A hub for a fiber channel arbitrated loop is disclosed. The hub comprises a switching device including a matrix of switches connected by a plurality of signal lines, each signal line being electrically connected to at least one switch. The hub is operable to selectively connect and disconnect one signal line from at least one other signal line, at least some of the signal lines being operatively connectable to respective devices comprising the fiber-channel arbitrated loop. The switching device is operatively configurable to selectively open and close the switches to arrange the devices on the fiber-channel arbitrated loop.

Fibre Channel (FC) is a general name for an integrated set of standards being developed by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) whose purpose is to act as a universal high-speed interface for computers and mass storage. FC is a data transfer protocol that provides a highly reliable, gigabit interconnect technology that allows concurrent communications among workstations, mainframes, servers, data storage systems and other peripherals using Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) and Internet Protocol (IP) protocols. FC supports multiple topologies, including a Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL), which can scale to a total system bandwidth on the order of a terabit per second.
From a logical point of view, an FC-AL is a single, continuous path composed of links and nodes, wherein each node has at least one port which can act as a transmitter, receiver or both. A Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) topology can be produced by simply connecting the transmit output portion of a node's port to receive input portion of another node's port, such connection existing between 3 or more devices in a daisy-chain formation. This connection arrangement allows a circular data path or loop to be created, but poses significant problems for trouble-shooting and adding or removing devices. In order to add a new device for example, the entire loop must be downed as new links are added. If a fibre optic or copper cable breaks or a transceiver fails, all cables and connectors between all devices must be examined to identify the offending link.
Hubs resolve these problems by collapsing the loop topology into a star configuration. Instead of connecting devices directly together, each device is connected to a port on a hub. The hub completes the connection from device to device. Since all devices are connected centrally to a hub, the hub becomes the focal point of additions or moves or changes to the network.
FIG. 7 shows the internal architecture of a conventional hub with four hub ports (P0, P1, P2 and P3) to which are connected three disks (D0, D1 and D2) so that hub port P1 has no disk connected to it. The main advantage of a hub is that each hub port comprises a port bypass circuit (PBC) or Loop Relay Circuit (LRC), shown in FIG. 7 as PBC0, PBC1, PBC2 and PBC3.
These circuits enable the fibre channel arbitrated loop (FC-AL) to be opened and closed and thereby dynamically reconfigured if a device is added or removed to the FC-AL. The PBC is comprised of a 2-input MUX and a switch connecting either one of the MUX inputs to the output. The MUXs in the PBCs are connected in sequence such that the output of each MUX acts as one of the inputs for the next MUX. The loop is completed by connecting the output of the final MUX in the hub (MUX3) to the one of the inputs of the first MUX (MUX0).
For example, looking at hub port P2, it can be seen that the output of the MUX from the PBC of the preceding hub port, namely MUX1, is transmitted both to hub port P2 and to one of the inputs of MUX2. On reaching P2, the output from MUX1 is transmitted to the connected device D1. The response from D1 is transmitted back through the hub port P2 to the other input of MUX2. In use, if a hub port (in this case P2), detects that a device is connected to it, then the switch (in this case S2) in the MUX (in this case MUX2) of the hub port's PBC (in this case PBC2) directly connects the response signal from the attached device (in this case D1) to the MUX output.
Looking at hub port P1 for example, if however, a hub port detects that a device is not connected to it, or is not responding, the switch (S1) is toggled so that it directly connects the input from the preceding MUX (MUX0) to the output of its own MUX (MUX1). This acts to close the associated PBC (PBC1) and bypass the hub port (P1) thereby allowing the loop to remain intact. This prevents a failing device or connection from bringing down the entire loop.
If it is desired to add a new device, at port P1 for example, the loop opens automatically to add the new device without manual intervention, by toggling the position of the corresponding PBC switch (S1). By this, the hub allows hot plugging; the ability to add and remove devices while the loop is active. In future versions of FC-AL, before a new device is allowed to be inserted in the loop, the hub will, at a minimum, verify valid signal quality. If a device exhibits poor signal quality or inappropriate clock speed, the associated PBC switch will remain toggled to bypass the hub-port, thereby allowing the other nodes on the loop to continue without disruption.
Arbitrated loop hubs may provide from 1 to 16 hub ports, with accommodation for more devices accomplished by cascading hubs together. A cascade is built by simply connecting a hub port of one hub to a hub port on the other, preferably with fibre optic cabling. In this way the total loop circumference is extended through additional hubs until the desired port count is reached.
However, such hubs have the disadvantage that the sequence of ports in the FC-AL through which a signal is transmitted is fixed by the internal wiring of the hub. Further such systems only allow the connection of one port to another thereby acting to include devices in the FC-AL.
Such hubs do not normally allow for branching type connections that would enable a device to sample information from the FC-AL without intervening in its activity. Also the activity of bypassing a loop in the hub introduces a delay into the loop traffic.

Cross-point switch for a fiber channel arbitrated loop


The invention provides a system and method of providing a user with specialized patient information comprising: uploading, storing, requesting, receiving, and displaying cardiological patient information for a patient. The display of the cardiological information is configured to optimal care to be provided to a patient.

A physician or other health care professional requires accurate and relevant information about a patient in order to provide optimal care. This information is helpful when a person needs emergency treatment. For example, if a person is experiencing a cardiac event such as a heart attack, palpitations, lightheadedness or dizziness, or loss of consciousness, their cardiac information may not be available. The emergency medical treatment given to this person would be greatly enhanced if it were possible for the treating professional to obtain valuable diagnostic information about the person's cardiologically relevant medical history even in the event that it is not available from the afflicted person or someone speaking on his or her behalf.
The present invention relates generally to medical data and more particularly to methods and systems for storing and accessing medical data, such as electrocardiograms. The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a routine test and tool performed and used by almost every physician, hospital, medical clinic, and health provider. An ECG records changes in the electrical field evolving from the heart and contains basic information regarding the status of one's heart. Heart disease is the number one cause of medical illness, morbidity, and mortality worldwide. An ECG is pivotal in the diagnosis and treatment of every type of illness that might afflict the heart, such as myocardial ischemia (the lack of blood flow and oxygen to the heart) and myocardial infarction (heart attack), as well as illnesses that might afflict other organs, such as the lungs and the brain.
The electrocardiogram information is a critical part of one's medical record, which would only be interpreted by a trained medical professional. Electrocardiogram information can help identify critical events and provide information for diagnosing heart rhythm disturbances. In the setting of chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, lightheadedness or dizziness, palpitations, and/or loss of consciousness your ECG may show an abnormality in heart muscles, its wiring or its rhythm.
The ability to compare a patient's previous ECG with the patient's most recent ECG is of great value, as it enables a practitioner to assess any change in the cardiac profile of a patient. Often it is only after comparing a recent ECG with a prior ECG (which may not be available) that a definitive diagnosis can be made. A prior ECG can make the difference in a patient receiving unnecessary drugs, tests, and procedures and help focus the doctor to the appropriate treatment. In the extreme situation, such as an emergency, getting a new ECG from a patient takes time and the immediate availability of a previous ECG is extremely helpful. Moreover, a diagnosis based on a patient's newer ECG is uncertain without the comparison to a previous ECG (a baseline ECG). Unfortunately, it is often difficult to obtain a patient's previous ECG, and unless the patient is visiting his or her regular cardiologist, a new ECG is required in all cases and is the only data point for the diagnostician.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved system or method of providing patients and physicians with access to medical histories, such as the previous electrocardiograms of patients, which overcomes drawbacks of the prior art.

System and method for storing, accessing, and displaying specialized patient information and other medical information


A method for maintaining a high field threshold voltage in a plurality of transistors of reduced size in a periphery region of a Flash EPROM semiconductor circuit includes forming a first polysilicon layer as a floating poly in a predetermined number of transistors of the plurality of transistors in the periphery region, and forming a second polysilicon layer as a common gate line in the plurality of transistors, wherein the predetermined number of transistors prevent breakdown of the plurality of transistors below a predetermined field threshold voltage. In one aspect, the field oxide layer has a thickness of about 2500 angstroms. A plurality of transistors formed in a substrate of a periphery region of a Flash EPROM semiconductor circuit includes a first predetermined number of periphery transistors having a floating poly and a common gate line, and a second predetermined number of periphery transistors having the common gate line and adjacent the first predetermined number of transistors, the first predetermined number of transistors preventing breakdown of the second predetermined number of periphery transistors below a predetermined field threshold voltage.

