A face mask for improved fluid resistance is provided. The face mask may include a body portion with a first layer and a second layer. The first and second layers may have a plurality of folds that form a plurality of first creases in the first layer and a plurality of second creases in the second layer. The body portion may have an outer facing surface and an inner facing surface opposite from the outer facing surface. At least one of the first creases may be misaligned with at least one of the second creases in order to provide improved fluid resistance of the body portion.

Face masks find utility in a variety of medical, industrial and household applications by protecting the wearer from inhaling dust and other harmful airborne contaminates through their mouth or nose. Likewise, the use of face masks is a recommended practice in the healthcare industry to help prevent the spread of disease. Face masks worn by healthcare providers help reduce infections in patients by filtering the air exhaled from the wearer thus reducing the number of harmful organisms or other contaminants released into the environment. Additionally, face masks protect the healthcare worker by filtering airborne contaminants and microorganisms from the inhaled air.
The section of the face mask that covers the nose and mouth is typically known as the body portion. The body portion of the mask may be comprised of several layers of material. At least one layer may be composed of a filtration material that prevents the passage of germs and other contaminants therethrough but allows for the passage of air so that the user may comfortably breathe. The porosity of the mask refers to how easily air is drawn through the mask. A more porous mask is easier to breathe through. The body portion may also contain multiple layers to provide additional functionality or attributes to the face mask. For example, many face masks include one or more layers of material on either side of the filtration media layer. Further components may be attached to the mask to provide additional functionality. A clear plastic face shield intended to protect the user's face from splashed fluid is one example.
As stated, face masks may be designed to be resistant to penetration by splashes of fluids so that pathogens found in blood or other fluids may not be able to be transferred to the nose, mouth, and/or skin of the user of the face mask. The American Society of Testing and Materials has developed test method F-1862, "Standard Test Method of Resistance of Medical Face Masks to Penetration by Synthetic Blood (Horizontal Projection of Fixed Volume at a Known Velocity)" to assess a face mask's ability to resist penetration by a splash. The splash resistance of a face mask is typically a function of the ability of the layer or layers of the face mask to resist fluid penetration, and/or their ability to reduce the transfer of the energy of the fluid splash to subsequent layers, and/or by their ability to absorb the energy of the splash. Typical approaches to improving fluid resistance are to use thicker materials or additional layers in the construction of the face mask. However, these solutions may increase the cost of the face mask and reduce the porosity of the face mask.
Referring to the prior art configuration of FIGS. 1 and 2, the body portion 12 of face masks 10 are typically manufactured with horizontal folds 22 and 26 so that the body portion 12 may be adjusted vertically or otherwise to allow the body portion 12 to be formed into a chamber with the perimeter of the chamber sealing to the face of the user. All of the layers 20 and 24 of the body portion 12 are folded simultaneously during manufacture of the face mask 10. Creases 56 and 58 in the layers 20 and 24 of the body portion 12 are therefore nested or aligned with one another both before unfolding of the body portion 12, as shown in FIG. 1, and after unfolding as shown in FIG. 2. It is sometimes the case that the layers 20 and 24 are adhered to one another before folding. Folding of the layers 20 and 24 independently from one another is not done as this technique allegedly adds cost and complexity to the manufacturing process.
Inspection of face masks 10 that fail to meet certain criteria of the F-1862 method has shown a higher rate of failure when fluid impacts the creases 56 and 58 that are placed into the body portion 12. The folding process weakens the body portion 12 at the creases 56 and 58 and in turn makes this area more susceptible to fluid penetration. Additionally, the completely nested configuration of the creases 56 and 58 brings the individual layers 20 and 24 together with one another thus allowing more energy and fluid to be transferred from one layer to the next during a fluid splash.

Face mask with offset folding for improved fluid resistance


A method and apparatus for implementing vertical multi-threading in a microprocessor without implementing additional signal wires in the processor has been developed. The method uses a pre-existing signal to serve as a multi-function signal such that the multi-function signal can be used for clock enable, clock disable, and scan enable functions. The single multi-function signal exhibits multiple functionalities as needed by a flip-flop to operate in a plurality of modes. The method allows for the use of a pre-existing signal wire to be used as a process thread switch signal that would otherwise have to be explicitly hard-wired in the absence of the multi-functioning signal. The method further includes allowing multiple-bit flip-flops to be placed at sequential stages in a pipeline in order to facilitate vertical multi-threading and, in effect, increase processor performance. The apparatus provides means for distinguishing between specific characteristics exhibited by the multi-function signal. The apparatus further provides means for generating intermediary signals within a control block and then generating output signals to a data storage block. The apparatus also involves generating timing signals to a plurality of flip-flops dependent upon the behavior of the multi-function signal.

