A process for manufacturing a fluid filter and a device for carrying out the process in which a fluid-permeable material is pre-folded to form a first filter region including a number of fold walls arranged as substantially zig-zag shaped continuous folds having at least one folded edge portion including a plurality of folded edges. An adhesive is applied in a form of strips or threads to a substantially flat substrate material. The adhesive strips or threads on the substrate material are brought into contact with the folded edge portion in an orientation crossing the folded edges of the folded edge portion for interconnecting the fold walls and so that the substrate material essentially covers the entire folded edge portion. The adhesive is cured for bonding the strips or threads of adhesive to the folded edge portion.

The invention relates to a process for manufacturing a fluid filter having a first filter region made of a fluid permeable material, including a number of fold walls arranged as a substantially zig-zag shaped continuous fold having at least one folded edge portion including a plurality of folded edges and adhesive interconnecting the fold walls at the folded edge portion.
Fluid filters of the above kind are used to isolate impurities from a fluid passing through them (especially air or industrial gases but basically also liquids). Filter elements are mainly used at present in air filters which are made of micro fibre fleece, especially glass fibres.
In order to increase the effective filter area, with respect to the area of the oncoming flow, of the air filter forming a filter element or a filter region, the filtering medium is folded in a zig-zag fashion so that a number of folds is produced which adjoin one another, via folded edges, through which the medium to be purified passes, at an acute angle to the walls of the folds and transversely to the direction of the folded edges.
Because of material, especially larger particles, depositing on the side of the filter facing the flow and turbulences forming in the oncoming fluid, and because of slight irregularities in the folds etc., there are inhomogeneities in the flow of the fluid passing through the filter which subject the folds arranged in this way to a great mechanical alternating stress and increased flow resistance. Furthermore, the fluid stream, when leaving the filter, is highly turbulent, the flow resistance in successive pipes and the stress on successive components being thereby increased.
In order to keep the folds at a defined spacing from each other and to stabilise the arrangement of folds in the filter inset mechanically, the folds are provided with projections protruding from the plane of the walls thereof, so that the projections of walls adjoining one another abut and the walls support each other as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,920 or in a special further development described in German Patent Document DE 41 29 126 A1.
It is also known from DE 40 38 966 that separate spacers, which have the same function, may be mounted on top or inserted in the walls of the folds. One variant of the spacers, as mentioned in the above document, and also in German Patent Document DE 30 37 019 A1, may be adhesive members especially in the form of threads. Apart from acting as spacers, they also connect the walls of the folds, thereby further increasing the stability of the filter inset.
Before the filter material is folded, the adhesive is applied onto the flat sheet and the walls of the folds are then stuck together when the adhesive threads come into contact with one another during folding. This solution, therefore, is only suitable for those folds which are packed closely together,
German Patent Document DE 39 03 730 A1 suggests that an adhesive thread, which stabilises and connects the folded layers with one another and which may be attached to the edge region after folding, may be combined with a stamping provided in the fold walls. This solution makes it possible to have larger spacings between the folds. There are, however, still restrictions because of the limited stamping depth of conventional filter materials.
In German Patent Document DE 42 06 407, the edge region of the folds of an already folded sheet of filter material is covered with a fine web of adhesive threads to interconnect the folds and stabilise the filter insert. This solution is not suitable in practice for larger spacings between the folds either, since the fine adhesive web is not able to provide a sufficiently stable connection of widely spaced edges and the web threads begin to "sag", especially when applied from below onto a sheet of folds positioned on top during manufacturing and are no longer in a defined position with respect to the folded edges.
European Patent Document EP 0377 420 A1 discloses an arrangement in which the top and bottom regions of the walls of the folds, each of which have localised adhesive members and are stuck together, are provided additionally with a flat layer of a finely meshed material, while utilising the adhesive provided in the top region, said material serving to render the flow more uniform and further stabilising the filter insert. The document also mentions the possibility of applying such an additional layer of material onto both edge regions of the filter insert. Again, the neutral fixing of the walls of the folds is achieved by the adhesive elements of adjacent walls coming into contact during folding, so that this solution is only suitable for closely packed folds.

Process for manufacturing a fluid filter


Tumor cells modified to express a T cell costimulatory molecule are disclosed. In one embodiment, the costimulatory molecule is a CD28/CTLA4 ligand, preferably a B lymphocyte antigen B7. The tumor cells of the invention can be modified by transfection with nucleic acid encoding a T cell costimulatory molecule, by using an agent which induces or increases expression of a T cell costimulatory molecule on the tumor cell surface or by coupling a T cell costimulatory molecule to the tumor cell surface. Tumor cells further modified to express MHC class I and/or class II molecules or in which expression of an MHC associated protein, the invariant chain, is inhibited are also disclosed. The modified tumor cells of the invention can be used in methods for treating-a patient with a tumor, preventing or inhibiting metastatic spread of a tumor or preventing or inhibiting recurrence of a tumor. A method for specifically inducing a CD4+ T cell response against a tumor and a method for treating a tumor by modification of tumor cells in vivo are disclosed.

Induction of a T lymphocyte response is a critical initial step in a host's immune response. Activation of T cells results in T cell proliferation, cytokine production by T cells and generation of T cell-mediated effector functions. T cell activation requires an antigen-specific signal, often called a primary activation signal, which results from stimulation of a clonally-distributed T cell receptor (hereafter TcR) present on the surface of the T cell. This antigen-specific signal is usually in the form of an antigenic peptide bound either to a major histocompatibility complex (hereafter MHC) class I protein or an MHC class II protein present on the surface of an antigen presenting cell (hereafter APC). CD4+ T cells recognize peptides associated with class II molecules. Class II molecules are found on a limited number of cell types, primarily B cells, monocytes/macrophages and dendritic cells, and, in most cases, present peptides derived from proteins taken up from the extracellular environment. In contrast, CD8+ T cells recognize peptides associated with class I molecules. Class I molecules are found on almost all cell types and, in most cases, present peptides derived from endogenously synthesized proteins. For a review see Germain, R., Nature 322, 687-691 (1986).
It has now been established that, in addition to an antigen-specific primary activation signal, T cells also require a second, non-antigen specific, signal to induce full T cell proliferation and/or cytokine production. This phenomenon has been termed costimulation. Mueller, D. L., et al., Annu. Rev. Immunol. 7, 445-480 (1989). Like the antigen-specific signal, the costimulatory signal is triggered by a molecule on the surface of the antigen presenting cell. A costimulatory molecule, the B lymphocyte antigen B7, has been identified on activated B cells and other APCs. Freeman, G. J., et al., J. Immunol. 139, 3260-3267 (1987); Freeman, G. J., et al., J. Immunol. 143, 2714-2722 (1989). Binding of B7 to a ligand on the surface of T cells provides costimulation to the T cell. Two structurally similar T cell-surface receptors for B7 have been identified, CD28 and CTLA-4. Aruffo, A. and Seed, B., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 8573-8577 (1987); Linsley, P. S., et al., J. Exp. Med. 173, 721-730, (1991); Brunet, J. F., et al., Nature 328, 267-270 (1987); Brunet, J. F., et al., Immunol Rev. 103, 21-36 (1988). CD28 is expressed constitutively on T cells and its expression is upregulated by activation of the T cell, such as by interaction of the TcR with an antigen-MHC complex. In contrast, CTLA4 is undetectable on resting T cells and its expression is induced by activation.
A series of experiments have shown a functional role for a T cell activation pathway stimulated through the CD28 receptor. Studies using blocking antibodies to B7 and CD28 have demonstrated that these antibodies can inhibit T cell activation, thereby demonstrating the need for stimulation via this pathway for T cell activation. Furthermore, suboptimal polyclonal stimulation of T cells by phorbol ester or anti-CD3 antibodies can be potentiated by crosslinking of CD28 with anti-CD28 antibodies. Engagement of the TcR by an MHC molecule/peptide complex in the absence of the costimulatory B7 signal can lead to T cell anergy rather than activation. Damle, N. K., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78, 5096-5100 (1981); Lesslauer, W., et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 16, 1289-1295 (1986); Gimmi, C. D., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 6575-6579 (1991); Linsley, P. S., et al., J. Exp. Med. 173, 721-730 (1991); Koulova, L., et al., J. Exp. Med. 173, 759-762 (1991); Razi-Wolf, Z., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. USA 89, 4210-4214 (1992).
Malignant transformation of a cell is commonly associated with phenotypic changes in the cell. Such changes can include loss or gain of expression of some proteins or alterations in the level of expression of certain proteins. It has been hypothesized that in some situations the immune system may be capable of recognizing a tumor as foreign and, as such, could mount an immune response against the tumor. Kripke, M., Adv. Cancer Res. 34, 69-75 (1981). This hypothesis is based in part on the existence of phenotypic differences between a tumor cell and a normal cell, which is supported by the identification of tumor associated antigens (hereafter TAAs). Schreiber, H., et al. Ann. Rev. Immunol. 6, 465-483 (1988). TAAs are thought to distinguish a transformed cell from its normal counterpart. Three genes encoding TAAs expressed in melanoma cells, MAGE-1, MAGE-2 and MAGE-3, have recently been cloned. van der Bruggen, P., et al. Science 254, 1643-1647 (1991). That tumor cells under certain circumstances can be recognized as foreign is also supported by the existence of T cells which can recognize and respond to tumor associated antigens presented by MHC molecules. Such TAA-specific T lymphocytes have been demonstrated to be present in the immune repertoire and are capable of recognizing and stimulating an immune response against tumor cells when properly stimulated in vitro. Rosenberg, S. A., et al. Science 233, 1318-1321 (1986); Rosenberg, S. A. and Lotze, M. T. Ann. Rev. Immunol. 4, 681-709 (1986).
However, in practice, tumors in vivo have generally not been found to be very immunogenic and appear to be capable of evading immune response. This may result from an inability of tumor cells to induce T cell-mediated immune responses. Ostrand-Rosenberg, S., et al., J. Immunol. 144, 4068-4071 (1990); Fearon, E. R., et al., Cell 60, 397-403 (1990). A method for increasing the immunogenicity of a tumor cell in vivo would be therapeutically beneficial.