In typical Flash EPROM technology, a semiconductor wafer is processed to have a central area of a desired number of Flash EPROM transistors. Usually, surrounding the Flash EPROM transistors in a border-like arrangement are a desired number of peripheral transistors. Together, the central Flash EPROM transistors and the peripheral transistors form a non-volatile memory circuit.
Presently, scaling down of Flash EPROM cells has been considered critical in continuing the trend toward higher device density. Typically, however, the scaling of cell size has not been accompanied by a scaling in the internal operation voltage requirement for the cell. Without a corresponding reduction in voltage requirements, more severe requirements are placed on the periphery transistor devices, thus limiting the amount of die size reduction possible in Flash EPROM manufacturing.
Further, with the burden placed on the periphery transistor devices to handle high field threshold voltages, the ability to reduce the size of these periphery transistors is limited. Typically, peripheral transistors have a thick field oxide layer, on the order of 4000 angstroms (.ANG.), in order to handle these high field threshold voltages. Unfortunately, such large thicknesses in the field oxide layer contradict the desired thinness in the gate oxide layer as the device size shrinks. Thus, the ability to reduce the size of the peripheral transistors is limited by the need to maintain a thick field oxide layer in order to properly handle high field threshold voltages (e.g., on the order of .vertline..+-.12.vertline. volts (V)).
What is needed therefore is a non-volatile memory circuit structure that allows the size of peripheral transistors to be reduced without harming the ability to handle high field threshold voltages.

Method and semiconductor circuit for maintaining integrity of field threshold voltage requirements


There is provided a network device disposed at an interface between an access segment and an interconnecting layer of a data center. The network device includes an address resolution processor configured to receive an address request addressed to virtual machines in a transmission domain of the network device. The address request specifying a source layer 2 address, requesting a layer 2 address of a target virtual machine in the data center, and specifying a layer 3 address of the target virtual machine. The network device is further configured to transmit a local message over the first access segment requesting the respective layer 2 address of a virtual machine which has the specified layer 3 address. In response to receiving a reply, the network device transmits a message to the specified source layer 2 address to provide the layer 2 address of the network device and the specified layer 3 address.

1. Field
The current disclosure relates to address resolution for networked virtual machines (VMs), including, without limitation, those residing in massive data centers where VMs can migrate from one system to another while needing to maintain their network connections after migrating.
2. Background
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Massive data centers may concurrently serve hundreds of thousands of VMs. VMs are hosted on interconnected physical devices which may be thought of, more generally, as access segments. Multiple access segments communicate with each other by way of a network or the like which may be understood, more generally, as an interconnection layer. Devices that interface access segments with the interconnection layer may generally be understood to be edge devices. A VM on one access segment may thus send communication messages to another VM on a different access segment. This, however, requires knowledge of the other VM's address.
The complexity of requirements for massive data centers is magnified because of the operational factors involved. Take, for example, the just-mentioned situation where a first VM in a first access segment needs to learn the layer-2 address of a second VM. As one step of establishing communication, the first VM broadcasts an address resolution protocol (ARP) request (or Neighbor Discovery (ND) protocol request). The purpose of the broadcast request message is to request the layer-2 network address of the second VM. As such, when a plurality of access segments exists, such ARP/ND broadcast request messages are communicated via the interconnection layer to multiple access segments, even those to whom the second VM is not a member. The extent to which such broadcast messages are sent to various access segments may be thought of, generally, as a broadcast domain.
In massive data centers networked as described above, one attractive feature is to allow virtual machines to move from one access segment to another, all the while keeping the VM's layer-2 and layer-3 network addresses unchanged after migration. One side effect of this feature, however, is that, for ARP and ND protocols or the like, the layer-2 broadcast domain potentially scales up significantly since a virtual machine may migrate to any access segment interfaced with the interconnection layer.

Scaling address resolution for massive data centers


This disclosure describes techniques for detecting voice commands from a user of an ear-based device. The ear-based device may include an in-ear facing microphone to capture sound emitted in an ear of the user, and an exterior facing microphone to capture sound emitted in an exterior environment of the user. The in-ear microphone may generate an inner audio signal representing the sound emitted in the ear, and the exterior microphone may generate an outer audio signal representing sound from the exterior environment. The ear-based device may compute a ratio of a power of the inner audio signal to the outer audio signal and may compare this ratio to a threshold. If the ratio is larger than the threshold, the ear-based device may detect the voice of the user. Further, the ear-based device may set a value of the threshold based on a level of acoustic seal of the ear-based device.

As the capabilities of computing devices continue to evolve, many different ways have been introduced to allow users to interact with computing devices, such as through mechanical devices (e.g., keyboards, mice, etc.), touch screens, motion, and gesture. Many computing devices are now capable of receiving and responding to voice commands. In some instances, however, these computing devices need to detect respective users voices from ambient noise before identifying and responding to any such voice commands.


The invention relates to a device for recovering hydrocarbon vapors in fuel delivery systems comprising a proportional throttle valve which is mounted in a vapor recovery line to a tank, with the valve being controlled by an error signal which is a function of the fuel volume flow and the vapor volume flow. Accordingly the vapor volume flow returned by a vacuum pump to the container is controlled. The invention further relates to the structure of the proportional throttle valve, including a tandem piston arrangement.

The present invention relates to a device for recovering hydrocarbon vapors in fuel dispensing systems.
In fuel delivery systems, in particular when refueling the tank of an automotive vehicle through a filling nozzle, a portion of the fuel entering the tank evaporates due to the lower vapor pressure of the fuel. The vapor escapes through the fuel filling tube into atmosphere. This has to be prevented primarily because of the cancerous properties of the hydrocarbon. For this purpose a gas recovery system is provided to be used at all gas stations for returning the vapors occurring through a conduit to the stationary fuel container from which the fuel is pumped to the filling nozzle. Principally, the liquid volume of fuel delivered to the vehicle tank approximately equals the gas volume to be returned to the stationary tank.
According to a prior art device, a vacuum pump is provided in the vapor recovery line for extracting the vapor and a valve is provided comprising a pair of floaters, wherein the position of a first floater is adjustable in proportion to the fuel volume to be delivered which position is transmitted to the second floater by means of a rod or a permanent magnet which second floater controls the gas volume to be returned in the gas recovery line. In this system the fuel volume represents the controlling parameter and the control of the gas volume is performed mechanically. The mechanical system does not operate precisely enough.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device of recovering hydrocarbon vapors such that the gas recovery volume is controlled highly accurately and reliably.
According to the invention the object is solved by the features of the claims. The subclaims refer to features of preferred embodiments of the invention.
According to the invention the return flow of the vapors is controlled by a proportional throttle valve which is arranged between the vapor line and the vacuum pump. The volume flow of the fuel delivered is measured, preferably by the electronic fuel meter of the fuel pump. The signal is used as a desired value. In addition, the gas volume flow returning to the stationary container is measured to provide a signal for the actual value. From a comparison of both the desired and the actual value, an error signal is generated which is used to control the solenoid of the proportional valve.
Still further, the atmospheric air pressure may be measured to correct the control signal for the solenoid in response to the atmospheric pressure. This increases the accuracy of the gas volume control as the volume of gas recovered is a function of the pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum pressure.
As mentioned before, in many cases the volume flow of the vapor returned equals the fuel volume delivered. This ratio can be varied when the signal of the electronic meter of the fuel pump is varied correspondingly so that the gas volume to be controlled may be adjusted to be higher or lower. Moreover the proportional throttle valve may be adjusted in response to the air temperature measured. Accordingly the gas volume flow may be decreased when less fuel evaporates when the air temperature is less.
The arrangement according to the invention still provides for the advantage that vacuum fluctuations in the system as well as atmospheric air pressure fluctuations are sensed and the control of the valve solenoid is accordingly corrected. A further advantage is provided by eliminating mechanical connections between the fuel line and the gas recovery line which could give reason that, for example, liquid fuel may enter the gas recovery line.
The structure of the proportional throttle valve according to the invention results in a high control accuracy. The valve according to the invention can be mounted under severe conditions of environment and operates safely. In particular, the valve has a small hysteresis to precisely control the fuel vapor to be returned and to reduce the bleeding of vapors through the vent pipe of the stationary fuel tank. The valve is explosion-safe which is particularly useful with respect to the highly explosive fuel vapors, and can be mounted underneath the installation subjected to wet conditions.
The tandem piston arrangement of the valve according to the invention results in a very accurate central guiding of the valve member to reduce the eccentric forces acting there-on. More specifically, the valve according to the invention has an extremely small hysteresis. This is even improved by the special sealing means for the piston of the valve housing and by providing antifriction guiding faces on the seal.
The throttle area provided between the passage and the connecting rod of the tandem piston limits the volumetric flow of fluid through the passage even when the valve is fully opened. This reduces the environmental load by less vapor escaping through the stationary tank vent pipe.
The tandem piston is actuated through a force transmitting member such as a plunger which can be actuated by an electromagnetical, mechanical or fluid operated actuator. Preferably, the valve housing and the actuator are separated from each other by an intermediate body serving as a geometrical and thermical isolation.
The dual seal arrangement provided by the tandem piston makes the valve particularly useful to be mounted in fuel vapor recovery systems.
In order that the invention may be fully understood a preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show:

Device for recovering hydrocarbon vapors in fuel dispensing systems


A method for catching shrub or hedge cuttings. The method includes a setup of providing a at least one frame assembly with a first side, a spatially disposed second side, a distal side, and a bottom, which cooperate to form a catching area. The receptacle may be made from two frame assemblies of differing widths so that the assemblies can be telescopically positioned to form a generally continuous receptacle, and for compact storage. The receptacle may have a cutout in the bottom to allow for positioning the receptacle around a trunk of a shrub.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a receptacle and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a receptacle and a method for catching and collecting shrub cuttings.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
With the planting of shrubs comes the task of trimming. Shrubs are trimmed to remove dead leaves and branches or for providing a decorative effect. One problem that occurs during the trimming of shrubs relates to the difficulty of picking the cuttings out of ground cover, such as volcanic rock, wood chips, stone, and the like, which are used under shrubs for decorative purposes and for controlling weeds. More specifically, as the shrub is trimmed, the cuttings fall and collect in the ground cover directly beneath and around the shrub.
To this end, a need exists for a receptacle and method for collecting cuttings that accumulate from cutting shrubs. It is to such a receptacle and method that the present invention is directed.


The tool for machining bore transitions includes a holder drivable rotatably through at least one rotation, and drivable in an advance stroke and in a return stroke; and a spring wire having at least two resilient arms with overlapping movable free end, the spring wire being bent into a hairpin shape so as to have a stem or bent end portion structured to be inserted and held in the holder and a cutting medium provided on the free ends of the resilient arms for machining the bore transitions. The holder can advantageously be provided with a slot for the stem, threaded bolts which engage between the resilient arms of the spring wire and a spring which spring-loads the side of the spring wire inserted in the slot.

The present invention relates to a tool for machining bores.
More particularly, it relates to a tool for machining bore transitions, which has a stem adapted to be clamped in a drive member in order to execute an advance of the tool through the bore in the working position, a return stroke and an at least a rotational working movement of the tool, with a cutting part at its end adjustable against the force of a spring.
Tools of the above mentioned general type are known in the art.
A tool of this kind, which is known from German Offenlegungsschrift 3333499 is a deburring tool or a tool for forming a chamfer at the transition from a transverse bore to a longitudinal bore. The tool has a finger-shaped cutting tool which is intended for chip-removing machining and which is pivoted outwards in the radial direction about a pivot axis, against the force of a spring, by a pivoting device and through an adjustment movement made by said device. In its rotation it turns a chamfer at the transition edge between the transverse bore and the longitudinal bore. Tools of this kind are provided and suitable for forming relatively large chamfers when the exact geometrical shape of the edge of a bore leading into another bore is not important. Since the transition between a transverse bore and a longitudinal bore lies in a curved and not a flat plane, while the turning movement of the tool occurs only in a flat plane, the thickness of the chamfer varies in size. Therefore transitions machined in this way cannot be made when there are special requirements in respect of control edge shapes.


A turboalternator for a hybrid motor vehicle includes at least one compressor, at least one turbine, at least one alternator disposed between the at least one compressor and the at least one turbine, and a common shaft interconnecting the at least one compressor and the at least one alternator and the at least one turbine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hybrid motor vehicles and, more particularly, to a turboalternator for a hybrid motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since the advent of powered motor vehicles, many different powertrain systems have been used, including a steam engine with a boiler, an electric motor with a storage battery, or an internal combustion engine with fossil fuel.
Although fossil fuel emerged as the fuel of choice for motor vehicles, recent concerns regarding fuel availability and increasingly stringent Federal and State emission regulations have renewed interest in alternative powered motor vehicles. For example, motor vehicles may be powered by methanol, ethanol, natural gas, electricity or a combination of fuels.
A dedicated electric powered motor vehicle offers several advantages: electricity is readily available; an electric power distribution system is already in place; and an electric powered motor vehicle produces virtually zero emissions. There are several technological disadvantages that must be overcome before electric powered motor vehicles gain acceptance in the marketplace. For instance, the range of an electric powered motor vehicle is limited to approximately 100 miles, compared to about 300 miles for a fossil fuel powered motor vehicle. Further, the acceleration is about half that of a similar fossil fuel powered motor vehicle. Significant advances in battery technology are required to overcome these technological disadvantages.
A hybrid motor vehicle, powered by electric and a fossil fuel, overcomes the technical disadvantages of a dedicated electric powered motor vehicle while having almost the same environmental benefit as a dedicated electric powered motor vehicle. The performance and range characteristics are comparable to a conventional fossil fuel powered motor vehicle. Thus, there is a need in the art for a hybrid motor vehicle that is energy efficient, has low emissions, and offers the performance of a conventional fossil fuel powered motor vehicle.

Integration of turboalternator for hybrid motor vehicle


A breather cap for protecting the ends of tubing and barbed connectors during sterilization and until use in which interference is at a detent spaced from the conduit end, or a positive stop is provided for the conduit end, or a flat handle is provided to facilitate removal of cap from conduit, or two or all of these features are present.

It is known in the prior art to provide breather caps (protector caps) on the ends of plastic tubing and barbed connectors during sterilization, in breather bags, of packs containing them. Such caps include a multiplicity of circumferentially spaced passages around the tapered inner surface for cooperation with a tubing or connector end portion to permit sterilant to move over the connector end during bag sterilization; these prior art devices included a reduced diameter end portion, circular in cross-section, inside diameter being reduced gradually through a portion between the tapered portion and the reduced diameter portion.


A lighting fixture is provided having an easily and efficiently installable and removable louver assembly. The lighting fixture has a housing that has a first wall and a second wall and an opening between the first and second walls. At least one spring latch is connected to the housing. A louver assembly has a plurality of louver blades. A first end of the plurality of louver blades is attached to a first arm and a second end of the plurality of louver blades is attached to a second arm. The first arm is connected to the first housing wall and the second arm is secured between the second housing wall and the at least one spring latch.

Conventional lighting fixtures for retail and industrial applications often have louvers that are rigidly fastened to the lighting fixture housing. Such installation of the louvers for conventional lighting fixtures requires multiple steps including installing several fasteners through the louvers and into the housing. This installation procedure is slow and inefficient, by requiring an installer to insert numerous fasteners at several locations to secure the louvers to the lighting fixture housing. Additionally, an installer must ensure he has sufficient fasteners to completely secure the louvers to the lighting fixture housing. A need exists for a lighting fixture having a louver assembly that is more easily and efficiently connected to the lighting fixture housing.
Once the louvers are installed, access to the interior of the lighting fixture is prevented by the louver blades. To access the lighting fixture interior, the louvers must be removed from the housing. This is time consuming since there are numerous fasteners that must be removed to detach the louvers from the housing. Furthermore, louvers are secured by fasteners on both sides of the louvers, thereby requiring the installer to remove numerous fasteners to detach the louvers. The removal process is extremely time consuming and inefficient. A need exists for a louver assembly that is quickly and efficiently installed and removed from a lighting fixture.
Another problem with existing louvers is that the installer must use tools to install and remove the louvers. If the installer has no tools or the incorrect tools, then the louvers cannot be installed to or removed from the lighting fixture. Thus, the lighting fixture cannot be completely installed or maintenance on the lighting fixture cannot be performed until the installer has the proper tools. A need exists for a louver assembly that is securable to and removable from a lighting fixture without requiring tools.
Examples of conventional lighting fixtures include U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,234 to Kreeft, U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,654 to Diaz et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,654 to Diaz et al., the subject matter of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
A need exists for an improved lighting fixture having an easily installed and removed louver assembly.

Lighting fixture having spring mounted louvers


A bottle carrier of the type employing support tabs at the periphery of bottle neck, openings for engaging the underside of shoulders on the bottles. The carrier is comprised of two plies, each containing aligned bottle openings and each opening being surrounded by support tabs. In one embodiment the support tabs of an opening in one ply are connected to the ply along fold lines which are at an angle to the fold lines of the tabs of the corresponding opening in the other ply so that the edges of the tabs engage the shoulder of a bottle at spaced points along the circumference of the shoulder.