A modern computer system comprises a microprocessor, memory, and peripheral computer resources, i.e., monitor, keyboard, software programs, etc. The microprocessor comprises arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry that interpret and execute instructions from a computer program. FIG. 1 shows a prior art diagram of an example of a computer's microprocessor (20) that has, among other components, a central processing unit ("CPU") (22), a memory controller (24), also known as a load/store unit, and on-board, or level 1, cache memory (26). The microprocessor (20) is connected to external, or level 2, cache memory (28), and the processor is also connected to the main memory (30) of the computer system. Cache memory is a region of fast memory that holds copies of data.
One goal of the computer system is to execute instructions provided by the computer's users and software programs. The execution of instructions is carried out by the CPU (22). Data needed by the CPU (22) to carry out an instruction are fetched by the memory controller (24) and loaded into the internal registers (32) of the CPU (22). Upon command from the CPU (22), the memory controller searches for data first in the fast on-board cache memory (26), then in the slower external cache memory (28), and if those searches turn out unsuccessful, then the memory controller (24) retrieves the data from the slowest form of memory, the main memory (30).
The time between a CPU request for data and when the data is retrieved and available for use by the CPU is referred to as the "latency" of the system. If requested data is found in cache memory, i.e., a data "hit" occurs, then the requested data can be accessed at the speed of the cache memory and the overall latency of the system is decreased. On the other hand, if requested data is not found in the cache memory, i.e., a data "miss" occurs, then the data must be retrieved from the relatively slow main memory, and the overall latency of the system in increased.
Because the CPU runs at significantly greater speeds than either cache memory or main memory, a significant portion of the CPU's time is spent waiting for data to be retrieved from one of the various forms of memory. In order to combat this performance-inhibiting phenomenon, various techniques have been employed to increase computing performance and efficiency. For example, many processors now incorporate superscalar architecture. Superscalar processors allow the simultaneous execution of multiple instructions. Additionally, processors now fetch multiple instructions, via an instruction fetch unit and an instruction scheduler, instead of executing one instruction and waiting for the next instruction to be fetched. A program sequence of instructions is referred to as a "process thread."
Another technique that has been employed to increase computer performance involves combining multiple processors into a single system. Each processor is capable of executing a particular sequence of instructions in a program or program segment. This technique is often referred to as "horizontal" multi-threading.
An alternative processor performance enhancing technique is "vertical" multi-threading. Vertical multi-threading is a technique in which a single processing pathway, known as a "pipeline," is used by more than one process thread. A capacity for vertical multi-threading exists because a process thread is not always actively executing. A process may be in a wait state awaiting either data or an event, such as a trap or interrupt. Because some applications have frequent cache misses, which result in heavy clock penalties, i.e., increased latency, a most desirable condition is that a second process thread should utilize the processor while a first process thread is waiting for the arrival of data or an event.
For example, in data processing applications with frequent cache misses, data is accessed through a secondary memory storage structure, often the main memory, resulting in heavy clock penalties, i.e., higher latency. During data accessing delays, a beneficial usage of the pipeline is to allow a second process thread to execute. The second process thread can take over the idle pipeline by saving all useful states of the first process thread in some location and assigning new states to the new process thread. When the second process thread becomes idle and the first process thread returns to processing, saved states are returned to the pipeline and the pipeline resumes its execution of the first process thread.
Vertical multi-threading requires that states for the first process thread be saved in some location before execution of the second process thread. Additionally, states for the second process thread must be saved in some location before returning to the execution of the first process thread.
A vertical multi-threading processor includes one or more execution pipelines that are formed from a plurality of multiple-bit flip-flops (discussed below). The flip-flops contain multiple storage bits. These individual bits of the flip-flops store data for one of the many process threads that are in a pipeline at any given time. When an executing process thread halts due to a stall condition, such as a cache miss, an active bit of the multiple-bit flip-flop at that stage is correspondingly stalled, removed from activity on the pipeline, and a previously inactive bit becomes active for executing a previously inactive process thread. Vertical multi-threading is thus attained by inserting multiple-bit flip-flops at sequential stages in a pipeline.
Referring to FIG. 2, a prior art multiple-bit flip-flop is shown. The multiple-bit flip-flop (34) is an integrated circuit device that has two representative blocks: a header block (also known as the driver block) (36) and a data storage block (38). The header block (36) is coupled to the data storage block (38) and it drives, i.e., controls, the flip-flop block (38). The data storage block (38) comprises a plurality of storage elements that hold data for multiple process threads.
The input signals to the header block (36) include a clock ("L4CLK") signal, a scan enable ("SE") signal, and a clock enable ("CE") signal. The header block (36) outputs a scan clock ("SCLK") signal, an inverse scan clock ("SCLK_L") signal, a pulse clock ("PCLK") signal, and an inverse pulse clock ("PCLK_L") signal. The output signals from the header block (36) serve as inputs to the data storage block (38) in addition to a data ("DATA") and scan chain in ("SI") signal which come from circuitry external to the multiple-bit flip-flop (34).
L4CLK is a timing signal that is generated from a CPU clock frequency. L4CLK is provided to be used as a time basis for the header block (36) in generating different timing signals to the data storage block (38). SE, the scan enable signal, is used by the header block (36) to determine when the multiple-bit flip-flop (34) should enter into a scan mode. The scan mode is necessary when the contents of the data within the data storage block (38) need to be scanned. When SE is asserted, the header block (36) pulses SCLK and SCLK_L to indicate to the data storage block (38) to select the SI input and scan data using SCLK and SCLK_L as time references.
CE, the clock enable signal, is used by the header block (36) to determine when the multiple-bit flip-flop (34) should operate in normal (non-scan) mode. When CE is asserted, the header block (36) pulses the PCLK and PCLK_L to indicate to the data storage block (38) to select the DATA input and input data using PCLK and PCLK_L as time references. The above discussion regarding the scan mode and normal mode operations of the multiple-bit flip-flop (34) indicates that SE and CE are mutually exclusive and that only one can be asserted at any given time.
In order to facilitate vertical multi-threading using the multiple-bit flip-flop (34) with the discussed header block (36) and data storage block (38), a mechanism is needed to convey to the stages of the processor when to switch from one process thread to another process thread. The header block (36) comprises circuitry that is capable of driving a storage element in the data storage block (38) when selected by a switch while data in one or more storage elements that are not selected by the switch are held in their respective storage elements. This switch signal is generated by a state machine that is routed to different stages of the processor. Consequently, the signal for process thread switching is hard-wired into the CPU. Hard-wiring an additional signal into the CPU requires that the layout of the existing CPU be modified to accommodate the additional signal wire (or connection).

Thread switch circuit design and signal encoding for vertical threading


An electrically-operable strike for locking and unlocking doors. The strike is mounted on a face plate which in turn is mounted on a door jamb. The face plate is provided with mounting apertures which receive adjustment inserts each having an offset aperture for a mounting screw for mounting the strike on the face plate. The face plate also has a tongue extending distally from a lip and a break-off portion at the distal end of the tongue. The strike is first mounted with the offset apertures in a distal position. If the strike does not function properly due to preload, the strike is remounted with the offset apertures in a proximal position and the break-off portion is removed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention has to do with electrically-operable strikes for locking and unlocking doors and particularly relates to apparatus and methods for horizontal adjustment of an electric strike housing within a door jamb in order to overcome preload conditions that prevent the strike from unlocking.
2. The Related Art
In most installations, when an electrically-operable strike does not release the door the problem stems from preload. Preload is a condition where the bolt of the door lock exerts pressure on the latch of the electric strike thereby preventing the mechanism from unlocking. A simple way of testing for preload is to leave the door open and check to see if the electric strike works properly by applying power to the strike (for fail-secure) or switching the power off (for fail-safe). If the strike works with the door open, the next step is to measure the position of the bolt compared with the mating surface of the latch on the strike. If the installation is too tight it may be causing a preload condition wherein the bolt applies pressure to the latch of the strike thereby pinching the locking mechanism and preventing the strike from operating properly. Preload may be caused by warping of the door, settlement of the structure around the frame, improper installation or any other conditions causing misalignment of the bolt and strike latch.
Solutions to the problem of pre-load have been disclosed in the prior art but they tend to be complex and expensive or unreliable.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,053 describes an electric strike assembly wherein the lip bracket can be moved relative to the housing by providing slots in the lip bracket and cooperating sawtooth elements in the housing and lip bracket. With the screws in a loosened condition the lip bracket is moved to a desired position and then the screws are tightened. The sawtooth elements then mesh together upon tightening the screws to prevent relative movement of the housing and lip bracket.
A positionable door strike is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,240,931. A strike plate and a base plate are provided wherein the strike plate can travel relative to the base plate and the strike plate is ultimately held in its desired position with set screws.
The present invention provides an inexpensive and reliable solution to the problem created by preload conditions. And the horizontal location of the strike housing of the invention is easily adjusted using a screwdriver and pliers.
The terms "electric strike" and "strike" as used herein refer to an electrically-operable strike.


