A method for locating surface deposits of porous, permeable soils having high percolation rates at locations having both permeable and impermeable soils present. During warmer periods of the year, when ambient atmospheric temperatures and soil temperatures are higher than the annual mean temperatures for the location, earth surface temperatures are measured at a plurality of points within a location. Points having relatively higher temperatures are identified as likely to have surface soils more porous and permeable than soils at points having relatively lower temperatures. The porosity and permeability of the soils at selected points may be quantified by testing the soil's percolation rates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for locating porous, permeable soils having high percolation rates, such as sands or gravels, at locations having both permeable and impermeable soils present. Particularly, the present invention relates to methods for locating porous, permeable soils by measuring the temperature of the earth's surface at a number of points within the bounds of a selected location, then, comparing the measured temperatures to identify those points having earth surface temperatures higher than those at other points within the location. Soils beneath points having higher temperatures tend to be more porous and permeable and to have higher percolation rates than soils beneath points having lower temperatures.
The ability to identify and locate porous and permeable soils is useful in environmental matters which involve land drainage patterns. Porous, permeable soils with higher percolation rates drain water faster than more impermeable soils. One particular use for the method of the present invention is to locate surface deposits of porous, permeable soils which are suitable for use as evaporation fields for septic tank systems.
2. Description of Pertinent Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,716, I disclosed methods for predicting the likelihood that oil or gas deposits are present below selected locations. These methods were based upon the discovery that earth temperatures tend to be lower at locations where oil or gas deposits exist than earth temperatures at the same depth at locations where oil or gas deposits do not exist.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/923,477, filed Aug. 3, 1992 and copending with this application, I disclosed methods for predicting whether oil or gas deposits are likely to be present beneath selected locations, which methods employ differences in the temperature of the earths surface from point to point. These methods for locating oil or gas deposits are based upon the discovery that earth surface temperatures above oil or gas deposits are slightly, but measurably, less than the average earth surface temperature for the surrounding area.
In developing these methods for finding oil or gas deposits, I observed that the earth's surface and near surface temperatures are affected by a wide variety of environmental factors, including: seasonal temperature fluctuations; diurnal effects; fluctuations in incident radiation; ambient atmospheric temperature; atmospheric humidity; wind velocity; cloud cover; atmospheric clarity; precipitation; reflectance and emmissivity of the earth's surface; vegetative cover; surface elevation above sea level; local topography; surface features; and, pertinent to the present invention, soil moisture and soil type. The effect of all these factors taken together tends to obscure the effect of any one factor, and my inventions have involved methods for extracting meaningful information from earth temperature measurement data.
The present invention arose from observing workers at homesites on Washington Island, Wis. The workers were attempting to locate soils having sufficient porosity and permeability to serve as evaporation fields for septic tank systems. Washington Island is comprised of thin soils overlying Silurian limestone. Many of the soils are relatively impermeable silts and clays in which water tends to pool. Interspersed in these impermeable soils are sand and gravel beds, such as remnants of ancient beaches, which are porous and permeable, have high water percolation rates and are suitable for septic tank evaporation field sites. At each homesite, the workers were digging, with tractor mounted back-hoes, to locate sand and gravel beds suitable for septic tank evaporation fields. The digging process was slow, destroyed vegetation, and created unnecessary holes at each homesite. From these observations of the workmen's efforts, it became apparent that an improved method for locating the porous, permeable sand and gravel beds was desirable.
Septic tank systems treat sewage, generally from a single family or other small source. Such septic tank systems comprise:
a septic tank where sewage is received for digestion by anaerobic bacteria and for production of waste water; PA1 a drain line for transporting waste water from the septic tank; field lines for receiving waste water from the drain line; and PA1 an evaporation field comprised of porous, permeable material, such as sand or gravel, where waste water received from the field lines is evaporated. PA1 selecting a location likely to have both porous, permeable soils and impermeable soils present; PA1 selecting a time period when ambient temperatures and soil surface temperatures are above the mean annual atmospheric temperature for the location, and when the soil is neither frozen nor water logged; PA1 measuring, during the selected time period, earth surface temperatures at a plurality of points within the bounds of the location; selecting points with earth surface temperatures higher than earth surface temperatures at other points within the location, as being located in areas with higher permeability then areas around points with lower temperatures.
Waste water from a septic tank is evaporated in the evaporation field, and should never be allowed to drain away, either into surface waters or into subsurface aquifers. Consequently, surface deposits of porous, permeable materials having high percolation rates are selected as sites for septic tank evaporation fields. Preferably, the surface deposits are underlain by more impermeable deposits which prevent water from percolating downward into subsurface aquifers.
Sands and gravels have the desired porosity, permeability and high water percolation rates which make such deposits suitable for septic tank evaporation fields. Air, as well as water, circulates through the porous and permeable sand and gravel beds, increasing the rate of evaporation. Heavier soils, such as silt and clay, are fine grained and have little porosity or permeability. Air cannot circulate in such heavy soils, and water is held in them by capillary action. Consequently evaporation rates from silt and clay soils are low, and such soils are not suitable for use in septic tank evaporation fields.

Method for locating porous and permeable soils employing earth surface temperature


Disclosed is a method for preparing, by transcarbonation, a compound of formula (I), including reacting a polyol of formula (II) with an alkyl carbonate or an alkylene carbonate in the presence of a catalytic system consisting of a catalytic entity selected from among the rare earth oxides or the mixtures thereof, and optionally an inert substrate.

Processes for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate are widely described in the literature.
Processes employing organic carbonates have been developed.
EP 0 739 888 discloses in particular a process for the preparation of glycerol carbonate by reaction of glycerol and a cyclic organic carbonate in the presence of a solid catalyst comprising a bicarbonate-comprising or hydroxyl-comprising anionic macroporous resin or a three-dimensional zeolite of X or Y type comprising basic sites, at a temperature of between 50 and 110° C. The reaction yield is of the order of 90%. However, in order to obtain this yield, it is necessary to withdraw the ethylene glycol formed during the reaction. The process is applicable to pure glycerol and to glycerins.
It is also known from US2010/0209979 (Jung et al.) a process for the preparation of glycerol carbonate by reaction between dimethyl carbonate and glycerol by transesterification catalyzed by a lipase.
JP06329663 discloses a process for the preparation of glycerol carbonate by reaction between ethylene carbonate and glycerol catalyzed by aluminum, magnesium, zinc, titanium or lead oxides. Other processes have been developed by catalysis with CaO.
However, these catalysts are not stable and are in particular decomposed by water and do not make it possible to be able to carry out the process continuously.
There are other processes using in particular phosgene and urea. However, the process with phosgene exhibits the disadvantage of being highly toxic and thus not suitable for the preparation of products involved in the manufacture of food, cosmetic or pharmaceutical compositions.
Thus, EP 0 955 298 discloses a process for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate consisting of the reaction of glycerol with urea in the presence of a catalyst of metal or organometallic salt type exhibiting Lewis acid sites. The molar yield obtained is between 40 and 80% with respect to the glycerol.
However, the processes with urea generate a high proportion of ammonia; it is thus necessary to neutralize this ammonia in the salt form and these ammonia salts are not of economic value. Disadvantages in terms of cost, of difficulty in purification and sometimes of environmental (in particular discharge of dioxane and/or glycidol, use of glycidol, use of tin-based catalyst, use of acetonitrile) are also described.
The catalysts of the prior state of the art generally comprise a basic entity, in particular of metal oxide type. This basic entity is soluble in the presence of water or hydratable (undergoes a reaction with water), which damages its effectiveness. It is thus important to control the reaction medium, in particular the amount of water, in order to employ such catalysts.
There is thus a need to provide a process which can be easily operated industrially, which can be employed continuously and which does not exhibit a risk, in particular in terms of toxicity. There is also a need to provide a process which can be carried out in a reaction medium comprising water.

Method for preparing alcohol carbonate using rare earth oxides as catalysts

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE (C.N.R.S.)

FIDOP (FONDS DE DEVELOPPEMENT DES FILIERES DES OLEAGINEUX ET DES PROTEAGINEUX)


A master node, a local node, a service assurance system, and a respective method performed thereby for predicting one or more metrics associated with a communication network are provided. The method performed by the master node operable in the communication network comprises receiving prediction(s) based on training data from local nodes in the communication network; and determining weight parameter(s) associated with the local nodes based on the current received prediction(s) and past received predictions. The method further comprises adjusting a respective local reporting policy for one or more local nodes based on the determined weight parameter(s).