Beverage bottles are conventionally formed with a flange or shoulder that projects out from the neck. One type of carrier that has been designed to support such bottles in a simple economical manner employs a support panel containing bottle neck openings which are surrounded by tabs arranged in so-called starburst fashion. When the panel is pushed down over bottles aligned with the neck openings, the tabs are pivoted up so that their edges engage the underside of the bottle shoulders. A handle, usually in the form of finger holes in the panel, enables a person to grasp and lift the carrier and its supported bottles.
Because the entire weight of the bottles is supported by the neck opening tabs, they are of critical importance. If one or more of them are torn or missing, a significant portion of the circumference of the bottle flange will not be supported. The lifting stresses are then concentrated in the remaining tabs, and at times can be so great as to cause them to fail. Failure of a tab results in the lifting stresses being distributed more unevenly throughout the carrier support panel, increasing the chances of carrier failure.
Various means have been suggested to reinforce the support panel, including the use of additional plies of material to protect against tearing. Although such measures provide additional protection against tearing of the panel, particularly in the handle area, the risk of failure due to missing or defective starburst support tabs is still a threat.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a bottle support carrier which retains the simplicity and economy of the basic support tab design, but protects against the problems caused by missing or defective tabs.


The electrical connector includes a main body comprising an insertion opening into which a connection target is inserted and an accommodation space to accommodate the connection target inserted into the insertion opening, a conductive contact held in the main body so as to be connected to the connection target in the accommodation space, and a cover member rotatably mounted on the main body so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis passing through the main body. The cover member comprises a shaft hole along the rotation axis. The main body includes a side face which intersects the rotation axis at an intersection, an auxiliary wall portion which faces the side face, an opening portion formed at the intersection of the rotation axis and the side face, and a rotation shaft. The rotation shaft extends from the wall portion protruding along the rotation axis toward the side face from the auxiliary wall portion and inserted into the opening portion via the shaft hole.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-192574 discloses an electrical connector including a housing in which a plurality of contacts are arranged in a predetermined direction, a fixed shell which covers the housing, and a cover member. A rotation center shaft provided in the cover member is rotatably fitted into a rotation center hole provided in the fixed shell. Therefore, the cover member is rotatably mounted on the fixed shell.

Electrical connector with rotatably mounted cover member


The disclosure provides a novel inkjet printing device advantageously equipped to prevent the occurrence of blocking. The inkjet printing device includes: an inkjet head for discharging an ink on a medium to carry out printing; a transferring roller for moving the medium and the inkjet head relative to each other; and a powdering applying unit for applying a powder on the medium, wherein the powdering applying unit is located on a downstream side relative to the inkjet head in a transferring direction by the transferring roller.

Patent literature 1 describes a particle dispersion liquid supply device directed at controlling the occurrence of stacker blocking, wherein particles are adhered to an image-formed surface of a recording medium to prevent fly-off of the particles.
Patent literature 2 describes an inkjet recording device including a printing unit that carries out printing through movements of an inkjet head relative to a recording medium, and a powder applying portion that applies a blocking preventive powder on an already printed part of the recording medium after the printing is done by the printing unit.
[Patent literature 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2012-171187A (disclosed on Sep. 10, 2012)
[Patent literature 2] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2013-159056A (disclosed on Aug. 19, 2013)

Inkjet printing device and inkjet printing method


Footwear having removable straps is disclosed herein. More specifically, the footwear disclosed herein includes a removable strap assembly having concealed releasable connection means for attaching to the sole of the footwear.

Footwear having removable straps can be advantageous as they allow the wearer to have more fashion options when dressing. For example, a wearer can select different colors or styles of straps to match different outfits they are wearing, without having to buy entirely new footwear.
Prior attempts to design reversible footwear have disadvantages. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,684 to Lin discloses a detachable strap on footwear, but the means for connecting the strap to the footwear is readily visible to the user and others. This configuration is highly undesirable to fashion conscious consumers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,866 to Laufbahn, discloses footwear having detachable components, where the fastener means are hidden from the user. According to this patent, the fastener means can include a flange located at the end of a thong strap that is received into the wide portion of a key-hole shaped aperture in the sole of the thong and then moved forward to the narrow end of the keyhole, thus preventing detachment by direct upward movement. See FIG. 6, and col. 4 lines 6-19. However, the straps described in this patent are not entirely secure. For example, if the strap was inadvertently slid backwards, the strap could easily become disengaged from the sole of the footwear.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,330 to Kao also discloses footwear having a removable strap where the means for connecting the strap to the sole are hidden. However, the attachment means for this design are complicated such that they would require a significant amount of time to change straps. Furthermore, the attachment means have many parts (e.g., loose pins and button members) that could easily be lost.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,199 to Giannelli describes footwear having removable straps that attach by quick-release connection means. While mentioning a female connecting member, configured to receive a male connecting member, recessed in the sole of the footwear such that only a slot is visible, this patent does not suggest or teach a way to detach the secured male and female connecting members that are recessed within the outsole, other than rotating the strap. More specifically, this patent fails to recognize the difficulties associated with releasing a completely recessed quick-release connection means, such as buckles and snap fasteners that cannot be detached by simple rotation.
There is a need in the art to provide footwear having removable straps wherein the straps can be securely attached and the means for attachment are hidden from view. Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide new and improved footwear having removable straps with connection means that are hidden from the user. Another more specific object of the invention is to provide new and improved footwear having secure, quick-release connection means that are concealed but can be easily released by the user.


An identification system includes an interrogator and a number of transponders. The interrogator includes a transmitter for transmitting an interrogation signal to the transponder, and a receiver for receiving a response signal from the transponder. A micro-processor identifies the transponder from data in the response signal. Each transponder includes a receiving antenna for receiving the interrogation signal, a code generator, a transmitting antenna, and a modulator connected to the code generator. On receipt of the interrogation signal the transponder repeatedly transmits a response signal containing data which identifies the transponder. The interrogator detects successful identification of any transponder and briefly interrupts the interrogation signal to indicate the successful identification. Each transponder includes a logic circuit responsive to a respective interruption in the interrogation signal to cease transmission of its own response signal.

This invention relates to an identification system comprising an interrogator and a plurality of transponders.
Interrogator/transponder systems have been used for identifying vehicles, animals, people and other objects. Such systems generally comprise an interrogator comprising a transmitter/receiver and a transponder attached to each object to be identified. The transponder carries a code which uniquely identifies the object in question. Systems of this kind can usually only deal effectively with one transponder at a time. Attempts to mass-produce low cost transponders have generally not been successful, due to the requirement for relatively expensive frequency-critical components in the transponder.
It is an object of the invention to provide transponders which can be produced at a relatively low cost, and an identification system employing such transponders.

Electronic indentification system with transponder muting


The present invention provides a carton for a bag in box packaging. The carton has the overall configuration of a rectangular parallelepiped, with two pairs of opposing sidewalls and an upper end portion and a lower end portion, together defining a cavity for receiving a liquid holding bag. In the lower end portion there are a first pair of opposing flaps and a second pair of opposing flaps. The carton further has an opening extending through one sidewall in the lower end portion for dispensing liquid from a bag positioned inside the cavity. According to the invention the first pair of opposing flaps are foldable into an open position, in which the flaps extend outwards from the cavity to form a pair of legs. The legs are interlockable with a flap of said second pair of flaps so as firmly to fix the position of the legs with regard to the carton. The leg-forming flaps support the carton in an elevated position with respect to a surface thus facilitating dispension of liquid through the opening.