The invention relates to an ultrasonic transducer comprising an acoustic transformer, wherein the acoustic transformer has a transformer body having a hollow space, and there lies between the hollow space and the medium a membrane, whose center oscillates freely. Furthermore, the invention relates to methods for manufacturing such an acoustic transformer.

Ultrasonic transducers of the state of the art use piezotransducers, in order to convert electrical signals into pressure fluctuations in the ultrasonic frequency range and vice versa. These pressure fluctuations are, furthermore, transmitted by an acoustic transformer bidirectionally between a medium and the piezotransducer. In a possible embodiment of such a transformer, the pressure fluctuations are transmitted directly between medium and transformer. Disadvantageous here is the necessity of an impedance matching between transformer and medium, in order to increase the transmission efficiency. In such case, sensitive materials are frequently used, which leads to a limitation of the fields of application of the ultrasonic transducer. A further development of the acoustic transformer includes an oscillatable membrane in contact with the medium of a pipeline and affixed at its edge. This membrane is excited by pressure fluctuations to execute transverse oscillations, which means that an impedance matching is no longer necessary. The documents, DE10341422A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,166B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,869, disclose ultrasonic transducers with such acoustic transformers. These ultrasonic transducers are, furthermore, characterized by a coupling of the membrane with a rod-shaped acoustic driver in the region of the center of the membrane. Disadvantageous in the case of such an embodiment of an ultrasonic transducer is the complex construction and the fact that the membrane has a limited ability to oscillate due to its coupling with the driver in the region of its center.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic transducer having a simplified construction without limitation of its ability to oscillate as well as to provide a method for manufacturing the ultrasonic transducer. The object of the invention is achieved by an ultrasonic transducer as defined in independent claim 1 and by a method for manufacturing the ultrasonic transducer as defined in independent claims 9 and 10.

Ultrasonic transducer and method for manufacturing an ultrasonic transducer


The present invention is directed to a method for enhancing functionality for photonic devices each including at least one operable surface. This method includes stacking the photonic devices such that each of the operable surfaces are aligned to form a composite surface, applying a film adapted to receive a replication to the composite surface and replicating a pattern of nanostructures in the applied film. Substantially, each of the operable surfaces is replicated with a sufficient portion of the replicated pattern of nanostructures to enhance operation of the devices by performing a given function associated with the nanostructures.

In the field of optical networking, telecommunications, optical applications and photonics it is highly desirable to continually enhance device performance and reduce fabrication, packaging and assembly costs. Accordingly, multi-functional photonic components or photonic components exhibiting enhanced functionality are highly desirable. For example, it is desirable to provide a unitary photonic component, which may be incorporated into a Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC), for example, which exhibits enhanced functionality, such as a type III-V semiconductor compound laser, compound modulator and LiNbO3 modulator including a polarizer.
Such components, and PICS incorporating them, would represent a significant improvement in the state of the pertinent art.

Optical components exhibiting enhanced functionality and method of making same


A method for efficiently controlling sum frequency mixing and second harmonic generation within Q-switched laser oscillators. A nonlinear crystal is placed at either the intersection point of two otherwise independent laser oscillators (in the case of sum frequency mixing) or within a single laser resonator (in the case of second harmonic generator). During the build-up phase of the oscillator temporal development. (i.e., after the Q-switch has been opened but before the laser has reached threshold), a nonlinear optical crystal controlled by high voltage is employed to significantly reduce the efficiency of the frequency conversion process. In a preferred embodiment, the nonlinear optical crystal reduces the efficiency of the birefringent nonlinear optical process by spoiling the dephasing of the multi-wave interaction. After threshold has been reached in the resonant cavity, the conversion efficiency is increased at some desired rate. As a result, the extracted light at the converted frequency has one or more of a number of desirable properties, including: increased net conversion efficiency; reduced pulse-to-pulse temporal fluctuations (jitter); and/or a controlled temporal shape.

In a typical Q-switched laser system containing an intracavity nonlinear optical frequency converter, the strong fields generated within the resonator permit much higher single-pass conversion efficiencies than can be obtained by placing the crystal outside the resonator. For a low repetition rate, high power Q-switched laser, intracavity frequency conversion offers little real advantage over external conversion. However, in high repetition rate, high average power Q-switched systems (such as continuously pumped, acousto-optically Q-switched lasers), intracavity conversion represents a significant advantage. To date, any nonlinear optical crystal used for frequency conversion in such devices is a passive component, in the sense that the single-pass efficiency with which the crystal converts the frequency of the fundamental beam(s) to a harmonic frequency is determined by the laser's average and peak power levels. Small variations in the efficiency of the conversion process can be realized by adjusting the crystal orientation and temperature.
This passively coupled scheme has several disadvantages. During the time in which the laser field is building up from a noise floor to the laser oscillation threshold, the crystal is continuously converting a small fraction of the intracavity optical energy from its fundamental frequency to a higher harmonic frequency, and such energy conversion represents a loss that increases as the energy of the fundamental frequency increases. The loss reduces the peak efficiency of the conversion process, because it reduces the peak energy in the resonator.
Small fluctuations in both the energy stored in the laser medium prior to the opening of the Q-switch and the amplitude and phase of the noise level from which the oscillation begins cause greatly magnified variations in the time at which the laser system emits a coherent light pulse at the higher harmonic frequency. This "jitter" can cause significant timing problems in detection schemes that rely on the stability of the laser signal. Accordingly, it will be evident that precisely controlling the time at which a Q-switched laser emits a pulse of coherent light can substantially eliminate problems with jitter.
Nonlinear optical crystals are also used to mix the frequencies of two lasers that share a common portion of an internal optical path. When the frequencies of two lasers are mixed in a single nonlinear optical crystal, the sum-frequency mixing efficiency is optimal only if the two lasers reach threshold at precisely the same time. In practice, this task is difficult to achieve, even for two uncoupled lasers, but it becomes particularly so in a coupled system, because intense electrical fields in one oscillating laser rob energy from the fields in the second. Controlling the timing at which two lasers in a coupled system reach threshold is closely related to the problem of controlling jitter in the output of a single Q-switched laser. In both instances, the key to solving the problem lies in controlling the function performed by the nonlinear optical crystal.