Tumor cells with increased immunogenicity and uses therfor

President and Fellows of Harvard College


The described embodiments relate generally to lapping operations and related systems and apparatuses. Various embodiments of lapping tables are described for applying a lapping operation to a non-planar surface of a workpiece. For example, methods and apparatus are described which allow a lapping operation to be applied to a curved outer surface portion of a cylindrical workpiece. Lapping of non-planar outer surfaces of workpieces is conducted by rotating the workpieces during the lapping operations.

Components employed to form various devices such as computing devices often undergo numerous manufacturing operations during the production thereof. Additive manufacturing processes add material to form a component. By way of example, injection molding may be employed to form a component. Conversely, subtractive manufacturing processes remove material from a workpiece or substrate to form a component. For example, material may be machined from a substrate to form the component. In some embodiments both additive and subtractive processes may be employed to form a component, depending on the particular desired final configuration of the component.
Computer numerical control (CNC) machining is one example of a type of subtractive manufacturing process commonly employed to form components. CNC machining typically employs a robotic assembly and a controller. The robotic assembly may include a rotating spindle to which a milling cutter, or alternate embodiment of cutter, is coupled. The milling cutter includes cutting edges that remove material from a workpiece to form a component defining a desired shape and dimensions. In this regard, the controller directs the robotic assembly to move the milling cutter along a machining path that forms the component. However, CNC machining and various other manufacturing processes may not provide a desired surface finish.
In this regard, the workpiece may undergo finishing operations such as lapping operations in order to produce a desired surface finish. Lapping operations generally employ a lapping table to finish flat surfaces of a workpiece. Lapping processes can be applied when a mirrored or high gloss finish is desired for a given workpiece. In this regard, lapping tables typically include a substantially planar abrasive disc capable of producing particularly smooth surface finishes. However, in general, lapping operations are not easily adapted to lapping non-planar surfaces. For example, cylindrical surfaces can be finished by other processes such as abrasive tape finishing or centerless grinding. Unfortunately, these known processes are not well suited for providing a mirrored or at least high gloss finish across a cylindrical surface.
Therefore, what is desired is an efficient and reliable way to apply a lapping operation to a non-planar surface.


An election system provides, in one example, each voter with multiple physical “layers” that the voter is able to choose between. The voter takes part of the layers as a kind of receipt and the other layers are retained and/or destroyed by the system. The actual vote is not readily revealed by the layers taken by the voter, thus protecting against improper influence. In the voting booth, when all the layers are combined, however, the voter is readily able to verify the vote. Moreover, posted images of the layers not taken by the voter can be used to compute the election results in a way that is verifiable by interested parties. The results cannot be changed without substantial probability of detection and privacy of votes can be maintained unless a number of parties are compromised or collude.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of information security systems, and more specifically to receipts that are binding but not revealing.
2. Description of Prior Art
Election systems generally, as an application example without limitation, have long been recognized as being unable to satisfy two apparently contradictory needs: to convince the voter that the voter's chosen vote has been included in the tally and to prevent the voter from being able to convince others of what that chosen vote was. As an illustrative but hypothetical scenario, suppose each voter were to receive a standard receipt indicating what vote has been counted as a consequence of their voting act. On the one hand, accuracy and integrity of the tally could be verified by each voter in this scenario. But on the other hand, the "secret ballot" principle, which has been widely adopted in public elections at polling places, requires that voters be unable to provide anyone with convincing proof of how they voted, because of the potential for "improper influence" of voters.
Vote selling has historically been a major type of improper influence and continues today, particularly in certain areas. Coercion, such as by groups or family members, is another type of improper influence and also varies regionally. Although many remote voting systems, such as those used for absentee ballots, do not effectively address the problems of improper influence, they tend to be used most freely in places without a tradition of such abuse. (Abstention or participation in voting are generally not considered subject to improper influence, especially in those countries, such as the United States, where who votes is generally a matter of record and often used by parties.) While communication infrastructure such as the Internet can facilitate some improper influence schemes, facility to secretly cast a replacement vote, such as at a polling place, that takes precedence over a remote vote is known in the art to provide some protection against improperly influenced votes.
There are powerful authentication techniques known in the art that could be used to establish the first of the two apparently contradictory requirements with little room for doubt, such as document security, digital signatures and publishing on computer networks. These could provide the integrity of tallies without relying on trust in any "black box" or poll-worker conducted process. But these strong authentication techniques have been ruled out by limitations of the known ways to satisfy the second requirement.
Receipts are known in voting systems, though to the extent that they are acceptable in terms of ballot secrecy they are ineffective in terms of integrity. Some naive proposals simply print full receipts identifying both voter and candidates chosen, potentially satisfying the first requirement but almost completely sacrificing the second. Others have shown the offices voted, but not the particular candidates chosen. Even these may be too revealing, since voting for a particular office under some scenarios can be the subject of improper influence and this is of course in exchange for little if any real integrity. Even without voter ID, such receipts become a kind of bearer instrument for improper influence, for example establishing that a certain contest was not voted. Schemes that request voters to place the machine-generated receipt in a ballot box before leaving can be divided between those in which the content of the box are used for the actual tally and those that only use it for audit or recount. In the former, a voter that has taken the receipt out of the polling place could use it to show others that no vote was cast. In the latter, the receipt could be convincingly shown by the voter (even though its value would diminish in a recount). It has even been suggested that receipts be kept behind glass before they enter a ballot box.
Where proofs are provided over networks, more generally, there are some known approaches to "non-transitive" convincing. One known type of proof that cannot readily be shown to others is the "private proof systems" developed by the present applicant; however, these require that each voter have a private key and corresponding authentically known public key. Another type of non-transferable proof is one that is convincing to those who are able to choose a random challenge; however, challenges could be chosen other than at random, such as by a coercer or vote buyer. Yet another type of proof is where the proof is conducted in a booth; however, in practice the voter would not be able to bring tools from outside, since they could be provided by those seeking improper influence, and can have only limited trust in whatever tools are provided inside the booth. Universally trusted hardware devices in booths can in principle solve the problems, but themselves pose a very unattractive tradeoff between cost and ability to convince all parties.
Moreover, other shortcomings of various known voting systems are recognized. For example, there are several obvious scenarios allowing a voter to compromise a votes' secrecy or abdicate a vote altogether to persons in the polling place: the authorization the voter has to vote once inside the polling place can be given to and used by another person in the polling place, the voter's freedom in voting can be constrained by voting processes already partially completed by another voter, or evidence of how the voter voted can be revealed to another person within the polling place. A related example is the lack of adequate administrative processes to ensure the proper operation of polling places, including preventing improper allowance or spoiling (canceling) of ballots. Another example is that it may be cumbersome for many different ballot styles to be supported at a polling place, sometimes called "non-geographic" voting, such as for systems with pre-printed ballots, and also the tallies from that place may reveal the votes of voters who are alone in (or among a similarly voting group) using a particular ballot style there. Some systems cannot, after the close of polls, retally by adding or removing the votes of selected voters, such as under court order or for provisional or contested ballots. Some automated systems do not handle write-in ballots in an integrated, privacy protecting and secure manner. Yet other systems require online connection of polling places and/or tamper-proof voting machines.
The present invention aims, among other things, to allow forms of evidence to be removed from the polling place and be verifiable by powerful means and thereby substantially convince the voter of what vote is to be included in the tally, while ensuring that the evidence is in a form that makes it safe against use for improper influence. Objects of the invention also include addressing all the above mentioned concerns including generally providing practical, privacy-protecting, secure, fair, influence-free, robust, verifiable, efficient, low-cost, and flexible voting systems. As an example of flexibility, write-in, non-geographic, offline, and re-tally, are included among objects of the invention for those applications in which they could be beneficial. All manner of apparatus and methods to achieve any and all of the forgoing in voting and in other applications are also included among the objects of the present invention.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated when the present description and appended claims are read in conjunction with the drawing figurers.

