A loaded wheel tester for testing asphalt mixtures comprises a loaded wheel tester having additional means for attachment to specimens under test to provide a measurement of tensile strain and for attachment between a frame of the loaded wheel tester and the loaded wheel to determine position of the loaded wheel over time. Output results demonstrate that viscoelastic and fatigue properties of asphalt mixtures are obtained in equivalent or improved format using a modified loaded wheel tester when compared with known pavement test apparatus and methods.

1. Technical Field
The technical field relates to the testing of asphalt mixtures for the purposes, for example, of highway construction and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for fatigue and viscoelastic property testing using a loaded wheel tester.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Loaded Wheel Testers (LWTs), such as the Asphalt Pavement Analyzer (APA) available from Pavement Technology, Inc. of Covington, Ga. (Pavement Technology), the Hamburg wheel tracking device, and the French LWT, are widely used in the United. States and many parts of the world to evaluate the rut-resistance and moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown the APA (Pavement Technology) testing process for fatigue properties of asphalt mixtures. The process involves using one or multiple loaded wheels to apply a moving load to specimens to simulate traffic loads applied on asphalt pavements. Based on the test results, the fatigue performance of asphalt mixtures can be evaluated.
An Asphalt Pavement Analyzer available from Pavement Technology has evolved over the years. At an early developmental stage of the Asphalt Pavement Analyzer (APA) and referring to FIG. 2(a), which is now one of the commonly used LWTs in the United States, the space under the beam specimen was small (indicated in black) and sometimes insufficient to accommodate the beam deformation caused by the moving wheel load during fatigue testing. At that time and referring to FIG. 2(b), conductive wires were attached to the bottom surface of the beam specimen with molten asphalt to detect the fatigue cracking of an asphalt beam test specimen. The fatigue is detected by the conductive wire breaking and demonstrating an open electric circuit. As the deformation at the bottom of the beam increased, the bottom surface of the sagging beam would come into contact with the rigid bottom plate and further vertical deformation would be stopped by the bottom plate; see FIG. 2(a). Under this situation, the conductive wires would not break, the final failure of the beam would be difficult to achieve or, if the conductive wire did break, the break in the wire might not be caused by fatigue cracking of the asphalt mixtures under test.
To enhance the simulation of fatigue cracking, the current version of the APA available from Pavement Technology has a deeper space under beam specimens, which can accommodate more deformation for beam specimens which depth is selected according to the length of the beam specimen under test; (see FIG. 1).
Moreover, viscoelastic testing was not provided for with an APA LWT. The viscoelastic properties of asphalt mixture have been the subject of many studies for several decades. A number of methods and analysis models, have been substantially developed to characterize the viscoelastic response of asphalt mixtures as well. Viscoelasticity as used herein may be defined, for example, as the property of an asphalt mixture to exhibit both viscous and elastic characteristics when undergoing vehicular traffic and environmental phenomenon but this definition is not intended to be limited herein. Due to the inherent nature of viscoelastic materials, the fundamental property that governs the responses caused by external loading is a function of time or loading frequency. Linear viscoelastic behavior for asphalt mixtures may be determined through experimental testing within the linear viscoelastic region, such as creep, relaxation, and complex modulus tests. Due to the challenge of controlling a relaxation test, a creep test is more accepted by researchers based on the interchangeability of the results from both tests. The creep test involves measuring the time dependent strain (e.g. deformation) induced from the application of a constant uniaxial stress, σ0. Creep compliance is defined as the ratio of the time-dependent strain to the constant stress. The creep compliance is a crucial factor for determining the suitability of asphalt concrete under various loading and environmental conditions. Moreover, once the creep compliance is determined, the stress-stain relationship can be expressed with hereditary integral
                              ɛ                                (            t            )                          =                                            σ              i                                                  J                                            (                t                )                                              +                                    ∫              0              t                                                                  J                                                  (                                      t                    -                                          t                      ′                                                        )                                                                                ∂                                      σ                    ′                                                                    ∂                                      t                    ′                                                                                ⅆ                                  t                  ′                                                                                (        1.1        )            where, ε(t)=strain; σt=initial stress; t′=integration variable related to time.
The complex modulus test is a fundamental test that characterizes the viscoelastic properties of asphalt mixtures. It is considered as a mechanistically based laboratory test to characterize the stiffness and loading resistance of asphalt mixtures. Complex modulus, E*, is composed of real and imaginary parts that define the elastic and viscous behavior for viscoelastic materials. Dynamic modulus, |E*|, obtained from the test is a fundamental property for describing the stress-strain relationship of asphalt mixtures, while phase angle, δ, is a major factor reflecting the viscous behavior of asphalt mixtures which indicates whether the asphalt material is predominantly elastic or viscous.
                              E          *                =                                            σ              amp                                                  ⅇ                              ⅈω                                                                                t                                                                        ɛ              amp                                                  ⅇ                              ⅈ                                                  (                                                            ω                                                                                t                                        -                    δ                                    )                                                                                (        1.2        )                                                                E            *                                    =                              σ            amp                                ɛ            amp                                              (        1.3        )                                          δ          =                      2                        π                                                        ·            f            ·            Δ                                                                        t                                    (        1.4        )            where, σamp=amplitude of sinusoidal stress; εamp=amplitude of sinusoidal strain; ω=angular velocity; i=imaginary component; f=loading frequency; Δt=time lag between stress and strain.
Dynamic modulus values measured over a range of temperatures and frequencies of loading can be shifted into a master curve based on a time-temperature superposition principle. The master curve of an asphalt mixture allows comparisons to be made over extended ranges of frequencies and temperature, so that dynamic modulus can be used as an important viscoelastic parameter for performance analysis of asphalt mixtures using constitutive models. Besides, dynamic modulus is also a crucial parameter for pavement design. Most of the researches indicate that any process that results in the use of asphalt mixtures with better selection of dynamic modulus will improve the performance of the pavement.
Although many factors have been proved to have significant effects on the viscoelastic behavior of asphalt material, such as loading magnitude, rate of loading (loading frequency), and temperature variations, there are only a few direct evidences or relative works regarding evaluation of the effect of the loading mode (e.g. tension, tension/compression and compression). Through testing loading conditions different from the actual states, significant errors and unreasonable design may occur. Currently, several testing methods and devices have been created to investigate the viscoelastic properties of asphalt concrete based on creep and complex modulus tests in all kinds of testing situations. According to the fundamental stress and strain situation in the asphalt pavement, the fatigue life of a particular asphalt pavement mixture is primarily determined by the tensile properties of the asphalt mixture it comprises. Therefore, it is more appropriate to use the parameters obtained from a tension test to evaluate the performance of asphalt concrete. In fact, a pavement structure is subjected to a triaxial stress state under actual vehicular traffic loading. As a continuous medium, pavement structure tends to spread the stress out received from the vehicular traffic in all directions. With the development of better testing equipment and analysis methods, it becomes possible to better simulate the stress state of pavement structure in laboratory testing. Although all kinds of stress states such as uniaxial, biaxial, and triaxial can be simulated in the laboratory, the real stress state that exists in the pavement cannot be achieved. The development of testing method is still the bottleneck for achieving a better and clearer understanding of pavement material properties.
For testing viscoelastic properties, three known tests are shown in FIGS. 5(a), (b) and (c). These include the Direct Tension Test (DTT) for testing asphalt concrete in tension depicted in FIG. 5(a). A unique benefit of the DTT test is that the stress of the specimen is in a uniaxial tension state which makes the stress-strain analysis much simpler. The Simple Performance Test depicted in FIG. 5(b), also known as the asphalt mixture performance test (AMPT), tests a cylindrical specimen for controlled sinusoidal stress loading at various loading frequencies and test temperatures. An indirect tension (IDT) testing method, depicted in FIG. 5(c), characterizes Poisson's ratio, creep compliance, resilient modulus and splitting tensile strength of asphalt mixtures by subjecting the depicted cylindrical specimen to a diametrical load.
Consequently, there is an opportunity to improve test apparatus and a method for asphalt mixtures using a loaded wheel tester or related apparatus.