Pulsed intracavity nonlinear optical frequency converter


A microgrid controller may control the generation, distribution, storage and use of electrical power on a microgrid. Embodiments of a microgrid controller may include inputs for different types of power (e.g. AC and DC) or power sources (e.g. wind and solar), an input for utility grid power, electrical equipment for conditioning the electrical power received from the multiple sources (e.g. rectifiers and inverters), outputs to multiple types of loads (e.g. three-phase AC and single-phase AC) and control circuitry designed to control the generation, storage, distribution and usage of electrical power on the microgrid. Embodiments of microgrid systems may include multiple types of electrical generation sources (e.g. wind, solar, electromechanical and fuel cell), multiple types of electrical loads (e.g. inductive and resistive), electrical storage units (e.g. batteries) and a microgrid controller.

A microgrid is a localized grouping of electrical generation, electrical energy storage, and electrical loads. Microgrids are often connected to a traditional utility grid and may operate as connected to the utility grid or completely independent from the utility grid. Microgrid electrical generation sources can include, for example, wind turbines, photovoltaic or "solar" panels, electromechanical generators, turbine generators, fuel cells, and other types of electrical generation machinery. By having local and diverse electrical generation sources and the ability to operate independent of a utility grid, microgrids may provide highly reliable and cost effective electric power to many types of installations, both urban and remote.
Because microgrids may use many different types of electrical generation sources, including renewable and non-renewable energy, and may include many different types of loads to service, efficient control of microgrid assets is challenging. For example, electrical generation sources such as diesel-powered generators often operate most efficiently at a fixed electrical output near their rated maximum output. However, the rated output of such a generator may exceed the present need for electrical power on the microgrid at any one time. Altering the output of the electromechanical generator such that it meets the current electrical load on the microgrid, i.e. operating it in a "load following" manner, may significantly reduce the efficiency of the generator, which leads to increased operational cost. Likewise, renewable resources such as wind and solar power provide unpredictable electrical output and may need to be supplemented with other power sources to provide sufficient power to manage peak load requirements on the microgrid. Thus, there is a need for apparatuses and methods to efficiently control microgrid assets, including generation, storage and load assets.


A heat sink that absorbs heat generated from at least one semiconductor device and dissipates the heat absorbed includes: a first surface adapted to match and contact at least one semiconductor device; a second surface having a fin structure adapted to dissipate heat from the heat sink into the air, the second surface arranged opposite to the first surface; combining portions having combining apertures each adapted to receive a predetermined combining element to affix the at least one semiconductor device to the heat sink, the combining apertures being arranged through the first surface and the second surface; and a protrusion arranged at a location of the first surface matching a point on an upper portion of the at least one semiconductor device; wherein the protrusion stops the at least one semiconductor device from rotating upon the at least one semiconductor device being affixed to the first surface of the heat sink by the combining element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat sink, and more particularly, to a heat sink for a heat source such as a high power semiconductor device in a display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a device driving circuit that uses a high power semiconductor device, a heat sink is provided for dissipating heat generated by the semiconductor device. A device, such as a PDP in which display cells are defined by electrodes arranged to cross each other and in which display cells of the display panel are addressed by switching timing of each electrode for emitting light, uses a number of high power switching devices. Since the high power switching devices generate a great amount of heat, if the heat is not dissipated efficiently, the heat not only degrades the switching devices but also diminishes the overall performance of the driving circuit. Therefore, the high power switching devices are mounted on a driving circuit board and combined with a heat sink. The heat sink can be manufactured by several methods including extrusion molding.
A semiconductor device can be combined with a driving circuit board by soldering and with a heat sink by using screws. The heat sink can be combined with the semiconductor device by using screws and with the driving circuit board by a fixing member. In this manner, heat generated during operation of a driving circuit in a semiconductor device is dissipated into the air via the heat sink.
Screw holes for combining semiconductor devices are formed in a heat sink. The heat sink can be manufactured by a variety of methods. For example, a heat sink can be manufactured by extrusion molding with a material having a high heat conductivity, such as aluminum. The heat sink generally has two surfaces, a surface to maximize a contact area with the semiconductor device to absorb heat generated by the heat source by conduction and another surface to maximize a contact area with air for dissipating absorbed heat into the air. The semiconductor devices can be combined with the heat sink via screws inserted through fabrication holes formed in the semiconductor devices and the screw holes formed in the heat sink. The heat sink is combined with a driving circuit board by a fixing member.
The semiconductor devices are combined with the heat sink by using screws and with the driving circuit board by soldering. However, the semiconductor devices rotate in the screwing direction by the rotating force of the screws. In this case, the rotation of the semiconductor device can create significant problems in affixing the semiconductor devices to the driving circuit board. That is, the leads of the semiconductor devices are not in a correct position on the driving circuit board, and accordingly soldering must be performed by forced fitting, thereby damaging the leads of the semiconductor devices and the pattern on the printed circuit substrate.

Heat sink and display panel including heat sink


An apparatus, that relates to the field of in vitro fertilization, is provided for the combined incubation and vitrification of a biological material. The apparatus can be configured to allow for automatic incubation and vitrification of a viable biological material. Thereby predetermined protocols for handling the biological material can be performed precisely and accurately thus avoiding errors and deviations from the intended protocol, as caused by manual human intervention.