Secret-ballot systems with voter-verifiable integrity


A radio device is located far from other radio devices in a radio network system. The radio device determines a threshold WIth for detecting a strength equal to or more than the minimum strength of radio waves transmitted/received in a stable radio wave environment based on a plurality of reception signal strengths of Hello packets received from radio devices adjacent to the radio device. Then, if the number of radio devices adjacent to the radio device when the threshold WIth is introduced is less than a standard value (such as five), the radio device stores the adjacent radio devices in the neighbor list without introducing the threshold WIth, and then, maintains in the routing table the routing information of routes passing through the adjacent radio devices based on the neighbor list.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio device, and more particularly to a radio device in an ad hoc network that is formed autonomously and instantaneously using a plurality of radio devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ad hoc network is constructed autonomously and instantaneously by mutual communication between a plurality of radio devices. In an ad hoc network, if two communicating radio devices are not present in each other's communication areas, a radio device positioned between the two radio devices functions as a router to relay data packets, and therefore a wide range multi-hop network can be formed.
Ad hoc networks have come to find various applications for example in radio communication networks in disaster stricken areas or streaming between vehicles in ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) (Masahiro Watanabe, "Wireless Ad Hoc Network," Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Annual Spring Congresses in Yokohama, Humantronics Forum, pp. 18-23, May 2003).
Dynamic routing protocols that support multi-hop communication include table-driven protocols and on-demand protocols. The table-driven protocols allow control information related to routes to be regularly exchanged, so that a routing table is previously set, and known examples of the protocols include FSR (Fish-eye State Routing), OLSR (Optimized Link State Routing), and TBRPF (Topology Dissemination Based on Reverse-Path Forwarding).
The on-demand protocols allow a route to a destination to be made only when a demand for data transmission is issued, and known examples of the protocols include DSR (Dynamic Source Routing) and AODV (Ad Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing).
In a conventional ad hoc network, when data communication is carried out from a source to a destination, the communication route is determined so that the number of hops between the source and the destination can be as small as possible (Guangyu Pei, et al., "Fisheye State Routing: A Routing Scheme for Ad Hoc Wireless Networks," ICC2000. Commun., Volume 1, L.A., pp. 70-74, June 2000).
However, a radio wave environment is unstable and therefore a route with less hops does not necessarily constitute a good quality route. Therefore, it would be better to select only a stable route by some method, and one such known typical method is to introduce a signal strength threshold and another known method is to measure a packet loss rate.
The method by measuring the packet loss rate is effectively applied when there are a number of continuous packet losses.
As the method of determining the signal strength threshold, a method of extracting a stable route using the average of signal strengths has been known (Rohit Dube, Cynthia D. Rais, Kuang-Yeh Wang, and Satish K. Tripathi, "Signal Stability-Based Adaptive Routing (SSA) for Ad Hoc Mobile Networks," IEEE Personal Communications, pp. 36-45, February 1997).

Radio device for preventing isolated radio devices in network

Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International


A resin package includes: a die pad having a main surface on which a semiconductor substrate and a matching circuit substrate is mounted; at least one lead terminal electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate and the matching circuit substrate; a thin plate fixed to at least one of the main surface of the die pad and a main surface of the at least one lead terminal; and molding resin which covers the semiconductor substrate, the matching circuit substrate, and the thin plate.

Resin packages can be mass-produced at a low price, and are, therefore, most widely used as packages for consumer semiconductor devices.
For example, a high frequency power amplifier requires a matching circuit for efficiently inputting/outputting a signal to/from a semiconductor chip, and the matching circuit is often mounted on a die pad together with the semiconductor chip and embedded in a package. Moreover, the resin package is sealed with a resin (resin molding) for the purpose of protecting the semiconductor chip, the matching circuit, other integrated components, and wires for connecting the components (for example, refer to Patent Literature (PTL) 1 to 3).
Moreover, since the above-mentioned semiconductor chip, the matching circuit, etc. are mounted on one pad in the high frequency power amplifier, the size of the die pad (package size) tends to be large. Moreover, the high frequency power amplifier requires high radiation performance due to a large amount of heat generation, and directly radiates the generated heat to housing or a heat sink of an apparatus, and mostly has, therefore, a structure in which the back surface of the die pad is exposed from the resin.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


Apparatus applies chemicals to condensate water from an air conditioning condensate tray. It has an elongate body and a central cavity enclosed by an encircling wall. The central cavity receives chemicals to prevent the growth of microorganisms. A first tubular member is operatively connected at a first end to an aperture in the wall, and a second end extending outwardly for receiving condensate water from the condensate tray. A second tubular member is operatively connected to a second aperture in the wall opposite the first aperture aligned with the first member so that a cleaning brush may be passed through both members and into the condensate tray. Below the two tubular members a fluid outlet is provided with a connector for joining to a drainage system for draining the chemically treated condensate water from the cavity.

It is well known in the art to provide a receptacle such as a tray or pan beneath the evaporator coils of an air conditioner to receive water that condenses from the air as it is cooled. A drain pipe is generally connected to a side wall of the tray to drain the condensate water as it accumulates. Because water may stand still in the system, various microorganisms may grow in the tray and drain pipe until they clog up the drainage system. When this occurs, overflowing water may cause considerable damage. Because the drainage system and tray are out of sight and may be relatively inaccessible, they may be neglected until damage occurs. Various methods of applying antimicrobials to the drainage systems have been employed in the prior art. They have not been completely successful in overcoming the problem.

Air conditioning condensate treatment apparatus


A method for capturing image data of a user is provided that includes displaying, by a computing device, a perspective view of a virtual computing device. Moreover, the method includes changing, by the computing device, the perspective view of the virtual computing device while the computing device moves, changing, by the computing device, the display of the virtual computing device to provide notification that the computing device is in an acceptable position for capturing image data of a user, and capturing, by a camera included in the computing device, facial image data of the user.

This invention relates generally to capturing image data, and more particularly, to methods and systems for capturing image data of a biometric modality of a user that is usable for generating trustworthy authentication transaction results.
Users conduct transactions with many different service providers in person and remotely over the Internet. Network-based transactions conducted over the Internet may involve purchasing items from a merchant web site or accessing confidential information from a web site. Service providers that own and operate such websites typically require successfully identifying users before allowing a desired transaction to be conducted.
Users are increasingly using smart devices to conduct such network-based transactions and to conduct network-based biometric authentication transactions. Some network-based biometric authentication transactions have more complex biometric data capture requirements which have been known to be more difficult for users to comply with. For example, some users have been known to position the smart device near their waist when capturing a facial image. Many users still look downwards even if the device is held somewhere above waist level. Such users typically do not appreciate that differently positioning the smart device should result in capturing better image data. Consequently, capturing image data of a biometric modality of such users that can be used for generating trustworthy authentication transaction results has been known to be difficult, annoying, and time consuming for users and authentication service providers. Additionally, obtaining such image data has been known to increase costs for authentication service providers.

Methods and systems for capturing image data


The present invention discloses an unattended lawn mowing system in which multiple solar powered self propelled, random motion lawn mowers are used singly or in combination to mow a pre-defined lawn area. The mowing zone is defined as a region of grass bounded by naturally occurring or man made obstacles of infinite variation including, but not limited to, high grass, flowers, trees, fences and lawn edging. Each mowing unit is a solar powered, self-propelled, random motion lawn mower which comprises a frame with a set of drive and coaster wheels on the frame. A set of batteries and battery powered electric motors are mounted on said frame with output means from the motors to power drive wheels and a cutting mechanism on the frame. Photovoltaic panels are mounted on said frame to receive solar rays and convert them into electrical power to charge the batteries with means for controlling the orientation of the solar panels so as to face the direction of greatest solar intensity. The actuation of the mower is controlled by monitoring means that detects the battery charge level and the solar energy output of the panels. Such actuation modes include starting the mower, stopping the mower, altering the direction of travel of the mower and re-charging the batteries of the mower. Random motion of the mowers is accommodated by providing contact switches on the outer periphery of the frame of the mower so that direction of the mowers is changed by more than 90 degrees when the contact switches impact a physical barrier surrounding or within the area to be cut. The mower further includes switch means so constructed that the solar cells are connected to said batteries in a manner that allows for automatic switching between batteries for optimum use and re-charging.

