal length for inserting a color synthesizing dichroic prism.
(d) In order to prevent a color shade of the projected image and the reduction of the peripheral light amount, the principal off-axis light beam on the liquid crystal panel side is parallel to the optical axis, namely, the projection lens system has telecentric characteristics.
(e) Despite the wide angle lens, it allows a sufficient peripheral illuminance ratio to be obtained.

Retrofocus projection lens system and multivision projection display apparatus


A process is provided for preparing poly(arylene sulfide sulfone)/poly(arylene sulfide ketone) block copolymers comprising: contacting poly(arylene sulfide sulfone) prepolymer, at least one dihalobenzophenone, a sulfur source, and a polar organic compound under polymerization conditions.

This invention relates to the preparation of poly(arylene sulfide sulfone)/poly(arylene sulfide ketone) block copolymers and the block copolymers thus produced.
Poly(arylene sulfide sulfone)s are amorphous polymers and exhibit good impact strength, a relatively low melting temperature which give a moderate processing temperature, and a high glass transition temperature which allows the polymer to be used at high temperatures. They are useful in the such areas as electrical components, wire coatings, automotive parts, and the like.
Poly(arylene sulfide ketone)s are an important class of engineering thermoplastics. They are of commercial interest for film, fiber, moldings, and composite applications because of their high melting points giving the polymer the ability to withstand high temperatures, and crystallinity which produces a polymer with very good chemical resistance.
It would be desirable to produce a polymer composition which exhibits the advantages of both poly(arylene sulfide sulfone)s and poly(arylene sulfide ketone)s i.e. heat stability, chemical resistance, high impact strength, reduced processing temperature, and high glass transition temperature.

Poly(arylene sulfide sulfone)/poly(arylene sulfide ketone) block copolymers and preparation thereof


An electrical connector including an insulating housing (20) having surfaces (22,24) for facing mutually facing circuit boards, electrical contacts (50,52) disposed in contact press-fitting holes (26,28) in the insulating housing (20) with central sections of the contacts secured within the insulating housing (20). Contact sections of the electrical contacts (50,52) extend outwardly from the surfaces (22,24) of the insulating housing (20) and are bent to extend along the respective board-facing surfaces (22,24) and spaced therefrom defining spring contact members (54,58) for electrical engagement with conductive pads on the circuit boards.

Electrical connectors which electrically connect mutually facing circuit boards have been widely used in the past. An electrical connector of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-37787 in which through-holes are formed inside an insulating housing, and contacts which are bent in a multiple number of places in order to endow the contacts with spring properties, are passed through the through-holes in the insulating housing and fastened in place. Another connector of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-43279 in which contact retaining ribs are formed inside an insulating housing, and contacts with spring properties are retained therein by these ribs.
The contacts used in the conventional electrical connectors described above are formed by punching metal plates into predetermined shapes prior to the installation of the contacts in the insulating housing. These contacts have complicated shapes in order to endow the contacts with spring properties; accordingly, the work involved in manufacturing the contacts and the work required in order to install the manufactured contacts within the insulating housing are also complicated. As a result, the manufacturing process used to manufacture such electrical connectors is relatively complicated. Furthermore, in the manufacture of the contacts, the portions of the punched metal plates that do not form portions of the contacts are discarded. As a result, the utilization of materials is inefficient, and a corresponding increase in the cost takes place. In addition, the positions of engagement between the contacts and the circuit boards may be skewed, so that the orientation of the electrical connector mounted on the circuit boards is not correct, thus leading to the electrical connector providing improper connections between the contacts and the conductive pads on the circuit boards.

Electrical connector and method for manufacturing the same


A kit 10 which includes various implements, such as a container 12, a pair of sunglasses, 40 suntan lotion 45 and a flag 44, colors container 110, 112, 114, and 116 which allows an aesthetically pleasing sand sculpture 200 to be safely and efficiently created. Particularly, some of the implements, such as the lotion 45, are utilized to protect the user of the kit, the container 12 may worn the user of the occurrence of an undesirably high temperature or ultraviolet radiation condition, and the container 110-116 may be used to selectively create a colorful design upon the created sculpture 200.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a sand sculpture kit and to a method for creating and decorating a sand sculpture and more particularly, to a kit which may be used to safely and dynamically create an aesthetically pleasing sand sculpture.
2. Background of the Invention
A sand sculpture, such as that which is often referred to as a "sand castle", is often created by children or young adults at the beach and is often considered a source of pleasure and enjoyment both for the creators as well as for the spectators who watch the activity and/or appreciate the finished sculpture.
Conventionally, the sand sculpture is created by selectively acquiring and forming sand (e.g., such as that which is located on a beach) into a certain desired shape or spatial orientation or configuration (e.g., such as in the form of a house or castle). While this approach does allow a desired configuration to be spatial achieved, it suffers from some drawbacks.
By way of example and without limitation, the created sculpture is only a single color (e.g., the color of the sand) which some people find to be un-aesthetically displeasing. Further, due to the "single colored nature" of these sand sculptures, it is difficult, when many of these sculptures are placed or formed in close proximity to one another, to "tell them apart" or to distinguish them, thereby preventing a truly novel sculpture from receiving the desired and justified notice and acclaim.
Further, due to the depletion of the protective ozone layer and the concomitant and undesired increase in potentially damaging ultraviolet rays, it may be dangerous, depending upon the time of year and the locality, especially for young children or the elderly, to be at the beach for an extended period of time. This danger emanates both from the harmful effects of these ultraviolet rays and the general harmful effect of overexposure to sunlight. Some protection measures, such as the wearing of a hat or the application of suntan lotion, may mitigate against these exposure risks, however even these measures, depending upon the strength of the ultraviolet environment in which the beach is located, may be insufficient. Many individuals fail to take appropriate protective measures for themselves and/or for their parents or children to protect themselves against the effect of these harmful ultraviolet rays or sunlight and when one is engrossed in creating or observing sand sculptures, one may even forget to consider the harmful effects of sunlight or ultraviolet rays, or even to take appropriate measures.
The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages of prior sand sculpturing techniques and methodologies in a new and novel manner.