The development of in vitro fertilization (IVF) has for the last few decades resulted in considerably improved methods and techniques thus leading to improved success rates in terms of enhanced birth rates relating to successful births originating from such techniques.
In vitro fertilization involves capturing a ripened egg from a female ovary, fertilizing the ovary with a spermatozoon, incubating the fertilized egg under a controlled environment and subsequently inserting the fertilized and incubated egg in the female's uterus.
As in vitro fertilization is most commonly used by females or couples which notoriously are having problems in getting pregnant the natural way, thus implying some degree of reduced fertility by the male or female counterpart of the couple, or both, and as in vitro fertilization techniques involves quite expensive procedures these in vitro fertilization techniques are usually performed in a way that seek to optimize efficiency, especially in view of the fact that frequently more than one insertion of a fertilized egg into the female' uterus will be necessary in order to encounter a successful pregnancy.
Accordingly, in order to make the in vitro fertilization techniques efficient, the female is typically provided with a hormone treatment prior to harvesting an egg from her ovary.
Such hormone treatment will make the female ovary ovulate not only one egg, but a multitude of eggs at the same time.
These eggs are then either fertilized and incubated immediately, or alternatively they are preserved at cryogenic conditions with the view to be used in an in vitro fertilization at a later stage. Due to the hormone treatment, a certain amount of time has to lapse however, before the female body is ready to receive the fertilized egg.
Techniques involving cryogenic preservation of an egg per se, as well as a fertilized egg have been developed.
In the cryogenic preservation of a biological sample, such as an egg or a fertilized egg one faces the challenges of avoiding mechanical damages to the biological samples due to formation of crystals within the biological sample, which formation of crystals may physically destroys the organelles responsible for the metabolism within the biological sample.
In order to avoid such formation of crystals within a biological sample, a technique called vitrification has been invented. Vitrification accordingly involves preparing a viable biological material in such a way that it may be freezed in a way where formation of crystals upon freezing is not taking place, or at least takes place to a limited extension.
Vitrification may involve treating the biological sample with one or more "vitrification liquids", also denoted "cryoprotectants". Osmosis may be involved so that water is being drained from the biological sample prior to the freezing step.
Apparatuses for vitrification of fertilized an unfertilized eggs have been developed. WO 2014/106286 A1 discloses an apparatus and a method for vitrification of a biological sample, such as an oocyte or an embryo. The apparatus comprises a compartment for accommodating a tray comprising one or more separated biological samples. The tray comprises a number of pods each comprising a biological sample. The tray also comprises a number of vials each comprising a vitrification liquid. Automation means provides for automated movement of pipettes with the view to prepare the biological samples for cryogenic storage by adding and removing vitrification liquids to and from the pods containing the vitrification liquid.
The addition and removing of vitrification liquids to and from the biological samples is performed according to predetermined procedures and protocols.
After the subjection the biological sample to the various vitrification liquids, the pod containing the biological sample is automatically sealed by automatically arranging a lid onto the pod, thus sealing off the biological sample from the surroundings. Subsequently, the pod containing one or more separated biological samples are manually submerged in liquid nitrogen contained in a vessel which is an integral, yet separable item of the apparatus.
The apparatus disclosed in WO 2014/106286 A1 does not comprise electronic image capturing means for monitoring the biological material. Furthermore, the apparatus disclosed in WO 2014/106286 A1 is not suitable for monitoring and controlling the development of a viable biological material during the incubation per se thereof.
As indicated in the previous sections both oozytes and fertilized eggs, e.g. embryos may be subjected to vitrification. In case of fertilized eggs, before vitrification of a zygote the egg is fertilized. Such fertilization and subsequent incubation of the resulting zygote is being performed in an incubator. On the marked a number of different incubators are available. Some of these allow for controlling the environment of the incubated biological material, such as controlling the temperature and the composition of the air surrounding the biological material. Other types of incubators include image capturing means for monitoring the biological material. Some of these comprise time lapse techniques allowing monitoring of the biological material in order to determine a cell division stage which will be optimum in relation to finding the right time to insert the fertilized egg into the uterus of a female.
However, none of these incubators include means for performing a vitrification of the biological material.
None of the prior art apparatuses for vitrification of a biological material provides for a fully automatic vitrification process, including a fully automatic preparational step and/or a subsequent cryogenic processing of the biological material.
Thirdly, none of the prior art apparatuses for vitrification of a biological material provides for image capturing of the vitrification process.

Apparatus for the combined incubation and vitrification of a biological material


In a vehicle alignment system an optical sensing mechanism is structurally coupled to a vehicle supporting lift for movement in unison with the lift so that the field of view of the sensing mechanism encompasses a wheel of a vehicle positioned on the lift during lift movement. Sensing modules may be selectively placed so that they are in correspondence with the vehicle wheel base. Modules may be deployed to extend outwardly from the lift, for viewing the wheel during an alignment procedure, or retract to a adjacent the lift for stowing. A protective cover extends above the sensing modules in the retracted position.

Known systems for alignment of wheels of motor vehicles employ computer-aided, three-dimensional machine vision alignment apparatus. Examples of so-called "3D alignment" systems are described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,743 to Jackson, entitled "Method and apparatus for determining the alignment of motor vehicle wheels," and commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,522 to Jackson, entitled "Method and apparatus for determining the alignment of motor vehicle wheels," both of which are commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporated herein for reference in their entireties. Sensors, such as cameras, view alignment targets affixed to the wheels in a known positional relationship to determine the position of the alignment targets relative to the alignment cameras. The alignment cameras capture images of the targets. From these images, the spatial orientation of the wheels can be determined and related to specification alignment characteristics. Wheel alignment adjustments can be made, while maintaining camera sensing, until the captured images correspond to specification values.
More recent versions of 3D alignment systems favor using identifiable wheel features to determine the spatial orientation of a wheel, in lieu of attaching targets to the wheels. With such operation, the cost of targets, a variety of attachment devices needed for different vehicle models, and the technician labor involved in the proper attachment of the targets, is eliminated. A wheel characteristic that can be sensed to derive the necessary spatial relationships, for example, may be the boundary between tire and wheel, or simple targets attached to the wheel.
These machine vision wheel alignment systems utilize measurement modules that need an unobstructed side view of the vehicle wheels. Computer software processes the images to distinguish the wheel from the tire and calculate wheel alignment parameters based on the extracted image of the wheel. The measurement modules typically include one or more digital cameras, illumination devices for illuminating the wheel during image capture, and a structure for supporting these various devices. A typical wheel alignment system may have one measurement module for each wheel of the vehicle being measured. To optimize measurement performance the distance from the wheel to the measurement module must be predetermined and allowed to vary over a fairly narrow range. It is advantageous to have the measurement module in a position such that it is longitudinally aligned with the center of the wheel it is measuring.
Systems that have been developed to date typically use self-standing measurement modules that contain the actual measuring devices. The measurement modules are installed at a fixed height to the side of the vehicle lift and can be in the way of the shop personnel when they are not being used for a wheel alignment. During a wheel alignment measurement, the vehicle is usually placed on a vehicle lift. Normally the operator will raise or lower the lift during the alignment process to make adjustment of the vehicle easier. The cameras require very wide angle lenses to be able to capture wheel images for vehicles with various wheelbases and for vehicles that are moved relative to stationary measurement modules. The wheel alignment process also may require sensing while the vehicle is moved longitudinally when the lift is in the lowered position.