This invention discloses an unattended lawn mowing system and mechanisms that are solar powered and self actuated, continuously operable, self propelled and random motion mowing devices.
The present day common practice of lawn care uses attended mowing machines that usually include reel or rotary, push-type or self propelled machines powered by gasoline or electrical motors. Such machines are typically stored in a shed or garage until desired operation and are then started and guided over the area to be mowed by a human operator. When the task of mowing the lawn is finished the machine is then stopped and returned to the storage area until further needed to reduce the height of the grass in the area that has been mowed.
Prior art devices not found in common practice today are mowing devices using solar power. U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,729 and 4,942,723 disclose devices similar to the common operator guided (attended) lawn mower, with the exception that the typical gasoline powered motor is replaced by a solar powered electrical motor.
Approaches to unattended mowing devices have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,570,227 and 3,698,523. The devices disclosed therein have the need for sophisticated electronic boundary hardware and the required attendance of an operator at the beginning, often during, and at the end of relatively short periodic mowing sessions.
Another approach to unattended mowing devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,234 but depends on sophisticated equipment to detect the height of the grass to begin and stop operation.
First, the random mowing procedure suggested by the fore mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,227 is significantly improved upon and simplified by the herein invention eliminating all electronic signal transmitting boundary equipment and all on board signal receiving equipment.
Secondly, the extent of operator attendance is significantly reduced through automatic accommodation of transient obstacles and the elimination of specific mowing sessions, which in turn reduces the time required for start-up, shut-down, and storage procedures.
Periphery sensors on each mowing device respond to an infinite variety of physical obstacles; the locations of which can be of a transient nature. For example, the addition or deletion of a tree or shrub or the simple placement of a child's toy will not hinder the effectiveness of the cutting systems.
Furthermore, the mowing device is equipped with on board circuitry to assure efficient use of the sun's power. This is accomplished by mounting of the photovoltaic cells in a manner to allow optimum sun conjunction with motorized linear or angular actuators. The sun tracking mechanisms and circuitry can be derived from existing technology.
Additionally, the on board circuitry will control the mowing device's motion, on off operation, battery recharging periods, and anti-theft alarm signals.
Simultaneous electronic monitoring of the photovoltaic output and power level of the battery(s) as the device is in motion also improves efficiency of the device through selective avoidance of heavily shaded areas.


A printing unit (10) includes a frame (22), first and second brackets (50, 54), and upper and lower plate cylinders (14, 18). The first bracket (50) is supported on the frame (22) for movement relative to the frame (22). The upper plate cylinder (14) has an end supported to move with the first bracket (50). The second bracket (54) also is supported on the frame (22) for movement relative to the frame (22), and the lower plate cylinder (18) has an end supported to move with the second bracket (54). The printing unit (10) also includes a skewing mechanism and a throw-off mechanism. The skewing mechanism moves the brackets (50, 54) transversely relative to the frame (22) independently of each other. The throw-off mechanism moves the brackets (50, 54) pivotally relative to the frame (22). The throw-off mechanism includes a pressure cylinder (140) and a piston rod (142) connected between the two brackets (50, 54) The pressure cylinder and the piston rod (142) are pivotally connected to the brackets (50, 54) and move pivotally relative to the brackets (50, 54) when the brackets (50, 54) are moved transversely by the skewing mechanism. The throw-off mechanism thus permits the brackets (50, 54) to be skewed independently of each other while remaining connected with each other for throw-off.

A printing unit has a plurality of rotatable printing cylinders. An offset printing unit, for example, has a plate cylinder and a blanket cylinder. The plate cylinder and the blanket cylinder are supported at their opposite ends for rotation in the frame of the printing unit. The plate cylinder carries a printing plate having a surface on which an inked image is defined. The blanket cylinder carries a printing blanket. When the cylinders rotate in the printing unit, the plate on the plate cylinder transfers the inked image to the blanket on the blanket cylinder at a nip between the plate cylinder and the blanket cylinder. The blanket on the blanket cylinder subsequently transfers the inked image to the material being printed, such as a web of paper.
A printing unit typically includes a skew mechanism to skew the plate cylinder relative to the blanket cylinder. When the plate cylinder is skewed relative to the blanket cylinder, the angular position of the plate on the plate cylinder is changed relative to the blanket on the blanket cylinder. The angular position of the inked image which is transferred from the plate to the blanket, and subsequently to the web, is likewise changed. The alignment of the image with the web is thus adjusted by adjusting the skew mechanism.
An offset printing unit also includes a throw-off mechanism. When the printing plate and/or the printing blanket are to be serviced or replaced, the cylinders are moved relative to each other into thrown-off positions. When the cylinders are in their thrown-off positions, they are spaced from each other to permit access to the printing plate, the printing blanket and the web.

Printing unit with skew and throw-off mechanisms


A device for transmitting optical signals between at least two units movable relative to each other comprises an adjustable attenuating member for achieving a system attenuation which is independent of the relative position of the units movable relative to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for optical transmission of data by means of light guides, in which a transmitter and/or a receiver can be moved or differently positioned along a light guide.
Devices of this kind are utilized for example in a linear configuration in crane systems or other conveyor systems for transmitting data between a movable crane and a stationary control unit. Another field of application of these data transmission systems in a circular configuration is a transmission between parts that are rotatable relative to each other, such as, for example, in a computer tomograph between a rotor for supporting an X-ray tube and a detector, and a stationary evaluation unit for processing and displaying image data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In prior art transmission systems based on light guides, light is coupled into one end of a light guide and then guided through the light guide to the other end thereof where, once again, it is evaluated by a suitable receiver. A multitude of variants, based on this, are known and make possible a simultaneous transmission at a plurality of wavelengths by means of filters, or also a transmission to a plurality of different locations, for example by means of Y couplers. However, systems of this kind are not suitable for coupling signals in or out laterally at arbitrary positions on a light-guiding fiber. For this, various other technologies are known.
A device of this kind is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,225. Here, light coupled in from the outside through notches formed on the outside of the light-guiding medium is deflected by reflections at such angles that it can be guided inside the medium. A transmission device of this kind is expediently usable when coupling-in is to be performed at fixed given positions. Basically it may also be used for a transmission between movable units, because coupling-in or -out of light is performed without contact. However, if a long path of movement is required, as is the case with crane systems or even rotary transmission systems of large diameter, then a very high attenuation results from the many notches along the light-guiding medium. Because of this, extreme demands are made on the dynamic ratio of the receiver. For a path length of several meters, a typical attenuation of this arrangement of about 10 dB per meter overtaxes conventional optical receivers. Therefore, for long transmission paths this transmission system is practicable only with unusually expensive optical components involving large outlay.
Because the technical principles of operation of rotary transmission are the same as those of linear or curved transmission, the following expositions will make no further distinction between them. The terms will be used synonymously. Furthermore, no distinction will be made between the terms light-wave guides and light guides, because their functions are comparable as far as the invention is concerned, although light-wave guides are preferably used in technical practice. Thus, for example, a light guide which is formed substantially by a trench having a mirror surface is suitable for transmitting. A light guide of this kind is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,035.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Device for optical signal transmission between two units movable relative to each other


The invention entails a plant container having a grid pot with a carrier insert and a cover jacket detachably connected to the carrier insert.

A successful culture of room plants is only possible if the plant is given optimal conditions when being supplied with water and oxygen. One of the main problems that can cause failures is a uniform supplying of water to the plants, that on the one hand must not dry out but on the other hand as a rule do not tolerate standing wetness. Standing poured-on water down to the root area causes a lack of oxygen in the roots, which has the consequence that they begin to rot and thus the entire plant sooner or later perishes. A sufficient oxygen supply for the roots is especially necessary for epiphytically growing plants, so that various suggestions have already been made for developing plant containers that on the one hand have a sufficient drainage and on the other hand have a sufficient supply of air. Thus, G 91 12 058 teaches a container for the individual planting of orchids that consists of a grid (or lattice or grating) pot arranged in another pot whose bottom is designed as a water reservoir with air circulation openings in its upper area.
However, the disadvantage of such previously known plant containers is that in the case of excessive watering, the bottom of the grid pot can make contact with the water in the reservoir and that, moreover, the circulation of air is possible only to a limited extent. Therefore, there is still a need for plant containers that on the one hand reliably drain off poured-on water and on the other hand make possible a stronger supply of oxygen to the roots.


The present invention relates to a system comprising a host processor, a video subsystem and a cryptographic device. The cryptographic device includes dedicated circuitry to cause information associated with a financial transaction to be internally configured for display on a monitor of the video subsystem without being processed by host processor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of cryptography. More particularly, the present invention relates to a non-corruptible mechanism for ensuring that data associated with a transaction is accurately displayed on a display monitor before the data is transmitted over a communication link.
2. Description of Art Related to the Invention
Over the past few years, more businesses and individuals are performing on-line financial transactions over a communication link such as the Internet or any other Wide Area Network ("WAN"). Normally, on-line financial transactions are carefully reviewed for accuracy before transmission, especially when the financial transaction includes confidential financial data such as a payment authorization. Herein, "payment authorization" may include, but is not restricted or limited to a credit card charge request, an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawal request or any other crediting or debiting request.
It is well known that host software is used to control, among other things, a video subsystem of a personal computer (PC). Before transmitting payment authorization, traditional host software running on a PC causes certain information associated with the financial transaction to be displayed on its monitor. If the user approves the financial transaction, he or she may be required to perform an action that can be interpreted as "user approval". The action may include (i) entering a password, (ii) depressing a button, or (iii) inserting or swiping a token card such as any magnetic-strip card or smart card.
For current PC platforms, each party to an on-line financial transaction is susceptible to fraud by corrupting host software (e.g., illicitly modifying the functionality of the host software). For example, host software may be corrupted by a software virus created to increase or decrease an amount of the payment authorization, unbeknownst to a PC user (e.g., a first party of the financial transaction). As a result, during the financial transaction, the first party may view his or her monitor believing that payment authorization is for a first monetary amount. However, due to virus corruption of the host software, payment authorization is being made for a second monetary amount, which is significantly greater than the first monetary amount. Likewise, the same situation may happen to a second party of the transaction where he or she believes that a desired amount has been credited. Actually, due to host software corruption, a lesser amount has been credited.
Therefore, it would be desirous to implement a simple mechanism used for verifying certain attributes of any transaction, but is resistant to corruption by host software.