Some future telecom services will execute in a telecom cloud environment, which combine the flexibility of today's computing clouds with the service quality of telecom systems. Real-time service assurance will become an integral part in transforming the general purpose cloud into a robust and highly available cloud that can ensure low latency and agreed service quality for its customers.
A service assurance system for telecom services must be able to detect or predict problems that may violate the agreed service quality. This is a complex task already in legacy systems and will become even more challenging in the cloud particularly for the services which are distributed on multiple machines in the same datacentre or even across multiple geographically dispersed datacentres. Furthermore, the service assurance system must be able to remedy, in real time, these problems once detected. One promising approach to service assurance is based on machine learning, where the service quality and behaviour is learned from observations of the system. The ambition is to do automated real-time predictions of the service quality in order to execute mitigation actions in a proactive manner.
Machine learning has been used in the past to build prediction models for service quality assurance. For example, predicting user application quality-of-service, QoS, parameters, quality-of-experience, QoE, and anomalies for complex telecom environments. The key idea is to use sample data for training a statistical model, which is then used for predictions of unseen data. However, machine learning based service quality prediction techniques can be computationally intensive particularly for the complex distributed services which are themselves relaying on many base component services to compose a high level service which is then provided to its end users spread around on multiple machines in server cluster(s). A major challenge is to handle huge amounts of high velocity data (e.g., monitoring, preprocessing, and analysis) being generated by the devices involved in the service graph in a scalable manner by avoiding the computational and network bottlenecks. Such scenarios necessitate the design of a distributed learning system following the in-network analytics philosophy where the computational tasks are performed as close as possible to the data sources.
Machine learning refers to the task of predicting unseen information based on the currently available examples using statistical learning techniques. Predictions can broadly be categorised into a classification problem or regression problem. Suitable models for predictions should exhibit low latency and overhead, and preferably also be interpretable (white box solution).
Logistic regression is a common method for solving classification problems. It specifies the log-odds posterior probability for the classes and takes positive or negative real numbers as input, while output values are either zero or one. It can hence be interpreted as the posterior probability of drawing a sample from the respective class.
Another family of classifiers is decision trees, where the feature space is split into a set of regions based on one or more homogeneity criteria recursively until there is no more significant gain in terms of homogeneity of the members of each class. The benefit of decision trees over linear methods is that they perform well even when the inherent relationship between the predictors and the response variable is non-linear. And non-parametric property means that no assumptions are made on the form or shape of the true underlying function. The cost of making a decision is dependent on the height of the tree which is logarithmic in the size of tree.
Decision trees are flexible and have low bias but may lead to high variance in predictions in many cases. However, studies have shown that their effectiveness can be significantly increased when used as a base component for the ensembles such as bagging or random forest.
Distributed machine learning refers to methods where the feature space or the sample space is distributed for computation among several nodes. Local models are trained for each data set and then the prediction is made by fusing the results of the local models. One of the classical methods is the Winnow algorithm where in simple terms each local model transmits a vote (i.e. a classification) to a central agent. This agent performs a weighted majority calculation for the final prediction.
Distributed machine learning methods has several advantages over the more traditional centralised methods like scalability, reduced network control overhead, resilience to failures and data privacy.
However, it is challenging to deploy such algorithms in distributed resource constrained environments (e.g. low battery, computation power, memory and transmission capacity) for example in sensor networks. This is also the case in Radio Access Networks, RANs, providing a cellular service (e.g. 4G/LTE, i.e. Long Term Evolution) to the customers where limited resources are available at local mobile nodes and they may operate on battery or solar energy. Main limitation here is that many distributed learning algorithm components executing on local nodes can put significant computation strain during model building and update phases as well as during data transmission. In such scenarios it can be greatly beneficial to in some way reduce the resource overhead and optimise the resource consumption of the distributed learning algorithms. Optimising the resource usage will allow deploying and reaping the key benefits of distributed learning in resource constrained environments where traditionally it may not have been possible to do this before like edge-computing devices in internet of Things, IoT, sensor networks and RAN in a LTE network scenario.

Master node, a local node and respective methods performed thereby for predicting one or more metrics associated with a communication network


An overhead storage lift assembly comprises first and second brace members each having a vertical and a horizontal segment. Pulley wheel is coupled at the end of each horizontal segment. A platform is being raised and lowered by four cables attached to its four corners. The first and second cables are threaded within the horizontal segment of the first brace member. The third and fourth cables are threaded through an aperture in the first brace member and positioned within the horizontal segment of the second brace member. A crank case with a worm drive shaft meshing with a drive gear is used for winding the cables in order to raised or lowered the platform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an overhead storage lift assembly and more particularly pertains to storing articles above ground.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of storage systems is known in the prior art. More specifically, storage systems heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of storing various items are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,843 to Sferra discloses an overhead storage system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,601 to Cooper discloses an elevator storage system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,351 to Wyant discloses an up-down cabinet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,889 to Fenwick discloses a high level package retrieval system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,286 to Orlandi discloses a storage system and connector for the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,461 to Kingsborough discloses a storage cabinet retrieval system.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe an overhead storage lift assembly for storing articles above ground.
In this respect, the overhead storage lift assembly according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of storing articles above ground.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved overhead storage lift assembly which can be used for storing articles above ground. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A cutting blade cover for a brush cutter comprises a central portion (50), a first blade accommodating portion (28), a second blade accommodating portion (29), and a third blade accommodating portion (30). The first, second, and third blade accommodating portions (28, 29, 30) are provided radially from the central portion (50). The first blade accommodating portion (28) includes a first concave portion (31). The second blade accommodating portion (29) includes a second concave portion (36). The third blade accommodating portion (30) includes a third concave portion (40). The first concave portion 31 has an inner shape conforming to an outer shape of the first blade (17) to cover an outer periphery of the first blade (17). The second concave portion (36) has an inner shape conforming to an outer shape of the second blade (18) to cover an outer periphery of the second blade (18). The third concave portion (40) has an inner shape conforming to an outer shape of the third blade (19) to cover an outer periphery of the third blade (19). The central portion (50) has a central through hole (44). The first blade accommodating portion (28) includes a slit (33). The slit (33) extends from an outer end of the first blade accommodating portion (28) to the central through hole (44).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cover for a cutting blade used in a brush cutter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a brush cutter has been used for works such as mowing or cutting of small branches. FIG. 6 shows an example of such a brush cutter. Referring to FIG. 6, a brush cutter 1 is provided with a three lobe cutting blade 3 at a tip end of a rod 14. The three lobe cutting blade 3 includes three blades radially extended from a base portion thereof. In the brush cutter 1, the cutting blade 3 is rotated by an engine (or motor) 2 to reap grasses, trees, and the like.
When work is completed or a work place is changed, it is necessary to transfer or carry the brush cutter 1. In this case, when the cutting blade 3 makes contact with very hard things such as rocks, a cutting portion of the blade 3 might be damaged. To avoid this, a cutting blade cover is generally attached to the cutting blade 3 when the brush cutter 1 is transferred or carried. For example, a cutting blade cover 4 shown in FIG. 7 is attached to the cutting blade 3.
Referring to FIG. 7, the cutting blade cover 4 comprises a circular base plate 5 and a push rod 6 rotatably attached to the base plate 5. The cutting blade cover 4 is attached to the cutting blade 3 according to the following procedure. First, the base plate 5 is brought into abutment with the cutting blade 3 from below of the cutting blade 3. In this state, then, the push rod 6 is rotated around a pivot 8 with respect to the base plate 5 and then engages with a hook 9 provided on the base plate 5. Thereby, the cutting blade 3 is sandwiched between the base plate 5 and the push rod 6 and the cutting blade cover 4 is attached to the cutting blade 3.
However, the following problems arise when the conventional cutting blade cover 4 is applied to the three lobe cutting blade 3.
The cutting blade three lobe shaped, while the base plate 5 of the cutting blade cover 4 is a circular flat plate. Therefore, with the cutting blade cover 4 attached to the cutting blade 3, the base portion 5 of the cutting blade cover 4 is only contact with a lower face of the cutting blade 3 and an outer periphery of the cutting blade 3 is exposed. Consequently, cutting portions of the cutting blade 3 are not sufficiently protected.
In addition, since the cutting blade 3 is pushed against the base plate 5 by means of the push rod 6 to be fixed to the base plate 5, play tends to occur and the cutting blade cover 4 is apt to be detached from the blade 3, which requires careful handling.
The present invention has been developed for the purpose of obviating the above-described problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a cutting blade cover for a brush cutter that is capable of reliably protecting a three lobe cutting blade when the brush cutter is transferred or carried.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cutting blade cover for a brush cutter for protecting a three lobe cutting blade including a base portion attached to a rotating shaft of the brush cutter, a first blade, a second blade, and a third blade, wherein the first, second and third blades are protruded radially from the base portion, comprising: a central portion having a central through hole; a first blade accommodating portion; a second blade accommodating portion; and a third blade accommodating portion, wherein the first, second, and third blade accommodating portions are provided radially from the central portion, a first concave portion is formed in the first blade accommodating portion and has an inner shape conforming to an outer shape of the first blade to cover an outer periphery of a cutting portion of the first blade, a second concave portion is formed in the second blade accommodating portion and has an inner shape conforming to an outer shape of the second blade to cover an outer periphery of a cutting portion of the second blade, a third concave portion is formed in the third blade accommodating portion and has an inner shape conforming to an outer shape of the third blade to cover an outer periphery of a cutting portion of the third blade, and the first blade accommodating portion includes a slit extending from an outer end thereof to the central through hole to widen the first concave portion.
With such a configuration, in order to laterally widen the first blade accommodating portion, a force is exerted to cause the slit to be opened, and the first concave portion can be thereby widened. In this state, the second blade and the third blade of the cutting blade are respectively fitted into the second concave portion and the third concave portion from a direction of the first concave portion. Then, the first blade of the cutting blade is inserted into the first concave portion and the force being exerted on the first blade accommodating portion is released to cause the slit to be closed, so that the first concave portion returns to its initial state. Thereby, the first blade is fitted into the first concave portion. Alternatively, the following procedure may be employed. First, the second blade and the third blade are respectively fitted into the second concave portion and third concave portion. Then, in order to laterally widen the first blade accommodating portion, the force is exerted to cause the slit to be opened and the first concave portion can be thereby widened. In this state, the first blade is fitted into the first concave portion. Then, the force being exerted on the first blade accommodating portion is released to cause the slit to be closed and the first concave portion returns to its initial state.
Since the first, second, and third concave portions have the inner shapes respectively conforming to the outer shapes of the first, second, and third blades, the respective blades can be fittingly covered by the respective concave portions. Further, the cutting blade cover is easily attachable/detachable to/from the cutting blade.
It is preferable that the first blade accommodating portion is provided with a pair of engagement portions protruded inwardly of the first concave portion from a side wall face of the first concave portion and apart from a bottom wall face of the first concave portion, for holding the first blade.
It is preferable that the first blade accommodating portion is provided with a pair of handles on both sides of outside of the first blade accommodating portion, for opening the slit, the slit being situated between the handles.
It is preferable that the central through hole has a cutout formed in an inner wall face of the central through hole at a position opposite to a position at which the slit communicates with the central through hole.
It is preferable that the second blade accommodating portion has a bag-shaped portion at an outer end of the second concave portion, for holding the second blade.
It is preferable that the central portion, the first blade accommodating portion, the second blade accommodating portion, and the third blade accommodating portion are made of resin and integrally formed by blow molding.
With such a configuration, the first, second, and third concave portions can be easily formed. In particular, the blow molding makes an outer peripheral face of the cutting blade cover for the brush cutter smooth and makes it possible to manufacture the cutting blade cover that is lightweight, superior in strength and impact resistance, and constituted by a single member at a low cost.
It is preferable that the central portion, the first blade accommodating portion, the second blade accommodating portion, and the third blade accommodating portion respectively have hollow portions inside thereof, the hollow portions communicating with one another.
These objects as well as other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.