Sand sculpture kit and a method for creating and decorating a sand sculpture


A mooring device is disclosed for securing a floating structure to a layer of soil. A body of water is displaced by the vessel. The floating structure supports an individual having a first hand and a second hand. The mooring device comprises a shaft extending between a first end and a second end. A point is secured to the first end of the shaft for permitting the shaft to transverse the layer of soil. A handle is secured to the second end of the shaft for receiving a descending vertical force or an ascending vertical force. The handle includes a concave upper surface extending between a primary end and a secondary end for receiving the first hand and/or the second hand of the individual during the descending vertical force. The handle includes a first convex surface and a second convex surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mooring device and more particularly to the boat mooring device for securing a boat to a soil layer.
2. Background of the Invention
Mooring a vessel allows the vessel to remain stationary within a body of water. Many types of devices may be used for mooring a vessel to a fixed object, such as a pier. However, if the vessel is located in open waters, mooring the vessel may be troublesome. Furthermore, if the vessel is located within open swallow water and/or the vessel may be subject to within close proximity to the vessel resulting in further complications in mooring a vessel. Several attempts in the prior art have been made to provide a solution to mooring a vessel in swallow open water.
U.S. Pat. No. 910,090 to Schilling discloses a pushing pole for boats comprising a rod or pole, a spherical head and a hemispherical socket secured to the pole, and the head secured to the socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,164,361 to C. Kilgore discloses a kit for propelling water crafts comprising a jointed pole, a detachable collapsible head, and a pair of detachable paddle blades. The head and detachable paddle blades are interchangeably usable.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,293,130 to A. Brodie discloses a punting device comprises a socket, a pull out pin passing transversely through the socket. A pair of blades are pivotally carried by the extended ends of the pin and centrally notched to escape the socket and permit of the up and down swinging of the blades. Stop means are carried by the socket and engagable with the blades to arrest them in a position substantially t right angles to the socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,477,410 to R. Johnson discloses a combination of an elongated shaft, one end of which constitutes a handle, a reinforcing cap secured to the opposite end having a hook portion thereon extending rearwardly towards the handle. A pair of paddle vanes are carried by the shaft and extend outwardly from opposite sides of the shaft, intermediate the handle and capped end thereof. The vanes are positioned substantially in a common plane, the hook portion lying substantially in the plane of the vanes. The end edges of the latter are adjacent the capped end of the shaft are inclined outwardly and rearwardly towards the handle end thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,795 to G. Snodgrass discloses a punting pole for pushing a boat through waters having vegetable growths such as wild rice, including a handle and a head attached to one end of the handle. The head has a pair of rigid arms forkedly extending from the end of the pole in the same plane but in symmetrical opposition and adapted to embrace and gather into a clump a plurality of plants as the forked end is pushed against the plants.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,991,750 to R. Tourneau discloses an apparatus for aiding a ship to move on or off a beach. The apparatus comprises a pair pusher members each in the form of a rigid beam having gear teeth extending longitudinally thereof, and having an enlarged foot portion at each end thereof. A pair of gear reductions each have an output shaft with an output pinion fixed to the shaft. The gear reductions are fixed to the ship at opposite sides thereof with their respective output shafts extended outwardly from the ships side. A carriage journalled is on each of the output shaft. Each carriage includes means for supporting a respective pusher member beneath the respective output shaft for longitudinal reciprocal movement. The output pinion engages the gear teeth of the respective pusher member. Means drive the gear reductions to control the longitudinal position of the respective pusher members.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,043,261 to G. Snodgraass discloses a punting pole for pushing a boat through shallow water comprising an elongated handle and a head secured to one end of the handle. The head comprises a ferrule for receiving the end of the handle. A fork on the forward end of the ferrule provided by forwardly and outwardly extending divergent arms disposed in a common plane substantially coinciding with and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle. The inner surfaces of the arms provide a flat continuous surface having an arcuate central portion merging into a straight flat portion on each arm extending outwardly and forwardly at an angle to the axis of the handle. Each straight portion merges into a curved portion terminating at the end of each arm. A tangent to the curved portion at the end of each arm is substantially parallel to the axis of the handle. The width of the straight flat portions are substantially less than the width of the central arcuate portion and flare outwardly to the ends of the curved portions. Whereby the width of the ends of the curved portions are substantially greater than the width of the arcuate central portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,048,139 to J. Duckett discloses a boat hook and docking device which comprises a shaft and a head secured to an outer end of the shaft. The head has spaced outwardly extending prongs thereon ending in surface engaging tips and defining a yoke opening in an outward direction from the shaft and in the same general direction as the axis of the shaft. The configuration of the yoke is such to except a right angle, while the surface engaging tips contact the sides of the right angle without contact between the yoke and the apex of the right angle as long as the angle between a line along the axis of the shaft and a line bisecting a right angle is between zero and about 30 degrees on either side of zero. An inwardly extending prong on the head defines a hook opening in an inward direction along the shaft. The depth of the hook opening along a line parallel to the axis of the shaft is more than one half the width of the opening taken along a line from the tip of the inwardly extending prong perpendicular to the axis of the shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,238,912 to S. Perlick discloses a boat floatingly supported on the surface of a natural body of water, at least two posts are located on opposite sides of the boat and adapted to be vertically imbedded in the floor of the water body with their upper ends extending above the upper sides of the boat. Each of the posts have a clamping means secured thereto and to the boat. Each of the clamping means comprises a sleeve at least partially surrounding the post. Means on the sleeve adjustably secure the same against vertical movement on the post in a vertical position determined by the extent to which the post projects into the water and into the floor of the water body. A clamping member is slightly secured to the sleeve and has a boat engaging portion extending over the inner edge of the boat. Cam means are located outwardly of the boat engaging portion of the clamping means and cooperate with the clamping member and the sleeve for moving the clamping member to draw such boat engaging portion against the inner side of the boat to claim the boat against the sleeve. The cam means are quickly releasable to permit the clamping member to be moved in a position in which the boat can be released from the clamping means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,569 to L. Chauvin discloses a device and its method of use with small fishing, utility and pleasure boats to prevent their grounding on the water bottom or to protect their propulsion unit from contact therewith. This is accomplished by the present invention which comprises an adjustable shaft member fitted in a cooperating support assembly mounted on the boat. The elevation of the shaft is adjusted such that its end strikes the water bottom before the bottom of the boat or its propulsion unit does so.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,099 to H. Conover discloses a telescoping combination Boat Hook and Boat Pole and will lock in extended (or long) position or lock in closed (or short) position as need arises in handling of boat and where a boat hook or boat pole is needed for same.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,531 to D. Norton discloses a telescoping pole with a protruding-shaped foot arrangement at the forward end of its smaller diameter section. This section is provided with a sealed, flotation chamber. Protected alignment markers are provided on the smaller diameter section. The feet are provided with a device for catching a piling or the like from behind, for pulling a boat forwards and with a device for guiding the pole down a fishing line for freeing a snagged lure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,717 to R. Rebeck discloses a holder for a push pole for maintaining a push pole within reach of a user includes a push pole holding portion and a mounting portion. The push pole holding portion is dimensioned to releasably hold the push pole. The mounting portion is configured to be positioned on the user's body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,480 to R. Schaller discloses a push pole for propelling a boat comprising an elongated straight pole having a first and second end and a foot extending from the second end of the elongated pole. The foot consists of two prongs where the first prong extends coaxially in relation to the elongated pole and the second prong has an arcuate shape disposed towards the first prong. The first prongs has a spiraled configuration between a spade-like terminus and the elongated pole. The second prong has a spade-like terminus. The configuration of the foot provides for efficient insertion and release of the prongs from the floor of a waterway.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,197 to F. Pohlman discloses a device for operating and anchoring a watercraft in congested and hazardous water areas is provided with a spud assembly for easy operation. A pole is provided for moving a watercraft in shallow water. The pole functions through an operating cylinder connected to a maneuvering ring. The spud assembly has a locking device for locking the maneuvering ring and the operating cylinder against movement in order to anchor the watercraft with the pole.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,270,073 to D. Waldrop discloses an aesthetically pleasing anchor system designed to quickly anchor and release a boat in shallow water with minimal effort and little to no distraction from other activities such as fishing, which has an anchor sleeve containing a sleeve liner through which an anchor pole with a pointed bottom end passes through. The anchor pole extends below the hull of a boat into the lake or river bottom beneath, and which anchor pole can engage a locking insert when the anchor pole is twisted in either direction. The locking insert located in a notch cut out of the sleeve liner allows the anchor pole to be locked in a stowed position, and which has an upper flange which engages a hand grip wrapped around the top of the anchor pole, preventing the top end of the anchor pole from dropping completely through the boat hull, and which has a bottom flange attached to the boat hull bottom through which the anchor pole passes.
U.S. Pat. No. D519,820 to D. Newman et al. discloses an ornamental design for an extension pole, as shown and described.
Although some of the devices of the prior art have addressed these problems none has successfully solved the overall issue. Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a mooring device which maintains the vessel in a stationary position within a body of water.
Another object of this invention is to provide a mooring device that may be promptly and simply installed and removed from the utility position.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