Bag-in-box packagings are widely used for storing various beverages, such as wine or juice. The packaging is formed of a flexible pouch or bag containing the liquid, and a rigid carton box enclosing the pouch. The pouch is equipped with a tap for dispensing the liquid to a receptacle, such as a glass. The carton contains an opening for accommodating the tap in a serving position.
A known disadvantage of the bag-in-box packagings is that the tap is located in a lower part of the packaging, which makes it difficult to position a glass underneath the tap. Either the glass must be held in an extremely tilted position, or the packaging must be positioned near the edge of a table or a corresponding surface. A further alternative is to place a separate holder or a stand, such as a plastic base, under the packaging to raise it.
Different solutions have been proposed in the prior art in order to solve these problems.
US 2011095037 (A1) discloses a stand that is based on two nested carton boxes. The user presses in tabs forming supporting sections, whereby four support points for a liquid container are formed.
EP 1826130 (B1) discloses a raising device for a wine package. It contains four lateral walls including lower parts, where each wall is perpendicular to two contiguous lateral walls. Each lower part of the wall is subjected to fold back towards an interior of the device, such that one of the folded lower parts serves as a support to a wine package.
FR 2798912 (A1) describes a stand that is based on flaps extending outwards from the bottom of the carton box.
NL 8900666 (A) describes a wine package that is slidable within an outer container. The package can be fixed at a certain height by pushing in triangular perforated areas that are located in the vertical ribs that join the sidewalls of the outer container.
Solutions that are based on the use of a separate stand are cumbersome, because the stand might not be available at all times and it must be purchased separately. Transporting and storing separate stands, or combinations of a stand and a liquid packaging, is not cost-effective.
Solutions that are based on two nested carton boxes, slidable vertically with respect to each other, require that the inner carton box and the outer carton box cooperate, which poses limitations to the design of the actual bag-in-box system and the tap construction.
Most of the known solutions provide a raised carton box in which a rather bulky stand in its assembled position occupies essentially the entire table surface that is located under the carton box. Positioning and centering a glass under the tap is therefore more difficult with such a stand in use when compared to placing the carton box on the edge of a table and holding a glass below the tap and partly under the table.


An inorganic thin film polarizer having polarization characteristics comprises: a matrix for thin film polarizer composed of fine columns thereof arranged on a substrate; and light absorbing portions provided on the columns. The columns are made of inorganic substance which is transparent in the desired wavelength region of light such as the visible light region, ultraviolet region and infrared region, and each column has a substantially circular cross section. The columns are tilted at a constant angle with respect to a surface normal of the substrate and has anisotropy in density. The light absorbing portions have a light extinction coefficient larger than that of the columns at the desired wavelength region of light. The columns are arranged at a spacing of from 0.2 to 20 times the diameter of the column.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inorganic thin film polarizer. More specifically, the present invention relates to an inorganic thin film polarizer having improved resistances against heat and weathering. The thin film polarizer comprises a matrix for the polarizer which is made of an inorganic material and composed of columns, and light absorbing portions formed on the surface thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Polarizers constitute one of the fields of advanced materials now placed under active R & D. For example, sheet polarizers are used in combination with liquid crystals and are incorporated in thin LCD's (Liquid Crystal Displays) which are now widely utilized in liquid crystal display devices of compact calculators and wrist watches, taking their advantage of low electric power consumption, low voltage drive, thin body, and large display area. To this end, the application field of the LCD's is expanding with the progress in the field of electronics, and the LCD's are replacing the CRT displays conventionally used in TV sets and in display devices of personal computers and word processors. Furthermore, their application is now intensively developed, for example, to depolarization plates and circular polarizers, three-dimensional image processing (e.g., X-ray and motion pictures), OA (office automation) machines, polarizer lens, partial detectors, glare shields, dimmers, and the field of cameras.
Since a polarizer transmits the light whose electric vector is parallel to one of the principal axes, i.e. "polarizing axis", while absorbs or scatters the light when the electric vector of the incident light is perpendicular to the polarizing axis, the sheet polarizer has a function to select a linear polarized light from a unpolarized light or to extinct the light whose electric vector is not parallel to the polarizing axis.
The conventional sheet polarizers have been produced by: stretching an organic material such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC); adsorbing iodine or dyes, which is dichroic molecule, in the stretched sheet or by dehydrating or dechlorinating PVA or PVC, to thereby give dichroism to the sheet; and thereafter laminating or coating both sides of the sheet having dichroism with the layers of a matrix (e.g., triacetyl cellulose, polyethylene terephthalate, and polymethyl methacrylate). However, the conventional sheet polarizers composed mainly of organic materials are disadvantageous in that they are liable to decompose or deteriorate under ultraviolet (UV) light, heat, moisture, or certain types of organic solvents. Moreover, they also suffer poor mechanical strength. Since the sheet polarizers are provided in film sheets, their assembly into a display device and the like requires additional manufacturing steps of cutting and laminating. It is another problem that such sheet polarizers have difficulty in applying them to products having complicated or curved shapes, or to those particularly small in size.
As a method for overcoming the problems mentioned hereinbefore, there is proposed a "Process for Producing Polarizers" as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 54-143658. The process as disclosed therein comprises steps of: depositing a planar layer of an electrically conductive material on a glass substrate at a deposition angle of 90.degree., and irradiating a particle beam to the deposition layer at a proper angle of incidence to thereby provide a plurality of fine etched bands running parallel to each other. In this manner, a polarizer comprising a plurality of electric conductive bands arranged in parallel to each other at a grid spacing of about one tenth of the wavelength of light can be produced on the glass substrate. The disclosure teaches that this process enables production of low cost polarizers having a long life and good reproducibility. However, the polarizers obtained by this process comprises an electric conductive substance such as a metal in the light absorbing portion, and the structure is such that this light absorbing portion is exposed on the surface of the polarizer. Since electric conductive substances such as metal are generally soft and are thereby inferior in abrasion resistance, conventional polarizers required a protective film to compensate for the insufficient abrasion resistance. The irradiation of a particle beam onto the surface of the polarizer inevitably requires use of a glass substrate, and this makes it difficult to produce flexible polarizers as compared with the organic film polarizers. Furthermore, the irradiation of particle beams arranged in one direction over a large area is also difficult to achieve in this conventional process for producing polarizers. Hence, large scaled polarizers have not been feasible with the conventional process.


The present invention provides a method of fabricating a non-volatile memory device, in which trench isolation can be achieved using an insulating layer that needs no separate removal process. The present invention includes sequentially forming a first insulating layer, a first conductor layer, and a second insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate, patterning the second insulating layer, the first conductor layer, and the first insulating layer to expose a prescribed portion of the semiconductor substrate, forming a trench having a prescribed depth in the semiconductor substrate by removing the exposed portion of the semiconductor substrate, forming a third insulating layer on the second insulating layer including the trench, planarizing the third insulating layer to remove the second insulating layer until the first conductor layer is exposed, forming a fourth insulating layer on the exposed first conductor layer and the remaining third insulating layer, and forming a second conductor layer on the fourth insulating layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a method of fabricating a non-volatile memory device having trench isolation.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, semiconductor memory devices are categorized into a volatile memory device, which loses data in case of cutting off power supply, such as DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and SRAM (static random access memory) and a non-volatile memory device, which saves data in spite of cutting off power supply, such as a flash memory device.
The non-volatile memory device generally has a stacked gate configuration that floating and control gates are stacked on a semiconductor substrate in a vertical direction. A tunnel oxide layer is inserted between the floating gate and the semiconductor substrate. And, an ONO (oxide/nitride/oxide) layer is inserted between the floating and control gates.
In the non-volatile memory device having the stacked gate configuration, a trench isolation layer becomes more popular as a device isolation layer than a LOCOS layer to cope with the tendency of the increasing degree of integration of a device. In forming a non-volatile memory device having the trench isolation layer, trench isolation is preferentially carried out in a manner of forming an oxide layer pattern, a polysilicon layer pattern for a floating gate, and a nitride layer pattern on a semiconductor substrate, forming a trench in the semiconductor substrate, and filling the trench with an oxide layer. Subsequently, a stacked gate configuration or structure is then formed in a manner of removing the nitride layer pattern, forming an ONO layer, and forming a polysilicon layer for a control gate.
In the related art fabricating method, planarization is carried out on the oxide layer filling the trench. In doing so, the nitride layer is used as an etch stop layer.
However, wet etch should be performed to remove the nitride layer after completion of the planarization, whereby overall process steps are raised.
Moreover, the nitride layer pattern is removed using a H3PO4 solution, whereby the polysilicon layer pattern beneath the nitride layer pattern is damaged by the H3PO4 solution.

Method of fabricating non-volatile memory device


A decorative gift wrap includes two sheets, each having two ends. One of the sheets is configured to wrap a gift. The first and second ends of the first sheet extend through an aperture in a loop. This frictionally secures the loop adjacent to the sheets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gift wrapping and a method of wrapping a gift. More particularly, the present invention involves a gift wrapping with three parts which are reusable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ever since people began giving gifts, they have desired to cover the gift to hide it until a certain time. Today, the typical consumer purchases a gift, then wraps it in a decorative or at least opaque paper and secures the paper together with adhesive tape. A decorative ribbon or bow may also be attached to the paper. The paper, ribbon, and bow are often destroyed in the process of opening the gift. This results in discarded paper, ribbon, and bow. What is needed is a fabric, or at least partially reusable, gift wrap that has the flexibility to wrap gifts of a variety of sizes.
The patent to Selga, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,144, discloses a fabric gift wrapping which can be reused. The fabric gift wrapping is secured to itself by a standard fabric fastener, preferably a VELCRO brand hooks-and-loops fastener. However, the Selga reference requires different configurations to wrap different sized packages.
The patent to French, U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,395, discloses a pouch-like wrapping which includes a drawstring. A problem with such a configuration is that it requires an unsightly string which needs to be hidden. The French reference discloses the desirability of flexibility, but the French reference achieves its flexibility in part by using a stretchable material which is expensive and difficult to use with fragile articles.
Neither of these references discloses all the features of the present invention. Neither is able to give as wide a range of flexibility in size or shape of gift as the present invention.