The present invention is to installed a unidirectional transmission at the active side, so when a transmission belt is tightened while the active pulley driving a passive pulley in periodically varied speed ratios, meanwhile an auxiliary pulley (312) is linked for storing energy to form a prestressed force, when the force applied by the active pulley to the passive pulley through the transmission belt is zero or relatively smaller, the auxiliary pulley (312) is enabled to release energy for recovering so as to apply force to the transmission belt, because the transmission belt is coupled to the active pulley and/or one end of the active wheel shaft combined with the active pulley is restrained by the unidirectional transmission device, the transmission belt is enabled to link the passive pulley to operate in the original revolving direction for feeding back the kinetic energy.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is to utilize an active pulley driven by a power source having unidirectional rotating output feature, or to install a unidirectional transmission device installed between the active pulley and a machine body or between an active wheel shaft combined with the active pulley and the machine body, so when a transmission belt is tightened while the active pulley driving a passive pulley in periodically varied speed ratios, meanwhile an auxiliary pulley (312) of an auxiliary pulley assembly for storing/releasing kinetic energy (700) is linked for storing energy to form a prestressed force, when the force applied by the active pulley to the passive pulley through the transmission belt is zero or relatively smaller, the auxiliary pulley (312) is enabled to release energy for recovering so as to apply force to the transmission belt, because the transmission belt is coupled to the active pulley and/or one end of the active wheel shaft combined with the active pulley is restrained by the unidirectional transmission device, the transmission belt is enabled to link the passive pulley to operate in the original revolving direction for feeding back the kinetic energy.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional transmission pulley set composed of an active chain wheel, a passive chain wheel and a transmission chain, or a transmission pulley set composed of an active tooth-shaped wheel, a passive tooth-shaped wheel, a tooth-shaped transmission belt or a tooth-shaped transmission chain both have features as followings: 1) a non-sliding synchronous transmission feature is formed between the active chain wheel and the passive chain wheel and the transmission chain, or between the active tooth-shaped wheel and the passive tooth-shaped wheel and the tooth-shaped transmission belt or the tooth-shaped transmission chain; (2) if the length of the transmission chain or the tooth-shaped transmission belt or the tooth-shaped transmission chain is changed during the operation or during switching the speed ratio, a prestressed auxiliary idle wheel is often installed for randomly adjusting the tightness of the transmission chain, the tooth-shaped transmission belt or the tooth-shaped transmission chain, however, the tightness of transmission chain would be periodically varied during the operation, so the prestressed mechanism of the auxiliary idle wheel for storing/releasing kinetic energy is reciprocally displaced for storing energy and releasing energy, wherein one disadvantage of the prior art is that the increased load generated at the active side while the transmission chain pressing the auxiliary idle wheel cannot be fed back as a kinetic driving energy.

Transmission wheel system series with periodically varied speed ratio and having reciprocally displacing auxiliary pulley for storing/releasing kinetic energy


A wheel tractor scraper having a rear wheel drive assist, the wheel tractor scraper includes a tractor portion pivotally coupled to a rear scraper portion, the rear scraper portion having a bowl for hauling material and a fluid powered work tool configured to assist in loading the bowl, the work tool powered by a fluid pump connected to a fluid operated work tool motor. The rear wheel drive assist includes a fluid operated drive motor coupled to the rear wheels of the machine, a diverter valve having a first position at which fluid flow is delivered from the pump to the work tool motor and a second position at which fluid flow is delivered from the pump to the drive motor, and a controller being configured to control the diverter valve to engage the rear wheel drive assist. The machine may be operated by engaging the pump and work tool motor, and then actuating the diverter valve to the second position to divert flow from the work tool motor to the drive motor.

The wheel tractor scraper is a machine employed in various industries, such as agriculture, construction and mining to load, haul, eject and spread layers of earth. Such machines are particularly suited for applications, for example, in roadway construction and site preparation, where material needs to be removed or added while creating or maintaining grade and hauling occurs over moderate distances, e.g. under one mile. Conventional wheel tractor scrapers typically include a tractor portion having a forward frame member that supports the operator station and a power source operatively coupled to the driven wheels of the machine. An articulated joint couples the tractor portion to the rear scraper portion, the scraper portion having a rear frame member that supports both a bowl for collecting and hauling material, and the rear wheels. During operation, the bowl is typically lowered to engage the ground along a cutting edge that is driven forward by the machine, loading the bowl. Many of these machines will have an earth-moving work tool, such as an elevator, conveyor, auger, or spade, associated with the bowl to facilitate penetration and/or loading of the material to be transported.
One of the limiting factors associated with wheel tractor scraper operations are the traction conditions of the work site. Tractor scraper operations can be limited, for example, by the type of material, geographic location, and seasonal conditions of the work site.
Various improvements and methods of operation have been adopted by the industry to increase the versatility and efficiency of these machines. For example, wheel tractor scrapers are often employed in push-pull operations, wherein a first tractor scraper is either pulled or pushed by a second machine, for example, a track-type dozer or another wheel tractor scraper, during the loading process. Wheel tractor scrapers are often provided with hitches or push bars to facilitate these operations. However, the option of a second machine is not always possible, and this increases operating costs. Further, this does not address concerns of the tractor scraper becoming stuck during the remainder of the work cycle.
As an alternative, some large wheel tractor scrapers are provided with an additional, rear mounted engine operatively connected to drive the rear wheels of the machine (twin-engine scrapers), making these machines better suited for handling adverse terrain and worksite conditions. However, another alternative has been to provide a fluid operated rear wheel assist.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,958 to Kalhorn et al. provides a hydrostatic rear wheel assist that includes a reversible variable displacement pump operatively coupled to an engine and mounted to the front frame section of an articulated scraper. The pump is fluidly connected to a pair of motors positioned on the rear frame section for driving the right and left rear wheels, respectively. The pump may be actuated via a floor pedal that controls an engagement/disengagement valve having two positions, an engagement position for directing pressurized fluid to the motors, and a disengagement position for preventing flow to the motors. However, this requires an additional and dedicated fluid pump, fluid lines, and other components that significantly add to overall vehicle complexity and cost.
In general, the need exists in the industry for wheel tractor scrapers that are capable of efficient operation under a greater range of terrain conditions. In particular, the need exists for an improved rear wheel assist design and efficient methods of operation thereof.