Wheel aligner measurement module attachment system


The present invention provides a warp-knit slide fastener in which a fastener element row can be easily knitted into and attached stably and firmly on a fastener tape, and fastener elements of the fastener element row are not separated from each other due to pushing up of a fastener face.. The successive fastener element row is knitted, simultaneously with knitting of the fastener tape, into a fastener element attaching portion at longitudinally side edge portion of the fastener tape, and is fixed by two wales or more of fixing chain stitch yarns. Respective needle loops of the respective fixing chain stitch yarns push respective element leg portions of the successive fastener element row from above toward a foundation structure. Respective sinker loop groups form a part of the foundation structure on which the successive fastener element line is disposed. Warp in-laid yarns are warp inserted through at least a part of sinker loops of the sinker loop groups while being intermingled. Heat contraction rates of all yarns forming the fastener element attaching portion are higher than that of yarns forming a fastener tape main body portion. After knitting, respective knitting yarns are heat contracted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a knitted slide fastener comprising a fastener tape formed by a warp knitting structure and a successive fastener element row being simultaneously knitted into an element attaching portion of a longitudinally side edge portion of the fastener tape, and specifically, to a knitted slide fastener comprising the successive fastener element row firmly attached to the element attaching portion having a fine knitting structure, wherein there is no irregularity of pitches between or separation of elements of the element row, and stability in a shape of the fastener element attaching portion of the fastener tape is ensured.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a knitted slide fastener of the type in which a continuous fastener element row is knitted simultaneously with knitting of a fastener tape, there is a known knitted slide fastener as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,945 and Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2-255104, for example, in which a continuous fastener element row made of plastic monofilament is mounted and fixed by being knitted into stitches of a plurality of fixing chain stitch yarns simultaneously with knitting of the fastener tape. However, in the knitted slide fastener disclosed in the above U.S. patent, because each element of the successive fastener element row is fixed merely by a sinker loop of each fixing chain stitch yarn which extends across an upper face of a leg portion of each the fastener element, and because the foundation structure of the attaching portion is formed by needle loops of the chain stitch yarns and weft in-laid yarns, a fixing force is weak in conjunction with its stretch peculiar to the stitches of the chain stitch. In the knitted slide fastener disclosed in the latter Publication, because the leg portion of each fastener element of the fastener element row are fixed by sinker loop of each fixing chain stitch yarn and the foundation structure at the fastener element attaching portion is consisted of needle loops of the fixing chain stitch yarn and weft in-laid yarns, fixing force of the fastener element row is weak, and the fixing side structure becomes quite coarse, so that a coupled portion of the fastener element rows coupled with each other rises, which is liable to cause separation of the fastener elements from each other, especially when a fastener face receives a pushing up bending stress as shown in FIG. 11. In order to avoid the problem, the fixing knitting yarns can be thicker than other knitting yarns to firmly fix the fastener element row, but distances between knitting needles of a normal warp knitting machine are very small and the knitting needles are required to be fine in order to increase the distances. Therefore, a thickness of the knitting yarns and a number of knitting yarns to be twisted around the knitting needle are naturally limited.
There is a knitted slide fastener developed to solve the above problems as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 8-314, for example. In the knitted slide fastener disclosed in this Publication, another chain stitch yarn is added to a needle loop group constituting a wale on a tape foundation structure side formed by chain stitch threads for fixing the fastener element row. Because of the above chain stitch knitted by overlapping stitches of the foundation structure at the attaching portion of the fastener element row, the attaching portion is made fine, and fixing of the fastener element line is stabilized.
However, in the above knitted slide fastener disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 8-314, a knitting yarn for holding the fastener element row from above on a side opposite from the tape foundation structure side still is only sinker loops of the fixing chain stitch yarns. As a result, knitting structures disposed on and under the fastener element row are unbalanced, and a structure on the upper side of the fastener element row is weak. In this case, when the fastener face receives the pushing up bending stress, separation of the fastener elements from each other is liable to be caused. Furthermore, knitting with another chain stitch thread overlapping as disclosed in the above Japanese Patent Laidopen Publication so as to stabilize the stitches themselves of the fixing chain stitch would result that three knitting threads including a thread for tricot stitches are twisted around a knitting needle, thus a strain is put on the knitting needle.


The present invention relates to an improved method for performing modular exponentiation to a fixed base element. The method includes exponentiating a first digital input signal g by a second digital input signal R, where g is a fixed signal unique to a cryptographic system and R is a randomly generated digital signal, to compute a third digital signal g.sup.R. The exponentiating includes pre-computing and storing a plurality of values depending only upon the fixed signal g in a plurality of memory locations within a computing device and then speeding up the computation of g.sup.R using the stored values. The invented exponentiation method can substantially reduce the amount of computation required to compute the value for g.sup.R. Exponentiation methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be used in a variety of cryptographic systems, e.g., Schnorr identification scheme, Digital Signature Standard (DSS), and Diffie-Hellman key agreement scheme, etc.