An output circuit includes: a constant voltage source; a first transistor of a first-conductivity type having a gate connected to the constant voltage source; a second transistor of a second-conductivity type that is opposite to the first conductivity type, having a source connected to a source of the first transistor and a gate connected to a circuit input terminal; a third transistor of the first-conductivity type having a drain connected to a circuit output terminal and a gate connected to the circuit input terminal; a current-current converter circuit for outputting current proportional to drain current of the second transistor to the circuit output terminal; and a voltage supply for supplying an output voltage to and operating the first to third transistors and the current-current converter circuit. Here, an output current of the current-current converter circuit and a drain current of the third transistor can be determined according to the output voltage of the constant voltage source in a steady state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an output circuit for a semiconductor device, and more specifically to an output circuit suitable for use as an output stage of an operational amplifier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional operational amplifiers will be described hereinbelow with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 shows a conventional operational amplifier disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1(1989)-318414. In FIG. 1, a constant current source I101 and three transistors M101, M102 and M107 form a current mirror circuit that supplies a constant current to an input and output amplifier stages. Two MOS transistors M105 and M106 construct a differential amplifier. Two input signals IN- and IN+ whose voltage levels change complementarily are input to the gates of the MOS transistors M105 and M106, respectively. The differential amplifier generates an output signal at its output terminal, or a drain of a transistor M104. The voltage at the output terminal is amplified by an output circuit provided with MOS transistors M107 to M113, and is then output to an output terminal OUT.
In the circuit as described above, an output sink current from a load (not shown) connected to the circuit flows as a drain current of the transistor M112. Here, the transistor M112 and the transistor M109 are connected to each other through a current mirror circuit of the transistors M112 and M111 and another mirror circuit of the transistors M109 and M110. The drain current of the transistor M112 is thus proportional to that of the transistor M109. The maximum drain current of the transistor M109 is the drain current of the transistor M107 operating as a current source. Further, the drain current of this transistor M107 is proportional to the output current of the constant current source I101 flowing through the current mirror circuit of the transistors M101 and M107.
Therefore, in order to increase the load drive capability by increasing the maximum output sink current at the output terminal OUT, it is necessary to increase the output current of the current source I101 and further to increase the bias current of the circuit.
FIG. 2 shows another conventional amplifier disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,948. In this circuit, the maximum drain current of an output transistor M207 to which flows a sink current from a load (not shown) connected the circuit is decided by two output currents of constant current sources I201 and I202. Because the transistor M207 is connected to the constant current sources I201 and I202 through a current mirror circuit of transistors M207 and M203, a current mirror circuit of transistors M202 and M204, and a current mirror circuit of transistors M205 and M206.
In this amplifier circuit, in order to increase the load drive capability by increasing the maximum output sink current at the output terminal OUT, it is necessary to increase the output currents of the current sources I201 and I202 and to increase the bias current of the circuit.
FIG. 3 shows still another conventional amplifier disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,957. In this circuit, a constant current source I301 and three transistors M301, M302, and M307 constructing a current mirror circuit provide a constant current of the circuit. Five transistors M302 to M306 construct a differential amplifier circuit. A transistor M308, a speed-up capacitor C302 and a transistor M307 construct a level shift circuit. Further, a capacitor C301 and two transistors M309 and M310 construct a phase compensating circuit. And, two transistors M311 and M312 construct an output circuit. The gate of the transistor M312 is connected to the source of the transistor M306, and the gate of the transistor M311 is connected to the drain of the transistor M308.
In this circuit, a sink current that flows from a load circuit (not shown) to the output circuit is decided by a gate voltage of the transistor M311. This gate voltage of the transistor M311 is decided by a gate voltage of the transistor M308. And, the gate voltage of the transistor M308 is an output of the differential amplifier circuit.
Suppose that the differential amplifier circuit operates under the ideal condition. When two input voltages IN+ and IN- are equal to each other (the input differential voltage is zero), an output voltage obtained at the drain node of the transistor M306 becomes equal to the drain of the transistor M305.
The gate and the drain of the transistor M305 are connected to each other. The drain voltage of the transistor M305 thus becomes a voltage obtained by subtracting a gate-source voltage Vgs from a supply voltage VDD. Therefore, the gate voltage of the transistor M311 is dependent upon the supply voltage VDD. Further, the bias currents of the two output transistors M311 and M312 are dependent upon the supply voltage VDD, with the result that the current consumption of the output transistors depends largely upon the supply voltage VDD. Further, when the threshold voltage Vth of the transistor M311 changes, its gate voltage and Vgs-Ids characteristics (the gate-source voltage v.s. the source-drain current) both change. Therefore, the bias currents of the two output transistors M311 and M312 change largely, so that their current consumption also changes largely.
As described above, in the conventional operational amplifiers as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in order to obtain a large sink current, since the normal current supplied from the constant current source must be increased, the current consumption increases undesirably. And, in the conventional operational amplifier as shown in FIG. 3, the bias currents of the output transistors change undesirably due to the influence of the supply voltage. Further, in the conventional operational amplifier, since no current flows to or from the output terminal, the current consumption increases in the steady state in which the potential at the output terminal is about the middle point of the supply voltage.

Output circuit with increased output current


Plastic composite material made up of a polymer matrix with a concentration of a nanofiber material and with a concentration of graphite-based particles. The matrix additionally contains at least one inorganic filler in the form of silicate-based particles or in the form of glass particles.

The invention relates to a plastic composite material made of a polymer matrix with a concentration of a nanofiber material and graphite based particles. The matrix additionally contains at least one inorganic filler in the form of silicate-based particles.
Various plastic compound materials or plastic composite materials are known in the art that have electrically conductive properties, or are suitable for shielding electromagnetic radiation or waves.
In particular, a plastic composite material is known (US 2005/0049355 A1), which for the purpose of improved mechanical properties and also for improved flame-retardant properties contains nanomaterial in the form of nanotubes and in particular in the form of single-walled or multi-walled nanotubes in a matrix made of a polymer material, the outer diameter of the nanotubes being between 1.2 and 500 nm.
It is an object of the invention is to create a plastic compound material with improved properties.

Plastic composite material and method for manufacturing said material


A system and method is provided for converting Dynamic Range Control/Compression (DRC) gain values into a spline representation that is compatible with the current standards. The system and method may: 1) minimize the bitrate for encoding and/or 2) minimize the approximation error between reference gain and interpolation values. A strategy for bitrate minimization may be the reduction of the number of spline nodes since gain and slope information must be transmitted for each node. Accordingly, an efficient heuristics based approach is provided that reduces the number of spline nodes needed to represent a series of DRC gain values using interpolation while accounting for overshoots and other inaccuracies.

