A discharge tube includes a cylinder having first and second end planes, first and second discharge electrodes coupled to the respective first and second end planes, the first and second discharge electrodes having respective upper and lower discharge planes forming therebetween a discharge gap, and one or more discharge trigger wires disposed in a portion of the cylinder that encompasses the discharge gap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a discharge tube, and more particularly to a discharge tube which discharges between a discharge plane of an upper discharge electrode and a discharge plane of a lower discharge electrode, at the center of an airtight cylinder.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 10-335042 shows an example of a discharge tube used in, for example, a ballast circuit for igniting an HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamp of a vehicle, or an igniter circuit for igniting a rear side lamp of a liquid crystal projector. This discharge tube (discharge tube 1A), shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, includes, for example, an airtight cylinder 10 formed into a cylindrical shape from an insulating material, an upper discharge electrode 22 joined to an upper opening part of the airtight cylinder 10 shown in FIG. 1, and a lower discharge electrode 24 joined to a lower opening part of the airtight cylinder 10 shown in FIG. 1.
Four main discharge trigger wires 80, being transversely formed at a middle section of the inner wall of the airtight cylinder 10, are aligned with a prescribed interval in an upright manner in a direction parallel to the axis of the airtight cylinder 10. Four sub-discharge trigger wires 90, being formed at upper and lower sections of the inner wall of the airtight cylinder 10, are aligned between the main discharge trigger wires 80 in an upright manner in a direction parallel to the axis of the airtight cylinder 10. The upper and lower ends of the sub-discharge trigger wires 90 are connected to a metallized plane 40 formed on an upper end surface and a lower end surface of the airtight cylinder 10.
In the discharge tube 1A, sputter, being created during discharge from a discharge plane of a distal end of the upper discharge electrode 22 (hereinafter referred to as "upper discharge plane 23") and a discharge plane of the lower end of the lower discharge electrode 24 (hereinafter referred to as "lower discharge plane 25"), adheres to the middle section of the inner wall of the airtight cylinder, to thereby prevent the insulating properties of the main discharge trigger wire 80 and the sub-discharge trigger wire 90 from deteriorating. Therefore, an electrical discharge can be repeatedly and steadily induced at a prescribed potential for a long period between the upper discharge plane 23 and the lower discharge plane 25.
FIG. 7 shows the data of the electrical discharge property of the discharge tube 1A in a case where a single unit of the discharge tube 1A is activated under an ideal environment that is free from being affected by, for example, an external magnetic field. FIG. 7 shows that a stable arc discharge is repeatedly induced in a regular manner. It is to be noted that the horizontal axis indicates time and the vertical axis indicates discharge voltage (1 square space represents 1000 V) in FIG. 7 and also in the other diagrams given below that show data of an electrical discharge property.
Along with the accelerating trend of mobilization of liquid crystal projectors in recent years, electronic devices and circuits that are mounted to the liquid crystal projectors tend to be size-reduced and disposed in high density. Further, respective electronic devices and electronic components are also packaged in high density.
The discharge tube 1A may be, therefore, disposed in the proximity of a booster coil 2 (hereinafter referred to as "coil") (see FIG. 4) that serves to boost an AC 100V commercial power supply to 3000V or more, or in the proximity of a power transformer 4 (hereinafter referred to as "transformer") (see FIG. 5). Furthermore, the discharge tube 1A may be situated between the coil 2 and the transformer 4 depending on the layout of the components.
By disposing the discharge tube 1A proximal to the coil 2 or the transformer 4 in the manner described above, the coiling direction of the coil 2 or the transformer 4 will be substantially perpendicular to the main discharge trigger wire 80 or the sub-discharge trigger wire 90 of the discharge tube 1A. This causes the magnetic field or the electromagnetic waves generated by the coil 2 and the transformer 4 to affect the discharge tube 1A, and create an electric current in the main discharge trigger wire 80 and the sub-discharge trigger wire 90 by electromagnetic induction. As a result, the discharge tube 1A is liable to malfunction.
An experiment for obtaining electrical discharge property data was conducted in a case where: {circle around (1)} the discharge tube 1A is situated in the proximity of the coil 2 (a coil boosting the AC 100V commercial power supply to 4000V or more) as shown in FIG. 4, {circle around (2)} the discharge tube 1A is situated in the proximity of the transformer 4 as shown in FIG. 5, and {circle around (3)} the discharge tube 1A is situated between the coil 2 and the transformer 4 as shown in FIG. 6, respectively.
It is to be noted that the term "proximity" in the experimental cases of {circle around (1)} and {circle around (2)} refers to a position that is no more than 2 mm apart from the coil 2 and the transformer 4.
FIG. 8 shows the electrical discharge property data in the case of {circle around (1)} where the discharge tube 1A is situated in the proximity of the coil 2, FIG. 9 shows the electrical discharge property data in the case of {circle around (2)} where the discharge tube 1A is situated in the proximity of the transformer 4, and FIG. 10 shows the electrical discharge property data in the case of {circle around (3)} where the discharge tube 1A is situated between the coil 2 and the transformer 4.
In comparing the electrical discharge property data of the discharge tube 1A in FIG. 7 with the electrical discharge property data of the discharge tube 1A in FIGS. 8 to 10, the data in FIGS. 8 to 10 show an unstable electric potential of discharge that largely fluctuates.
Such instability and fluctuation are caused by the discharge tube 1A being affected by the electric field and the electromagnetic wave generated from the coil 2 and the transformer 4.
This large fluctuation may become the cause for miss-fire and may prevent the discharge tube 1A from suitably driving, for example, a liquid crystal projector.


A power input terminal block includes terminals received in terminal channels of a housing each having a main body defining a wire pocket receiving a supply wire and a take-off tab electrically connected to the main body. The power input terminal block includes clamp contacts coupled to the take-off tabs each having a base, a spring beam extending from the base, and a cap extending from the spring beam having a poke-in window configured to receive a take-off wire. An edge defining the poke-in window engages the take-off wire and pulls the take-off wire against the wire side of the take-off tab. The power input terminal block includes release levers coupled to the housing to move the spring beam to an extended position to allow loading and removal of the take-off wire from the clamp contact and the take-off tab.

The subject matter herein relates generally to power input terminal blocks.
Power input terminal blocks are used to distribute power in a system, such as a lighting system. For example, streetlights use power input terminal blocks to distribute power within the light fixture from the main supply wires to take-off wires used to power light fixture components, such as the driver, the light element, and the like. Conventional power input terminal blocks use threaded terminal lugs with set screws to connect the line, ground and neutral wires. Separate male tab contacts extend from the threaded terminal lug. Female tab terminals are connected to the male tab contacts by pressing the female tab terminals onto the male tab contacts. The female tab terminals are crimped to ends of the take-off wires. The female tab terminals occupy space within the power input terminal block and add cost and complexity to the assembly process.
A need remains for a cost effective and reliable power input terminal block.


Systems and methods for performing congestion detection and connection admission control for a communications network utilizing the observed one-way delay of packets transmitted through the network are described. Embodiments of the present invention provide endpoints on the network, which can anticipate congestion accurately enough to prevent packet loss and excess delay while, at the same time, fully utilizing network resources. In one embodiment of the present invention, a communications service provider replaces conventional tandem switches in a public switched telephone network with Internet protocol (IP) tandems. The IP tandem includes a media gateway, which performs congestion admission control for voice over IP (VoIP) communications. When delay in the communications network exceeds a delay threshold, the media gateway may reject the communications request or may route the request over an alternative channel.