Wheel tractor scraper rear wheel drive assist and method of operation


Hydrofluoroalkanesulfonates of the general formula R—O—CXH—CX2—SO3M, where R is selected from the group consisting of alkyl groups, functionalized alkyl groups, and alkenyl groups; X is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and fluorine with the proviso that at least one X is fluorine; and M is a cation, are made by reacting fluorovinyl ether with aqueous sulfite solution. Organic onium hydrofluoroalkanesulfonates are useful as ionic liquids and photoacid generators.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of strong acids useful for catalysis, and their salts.
2. Description of Related Art
Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMSA) is used for catalysis where a strong acid is needed. It offers a safer, more easily handled alternative to the inorganic acids, hydrogen fluoride and sulfuric acid, which are widely used in industrial processes. In addition, because of its low molecular weight, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is relatively volatile, a disadvantage in high temperature processes. Known hydrofluoroalkanesulfonic acids, such as 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethanesulfonic acid (TFESA) and 1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropanesulfonic acid (HFPSA), are made from tetrafluoroethylene and hexafluoropropylene, respectively, and are somewhat higher in molecular weight and therefore have lower volatility, but for still less volatile hydrofluoroalkanesulfonic acids higher molecular weight fluoroolefins would be needed. There are few such fluoroolefins of commercial importance and consequently of ready availability.
Furthermore, salts of TFMSA have utility as photoacid generators and ionic liquids. Those having having a photoactive cationic moiety are useful photoacid generators for microlithography. In the process of microlithography, molecules called "photoacid generators" (PAGs) are used to capture photons of light and generate protons. The PAG plays an important role in the imaging process for both positive- and negative-working chemically amplified resists, because the PAG governs light response properties, such as absorption of light or quantum yield of acid formation. In addition, the PAG governs the properties of the produced acid, such as acid strength, mobility, and volatility.
Useful PAGs include organic onium salts, e.g., iodonium salts and sulfonium salts, with non-nucleophilic anions. Organic onium salts producing trifluoromethane sulfonic acids upon exposure have been particularly preferred, because superior sensitivity and good ultimate resolution of the photoresist system can be obtained. In addition, these PAGs are known to reduce the formation of insolubles ("scum") on the substrate or at the substrate/resist interface. A known drawback of such PAGs is that minor quantities of the rather volatile trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFSA) produced during the irradiation process may evaporate (outgas) from the photoresist film and cause corrosion of the exposure and process equipment. In addition, it is known that resist materials containing PAGs that produce TFSA tend to produce the so-called T-shaped pattern profiles, and show linewidth changes upon process delays due to the high volatility and the diffusion properties of this acid.
In summary, the minor quantities of TFMSA produced from the salt can outgas, causing corrosion to process equipment. Volatility is also related to the rate of diffusion of the acid. Diffusion is an undesirable property in microlithography.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,665 discloses onium salt precursors, Y+ASO3-, which generate a fluorinated alkanesulfonic acid. Y represents (R1)(R2)(R3)S+ or (R4)(R5)I+ and A represents CF3CHFCF2 or CF3CF2CF2CF2.
WO 02/082185 discloses photoacid compounds with the general structure R—O(CF2)nSO3X, where n is an integer between about 1 to 4; X is selected from the group consisting of organic cations and covalently bonded organic radicals; and suitable R groups include substituted or unsubstituted C1-C12 linear or branched alkyl groups and substituted or unsubstituted perfluoroalkyl groups.
There is a need for hydrofluoroalkanesulfonates and hydrofluoroalkanesulfonic acids of higher molecular weight, for use in catalysis, in ionic liquids and in photoacid generators. It would be particularly advantageous for such hydrofluoroalkanesulfonates to be preparable from readily available starting materials.

Hydrofluoroalkanesulfonic acids and salts from fluorovinyl ethers


An opposed-piston engine has a cylinder block with a plurality of cylinders arranged inline, with each cylinder including an intake port longitudinally separated from an exhaust port. The engine's air handling system includes open intake and exhaust chambers in the cylinder block. The open chamber constructions eliminate the need for multi-pipe manifolds and smooth the flow of charge air.

The field concerns an air handling system of an opposed-piston engine that delivers charge air to, and transports exhaust from, the cylinders of the engine. The cylinders are arranged inline in a cylinder block. The cylinder block includes an open intake chamber and an open exhaust chamber. All intake ports of the cylinders are positioned in the intake chamber and all exhaust ports of the cylinders positioned in the exhaust chamber.
A two-stroke cycle engine is an internal combustion engine that completes a cycle of operation with a single complete rotation of a crankshaft and two strokes of a piston connected to the crankshaft. The strokes are typically denoted as compression and power strokes. One example of a two-stroke cycle engine is an opposed-piston engine in which two pistons are disposed in the bore of a cylinder for reciprocating movement in opposing directions along the central axis of the cylinder. Each piston moves between a bottom center (BC) location where it is nearest one end of the cylinder and a top center (TC) location where it is furthest from the one end. The cylinder has ports formed in the cylinder sidewall near respective BC piston locations. Each of the opposed pistons controls one of the ports, opening the port as it moves to its BC location, and closing the port as it moves from BC toward its TC location. One of the ports serves to admit charge air into the bore, the other provides passage for the products of combustion out of the bore; these are respectively termed "intake" and "exhaust" ports (in some descriptions, intake ports are referred to as "air" ports or "scavange" ports). In a uniflow-scavenged opposed-piston engine, pressurized charge air enters a cylinder through its intake port as exhaust gas flows out of its exhaust port, thus gas flows through the cylinder in a single direction ("uniflow")—from intake port to exhaust port.
Charge air and exhaust products flow through the cylinder via an air handling system (also called a "gas exchange" system). Fuel is delivered by injection from a fuel delivery system. As the engine cycles, a control mechanization governs combustion by operating the air handling and fuel delivery systems in response to engine operating conditions. The air handling system may be equipped with an exhaust gas recirculation ("EGR") system to reduce undesirable compounds produced by combustion.
In an opposed-piston engine, the air handling system moves fresh air into and transports combustion gases (exhaust) out of the engine, which requires pumping work. The pumping work may be done by a gas-turbine driven pump, such as a compressor, and/or by a mechanically-driven pump, such as a supercharger. In some instances, the compressor unit of a turbocharger may feed the input of a downstream supercharger in a two-stage pumping configuration. The pumping arrangement (single stage, two-stage, or otherwise) drives the scavenging process, which is critical to ensuring effective combustion, increasing the engine's indicated thermal efficiency, and extending the lives of engine components such as pistons, rings, and cylinders. The pumping work also drives an exhaust gas recirculation system.
FIG. 1 illustrates a turbocharged, two-stroke cycle, opposed-piston engine 10 with uniflow scavenging. The engine 10 has at least one ported cylinder 50. For example, the engine may have one ported cylinder, two ported cylinders, or three or more ported cylinders. Each ported cylinder 50 has a bore 52 and longitudinally-spaced intake and exhaust ports 54 and 56 formed or machined near respective ends of a cylinder wall. Each of the intake and exhaust ports includes one or more circumferential arrays of openings or perforations. In some descriptions, each opening is referred to as a "port"; however, the construction of one or more circumferential arrays of such "ports" is no different than the port constructions shown in FIG. 1. Pistons 60 and 62 are slidably disposed in the bore 52 with their end surfaces 61 and 63 in opposition. The piston 60 controls the intake port 54, and the piston 62 controls the exhaust port 56. In the example shown, the engine 10 further includes at least one crankshaft; preferably, the engine includes two crankshafts 71 and 72. The intake pistons 60 of the engine are coupled to the crankshaft 71, and the exhaust pistons 62 to the crankshaft 72.
As the pistons 60 and 62 near their TC locations, a combustion chamber is defined in the bore 52 between the end surfaces 61 and 63 of the pistons. Combustion timing is frequently referenced to the point in the compression cycle where minimum combustion chamber volume occurs because the pistons end surfaces are nearest each other; this point is referred to as "minimum volume." Fuel is injected directly into cylinder space located between the end surfaces 61 and 63. In some instances injection occurs at or near minimum volume; in other instances, injection may occur before minimum volume. Fuel is injected through one or more fuel injector nozzles positioned in respective openings through the sidewall of the cylinder 50. Two such nozzles 70 are shown. The fuel mixes with charge air admitted into the bore 52 through the intake port 54. As the air-fuel mixture is compressed between the end surfaces 61 and 63, the compressed air reaches a temperature and a pressure that cause the fuel to ignite. Combustion follows.
With further reference to FIG. 1, the engine 10 includes an air handling system 80 that manages the transport of charge air to, and exhaust gas from, the engine 10. A representative air handling system construction includes a charge air subsystem and an exhaust subsystem. In the air handling system 80, a charge air source receives intake air and processes it into pressurized air (hereinafter "charge air"). The charge air subsystem transports the charge air to the intake ports of the engine. The exhaust subsystem transports exhaust products from exhaust ports of the engine for delivery to other exhaust components.
The air handling system 80 may include a turbocharger 120 with a turbine 121 and a compressor 122 that rotate on a common shaft 123. The turbine 121 is in fluid communication with the exhaust subsystem and the compressor 122 is in fluid communication with the charge air subsystem. The turbocharger 120 extracts energy from exhaust gas that exits the exhaust ports 56 and flows into an exhaust channel 124 directly from the exhaust ports 56, or from an exhaust manifold assembly 125 that collects exhaust gasses output through the exhaust ports 56. In this regard, the turbine 121 is rotated by exhaust gas passing through it to an exhaust outlet channel 128. This rotates the compressor 122, causing it to generate charge air by compressing fresh air. The charge air subsystem may include a supercharger 110 and an intake manifold 130. The charge air subsystem may further include at least one charge air cooler (hereinafter, "cooler") to receive and cool the charge air before delivery to the intake port or ports of the engine. The charge air output by the compressor 122 flows through a charge air channel 126 to a cooler 127, whence it is pumped by the supercharger 110 to the intake ports. Charge air compressed by the supercharger 110 is output to an intake manifold 130. The intake ports 54 receive charge air pumped by the supercharger 110, through the intake manifold 130. A second cooler 129 may be provided between the output of the supercharger 110 and the input to the intake manifold 130.
In some aspects, the air handling system 80 may be constructed to reduce undesirable emissions produced by combustion by recirculating a portion of the exhaust gas produced by combustion through the ported cylinders of the engine. The recirculated exhaust gas is mixed with charge air to lower peak combustion temperatures, which reduces production of the undesirable emissions. This process is referred to as exhaust gas recirculation ("EGR"). The EGR construction shown obtains a portion of the exhaust gasses flowing from the port 56 during scavenging and transports them via an EGR channel 131 external to the cylinders into the incoming stream of inlet air in the charge air subsystem. The recirculated exhaust gas flows through the EGR channel 131 under the control of a valve 138 (referred to as the "EGR valve").
FIG. 2 shows the air handling system 80 of FIG. 1 in schematic detail. In this regard, the charge air subsystem provides intake air to the compressor 122. As the compressor 122 rotates, compressed air flows from the compressor's outlet, through the Charge air channel 126, and into the supercharger 110. Charge air pumped by the supercharger 110 flows through the cooler 129 into the intake manifold 130. Pressurized charge air is delivered from the intake manifold 130 to the intake ports of the cylinders 50, which are supported in a cylinder block 160. In some aspects, the engine may include a recirculation channel 112 that couples the output of the supercharger 110 to its input. Provision of a valve 139 in the recirculation channel 112 allows the charge air flow to the cylinders to be varied by modulation of charge air pressure downstream of the supercharger outlet.
Exhaust gasses from the exhaust ports of the cylinders 50 flow from the exhaust manifold 125 into the turbine 121, and from the turbine into the exhaust outlet channel 128. In some instances, one or more after-treatment devices (AT) 162 are provided in the exhaust outlet channel 128. Exhaust is recirculated through the EGR channel 131, under control of the EGR valve 138. The EGR channel 131 is in fluid communication with the charge air subsystem via an EGR mixer 163.
Opposed-piston engines have included various constructions designed to transport engine gasses (charge air, exhaust) into and out of the cylinders. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,517,634 describes an early opposed-piston aircraft engine that made use of a multi-pipe exhaust manifold having a pipe in communication with the exhaust area of each cylinder that merged with the pipes of the other cylinders into one exhaust pipe. The manifold was mounted to one side of the engine.
Later, in the 1930s, the Jumo 205 family of opposed-piston aircraft engines defined a basic air handling architecture for dual-crankshaft opposed-piston engines. The Jumo engine included an inline cylinder block with six cylinders. The construction of the cylinder block included individual compartments for exhaust and intake ports. Manifolds and conduits constructed to serve the individualized ports were attached to or formed on the cylinder block. Thus, the engine was equipped with multi-pipe exhaust manifolds that bolted to opposite sides of the engine so as to place a respective pair of opposing pipes in communication with the annular exhaust area of each cylinder. The output pipe of each exhaust manifold was connected to a respective one of two entries to a turbine. The engine was also equipped with intake conduits located on opposing sides of the engine that channeled charge air to the individual intake areas of the cylinders. A two-stage pressure charging system provided pressurized charge air for the intake conduits.
The prior art exhaust manifolds extracted a penalty in increased engine size and weight. Each individual pipe required structural support in order to closely couple the pipe opening with the annular exhaust space of a cylinder. Typically, the support was in the form of a flange at the end of each pipe with an area sufficient to receive threaded fasteners for sealably fastening the flange to a corresponding area on a side of the cylinder block. The flanges of each manifold were arranged row-wise in order to match the inline arrangement of the cylinders. The flange width restricted cylinder-to-cylinder spacing, which required the engine to be comparatively heavy and large.
The intake construction of the Jumo 205 engines included a manifold formed inside the cylinder block by subdividing space into individual compartments for the inlet areas of the cylinders. Each compartment opened through opposing sides of the cylinder block to receive charge air from the air conduits. Such a manifold structure can result in charge air pressure differentials between inlet ports, which can cause variations in combustion and scavenging as engine operating conditions change.