Dynamic Range Control/Compression (DRC) reduces the dynamic range of an audio signal by some amount by (1) making soft parts in the audio signal louder; (2) making loud parts in the audio signal softer; or (3) both making soft parts louder and making loud parts softer. A reduced dynamic range may be desirable in several situations, including for audio playback systems that can only reproduce a small dynamic range while maintaining low distortions, listening environments with distracting sounds, and in situations where the listener does not want to distract others. DRC may also be applied to avoid clipping, i.e., exceeding the full scale of the audio format, for instance when audio samples are represented as fixed-point numbers. Another application of time-varying gain is the generation of fade-in and fade-out of the audio content at the beginning and end of a song for so-called gap-less content.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.


The invention is of an xe2x80x9celastic matchingxe2x80x9d method for comparing one signature against another, comprising the operations of creating a mapping between corresponding points in two signatures to be compared measured at different times after the commencement of writing the signatures which maximizes the correlation between the local spatial neighborhood of the measured points and simultaneously minimizes the curvature of the elastic spatial distortion from the mapping, providing quantitative measures of both the degree of the spatial correlations and the degree of the non-uniform spatial distortions in the mapping, thereby providing measures of the similarity between the signatures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for matching one signature with another and more specifically to a method for verifying signatures written as a part of a transaction.
2. Description of Prior Art
Existing debit or credit cards have on them a signature provided by a person to whom the credit card has been issued. During a debit or credit card transaction the person making the transaction signs a voucher and the other party to the transaction compares the two signatures before completing the transaction. A similar operation is carried out for check verification. As the card used for the transaction carries the signature of the holder of the card, it is possible for someone who obtains the card illegally to practice the signature and so obtain money or goods by false pretences. The problem is a major one and it is estimated that some eight hundred million dollars are lost in this way annually.
A signature represents a two-dimensional pattern, but by the nature of its creation from human writing, it can be classified according to a one-dimensional variable-time method. Variations in this method have been proposed. For example, Herbet and Lui published a method based on the use of acceleration-time functions that reduced the level of acceptance of forgeries by some 98%.
Other prior art methods have been used for detecting authentic and forged signatures. For example, the method of U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,930 (Livshitz et al.) is concerned with the distribution of stylus accelerations during the writing of test and reference signatures. Livshitz et al. sets out to remove distorting effects, which can arise due to causes such as a test signature being written at a different overall speed from the reference signature. This method differs from the current invention, which is concerned with the relative positions of a stylus at given intervals after the start of the writing of reference and test signatures.
Livshitz et al. is an example of a well-known xe2x80x9csliding window xe2x80x9d technique for recognizing non-linear distortions in time between two time-dependent functions. The method finds localized links between regions of a test function or window and a reference function or window, sliding one window against the other and observing the position in the test window where local correlations are maximized. The technique compares the distance that the function or window had to slide in several corresponding intervals with an authenticated signature. The distances of the several windows are then entered into a classification algorithm such as a histogram.
The drawback with the Livshitz approach is that the position in the test function giving the best correlation may not correspond to the optimal linkage between the functions. The problem can be exemplified by an attempt to match the signature xe2x80x9cFollyxe2x80x9d. The two xe2x80x9clxe2x80x9ds in the signature would provide identical sliding window fits at two different times, as the first xe2x80x9clxe2x80x9d in one signature would match equally well with either xe2x80x9clxe2x80x9d in the second signature. This difficulty is overcome in the present invention by minimizing a total energy term with correlation, spatial distortion, bond and timing distortion terms which ensures that the whole signature has a smooth low-curvature spatial distortion that simultaneously gives a good correlation along the complete signature. Any sharp error such as a match to the wrong xe2x80x9clxe2x80x9d in xe2x80x9cFollyxe2x80x9d gives an immediate increase in the spatial distortion energy. It is to be noted that while in Livshitz et al. only correlation is optimized, and only time distortions are measured, the present invention introduces the distinct concept of spatial distortion curvature. It is only in the current invention that the two concepts of correlation and spatial distortion appear as separate and distinct terms and only the summed total is minimized.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,437 (Plamondon) is concerned with the creating of parameters corresponding to handwritten strings, based on the presence or lifting of a pen during the signature. As in the current invention, Plamondon teaches correlation of the average vectors as an initial step. However, the Plamondon technique proceeds by deriving evaluating functions, concerned with the curvilinear and angular velocities of the signatures, which are compared in order individually, so that the signature is deemed a forgery if any of the functions do not meet the specified criteria.
The current invention overcomes the shortcomings with the prior art by providing a matching technique, which first uses the mean vector to find distortion values for a set of points along two signatures, and then matches those points which have a minimum distortion and maximum correlation
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for matching a reference signature designated (R) with a questioned, signature designated (Q) to determine whether the signatures are written by a specified person, comprising the operations of creating a mapping between points in the two signatures to be compared, measured at corresponding times after the commencement of the writing of each of the signatures, which maximizes the correlation between the spatial neighborhoods of the measured points in the signatures and simultaneously minimizes the curvature of the distortions in the mapping. Quantitative measures of both the maximum of the correlations between the spatial neighborhoods of the measured points in the signatures and the minimum of the curvature of the distortions are provided, thereby to giving a measure of the similarity between the two signatures, comparing the measure of similarity between the signatures with an accepted criterion of similarity indicative of an acceptable probability that both signatures were written by the specified person and providing an indication of the acceptance or rejection thereof.
A novel aspect of the current invention is the simultaneous use of correlation of the average vectors, as in Plamondon, and a time mapping similar in intent to that of Livshitz et al. to minimize a total energy function which finds a smooth, low curvature, distortion between the signatures and simultaneously maximizes the correlation between the matched points of the signature. The present invention also makes use of time variations to compare signatures and has some similarities to the method of spectrum matching published in UK Patent Application 2,225,149A. The essential difference, however, is that a signature represents a continuous pair of x and y spatial variables recorded as a function of time, rather than sets of variables defined at the discrete times corresponding to peaks in the spectra to be matched. The nature of the correlation, therefore, is quite different.
The present invention goes beyond the prior art and does not involve sliding a function representing a trial signature against another function representing a reference signature to determine the best fit between them as suggested in Livshitz et al., but uses a procedure in which trial linkages at a chosen time after the start of the writing of the two signatures are made, and then refined using a Monte Carlo simulated annealing procedure so as to maximize local correlations between the test and reference signatures, while minimizing the elastic distortion energies of the linkages between corresponding points on the two signatures (this is what is meant by minimizing the curvature of the distortions in the mapping). This concept is not relevant to the technique adopted in Livshitz et al. because Livshitz et al. is concerned solely with time distortions, while the present invention is concerned with spatial differences with time components being an independent variable under the control of the user.
In summary, there are two important differences between the approach of Livshitz et al. and the current invention. Whereas Livshitz et al. use a xe2x80x9csliding windowxe2x80x9d approach to find a time shift which minimizes time distortion, the current invention minimizes the curvature of the time distortion. This difference is crucial. The current invention defines a distortion energy Edist, which correctly describes the elastic energy of a rubber sheet, stretched from one signature to another. There is no counterpart to this energy in Livshitz et al.
The second crucial difference with Livshitz et al is that they make their classification from the histogram of phase distortions, which uses only the timing information. The current invention uses a more complex function including correlation, distortion, bond and timing terms.
Applying the Plamondon equations to Livshitz et al. would not disclose the current invention""s matching technique, which first uses the mean vector to find distortion values for a set of points along two signatures, and then matches those points which have a minimum distortion and maximum correlation.