Conventional telecommunications providers offer a broad variety of services, including both voice and data services. As these providers continue to extend their service offerings, they constantly strive to minimize the costs of providing these services. The consolidation of voice and data services provides a substantial opportunity for savings. However, the consolidation of these services and corresponding decrease in cost must not come at the expense of the quality in voice communications services (referred to herein as "Quality of Service" (QoS)).
Other organizations, such as large corporations, face similar challenges. As with telecommunications providers, the integration of voice and data networks within an organization presents a great potential for savings. Conventional separation of private branch exchange (PBX) and Internet/Intranet often involves significant expense. Organizations typically find it more efficient and cost-effective to design, deploy, maintain, and support a single integrated network than to support separate data and voice solutions.
Conventional voice systems rely on circuit-based equipment. Circuit-based equipment provides high reliability and scalability, almost universal interconnection, and a tremendous installed base. In contrast, conventional packet-based telephone systems, such as Internet telephony, often provide limited reliability and scalability. Protocols conventionally utilized in packet-based networks, such as file transfer protocol (FTP) and hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), are opportunistic, taking as much bandwidth as is available. Therefore, mixing voice and data in a single, uncontrolled, packet-based network, often results in low QoS due to a variety of factors, such as jitter, packet loss, and excessive delay. Callers recognize the degradation in QoS resulting from jitter, packet loss, and delay as voice distortion, loss of portions of words or sentences, echoes, talker overlap, and dropped calls. A certain amount of delay is inherent in any packet-based voice implementation, including a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) implementation. However, if the total delay is greater than 150–200 milliseconds, QoS will be generally unacceptable.
Jitter, caused by variable inter-packet timing, is one source of QoS degradation in VoIP services. In a converged network in which voice and data packets are interleaved, normally orderly packetized voice arrives at disorderly intervals. Conventional systems implement jitter buffers to address the problem of jitter. Unfortunately, the addition of jitter buffers result in increased delay in the network.
Packet loss occurs when routers begin to overflow during periods of congestion, forcing them to drop packets. Conventional systems attempt to account for packet loss in a variety of ways. For example, a conventional system may compensate for lost packets by interpolation, replaying the last packet received to fill in the non-contiguous speech. Interpolation is effective only for a very small number of lost packets. Other conventional systems send redundant information so that the information contained in the lost packets may be replaced with information contained in successfully transmitted packets. Sending redundant information results in increased traffic and requires greater bandwidth and therefore may cause greater delay within the network. Another conventional approach sends redundant packets but utilizes a codec that results in a smaller number of packets and therefore requires less bandwidth. Although this approach decreases the bandwidth requirements inherent in sending redundant packets, the approach increases the delay and reduces voice quality due to coding effects.
QoS degradation may also result from delay. Delay causes two problems: echo and talker overlap. Echo is caused by the signal reflection of the speaker's voice from the far end telephone equipment back into the speaker's ear. To eliminate echo, conventional systems may implement an echo canceller. These are active devices used by phone companies to suppress positive feedback (singing) on the phone network. They work by predicting and subtracting a locally generated replica of the echo based on the signal propagating in the forward direction. To eliminate talker overlap, a VoIP system must reduce the total delay experienced during the VoIP call.
Delay includes the time necessary to collect a packet or frame of voice samples to be transmitted, to code and packetize the collected packets, and to transmit the resulting packets over the physical network. Delay results from several sources, including processing delay, queuing delay, transmission delay, and propagation delay.
Because of the degradation that can affect voice communications in a packet-based network and because of the complexity and cost of converting existing circuit-based systems, telecommunications providers have been slow to implement packet-based networks for the transmission of voice. Large traditional voice carriers are just beginning to merge their existing Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) with their data networks using Voice over IP (VoIP) or Voice over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). But the carriers understand that without acceptable QoS, callers will avoid VoIP.
In order to both provide this voice quality and to begin merging the PSTN with the data network, the carrier must provide a level of QoS which provides low loss and a reasonable delay for the RTP voice packets in the IP core, and at the same time provide, as a minimum, best effort service for data. In addition to best effort service for data, the carrier may wish to provide other levels of QoS for other types of communications, include video and fax.
Several conventional approaches exist for maintaining QoS in a mixed-service packet network. These approaches include (1) using differentiated levels of priorities, wherein the voice packets receive the highest priority and the data packets receive a lower priority; (2) reserving a path through the network across which the communication can traverse; and (3) performing endpoint or connection admission control. While each of these approaches has its advantages and disadvantages, none provides both a simple, and at the same time, effective means of ensuring QoS for VoIP communication.
One of the simplest conventional approaches for maintaining QoS for VoIP is through the use of differentiated services, assigning different priorities for the real-time packets containing the VoIP packets relative to other packets in the network. Traditional IP networks use Native IP Forwarding (NIF). A router determines a packet's next hop route by the finding the longest match of the destination IP address with a prefix in the routers forwarding table. At the destination point of each hop, a router reexamines the IP header for the destination IP address and performs the longest match on it's own forwarding table to determine the next hop. This process repeats hop by hop until the packet reaches its final destination. Note that with NIF, the routing table is the only state information processed and maintained in the router.
In the DiffServ model, packets entering a network domain are classified and marked with a DiffServ code point (DS code point) according to their requirements for Per Hop Behavior (PHB). The PHB is a forwarding behavior that represents queuing and servicing disciplines in the routers. PHBs provide a means of allocating bandwidth and buffers according to the relative requirements of the packets being transferred across the network. Packets are grouped into classifications, and all packets in a classification receive the same treatment. The key characteristic of DiffServ is that classification and treatment are relative. No reservations are made, and thus one classification might receive higher priority relative to other classifications to reduce delay. Another classification might get better treatment relative to other classifications to reduce loss. Ultimately a limited set of resources is divided among the various classifications, and, if traffic is excessive, loss or excessive delay may occur. However, DiffServ has the advantage of not requiring the processing and storing of additional state information needed by Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) (described below).
Another approach for ensuring QoS for VoIP is to set up resource reservations in routers across the IP network. The QoS requirement may be expressed in the form of bandwidth, delay, or jitter, or may involve specifying an explicit route across the network. This approach may be implemented using Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) with some type of bandwidth reservation capability.
MPLS is the most popular standard of label-based forwarding. The foundation for label-based forwarding is Forwarding Equivalency Class (FEC). An FEC is assigned as a packet enters the network and can be based on information gleaned from the packet header including destination IP address or on information not available in the header such as the ingress port. A Label representing the FEC is pre-pended to each packet, and subsequent forwarding decisions are based on these Labels without examining the packet header at each hop. In practical terms, at each hop, rather than examining the destination address in the header, the Label is examined and used as an index to a table that contains the next hop to which the packet should be forwarded. All packets in an FEC are treated equivalently as they are forwarded across the network. This is similar to switching in an ATM or Frame Relay network in which a Virtual Path Identifier/Virtual Circuit Identifier (VPI/VCI) or Data Link Connection Identifier (DLCI) identifies a Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC) or Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC). The forwarding decision is accomplished by a table lookup in the switch using the VPI/VCI or DLCI along with the ingress port. In an ATM or Frame Relay network, the entries are placed in the table when PVCs or SVCs are established either by signaling or using a network management system. In MPLS, these table entries are placed using a reservation protocol such as RSVP or CR-LDP, which are described below. The addition of these switching tables in routers represents a second form of state information that must be processed and maintained in addition to the routing tables associated with NIF.
In MPLS a label distribution protocol is used to distribute the label and associated next hop information to Label Switching Routers (LSRs) throughout the network. Other information may also be distributed and contained in these tables as well. There are two protocols that have been designed to perform this function, Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) and Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP). LDP was originally designed to distribute labels to LSRs but is in the process of being extended to make resource reservations. The extended form of LDP is called Constraint based Routing-LDP (CR-LDP). RSVP was originally designed to make resource reservations, but has been extended to perform label distribution. The extended form of RSVP is called RSVP-Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE). Both CR-LDP, and RSVP-TE perform a signaling function that enables some form of Quality of Service (QoS) across MPLS. This signaling reserves resources, which are essentially router queues. These routing queues ultimately represent bandwidth along routes in the network, and this reserving of bandwidth for a particular FEC enables QoS. If insufficient resources are available to provide QoS for a particular call, the connection is refused. This is called connection admission control (CAC).
The advantage of this approach is that the reservations are not relative to other traffic on the network as in the case of DiffServ, but are much closer to being guaranteed. One of the problems with this approach is that implementing RSVP-TE or CR-LDP in high-speed core routers requires these routers to process and maintain state information for the label switching tables and reserved bandwidth. Building high-speed core routers with these capabilities is complex and very expensive. Also, these capabilities need to be implemented in every router in the network. This violates one of the principles of TCP/IP, which is to process and maintain a minimum amount of state information in the core, keeping the core fast and simple, while CPU intensive tasks are pushed to the edge. Scalability is a problem as well, since at least in its simplest form, a reservation has to be made for each call originated across the network. In order to avoid this, tunnels can be reserved and calls aggregated into these for transport across the network. This too has its problems in that it makes the process even more complicated and increases the difficulty in fully utilizing resources in the network. It also still requires the core routers to process and maintain the additional state information for the label switching tables and reserved bandwidth.
Another alternative approach is to provide Endpoint or Connection Admission Control (CAC). Traditional PSTNs rely on local switches to perform this CAC function when the network is too busy to process a call. A CAC approach in a packet-based network could rely on a variation of the reservation approach discussed above in which an error code is returned if the attempt to create a reservation is unsuccessful. Upon return of the error code, the phone could emit a busy signal.
An alternative CAC approach maintains a simple core IP network and provides a means for the edge devices to perform CAC. Under such an approach, a packet stream requests service from a network edge device, such as a media gateway, and the device includes a means to detect impending congestion in the IP core. The device either accepts or rejects the request based on the congestion state. This method would push congestion control from the core to the edge and thus simplify the job of the core routers because it requires no support from the core IP routers; the core routers do not process or maintain state information other than traditional routing tables.
Several conventional methods for performing CAC in a packet-based network exist. In one method, the routers use congestion marking. However, this method requires more functionality be added to the router, increasing the complexity of the core routers. Another method utilizes packet drops to determine congestion. But for voice applications, the objective is to avoid congestion before drops occur.
Another conventional method is to use a black box approach to congestion avoidance with implicit feedback based on increased delay. However, conventional methods of this type use window-based flow control for each individual user. Also these conventional methods assume deterministic delays and fail to examine the effects of stochastic delays experienced in an actual network. In addition, these conventional methods utilize round-trip delay rather than one-way delay.
A further conventional method utilizes probing packets. Endpoints, such as media gateways or other hosts, probe the network to detect the level of congestion. The endpoint admits connections only if the level of congestion is sufficiently low. To accurately determine the congestion of the network, the endpoint sends probe packets at the data rate VoIP call will require and records the resulting level of packet losses, jitter, or other congestion indicator. For example, in one conventional approach, the probe packets are sent in a DiffServ code point that is a low priority FEC. The data, which requires the QoS, is placed in the high priority FEC.
Although a CAC method based on probing may accurately measure congestion, the probing and feedback phases slow down the admission decision significantly. Probing causes a delay while the probing packet is sent and either feedback is received or a timeout period expires. This delay creates a significant setup delay for the VoIP call, on the order of seconds, and VoIP applications will not tolerate such long set-up delays.
In another conventional CAC method, the endpoint attempts to determine the amount of bandwidth a specific communication will require and then attempts to determine if the required bandwidth is available on the network. For example, the patent to Hiroyuki Yokoyama, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,166, describes a call setup control apparatus, which determines the amount of bandwidth consumed by current calls, compares that amount with the available bandwidth, and accepts or rejects call requests based on the comparison. And the patents to Patrick Droz, U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,466, and to Gyeong-Seok Kim, U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,768, describe similar systems and methods. Also, the patent to Sari Saranka, U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,085 describes a similar method for performing CAC based on the probability of cell loss given a known capacity. Utilizing estimated bandwidth requirements to perform CAC is relatively ineffective because the differing coding schemes used to transmit voice over packet networks cause great difficulty in accurately predicting voice bandwidth requirements.