Open intake and exhaust chamber constructions for an air handling system of an opposed-piston engine


A poultry drinker system includes a liquid container, which is filled with water; a drinking trough, which is fluidly connected to the liquid container; a float valve assembly, which is configured to regulate the flow of the liquid from the liquid container into the drinking trough; such that the float valve maintains the water level in the drinking trough as poultry drink the water.

There are many poultry drinkers in the market. Most consist of a round cylindrical shape top or body and a round base where the poultry can drink. Additionally, most use a vacuum mechanism to discharge water from the body to the base. Common sizes range from a quart to a 2-gallon capacity. However, as the number of chickens multiply, the users need larger drinkers. Larger drinkers are heavier and cumbersome to move when refilling or moving to a different location.
Further, poultry can be messy drinkers, and saliva and feed tend to fall into the drinking trough, which can cause the water in a liquid container to become contaminated, when there is no effective sealing. Such contamination may happen with most drinkers that use a vacuum valve design, which includes a drinking dish and a cylindrical water tank connected via a hole, since the hole is continuously connecting the water tank with the dispensing dish.
As such, considering the foregoing, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for novel and improved devices and methods for poultry drinkers.


Various embodiments are directed to a system and method providing associative matching of terms. Candidate terms are selected for building one or more associative matching models from one or more selected candidate sources. Associativity is defined to give editors the ability to label sample associative term pairs from the one or more candidate sources. The editors label sample candidate term pairs as being related. Features are determined that can differentiate associative from non-associative pairs. The selected features are used to build a model. The model is applied to determine whether a received query-candidate pair are associative.

In today's on-line search engines, relevance of sponsored results to user intent drives performance across many applications. The Yahoo!® search engine is an example. Previously, search engines restricted relevance to very tight semantic similarity, such as spelling corrections or synonyms. However, these systems do not account for the fact that other kinds of relevance may capture the economically salient part of user intent, or, like traditional advertising, help to generate a new intent or desire on the part of the user. Terms that co-occur since they belong to complementary categories of products or services, to shared clusters of activities or tasks, shared (sub)cultures, tastes, styles, locations or temporalities are referred to herein as associative matches.
The business of placing advertisements in an online context is a process of determining user wants or needs that have some economic value. The user may not be conscious of what they want or need, and the latent desire (and accompanying economic activity) could be driven by an advertisement, the online context, the user herself, the state of the world at large, or some combination of all four.
In many cases the economic opportunity is clear. If a user searches for "HP 932C printer cartridge" it is reasonable to assume that replacement parts for the specific brand and model of printer form a reasonable set of value propositions. In this case it is likely that advertisements based on phrases typed into a search engine that are all semantically relevant to the printer part in question perform better than other advertisements. In the case of a sponsored search in a search engine, the economic intent of the user (buying a new printer cartridge for his or her printer, for example) may be sufficiently clear.
In many instances, however, the economic intent of a user is less clear. For example, user intent may be ambiguous because the user is not directly performing an economic activity (reading news rather than searching for products) or because an error has occurred (the user has landed on a parked domain), or simply because there is no clear economic intent found in the query itself that the user provides.
In addition to the foregoing, there are many situations where directly relevant advertisements are not appropriate since relevant advertisements may cannibalize, or otherwise compete with, some other primary revenue stream associated with a content item. For example, a provider of an auction web site, such as Yahoo! Auction pages, may wish to refrain from advertising products that compete with auction results, which could anger or otherwise frustrate sellers.
Accordingly, given the above-discussed shortcomings in existing systems, there is a need for systems and methods for performance of associative matching, which may provide mechanisms for increasing coverage of the display of advertisements while maintaining plausible relevance.

Term expansion using associative matching of labeled term pairs


The use of polymers which are preparable by reaction of. (a) polymers that contain vinylamine units, with PA1 (b) compounds that contain aldehyde or keto groups, and optionally PA1 (c) NH- and/or OH-containing compounds PA1 (a) polymers that contain vinylamine units, with PA1 (b) compounds that contain aldehyde or keto groups, and PA1 (c) NH- and/or OH-containing compounds,. and which contain aminal, hemiaminal and/or aminal-acetal structures with or without unconverted vinylamine units, as detergent additive for inhibiting dye transfer during the wash, and polymers containing aminal, hemiaminal and/or aminal-acetal structures, obtainable by reaction of. and detergents which contain the abovementioned polymers in amounts from 0.05 to 10% by weight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of polymers as detergent additives for inhibiting dye transfer during the wash, to polymers that contain aminal, hemiaminal and/or aminal-acetal structures, and to detergents containing these polymers.
2. Discussion of the Background
DE-B-22 32 353 discloses detergent and cleaner mixtures which consist essentially of 95 to 60% by weight of nonionic detergents and 5 to 40% by weight of a partially or completely water-soluble polyvinylpyrrolidone and are essentially free of anionic surfactants. Polymers of vinylpyrrolidone prevent the transfer of dye from colored to white textiles during the wash. Polymers of vinylpyrrolidone have molecular weights within the range from about 10 000 to about 1 000 000. Both homopolymers and copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone are suitable. Acrylonitrile and maleic anhydride are mentioned as suitable comonomers. However, the effectiveness of vinylpyrrolidone polymer dye transfer inhibitors is strongly impaired by anionic surfactants.
DE-A-28 14 287 discloses detergent and cleaner compositions containing anionic and/or nonionic surfactants, builders and other customary detergent additives and also--as discoloration-inhibiting additives--from 0.1 to 10% by weight of water-soluble or water-dispersible homo- or copolymers of N-vinylimidazole. These polymers, however, are insufficiently active against a number of color stains.
EP-A-0 461 399 and EP-A-0 552 702 disclose polymers which contain aminal and acetal-aminal groups and which are prepared by reacting polyvinylamines or copolymers which contain vinylamine and vinyl alcohol units with aldehydes. These polymers are used as flocculants or as retention aids in papermaking.
JP-A-61/051006 discloses particulate crosslinked polyvinylamines prepared by reaction of polyvinylamines with crosslinkers, such as alkylene dihalides, epichlorohydrin or dialdehydes. The crosslinked polyvinylamines are used as ion exchangers.