A semiconductor memory device conducts a burst read operation that avoids interrupt loading on a system. The memory device includes a memory cell array, a sense amplifier, a latch circuit and a burst mode control unit. The sense amplifier is configured to sequentially sense and amplifies data stored in the memory cell array. The latch circuit is configured for latching sensed data of the sense amplifier group and outputting the sensed data in response to a DUMP signal. The burst mode control unit is configured for detecting the length of invalid data included in the sensed data from a burst start address and controlling a point in time of DUMP signal generation according to the detection result to sequentially output only valid data among the sensed data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor memory devices and, more specifically, to flash memory devices supporting a successive burst read mode.
This U.S non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C § 119 of Korean Patent Application 2006-14783 filed on Feb. 15, 2006, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Flash memory is a type of nonvolatile rewritable memory useful in a wide variety of data applications that require occasional writing and/or rewriting of data, nonvolatile storage, and relatively high-speed read capability. To increase the read speed, some flash memory devices include a "burst-read" or "page-read" operation. A flash memory device with this capability responds to a read request by reading a "page" of memory.
Flash memory devices may be classified into NAND-type flash memory devices (hereinafter referred to as "NAND flash memory devices") and NOR-type flash memory devices (hereinafter referred to as "NOR flash memory devices"). A cell array of a NOR flash memory device is configured as a plurality of memory cells connected in parallel to one bitline, while a NAND flash memory device is configured in which a plurality of memory cells are connected in series to one bitline. Since NOR flash memory devices have much higher operation speed than NAND flash memory devices, they are being used in a variety of applications requiring high-speed characteristic.
A read operation is conducted similarly to a random access operation. An external system inputs a specific address, on a memory cell array, where data to be read is positioned and inputs a read command. Thereafter, if an output enable signal is activated, it is synchronized with a clock signal from the system to output data corresponding to the input address. However NOR flash memory devices support a burst read mode, which is suitable for supporting a high-speed read operation. In the burst read mode, data larger than an input/output unit (I/O configuration: for example, ×16 structure) are output as many as the number of clocks corresponding to a burst length (hereinafter referred to as "BL") by once input of an address and a command in synchronization with a clock signal. Particularly in the burst read mode, all memory cells connected to a specific wordline may be sensed and output sequentially after being selected. Alternatively, in the case where a plurality of wordlines is selected, data of all cells connected to the wordlines may be successively output to the exterior after being sensed sequentially. For such a burst read operation, a memory device receives a start address of a cell array. Thereafter, burst addresses are internally generated using a count-up method to be successively supplied to a read circuit. Accordingly, the system has only to supply addresses once in the burst read mode.
Sense amplifier groups corresponding to the number of words (1 word=16 bits) to be output per sector are needed to support a burst read mode. Due to an operation characteristic of a column gate circuit selecting the sense amplifier groups and bitlines of a cell array, a start address group of the burst read mode is addressed. In case of a memory including a sense amplifier corresponding to four words per sector, a start address group may be categorized as four kinds such as, for example, 4N, 4N+1, 4N+2, and 4N+3. The start address group includes information on the number of valid words among initially output 4-word data. In a burst read mode where cell data should be sensed and output successively, if a start address is positioned at the final stage of a selected wordline, time is required for selecting and accessing a new wordline. Thus, the initially output 4-word data includes not only valid data corresponding to an assigned address but also invalid data for outputting data that are continuous for an extra time when access is conducted to the next wordline. A word boundary means a period corresponding to invalid data among four words output initially. A memory device informs a system that a word boundary is invalid data included in initially output 4-word data, through a ready pin (RDY pin). Generally, an output of a ready pin (RDY pin) is a ready signal RDY where a burst read mode starts. The ready signal RDY transitions to a low level during an initial read period. The ready signal RDY is output high during a period where effective data is output at words (e.g., four words) corresponding to an initial burst length but transitions to a low level when data corresponding to the word boundary is output, informing the system that the data is invalid data. The ready signal RDY transitions to a high level from outputting data of a second burst length BL and are maintained at the high level until the burst read operation is ended.
FIG. 1 is a timing diagram illustrating levels of a ready signal RDY and a wordline boundary generated at a burst read operation of the conventional memory device. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows a ready signal RDY indicating a word boundary existing in four words that are initially output when a burst start address A0 is given as a start address group.
If an address valid signal nAVD is synchronized with a rising edge of a clock signal CLK while being in a low level, a memory device enters a burst read mode. An input address A0 is synchronized with an external clock to successively conduct the burst read operation. Data are continuously output during an initial read period where access is performed for a cell corresponding to burst start address A0. The initial read period means a period from a low level of a valid signal nAVD and a rising edge of a clock signal associated with the output time of the initial data. Therefore during the initial read period, a ready signal RDY is maintained for a time T1 to inform the system that the data is invalid. After the initial read period, data are continuously sensed and output to conduct the burst read operation. However, 4-word data (under the premise that BL=4), has only three valid words because the start address group is 4N+1. Among the initial four words that are successively output, the three valid words are 1—2, 1—3, and 1—4. Output word 1—4 is dummy data among the words output by means of the initial read operation. Accordingly the memory device enables the ready signal RDY to transition to a low level during a clock cycle T2 where the last word output among the initially output words informs, the system that the data is invalid.
As described above, during one burst read mode, there are two low level periods of the ready signal RDY for informing the system that data are invalid data of the initial read period T1 and a word boundary period T2. Since the system must check a word boundary through the ready signal RDY each time entering a burst read mode, it must sense a second low period T2 of the ready signal RDY. The system must sense a length and a position of the second low level T2 of the ready signal RDY to receive output burst data without error. In the burst read mode, the system must sense a low level of the ready signal RDY twice. Thus, the system may encounter the damage of hardware or software for setting an interrupt which results from twice ready signal RDY.

Burst read circuit in semiconductor memory device and burst data read method thereof


A control device controlling a motor-driven four wheel drive vehicle, where either of front wheels and rear wheels are driven by an engine and the others are driven by an AC motor, is provided with an electric power generator driven by an engine to generate first three-phase AC power, a rectifier rectifying the first three-phase AC power, generated by the electric power generator, to second DC power and supplying the second DC power to a neutral point of the AC motor; and a first step-up and step-down inverter stepping up and converting the second DC power, supplied through the neutral point, to third three-phase AC power. The AC motor is rotationally driven by application of the third three-phase AC power from the first step-up and step-down inverter.

The present invention relates to a control device for a motor-driven four wheel drive vehicle and its related method and, more particularly, to a control device and a control method for a motor-driven four wheel drive vehicle wherein either of front wheels and rear wheels are driven by an engine and the others are driven by an AC motor depending upon needs.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2002-152911 and 2002-200932 disclose four wheel drive vehicles wherein front wheels are driven with drive power, generated from an engine, by which an electric power generator is driven to generate electric power which in turn rotationally drives a motor to provide drive power by which rear wheels are driven.