System and method for delay-based congestion detection and connection admission control

BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation


A system for generating charge account numbers, wherein the charge account number is based on a number known to the consumer. For example, the consumer can provide a known number, such as their telephone number, and the system can generate a charge account number using the known number provided. Thus, the known number can be associated with a third party account, such as a telephone service account, and billing for the charge account and the third party account can be combined into one billing statement.

1. Field of the Inventions
The field of the invention relates generally to the generation and provisioning of account numbers and more particularly to the generation and provisioning of credit card account numbers.
2. Background Information
Internet purchases have become more and more common. In a typical Internet transaction, a consumer finds an item they wish to purchase on a merchant's web page. The consumer then initiates a transaction and is asked to provide a credit card number to complete the purchase. Unfortunately, as anyone can attest, it is very difficult to remember a credit card number. Therefore, the consumer must have the card present when they are trying to make an "online" purchase of this type in order to provide the credit card number. Often, such online transactions are not consummated, i.e., they are terminated by the user. One likely reason for cancelled transaction is the fact that consumers do not have their cards present and cannot remember their credit card number.
Credit card numbers are difficult to remember, because they are long, and they are not based on anything known to the consumer. For example, there are several numbers most consumers are familiar with and that they tend to remember, e.g., telephone numbers, driver's license number, social security number, etc. These number tend to be somewhat shorter and somewhat more constant, whereas conventional credit card numbers tend to be longer and less constant. In other words, when a consumer gets a new card, upgrades accounts, or losses their card, etc., their credit card number changes. Thus, a typical credit card number is just not as indelible to the consumer as some other types of numbers.

systems and methods for account number generation and provisioning


A process of synthesizing a solid state lithium ion conductor includes mechanically milling at least two precursors so as to form crystalline Li6MgBr8. For instance, the mechanical milling can be carried out using a planetary mill. Moreover, in a practical application, the precursors include LiBr and MgBr2.

Various aspects of the present invention relate generally to lithium-ion conductors and specifically to halide-based lithium-ion conductors
Solid state batteries are considered next generation batteries, and a key component of solid state battery systems is a good solid electrolyte (SE). Inorganic SE systems include oxides, sulfides, and halides. Sulfides and halides have low elastic modulus compared to oxides, so high densification (required for high effective ion transport) can be achieved simply by compression. In contrast, oxide system requires sintering at high temperature. Sulfides are heavily investigated currently due to the high ionic conductivity. However, sulfides could react with H2O (water) and form toxic H2S (Hydrogen sulfide). Halides are also hygroscopic but no hazardous materials is generated from the reaction. Therefore, halides are safer alternative to sulfides. In addition, halides have better electrochemical stability than sulfides, resulting in better interfacial properties with high voltage cathodes.


A method is disclosed for adjusting imaging parameters of a bioptic barcode reader. The method includes capturing, by an imaging assembly, an initial image of a target object having an indicia thereon. The imaging assembly captures the initial image according to an initial imaging parameter. The method further includes attempting to decode the indicia from the initial image, and responsive to being unable to decode the indicia, detecting a substantially static presence of the target object within a field of view (FOV) of the imaging assembly. The method then includes, responsive to detecting the substantially static presence of the target object within the FOV, adjusting the initial imaging parameter to a subsequent imaging parameter, wherein the subsequent imaging parameter is different than the initial imaging parameter.

Barcode reading systems have been ubiquitous throughout the retail industry and others for decades to read barcodes featured on products. The imagers included in these systems are conventionally implemented to capture a barcode across the entire width of the barcode reading system platform. Thus, to ensure consistent barcode capture the imager is maintained at a particular depth of focus.
Traditional embodiments achieve this depth of focus by decreasing the imager's aperture. Unfortunately, decreasing the aperture decreases the amount of light the imager receives, which can be problematic for low contrast, difficult-to-read barcodes. Specifically, if the imager receives an insufficient amount of light, the resulting image may be of insufficient fidelity to decode the barcode featured therein.
While simply increasing the amount of illumination and/or exposure time may be attractive solutions, they too have drawbacks. For example, increasing the illumination may create a noticeable annoyance to a barcode reading system operator, and increasing the exposure time may not allow for the system to capture minimally blurred images as barcodes are swiped rapidly across the platform. Accordingly, there is a need for solutions that solve issues related to barcode reading systems that cannot adequately capture and/or decode low contrast barcodes.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

System and methods for situational adaptive image capture improvements for barcode reading