Method and apparatus for fatigue and viscoelastic property testing of asphalt mixtures using a loaded wheel tester

University of Tennessee Research Foundation


An electron gun for a color CRT includes a main focusing lens unit that focuses the electron beams generated by a triode unit. The main focusing lens unit includes a first and a second electrostatic screen grid having three electron beam through holes linearly-arranged for passing three electron beams, two of the holes being external and an oval shaped hole that passes all three electron beams. The oval shaped holes being spaced a distance, d1 and d2, respectively, from the through holes. Furthermore, the first grid external holes have an external distance HL1 and an internal distance HR1 and the second grid external holes have an external distance HL2 and an internal distance HR2; and wherein HL1 is greater than HR1, HL2 is greater than HR2, d1 is greater than d2, HL2 is greater than HL1, and HL2+HR2 is greater than HL1+HR1.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color CRT, and in particular to an electron gun for a color CRT.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a color CRT is a display used for a television, an oscilloscope, an observation radar, etc., and it displays an image on the front surface of a panel by controlling an electron beam from an electron gun according to a received image signal and by hitting a phosphor formed at the rear of the panel.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a general CRT. The CRT includes a panel 102 as a front glass; a funnel 103 as a rear glass forming a vacuum space by being combined with the panel; a phosphor screen coated with a phosphor on the internal surface of the panel 102 for emitting light when struck by an electron beam; an electron gun 106 for emitting an electron beam 107 striking the phosphor screen 104; a deflection yoke 121 installed at a position separated a certain interval from the outer circumference of the funnel 103 in order to deflect the electron beam 107 toward the phosphor screen 104; a shadow mask 105 installed with a certain distance from the phosphor screen 104; a mask frame 109 for fixing/supporting the shadow mask 105; and an inner shield 110 installed a long toward the funnel 103 in order to prevent color purity deterioration by shielding external terrestrial magnetic fields.
As depicted in FIG. 2, the electron gun 106 includes a triode unit consisting of a cathode 130 arranged in a line and generating the electron beam 107 by heating an internal heater, a control grid 131 and an acceleration grid 132 for controlling and accelerating electrons from the cathode 130; and a main focusing lens unit consisting of a focusing grid 133 and an anode 135 for focusing and accelerating the electron beam generated from the triode unit.
The acceleration grid 132 may include a first acceleration grid 132a and a second acceleration grid 132b installed a certain distance from the control grid 131 and installed a certain distance from the cathode 130 towards the anode 135.
In general, the focusing grid 133 may include two to four grids, as depicted in FIG. 2. It includes a first focusing grid 133a installed between the first acceleration grid 132a and the second acceleration grid 132b; and a second focusing grid 133b installed with a certain distance from the second acceleration grid 132b.
In the above-described electron gun 102, when power is applied, an electron beam is generated from the surface of the cathode 130 by heating of the heater, is controlled by the control grid 131, is accelerated by the first and second acceleration grids 132a, 132b, and is focused or accelerated by the first and second focusing grids 133a, 133b and the anode 135. The electron beam focused and accelerated by the focusing grid 133 and the anode 135 is deflected by the deflection yoke 121, and it is emitted to the phosphor screen 104 of the panel 102.
Herein, the control grid 131 is grounded, 500V˜1000V is applied to the acceleration grid 132, high voltage as 25 kV˜35 kV is applied to the anode 135, and an intermediate voltage as 20˜30% of an anode voltage is applied to the focusing grid 133.
In particular, because an electrostatic lens is formed between the second focusing grid 133b and the anode 135, the electron beam 107 generated in the triode unit is focused at the center of the phosphor screen 104.
The focusing state of the electron beam 107 can be described by Equation 1:Ds=√{square root over ((Dx+Dsa)2+(Dsc)2)}{square root over ((Dx+Dsa)2+(Dsc)2)}  (Equation 1)Where,    Ds: size of the final pixel    Dx: magnification of a main lens    Dsa: spherical aberration    Dsc: enlarged element by space charge repulsive effect
As shown in Equation 1, the size of the final pixel (Ds) on the screen is affected by a spherical aberration (Dsa). The main lens directly related to the spherical aberration (Dsa) is formed between the second focusing grid 133b and the anode 135. The corresponding holes 150, 160 are respectively formed at the second focusing grid 133b and the anode 135 so as to face each other. The corresponding hole 150 has an oval shaped rim structure, and the red, green, blue electron beams pass through the hole 150 at the same time.
An electrostatic screen grid 134 is formed at the corresponding holes 150, 160 as an inner grid. An inner grid formed in the second focusing grid 133b is called a first electrostatic screen grid 134a, and an inner grid formed in the anode 135 is called a second electrostatic screen grid 134b. The first and second electrostatic screen grids 134a, 134b are formed in order to have uniformity of the three (R, G, B) electron beams, and they make the three electron beams have the same shape.
As depicted in FIG. 3, in the first and second electrostatic screen grid 134a, 134b, three electron beam through holes 140 arranged in a line are formed so as to pass three electron beams, and the three electron beams through holes 140 and the corresponding holes 150, 160 form the main focusing lens.
In a conventional electron gun 106, the first and second electrostatic screen grids 134a, 134b have the same shape and size, the distance (Lb1) between the first electrostatic screen grid 134a and the corresponding hole 150 is same as the distance (Lb2) between the second electrostatic screen grid 134b and the corresponding hole 160.
In addition, as depicted in FIG. 4, the three electron beam through holes 140 formed at the first and second electrostatic screen grids 134a, 134b consist of two external holes 140a and one central hole 140b. Herein, the external hole 140a has a vertical size (WO) greater than a horizontal size (HLO+HRO), and generally it has a shape that is longer in the vertical direction. FIG. 4 shows the shape of the electron beam through hole of the conventional electrostatic screen grid 134. The center of the hole is the central point of a vertical line traversing the largest vertical extent of external hole 140a. In the horizontal direction, the distance from the center of the external hole 140a to the left and right sides of the central hole 140b are the distances HLO and HRO respectively. The horizontal size of the external hole 140a can be described as HRO+HLO.
In the conventional electron gun, HRO of the external hole 140a is 2.53 mm, and HLO is 2.90 mm resulting in a horizontal size of 5.43 mm. The vertical size of the external hole 140a is 5.96 mm, and accordingly it has a vertically long shape.
The electron beam convergence is defined as the distance between the red (R) electron beam and the blue (B) electron beam among three electron beams on the screen. As depicted in FIG. 4, in the conventional electron gun 106, the distances between the external hole 140a and the central hole 140b is generally 5.5 mm. The distance between the red (R) electron beam and the blue (B) electron beam is 2×S, and the electron beam convergence is about 11 mm in the conventional electron gun.
In the first and second electrostatic screen grids 134a, 134b, the red electron beam is separated from the blue electron beam by 11 mm, and the distance is about 8–10 mm on the screen. However, it has to be "0" on the screen in order to prevent pixel distortion. Generally, only when the electron beam convergence (OCV) is within 2 mm on the screen, is it possible to adjust. Accordingly, in the conventional art, in order to solve this problem, a pre-convergence is performed between the first accelerating grid 132a and the first focusing grid 133a, and accordingly the electron beam 107 passes the grids from the first focusing grid 133a to the main lens having a potential difference different from each other. However, when the electron beam 107 passes the control grid 131 and the second focusing grid 133b, the electron beam convergence of the first and second electrostatic screen grids 134a, 134b having almost same shape and size is lowered, and accordingly it exceeds the adjustment range.


A silicon carbide porous body of the present invention, comprising silicon carbide particles and metallic silicon bonded together in such a manner that pores are retained between the silicon carbide particles and/or between the silicon carbide particle and metallic silicon, wherein an oxide phase containing oxides of silicon, aluminum, and alkaline earth metal is buried in at least some of fine pore portions having a minimum distance of 10 μm or less between the surfaces of the silicon carbide particles or between the surfaces of the silicon carbide particle and metallic silicon among the pores, and a ratio of a total volume of portions in which the oxide phase is not buried among the fine pore portions is 20% or less with respect to a total volume of portions in which the oxide phase is not buried among the pores including the fine pore portions.