Control device for motor-driven 4WD vehicle and related method


In one embodiment, in a power converter system having first and second switches connected in a half-bridge arrangement at a common node from which current flows through an inductor to a regulated output terminal, wherein the regulated output terminal is connectable to a load, wherein the first and second switches are turned on and off in cycles, a method is provided for synchronous rectification. The method includes: initiating a cycle in which the first switch is turned on; developing a timer based on the on-time of the first switch during the cycle; turning off the first switch and turning on the second switch during the cycle; and outputting a control signal to turn off the second switch when either the timer expires or a new cycle is initiated to turn on the first switch, thereby providing synchronous rectification in the power converter system.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to power converters, and more particularly, to time-based synchronous rectification in a power converter.
2. Description of Related Art
Power converters are essential for many modern electronic devices. Among other capabilities, power converters can adjust voltage level downward (buck converter) or adjust voltage level upward (boost converter). Power converters may also convert from alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power, or vice versa. Power converters are typically implemented using one or more switching devices, such as transistors, which are turned on and off to deliver power to the output of the converter. Control circuitry is provided to regulate the turning on and off of the switching devices, and thus, these converters are known as "switching voltage regulators" or "switching voltage converters." The power converters may also include one or more capacitors or inductors for alternately storing and outputting energy.
Switching voltage converters can be used in low power applications such as portable electronic devices (e.g., laptop computers, cell phones, etc.), for example, to convert a voltage at a higher level (e.g., 5V) to a voltage at a lower level (e.g., 1V). To maximize efficiency in switching voltage converters, it is desirable to prevent current from reversing in the output inductor. Reverse current flow at light load degrades efficiency by increasing the RMS current that flows through switching elements and the output inductor. This RMS current causes unnecessary losses.

Time-based synchronous rectification in a power converter


A system includes a locator device and one or more processors operably connected to the locator device. The locator device determines a trailing distance between a trailing vehicle system that travels along a route and a leading vehicle system that travels along the route ahead of the trailing vehicle system in a same direction of travel. The one or more processors compare the trailing distance to a first proximity distance relative to the leading vehicle system. In response to the trailing distance being less than the first proximity distance, the one or more processors set a permitted power output limit for the trailing vehicle system to be less than a maximum achievable power output for the trailing vehicle system, the permitted power output limit being set based on a power-to-weight ratio of the leading vehicle system.

A vehicle transportation system may include multiple vehicles that travel on the same routes. The vehicles may have different characteristics, such as power outputs and weights, that affect how quickly the vehicles can navigate through the routes. A trailing vehicle traveling along a given route may reduce the distance between the trailing vehicle and a vehicle ahead along the same route that travels slower. The trailing vehicle has an incentive to reduce the total trip time in order to meet a designated arrival time at a destination, improve fuel economy, reduce emissions, and the like. However, if the trailing vehicle travels too closely to the vehicle ahead, the trailing vehicle may be required to slow to a stop for a designated period of time in order to avoid a risk of an accident between the two vehicles. The stop is undesirable as it may result in a significant delay and reduce fuel economy.
At least some of the routes over which vehicles travel may cross routes of other transportation systems, such as where rail tracks and road or highway systems cross over each other. To warn the vehicles of the other transportation systems, a vehicle approaching a crossing may be configured to activate a warning sound that is audible to people and animals near the crossing. Typically, the operator of a vehicle controls the warning sound in addition to other duties of the operator. It is not uncommon for the operator to make mistakes, such as to forget to activate the warning sound at the proper time, to activate the warning sound when not warranted (e.g., when the vehicle is in a quiet zone), or the like.


A method of fumigation which will destroy microorganisms in the environment of hatching and newly hatched poultry whereby a disinfecting solution such as hydrogen peroxide is applied into the environment by a microaerosol. The method significantly reduces the level of microorganisms in the environment and reduces the risk of post hatch transfer of potentially disease causing microorganisms, without adversely affecting the viability of the newly hatched poultry.

The present invention relates to a method for reducing microorganisms in the environment of newly hatched poultry which reduces the chance of transmission of disease in the hatchery.
The environment of newly hatched poultry quickly becomes contaminated with microorganisms as soon as the actual hatching process or exit from the eggs begins. The microorganisms include, but are not limited to, (1) bacteria such as Salmonella species, Escherichia coli, staphylococcus aureus and (2) fungal organisms such as members of fungal genus Aspergillus, and possibly avian Mycoplasmas. This rapid rise in the concentration of microorganisms is often referred to as a bacterial bloom which follows the pipping stage of incubation in poultry. It is at his stage that optimum conditions for growth of microorganisms exists in terms of humidity, temperature, and nutrient levels. Organic debris present from the hatching process provides abundant levels of nutrients enhancing microbial replication at this time.
The microbial levels in this environment are commonly measured by microbiological culture of air or by measurement of microbial levels contained on specific quantities of hatcher down or fluff (a by product of the bird produced during hatch).
The method required by government regulation for at least the last 40 years to reduce this environmental contamination is to generate formaldehyde gas by either physically mixing formalin with potassium permanganate, or more conveniently by evaporating formalin on a continuous basis during the last few days of the hatching process. While the use of formaldehyde does reduce the level of microorganisms in the environment it is becoming more difficult to use due to the public health concerns about exposure of humans to this compound.
Another significant concern with the use of formaldehyde in the post pipping stage of hatching is the adverse effect of this compound of the physical integrity of the avian respiratory system. Published literature documents this affect. The physical damage caused to the avian respiratory system by formaldehyde may predispose the animals to increased susceptibility to respiratory disease encountered in the early days of life.
It will be understood that while the invention has application to the environment of avian chicks after they are hatched and that the method in accordance will affect the portion of chicks that survive. Thus, one effect of the use of the method in accordance is to improve the hatchability of eggs since that term is defined as the portion of chicks that survive the hatching process.
The incubation process in commercially raised-avian species such as chickens and turkeys is conventionally carried out initially in setters and then in a type of incubator referred to as a hatcher. In the hatcher the respiratory system of the embryo converts to a direct air breathing animal (the pipping stage), as opposed to air exchange across the egg shell. The control of temperature and humidity are especially critical at this point of hatching. Levels of moisture too high or too low will interfere with the hatching process and result in decreased hatch percentage and or inferior post hatch performance of hatched poultry.
It is because of this that a gaseous disinfectant such as formaldehyde is desirable because it can be administered continuously from the point of pipping when the microorganism bloom occurs up until essentially all the poultry have exited from the egg without significantly increasing the moisture level in the environment. The time for this to happen may be up to thirty hours which precludes conventional methods of disinfectant application such as spraying, conventional automatic foggers or even continuous administration through the hatcher humidifying system. All of these methods would produce humidity levels too high when used on a continuous basis resulting in a smaller percentage of chicks surviving the hatching process or poor post hatch performance.
The prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,359 which discloses a process for sanitizing eggs by exposing the eggs to a solution of hydrogen peroxide during one or more stages of the hatchery process. The teachings of that patent are expressly limited to application until the actual time of pipping and hatching. Thus, there is no teaching of application after pipping. It is an object of the invention to have a method which will provide continuous protection for commercially raised poultry from the time the birds first break through the egg shell until they are removed from the hatchery environment.
It is still another object of the invention to provide such a method to decrease environmental microbial contamination without adversely affecting the proportion of birds that survive the hatching process.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method to accomplish the above which would not adversely affect the post hatch performance of the poultry.