Disclosed is a method and device for transporting materials from a shipping end to a receiving end. The device is a slip sheet formed from a flat sheet of material having a flat portion with four side edges. One of the side edges has a compressible tab portion that extends outwardly therefrom. The compressible tab portion has an elliptical lip and an upper lip that forms a convex air foil-type cross-sectional area. The compressible tab portion is canted upwardly from a plane defined by the flat portion of the slip sheet. The slip sheet can be used in combination with a captive pallet to transport materials. Further, a method of transporting materials is disclosed whereby the shipping and receiving ends house the captive pallet whereby only the slip sheet is transported by a push-pull or fork-lift type truck.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of transporting materials and, more particularly, to transporting materials by a fork-lift and push-pull type truck. This invention eliminates the pallets commonly used in the transportation cycle and provides a better and more advantageous pallet.
II. Description of the Related Art
The present invention contemplates a new and improved method and device for transporting materials which is simple in design, effective in use, and overcomes the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.
The world population is increasing. In fact, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization projects an increase of 5 to 7 billion people over the next 30 years. This is like adding a new China or India every 10 years.
Population increase and economic expansion consumes land for housing and infrastructure. The earth""s land and its resources are limited. Science and technology have provided us with the ability to do more while using less of the available land and resources. However, science and technology are limited as to what they can provide. Mother Earth will be stressed to keep up with world population expansion.
Quality of life is inextricably linked to the basics: reproduction, food, housing, packaging and transportation. Technology plays a major role by providing for a better standard of living for the worlds"" people. However, responsible business managers must be at the forefront of developing, providing and using environmentally responsible products.
For over sixty years products have been placed on wood pallets and we have used forklifts to load these products into trailers, containers and railcars. In today""s world of high technology this equates to farming with a pair of oxen and a shovel plow. Packaging on wooden pallets can no longer be rationalized nor can shipping the product to a customer who throws the wood pallet into a trash receptacle with the pallet ultimately ending up in a landfill. Landfills are being closed and the trees required to make a good quality wood pallet are becoming scarce thus making the wood more expensive. Today""s U.S. wood pallet average cost is over eight dollars. Landfill expense pushes the total cost of using a wood pallet to about ten dollars. This cost adds to the packaging, logistics and ultimately to the consumer""s cost of the products they purchase.
Data indicates the global market for wood pallets is in excess of one billion units annually. The data does not include remanufactured or reused pallets. This data also indicates that the U.S. uses over five hundred million wood pallets annually. About four hundred and fifteen million (83%) end up in landfills, about eighty million (16%) are recycled/reused and about five million (1%) disposed of as firewood.
One of the challenges being addressed is the depletion of the world forest to manufacture wood pallets which are then disposed into landfills. We will teach how to use commercially and economical feasible replacement products made from recycled material and/or commercially and economical feasible replacement products that can be recycled back into themselves. These products will be used as the material handling system for the 21st century.
The material handling industry is an industry seeking a change, but until now lacked an uncomplicated economical alternative to the wood pallet. The slip sheet disclosed and claimed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,447 and co-pending patent application, Ser. No. 08/823,698 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,651) are those unpretentious economical alternatives. The use of such a slip sheet in conjunction with a captive pallet system leads the way to the future of material handling. These two items taken together, finally accomplish what so many have tried for so long to achieve.
A captive pallet system is one where the shipper and receiver use a good quality wood, plastic or metal pallet to handle the product in-house while the product is packaged on a slip sheet.
The unit of product has hereto been pulled by means of a forklift attachment called a push-pull, from the captive pallet at the point of shipment and the slip sheet becomes the article of conveyance to transfer the unit of product from the shipper to the receiver. Thus the captive pallet is kept or xe2x80x9ccapturedxe2x80x9d for reuse at the point of shipment.
At the receiving point, the product is pulled from the trailer using a push-pull attachment or a regular fork-lift truck and placed on the purchaser""s captive pallet. From that point, it is handled as a normal palletized load using a regular forklift and normal warehouse storage techniques. The shipping/receiving cycle is described in greater detail later in this application.
Both the producer and his customer keep their good quality wood, metal or plastic pallet in-house. The issue of who destroyed or damaged a $50-$200 plastic pallet, who pays for a lost pallets, cost of returning empty pallets and all the associated problems of using inferior quality wood pallets and wood pallets in general are eliminated.
The slip sheet utilized by the present invention is a product which utilizes and creates a market for virgin and/or recycled and/or off- specification polymeric material. The design of the slip sheet corrects the inherent problems of current plastic and fiber slip sheets. To teach the scope of these problems, later herein is a short synopsis of the problems associated with prior known slip sheets.
The disclosed slip sheet allows the material handling industry to adopt it as a shipping medium, currently performed by pallets. The design this slip sheet eliminates the need for a forklift attachment called a push-pull at the shipping location for many products.
The purpose of this invention is to eliminate the need for a push-pull attachment at the receiving end after product has been shipped using the disclosed slip sheet.
There are two major obstacles associated with current slip sheets. One obstacle is the occurrence of inaccessibility of the lip/tab due to crumpling during transit or shifting of the load. The other obstacle is maintenance of the product on the slip sheet in transit.
Additionally, there are related issues with current slip sheets. Product damage and/or spillage caused by the push-pull gripper jaws colliding with the packaged unit in the operators attempt to grasp the deficient lip/tab. Product damage and/or spillage caused by the push-pull gripper jaws colliding with the packaged unit during the push-pull""s jaw release and push cycle. Further, cost considerations need to be made because of the need to have a push-pull at both the shipping and receiving points to handle the current slip sheets. Also, the increasing cost of more sophisticated designed push-pull in an attempt to overcome the inadequacy of current slip sheets lip/tab and their resultant cost as a high maintenance item must be considered.
Field interviews verify that slip sheet and push-pulls in general, do not work well and exhibit these shortcomings, preventing slip sheets from enjoying a greater share of the material handling market.
One material handling area that slip sheets have made an impact is in the grocery industry. However it is one thing to shift a few hundred pound palletized unit of potatoes chips or corn flakes back unto the slip sheet and another thing to restack 2500 pounds of 40 or 80 pounds bags of salt that has shifted in transit. It should be noted that with present slip sheet design, it is only necessary that the product shift as little as xe2x85x9 inch and the lip/tab crease will be covered pushing the lip/tab tightly against the floor of the trailer/container/railcar. With certain bagged products, simply settling during transit will cause the footprint of the product to expand covering the creased area, causing it to be pushed tightly against the floor. Obviously, this creates a problem at the receiving end as it is impossible to grasp the tab/lip and the jaws and platens of the push-pull slide over the top of the product, resulting in product damage. It then become incumbent upon the receiver to unload the unit by hand with manual labor called xe2x80x9chumpingxe2x80x9d.
The technique to make the slanted lip disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,651, was added to further enhance and ensure the ability of the lip/tab to fold-up and not crumple when units are added in-line. It was this concept that assured good presentation of the lip/tab for the push-pull""s jaws to clamp and/or make an accentuated angle so an operator could simply drop the lift trucks push-pull""s platens and/or forks and slip under the slip sheet.
By having a compressible convex airfoil-type cross-sectional area to facilitate the grasping of this type lip/tab in conjunction with the front sidewall, several of the needs of a slip sheet were met. Obviously, it was discovered this design also allowed us to employ a conventional lift truck with tapered forks, meeting several of the additional needs of the material handling industry.
In accordance with the present invention, there is disclosed a new and improved captive pallet and slip sheet combination which overcomes the problems associated with both a wood pallets transport system and a captive pallet transport system.
Further in accordance with the invention, the slip sheet of the present invention is formed from a flat sheet of material having a flat load receiving portion and four side edges. It is within the scope of the present invention to provide a slip sheet of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,651. However, it is further within the scope of the present invention to provide a slip sheet having conventional tabs, or having no tabs. Slip sheets having other designs may require the receiver to use push/pull attachments on forklifts.
Further in accordance with the invention, the captive pallet of the present invention comprises a first fork receiving area for reception of the forks of a conventional forklift for use when the captive pallet is moved, whether in a loaded or unloaded state. The captive pallet also provides a second fork receiving area for reception of the forks of a conventional forklift when it is desired to move only the load, either to load onto the captive pallet or remove from the captive pallet. Various embodiments of captive pallets are provided in the present invention, all having the common feature of providing first and second fork receiving areas. When the captive pallet is engaged on a ground surface in position for normal usage, the second fork receiving area is located higher from the ground surface than the first fork receiving area. The first fork receiving area is characterized by the presence of at least one upper barrier member against which the forks abut when the captive pallet is raised off the ground by the action of the associated forklift. The second fork receiving area is characterized by the absence of any upper barrier. The captive pallet further includes a plurality of planar load supporting surfaces adjacent the second fork receiving areas.
Further in accordance with the invention, there is provided a method of transporting materials. The method includes utilization of a captive pallet and slip sheet combination. A captive pallet having a first fork reception area adapted for use with the forks of an associated forklift. The captive pallet further includes a second fork reception area adapted for use with the forks of an associated forklift. An unloaded captive pallet may be properly positioned for reception of a load by placing the forks of an associated forklift into the first fork receiving area, raising the captive pallet from its resting position, transporting the captive pallet to a load receiving area, and lowering the captive pallet to the ground (or loading platform, etc). A slip sheet may then be positioned onto the load supporting surfaces. A load of material may be placed onto the load receiving portion of the slip sheet. The material may be secured to the slip sheet by any means known in the art such as binding, shrink wrapping and the like. The combination of loaded slip sheet and the captive pallet may be transported to another area by utilizing the associated forklift and the first fork receiving areas as discussed above. In order to move only the loaded slip sheet, the forks of the associated forklift are inserted into the second fork receiving areas. Upward movement of the forks cause the forks to abut the underside of the slip sheet and lift it off the captive pallet.