A porous honeycomb structure has been broadly used as a filter (diesel particulate filter (DPF)) for capturing/removing particulate matters included a soot-containing fluid such as a diesel engine exhaust gas, or a catalyst carrier for carrying catalyst components to purify toxic substances in the exhaust gas. The honeycomb structure comprises: cell partition walls (ribs) forming a composite body of a plurality of adjacent cells; and a honeycomb outer wall which surrounds and holds outermost peripheral cells positioned in an outermost periphery of this cell composite body. A silicon carbide porous body using fire-resistant silicon carbide particles as aggregates has been used as a material constituting the structure.
As the honeycomb structure, for example, a honeycomb-structure porous silicon carbide catalyst carrier has been described which is obtained using impurity-containing silicon carbide having a predetermined specific surface area as a starting material. The material is formed into a desired shape, dried, and thereafter fired in a temperature range of 1600 to 2200° C. (see, e.g., JP-A-6-182228).
In a sintered configuration (necking) by recrystallization reaction of silicon carbide particles themselves in the catalyst carrier described in JP-A-6-182228, silicon carbide components evaporate from the surfaces of the silicon carbide particles, and condense on each contact portion (neck portion) between the particles, and accordingly the bonded state is attained due to the grow of the neck portions. However, since very high firing temperature is required for evaporating silicon carbide, cost increase is brought. Moreover, since a material having a high coefficient of thermal expansion has to be fired at high temperature, there has been a disadvantage that the yield after firing drops.
Moreover, to produce a filter having a high porosity, especially a filter having a porosity of 50% or more by the above-described sintering by the recrystallization reaction of the silicon carbide particles themselves, a sintering mechanism does not sufficiently function, therefore the growths of the neck portions are inhibited, and accordingly there has been a disadvantage that strength of the filter drops.
As a conventional technique for solving these problems, there have been disclosed a porous honeycomb structure containing fire-resistant particles which are aggregates, especially silicon carbide and metallic silicon, and a process for producing the structure (see, e.g., JP-A-2002-201082). According to the producing process, a porous honeycomb structure can be inexpensively produced at a comparatively low firing temperature, and the obtained porous honeycomb structure has characteristics of being comparatively high in porosity, and high in thermal conductivity and strength.
At present, as to the above-described DPF, it is one of important problems to reduce as much as possible pressure losses which largely influence engine outputs. To attain this theme, it is required to have a DPF of increased porosity; that is, a material having a higher porosity be used as a porous material constituting the filter. There is under development a DPF being provided with a regeneration system in which an oxidation catalyst is loaded on a conventional DPF (DPF for catalyst regeneration), and can oxidize to burn deposited particulates for continuously regeneration.
Especially, as to the DPF for regeneration the catalyst, it is required to reduce the pressure loss of the filter as much as possible, and also required to make the porosity higher, concretely 50% or more, and especially around 70%.
However, when the porosity of the silicon carbide porous body is raised, the strength accordingly drops. At a porosity of a certain or more degree, for example, at a porosity of 60% or more, for example, there has been a problem that it is difficult to preferably use the porous body as a material constituting a filter, a catalyst carrier or the like for automobile exhaust gas purification.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Silicon carbide porous body, process for producing the same and honeycomb structure


A GPS receiver is activated and it is determined whether the GPS receiver has received within a first predetermined attempt period of time a set of GPS signals that is adequate to determine a location of the GPS receiver. If not, the GPS receiver is deactivated for a first delay period of time. The GPS receiver is then activated again and it is determined whether the GPS receiver has received a complete set of GPS signals within a second predetermined attempt period. If not, the GPS receiver is deactivated for a second delay period of time that is longer than the first delay period of time. The GPS receiver is then activated once more and again attempts to acquire a complete set of GPS signals.

Extensive systems have been deployed to use GPS capabilities for the purpose of tracking vehicle fleets of, e.g., truck trailers, truck tractors and/or trucks; or railcars. Such systems have been referred to as "asset tracking systems" and deploy asset tracking units designed to be attached to individual vehicles. Each asset tracking unit includes a GPS receiver that is capable of receiving GPS signals from a plurality of GPS satellites and determining the unit's location based on the GPS signals. Typically simultaneous or nearly simultaneous receipt of signals from at least three GPS satellites (to provide a 2D fix without altitude) or four GPS satellites (to provide a 3D fix with altitude) is required to fix the unit's location. When a fix is obtained, the asset tracking unit may report the unit's location via satellite communication (using another set of satellites) or the like to a central station. With such a system, the proprietor of the vehicle fleet will have information concerning the whereabouts of all vehicles in the fleet. This may lead to significant efficiencies in planning and managing assignments of vehicles to particular tasks. In addition, an asset tracking system of this type may help in the detection of, and response to, irregularities such as theft of vehicles.
Asset tracking units may operate on battery power, and may be required to operate in the field for extensive periods of time without recharging or replacement of batteries. Accordingly, power management may be a critical issue for satisfactory deployment and use of GPS-based asset tracking units. The activity of the GPS receiver component of the asset tracking unit may represent a significant portion of the power drain on the unit battery. It is therefore highly desirable that an asset tracking unit be operated in a manner that maximizes the likelihood of successful acquisition of the requisite number of GPS satellite signals, while minimizing power consumption.

Power saving operation in a GPS-based asset tracking unit


A method for classifying two-dimensional shapes comprising: creating a training dataset for the shape under study with a similar shape group and a dissimilar shape group; computing an average shape from the similar shape group; aligning all shapes in the database to the average shape; and classifying shapes into two clusters based on their similarity distances.

Classification of 2D shapes regardless of their position, size and orientation is an important problem in computer vision and pattern recognition. Its application is spread out into many fields, such as classification of blood cell, cancer and chromosomes, industrial inspection, target recognition, medical image recognition, scene analysis, and modeling of biological systems. Generally, shape classification is a process of comparing and recognizing shape by analyzing the information of the shape's boundaries. This seems an easy task for a human being, but is quite difficult for computers, particularly after objects are scaled, rotated and/or translated. Thus, the study of shape for the purpose of general object classification, recognition, or retrieval is an active field of current research.
Recent literature has addressed this topic, and various image processing methods have been applied. These methods can be basically classified into two techniques.
The first technique requires the projection of shape instances into a common space and then the implementation of classification on the projection space. For example: Fourier descriptors (E. Persoon, et al. "shape discrimination using Fourier descriptors" IEEE Trans. Syst. Man. Cybern, vol. 7, p 170-179, 1977), invariant moments (F. Zakaria, et. al "Fast algorithm for computation of moment invariants" Pattern Recognition, vol. 20, p 639-643, 1987), autoregressive models (S. R. Dubois, et. al "An autoregressive model approach to two-dimensional shape classification", IEEE Trans. Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 8 p 55-66, 1986), and principal component analysis (U.S. Patent No. 2002/0164060 A1 entitled METHOD FOR CHARACTERISING SHAPES IN MEDICAL IMAGES).
An advantage of these projection-based methods is that they are independent of translation and rotation. However, a disadvantage is that they exhibit an inherent loss of information since the projection transformation is not a one-to-one correspondence. That is, one point in the projection space may correspond to several shapes whose visual appearance can be quite different. Therefore, shape classification based on such technique may lead to incorrect results.
The second technique comprises locating a set of landmark points along shape boundaries, specifying a distance measure between corresponding landmarks, and performing a distance-based clustering. As such, shape classification is reduced to the general clustering problem for which numerous solutions have been proposed. For example: M. Duta et. al. present a method using Mean Alignment Error (MAE) as a distance to measure the difference of shapes and classify shapes based on MAE. (M. Duta, et. al. "Automatic Construction of 2D Shape Models", IEEE Trans. on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol 23, no. 5, p 433-446, 2001). U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,630 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC SHAPE CHARACTERIZATION and U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,212 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMAGE REGISTRATION are directed to a method to classify shapes based on a best match probability with an average shape of a characterizing population group. The limitation of this technique is that pair wise correspondence between the landmarks of shapes is difficult to achieve in practice because of the noise and variation among individuals.
Given the drawbacks and limitation of the prior art, there exists a need for a method to find a simple, efficient and highly accurate method for shape classification.

Method for automatic shape classification


The subject disclosure is directed towards automated, static analysis-based program code processing that detects unprotected resource accesses by applications, that is, those that do not provide proper opt-in consent dialogs (prompts). In one aspect, consent prompt code is automatically inserted into the program code to protect such unprotected access points. Also described are program representation graph construction and processing, a dominator node-based approach to determine placement points for inserting consent prompt code, and a backward search-based approach for inserting consent prompt code.