Object wrapping and method of wrapping an object


A seat belt retractor having first and second serially arranged torsion bars and a switching mechanism provides two levels of load limiting. A bridge bolt rotationally fixed to the inboard ends of the torsion bars is threaded into a locking base, and the switching mechanism prevents bridge bolt translation relative to the locking base in a default condition to limit seat belt load with the first torsion bar. Activation of the switching mechanism permits limited translation of the bridge bolt relative to the locking base to limit seat belt load with the second torsion bar. Additional translation of the bridge bolt relative to the locking base is prevented to re-establish load limiting with the first torsion bar. The switching mechanism includes a set of detent wedges, a retaining band and an electrically activated cutting mechanism, all disposed within the retractor frame.

Load limiting seat belt retractors utilize a mechanical energy-absorbing element such as a torsion bar to control the restraining force exerted on an occupant during an actual or anticipated crash event by paying out a relatively small amount of the seat belt for a specified load. Since the desired level of load limiting varies depending on the weight of the occupant and the severity of the crash event, some retractors (referred to herein as dual-level load limiting retractors) incorporate two different energy-absorbing elements and a switching mechanism for selectively changing the load limit by changing the mechanical load path through the retractor. See, for example, the U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0022447, and the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,241,172, 6,616,081 and 6,648,260. However, known dual-level load limiting retractors are relatively expensive to produce, and tend to be difficult to package in a vehicle door pillar due to their increased size. Accordingly, what is needed is a dual-level load limiting retractor that is cost-effective to manufacture and compact in size.

Compact dual-level load limiting seat belt retractor


A reversible, wear-resistant ash screw cooler section is provided with a carbon steel inner liner having a high chrome, high carbide overlay emplaced thereon to improve its wear and erosion resistance. To facilitate obtaining the maximum wear out of the section, the replaceable section is made symmetrical about its vertical and longitudinal centerline and provided with suitable compatible flanges and symmetrically placed cooling water hookups on the ends of the section to allow the section to be reversed, end for end, and reconnected to the ash screw cooler.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of circulating fluid bed boilers (CFB's) such as those used in the production of steam for industrial process requirements and/or electric power generation and, in particular, to a reversible, wear-resistant ash screw cooler section which provides extended service life.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fluidized bed boiler, as used in the context of industrial processes and/or utility power generation, is similar to a water-filled container. Instead of water, however, the material in the bed is a congregation of granular solid particles (fuel and sorbent, such as limestone) in a state of mobile suspension as a result of the upward flow of air or gas. Initially, the bed's individual solid particles or granules are motionless and supported by contact with each other. The material as a whole rests on what is known as a distributor plate or grid plate, which has openings in it to permit the upward flow of air or gas therethrough, as well as drains for waste material.
As the rate of upward air or gas flow through the distributor plate is increased, the individual particles or granules within the bed will begin to move. In a non-circulating or bubbling bed type of fluidized bed boiler, the flow rate is increased until the fluidization point is reached. The term fluidization point denotes that point where the air or gas flow upward through the bed expands the solid bed sufficiently to allow the granules to move within the bed. That is, this is a condition where the individual particles or granules of solid are suspended by the air or gaseous fluid passing through them at a velocity sufficient to cause them to be disengaged somewhat from each other. The air or gas flow upward through the bed determines the amount and size of voids between the particles, and the overall level of the fluidized bed is determined by the amount of particles, that is, fuel, inerts, etc. in the bed as expanded/fluidized by the air or gas flow. The upward flow rate of air or gas is maintained at a level to maintain the bed at the fluidization point, and to minimize any transport of particles out of the bed into the upper furnace area.
In contrast, a circulating fluid bed boiler is maintained with upward air or gas flows which exceed the fluidization point, which results in particles being carried out of the bed into the upper furnace area. FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of one such CFB boiler design of The Babcock & Wilcox Company, the Ebensburg Power unit located in Ebensburg, Pa. This boiler burns waste bituminous coal to produce, at maximum continuous rating (MCR), 465,000 lb/hr main steam flow at 955.degree. F. and 1550 psig. The high fuel ash content at this unit (40% design maximum) produces furnace circulating solids with a much higher percentage of ash than with a typical bituminous coal, and leads to severe erosion problems.
As shown therein, the boiler has a furnace enclosure that is top-supported from structural steel and is constructed of gas-tight membrane walls. Coal and limestone (for sulfur dioxide removal) are fed through the furnace front wall using four injection screws. Combustion air from a single forced draft fan is split downstream of the air heater into primary and overfire air. The primary air is introduced into the bed through the furnace floor from a compartmented windbox, while the overfire air enters the lower portion of the furnace through different size nozzles at two elevations on the front and rear walls. Adjustment of these two air streams provides proper air distribution and air-gas mixing to achieve fuel burnout in the furnace.
The solids handling system for the Ebensburg unit is shown schematically in FIG. 2. Located above the furnace I is the primary solids collector; an impact-type separator consisting of a staggered array of U-shaped elements (U-beams) 9, 10 hung from the boiler roof forming a labyrinth passage for gas and solids. The first two rows of the primary collector, i.e., the in-furnace U-beams 9, are located just upstream of the furnace outlet where they discharge collected material directly into the furnace I along the rear wall. The solids collected by the other rows 10 of the primary collector are discharged into a particle storage hopper and returned to the lower furnace through four non-mechanical L-valves 11.
The total solids inventory in the bed is controlled by removing the bed material through four bed drain pipes 2 installed in the furnace floor and water-cooled screw coolers 3. The screw coolers 3 take ash from the fluidized bed at temperatures in the range of 1600.degree. F. and cool it to approximately 450.degree. F. The bottom ash is routed through a rotary valve 7 to a screening device 4 where the fine material is separated and pneumatically conveyed in dense phase transport 5 to a bed drain injection bin 6 located on the boiler front wall.
The solids flow control by L-valves 11 allows exchanging of the solids inventory between the furnace I and particle storage hopper for the furnace process control. The two-stage primary collector arrangement 9, 10 reduces the amount of external recycle needed to maintain the furnace inventory. Solids escaping the primary collector 9, 10 into the convection pass enter the multiclone dust collector (MDC) 13 located between the economizer and the air heater 17. Solids collected by the MDC are recycled to the lower furnace via a dilute phase pneumatic recycle system 14, 15. Excessive solids are purged from the MDC hopper 13, while solids leaving the air heater 17 are collected in a baghouse 18.
Cooling the ash drained from the bed has required fluid bed ash coolers, ash screw coolers, or both. One type of ash screw cooler 20 is known as a HOLO-FLITE.sup.R ash screw cooler, manufactured by Denver Equipment Company, Colorado Springs, Colo., and a sketch of same is shown in FIG. 3. The drive 22 for the ash screw cooler 20 is generally a variable speed type, and can be controlled by the plant control system (not shown) using a signal developed from pressure drop across the fluidized bed. Primary cooling of the ash is achieved via the screw flites 26 themselves, which are hollow and circulate cooling water 28 therethrough. Typical cooling water pressures are 150 or 250 psig on the screw and 30 or 50 psig on the trough jacket 30. Because of the high ash temperatures, the entire feed end 24 of the ash screw cooler 20 must also be cooled, including the end plate 32, the first section of the trough cover 34, and feed nozzle 36.
The Ebensburg unit has experienced extreme erosion in the bed drain ash screw coolers. The erosion has been so severe that the inner liners of the troughs failed by wearing through after only a short period of time, resulting in water leaking from the trough. A replaceable end trough section, having an inner liner of 1/2 inch thick stainless steel, was retrofitted to these ash screw coolers, but failed to significantly reduce the time to failure even though the use of stainless steel liners in previous "high wear" situations had been successful.
It is thus apparent that a solution to this erosion problem concerning the ash screw coolers is required.

Reversible, wear-resistant ash screw cooler section


A sensor device is proposed, particularly for controlling lighting devices of a motor vehicle, having at least one receiver for receiving radiation from at least one receiver region, and a control device which is capable of controlling peripheral devices; a diffractive element, able to be attached to a window and formed preferably as a hologram, is provided which is arranged in the receiver region of the receiver.