Device and method for transporting materials


A substrate with banks having end channels is provided to advantageously allow excess fluid collecting on one part of the substrate to flow to another part of the substrate. An excess of fluid collecting in a particular area of the substrate may flow to an area of the substrate where it would not interfere with the manufacturing process. The end channels may be modified with wave breakers that act as buffers to redirect excess fluid and/or with capillary-force homogeneity enhancers that pull excess fluid away from other parts of the substrate. The end channels may also contain line-end reservoirs that provide additional room for excess fluid to collect.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to substrates for ink-jet printing. More particularly, the present invention relates to bank substrates for use in the deposition of ink-jet materials, such as those used in organic electronic devices such as organic transistors and integrated circuits, as well as for organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs).
2. Description of Related Art
One conventional type of printer forms characters and images on a medium or substrate, such as paper, by expelling droplets of ink, often comprising organic material, in a controlled fashion so that the droplets land on the medium in a pattern. Such a printer can be conceptualized as a mechanism for moving and placing the medium in a position such that ink droplets can be placed on the medium, a printing cartridge which controls the flow of ink and expels droplets of ink to the medium, and appropriate control hardware and software. A conventional print cartridge for an inkjet type printer comprises an ink containment device and a fingernail-sized apparatus, commonly known as a print head, which heats and expels ink droplets in a controlled fashion. The print cartridge may contain a storage vessel for ink, or the storage vessel may be separate from the print head. Other conventional inkjet type printers use piezo elements that can vary the ink chamber volume through use of the piezo-electric effect to expel ink droplets in a controlled fashion.
Applications of ink-jet printers have moved beyond the conventional creation of characters and images for viewing by people to the creation of circuits and displays, for example organic display panels.
Ink-jet printing is being used or developed as a tool to deposit organic materials in a patterned manner onto substrate to create organic, or partially organic, electronic devices such as, by example only, transistors (such as organic field-effect transistors) and integrated circuits, conductive via holes or traces, organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Helpful background material may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/214,024, entitled "Drop Volume Measurement and Control for Ink Jet Printing", filed on Aug. 7, 2002, and incorporated herein by reference.
The types of substrates used for ink-jet printing depends on the particular application. Some types of substrates used, by way of example only, are glass substrates, plastic substrates (such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polymide, polycarbonate), metal foils, ceramic substrates, laminated glass, and thin flexible glass. Some applications for substrates, by way of example only, are substrates for thin film transistors (TFTs), hybrid organic/inorganic TFTs, alpha-numeric or passive-matrix or active-matrix OLEDs or combined TFT/OLED devices.
A challenge with the techniques described above for creating printed film is maintaining the desired uniformity and quality of the resulting components, such as printed areas, printed segments, printed lines, printed pixels, printed traces, and printed via-holes, by way of example only.
The droplets striking the substrate often need to be contained in walls (such as troughs or banks, by way of example only) in or on the substrate to prevent spreading. However, excess fluid may collect near the walls, due to adhesion or simply because too many or too large droplets were deposited on the substrate. This excess fluid, or "flooding", can mean that once the droplet(s) dries, ink remains beyond the boundary of the wall.
Additionally, droplets emitted by piezo-electric printing devices sometimes require more settling time, which means that the printing must start earlier. The misalignment and excess build-up of droplets can cause even more flooding. Excessive flooding may cause problems such as short circuits and current leaks; it may also make it more difficult to seal the device being manufactured.
For most applications, the solution should create a uniform film on the substrate which means, in most cases, that the solution must dry in a uniform manner as it is deposited. By way of example only, the uniformity of drying can affect, in the case of OLEDs, uniformity, lifetime, efficiency, and color gamut. Maintaining uniformity is difficult because very often solution drops show so-called "coffee stain" drying profiles. Capillary flow causes ring stains from dried liquid drops, whereby within a printed drop (or line or area) fluid-dynamic effects cause the edges of the drop (or line or area) to have a substantially higher concentration of solute than the center. This is often not acceptable for device performance. Though this effect can be mitigated by careful choice of the drying ambient (such as temperature and/or atmospheric pressure, by way of example only) and/or the choice of solvents (adjusting the boiling point, solvent strength, solvent mix, and/or surface energy, by way of example only), disadvantageously other printing factors are adversely affected substantially enough to degrade printing quality. For example, though coffee-stain types of drying effects can be reduced by using a highly viscous solvent and/or by using solute that is poorly dissolved in the solution (and therefore precipitates or "crashes out" of the solution), a highly-viscous solution or poorly dissolved solution can be very problematic for the printing or dispensing process itself (causing, by way of example only, nozzle clogging and/or inaccurate drop firing or dispensing).


A method and apparatus for generating a reflection filter. The method comprises the steps of determining an averaged step response of an acquired signal and generating a spectrum response from the averaged step response. A time at which a reflection in the averaged step response begins is determined and information in the averaged step response after the determined time when the reflection begins is replaced with an ideal flat line response to generate a required step response. A spectrum response is generated from the required step response and each frequency point of the spectrum response corresponding to the required step response is divided by each frequency point of the spectrum response corresponding to the averaged step response to generate a spectrum of the reflection filter. The result of the dividing step is processed to generate a reflection filter impulse response.

Electronic signals are acted upon by transmission through various systems, conduits or the like. These conduits have various inherent physical properties, one of them being impedance. This impedance is the total opposition to the flow of current offered by a circuit. A transmission line that is terminated with a load impedance equal to the characteristic impedance Zo of the line will not reflect an incident wave at that point, and the transmission line is said to be impedance matched. However, a transmission line that is terminated with a load impedance different than Zo will reflect part of an incident wave back toward the source or generator of the signal.
Reflections are often undesirable and should be eliminated. This is because at any point along the transmission line, that value of the signal will appear as a combination of the originally transmitted signal, and the reflected signal, thus resulting in distortion of the originally transmitted signal. Indeed, the voltage seen at any particular point on the line will be the vector sum of the transmitted and reflected sinusoids. Because the phase between the transmitted and reflected signals varies with position along the signal line, the vector sums at different points along the transmission paths will be different, thus affecting the actual signal present on the transmission line, and at the output thereof.


A method of evaluating image pattern output accuracy based on numerical and objective criteria, by employing quality engineering. The method includes setting command signals which provide different distances from a reference point to at least three other points; outputting an image pattern which indicates reference coordinates of the reference point and distant measurement coordinates of the at least three points; optically reading the image pattern; obtaining data of the reference coordinates and the distant measurement coordinates from the read image pattern; calculating each distance between the obtained reference coordinates and the obtained distance measurement coordinates and outputting output signals which respectively provide the calculated distances; and calculating based on the command signals and the output signals, an S/N ratio for indicating a degree of dispersion of the output signals with respect to the command signals and a sensitivity of the output signals with respect to the command signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of evaluating performance of printers, scanners, projectors, monitors, or the like, and in particular, relates to a method of evaluating image pattern output accuracy.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional methods of evaluating the performance of a printer, scanner, projector, monitor, or the like, an image pattern such as a print or an image is first output and a person observes the image pattern and determines with the senses whether the image pattern is fine, clear, and the like.
However, such conventional evaluations for printers, scanners, projectors, monitors, or the like is not performed based on numerical and objective criteria; therefore, the obtained results are based on the subjective criteria of the person who performs the evaluation.

Method of evaluating image pattern output accuracy


The invention relates to a device (10, 30, 40, 50) for receiving notes of value, comprising a base body (12) and a lid (14) for closing an opening of the base body (12). Another aspect of the invention relates to a device (60) for displaying the opening of a lid (14) closing an opening of a base body (12) of a cash box (10, 30, 40, 50, 80). Both devices (10, 30, 40, 50, 60) comprise a sensor (16, 64) for detecting the opening of the lid (14) and a display unit (18). Further, the devices (10, 30, 40, 50, 60) comprise a control unit (20) that controls the display unit (18) in such a manner that, at least when the sensor (16, 64) has detected an unauthorized opening of the lid (14), that the display unit (18) displays information on the opening of the lid (14).

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Technical Field
The invention relates to a device for receiving notes of value comprising a base body with at least one opening for supplying and/or removing the notes of value and a lid for closing this opening. Further, the device comprises at least one sensor for detecting the opening of the lid. Another aspect of the invention relates to a device for displaying the opening of a lid closing the opening of a base body of a cash box, wherein the device comprises at least one sensor for detecting the opening of the lid that attachable to the base body and the lid.
Discussion
Known cash boxes comprise a base body having an opening for supplying and removing notes of value that is closable via a lid. After supplying and/or removing notes of value the lid is closed and a physical seal is applied via which an unauthorized opening of the lid is prevented. If the lid is opened, the physical seal has to be broken. This breach of seal can be detected by a control person and/or mechanically. From document DE 69928440 T2 for example a cash box with such a physical seal is known. The physical seal is in particular formed as an adhesive paper seal.
The problem with sealing a cash box with a physical seal is that upon opening this physical seal will be destroyed irreversibly, so that after each filling and/or emptying of the cash box a new seal has to be applied after the old seal was removed with considerable effort. This results in high costs and high expenditure. In particular, removing the residues of the adhesive by means of which the paper seal has been attached to the cash box requires great effort.
From document DE 10 2010 004 669 that has not been pre-published a device for receiving cash boxes is known, in which cash boxes are received, if notes of value are supplied to them and/or removed from them.
From document U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,634 B2 a cash box with a RFID chip is known.
From document US 2003/0071048 A1 a cash box with a display is known.
From document WO 2006/012997 A2 a display is known comprising an integrated RFID chip.