There are provided a thin-film piezoelectric element including a piezoelectric thin film which has an alkali niobate-based perovskite structure represented by the composition formula (K1-w-xNawSrx)m(Nb1-yZry)O3 and which is preferentially oriented to (001), and a pair of electrode films that sandwich the piezoelectric thin film, a thin-film piezoelectric actuator, and a thin-film piezoelectric sensor each including the thin-film piezoelectric element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin-film piezoelectric element composed of a thin-film piezoelectric material; a thin-film piezoelectric actuator and a thin-film piezoelectric sensor that include the thin-film piezoelectric elements; and a hard disk drive and an ink jet printer apparatus that include the thin-film piezoelectric actuators.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, there have been advances in practical use of thin-film piezoelectric elements including thin-film piezoelectric materials, instead of bulk piezoelectric materials. Examples thereof include gyroscope sensors, pressure sensors, pulse wave sensors, shock sensors, and microphones, which use a piezoelectric effect, in which a force applied to a piezoelectric film is converted into a voltage; and actuators, ink jet heads, speakers, beepers, and resonators, which use an inverse piezoelectric effect, in which the application of a voltage to a piezoelectric film produces a distortion of the piezoelectric film.
A reduction in the thickness of piezoelectric materials enables the miniaturization of elements and widens the field of application. Furthermore, many elements can be collectively produced on a substrate, thereby increasing the mass productivity. There are many advantages in performance, for example, improvement in sensitivity as a sensor.
In piezoelectric elements, high dielectric loss of piezoelectric materials often causes heat generation and so forth during operation, which is a problem of reliability. In thin-film piezoelectric materials, a material having low dielectric loss comparable to bulk piezoelectric materials are not found. Thus, the design of a piezoelectric thin film having low dielectric loss is an important subject.
Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is well known as an excellent piezoelectric material. Since it contains lead, alternative (lead-free) materials have been studied in view of the environment and the human body. However, an alternative material having piezoelectric properties comparable to PZT is not found.

Thin-film piezoelectric element, thin-film piezoelectric actuator, thin-film piezoelectric sensor, hard disk drive, and inkjet printer apparatus


A pilot-operated proportional pressure limiting valve with a pilot valve, with a main piston which can be acted on in closing direction by pressure prevailing in a control chamber and in opening direction by pressure prevailing in an inlet, with a control oil nozzle device between the inlet and the pilot valve and with a damping nozzle device between the control chamber and the pilot valve, wherein the total hydraulic resistance of the damping nozzle device is variable as a function of the stroke of the main piston. The damping nozzle device comprise a radial hole in the main piston, and in the closed position of the main piston the radial hole debouches towards the outside in the region of a radially narrow annular slot and, after a given stroke of the main piston, in the region of a radially wide annular slot.

The present invention relates to a pilot-operated proportional pressure limiting valve. The invention also relates to a method of operating a pressure limiting valve.
Pilot-operated proportional pressure limiting valves are known. One known proportional pressure limiting valve is described in the book "Der Hydraulik Trainer", Vol. 2, published by Mannesmann Rexroth GmbH, Lohr/Main, pages B20 and B21.
From DE 38 24 089 A1 a pilot-operated proportional pressure limiting valve having a control oil nozzle arranged in a main piston is known. In order to obtain a very small adjustable pressure, the outlet of a control oil nozzle for the feeding of control oil to a pilot-operated valve is brought directly out of the main piston by connecting means.
The proportional pressure limiting valve in accordance with DE 38 24 089 A1 tends under certain circumstances to vibrate in the region of small volumetric flows and high pressure. Therefore, a damping nozzle is already provided in the main piston in the valve according to DE 38 24 089 A1. Since, however, within the above-indicated range, the control stroke of the main piston is very small and thus the volume of control oil displaced via the damping nozzle from the control space is also very small, the damping action of the damping nozzle on the control stroke of the main piston is too weak and the valve cannot be prevented from vibrating within this region.


A method for forging a rack bar from a blank pipe. Prior to the rack forging process, a blank pipe is subjected to a process for obtaining an adjustment of a cross-sectional shape of the blank pipe. Such a preliminary adjustment is constructed by a swaging process for reducing an outer diameter of the blank pipe and a ironing process for obtaining a desired irregular cross-sectional shape of the blank pipe. The ironing process is such that locally thickened wall portions are obtained at length wise ends as well as tooth width ends of a rack forging die.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forging, from a metal pipe, a rack bar, which is used for a steering apparatus in an automobile et al.
2. Description of Related Art
A rack bar as a part for a steering apparatus of an automobile is conventionally produced from a solid rod member by a machining such as a broaching. However, such a conventional rack bar is defective in an increased weight due to its solid structure. Furthermore, a rack bar of varied gear ratio (VGR) cannot be obtained by the broaching since a machining of toothed portions of varied width is impossible by the broaching.
In view of the above, in order to reduce a weight as well as to obtain a varied gear construction, a formation of a hollow rack bar from a blank pipe produced from a forging process has recent been proposed. See Japanese Un-examined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 3-5892, Japanese Un-examined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 5-169181 or Japanese Un-examined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 6-246379 or Japanese Un-examined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-300677.
When a forging of a hollow rack bar is done, a blank pipe is held by a toothed die. Then, a mandrel is, under a pressure, inserted to the blank pipe held by the die, so that a radial expansion of the metal (plastic flow of metal material) is generated toward toothed portions, thereby forming a rack bar. Thus, a desired control of the cross-sectional area is essentially needed in order to obtain a desired precision of the rack bar. However, blank pipes supplied from manufacturers are, as far as their values of a inner and outer diameters are concerned, merely controlled in a range of tolerance under a government regulation, such as a Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). Thus, a precision of these blank pipes as for the forging of rack bars are insufficient, resulting in a variation in the flow of metal as well as in an increased forming force during the execution of the forging process. Thus, a production efficiency is reduced, on one hand and, on the other hand, a service life of tools (dies) is reduced due to the excessive load occurred therein during the execution of the working.
The prior art method for producing a rack bar is defective in view of difficulties in a subsequent hardening process. Namely, in a usual hardening process, a rack bar is held by a die only at an outer diameter side. In this case, no restriction of escape of thermal distortion toward the inner diameter side is possible. Furthermore, an insertion of a core is not effective for obtaining a desired precision because of a reduced precision of an inner diameter of a blank pipe within a tolerance. As a result, a specially designed technique is required for executing the hardening of the hollow rack bar, which causes the hardening process to be time consuming, on one hand and, on the other hand, causes the production cost to be increased. Furthermore, in a rack forging process, a metal flow is likely generated in the direction where a moving distance is short, i.e., the flow of metal is easy. As a result, when a mandrel of a simplified uniform cross-sectional type is used in a rack forging process, a locally excessive or locally shortened flow of the metal to a toothed die is likely generated, resulting in reduced performances. In view of this, an improvement has been proposed, wherein a plurality of mandrels of non-uniform shapes are provided for obtaining non-uniformed flows of metal. However, this improved process is defective due to its increased cost, on one hand and, on the other hand, its inability of possibility in the adjustment of metal flow in the axial direction.


A composite barrier laminate for a carton for citrus juices that extends the shelf life of the citrus juice by inhibiting the proliferation of microbial growth therein. The composite barrier laminate has a plurality of layers with one layer being a thin barrier skin coat in contact with the juice, The skin coat is impervious to the antimicrobial agent D-limonene and is effective to prevent the migration of the D-limonene found in the citrus juice. A method for extending the shelf life of a citrus juice stored in a paperboard carton for preventing the D-limonene present in the citrus juice stored in a carton from migrating into the carton structure by making the innermost layer of the carton impervious to D-limonene is disclosed as is a method for preserving the antimicrobial properties present in a citrus juice that is stored in a paperboard carton formed from a laminate by preventing migration of D-limonene from the citrus juice into the laminate by making the innermost layer impervious to D-limonene.