Numerous sensor devices are already known which are used for controlling lighting devices of motor vehicles. Such a sensor device is described, for example, in the German Published Patent Application No. 199 33 642. It has a bulky light-guiding member made of transparent plastic that is secured on the window of a motor vehicle via a coupling medium. This light-guiding member images the radiation of light from various solid-angle regions onto receivers, which, for their part, control the lighting devices via a suitable control device. Since the lighting conditions in the forward direction of the vehicle are particularly relevant for controlling the lighting devices, the light-guiding member must be arranged on the windshield of the motor vehicle, which restricts the visual range of the driver because of the expansion of the sensor device.

Sensor device, particularly for controlling lighting devices of a motor vehicle


Hybrid compounds containing an aminotetralin moiety or a heterocyclic and/or open chain analog thereof linked through an alkylene group to an aryl ring system-substituted piperidiene moiety exhibit high levels of CNS activity, in some cases exhibiting especially high relative binding efficiencies between D3 and D2 dopaminergic receptor subtypes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to central nervous system pharmaceutically active compounds having both aryl-substituted piperazine and aminotetralin moieties, 5 or 7 membered cycloaliphatic ring homologues thereof, or open chain analogues thereof; and to their pharmacological use. These hybrid compounds exhibit high activity at various dopamine and serotonin receptor subtypes. Certain of the compounds exhibit high differential selectivity between D2 and D3 receptor subtypes.
2. Background Art
The dopamine receptors of the brain have proven fertile targets for pharmacological treatment of numerous central nervous system ("CNS") disorders, including psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.8
In the last decade and a half, advances have been made in development of drugs specific for dopamine receptor subtypes, and in the development of novel pharmaceutically active compounds for their characterization.1-3 In addition, in 1990, a new dopamine subtype receptor now known as the D3 receptor was discovered and subsequently cloned from rat complimentary DNA libraries using probes derived from the D2 receptor subtype.4,5 This new D3 receptor subtype belongs to the short form of D2 receptor subtype, and bears close resemblance to the latter.5,6,7
Therapies involving D2-specific drugs often are associated with side effects like EPS, Tardive dyskinesia, believed to originate from blockage of D2 receptors in the striatal region of the brain.9 Studies probing the location of D3 receptors have shown that the distribution of the latter is different from the distribution of D2 receptors. In situ hybridization studies showed a lack of adequate presence in the caudate putamen area of the striatal section, and a dominant presence in the nucleus accumbens area.10 These different distribution patterns render the D3 receptors unique targets for drug development. D3-specific antagonists and agonists are expected to have numerous applications in treatment of psychotic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases without the undesirable side effects associated with pharmacology of the D2 receptor.1,12,13 Recent studies have shown that D3 specific compounds may also have therapeutic use in treatment of cocaine8 addiction.14,15,16 Efforts have thus been made to develop D3 specific drug candidates.
For example, 2-aminotetralins have been regarded as potent and selective agonists for D2 receptors.17-20 However, 7-OH-DPAT and PD 128907, both aminotetralins, have shown preferential activity at the D3 receptor.21 Several other aminotetralin-related derivatives were also found to have such preferential selectivity.22 Aryl piperazines have also been demonstrated to have activity toward the D2 and D3 receptors,23,24 and some of these were found to have both high affinity and selectivity for the D3 receptor.26 One such compound is GR103691,25 containing a N-(methoxyphenyl)piperidine moiety linked to a 4′-acetyldiphenyl moiety through an N-alkyl-N-urethane linking group. A series of 8-hydroxy-2-aminotetralins bearing benzamide moieties have also been shown to have selective affinity for the D3 receptor,27-28 and a thiaza heterocyclic analog was shown to have high affinity and selectivity for this receptor subtype.28
It would be desirable to provide additional pharmaceutically active compounds which exhibit high levels of CNS activity, for example, with respect to the dopaminergic receptors as well as the serotoninergic receptors. It would be further desirable to provide drug candidates which exhibit high activity with respect to the D3 receptor subtype, and in particular to provide drug candidates which exhibit high selectivity between the D2 and D3 subtypes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hybrid 2-aminoterailin and aryl-substituted piperazine compounds and their use in altering CNS activity


Channel estimation using a chirp signal and the Fractional Fourier Transform (FrFT) is disclosed. A relatively short chirp may be transmitted, and its received components may be converted to tones using the FrFT, from which the channel tap magnitudes and delays can readily be computed. This may involve measuring peaks in the rotated spectrum, measuring the time between the peaks, and mapping the time in the rotated plane back to the original time. Such a technique has various advantages over conventional channel estimation techniques, such as providing high accuracy even in very poor multipath environments and requiring relatively few samples of a chirp, which hence can reduce pilot overhead.

The Fractional Fourier Transform (FrFT) has been applied in numerous fields of research, including optics, quantum mechanics, image processing, and communications. The FrFT is a powerful tool that can extract signals from noise or separate two signals that overlap in time and/or frequency. The application of the FrFT lends itself particularly to the problem of separating multiple overlapping radar chirp signals. Chirps become tones in the proper FrFT domain, and hence can be readily extracted or notched (i.e., removed).
A time-frequency plane representation 100 of a signal x(t) and noise n(t) is shown in FIG. 1. This is also called the Wigner Distribution (WD), which can be a useful visualization tool for the FrFT. The time and frequency axes are orthogonal to each other in this representation. The time axis may be rotated using a rotational parameter a, where 0≤a<2, to determine the new time axis ta and frequency axis ƒa. This is done using an FrFT and provides a new way of looking at a signal. In this example, rotating to the new time axis ta makes the signal and noise more separable, enabling a filter to extract the signal and completely suppress the noise. Filtering in time or frequency alone would not have resulted in noise suppression that is as effective.
The FrFT of a function ƒ(x) of order a is defined as:
                                          F            a                                          [                          f                                            (                x                )                                      ]                          =                              ∫                          -              ∞                        ∞                                                                        B                a                                                          (                                  x                  ,                                      x                    ′                                                  )                                                                f                                            (                                  x                  ′                                )                                                                dx              ′                                                          (        1        )
where the kernel Ba(x, x′) is defined as:
                                          B            a                                          (                          x              ,                              x                ′                                      )                          =                                            e                              i                                                  (                                                            π                                                                                ϕ                          ^                                                /                        4                                                              -                                          ϕ                      /                      2                                                        )                                                                                                                  sin                                                        (                    ϕ                    )                                                                                              1                /                2                                              ×                      e                          i                                            π                                                  (                                                                                x                        2                                                                                cot                                                                          (                          ϕ                          )                                                                                -                                          2                                                                    xx                        ′                                                                                csc                                                                          (                          ϕ                          )                                                                                +                                                                  x                                                  ′                          2                                                                                cot                                                                          (                          ϕ                          )                                                                                )                                                                                (        2        )
where ϕ=ax/2 and {circumflex over (ϕ)}=sgn[sin(ϕ)]. This applies to the range 0<|ϕ|<π, or 0<|a|<2. In discrete time, the N×1 FrFT of an N×1 vector x can be modeled as:Xa=Fax  (3)
where Fa is an N×N matrix whose elements are given by:
                                          F            a                                          [                          m              ,              n                        ]                          =                              ∑                                          k                =                0                            ,                              k                ≠                                  (                                      N                    -                    1                    +                                                                  (                        N                        )                                                                    2                        )                                                                              )                                                      N                                                                        u                k                                                          [                m                ]                                                                e                                                -                  j                                                                  π                  2                                                k                                a                                                                                u                k                                                          [                n                ]                                                                        (        4        )
and where uk[m] and uk[n] are the eigenvectors of the matrix S defined by:
                    S        =                  [                                                                      C                  0                                                            1                                            0                                            …                                            1                                                                    1                                                              C                  1                                                            1                                            …                                            0                                                                    0                                            1                                                              C                  2                                                            …                                            0                                                                    ⋮                                            ⋮                                            ⋮                                            ⋱                                            ⋮                                                                    1                                            0                                            0                                            …                                                              C                                      N                                                                                1                                                                                ]                                    (        5        )
and
                              C          n                =                              2                                      cos                                            (                                                                            2                                            π                                        N                                                      n                                )                                              -          4                                    (        6        )
Here, a is the variable rotational parameter, where a=2 is the same as a=0, and is varied using a step size Δa. Typically, Δa is chosen to be 0.1 in a low noise (and clutter) environment, and to be 0.01 when the signal is weak or the noise is strong. However, even smaller step sizes for dense environments may be considered.
It is known that the projection of the WD of a signal x onto the time axis ta gives the energy of the signal, which is equivalent to taking the magnitude squared in the FrFT domain a. In other words, the quantity in Eq. (3) is computed, its magnitude squared is taken (i.e., |Xa|2), and the energy in the rotated signal is obtained. This is shown by the gray curve in WD representation 200 of FIG. 2. This is analogous to taking the magnitude squared of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to obtain the energy of a signal in the frequency domain. This quantity is conventionally called power spectral density (PSD), and a similar expression for PSD in the FrFT domain a is:PSDx(a)=|Xa|2  (7)
Note that PSDx(a) is readily computed from Eq. (3) via an FrFT, whereas determining the WD of the signal and finding its projection is much more difficult in practice. There are various techniques for efficiently computing the FrFT, such as that proposed by Candan. See C. Candan et al., "The Discrete Fractional Fourier Transform," Proc Int. Conf. on Acoustics, Speech, and Sig. Proc. (ICASSP), Phoenix, Ariz., pp. 1713-1716 (Mar. 15-19, 1999).
However, while the FrFT can be used to identify signals in dense environments, estimating a channel for a moving transmitter is still problematic. Signals tend to be scattered, reflected, or diffracted off of objects in the environment. This "multipath problem" 300 is illustrated in FIG. 3. In radio frequency (RF) communications, both terrestrial and satellite, the propagation channel causes errors. These errors are due to the multipath nature of signals in real environments. The line-of-sight (LOS) signal arrives first and reflected/scattered/diffracted signal components arrive at the receiver with different delays and amplitudes. This can cause destructive interference or even cancel out the direct LOS path signal.
In order to properly extract data from the signal, the multipath must be accounted for. The amplitudes and the delays of each component should be estimated to match the components up in time and add them together. This may be performed a priori if the transmitter is in a fixed location. However, if the objects in the environment are causing multipath change or if the transmitter is driving, flying, orbiting, or otherwise moving, periodic channel estimation usually needs to be performed to try to correct for the changing characteristics of the multipath signal on the fly.
Conventionally, most channel estimation techniques for a moving transmitter are performed by sending a signal with a relatively short known preamble and header to a cell tower via a mobile phone, for example, and intermittently sending the preamble data thereafter. This sequence of "training bits," known as a pilot, is used in concert with certain algorithms (e.g., rake receivers or equalizers) to correct for the channel. The first received signal component is typically the LOS signal.
However, this technique is unreliable. It is difficult to know which bit is which in the signal. For instance, it is difficult to know whether a received bit is the first bit in the preamble or another bit where overlapping signal components exist. Also, conventional channel estimation techniques are not very accurate, with channel estimation root mean square errors (RMSEs) of 0.07 to 0.3, which worsen as noise increases. These channel correction techniques are limited in accuracy by the estimates and are often computationally expensive. Accordingly, improved channel estimation and signal extraction techniques may be beneficial.