Runtime consent dialogs (sometimes referred to as runtime permission prompts) are commonly used by mobile applications to obtain a user's explicit consent prior to accessing privacy-sensitive data, such as location (GPS) data, contact lists/address books, photographs, calendar data, phone number and so forth. Because of privacy concerns, before an application accesses user's privacy-sensitive data on a phone or similar device, the application is supposed to provide such consent dialogs to obtain opt-in consent from the user as part of complying with policy.
However, in practice many applications fail to do so; indeed studies have shown that the majority of applications have at least one missing opt-in consent prompt. Two types of violations exist in applications, namely not asking for opt-in consent when supposed to, and asking for consent but ignoring the answer when the user chooses to not opt in. These violations result in potentially serious privacy violations.
Properly placing an opt-in consent dialog is relatively difficult, as applications tend to have complicated control flows. The control flows often span across third party libraries that come as a "black box" or the like, which are out of the developer's control, whereby even careful application developers are susceptible to violations when such third party libraries are used; notwithstanding, such use of third party libraries is commonplace. For example, advertising libraries tend to access location data without providing the consent dialog.

Automatic mediation of resource access in mobile applications


The invention relates to a spider-silk-like polymer fiber in the technical field of chemical bionics, a preparation method therefor and the use thereof. The spider-silk-like polymer fiber comprises a matrix polymer and a particle additive dispersed therein, wherein the particles have an average particle size of 0.1-1000 microns, and the polymer fiber has a spider-silk-like microstructure comprising a fiber body and spaced spindle knot structural units on the fiber body, wherein the spindle knot structural units comprise the particles, and the radial height of the spindle knot structural units is greater than the diameter of the fiber body. The preparation method of the polymer fiber of the invention does not require greatly modifying the existing spinning processes, and the equipment does not need to be changed, the process is simple, and the cost is low. The obtained spider-silk-like polymer fiber can realize the directional movement of water droplets on the surface of the fiber, thereby having a water gathering function and can be used for preparing water gathering materials.

Water resource is an important natural resource for development of human society. Although the quantity of water on the earth is huge, there is a very little thereof that can be directly utilized by human production and life, only about 0.26% of the total quantity of water on the earth. Sustainable utilization of the water resource is one of the most important issues in sustainable developments and utilizations of all natural resources. Nowadays, the shortage situation of fresh water resources is gradually emerging. Approximately 1.5 billion people in more than 80 countries in the world face a shortage of fresh water, wherein 0.3 billion people in 26 countries are completely living in a water shortage state. It is expected that by the year 2025, 3.0 billion people from all over the world will be confronted with water scarcity with more than 40 countries and regions being involved. The shortage of fresh water resources has restricted the development of society. Thus, it is extremely urgent to solve the problem of shortage of fresh water resources. Possible solutions may rely on the atmosphere, which has a content of 12900 billion tons of water vapor. The water vapor in atmosphere would possibly become an important "water source" for use in human life in the future. Spider is one of pioneers in the nature who utilize the atmosphere as water source. When a cobweb lies in a humid environment, water vapor will condense on the surface of capture silk therein to form small water droplets; the presence of periodical spindle knot structures in the fiber leads to periodical variations in the curvature radius of the capture silk, thereby to generate a Laplace pressure difference which causes the water droplets to be unevenly stressed in the fiber radial direction, and so the water droplets are pushed to directionally move (towards the spindle knots). Such a directional movement of the water droplets is favorable for quick gathering of small liquid droplets to form large water beads, thereby weakening the evaporation effect, and facilitating the rapid collection of water in the atmosphere. The way in which the spider collects water from the atmosphere by utilizing the above process to ensure the survival thereof provides a new idea for solving fresh water crisis: the development of a spider silk-like fiber with spindle knot structures to realize rapid collection of water from the atmosphere. This new idea has wide application prospects in desert, island and other areas, and it is expected to be used for dispersing water vapor in special places such as airports.
In the prior art, there are mainly two methods for preparing an artificial fiber having a similar structure to that of spider silk.
One method is an impregnation method: a water-collecting polymer filament imitating spider silk structure disclosed in the Chinese patent application with publication No. CN102776785A (application No. 201110223679.7) adopts this method. In this method, existing fibers are immersed in a polymer solution, and thereafter, they are taken out and dried; during the drying, the polymer solution forms a string of liquid droplets on the surface of the fibers and hangs thereon due to Rayleigh instability, and after drying and curing, axially arranged spindle knots are obtained, thereby to obtain fibers having a structure like spider silk. Based on the above patent application, the Chinese patent application with publication No. CN102587139A (application No. 201210004686.2) further realizes that the height of the protruding knots (i.e. spindle knots) on the surface of the prepared fiber is uniformly controllable from small to large, and there are more microscopic protrusions or micropores on the surface of the fiber, which improves the water collecting efficiency of the fiber. This method belongs to a post-processing treatment to existing fibers.
The other method is an electrostatic spinning method that has higher requirements on the equipment. The Chinese patent application with publication No. CN103334244A (application No. 201310227113.0) discloses a self-assembly preparation method of electrospun string-like fibers, wherein self-assembling occurs on the surface of artificial fibers to form micron-sized string-like structures by the electrospinning technique, thereby to obtain the artificial spider silk fibers. However, the electrospinning equipment is relatively expensive, and there are only a few kinds of polymers that can be used in the electrospinning method.

Spider-silk-like polymer fiber, preparation method therefor and use thereof

BEIJING RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, CHINA PETROLEUM & CHEMICAL CORPORATION


An electrostatic chuck for attracting and holding a substrate by using an electrostatic force includes a plurality of protrusion portions to be brought into contact with the substrate. The protrusion portions are formed of a ceramic dielectric including grains each having a specified particle diameter, and contact surfaces of the protrusion portions with the substrate are formed to have a surface roughness depending on the particle diameter.

As shown in FIG. 12, for example, a conventional electrostatic chuck 1 is employed as a part of a mounting body of a plasma processing apparatus in case of performing a plasma processing on a substrate (for example, wafer) W. Specifically, the electrostatic chuck 1 is used to attract and hold the wafer W on a top surface of the mounting body 2 by using an electrostatic force. Further, a focus ring 3 is disposed around a mounting surface of the mounting body 2 to surround the wafer W placed on the electrostatic chuck 1.
Moreover, a high frequency power supply 4 is connected to the mounting body 2 via a matching unit 4A. By applying thereto a predetermined high frequency power from the high frequency power supply 4 under a preset vacuum level, a plasma of a processing gas is generated between the mounting body 2 and an upper electrode (not shown), and the plasma thus generated is concentrated on the top surface of the wafer W by the focus ring 3. Formed inside the mounting body 2 is a coolant passageway 2A through which a coolant circulates to cool the mounting table 2, to thereby maintain the temperature of the wafer W at a predetermined level. Further, a gas channel 2B for a thermally conductive gas (for example, a He gas) is also formed inside the mounting body 2, wherein the gas channel 2B is opened at plural locations on the top surface of the mounting body 2.
The electrostatic chuck 1 is provided with through holes 1A corresponding to the gas channel 2B. The He gas supplied from the gas channel 2B is introduced into a gap between the mounting body 2 and the wafer W via the through holes 1A to thereby make a fine gap between the electrostatic chuck 1 and the wafer W become thermally conductive such that the wafer W can be efficiently cooled by the mounting body 2. The electrostatic chuck 1 is formed of, for example, sintered alumina or ceramic obtained by alumina thermal spraying, and an electrostatic plate 1B connected to a DC power supply 5 is embedded therein. The electrostatic chuck 1 attracts and holds the wafer W by using an electrostatic force generated by a high voltage applied from the DC power supply 5. Moreover, a plurality of vertically movable lifter pins (not shown) is installed in the mounting body 2 in order to perform loading/unloading of the wafer W onto/from the electrostatic chuck 1.
However, in case of an electrostatic chuck obtained by ceramic spraying, its wafer adsorption surface is weak, so that, for example, particles generated from the material of the wafer adsorption surface are likely to stick to a bottom surface of the wafer W, causing cross-contamination during a cleaning operation of the wafer W. Furthermore, the surface of the electrostatic chuck 1 may be roughened gradually as the adsorption and the separation process of the wafer W are repeated, and such a change in the surface state of the electrostatic chuck 1 makes it impossible to control the temperature of the wafer as in the initial stage. As a result, the temperature of the wafer gets changed with time.
Meanwhile, electrostatic chucks 1 formed of, e.g., sintered alumina are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3348140 ("Reference 1") and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-332091 ("Reference 2"). Reference 1 discloses an electrostatic chuck featuring an improved corrosion resistance of a halogen based gas against a plasma while Reference 2 describes an electrostatic chuck provided with a multiplicity of dots on the surface thereof. Such electrostatic chucks can eliminate the above-mentioned problems.
In case of the electrostatic chuck disclosed in Reference 1, however, though the plasma resistance can be improved, there is a likelihood that, when the wafer W is separated from the electrostatic chuck by using lifter pins, the wafer W springs up by the lifter pins due to an attraction force of residual electric charges of the electrostatic chuck since the gap between the electrostatic chuck and the wafer W is narrow while the electrostatic capacitance of the electrostatic chuck is great, as in the case of the electrostatic chuck obtained by the ceramic spraying.
In case of the electrostatic chuck disclosed in Reference 2, since the multiplicity of dots are provided on the wafer adsorption surface, the problem of the wafer's springing up can be solved. However, the dots of the electrostatic chuck are of a low height of 5 μm or less, so that it is difficult to allow a thermally conductive gas to be uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the wafer W even though the thermally conductive gas is supplied into the gap between the electrostatic chuck and the wafer W. As a consequence, a rapid control of the wafer temperature cannot be realized. Moreover, though groove portions are radially provided on the surface of the electrostatic chuck in order to distribute the thermally conductive gas over the entire surface of the wafer W, there frequently occurs a difference in heat transfer between the groove portions and the other portions, making it difficult to uniformly control the in-surface temperature of the wafer. Furthermore, since the contact area of the dots and the wafer W amounts to about 20%, which is great, a desired temperature or a desired temperature distribution cannot be obtained by using the thermally conductive gas. Still further, it is not sure that this electrostatic chuck has a plasma resistance.