The present invention relates to a composite barrier laminate for a carton for citrus beverages including juices and other liquids. More particularly, it relates to a composite barrier laminate for a carton for citrus juices that extends the shelf life of the citrus juice by inhibiting the proliferation or growth of microorganisms. The composite barrier laminate has a barrier skin coat layer that is impervious to the antimicrobial agent D-limonene so that it prevents the migration of D-limonene from the citrus juice.
The present invention also relates to a method for extending the shelf life of a citrus juice stored in a paperboard carton. The method comprises preventing the antimicrobial agent D-limonene present in the citrus juice stored in the carton from migrating into the carton structure by making the innermost layer of the carton structure impervious to D-limonene. The present invention provides a method for preserving the antimicrobial properties present in citrus juice that is stored in a paperboard carton or container by preventing the migration of D-limonene from the citrus juice by storing the citrus juice in a carton formed from a laminate having an innermost layer that is impervious to D-limonene.
The prior art believed that flavor degradation in citrus juice and other citrus beverages during storage in the preferred polyethylene coated cartons was caused by the loss of essential "flavor" oils. Accordingly, laminate structures that prevent the loss of "flavor" oils in order to avoid flavor degradation are now known in the art.
The present invention unexpectedly found that with the growth of microorganisms, such as, for example, yeast, mold and bacteria, flavor changes or defects in a citrus juice occur. The present invention also found that D-limonene in citrus juices, such as orange juice, acts as a strong antimicrobial agent that inhibits the proliferation of microorganisms which, in turn, extends the shelf life of the juice. It is believed that when D-limonene migrates into and is absorbed in the polyethylene coating of a carton, the microbial growth in the citrus juice after eight weeks can be one hundred times greater than its initial condition.
Heretofore, the useful shelf life of a citrus juice has been limited to a few weeks. It is now believed that the principal reasons are flavor loss due to microbial growth and loss of nutritional value due to the oxidation of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) below the regulation level of 30 mg ascorbic acid per 100 ml. The loss of ascorbic acid can be prevented for seven or eight weeks by using oxygen barrier layers such as polyamide, ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Nevertheless, whether the juice is held in non-oxygen barrier or oxygen barrier cartons, flavor loss can become noticeable within about two weeks because as much as thirty percent of the D-limonene in the citrus juice may be absorbed into the heat seal coating layer within a few days. This is known as scalping.
Glass containers and molded plastic containers have been used to store and transport juice. However, both have a number of disadvantages, including shipping costs for the empty containers, disposal problems, breakage and weight problems.
To obtain the advantages of comparatively low container weight, ease of sealing and opening, ease of disposal and low shipping volume for empty containers, since such containers can be shipped in a collapsed condition, containers based on a paperboard substrate are the current choice for marketing citrus juice and other products. These cartons are known in the trade as "gable top" containers or cartons. Such a carton is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,333. These gable top cartons use low density polyethylene as the preferred food-contact polymer.
It has, however, been found that low density polyethylene (LDPE) has a very high absorption and migration capacity for D-limonene. Unless a D-limonene barrier layer is part of the container construction, migration can result in as much as a 60% loss of D-limonene before the expiration of the container's sale date.
The prior art has provided laminates having a metal foil layer to retain the vitamin content and flavors in the juice for a substantial period of time, about ten weeks. The skin coat layer is not, however, the metal foil layer. Also, these laminates do not address the issue of inhibiting the migration or the resultant loss of the antimicrobial agent from the citrus juice. Further, metal foil laminate containers are expensive when compared to non-metal foil laminate containers, and are prone to develop pin holes that seriously affect their ability to contain liquids.
While considerable efforts have been devoted to finding the best layer structure in a barrier laminate, such efforts have failed to appreciate the superior and unexpected results of longer shelf life which is achieved by providing a thin skin coat layer that is impervious to D-limonene to prevent the migration of D-limonene from the citrus juice.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,036 describes a laminate useful in making a paperboard based carton for juices, that provides an effective barrier to the migration of essential oils and/or flavors, and does not contain a metal foil. This laminate has a paperboard substrate, a polypropylene polymer layer coated thereon and a polyolefin layer applied onto the polypropylene polymer layer.
A laminate that provides an effective barrier to oxygen and, thus, helps retain vitamin C in the juice stored in the carton is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,088. This laminate comprises from the outer surface to the inner surface which would contact the juice, a paperboard substrate, a nylon layer coated directly on the paperboard substrate, a layer of poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) partially neutralized with sodium and zinc cations (Surlyn) directly overlying and in contact with the nylon layer, and an inner polyolefin layer in contact with the Surlyn layer. The nylon barrier layer helps retain vitamin C and, in addition, essential oils and flavor as does the laminate in U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,036.
Likewise, other barrier laminates that are capable of excluding oxygen and preventing the loss of oils and/or flavors are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,977,004, 4,977,009, 4,950,510, 4,861,526, 4,835,025, 4,806,399, 4,753,832, 4,701,360 and 4,698,246. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,701,360, 4,861,526 and 4,698,246, both sides of a paperboard substrate are first flame treated and a layer of low density polyethylene is applied to the outside surface. To the surface of the paperboard that becomes the inside surface of the carton, a layer of low, density polyethylene is initially applied directly to the paperboard, followed by a nylon barrier layer that is applied to that interior low density polyethylene layer with a bonding tie layer between the nylon and the polyethylene. Lastly, an innermost skin layer is applied to the nylon with another tie layer to improve the adhesion of the layers and to help in heat sealing. This skin layer is made of ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,640 provides five embodiments for a heat sealable barrier laminate. Each embodiment provides a substantial barrier to loss of vitamin C over an extended shelf life of the carton, namely about eight weeks. Each embodiment further provides that the skin coat layer is a thin layer of a low density polyethylene polymer.
Not one of these patents recognizes that the cause of flavor degradation in citrus juice, such as orange juice, is the proliferation of microbiological organisms or microorganisms that occurs when the D-limonene migrates out of the juice. Accordingly, these patents fail to provide a method for inhibiting the loss of the antimicrobial agent in the citrus juice contained in the carton or, moreover, appreciate that a substantial increase in shelf life can be accomplished by inhibiting the proliferation of the microorganisms by providing an innermost layer that is made of a material impervious to the antimicrobial agent D-limonene thereby retarding the loss of D-limonene from the citrus juice.
Thus, the present invention provides a barrier skin coat that will prevent the migration or loss of D-limonene from the citrus juice, inhibit the growth of microorganisms, and the rapid loss of flavor due the the growth of microorganisms.

Method for extending shelf life of juice


An optical sensing method transmits radiation from a source onto an optical link, the radiation being passed through an unbalanced interferometer connected between the source and the link. The radiation which is reflected back and has travelled through a portion of the link which is subject to an external disturbance is received and passed through the same unbalanced interferometer. A detector is used to detect the radiation that has returned through the unbalanced interferometer. To improve sensitivity, the unbalanced interferometer includes a coupler for coupling radiation to the detector, the coupler being an N ×N coupler where N is an integer greater or equal to 3.

It is known to use an optical fiber to sense an external disturbance or other effect external to the fiber. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,486 is directed to a sensing system in which an interferometer system is used to detect a time varying disturbance. In such a system, the disturbance causes a phase shift in sensing signals carried by the waveguide, which phase shift can then be detected interferometrically. However, if the event creates only a weak disturbance to the fiber, the resulting phase shift is also likely to be weak, with the result that the disturbance may be difficult to detect.

Optical sensor with interferometer for sensing external physical disturbance of optical communications link