Virus-resistent mechanism for transaction verification to confirming user


A portable bleacher construction includes a wheeled framework for supporting a plurality of bleacher seats thereon in a mobile travel condition and a stationary seating condition. At least one pair of leveling jacks is located on opposite sides of the framework for stabilizing and leveling the framework upon a ground surface when the portable bleacher construction is in the stationary seating condition. The jacks are arranged to provide a four-point stance for the framework, and have a high sway load capacity to provide lateral stability. A control arrangement is associated with one of the jacks in each pair for separately controlling the leveling of both of the jacks. The control arrangement is located on one side of the bleacher construction, and enables operation of leveling jacks on both sides. The control arrangement includes a pair of transfer rods and a separate operating handle interconnected with each transfer rod. One of the transfer rods provides an input to the jack with which the control arrangement is associated, and the other transfer rod extends across the bleacher construction and provides an input to the opposite jack.

This invention relates broadly to a portable bleacher construction and, more particularly, pertains to a jack system for leveling and stabilizing a portable bleacher in a stationary position upon a ground surface.
There are various instances where events, particularly outdoor events, are to be staged which require the availability of seating for a viewing audience. Permanent seating, such as bleachers, can be constructed for events which are always held in the same place. For one-time events or less frequent events, temporary seating such as portable bleachers can be employed. Portable bleachers can also be used to supplement existing permanent seating to increase seating capacity, if desired, for certain events. One of the characteristics of such portable seating is that the mobile framework carrying the seating must be stabilized and leveled on ground surfaces which are frequently uneven and vary from site to site.
Portable bleacher constructions are known in which one section of seating is permanently fixed to a wheeled framework and at least one other section of seating is pivotally mounted thereto. Hydraulic cylinders or other mechanical devices are often used to pivot the movable section between a nested, travel position and an operative, seating position. In order to stabilize and level the bleacher construction prior to use, it has been the practice to install a plurality (i.e. 10-14) of individually operated jacks along the framework. Typically, the jacks are installed such that a series of jacks are located on each side of the framework. In operation, the operator must swivel each jack down from a storage mode, and then each jack must be manually cranked from a squatting or kneeling position to adjust for the particular terrain, to stabilize and level the portable bleacher. This necessitates that an operator will expend a great deal of time and energy adjusting the jacks on each side of the framework.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to markedly reduce the labor-intensive efforts required in deploying and individually adjusting the jacks employed in a portable seating arrangement. It would also be desirable to shorten the time needed to efficiently effect leveling of the mobile framework supporting the portable seating.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a portable bleacher construction equipped with a stabilizing jack system in which an operator can control the deployment and operation of the jacks to stabilize and level the portable bleacher construction with a minimum of time and effort.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a portable bleacher framework with at least one pair of leveling jacks on opposite sides of the framework such that a control arrangement on one side of the framework is employed to independently adjust the positioning of both jacks.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stabilizing jack system for a portable bleacher in which a plurality of jacks disposed on each side of the portable bleacher framework may be operated in a standing position from one side of the framework.
In one aspect of the invention, a portable bleacher construction includes a wheeled framework for supporting a plurality of bleacher seats thereon in a mobile travel condition and a stationary seating condition. At least one pair of leveling jacks is located on opposite sides of the framework for stabilizing the framework in the seating position upon a ground surface. The invention contemplates a small number of high-capacity jacks in selected locations on the framework, to provide ease of operation and to increase stability to the portable bleacher construction. In a preferred form, four jacks are mounted to the framework to provide a stable stance, and each jack has a high sway load capacity to provide a high degree of lateral stability. In a particularly preferred form, a control arrangement is located on one side of the framework for separately controlling the deployment and leveling of both jacks in each pair of jacks. The framework includes a pair of parallel, spaced longitudinal beams interconnected by a pair of transverse end beams. A pair of wheel assemblies are located one on each of the longitudinal beams between the transverse end beams. Each jack is mounted to one of the longitudinal beams. Each jack has an upper tubular member affixed to one of the beams, and a lower tubular member with a ground engaging foot telescopically received and movably mounted in the upper tubular member for upward and downward movement relative thereto. The control arrangement is preferably interconnected with one of the jacks in each pair, and is located on a rear one of the longitudinal beams.
In one form, the control arrangement includes a first rotatable crank assembly and a second rotatable crank assembly movably mounted on an upper end of the upper tubular member of the jack disposed on the rear longitudinal beam. Each crank assembly is operably interconnected with one of the jacks, and the crank assemblies are operable to move the lower tubular members of the jacks on opposite sides of the framework upwardly and downwardly independent of each other. The first rotatable crank assembly has a first S-shaped handle pivotally mounted to a shortened transfer rod projecting into the upper end of the upper tubular member of the jack disposed on the rear longitudinal beam. The second rotatable crank assembly has a second S-shaped handle pivotally mounted to an elongated transfer rod extending from the jack on the rear longitudinal beam to the jack on the front longitudinal beam. The upper tubular member of the jack on the rear longitudinal beam includes clamp structure adapted for engagement with the first handle and the second handle for selectively retaining the first handle and the second handle in an inoperative position when not in use. The first handle and the second handle are disengaged from the clamp structure and pivoted upwardly on their respective transfer rods to an operative position, after which the handles are separately rotated to turn the transfer rods and operate the jacks, to effect movement of the lower tubular members against the ground surface. In a preferred form, at least one pair of jacks is located between the wheel assemblies and one of the transverse end beams, and another pair of jacks is located between the wheel assemblies and the other of the transverse end beams.
The invention also contemplates a portable bleacher construction having a mobile framework for supporting a plurality of bleacher seats thereon, and a plurality of pairs of leveling jacks located on opposite front and rear sides of the framework for stabilizing the framework on a ground surface when the framework is stationary. The invention includes a control station commonly located on each jack position on one side of the framework for allowing independent adjustment of each pair of jacks on the front and rear sides of the framework. The control station includes a pair of side-by-side, manual crank assemblies disposed upon an upper end of each jack positioned on one side of the framework. Each of the manual crank assemblies has a handle which is pivotable about a first horizontal axis extending generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the framework, and is rotatable about a second horizontal axis extending generally perpendicularly to the first horizontal axis. The control station is preferably located on the rear side of the framework.
Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.

Stabilizing jack system for portable bleacher


An image output apparatus according to the present invention includes: a moving image constituting image extracting section that extracts a moving-image constituting image from a moving image having a plurality of moving-image constituting images; a moving direction specifying section that specifies a moving direction, in the moving image, of an object included in the moving-image constituting image extracted from the moving image constituting image extracting section based on the change of position of the object in the plurality of continued moving-image constituting images; an image layout section that lays out the moving-image constituting image extracted from the moving image constituting image extracting section in an output area based on the moving direction of object specified by the moving direction specifying section; and an image outputting section that outputs the moving-image constituting image laid-out by the image layout section on the output area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image output apparatus, an image output method, an image output program, an image trimming apparatus, an image trimming method, and an image trimming program. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image output apparatus, an image output method, an image output program, an image trimming apparatus, an image trimming method, and an image trimming program, for extracting moving-image constituting images from a moving image to lay out the extracted images.
2. Related Art
A technique for extracting distinctive frame images from a taken moving image to record the extracted images as a representative image of the moving image based on the change of capturing circumstances and the change of movement of subject is proposed as disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1. Moreover, a technique for automatically extracting a subject watched by an appreciator from a taken moving image and performing an image processing on the subject to enlarge and display the subject to the easily viewable size is proposed as disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 2.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-187477
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication 2004-178368
However, when making an album by means of frame images extracted from a moving image, it is necessary to confirm and layout all extracted frame images, in order to form a good-looking layout for an appreciator. Moreover, when frame images are extracted from a moving image to be automatically laid out, there is a problem that an appreciator may sense a discomfort at the made layout.

Image output apparatus, image output method, image output program, image trimming apparatus, image trimming method, and image trimming program


Methods and devices are provided for performing minimally invasive surgical procedures. In one embodiment, a surgical device is provided that includes an elongate shaft having an end effector at a distal end thereof. The end effector can be configured to be movable between a first configuration in which the end effector is longitudinally aligned with or linear relative to the shaft and a second configuration in which the end effector is articulated at an angle beyond 45 degrees relative to the shaft. With the end effector in the first configuration or in the second configuration, the device can be configured to allow selective actuation of the end effector.