Method for the microaerosol fumigation of newly hatched poultry


A rotor and shaft assembly for turbomachinery has a polygon shaped drive collar interposed between corresponding polygonal mating surfaces of a drive shaft and a rotor hub. The mating surfaces of the polygon collar, the drive shaft and the rotor hub may be sized both axially and radially for required torque transmission without the need for hub inserts or oversized shafts. The polygon drive collar is manufacturable using standard machine tools such as lathes and end mills that remove metal in a tool path following not more than two axes of simultaneous movement. A shaft end assembly secures the rotor and drive collar to the shaft.

Numerous attachment devices are generally known for operatively connecting turbomachinery rotor elements, such as rotors, to drive shafts. Keys, tapered polygon couplings, splines, and conical tapers are all rotor element attachment devices.
Threaded couplings can transmit high torque loads, and are easy to manufacture, but have an inherent disadvantage of being unidirectional. If torsional load is applied counter to the direction of thread pitch, the rotor will decouple from the shaft with resultant damage to the machine, and costly production losses. Numerous decoupling prevention devices have been applied to threaded couplings to overcome this problem, but they all increase manufacturing costs, and most do not have true bi-directional torque transmission capability in that torque carrying capability under reverse rotation conditions is less than under normal forward rotation conditions.
Turbo-machines often operate under a wide variety of torque loads. Due to component weight considerations, or process conditions, it is often desirable that turbomachinery incorporate rotors of especially soft or especially brittle materials. The ability to transmit torque through these materials without deformation due to stress loads often requires that an additional part, manufactured from alternate material, be fixedly inserted into the rotor hub for the purpose of transmitting torque levels from keyed, conically tapered, or splined connections, which would not otherwise be feasible. An alternative is to decrease the stress loads by increasing the mating surface areas through the use of a shaft of increased diameter. Both of these options are undesirable in that they increase both weight and cost of the machine.
Polygon tapers provide an alternative coupling method relative to keys, conical tapers, or splines in that they are capable of carrying high torque loads, through very soft or very brittle materials, without the need for costly hub inserts. They are superior to threaded connections in that they have true bi-directional torque carrying capability. A disadvantage of polygon tapers, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,437, which is incorporated by reference herein, is that they require special tooling to be manufactured, such as machines capable of grinding internal bores to tapered polygon shapes, that are unavailable in most repair facilities, resulting in the delays and expenses related to transporting parts to specialty manufacturing facilities for repair.
Therefore there is a need for an improved means for operatively connecting turbomachinery rotor elements, such as impellers, to drive shafts that would: be capable of bi-directional transmission of high torque loads between the drive shafts and the turbo-machinery rotors; be capable of transmitting high torque loads between the drive shafts and turbo-machinery rotors manufactured from soft or brittle materials; and be manufacturable or repairable using equipment and manufacturing practices available to most machine shops.


The air distillation double column (1,2) includes an apparatus for vaporizing oxygen and condensing nitrogen which comprises on one hand a running type main heat exchanger (7) which is partially immersed during stoppage of the equipment and on the other hand an auxiliary heat exchanger (20) which alone is responsible for liquid vaporization when the equipment is restarted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vaporizers-condensers of air distillation equipments. It first concerns an apparatus for vaporizing oxygen and condensing nitrogen for an air distillation double column of the type comprising at least a main heat exchanger disposed in the vat portion of the low pressure column, this exchanger being of the running type and including oxygen ducts, means for causing oxygen in excess to run in these ducts, means for withdrawing total vaporized oxygen and excess liquid .[.nitrogen.]. .Iadd.oxygen .Iaddend.through the lower ends of these same ducts nitrogen ducts in indirect heat exchange relationship with the oxygen ducts, means for feeding nitrogen gas originating from the mean pressure column to the nitrogen ducts, and means for returning condensed nitrogen to the mean pressure column.
2. Description of Prior Art
In the equipments for the distillation of air of the double column type, the liquid oxygen which is found in the vat portion of the low pressure column is vaporized by heat exchange with nitrogen gas taken in the head portion of the mean pressure column. For a given operating pressure of the low pressure column, the temperature difference between oxygen and nitrogen which is made necessary by the structure of the heat exchanger affects the operating pressure of the mean pressure column. It is therefore desirable that this temperature difference be as low as possible, in order to minimize the expenses associated with the compression of the air to be treated which is injected in the mean pressure column.
The vaporizers-condensers of the running type are very advantageous because of their excellent heat exchange performances, and can be reliably and economically produced as a result of the technology described in EP-A-130 122 in the name of the Applicant.
However, the following problem occurs.
During a stoppage of the equipment for the distillation of air as a result of an incident (temporary cut of electricity, machine break, etc. . . ) or a programmed stoppage, the liquids accumulated on the plates of the upper column (low pressure column) and .[.eventually.]. .Iadd.possibly .Iaddend.in the argon mixture column which is associated with the double column, and even the liquids accumulated on the plates of the lower column (mean pressure column), if no step is taken with respect to the operation of the valve for the upward movement of enriched liquid, will be poured in the vat of the low pressure column, precisely where the vaporizer-condenser is mounted.
With units in which high purities and high yields of extraction are required, there is a large number of plates and the "working charge" of liquid thus abruptly poured in the vat of the low pressure column in the case of a stoppage, will represent a height of many meters. When the exchanger is mounted in the vat of the low pressure column and when the exit of oxygen, in the form of gas as well as liquid can only take place at the base of the exchanger, the latter, then being at least partially immersed, is not capable of reprinting again when restarting the equipment.
The resumption of operation of the unit after a few moments, a few hours or even a few days of stoppage therefore requires a previous flushing of the liquid still present in the vat, while this liquid is welcome since it enables to instantaneously recharge the plates of the various columns of which it constitutes the "working charge".
To reprime the vaporizer-condenser without flushing the liquid which is accumulated in the vat, one would think either of mounting the exchanger at a sufficient height from the bottom of the vat of the column so that the liquid collected does not reach the lower part of this exchanger, or of mounting outside the column, or as an appendix or as a standing out of the column vat, an element capable of retention of this liquid. However, these solutions necessitate a large space which would not be in use in normal operation, and which would represent an excessive investment cost

Vaporization-condensation apparatus for air distillation double column, and air distillation equipment including such apparatus

L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude


A hinge mechanism (200) for a portable electronic device (100) is provided. The hinge mechanism includes a first shaft (202) that is capable of rotating about a first axis (206). The hinge mechanism also includes a second shaft (204) that is capable of rotating about a second axis (208), wherein the second axis in substantially parallel to the first axis. A link (210) connects the first shaft and the second shaft, wherein the link enables the first shaft and the second shaft to rotate in opposite directions.

Portable electronic devices, for instance, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), palmtops and laptops are becoming increasingly popular today. A portable electronic device with a flip opening feature generally has a first housing and a second housing. For example, in a flip mobile phone, the first housing may have a screen and a speaker, and the second housing a keypad and a microphone. Typically, these housings are connected to each other by a hinge mechanism. This hinge mechanism enables the first housing and the second housing to rotate with respect to each other about one or more axes.
Currently, there are various types of hinge mechanisms for a portable electronic device. In one such hinge mechanism, a spring connects the first housing and the second housing of a portable electronic device. The first housing and the second housing rotate about their clutch axles. These clutch axles are not mechanically linked to each other and therefore do not allow synchronized rotation of the first housing and the second housing.
In another hinge mechanism, the first housing and the second housing are connected with spur gears, which enable synchronized rotation. However, due to the large size of the spur gears, the hinge mechanism becomes bulky. Therefore, it cannot be used in small portable electronic devices. Further, the spur gears remain exposed to the environment and restrict rotation if they are covered with dust.
In light of the above discussion, there is a need for a hinge mechanism for a portable electronic device that provides synchronized rotation of a first housing and a second housing of the hinge mechanism. Further, the hinge mechanism should be compact in size.