Cash cassette with electronic money seal


The memory module includes a plurality of memory devices, a first connector and a second connector. The first connector is disposed at a first position on the memory module. The first connector is configured to carry low-speed signals for the memory devices. The second connector is disposed at a second position on the memory module, different from the first position. The second connector is configured to carry high-speed signals for at least one of the memory devices. The high-speed signals are a higher speed form of signaling than the low-speed signals. The memory system may include at least one slot electrically connected to a chip set and at least one memory module electrically connected to the slot via the first connector. A transmission line such as a fiber optic cable electrically connects the second connector and the chip set.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory module and a memory system having the memory module.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a view of a prior art memory module. Referring to FIG. 1, a memory module 10 includes a plurality of semiconductor memory devices 11_i (where i is 1 through 9) and a first connector 13 having a plurality of connection terminals connected via a bus (not shown) with the memory devices 11_i.
FIG. 2 is a view of a prior art memory system including memory module of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, a memory system 20 includes a motherboard 21, a chip set (or a controller) 23 mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) of the motherboard 21, and two memory modules 10_1 and 10_2. The memory modules 10_1 and 10_2 are inserted into slots 25_1 and 25_2, respectively.
Data and command signals output from the chip set 23 are input to the plurality of semiconductor memory devices 11 via a bus on the PCB of the motherboard 21, the respective slot 25, the respective connector 13 and the bus of the respective memory module 10.
Data output from the plurality of semiconductor memory devices 11 of each of the memory modules 10_1 and 10_2 is output to the chip set 23 via the bus of each of the memory modules 10_1 and 10_2, the respective first connector 13, the respective slot 25 and the bus on the motherboard 21.
In a case where command signals, power supplies, and high-speed data are transmitted via the buses of the motherboard 21, the attenuation of data transmitted via the buses and crosstalk among the buses increase with an increase in the operational speed of the memory system 20. Due to this, the number of memory modules, which may be used in the memory system 20, is reduced.
Also, the difference (1) in the distance between the chip set 23 and the slot 25_1 and (2) the distance between the chip set 23 and the slot 25_2 causes skews of signals input/output between the chip set 23 and the memory module 10_1 and between the chip set 23 and the memory module 10_2.

Memory module, method and memory system having the memory module


An engine assembly may include a voltage source and an oxygen pump assembly. The oxygen pump assembly may include an intake conduit and an oxygen pumping mechanism. The intake conduit may be in fluid communication with an air supply and an intake manifold. The oxygen pumping mechanism may include an oxygen ion conducting cell, a first electrode in electrical communication with the voltage source and a second electrode in electrical communication with the voltage source. The first electrode may be disposed on a first side of the cell and may be exposed to an interior of the intake conduit. The second electrode may be disposed on a second side of the cell and isolated from the interior of the conduit. The oxygen pumping mechanism may remove oxygen from an air flow within the interior of the intake conduit based on a voltage applied across the cell by the voltage source.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Diesel engines typically have an unthrottled intake air flow. The air flow provided to the cylinders may have a greater amount of oxygen than is needed for combustion. These increased oxygen levels may result in increased nitrogen oxide (NOx) and/or soot levels in the exhaust gas stream. The nitrogen oxide (NOx) and/or soot levels may require additional exhaust aftertreatment components and exhaust gas recirculation systems to provide an exhaust gas flow that complies with federal regulations.

Engine having oxygen pumping intake system and method of removing oxygen from intake air flow


Technologies for controlling food dehydration in a low-oxygen environment include a control device and an enclosed drying chamber. The control device receives sensor data from environmental sensors disposed within the drying chamber. A concentration of oxygen within the drying chamber is determined based on the received sensor data. The control device controls a valve to selectively feed an amount of a combustible gas to a burner assembly disposed within the drying chamber. The burner assembly is ignited by the control device and a flame is produced. The flame depletes the concentration of oxygen within the drying chamber to an initial oxygen concentration level. The control device controls another valve to feed an amount of non-reactive gas into the drying chamber to flush the drying chamber and further deplete the concentration of oxygen within the drying chamber to a lower oxygen concentration level. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Various techniques exist for dehydrating food products. In conventional air drying, ambient air is passed over the product at low speeds and water is removed by evaporation, a process usually accelerated by heat delivered to the product by convection. The state-of-the-art in highest-quality food drying is freeze-drying, wherein sublimation of water from a frozen food product takes place at very low pressures and temperatures. Although freeze-drying results in nutritionally superior products to conventional air drying, the extreme operating cost and powdery texture of the products are prohibitive for many applications.
While growth of most organisms in an uncontrolled air environment is generally considered sufficient for commercial production, it is not necessarily optimal for all varieties of vegetation, fungi, small animals, insects, and microorganisms such as cyanobacteria for consumption or bacterial cultures for laboratory or industrial use. Conventional sprouting and micro-farming support systems sometimes include humidity and hydration control and air circulation functionality, but often fail to include oxygen and carbon dioxide control systems capable of varying these gaseous growth factors to optimal levels for a wide range of organisms with respect to growth rates and product quality. Controlled growth environments for other types of organisms suffer from similar drawbacks, most often failing to provide access to possible optimal gaseous concentrations that vary significantly from those in ambient air. Additionally, because of these drawbacks, periodic reduction of gases needed for sustained bacterial or insect growth in order to inhibit growth of undesirable organisms is not generally implemented as a standard function in most commercial equipment intended to support growth of commercial organisms and quality of products derived from them.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for food dehydration and optimization of organismal growth and quality of organismal products


A device and method to aid in the donning and doffing of prosthetic liners. A vacuum is created between the device and the prosthetic liner in order to expand the prosthetic liner. The device and the liner can then be placed in position on a residual limb and the vacuum released to aid in donning the liner. To doff a liner, the device is placed in position over a residual limb carrying a prosthetic liner. A vacuum is created between the device and the liner to expand the liner in order to aid doffing.

There are known aids and methods to ease the donning and doffing of prosthetic limbs and prosthetic sockets, but there are no aids to ease the donning and doffing of prosthetic liners. Modern prosthetic liners are typically of the suction liner type.
These types of prosthetic liners are generally made from silicone, or some other polymeric material, and are usually smaller in diameter than the residuum, so that when applied, they compress the residuum. Examples of the prosthetic liners include those taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,923,474, 6,136,039 and 6,964,688.
Because the prosthetic liners have a smaller diameter than the residuum, they can be somewhat difficult to apply. This is particularly true for users who have sensitive residual limbs, such as elderly users or those users who have had multiple amputations.
While solutions in the prior art include devices and methods for donning and doffing an artificial limb, such as a prosthetic socket as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,353 (Layton) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,489 (Slemeker), there are no solutions for donning and doffing a prosthetic liner. As a result, the present invention is provided to address the shortcomings in the prior art and furnish a prosthetic liner donning and doffing device.


A mimeographic printing machine equipped with a sorter for moving a plurality of bins to sort printed sheets, comprises: speed set-up means for setting up a desired print speed; sorter mode set-up means for setting up the sorter for the sort mode; and control means for changing the print speed, which is set up by the speed set-up means, to a predetermined print speed so as to conform to the sorting of the sorter, when the sort mode is set up in the sorter mode set-up means.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mimeographic printing machine adapted to be connected with a sorter for sorting printed sheets, which is to be discharged out of the machine, orderly into a plurality of bins.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many of modern printers and copiers are equipped with a sorter for automatically sorting printed or copied sheets, which have been discharged out of the machine, into a plurality of trays (hereinafter called "bins").
For example, a small-size sorter to be used with a copier is combined with the copier body as an integral part of the copier; if the sorter is to be operated when the copying speed of the copier is low and constant, it is only necessary to just set up the copier for the sorter mode.
In a printer and particularly in a mimeographic printing machine, after the printing making of the original to be printed is finished and then a master or a mimeographic stencil is wound on the outer circumferential surface of a drum, it is possible to set up the print speed freely so that a great number of prints can be made in a short time. Then the sorting of the printed sheets to be discharged from the machine will be performed by a separate sorter as connected with the machine, at need.
With the conventional printers, although the timing of moving the bins is variable to meet the maximum print speed of the printer, it was difficult to insert the printed sheets into the individual bins at a speed beyond the print speed.
Specifically, though the individual bins could move to conform with the printing at a speed higher than the predetemined print speed, this overspeed movement of the bins drove the printed sheets outside the receiving region of the individual bin. Yet even if the printed sheets could be received in the bin, their edges could not be trued up within the receiving region of the bin.
As a consequence, the operator had to grope a suitable print speed for use with the sorter, which was fairly laborious.