Many surgical procedures involve inserting various instruments through the working channel of a surgical access device. The instruments are used to view, engage, and/or treat tissue within a body cavity or other surgical site to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic effect. In laparoscopic abdominal procedures for example, the abdominal cavity is generally insufflated with CO2 gas to a pressure of around 15 mm Hg. The abdominal wall is pierced and a plurality of tubular cannulas, each defining a working channel, are inserted at various points into the abdominal cavity. A laparoscopic telescope connected to an operating room monitor can be used to visualize the operative field and can be placed through one of the cannulas. Other laparoscopic instruments such as graspers, dissectors, scissors, retractors, etc. can be placed through the other cannula(s) to facilitate various manipulations by the surgeon. In this type of procedure, because of the positioning of the cannulas, it can be relatively easy to bring the tips of two separate surgical instruments together in a working relationship within the abdominal cavity. For example, a first instrument could be passed through a cannula in the left side of the patient's abdomen and operated with the surgeon's left hand while a second instrument could be passed through another cannula in the right side of the patient's abdomen and operated with the surgeon's right hand. The surgeon can then easily bring the tips of the two instruments together at an internal point, e.g., in the center of the patient's abdomen. A laparoscope viewing instrument can also be passed through a third cannula, positioned for example in the center of the patient's abdomen, such that the tips of the two instruments can be easily visualized from above.
In other surgical procedures, however, visualization and triangulation is not as straightforward. For example, in Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS) or Single Site Laparoscopic Surgery (SSLS), a single laparoscopic entry point is formed, e.g., through the navel. An access device having one or more working channels, and typically a plurality of working channels, is then installed in the entry point and all instruments required for performing the surgery are inserted through this same access device. In such procedures, the elongate shafts of the various instruments end up being generally parallel to one another while inserted through the access device. This can make it very difficult to bring the tips of two instruments together within the abdominal cavity, especially if the instruments do not have distal articulation capabilities. In addition, since the viewing scope is inserted generally along the same axis as the various other instruments, it can be difficult or impossible to see the tips of the instruments. These problems can unduly lengthen the duration of the surgery, potentially increasing the risk of patient complications. Also, in cases where it is impossible to achieve adequate positioning of the instruments' tips and/or visualization, a second or even third entry point must be formed, increasing trauma to the patient and creating additional scars.
Furthermore, when a surgical instrument inserted in any way into the body, it can be difficult to optimally position the instrument's tip relative to target tissue at the surgical site. Particularly when an instrument is inserted from above a surgical site, e.g., through the abdominal wall, there are limited angles of approach to target tissue at the surgical site, which can make effective and quick use of the instrument difficult. Attempting to position an instrument's distal tip at an optimal position relative to a target tissue can require the surgeon's hand to be awkwardly positioned to hold the instrument at a desired angle to optimally position the instrument's distal tip. It can also be difficult for a surgeon to operate the instrument's tip, e.g., grab tissue using graspers, cut tissue using scissors, etc., when the surgeon's hand is bent at an awkward angle.
Moreover, if an instrument has distal articulation abilities, it can be difficult to effectively operate the instrument's tip when the instrument is distally articulated. Providing an adequate force around a bend in the distal articulated area to operate the tip can be difficult, e.g., because of size limitations of the instrument and remote operation of the tip from the instrument's handle.
Accordingly, there is a need for methods and devices which allow laparoscopic procedures to be performed with an enhanced ability to position and visualize surgical instruments.

Laparoscopic devices with flexible actuation mechanisms


Using a drawing engine, a printer subjects image data to color matching processing into its own device color space. If the image data is a geometric object having a change in color, a gradation handler interpolates a changed value of color in the geometric object in the device color space based upon results of the color matching at a point of the geometric object.

Color printers that execute color matching processing using an ICC profile or the like have come into widespread use in recent years. Color matching refers to a technique for implementing device-independent color reproduction by effecting a mutual conversion between device-independent color space and device-specific color space.
In an ordinary printer, color matching processing is executed in accordance with a drawing object and it is contrived to achieve optimum color reproduction at all times. Examples of drawing objects processed by a color printer are geometric objects such as single lines and polygons and image data consisting of pixels. Color information is specified in some form for each of these objects. When an object is drawn, a drawing engine within the printer first executes color matching processing based upon the specified color information and then performs drawing successively to a rasterizing window or expansion area of a band memory or the like.
For example, in a case where a red triangle is drawn, a red (255, 0, 0) color is converted temporarily to device-independent color-space values by referring to a source profile. Next, based upon these device-independent color-space values, values in the output device (device values) are calculated by referring to a profile on the destination side, and these values are reported to the drawing engine to execute drawing.
An example of a method used to effect the color conversion is to embed data in a LUT constituted by a sample grid and estimate approximate values using linear calculation or the like such as 8-point interpolation. The interpolation operation is carried out by applying procedures 1), 2) below to each point and applying procedure 3) to the last point.                1) Li=Pi+dPi*rateX {for each point}        2) Mi=Li+dLi*rateY {for each point}        3) Pi=Mi+dMi*rateZ {for last point}
Consider a case where the drawing object is so-called gradation accompanying a change in color. For example, consider a line object that changes from red to black from its starting point V1 to its end point V2. In such case it is required that color conversion processing be executed in accordance with a position of Vi on a drawn line, as illustrated in FIG. 1. If a change of the position on Y axis (y1-y2) is gentle with respect to a change of the position on X axis (x2-x1), in this case, i.e., if the value of y1-y2 is extremely small, there are instances where the result of the color conversion will not attain the desired value owing to quantization error in the computer.

Image output apparatus, method of controlling the image output apparatus, and image output system


This disclosure is directed to a relief valve connected to the output manifold of a triplex mud pump. The valve body includes an inlet mud flow opening, an internal passage with a movable valve element to modulate flow, and a mud outlet opening for connection with the mud line and drill stem. The movable valve element connects to a piston rod. The rod is connected to a dual chamber, hydraulically operated force creating, air cushioned regulator which adjusts the force on the piston rod and thereby adjusts the position of the valve element.

The present disclosure is directed to a pressure relief valve installed with a mud pump. The function and operation of this valve will become more apparent on a review of the context in which the device is used. To set the stage, consider the operation of a typical triplex mud pump which is delivering a large volume of mud flow for a drilling rig. The mud is delivered to the drill stem to flow down the string of drill pipe and out through the drill bit appended to the lower end of the drill stem. It flows through the drill bit. The flow of mud cools the drill bit and reduces the temperature so that it lasts longer. Moreover, the mud flow is jetted out through a set of openings in the drill bit so that the mud hydraulically washes away the face of the well borehole if it is formed of soft materials. In addition, it washes away rock chips and cuttings which are generated as the drill bit advances. Then, the mud flow must return to the surface in the annular space on the outside of the drill stem and on the interior of the open hole formed by the drilling process. While portions of the borehole may be cased from the surface, the mud flow must be of sufficient velocity that the mud is returned to the surface so that chips and cuttings which are inherently heavier than the mud are flushed to the surface and delivered. This requires a substantial flow velocity. The cooling necessary also requires a substantial velocity. The mud flow velocities required mandate a high volume of mud. It is not uncommon that a triplex mud pump will deliver 500 or even 1,000 gallons per minute through the drill stem. This substantial flow must be delivered under control. As will be understood, the flow path down through the drill stem and back through the annular space describes a U-tube. The U-tube will therefore prompt a return at the surface but not with adequate pressure. Pressure levels at the pump side have to be raised to get the velocity and volumetric throughput desired. It is not uncommon for the triplex pump to be required to deliver mud flow at 1,000 psi and even higher. The wellhead pressures at the pump must be much higher if there is substantial flow pressure resistance along the flow path. The pump therefore is often operated at a very high pressure.
The drill stem in a deep well is an impediment to flow, thereby resulting in higher back pressures. The impediment to flow is overcome by applying greater pressures at the surface. In this regard, the mud pump typically could be operated at pressures as high as 5,000 psi output. Because of the great variety of circumstances in which the drilling rig may be used, the output pressure of the mud pump may vary widely. In one regard, the mud pump output pressure will vary with the change in pump speed. Sometimes, the prime mover for the mud pump will not run smoothly. The mud pump itself has a characteristic pressure peak signature. Normally, mud pumps are constructed with three large cylinders which provide three pressure peaks during each cycle of operation. These pressure peaks can be excursions as great as 200 or 300 psi on top of the prevailing baseline pressure.
Because of variations in motor speed, because of the three cylinder construction involved, the mud pump output pressure will vary significantly. The present disclosure is directed to a regulator which is a pressure relief valve able two control and stabilize the pressure downstream of the triplex mud pump. The mud pump output manifold is input to the pressure relief valve of the present disclosure. That valve is operated so that the output pressure is controlled to a desired level. The output pressure accomplished by the present regulator enables the system to operate with a controlled pressure level. This is important to insure that the pressure experienced down hole at the drill bit and in the formations penetrated by the drill bit is regulated. Mud pressure at the bottom of the drill stem is an important factor. The pressure has to be maintained at a certain range to prevent formation damage. As the well is drilled, there is a tendency for the liquids in the mud to migrate into the formation and to form a residue known as a mud cake in the well borehole. The mud cake is generally desirable. The depth of penetration into the formation by the liquid solvent is not as desirable in that it may force the hydrocarbons in the formation back away from the well borehole and make it more difficult to start production flowing. That is one problem with excessive bottom hole pressure. Where the bottom hole pressure is inadequate, there is the risk that gas flow will start, and the gas will then cut or thin the drilling mud. Typically this happens with gas bubbles entrained in the mud which are small in size at the bottom of the borehole but which become larger at the surface where the hydrostatic head on the mud is less. This thinning of the drilling fluid describes a process known as gas cutting. When the mud is gas cut, it is not as reliable in operation because the standing column of mud in the well borehole does not have the necessary weight. In other words, it tends to froth and reduces the bottom hole pressure, creating a dangerous condition. The bottom hole pressure is in part controlled by the mud pump pressure. It is therefore rather important to regulate and control the mud pump pressure.
The apparatus of this disclosure is briefly summarized as a pressure regulator having a movable element which is dynamically responsive to pump output pressure. The movable element is located in the mud flow path and is installed so that it modulates the mud flow. Dynamically, movement is occasioned by the movable element which is in a slight pressure balanced condition. On one side, pump pressure is applied. On the other side, the same pump pressure is applied but the second side is less in diameter and has a reduced cross-sectional area. There is a compensation applied to this side for balance purposes. That compensation is provided by a piston rod extending to a remote chamber, and the chamber itself is provided with a hydraulic fluid pressure balance across the chamber. Through the use of a restricted flow path, movement of the rod is controlled so that it modulates the forces applied to the valve element. This accomplishes a desired setting under the control of hydraulic fluid. That is provided with a reduced hydraulic pressure. There is a multiplier which reduces the hydraulic pressure required for an operating range.