British Telecommunications public limited company


An endodontic instrument is provided for use in performing root canal procedures and comprises an elongate working portion and a chisel tip portion which has removing edges that improve the effectiveness of the instrument in extirpating and enlarging the root canal. The working portion has a non-uniform taper which accelerates from a proximal end of the instrument to a distal end forming a region of enhanced compliance adjacent the tip.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of endodontic instruments and more particularly to reamers or files used in performing root canal procedures. These instruments are used to remove diseased tissue from the canal prior to sealing and filling the canal cavity with a suitable filler material, such as gutta-percha.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the more technically difficult and delicate procedures in the field of dentistry is root canal therapy. The root canal of a tooth houses the circulatory and neural systems of the tooth. These enter the tooth at the terminus of each of its roots and extend through a narrow, tapered canal system to a pulp chamber adjacent the crown portion of the tooth. If this pulp tissue becomes diseased or injured, it can cause severe pain and trauma to the tooth, sometimes necessitating extraction of the tooth. Root canal therapy involves removing the diseased tissue from the canal and sealing the canal system in its entirety. If successful, root canal therapy can effectively alleviate the pain and trauma associated with the tooth so that it need not be extracted.
To perform a root canal procedure, the endodontist first drills into the tooth to locate the root canal and then uses instruments of small diameter such as reamers and files to remove the decayed, injured or dead tissue from the canal. These are typically elongated instruments which are rotated and/or reciprocated within the root canal. The primary goal is to remove all of the decayed or injured nerve while leaving the integrity of the root canal walls relatively unaffected. Preserving the integrity of the root canal is important in order to allow proper filling of the root canal void in a homogenous three dimensional manner such that leakage or communication between the root canal system and the surrounding and supporting tissues of the tooth is prevented. Once as much of the diseased material as practicable is removed from the root canal, the canal is then sealed closed, typically by reciprocating and/or rotating a condenser instrument in the canal to urge sealing material such as gutta-percha into the canal.
Root canals are not necessarily straight and are often curved or convoluted. Therefore, it is often difficult to clean the canal while preserving its natural shape. Many instruments have a tendency to straighten out the canal or to proceed straight into the root canal wall, altering the natural shape of the canal and sometimes transporting completely through the canal wall. Also, the openings of many root canals are small, particularly in older patients, due to calcified deposits on the root canal inner walls. Thus the files or reamers must be able to withstand the torsional load necessary to penetrate and enlarge the canal opening without breaking the instrument.
To preserve the natural shape of the root canal and to facilitate insertion of the tip of the instrument into small root canal openings, traditional reamers or files have an elongated working portion having a uniform taper such that the diameter of the working portion increases uniformly from a small diameter at the tip of the instrument to a larger diameter at the base of the working portion. The taper rate may vary from instrument to instrument and commonly ranges from about 0.02 mm/mm to about 0.08 mm/mm. Helical flutes defining cutting edges are typically provided along the tapered working portion to promote tissue removal and desired shaping of the root canal and advancement of dental chips and debris up the expanding diameter of the instrument along the helical flutes and away from the tip of the instrument.
One problem with traditional endodontic instruments used for extirpating and filling a root canal is that the torsional limitations of the instrument are often exceeded, resulting in breakage of the instrument in the canal. Breakage of the instrument can occur as a result of inadequate removal of dental chips which are cut from the wall of the root canal. These dental chips often become engaged between the instrument and the root canal wall resulting in increased friction and excessive torque on the instrument. Inadequate chip removal may occur particularly at or near the tip of the instrument where the flutes are relatively shallow. Build up of debris between the flutes and the canal wall can cause damage to the canal walls and/or inadequate or uneven tissue removal and can also lead to failure of the instrument.
Another problem that can occur is transportation or penetration through the canal wall. This can occur when a straight file or reamer is used to prepare a curved canal. The file often will tend to maintain a straight path into the root canal wall instead of following the natural path of the canal. In some extreme cases, the file can actually perforate or penetrate the wall of the root canal causing injury to the supporting tissues of the tooth. One prior attempt to solve this problem was to provide a dental file or reamer having a smooth-walled, non-cutting pilot tip for guiding the file or reamer into the curved root canal. See, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,571 to McSpadden, incorporated herein by reference. While the provision of such a smooth-walled pilot tip represented a significant improvement in the art at the time, the design has several significant drawbacks in certain cases.
One drawback is that the pilot tip, being blunt and smooth, has little or no cutting ability. While the blunt tip can fairly easily wedge its way into the soft, fleshy nerve, there is often difficulty encountered in a calcified root canal which has layers of calcified accretion built up along the inner wall of the canal. It is often difficult in these highly calcified root canals to penetrate through the calcified material to a depth sufficient to allow cutting to begin. When using such files having a blunt tip, the file must essentially burnish or grind its way into the calcified material before entering the canal. This generates significant heat and friction as the tip attempts to burnish its way through the hard calcified material. This can cause pain and heating of the tooth which is undesirable. It can also cause increased torsional loads on the file or reamer which can increase the risk of breakage in the canal and decrease the life of the tool.

Endodontic instrument having enhanced compliance at the tip


A computer implemented method of underwriting profitability analysis delivers the analytic process to a wide cross section of insurance decision makers. The underwriting profitability analysis system leverages an existing investment in databases and improves underwriting business processes. Data mining techniques are applied to historical policy and claims to extract rules that describe policy holders with homogeneous claim frequency and severity characteristics. These rule sets are used to classify policy holders into distinct risk groups, each with its own set of characteristics, including pure premium. Breaking up a book of business into segments allows identification of sub-populations of policy holders that distinctly deviate from the expected normal pure premium. This identification allow the insurance business analysts to interactively adjust eligibility criteria and examine altered characteristics of the covered segments until satisfactory. The system is implemented on a client server using network centric language technology.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods of underwriting profitability analysis and, more particularly, to a computer implemented process that applies data mining techniques to historical policy and claims for extracting rules that describe policy holders and uses these rules to classify policy holders into distinct risk groups.
2. Background Description
The first problem addressed by this invention is the robust and rigorous estimation of pure premiums for Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance books of business. These could be ongoing books of business, or new products under consideration. P&C insurance businesses need to constantly evaluate their existing and proposed books of business to identify potential issues and problems with populations they cover. Essentially, associated with each book of business is an insurance product which covers a (potentially vast) group of policy holders that have subscribed to the product. Inevitably, some policy holders file for claims. Associated with claims is their frequency (the rate at which they occur) and their severity (the amount at which they are settled). Insurance companies need to ensure that the premiums being charged are adequate to cover the claims being paid out, and the required profit margin. One approach to ensure this is to estimate the "pure premium" of each policy holder (the premium at which their expected claims payout equals premium charged). If the average pure premium across en entire book of business is equal to or less than the actual premium that goes with the product, then the business is essentially operating at a safe level.
The second problem addressed by this invention is the efficient delivery of the analytic process to a wide cross section of insurance decision makers in the actuarial, marketing, and underwriting areas. These functions could potentially be very disconnected in a firm, yet require a common set of solutions for the first problem detailed above.

Data mining based underwriting profitability analysis

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention comprises a truck and riding devices with a lean steering spatial mechanism comprised of rigid bodies and a single compliant body connected by joints forming a closed kinematic chain wherein the compliant body provides compression, tension, and torsional return spring forces for multi-axial functionality within the constraints of the lean steering spatial mechanism, allowing for the combined functionality of deep deck lean, improved lean steering control over a wider range of speed, improved speed stability, and full load bearing suspension. The invention has additional degrees of freedom and additional primary motions of floating and suspension.

Since the early 1960s there has been a strong connection between surfing and skateboarding that has influenced the history of skateboard design as well as the larger culture of board sports. Terms like "sidewalk surfing" and "surfing-like ride and feel" speak to this connection and have been used to describe ways skateboards attempt to mimic the sensations and ride dynamics of surfing.
Surfing, and other board sports share common ride dynamics of deep deck lean, stability at speed and the ability to "carve" turns.
"Carving" is the ability to make turns and control speed and is associated with deep deck lean and a feeling of "sinking into" the turn such that the deeper the deck or board is leaned the stronger the carving sensations. Carving turns typically involves higher speed and higher turn forces that must be matched by rider input, commitment, and advanced skill. With carving there is also a weightless, floating sensation experienced in the transition between linked turns.
Existing lean-steering spatial mechanisms of skateboards, skates and the like are commonly referred to as a "truck-assembly", or simply a "truck". A skateboard truck typically comprises two rigid bodies generally referred to as a baseplate and a hanger where the baseplate is mounted to a deck and the hanger supports two laterally spaced wheels that roll on the ground. The rigid bodies of baseplate and hanger are kinematically linked so as to allow rotation relative to each other about a common axis defined by the geometry of the baseplate called here the "hanger pivot axis". The compliant bodies of existing trucks are compression springs or elastomeric bushings that are sandwiched between and held in place by the rigid bodies of the assembly.
A skateboard typically comprises a deck upon which the rider stands and a pair of trucks symmetrically mounted to each end of the deck. With wheels constrained by the plane of the ground, leaning input results in steering output such that a rider standing on the deck leans the deck right to steer right and left to steer left.
Spatial Mechanism Definitions, Order of Discussion, and Dependency.
The truck of prior art and the present invention are both understood to be lean steering spatial mechanisms that follow the logic that unique kinematic designs produce unique kinetics which in turn, produce unique ride dynamics.
Kinematics.
As described and defined herein the present invention is a lean steering spatial mechanism comprised of both rigid and compliant bodies connected by kinematic joints and constrained by wheels on the plane of the ground, wherein:
Rigid bodies are herein defined as not to deform under the action of applied forces.
Compliant bodies are herein defined to be flexible bodies that couple and constrain the motion of the rigid bodies and so transfer input forces and displacements to an output force and displacement at another location through elastic body deformation.
Specific joints will be described that define kinematic pairs of rigid bodies and the resultant degrees of freedom of the kinematic chain of rigid bodies of the present invention.
Specific geometry of the rigid and compliant bodies and the orientation and relationship of the kinematic joints required to create the motions of the present invention will be described.
Because laterally-spaced wheels are in common use, and they are designed to connect with and roll on the surface of the ground, the kinematic joints that connect the wheels and wheel bearings to the hanger axles will not be counted in the total of degrees of freedom discussed with regard to prior art or the present invention.
The plane of the ground is defined as the fixed frame of the spatial mechanism of prior art and the present invention. With prior art and the present invention, wheels are connected with the ground by means of gravity.
Kinetics.
Lean steering spatial mechanisms are herein defined as spatial mechanisms where rider input leaning a deck or frame produces a steering response of the wheels on the ground. Further discussion will consider the action of input, output and vector control of forces of the spatial mechanism of the present invention. A dynamic relationship exists between the rigid and compliant bodies and the specific geometry and kinematic design of the present invention that results in motions described herein as leaning, steering, floating, and suspension.
Ride Dynamics.
This section will describe the general utility, performance, and advantages derived therefrom the combination of kinematics and kinetics of the present invention.
The present invention introduces a new class of skateboard truck with a unique kinematic design and kinematics that produce ride dynamics with improved deep deck lean, improved steering control, improved stability at speed, and improved suspension. By delivering this combination of functional attributes the present invention is thus of great use to riders in search of a more powerful surfing-like ride feel.

Lean steering spatial mechanism for a riding device