A flexography substrate for making I-plates with liquid photopolymers has, in addition to the tie-coat applied to one side to hold the photopolymers in place on the substrate, an adhesive layer applied to the other side. A clear release liner is applied to the adhesive layer, the adhesive layer adhering less firmly to the release liner than to the substrate. An inkjet-receptive coating is applied to the clear release liner. The masking image for the I-plate is applied to the clear release liner using an inkjet printer. After the substrate has been used to make a flexographic plate, the release liner is peeled off of the adhesive layer. The flexographic plate can then be applied to a print roll without the step of manually applying adhesive to it.

Flexographic printing is a printing process which uses a flexible rubber or photopolymer relief plate, prepared with raised areas called relief areas, corresponding to an image to be printed, and surrounded by lower areas called floor areas. The plate is typically secured to a revolving drum which is contacted by an anilox roll system to coat the relief areas with ink and subsequently presses the inked areas against a moving sheet of, e.g., paper or corrugated box board. The flexible printing plates may alternatively be applied to a plate mount, e.g., hand stamps, or, potentially, non-planar surfaces other than drums.
Images for flexographic printing are typically created by using a negative of an image to mask non-image areas on a layer of photosensitive polymer ("photopolymer"). Photopolymers cure by cross-linking under exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. The plates may be imaged digitally (what is known as computer-to-plate or CTP) or by the analog process of exposing and developing traditional film. Such films (as supplied by Kodak, Fuji, etc.) are processed into negatives via an image setter.
Another method of making negatives uses an inkjet printer to print a UV-blocking ink onto a clear plastic, e.g., polyester, material. The surface of the plastic material must be inkjet-receptive or made to be inkjet-receptive, that is, able to create an acceptably stable and detailed image, i.e., one that adheres to the plastic and dries quickly without migrating. The plastic material may be made inkjet-receptive by coating it with an inkjet-receptive coating, e.g., a micro-porous coating or a coating of inkjet-receptive polymer, or the material may be treated in some other manner such as acid etching, etc. to produce a surface that allows the ink to adhere to the film and dry quickly without migrating. The uncoated plastic material may alternatively be printed with an inkjet ink directly so long as the ink and the plastic are mutually compatible. The printed image must also have an opacity of at least about 3.0 to prevent UV curing of photopolymers during the amounts of time required to cure the exposed photopolymers.
Liquid photopolymer flexographic plates are made in an exposure unit having a horizontal bottom glass with a source of UV light below it (lower light), and a lid having a flat top glass with a source of UV light above it (upper light). A traditional flexographic plate is made in the following manner: a negative of the desired image, as prepared by one of the above methods, is placed on the bottom glass, the negative is protected by a thin optically clear film known as cover film. Liquid photopolymer is then cast over the cover film to a predetermined thickness. A substrate for supporting the photopolymer is then laminated over the liquid photopolymer. Thus a sandwich of negative, cover film, liquid polymer and substrate is created. Typically, the substrate consists of a backing sheet of photo-transmissive polymer such as polyester, with a "tie-coat" applied to one side to bond the cured photopolymer to the backing sheet. ("Substrate" as used in the remainder of this description means a laminate for supporting a cured photopolymer consisting, at least, of a polymeric backing sheet and tie-coat, and may also include a layer of adhesive and/or ink as further described below.) The substrate is placed in such a manner that the tie-coat is in direct contact with the liquid photopolymer. The sheet photopolymers (such as supplied by DuPont or the Flint Group) comprise a layer of photopolymer pre-applied to a polyester backing sheet, whereas the liquid photopolymers (such as supplied by Chemence and MacDermid) are cast over the image negative (protected by a cover film) and bond to a polyester backing sheet by the tie-coat. (Sheet photopolymers have a tie-coat pre-applied to the polyester before the photopolymer layer is added.) Sheet photopolymer material may be imaged on dual light source equipment as described above or by a single light source. In either case, the floor is first created by exposing the photopolymer through the substrate. The photographic negative is then placed on the opposite surface of the photopolymer, held in intimate contact through the application of a vacuum sheet, and imaged through it.
Precise reproduction of the negative image detail onto the photopolymer requires that the negative be placed as close to the photopolymer layer as possible. In the liquid plate-making process the bottom glass surface is grooved and etched in such a way that, when a vacuum is applied to the grooves, air is removed between the cover film and the relief image negative. In the sheet process a vacuum sheet is applied over the negative and photopolymer to remove air between the negative and the photopolymer.
Next, the UV light source in the lid (the upper light) is turned on for a prescribed amount of time to cause the photopolymer adjacent to the substrate to cross-link uniformly over the entire plate, forming the floor. The areas to be imaged are then exposed by the lower UV light (from below the bottom glass) that shines through the clear areas of the relief image negative, which causes the photosensitive polymer to cross-link, forming images that bond to the polymer floor. The (liquid) polymer that is not exposed to UV light remains in a liquid state to be later reclaimed and reused. Unexposed sheet photopolymer, by contrast, is not reusable and becomes waste.
The plate-making arrangement is then taken out of the exposure unit and the photopolymer material that has not been cured by UV light is removed from it, leaving the areas exposed to light as relief areas. When sheet photopolymers are used, a combination of solvent and mechanical action is typically used to remove the un-polymerized material from the sheet. The removed material is discarded. Un-polymerized liquid photopolymers, on the other hand, have the advantage of being reclaimable for reuse, because the un-polymerized material is not diluted by solvent or contaminated with bits of polymerized material. They can be reclaimed by draining and wiping the un-polymerized liquid off the substrate into a suitable container. Photopolymer reclaim can be accomplished manually by squeegee, by a reclaim board with rollers or by an air knife and augmented or enhanced by using heat.
Typically the floor area on such traditional flexographic plates accounts for approximately one half to two thirds of the plate thickness, and the remainder is the relief area. The floor gives dimensional stability to the plate and provides support to the relief (imaged) area. Because so much of the photopolymer is used up in making a floor that covers the entire sheet, a method of making a flexographic plate has been devised to minimize the floor area and increase significantly the reclaim of liquid photopolymer. Printing plates made from this process are called In-Position Plates, Island Plates or I-Plates. Liquid photopolymer reclaim of 20% to 35% on a traditional printing plate can be increased to 55% to 65% on an I-plate.
I-plates are made by adding another step to the process of making a traditional flexographic plate. Instead of making a floor that extends over the entire plate, a second photographic negative is placed on top of the photopolymer layer. This negative, called a masking film, is a negative that outlines the image areas on the negative with a border of one-quarter to one half inch, more or less. It is predominately black. The relief image negative and masking film are aligned so that each image area of the relief image negative is approximately in the middle of each clear area of the masking film. This prevents a floor area from being created where the masking film is black.
The most commonly-made flexographic printing plates and hand stamps are now manufactured as island plates in the following manner: the first exposure to upper UV light from the lid is through the masking negative, causing islands of cured polymer to be formed beginning in the photosensitive layer adjacent to the substrate. The timing and intensity of the exposure are limited to prevent the polymerization extending all the way through the photopolymer layer from the substrate to the free surface of the layer. The second lower UV exposure, from below the relief image negative, causes the cured detailed relief image to form on top of the islands.
Because of the placement of the second negative above the photopolymer substrate layer, the application of vacuum to remove air from between the negative and the photopolymer substrate layer is less effective than when just the substrate is used. Thus, in this prior art method for producing an I-plate, the increase in recovery of photopolymer comes at the expense of some loss of precision of the relief image. Alternatively the mask negative can be placed above the exposure glass but in this fashion distorts the resulting island formation. The "spread" in the light transmission through the thick upper glass yields an island that is larger than the negative with a broader shoulder. It is also more difficult to register the second negative to the first negative in setting up the process. This problem is solved by the substrate and method for making island plates using liquid photopolymers described in the parent application Ser. No. 12/895,561 and in the description that follows. It employs an inkjet-receptive coating applied to the surface of the backing sheet opposite to the tie-coat. This laminate of tie-coat, backing sheet, and inkjet-receptive coating, known as I-Strate™ and marketed by Chemence, Inc. of Alpharetta, Ga., U.S.A., is a substrate that enables a masking image to be applied opposite to the tie-coat using an inkjet printer. In accordance with the embodiments of the parent application, one single sheet performs the dual role of plastic backing and I-plate masking film.