Hydraulically operated pressure relief valve


Systems and methods for performing leak testing on fuel system components in hybrid vehicles during engine-off operating conditions are disclosed. For example, a fuel tank may include a pressure accumulator which may be filled with fuel via a fuel pump in order to generate a vacuum which may be used to diagnose leaks in the fuel system.

Fuel systems including fuel tanks may be used to store and provide fuel to engines. For example, a vehicle including an internal combustion engine may include a fuel tank that stores liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, methanol, ethanol, and/or other fuels.
Liquid fuels in a fuel tank may evaporate into fuel vapors in the tank. As such, various fuel vapor management systems may be included in a fuel system. Such fuel systems may be substantially sealed from the atmosphere but may include components configured to vent the fuel system to the atmosphere during certain conditions. For example, a fuel system may include a vapor purge canister for filtering fuel vapors during venting.
If there are leaks in the fuel system, e.g., if there are leaks in the fuel tank, canister or any other component of the vapor handling system, then fuel vapor may escape to the atmosphere contributing to vehicle emissions, for example. Various approaches to diagnosing leaks in vehicle fuel systems are known. In one approach, leak testing is achieved by utilizing a vehicle engine to create a vacuum within the fuel tank and measuring pressure changes over a time period.
In one example approach, an external vacuum pump may be used to create a vacuum to perform a leak test in a hybrid vehicle system. However, the inventors herein have recognized that such an approach may increase material and installation costs associated with the installation of such an external vacuum pump and associated hardware and software.
As another example approach, an engine in a hybrid vehicle system may be run specifically for performing leaks tests during engine-off operating modes, for example. However, the inventors herein have recognized that running the engine to perform leak tests when the engine is not used to propel the vehicle may result in a decrease in gas mileage since, in this example, fuel is consumed while performing the leak test.
In some approaches, engine off natural vacuum (EONV) may be employed for leak testing in a hybrid vehicle system. For example, a normally closed canister vent may be opened and a decrease in vacuum may be measured over a long period of time. Such approaches may use correlations between temperature and vacuum build. However, the inventors herein have recognized a number of issues with such EONV approaches. For example, additional hardware and software may increase costs, and long test times in may reduce the feasibility of carrying out a leak test. Additionally, such EONV approaches may degrade during hot ambient temperature conditions. Further, such EONV approaches may not be sufficiently accurate for leak testing, e.g., due to unreliable correlations between temperature and vacuum build (e.g., due to mass transfer between the liquid and vapor in a fuel tank).
The inventors herein have recognized the above deficiencies, and addressed them, in one example approach, by a method of operating an engine emission control system including a fuel vapor retaining device coupled to a fuel tank through a valve is provided. The method comprises: during an engine off condition, selectively operating a fuel pump to store at least some pressure in an accumulator coupled to the fuel pump; and using the stored pressure to determine a leak in the emission control system. In some examples, selectively operating the fuel pump may include operating the pump until a pressure in the accumulator reaches a threshold, and then discontinuing operation of the fuel pump. In other examples, selectively operating the pump may include operating the pump for a selected duration, where the duration selected is based on accumulator pressure.
In this way, the amount of new hardware and/or software used for leak testing may be reduced, resulting in lower material and installation costs, since the fuel pump can be used for engine-off leak detection, as well as engine running fuel supply to the combustion chambers of the engine. Thus, the same pump may be used for leak testing and for supplying fuel to the engine, resulting in a reduced amount of hardware for leak detection. Additionally, vehicle gas mileage may be increased since, in this approach, leak testing may be performed without using the engine. Further, accuracy of a leak test may be increased since such an approach does not depend on pressure and temperature correlations, for example. Further still, shorter test times may be employed in this approach which may result in a greater amount of flexibility in deciding when a leak test may be implemented.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.


A bioabsorbable, expandable coil bifurcation stent having a first, second, and third segment, in which the second and third segments are extensions of a coiled fiber in the first segment. Also disclosed is a three-segment expandable coil bifurcation stent in which the second and third segments extend from supporting fibers in the first segment. Further disclosed is an expandable bifurcation stent in which supporting fibers in the first segment also support the second and third segments. The three segments are independently adjustable to fit varied geometries.

A coronary bifurcation is the point at which a side-branch of a coronary artery diverges from a main branch. Approximately 15% to 20% of the 700,000 percutaneous coronary interventions performed in the U.S. during 2010 were for treating stenosis associated with a coronary bifurcation, i.e., a bifurcation lesion. Treating a bifurcation lesion, which is technically challenging, has lower procedural success rates and worse clinical outcomes as compared to treating a non-bifurcation lesion.
Typically, to treat a bifurcation lesion, a stent is implanted in the main branch but not in the side-branch, a so-called provisional approach. More specifically, the stent does not cover the opening of the side-branch, allowing for future treatment of the side-branch if necessary. This approach is taken due to the fact that routine implantation of two stents does not give superior results compared to a single stent. However, the technique frequently leaves the side-branch with significant residual stenosis.
Techniques have been developed that utilize two separate stents to treat bifurcation lesions. A major problem with these techniques is that the site at which the two separate stents overlap can disrupt blood flow and induce thrombus formation. Additionally, the use of a standard non-bioabsorbable stent typically leads to chronic foreign body reactions.
There is a need to develop a dedicated bifurcation stent that can be implanted in both the main and side-branch simultaneously, can physically support the artery walls, can elute drugs into the stenotic area to prevent restenosis, and can biodegrade over time to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of chronic foreign body reactions.


A fabricating method of an electrical terminal connector comprises the following steps: (1) providing an angled insulating housing having a first opening, a second opening and a through passage therein, the insulating housing further including a window and a cover; (2) providing a conducting terminal which has a flat-end connecting portion facing the first opening and a crimped portion facing the second opening; (3) providing a deformable crimp ferrule which has a core-connecting end and a crimping end facing the conducting terminal; (4) assembling conducting terminal with the deformable crimp ferrule; (5) placing the assembly of the conducting terminal and the deformable crimp ferrule through the window in the passage of the insulating housing, then fastening the cover with the window.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,243 shows an electrical connector for connecting two kinds of electrical conducting terminals. There is only one conducting element 6A located inside the insulating housing 8A. The conducting element 6A connects a flat-type conducting terminal to a conducting core. Wherein the conducting core is directly inserted into the cylindrical crimp ferrule 14A at the end of the conducting element 6A. An external clamping force is then exerted to deform the cylindrical crimp ferrule 14A to fasten the conducting core; therefore, the connecting force between the conducting core and the conducting element 6A is weak. Meanwhile, the conducting element 6A sticks out and inserts into the insulating housing 8A by an inverting hook 12A; consequently, it is inconvenient for the overall assembly of the connector.
Referring to FIGS. 1B and 1C, another example of the prior art shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,726 is an electrical terminal connector capable of connecting two kinds of terminals. Besides the metallic terminal 14B (FIG. 1B), a crimp portion 16C (FIG. 1C) is introduced to connect the conducting core for increasing the connecting force of the conducting core and the metallic terminal 14B. When assembling the connector, the front part 44C of crimp portion 16C surrounds the crimping end 30B of the metallic terminal 14B from a breach 50B and props up the ramp 40B tightly. The stress concentration also occurs near the intersection of the breach 50B and the ramp 40B to reduce the combining strength of the metallic terminal and the crimp portion 16C.
Referring to FIG. 1D, another example of the prior art shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,746 shows a conducting element 50D connecting to two electrical terminals. In order to connect the conducting core without any additional cylindrical crimp ferrule, the structure of the conducting element 50D is very complicated and not easy to fabricate.