The present invention is able to guide the wind produced by a fan interior of a heat sink when rotating to the interior of a computer, and discharge heat energy from the interior of the computer. Moreover, a user can easily adjust and fix air outlets of fan assemblies to corresponding positions beneath air inlets of a notebook computer to achieve optimum heat dissipation effectiveness. In addition, the user can adjust the screen viewing angle and height of the notebook computer, as well as make forward and rearward displacement or right and left rotation of the computer, thereby facilitating operational use by the user.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a notebook computer heat sink, and more particularly to a heat sink able to effectively cause air flow to enter the interior of a notebook computer and discharge heat energy from the interior of the notebook computer. The heat sink is provided with fan assemblies that can be assembled at a multitude of positions; moreover, the heat sink is applicable for use with different models of notebook computers, can be adjusted to different viewing angles and heights and enables forward and rearward displacement or left and right rotation on a worktop surface.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Heat dissipation problems have for a long time been the most troublesome problem for electric appliances, especially with the more precision electronic products. Moreover, heat dissipation problems often obstruct development of electronic products.
Development of the technological era has brought about the endeavor for high efficiency in computer operation, particularly in notebook computers. Hence, CPU (central processing unit) operating speeds have also increased along with technological development. However, because a considerably large amount of heat energy is produced when the CPU is operating, thus, the higher the CPU speed, correspondingly, the larger the heat dissipation problem is. Hence, hindrance of the heat dissipation problem is the biggest stumbling block to development of the notebook computer.
Because the notebook computer endeavors to be small in size and light to facilitate carrying by the user, however, the smaller the notebook computer is, by contrast, improvement in the heat dissipation problem of the notebook computer becomes the all-important objective.
Currently there are two methods to effect a heat sink function for notebook computers on the general market, one being the use of an upward blow type fan, the other being the use of a downward extraction type fan.
The traditional method of the upward blow type fan is to fixedly secure a heat dissipation fan to a position on a base, which thus makes it impossible to arbitrarily change position thereof. Hence, such a method is only suitable for a few computer models, and is unable to effectively direct air into the interior of the notebook computer, and thus unable to provide an effective heat sink function for notebook computers.
The heat sink method of a downward extraction type fan primarily uses rotation of a fan to draw heat energy in the interior of a notebook computer toward the direction of a heat sink, and seemingly offers an effective heat dissipation method, but in actuality does not. Because a gap exists between the notebook computer and the heat sink, thus, when the fan is rotating, the fan largely only draws the air between the notebook computer and the heat sink, and is unable to completely extract hot air from the interior of the notebook computer. Accordingly, such a method is basically unable to achieve the effectiveness to realize comprehensive heat dissipation for the notebook computer.
Hence, in order to resolve the aforementioned problems between the heat sink and notebook computer, the inventor of the present invention has invented a notebook computer heat sink which primarily superposes, as far as possible, air inlets of a notebook computer with air outlets of a heat sink through a combination configuration of fan assemblies and a perforated plate. Accordingly, the air within the notebook computer can be effectively extracted when a fan in the interior of the heat sink is rotating, thereby improving heat dissipation efficiency.
In addition, the present invention enables freely adjusting the screen viewing angle and height of the notebook computer, thereby improving comfortability for the user.
Furthermore, the bottom surface of the base of notebook computer heat sinks on the current market are mostly fitted with a plurality of rubber pads, and although they enable ensuring that the base does not move during use of the computer, however, such means also greatly increases operating inconvenience for the user. When wanting to displace the position of the computer, the user must lift and move the computer together with the heat sink, which is time-consuming and wastes effort.
Accordingly, the notebook computer heat sink of the present invention uses disposition of rollers and a displacement control assembly to facilitate operational use by the user.


There is provided a method for controlling a destination of a robot. The method includes the steps of: when information on obstruction of arrival at a first destination of a robot is acquired, determining an obstruction area associated with the arrival obstruction information by clustering adjacent areas around the first destination, determining a destination candidate area around the obstruction area with reference to a size of the robot, and determining an area in the destination candidate area, which is specified on the basis of a location of the robot, as a second destination of the robot.

Robots are utilized to replace or assist people in various fields because they can automatically perform difficult tasks or repetitive operations. Recently, various researches are being conducted on techniques for assisting a robot to smoothly move to a desired destination.
As an example of related conventional techniques, Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0150380 discloses a system for guiding a robot disposed on a pad to a destination using infrared light, comprising: a pad in which a plurality of optical modules each including a light emission unit for emitting infrared light and a light reception unit for receiving infrared light are arranged; and a robot disposed on the pad and configured to move to a destination, wherein the pad operates the plurality of optical modules to detect whether infrared light is reflected by the robot and determine a location corresponding to the optical module in which the reflection of infrared light is detected among the plurality of optical modules as a current location of the robot, and then transmits information on the determined current location of the robot and the location of the destination to the robot.
However, the techniques introduced so far as well as the above-described conventional technique have been only interested in how to accurately and efficiently move a robot to a specified destination, and have not specifically addressed how the robot should move in a state in which it is impossible to arrive at the destination (e.g., the robot cannot reach the destination due to an obstacle). In a state in which a destination cannot be reached as above, a robot mostly interrupts its movement and route finding and informs a user of such a state. However, when the robot stops its movement in commercial facilities such as restaurants and markets, there are problems in that a safety-related accident may be caused and views of the facilities may be spoiled.
In this connection, the inventor(s) present a novel and inventive technique for finding an alternative destination when information on obstruction of arrival at a preset destination of a robot is acquired, and assisting the robot to move to the alternative destination.

Method, system, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for controlling a destination of a robot


Disclosed is a low noise pneumatic tire having a configuration where, while installation work of a strip-shaped sound absorbent is simple, it is possible to simultaneously reduce cavity resonance and high-frequency noise, and thereby to effectively reduce noise when a vehicle is traveling. In the low noise pneumatic tire of the present invention, the strip-shaped sound absorbent is attached to an annular elastic fixing band, and then is installed onto an inner surface of a tread of the tire taking advantage of the elastic force of the annular elastic fixing band. The strip-shaped sound absorbent is formed of at least two kinds of porous materials whose sound absorption characteristics with respect to frequencies are different from one another.