Hinge mechanism for a portable electronic device


In a second horizontal plate (18a) bottoming an atmosphere recovery box (18), there are formed circular holes (21) between blowout pipes (20) adjacent to each other. Each of partition walls (2) positioned above a conveyor (5) includes an upper portion formed from a heat-insulating wall (2a) including a heat-insulative material having a thickness of T, and a lower portion formed from a metallic-plate wall (2b) extending downward from the heat-insulating wall (2a) toward the conveyor (5). The pitch P2 of the blowout pipes (20) across the metallic-plate wall (2b) is substantially same as the pitch P1 (12 mm) of the blowout pipes (20) disposed inside each of the chambers (R1 to R5) and adjacent to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reflow furnace in which a printed circuit board with solder paste or solder cream put thereon and having electronic components put in position on the solder cream is heated and cooled to join the electronic components to the circuit board.
2. Related Background Art
In the reflow furnace, a printed circuit board having electronic components in position thereon is heated while it is transported by a conveyor to melt solder cream on the circuit board and join the electronic components to the circuit board. In general, the reflow furnaces can be classified into two major types: air reflow furnaces using air as atmosphere and nitrogen reflow furnaces supplied with gaseous nitrogen as an inert gas to increase the nitrogen content in its atmosphere. However, both types of reflow furnaces basically have a common configuration.
Generally, the reflow furnace has the inner space thereof divided into a plurality of chambers by a plurality of partition walls located at intervals in the direction of transporting a printed circuit board. These chambers are controllable in temperature and flow rate of atmosphere in the furnace independently from each other. Typically, the chambers are used as preheating chambers for preheating the circuit board, heating chambers for melting solder cream present on the circuit board, etc.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication JP 2002-134905 discloses a reflow furnace including a plurality of chambers separated from each other and in which in-furnace atmosphere is circulated and blown vertically onto a printed circuit board. For example, hot air is blown onto a printed circuit board in the preheating and heating chambers and, in case of a reflow furnace having a cooling chamber next to a heating chamber, unheated atmosphere is blown onto the printed circuit board in the cooling chamber to cool it.
In the conventional reflow furnaces, increased flow rate of atmosphere blown vertically onto a printed circuit board in each chamber often moves electronic components from their proper positions on the circuit board.
FIG. 20 graphically illustrates measured velocity of atmosphere in a conventional reflow furnace. In FIG. 20, the line A indicates the velocity of atmosphere blown vertically onto a printed circuit board (vertical blow), and the line B indicates the velocity of atmosphere laterally blown on electronic components to the circuit board (horizontal blow). In FIG. 20, reference numeral 100 indicates an inlet wall having formed the inlet of the reflow furnace, 101 indicates partition walls between adjacent chambers, and 102 indicates an outlet wall having formed the outlet of the reflow furnace.
To obtain the data shown in FIG. 20, vertical walls 105 were placed to partition the portion of the circuit board 4a from its front and back in its transport (or conveying) direction as shown in FIG. 21A, and an anemometer S was placed on the circuit board 4a to detect the velocity of the vertical blow. To detect the horizontal blow, a cover 106 in the shape of a rectangular bracket was placed at a height of 3 mm from the circuit board 4a to orient its lateral projections across the transport direction of the circuit board 4a, and the anemometer S was placed on the circuit board 4a under the cover 106, as shown in FIG. 21B. The anemometer S used in the experiments had the following specification, and the reflow furnace was driven at 60 Hz.                (1) Manufacturer of the anemometer S Japan CANOMAX Co., Ltd.        (2) Type of the anemometer S Linear output type ANEMOMASTER Model 6141        (3) Sensitive portion of the Probe Platinum wire-wound resistor        (4) Response speed Slow
As will be seen from the measured data shown in FIG. 20, the velocity of the horizontal blow varied largely near the inlet wall 100, partition walls 101 and outlet wall 102, and the variation in velocity of the horizontal blow was about 2.0 m/sec.


An improved circuit breaker includes an arc extinction system having one or more insulators that generates a desirable gas in the presence of an arc. The exemplary circuit breaker includes gas-generating insulators disposed at three sides of a stationary contact and an arc chute at a fourth side of the stationary contact. The gas promotes the desirable extinction of the arc in a number of exemplary fashions. The presence of the gas on three sides of the stationary contact can resist movement of the arc toward the gas, thereby substantially limiting movement of the arc in a direction other than toward the arc chute. The gas can remove heat from the arc, thereby promoting deionization of the plasma by forming neutral molecular species at a lower temperature state. The presence of the gas can reduce the concentration of ions and electrons within the interior of the circuit breaker and can increase the pressure within the circuit breaker, and these also facilitate extinction of the arc.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to circuit breakers and, more particularly, to a circuit breaker having an improved arc extinction system that provides a gas in the presence of an arc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Circuit breakers are generally well known and are used in numerous applications. Circuit breakers can be used to interrupt a circuit under certain predetermined circumstances, and can be used for other purposes.
A typical circuit breaker might include a set of separable contacts that can be separated in certain predetermined circumstances to open a circuit. The separable contacts might include one or more movable contacts that are disposed on a movable arm which, when moved, can separate the one or more movable contacts from one or more stationary contacts to interrupt the circuit. As the movable contacts begin to move away from the stationary contacts, an electrical arc oftentimes forms between the movable contacts and the stationary contacts. The electrical arc is desired to be extinguished as soon as possible for various reasons that are well understood in the relevant art. The circuit breaker may, for example, include an arc chute having a plurality of spaced apart arc plates which help to dissipate and break up an arc when the arc is received in the arc chute. While such circuit breakers have been generally effective for their intended purposes, such circuit breakers have not, however, been without limitation.
Depending upon the magnitude of current, an electrical arc can have a temperature in the range of about 3000°K to 30,000°K, with the relatively highest temperature of the arc being at approximately its center. Such electrical arcs have a tendency to vaporize material within the interior of the circuit breaker. Certain vaporized materials can generate airborne ions that help to form a high temperature plasma that undesirably can encourage the continued existence of an electrical arc. It thus would be desirable to provide an improved circuit breaker that has an improved ability to extinguish an electrical arc.

Circuit breaker with improved arc extinction system


A movement information determining unit determines a moving direction and a moving speed of a user using position information detected by a position information detecting unit. A moving-speed determining unit determines whether the moving speed exceeds a predetermined threshold speed. An information display unit displays high-speed movement information corresponding to the position information and the moving direction when the moving speed is determined to exceed the threshold speed, and low-speed movement information corresponding to the position information and the moving direction when the moving speed is determined not to exceed the threshold speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for providing store information to a shopper.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional technology, a technique has been developed where an output device such as a display is attached to a shopping cart used in a store such as a supermarket, and product information is output according to a position of the cart in the store (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-132886).
However, in the conventional technology, since a shopper's moving speed was not taken into consideration, there was a problem in that if the shopper moved too quickly inside the store, product information was output after the shopper had already passed the product and was not delivered to the shopper in a timely fashion.

Information terminal, method and apparatus for providing store information, and computer product