The present invention relates to a method for speeding up modular exponentiation for a fixed base element in a public-key cryptosystem, and more particularly, to an exponentiation method using a fixed base element-dependent pre-computation table.
Since Diffie and Hellman introduced the concept of a public-key cryptosystem in 1976, many cryptographic protocols have been developed based on the public-key cryptographic method. A public-key cryptosystem utilizes the property that it is computationally infeasible to derive a matching secret key from the public key even if the public key is made public, as long as the underlying mathematical problem remains intractable.
Two typical examples of such mathematical problems are the discrete logarithm problem and the integer factorization problem. However, the cryptosystem designed based on these problems gives a relatively poor performance compared to a conventional or symmetric cryptosystem. Therefore, the development of algorithms for reducing the amount of computation has been one of the important research fields in modern cryptology.
The most frequently used operation required in a public key cryptosystem is an exponentiation in a finite group. Typical groups include a multiplicative group in an integer ring or finite field, and an additive group on points of an elliptic curve defined in a finite field. In general, exponentiation implies computing X.sup.R for two random elements X and R in a given group. However, in many cryptographic protocols it is often necessary to compute g.sup.R for a random exponent R and a fixed base element g. For example, many protocols have been developed for authentication and digital signatures based on the difficulty of solving the discrete logarithm problem.
The problem of speeding up exponentiation in a given group (usually Z.sub.N, where N is a large prime number or the product of two large prime numbers) is very important for the efficient implementation of most public-key cryptosystems. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed that the computation is performed over Z.sub.N, and thus multiplication denotes multiplication mod N. However, the method proposed in the present invention can be adapted for any group. Throughout the following explanation, g will be used as a fixed element in Z.sub.N and R represents an n-bit random exponent over [0, 2.sup.n), .vertline.S.vertline. denotes the bit-length of S for an integer S or the cardinality of S for a set S, .left brkt-top.x.right brkt-top. denotes the smallest integer not less than x (e.g., .left brkt-top.1.29.right brkt-top.=2), and .left brkt-bot.x.right brkt-bot. denotes the greatest integer not greater than x (e.g., .left brkt-bot.1.29.right brkt-bot.=1).
A typical method for exponentiation is to use the binary algorithm, also known as the square-and-multiply method. For a 512-bit modulus and exponent, this method requires 766 multiplications on average and 1022 in the worst case. The signed binary algorithm can reduce the required number of multiplications to around 682 on average and 768 in the worst case.
On the other hand, using a moderate storage capacity for intermediate values, the performance can be considerably improved. For example, Knuth's five-window algorithm (see "The Art of Computer Programming," Vol. 2, Seminumerical Algorithm, by D. E. Knuth, 1981) performs exponentiation in about 609 multiplications on average, including the on-line pre-computation operation of sixteen multiplications.
The fastest algorithm known for exponentiation is the windowing method based on addition chains, where bigger windows, for example, ten in size, are used and more storage capacity for intermediate values are needed. Though finding the shortest addition chain is an NP-complete problem, it is reported that, by applying heuristics, an addition chain having a length of around 605 can be computed.
These general methods can be used for any cryptosystem requiring exponentiation such as the RSA (see "A Method for Obtaining Digital Signatures and Public-key Cryptosystems," in Communications ACM, by R. L. Rivest, A. Shamir and L. Adleman, 21(2), pp 126, 1978) and El Gamal (see "A Public Key Cryptosystem and a Signature Scheme Based on the Discrete Logarithm," in IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, by T. El Gamal, 31(4), pp 472, 1985) systems. However, in many cryptographic protocols based on the discrete logarithm problem, it is necessary to compute g.sup.R for a fixed base g but for a randomly chosen exponent R. Therefore, one can construct a pre-computation table depending only on the fixed base g, which can then be used to speed up the evaluation of g.sup.R for any random exponent R. As will be seen later, such pre-computation technique will substantially reduce the number of multiplications required for exponentiation.

Method for exponentiation in a public-key cryptosystem


A conductive plug device has a housing, a main body inserted in the housing, and a slide block disposed on the housing. The slide block has a separator plate and two insertion plates. The housing has a first slot receiving the separator plate, a second slot receiving the respective insertion plate, and a third slot receiving the respective insertion plate. A cover plate is disposed in front of the main body. A first conductive plate is disposed in the main body. A second conductive plate is disposed in the main body. A curved plate is disposed in the main body. The separator plate is placed between the second conductive plate and the curved plate. A first wire is connected to the first conductive plate. A second wire is connected to the second conductive plate.

This invention relates to a conductive plug device, and more particularly to a conductive plug device which can prevent dusts and impurities from entering the conductive plug device.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional conductive plug device 10 comprises a slot 101 receiving a slide block 14, a post 141 disposed on the slide block 14 contacting a conductive plate 13, a curved plate 111 disposed in an interior of the conventional conductive plug device 10, and two blades 11 connected to two wires 12. However, the contact area between the conductive plate 13 and the curved plate 111 is very small. When water, dust or impurity enters the conventional conductive plug device 10, the conductivity between the conductive plate 13 and the curved plate 111 will be poor so that the conventional conductive plug device 10 may be short circuit.


A circuit for filtering a signal corresponding to a time of flight (TOF) of light from a laser reflected off an object to a photo detector, the circuit includes a preamplifier, a DC cancelation loop, and an AC cancelation loop. The preamplifier may be configured to receive the signal from the photo detector corresponding to an output of the laser reflected off an object remote from the laser and photo detector. The DC cancelation loop includes a current feedback DC servo loop. The AC cancelation loop includes a feedback network driven by a floating class AB output stage, and the preamplifier configured to drive the floating class AB output stage, wherein the preamplifier is driven by an error signal of the feedback network and creates an AC signal path with the feedback network and floating class AB output stage.

The transmission and receive scheme of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems have various categories, ranging from continuous-wave frequency or intensity modulated systems which measure range by means of phase or frequency measurements, to direct time-of-flight systems where the travel time of a transmitted laser pulse is measured. State-of-the-art long range automotive Lidars usually incorporate a direct time-of-flight single-pulse scheme, which is in line with eye safe operation of the laser requiring limitation on the transmitted laser energy.
Automotive LIDAR systems with the long-range requirements (>200 meters) at low object reflectivity (˜10 to 20%) need to be made eye-safe. The reflected optical signal's power is reduced quadratically by distance and linearly by the reflectivity of the object, which can easily translate to dynamic range in the order of 90 dB. To maximize range, the transmitted laser pulse needs to have very large peak optical power, on the order of many tens of watts. Eye-safe operation requires the average power to be maintained at the maximum permissible level by the standards, which requires the reduction of the pulse-width of the light signal to a few nano-seconds. This provides the best performance in terms of the achieved range, but imposes system challenges for the Lidar hardware implementation that contribute to cost and complexity. The driver of the laser light source needs to deliver a large amount of power to the laser in a very short time with fast switching time, usually requiring the development of special high-speed power semiconductor components, such as components using Gallium Nitride technology. Furthermore, the receive chain to measure time of flight (TOF) needs to deal with a large dynamic range imposed by the long distance and object reflectivity range.

Current-domain analog frontend for intensity modulated direct time-of-flight LIDARs


The invention relates to a device for unloading an article from a circulative loading base. There is provided an endless belt which forms a loading surface that is mounted rotatably in a backward inclined position to a conveyor chain. The belt comes into pressure contact with a friction roller so as to allow the belt to rotate in the unloading direction by frictional conduction to deliver articles on the belt to be delivered in a horizontal direction.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 32415/1992 discloses a loading base in a circulative conveyance which is tilted forward for unloading an article placed on the loading base in an unloading position. As disclosed therein, no matter whether a circulative conveyance path of the loading base is in a horizontal plane or in a vertical plane, the loading base is tilted forward in the unloading position, thereby allowing the article thereon to slide along the upper surface of the loading base for the discharge thereof. Alternatively, instead of tilting the loading base, an endless belt which forms a loading surface is entrained about the loading base and the article thereon is delivered and discharged in the horizontal direction by the rotation of the endless belt.
In the above prior art, when the loading base is tilted, the article thereon is allowed to slide for discharge. The article may be damaged due to a drop impact, and the working atmosphere is deteriorated by the generation of noise due to a drop impact sound. On the other hand, in the case of horizontal delivery and unloading using an endless belt, there is no fear of damage to articles because there is neither sliding nor dropping of the articles, and the generation of noise can be prevented. However, each loading base must be provided with an endless belt driving means to drive the endless belt for the delivery of the article thereon. The mounting of means for supplying power to the belt driving means of the loading base under movement results only a complicated structure of the power supply means and an increase in the size and weight with each loading base. Further, the mounting spacing between adjacent loading bases becomes longer, so the conveyance efficiency is deteriorated. It is necessary to use a conveyor chain to which loading bases are mounted which is large enough to fully bear the weight of the loading bases.