As one of causes of noise generation in a pneumatic tire, there is cavity resonance resulting from vibration of air filled inside the tire. This cavity resonance is generated because, when the tire is rotated, the tread portion of the tire vibrates due to irregularities on a road surface, and consequently, the vibration of the tread portion vibrates air inside the tire.
As a method of reducing noise resulting from a cavity resonance phenomenon as described above, there has been proposed one where a sound absorbent is added inside the tire to absorb the cavity resonance (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). However, in the above method, the sound absorbent is pasted to an inner surface of the tire, or to an outer peripheral surface of a rim. Therefore, the above method is disadvantageous in that installation work of the sound absorbent is troublesome.
Additionally, in the above method, while cavity resonance is suppressed by the sound absorbent, noise generated inside a tire when a vehicle is traveling is not limited to the cavity resonance, but includes high-frequency noise and the like in frequency bands different from that of the cavity resonance. However, although the sound absorbent has excellent sound absorption characteristics with respect to a particular frequency band, it does not necessarily have sufficient sound absorption characteristics with respect to other frequency bands. Therefore, even though it is possible to reduce the cavity resonance, it is difficult to reduce high-frequency noise and the like.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese patent application Kokai publication No. Sho64-78902


An improved scalability runtime system for a global address space language running on a distributed or shared memory machine uses a directory of shared variables having a data structure for tracking shared variable information that is shared by a plurality of program threads. Allocation and de-allocation routines are used to allocate and de-allocate shared variable entries in the directory of shared variables. Different routines can be used to access different types of shared data. A control structure is used to control access to the shared data such that all threads can access the data at any time. Since all threads see the same objects, synchronization issues are eliminated. In addition, the improved efficiency of the data sharing allows the number of program threads to be vastly increased.

Global address space (GAS) languages provide a shared memory programming model abstraction that can be implemented on machines that do not provide shared memory. Examples of such languages are UPC, Co-Array Fortran and Titanium. UPC extends the ANSI C language with constructs for manipulating shared memory variables, thread synchronization operations such as locks and barriers and strict and relaxed memory consistency models. The UPC language can be implemented on different architectures having shared memory, distributed memory or a combination of the two. However, existing implementations can not be scaled to operate above 64-256 threads. Therefore, a global address language that can operate on a shared or distributed memory system having more than 256 threads is needed.
UPC programs consist of virtual threads that map to physical processors in some fashion. The threads are synchronized through barriers or locks. The threads access memory in a global address space. The threads can access memory either privately or shared. Shared objects have affinity to threads. Private memory can be accessed only by the owning thread. The parallel programming model is in accordance with one of two consistency models. A strict model that obeys the sequential consistency rules and a relaxed model in which threads see changes to shared data made by other threads only at synchronization points. Furthermore, the relaxed model may only be implemented if the underlying architecture actually supports such a model.

Scalable runtime system for global address space languages on shared and distributed memory machines

International Business Machines Corporation


Systems and methods for creating and sharing user-generated content that can be tagged to a website or page are provided herein. The systems and methods allow a user to create content and to share it with others via a variety of methods. The content can be shared in context with an underlying webpage or site. Computer readable medium containing executable code for creating and sharing user-generated information are also disclosed.

Field of the Invention
This relates to information systems, computational systems, and data structures. More particularly, this relates to systems and methods for creating and sharing user-generated information via computer networks.
Description of Related Art
The Internet is a repository and communication channel and medium for a plurality of nodes accessed by computing devices for human use. The Internet is a network of networks of such nodes. The Internet, essentially, comprises information. The Internet is a massive corroboration and collaboration of information. This information is typically hosted by means of plurality of websites or web that can be accessed by their unique identity on the Internet which is generally referred to as its URL (uniform resource locator).
Each website or web page comprises pertinent information in relation to what the host intends to display. E.g., a travel website might feature information, pictures, videos, and the like, and data in relation to various geographical locations. Similarly, an encyclopedia page might feature topic-wise data and related explanations; a music website might feature music-genre specific information; and the like. While dynamic data/content can be utilized, most content is static and host-controlled, i.e., a website host selects the data/content to be displayed and may change it from time to time.
Further advances include "crowd-sourced" databases and websites such as Wikipedia where the content can continuously be changed. Users can log-in and change the content along with references on an ad hoc basis. Such changes are logged and changed made by each person are reflected to anyone accessing the page through the Internet.
Snippets of information can be shared for example by copying or pasting either the content, or a URL directing a person to the content. Such sharing is currently enabled through a variety of means including e-mail, social media sharing sites, peer-to-peer networks, messaging modules, and other communication channels. However, such methods of sharing have many limitations. For example, while current sharing methods provides some ability to share online content in a manner such that links to existing online information e.g. by tagging, highlighting, commenting, pinning files, and the like, the ability to do so is quite limited
Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and methods that allow creating and sharing content in relation to existing content, by tagging (e.g., identifying, highlighting, commenting upon, adding keywords to, pinning files to, and the like), certain portions of existing websites or web-pages.

System and method for creating and sharing user-generated information


A configuration for a network-accessible storage device is prepared by automatically computing a configuration parameter based on a setup parameter that pertains to an application-level function of the network accessible device. Software and systems that implement or use aspects of the invention are also described and claimed.

Contemporary data processing systems can consume and/or produce large quantities of data. In a networked or distributed environment, it is often useful to store this data so that many different systems can access it. Network storage servers have been developed to provide data storage services to client systems, in order to meet that need.
Storage servers are often composed of subsystems that must be configured correctly and consistently to operate as intended. Successful storage server configuration traditionally requires a fairly detailed understanding of mass storage device operations, Redundant Array of Independent Disks ("RAID") array principles, filesystem structures, protocol and network communications, and similar topics. However, some environments that could benefit from the functionality of a storage server cannot justify the expense of employing an adequately-qualified person to administer the server. Methods to reduce the difficulty of configuring, monitoring and maintaining a network-accessible storage server may be of value in this field.

Method and apparatus for application-driven storage provisioning on a unified network storage system


A method and apparatus for detecting and tracking an object with a defined area, and determining its position, status movement and identity therein, includes interrogating the defined area to communicate with an information device on object and transmit received to a master controller unit, which determines the object's presence, position, movement and identity with the defined area.

Systems that identify and track objects within a particular area include security systems used to identify unauthorized access to restricted areas and set off alarms when someone enters an unauthorized area. Conventional security systems control entry access to an enclosed structure. Typically, the enclosed structures have secured doors and windows that prevent anyone without a key from entering the building. Many commercially available systems require anyone entering an enclosure to confirm their access authorization by first entering a code at a keypad at the entrance to the enclosure, or swipe a card or similar device past an access reader near the entry point. The security confirms the identity of the person based on the access code or encoded information on the card and unlocks the door for entry.
These systems require access authorization at each point of entry. In addition, these systems do not have an economic way of monitoring people as they move within or leave an enclosure. As a result, it is possible for people to remain in a building intentionally or accidentally without detection. In emergency situations it can be critical to know if everyone has been evacuated to know when to initiate search and rescue procedures. Also, individuals may need to enter a building late at night or on holidays to complete a work assignment. If they become ill or injured, this problem goes undetected since systems such as those described in the above examples cannot detect when someone leaves a building or if they remain in the building.
Additionally, if someone is in an enclosure, the only methods to control access from one area of an enclosure to another area are to install doors with access authorization hardware, to install video security cameras to monitor movement, or to employ security guards at checkpoints to control access. Any of these solutions is complex and costly.
Access control systems also limit flexibility to readily change the configuration of the work space or use a common space for workers with different levels of authorization. For example, manufacturers who have several contract manufacturers may use the same space for manufacturing different processes. Since the contract groups operating in this space are employees of different companies, it is desirable for these workers to have access only to the floor space reserved for their activities. It is also, desirable not to build enclosures and install security systems to control access since the manufacturing needs of the company and the space required for these changes may change quickly over time depending on business opportunities or economic conditions.
Other conventional tracking systems include package tracking and warehousing. Tracking of packages includes affixing bar codes to letters and packages and scanning the labels at pickup and delivery points. The identity of the letter or package retrieved from the barcode label might be combined with positional information based on global positioning or more simply based on a known route or reported location of the delivery person. In each case a delivery person must scan the barcode attached to the letter or package. Also, the spatial location, presence or identity of the package within a delivery vehicle or warehouse is not known continuously in real time because bar code readers used to establish identity and location required close proximity of the bar code reader to the bar code.
In warehousing, which involves assigning items numbers to inventory, if someone fails to place an item in the correct location in the warehouse the item may be lost. Warehousing does not provide security features to insure that items really enter and leave the warehouse when management thinks they are entering or leaving the warehouse, and efficient use of the warehouse depends on accurate prediction of the space requirement for an inventory supply and requires reorganizing the warehouse space in case inventory levels of particular items change in response to business conditions.