Method of fabricating an electrical terminal connector


A method of crystallizing plastic such as polyethylene terephthlate in the form of small particles comprises the steps of placing the particles in a liquid bath such as water, agitating the bath using jets of hot gas such as steam while simultaneously raising the temperature of the particles to a level at which the plastic crystallizes to a predetermined level of crystallinity. The particles are thereafter separated from the bath and dried.

This invention pertains to a method and apparatus for the heat treatment of material and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for the treatment of material by immersion of the material in a turbulent liquid interspersed with a plurality of jets of hot gas.
Certain plastic materials, notably polyethylene terephthlate (PET) and the like are preferably commercially used in a state of semi-crystallinity. Typical thermoplastic materials which can achieve this state have relative high melting points and are characterized by having crystalline regions interspersed among amorphous regions. To obtain a semi-crystalline state with such thermoplastic materials, sustained heating of the materials at a predetermined temperature range is required. The temperature level and duration of heating needed to reach a desired level of crystallinity depends, inter alia, upon a number of parameters such as the type of material and particle size as it is well recognized that some polymers crystallize much faster than others at the same temperature levels. It has been additionally recognized that crystallinity occurs at faster rates when particles of the material as opposed to bulk material are treated. For purposes of this description the words "particle" or "particles" will be used to describe the material being processed in particle form, but the use of such words should not be construed as limiting with respect to specific dimensions of the material being treated.
A typical industrial process for crystallizing plastic materials uses hot air distributed over material generally comminuted into small pieces and arranged in thin layers so as to allow as much exposure as possible to the air. The temperature of the material is raised to a level above its glass transition temperature which is well below its melting point. At these levels, the crystalline regions of the material are unaffected but the amorphous regions become soft. Crystallization is initiated at various locations within the amorphous regions and semicrystalline solid spherulites start growing about nuclei. Completion of the crystallinity process is basically completed when the whole material, i.e., each particle, has been converted to a spherulite semicrystalline solid.
A practical problem with the hot air process for crystallizing material, however, is the length of time needed to reach the desired state of crystallinity. Heating periods often exceed an hour or more which is not compatible with continuous processing. Additionally the material becomes tack during heating, resulting in significant handling difficulties.
A recent innovation developed to overcome the long processing time has been the use of high energy radio frequency waves to couple with thin layers of thermoplastic material such as PET on a moving conveyor belt. The PET is heated to temperatures of about 325.degree. F. and undergoes crystallization while on the moving belt. Because the PET is placed in thin layers the tackiness is less than in the hot air processes. Tackiness is not eliminated, however, since the thermoplastic particles remain in abutting relationships with each other throughout the treatment.
Thus, it is desirable to have an apparatus and method which could treat the thermoplastic materials so as to achieve the desired state of crystallinity in a short period of time without the handling problems associated with the tackiness of the material.

Method and apparatus for the heat treatment of material


The present invention provides a method of preparing epidermal growth factors in plants and transgenic plant seeds containing epidermal growth factors. The method provides an economical way to produce epidermal growth factors.

Naturally occurring epidermal growth factors are polypeptides, the amino acid sequences of which for a number of vertebrate species have been reported. These include murine (Savage et al., 1972, J. Biol. Chem. 247: 7612–7621; Gray et al., 1983, Nature 303: 722–725), human (Bell et al. 1986, Nuc. Acids Res. 14: 8427–8445), rattus (Simpson et al., 1985, Eur. J. Biochem. 153: 629–637; Saggi et al., 1992, DNA and Cell Biol. 11: 481–487), porcine (Pascall et al., 1991, J. Mol. End. 6: 63–70), feline (Ohashi et al., 2002, direct submission to Genbank—accession number GI:13537341), canine (Ohashi et al., 2002, direct submission to Genbank—accession number GI:14009441), equine (PCT patent application, WO 92/16626; Stewart et al., 1994, J. Mol. End. 12: 341–350). In general, epidermal growth factors isolated from different species display a high degree of amino acid sequence identity (Carpenter and Cohen, 1979, Ann. Rev. Biochem 48:193–216; Saggi et al., 1992, DNA and Cell Biol. 11: 481–487). Analogs of epidermal growth factors are also known. (see for example, Burgess et al., 1988, Biochem 27: 4977–4985; Dudgeon et al., 1990, FEBS 261: 392–396; Saggi et al., 1992, DNA and Cell Biol. 11: 481–487; Taggart et al., 1993, Biochem. Soc. Trans. 22: 21S; U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,188). These analogs typically relate to the insertion, addition or deletion of nucleotides of the epidermal growth factor gene thereby creating a protein different from the naturally occurring epidermal growth factor.
The preparation of epidermal growth factors is well known in the art. Epidermal growth factor was initially isolated from male mouse submaxillary gland (Cohen, 1962, J. Biol. Chem 237: 1555–62.) and human urine at a concentration of 0.001 mg/L (Smith et al, 1982, Nuc. Acids. Res. 15: 4497–4482) but has also been isolated from saliva, tears, milk and blood plasma (Bennett and Schultz, 1993 Am J Surg 165:728–37; Carpenter and Cohen, 1979, Ann. Rev. Biochem 48:193–216). Epidermal growth factors can also be prepared by production in genetically engineered microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli containing recombinant DNA which encodes an epidermal growth factor polypeptide (e.g. Smith et al., 1982, Nucl. Acids Res. 10: 4467–4482; Oka et al., 1985, Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. 82: 7212–7216; U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,120; WO 94/25592; Tong et al. 2001, App. Micro. Biotech. 57: 674–679; EP 0 234 888 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,686, U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,679). Other microbial hosts like Bacillus brevis (Yamagata et al. 1989, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 86: 3589–3593) and eukaryotic hosts like yeasts (see for example, Urdea et al. 1983, Proc. Natl, Acad. Sci. 80: 7461–7465; Clare et al., 1991, Gene 15: 205–212) have been used for the production of epidermal growth factor.
The low costs associated with growing plants, make plants an attractive host for the production of epidermal growth factors. To the best of the present inventors knowledge only limited success has been reported for the production of an epidermal growth factor in plants. Higo et al. 1993 (Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 57: 1477–1481) report the expression of human epidermal growth factor in the leaves of tobacco at a level of 0.001% (approximately 60 pg/mg protein) of total soluble protein. Note that the epidermal growth factor construct was optimized for E. coli codon usage. An expression level of approximately 120 pg of epidermal growth factor per mg of total soluble proteins in potato tubers was achieved by Salmanian et al. 1996, Biotech. Lett. 18: 1095–1098. Kobayaski et al., 1996, J. Japan Soc. Hort. Sci. 64(4): 763–769 disclose the expression of 65 pg of epidermal growth factor per mg of soluble protein in the leaves of kiwi fruit and 113 pg of epidermal growth factor per mg of soluble protein in the trifoliate orange leaves. Hooker et al. disclose (WO 98/21348) an epidermal growth factor expression level of 4100 pg/mg of total soluble protein in transgenic calli. Finally Du et al., reported at the Second International Molecular Farming Conference, London, Ontario, Canada (1999) a porcine epidermal growth factor expression level of 0.12% of total protein in tobacco leaves. A review of the prior art reveals no successful accumulation of epidermal growth factor in seeds.
Although methods for producing epidermal growth factor are well known to skilled artisans, the existing methods are relatively expensive, especially when large production volumes are required. Accordingly there is a need in the art for additional economical production methods of epidermal growth factor.

Expression of epidermal growth factor in plant seeds


A method for processing a service request, including receiving, from a client application, the service request which includes a header which includes transmission metadata and a client trace ID. An internal trace ID is appended to the service request and a request trace log including the client trace ID, the internal trace ID, and a time stamp corresponding to receiving the service request is generated. The method further includes selecting a cloud server including functionality to process the service request. The cloud server determines a dedicated computing cluster of a plurality of distributed cloud computing clusters to handle the service request and sends the service request to the dedicated computing cluster. Finally, the method includes recording, in the request trace log, an interaction of the dedicated computing cluster with the service request.

Cloud computing is increasingly common in modern software design. Software as a service is an implementation where a business client uses the functionality of software being executed by a service provider in the cloud. Specifically, the business client may issue a request to the software in the cloud. In response, the software executes tasks for the request and provides a result to the business client.

Method and system for processing a service request