Inkjet-printable flexography substrate, method of making, and method of using


An apparatus provides a virtual display in an environment for various applications including avionic, naval, military, remote control, medical and other applications. The apparatus can be a head up display (HUD) or head worn display (e.g., helmet mounted display (HMD) and can include image sources disposed at a respective image source position, and a combiner detached from the image sources. The combiner is movable to a respective combiner position for receiving light from a respective image source of the image sources. The combiner provides an image from the respective image source to a user.

The present specification relates generally to the field of displays. More specifically, the specification relates to virtual displays.
Virtual displays can provide information that is viewable in virtual space for a user of equipment, such as aircraft, ships, boats, naval craft, medical equipment, robotic equipment, remote vehicles, unmanned vehicle systems (UVSs), training simulators, entertainment systems, military equipment, land vehicles, etc. The information can include navigation parameters, guidance parameters, equipment parameters, location information, video information, remote views, symbology, etc.
Virtual displays can utilize Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) (e.g., helmet mounted displays and head worn displays) to provide images to an operator or user (e.g., a pilot in a cockpit). In aircraft applications, HMDs generally include visors, combiners, optical projection elements, an image source, and a head orientation sensor. The image source provides an image which is projected to a combiner to provide a collimated image to the pilot. The image can include enhanced vision images, targeting data, flight instrument data, synthetic vision images, head up display (HUD) data, etc.
Conventional HMDs and HUDs require bore sight accuracy. Conventional HUDs typically position the combiner and the projector for bore sight accuracy at installation. The conventional HUDs require a fixed combiner and projector, each being fixed to a single calibrated position in the cockpit. HMDs, such as those used on modern fighters, use a complex head orientation sensor to coordinate the image provided to the pilot with respect to the view within and outside the cockpit. However, complex orientation sensors are expensive, tolerance limited, bulky, require calibration, and can be inaccurate.
HMDs and HUDs have used wave guides with diffraction gratings. The gratings can be switchable Bragg gratings. Certain HMD and HUD systems (such as those described in the applications incorporated herein by reference) use an optical waveguide configured as a flat plat glass with diffraction gratings. The flat plate of glass serves as a waveguide and a combiner. Light from a single LED illuminated LCD micro display is collimated and provided in the forward field of view of the pilot as an expanded view of the image on the micro display. Generally, the expanded view image is limited to the information provided on the single micro display.
Thus, there is a need for a low cost, lightweight virtual display system capable of displaying images from more than one image source. There is also a need for a multiple display virtual display system. There is further a need for HUD or HMD system and method that can be easily integrated in the design of a cockpit without requiring extra display space. There is further a need for a HUD or HMD that can provide multiple sources of information on a combiner. There is also a need for a virtual display system and method that is optimized for providing different types of information suitable for use in a cockpit environment. Yet further, there is a need for an HMD or HUD system that displays types of information in positions that are appropriate for the particular type of information. Further still, there is a need for an HMD which does not require head tracking.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a display system and/or method that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features. Other features or advantages will be made apparent in the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned advantages or features.

Display system and method using a detached combiner


A method and apparatus for preventing transaction card fraud. A transaction card has a keypad display, and a microprocessor for receiving and processing numbers and symbols entered through the keypad. A transaction access code and a corresponding transaction approval code are provided by the card issuer to the seller at the time of a transaction. The cardholder entering the transaction access code into the keypad of the card causes an authentically used card to display a symbol identical to the transaction approval code provided by the issuer. Comparison of the symbol and the transaction approval code can thus be used to authenticate a card transaction. The access code and corresponding approval code are changed by the issuer after each transaction to further aid in fraud prevention.

Banks and retailers commonly supply consumers with transaction cards, including charge cards and debit cards, in order to provide a system for non-cash transactions. Originally these cards contained an embossed card account number on the front, and an area for a card holder signature on the back. These early cards provided a means for retailers to record the embossed card number by use of an imprinter at the point of sale. As banks began issuing credit cards to individuals, credit limits were set. This added a new step at the point of sale, wherein the sales clerk would call the issuing bank to verify that the consumer had sufficient credit to make the purchase at hand. This protected the retailer and the bank against individual card holders who had no available credit. However, it did not ensure that the individual who presented the card was the rightful cardholder.
To prevent fraudulent use of a card by a non-cardholder, a sales clerk would additionally compare the signature on the back of the transaction card against the signature on the transaction receipt. Often times a second form of identification such as a driver's license was required. Comparison of signatures and requiring second identification are ineffective against fraudulent use because they are subjective comparisons and forgery is commonplace. The signature comparison and telephone verification do very little to deter fraudulent use, and in addition cause unacceptable delays at the point-of-sale. In response to these delays magnetic stripe technology was introduced to credit cards. Point-of-sale magnetic stripe card readers accomplished what a phone call did previously, and in a much shorter period of time. Over time less focus on authorized use developed because of the need for more rapid processing at point-of-sale. In fact, speed of transaction has become more important than unauthorized use.
In general, transaction cards and card reader systems have evolved in response to needed efficiency at point-of-sale. Authorized use of transaction cards has always been important to both the issuer and the cardholder, but verifying authorized use has always been time-consuming and has often caused delays at point-of-sale. Comparison of cardholder signature is the predominant method of verification, along with a request for a second form of identification. Cardholder photographs affixed to the front of the cards have also been added as a measure of security. Methods for added security and speed of transaction at point-of-sale have always been mutually exclusive. The more scrutiny at point-of-sale, the slower the transaction. Issuing banks want cardholders to use their cards. Retailers want to offer transaction cards as an option of payment but do not want to delay customers any longer than necessary. Cost goes up for the retailers and customer satisfaction goes down as a result of delays. Numerous patents have been filed in recent years to address this problem but all are inadequate in one sense or another. The cost of fraud is thus accepted by the issuers and often times passed along to the cardholders in the form of higher interest rates.
There thus exists a delicate balance between consumers, retailers, banks, and credit card associations in regard to security, speed at point-of-sale, and cost of transaction card systems. Previous fraud-prevention measures, relating to enhanced security innovations for transaction cards which did not take into consideration existing magnetic stripe technology, the size of existing transaction cards, and existing credit/debit card reading systems are not commercially viable.
The following U.S. Patents relate to security measures designed to prevent transaction card fraud.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Issued Inventors ______________________________________ 4,701,601 Oct. 20, 1987 Francini, et al. 4,795,898 Jan. 3, 1989 Bernstein, et al. 5,255,941 Oct. 26, 1993 Solomon 5,269,649 Nov. 9, 1993 Shomron 5,276,311 Jan. 4, 1994 Hennige 5,412,192 May 2, 1995 Hoss ______________________________________
Francini '601 is a transaction card which contains a numeric keypad and a magnetic stripe emulator. This card differs from the usual configuration of present transaction cards by not having embossed numbers for use in card imprinter systems. It also introduces a complex emulator which may not work with existing card reader systems and may be expensive to produce. This card does not contain a periodically changing pre-selected identifying symbol which corresponds to the card issuer's database.
Bornstein '898 is a personal memory card which does not contain a numeric keypad or its own source of internal power. It cannot be personally activated at the point-of-sale, and requires a new card reader system which does not use the current standard magnetic stripe technology. The card technology of Bornstein would thus require a complete change from the current standard technology, which would be very disruptive and expensive.
Shomron '649 is an antifraud transaction card which offers some advantages, but which has the disadvantage of requiring the cardholder to remember a great deal of information in order to use the card.
Hennige '311 is an antifraud and programmable transaction card which can store information regarding numerous transaction card accounts on one card, and has the capability of pulling up the cardholder's signature for verification. This invention is costly and requires a total change of card reading systems, since it does not utilize magnetic stripe technology. Further, the process by which this invention is used at point-of-sale still relies on subjective comparison of signatures.
Hoss '192 is a radio frequency (R.F.) activated charge card which can be altered by an R.F. signal transmitted by the card issuer intended to change the status of the card. This feature has some value, but the antifraud characteristics of the card will do little to deter fraudulent use by an unauthorized user.
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a new and improved transaction card capable of greatly deterring unauthorized use, while eliminating subjectivity at point-of-sale, thus reducing transaction time. In addition, this invention interfaces with current card reader and hardware systems, eliminating the need for large investment in new hardware systems. Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.

Fraud resistant personally activated transaction card