Method and apparatus for detection and tracking of objects within a defined area


An anatomically correct endoluminal prosthesis is provided for placement in a lumen or vessel of a body. In a preferred embodiment, the prosthesis is a stent having at least one segment of curvature located along the body of the stent. The stent may have segments of curvature, apertures, tapers, flares, beveling, non-circular cross-sections, coverings or branching. Preferably, the stent has orientation markers and lines to allow for in vivo identification and orientation by conventional imaging formats. The stent may have multiple segments of curvature in succession or overlapping and may have segments of curvature lying in different planes of curvature. A method of forming the prosthesis is provided.

Stents are commonly used medical implants designed to prop open the inside of a patient's vessels or body lumens. In most cases, stents are used to treat occlusions that have formed within a body lumen such as a coronary artery or the biliary duct. The typical stent is a metal cylindrical tube that has been rendered flexible by its specific construction. A stent may be formed of a metal tube that has been etched or cut out to weaken the walls of the tube to such a point that the tube provides support to the body lumen in which it is placed, but offers enough flexibility so as to be deliverable on a catheter to the site in the body where it is deployed. As well, stents have been made by weaving or knitting metal wires to create a tube having good flexibility, sufficient radial strength and deliverability. Other stents have been made of polymers, biological materials, fabrics and combinations thereof.
In all cases, the stent must be designed such that it is deployable by catheter or similar stent delivery system, as it is desirable for stent placement procedures to be minimally invasive. By virtue of the openings in the wall of the stent, a stent may be reduced in radius when positioned on the delivery catheter. The stent may then be delivered through a small percutaneous opening in the body of the patient or through a natural orifice such as the mouth. In any event, low profile and controllability are necessities for delivering stents to body lumens. Once in position, a stent may be deployed by removing a constraint, such as a sheath, which has maintained low profile of the stent during delivery. Once the sheath is removed, the stent will self expand to support the vessel. Another common deployment method is to inflate a balloon inside the stent in order to force the stent open. The balloon is usually part of the delivery catheter, but it may be administered following an initial stent deployment by self-expansion or another balloon.
When deployed, stents will take their designed and manufactured shape which is, as stated above, a cylindrical tube. Stents can conform somewhat to the anatomy of the lumen in which it is deployed. As well, various designs and materials have been explored that allow the deployed stent to bend in place with the anatomy. Bending may occur in three dimensions. As a result of the straight cylindrical geometry of current stents, a patient's anatomy is induced to conform to the deployed stent shape rather than the stent conforming to the anatomical shape. A flexible material or design may relieve the influence of the stent on the vessel morphology, yet these factors cannot ideally suit a patient's anatomy.
The influence of a straight stent in a naturally curved lumen may reduce the advantages of relieving the occlusion in the lumen. In areas of fluid flow, as in the arterial tree, a transition from the artery's natural curvature to a straighter section supported by a stent may induce localized turbulence in the blood. Turbulence may itself lead to thrombosis or emboli formation, which can, in turn, occlude the vessel or vessels downstream. Additionally, a straight stent in a curved vessel will naturally exert higher stresses at the ends of the stent upon the lumen wall. Localized stresses may incite an injury response and potentially areas of increased restenosis. As well, the exertion of local stress on weakened vessels, as is often the case for patient's suffering from various diseases, may lead to complications such as erosion, abrasion or other types of injury on the sensitive cellular linings. Exposure of inner layers of a vessel in the vascular system will incite localized thrombus formation and possible emboli. Such injuries may also lead to vessel wall hyperplasia and possibly restenosis of the stented vessel. These factors are complicated by lumens that are submitted to pressure cycles, as in the arterial tree.
In addition to the influences of arterial pressure, surrounding tissues may have a marked influence on the intended effects of the stent. A stent in a coronary vessel is subjected to constant contractions and expansions of the heart. If the stent were imparting a straightening force upon the coronary artery, this force would be amplified at various points in the cardiac cycle. Another deleterious effect of surrounding tissue may be eventual stent migration. A stent that does not conform to the surrounding vessel may be induced to move along the axis of the vessel to an area of less longitudinal stress, especially during moments of surrounding tissue contraction. As might be expected, cardiac tissue is not the only type of contractile tissue. A stent located in a leg artery, vein or duct may be subjected to the surrounding forces of the leg muscles. In such a case, the effect of the patient's weight over an implanted stent may further exacerbate the stress between the vessel and the stent. Finally, stented lumens that are subjected to straightening from a tortuous natural state will suffer from a magnified effect of the stresses imposed on the lumen in both the axial and radial directions.
Further examples of body lumens that would benefit from an anatomically shaped stent include but are not limited to arteries, veins, cerebral vessels and lumens, biliary and pancreatic ducts, lymph ducts, the gastrointestinal or GI tract, the aorta, nasal passages, ear canals, tear ducts, the ureters, the intestines, reproductive organs and pulmonary tracts.
Other anatomical features that may be necessary to accommodate include vessel branching, tapering, flaring, non-round cross-sections and multiple curvatures. Each of these factors represents a non-straight tube anatomy that may be negatively affected by treatment with a simple straight tube stent.
As exemplified above, there exists a need to provide for stents that can be deployed by minimally invasive procedures wherein such stents are shaped to assume the geometry of the body lumen in which they are placed and further wherein the stents successfully support the lumen without the detrimental effects caused by imposing an unnatural shape upon a body lumen.

Anatomically correct endoluminal prostheses


This invention relates to a novel process with attendant methods and apparatus for testing interlocks on machine barrier guards or equivalent safeguards. The process simulates the breaching of the interlocked safeguard to test the interlock without shutting down the machine operation. Failed interlocks are identified and their status warned against. Furthermore, the associated barrier guards may be physically locked to prevent access to their protected space while allowing normal machine operations until maintenance is practical. The testing process makes possible the reliable interlocking of fixed guards and may be automated to prevent bypassing or sabotage of interlocked safeguarding systems.