The embodiment of the present disclosure discloses a method and device for displaying information. A specific mode of execution for the method comprises the following steps: in response to the detection of a first preset operation performed by a first user on the page of a second user, sending operation prompt information to a terminal device used by the first user, the page of the second user being used for exhibiting contents shared by the second user, the first preset operation being used for requesting to add a user label corresponding to the second user for the first user; in response to the detection of the second preset operation completed by the first user, adding the user label for the first user; generating an initial associated value used for indicating the association degree between the first user and the second user, and displaying the initial associated value on the page.

With the rapid development of an Internet technology, there are massive users using the Internet every day. Concomitantly, many applications for user interaction, content sharing and the like have emerged.
Generally, a user can own page after registering these applications. The user can share contents and the like created or concerned by himself or herself on the own page. Meanwhile, the user can also access pages of other users so as to browse contents and the like created or concerned by other users.
In some cases, the user can also make comments on the pages of other users or transmit virtual items and the like which can be used by himself or herself to other users so as to interact with other users. Interaction modes provided for the users, an association relationship among the users, activity levels of the users and association among these attributes are being researched and analyzed all the time at present, so that a more friendly and high-quality Internet interaction platform is provided for the users according to an analysis result.

Method and device for displaying information

Beijing Bytedance Network Technology Co., Ltd.


A visual aid for describing sporting events (10) having a transparent event sheet (12) which has an event sheet indicia printed thereon. An opaque sheet (14) positioned under the event sheet (12). The visual aid for describing sporting events (10) further has a board (16) which has dark colored board wax (16A) covering a board support (16B). The dark colored board wax (16A) is positioned under the opaque sheet (14). The visual aid for describing sporting events (10) further has a binding (18) positioned longitudinally along one edge of the visual aid for describing sporting events (10). The binding (18) securely attaches the event sheet (12) and the opaque sheet (14) and the board (16) together. When a user applies pressure with a writing instrument on the event sheet (12). The pressure causes the dark colored board wax (16A) to adhere to the opaque sheet (14) exhibiting the writing through the transparent event sheet (12). When the user is finished writing, he or she separates the opaque sheet (14) from the board (16) thereby erasing the writing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to event planning. More particularly, the present invention relates to sporting event planning utilizing a writing instrument.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Writing aids are well known in the art. However, erasable writing aids which allow a user to visually describe or teach a sporting event are non-existent. Most prior art devices utilize a black board or easel with paper. The present invention is easy to use and compact.
Numerous innovations for sports writing aid have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present invention as hereinafter contrasted.
In Patent number D327,498, titled Drawing Screen, invented by James E. Watson and Thomas A. Molyneaux, an ornamental design for a drawing screen, as shown and described.
The patented invention differs from the present invention because the patented invention is an ornamental design for a drawing screen. The patented invention lacks features similar to the present invention. Specifically the patented invention lacks the combination of three sheet functioning to provide an erasable drawing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,330, titled Liquid Crystal Writing Slate, invented by Frederick E. Nobile, John F. Harris, III, Gary S. Silverman, Richard A. Baumann, a slate, such as a writing/drawing slate, includes a base supporting a laminate which has an LC-layer (liquid crystal layer) formed of polymeric material holding micro-volumes of liquid crystal material, a conductive layer on one surface of the LC-layer, and a substantially transparent protective over layer on the other surface of the LC-layer, apparatus for transitory application of potential through the LC-layer to the conductive layer to produce an image on the image-displaying surface area, and apparatus secured to the base to facilitate erasing of the image. In preferred embodiments the other surface of the LC-layer is substantially conductor-free.
The patented invention differs from the present invention because the patented invention is electro-mechanical writing tablet. The present invention is a mechanical device on which a user can sketch various sports diagrams such as football plays, bowling ball rolls, tennis serves, basketball plays, sailboat tactics. The present invention is a top clear sheet imprinted with indicia representing sports layout. A middle sheet which when pressed on with a sharp instrument on the top surface, interacts with a lower sheet to leave an apparent mark. When the middle sheet is separated from the lower sheet the line is erased. A ridged back supports the three sheets.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,634, titled Electro-optic Slate for Input/output of Hand-entered Textual and Graphic Information, invented by Edward S. More, John C. Aiken, a portable interactive electro-optic data input/output, storage, processing, and display device responsive to hand printed text and hand drawn graphics. The device preferably comprises a combined flat panel display and pen sensing surface constructed from non-mechanical, non-emissive display elements, such as liquid crystal display elements. The device also comprises an input pen for manual entry of hand printed text and hand drawn graphics, as well as commands, directly onto the display surface for providing an electronic writing and drawing slate. The display elements themselves are preferably utilized as input pen sense locations. The flat panel display and pen sensing surface is constructed so that there is no display distortion when the input pen is in contact with the surface. Rapid input pen sensing is provided for accommodating natural pen movement on a high resolution, large area display. A character recognition method is also associated with the device for automatic and computationally efficient on-line recognition of hand printed text characters, while accommodating a natural printing style. Hand printed text characters are recognized and preferably stored in a compact and standardized format, such as ASCII, for later display, processing, or output to external equipment, such as a printer or computer. Graphics can also be entered and stored for later display, processing, or output to an external device, and graphics can be interspersed with text, if desired. Also, text and graphics can preferably be input to the device from external information processing equipment for display and/or processing.
The patented invention differs from the present invention because the patented invention is a electro-optic data input/output, storage, processing, and display device which translated handwritten text and graphics into text and digitized drawings. The text and drawings maybe save as a permanent record and printed at a later time. The present invention is a mechanical device for drawing which does not provide a permanent record. Further, the drawings cannot be printed.
Numerous innovations for sports writing aid have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.

Visual aid for describing sporting events