To fully appreciate the invention, one must understand the nature and operation of interlock mechanisms and their great importance to our heavily industrialized society. There is a constant and continuous need to work on industrial equipment in a quick and efficient manner without jeopardizing the safety of personnel. The present invention is directed to testing systems and mechanisms for ensuring the integrity of interlocks so that they will function correctly with the passage of time and without the need to open the guards or disrupt the operation of the machinery guarded by them. Interlocks may be any go not-go device, and they can be mechanical, electrical, electronic, electromagnetic, magnetic, pneumatic, hydraulic, etc., and their combinations.
To fully understand the various ramifications of applicant's novel testing system and to employ same, one must have a basic understanding of the way interlocks function and to provide this assistance, there are provided examples of various typical types of interlocks that have been modified, where necessary, to permit testing.
Generally speaking, all interlocks contain a sensor whose state is changed when a change of the relative positions of the interlock sensor and the guard it is acting on takes place such as by movement or the state of the sensor is changed when, through some means interposed between the sensor and the guard, the guarded space is accessed or breached. It is the change of state of the sensor that is utilized to change the operating state of the machine or to shut down the machinery posing the hazard in the guarded space.
For instance, if the interlock sensor is a normally open pushbutton switch which is kept closed by the guard then, when the guard is opened, the change of the relative position of the guard to the switch allows the pushbutton to spring open, causing the switch to change from the closed to the open state and thereby to change the operating state of the machine or turn off the machine.
Similarly, for example, if the guard and interlock system is a light curtain, the curtain of light beams serves as the guard and one or more light receptors serve as the interlock sensor. When an object breaches the curtain, the light path is changed, shading some of the receptors, changing thereby the state of the light sensor.
Various types of interlock mechanisms have long been used to change the operating state of the machine or to turn off a machine when an operator has to do work in a space where there are moving parts or other hazards to insure that the operator will not be injured when working in the normally guarded space or on the machine. Safe industry practices require that exposed moving parts must be shielded by guards to safely prevent personnel from being injured by coming into contact with hazardous areas of machinery. Needless to say, safety around operating machines has long been a concern in our heavily industrialized world. The design of highly efficient and effective interlock mechanisms that have a high degree of integrity so that they will always act to shut down or otherwise control machines when work is to be done in a space in which there are moving parts and/or other hazards have resulted in continuous development to produce a better interlock. New harmonized European standards and worldwide safety regulations stress the need for proper safety interlocking of machinery.
The integrity of a safety device is defined by its ability to perform its function without failure or default. The greater the risk that exists, then the greater must be the integrity of the safety interlock system required.
There is an all pervasive need to produce an interlock that will not fail. While significant strides have been made, this has not been accomplished, and thus there has long been a need to be able to quickly and efficiently periodically test the many and varied interlocks disposed about machinery to determine whether they have failed or not, and to undertake remedial action if an interlock has failed, so that when they are called upon to act, there is a very high degree of certainty that they will do their intended job. It is to this end that the present invention is directed.
It is not uncommon to enter a plant and observe signs that state in bold letters that "safety is our number one priority" and thus a great deal of attention has been paid to interlock mechanisms to insure that they are located in any area where someone might come in contact with a hazardous part of a machine by opening a guard, but insufficient attention has been paid to testing the interlocks to ensure that they maintain their functionality and integrity. In most of the industrialized countries around the world, there are laws and regulations that require that exposed moving portions or other hazardous sections of machines be covered by locked or movable guards equipped with interlocks to prevent entanglement and injury to the operator by the moving and other hazardous parts of the machine, but unfortunately this is only part of the story if there is not a continuous testing program of the interlocks, since if not tested they may be giving a false sense of security.
Locks on guards have been used for a long time. Such locks will usually not open until powered operation has been interrupted for a predetermined time interval to permit the machine to totally run down or to change its operating state to one eliminating or substantially reducing the hazards of the guarded space. Alternatively, such locks will not open until both powered operation has been interrupted and the moving machine parts have come to rest. The state of rest is generally established by zero speed switches or motion detectors. Sometimes interference devices are inserted into the machinery to assure that motion has been arrested (inserting a stick into the spokes of a wheel). In all of the cases where locks are used, an interlock is incorporated to prevent the machinery from assuming powered operation while the structural guards (barriers) or non-structural guards (light curtains, for instance) are open or out of their protective status. This is where the reliability of interlock mechanisms plays an important and vital role. When called upon to function the interlocks must act to preclude machine start up under powered operation. Interlocks must perform their intended function or else personnel will be placed at risk.
It is very common to observe signs posted around machinery cautioning operators to "shut down the main power to the machine before doing any maintenance or repair work." But even with the proliferation of such signs, the admonitions are often ignored and to a large extent the machine operators rely on the functioning of the interlock systems to prevent their being injured, which further emphasizes the need for a testing system that will insure that the interlock will function when called upon.
Furthermore, even with a well designed interlock system other considerations such as time pressures, production requirements, etc., are dealt with by clever personnel who can and may circumvent the interlock mechanisms by preventing the interlocks from functioning when opening the guards or actually bypassing the interlocks so that the machines will continue to operate while they are working in an unguarded space and with no assurance that the interlock is restored to its functionality afterwards. An interlock that is bypassed has the same functional characteristics as one which is stuck or welded or frozen so that it will not change states. Consequently, the present invention will detect a bypassed or sabotaged interlock as part of its normal testing capability. Once a bypassed interlock is detected, one may either preclude further powered operation of the machine or the structural guards or barriers may be locked into their closed positions until the bypass is removed. Sabotage can never go undetected because it is a long term condition that any regular interlock testing program will uncover. Bypassing, which is a temporary condition, cannot remain unnoticed for longer than one testing interval. Frequent testing will all but eliminate temporary unauthorized bypassing of the interlocks.
It is a gross understatement to state that industry has needed for a long time to quickly, efficiently and periodically test interlocks either automatically or by simple manual manipulation with or without requiring that the guard be opened. Interlocking mechanisms like many other devices are capable of getting stuck, worn out, becoming inoperative, or failing to function for a variety of other reasons that will preclude them from operating successfully when called upon. Unfortunately, interlocks can present a false sense of security to one opening a guard on a machine believing that either the machine will shut down or that it will not restart so that one need not be concerned about beginning to work in the now unguarded space.
Even though there has been awareness of the potential malfunctioning or circumvention of interlocks, there has been no readily available means for quickly, efficiently and repeatedly testing the interlock devices to determine and insure that they are functioning satisfactorily. Conventional available methods for testing existing interlocks include (1) starting the machine and laboriously and manually opening each guard to determine if the machine will shut down or change its operating state as required beginning with one guard and then starting the process all over again with the next guard or (2) sequentially opening the guards with the machine in a shut-down position or the changed operating state and attempt to start the machine or to restore the operating state to determine if the interlocks are functioning properly. That this is time and labor intensive therefore costly and adds unnecessary wear and tear to the machine is self evident. Both of these testing procedures expose operators to a moving machine and other hazards when a defective interlock is being tested.
Regular verification of interlock integrity very seldom takes place because it is time-consuming, interferes with work schedules and may be otherwise difficult to perform, thus leaving interlocks dormant. Since testing of interlocks tends to be neglected, then when they fail due to various causes, the failures remain undetected and the hazards they are supposed to protect against become unprotected or compromised. Also, since interlocks may be remote from the machine operator, extra personnel and coordination is required. Such additional effort and cost provides an additional excuse for not testing or extends verification time intervals. Unfortunately, this is further exacerbated by those personnel that circumvent the interlock mechanism in order to save time, or work in the unguarded space when the interlock mechanism does not function properly, so that they will not be "inconvenienced" by going to the main power or control source to shut the machine off or change its operating state. Operators may consider interlocks a nuisance and will not even report inoperative interlocks. The present invention will uncover temporary bypassing of the interlocks within the testing interval set by a program unit.
It can be appreciated that if repeated testing of the interlock systems can be accomplished to insure proper operation, that the operator will "be saved from himself" in that his reliance on the interlock always functioning correctly may almost be justified. An ongoing quick, and efficient testing system to maximize one's assurance that the interlock system is properly functioning as well as to detect malfunctioning interlocks will go a long way to eliminate or substantially reduce the safety hazards that will occur by malfunctioning interlocks when operators are unwilling to go to the main power or control source and lock out the machine or change its operating state before beginning their work in the hazardous space guarded by the interlock. There has also long been a need to automatically lock a guard in closed position when an interlock malfunctions to insure that personnel will not be injured.
It is the aim of the present invention to provide test mechanisms and systems that will ensure confidence that reliance on interlock systems to perform their tasks when and as received is not misplaced. The invention does this by detecting and identifying which interlocks and their systems are not faulty and which are, and by providing remedial means and actions to those interlocks and systems, and the barrier guards they protect, which have been found faulty. Furthermore, the invention provides the methodology to do the testing, and to apply and then to maintain the remedial actions and means for as long as necessary, without interrupting or disrupting the operation of the machinery. This allows for the scheduling of maintenance, repair or replacement of faulty interlocks and systems at times compatible with the operation of the machinery.
For purposes of this application, the following meaning of terms and expressions is intended here and elsewhere in the application.
Reference to the term "the change of state of an interlock" and similar terms shall be construed to mean a physical change of state of the interlock and the corresponding intended consequential direct or indirect change of state of a machine controlling parameter, most often an electrical parameter, such as, for example, current, voltage, resistance, inductance, impedance, and magnetic field associated with an interlock. For example, and without limitation, a switch of an interlock may be opened or closed, representing physical changes of an interlock producing a change of a machine controlling voltage or current from a first state to a second state.
If opening of a guard is stated or referred to, it shall be construed to mean opening, moving, removing, disrupting, or otherwise breaching of a structural or non-structural barrier guard. Any of these terms, when mentioned in the text, should be understood to be interchangeable where applicable.
A reference to shut down and/or lock out of the machine or machinery shall be construed to mean that, or the alternate of changing the operating state of the machine, machinery and/or its system without shut down or lock out if desired and applicable, and as consequentially or by design substantially or completely reducing the hazards of the interlock guarded space.
Throughout this patent application, failure of the interlock and/or its system shall be taken to mean a failure of the interlock device and/or its system and/or failure of the testing device and/or its system.

Remote and proximal interlock testing mechanisms and testing systems