Device for unloading article from circulative loading base


A computer assisted method for generating an image from a text character includes the steps of reading the text character from a machine readable storage device and pattern mapping the text character to a pattern of multiple-valued text characters, and rendering the image.

The present invention relates generally to a method for generating an image from a string of text characters. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for generating bitmap images on demand within a database server using only strings of text characters within stored procedures.
It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words and perhaps this has never been more true than today. The explosion of information stored on modern computer systems and transferred across the intern& has fed the need for larger and more complex information storage systems. Powerful database servers have been developed not only to store information, but to allow a user to sort, categorize, manipulate, re-format, share, and interpret the information in useful ways. One known use of database servers is, for example, the tracking of a variety of attributes of a package such as location, size, weight, contents, value, ownership, delivery address, scheduled delivery date, etc. In this application, a field within the database server representing the package may be associated with a field within the database server for each of the noted attributes. Any one of these attribute fields may contain a small or a large quantity of information that requires periodic updating from the field, which in this example, is the location of the package.
Barcodes have come into use as an efficient way of transferring the sort of large quantities of information stored in a database server such as may be involved in the example of a package noted above. Other examples of information stored in database servers may include tracking of test samples in a laboratory, evidence in an investigation, or a fleet of vehicles, among others. Typically, a barcode is generated that includes enough relevant information to identify an item and may be placed on the item, either by direct printing, an adhesive printed label, or other means. Subsequently, a scanner can read the barcode and transmit the relevant information to a user operating a database server for updating of one or more attributes of the item or for other purposes.
There are several methods currently used for generating barcodes from strings of text within a database server for the purpose of printing the barcode. All of the existing methods involve the use of software and/or computations executed outside of the database server. For example, some printers include software associated with the printer that is able to convert text read from a database server into a barcode format while printing. Alternatively, workstations can include software that can convert text read from a database server into a barcode image and subsequently transmit the barcode image to a printer. Some workstations include special fonts or image libraries for the conversion of text from a server database to a barcode image. In some cases upon data entry at a workstation, software on the workstation can convert text to a barcode image using one of the methods noted above and store the image in a database server.
The existing methods for generating barcodes from text in a database server suffer from several shortcomings. All of the existing methods require additional software and/or hardware in addition to the database server to generate a barcode for printing. Further, all of the existing methods require that the barcode image generated from a workstation during data entry be stored along with the text data. Storing the generated barcodes unnecessarily is a waste of resources, and the fonts and image libraries often used in generating the barcodes can be unwieldy and execute slowly, thus wasting time.
There exists a need for a method of generating bitmap images, for example, barcodes, from strings of text within a database server without requiring image libraries or external software and/or hardware. Such a method benefits from operating on the fly on strings of text within a database without a requirement that the bitmap images be stored within the database. Such a method also benefits from the ability to generate a bitmap having any desired orientation, and in the case of generating a barcode, benefits from the ability to utilize any barcode encoding scheme. Further, conventional methods including image libraries may contain image characters that utilize a byte of data per character, whereas a method utilizing bitmap images further benefits from saving of memory space in temporary storage and manipulation of bitmap images compared to the conventional methods.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method of detecting and tracking objects using multiple radar sensors. Objects relative to a host vehicle are detected from radar data generated by a sensing device. The radar data includes Doppler measurement data. Clusters are formed, by a processor, as a function of the radar data. Each cluster represents a respective object. Each respective object is classified, by the processor, as stationary or non-stationary based on the Doppler measurement data of each object and a vehicle speed of the host vehicle. Target tracking is applied, by the processor, on an object using Doppler measurement data over time in response to the object classified as a non-stationary object; otherwise, updating an occupancy grid in response to classifying the object as a stationary object.

An embodiment relates to object sensor fusion.
Radar systems are used to detect objects within the road of travel. Such systems utilize continuous or periodic tracking of objects over time to determine various parameters of an object. Often times, data such as object location, range, and range rate are computed using the data from radar systems. However, inputs from radars are often sparse tracked targets. Moreover, radar systems are often predicated on assuming the target is a single point which makes it even more difficult to assess for close-by-targets.

Object fusion system of multiple radar imaging sensors


A projection subsystem includes a light engine that provides a collection lens, a collimator and at least one solid state light emitter. A projection lens assembly receives the image and provides a projection beam having a luminous flux level. The projection subsystem has a portability efficacy.

Optical projectors are used to project images onto surfaces for viewing by groups of people. Optical projectors include optical projector subsystems that include lenses, filters, polarizers, light sources, image forming devices and the like. Fixed front and rear electronic projectors are known for use in education, home theatres and business meeting use. Known light sources include black body lamps, gas discharge lamps, and solid state sources such as lasers, light emitting diodes (LED's) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED's). Head mounted displays (HMD's) are known for individual use. For mobile applications, there is a desire to miniaturize optical projectors both in terms of volume and thickness and make them extremely power efficient while maintaining low power consumption, low cost and high image quality. However, the large dimensions and high power consumption of existing optical projection subsystems limit efforts to create a truly portable projector. A method and optical projection subsystem are needed that provide both miniaturization and efficiency to project good quality images in a cost effective manner.


A map data correcting method for correcting map data used in a vehicle using a controller includes executing a first correction process of uniformly offsetting the map data as a whole to reduce a first error that is a general position error of the map data and executing a second correction process of reducing a second error that is a position error still remaining in the map data even after uniformly offsetting the map data as a whole.

A wireless device equipped in a vehicle is known, which operates to measure the current position of a subject vehicle, specify the travel direction and travel lane for the subject vehicle to travel toward an intersection, from map information associated with the measured current position of the subject vehicle, and perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication for the specified information (see JP2010-259021A, for example).


Improvements in containers are provided, and in particular improvements in containers for preparing and dispensing foamable beverage and food products. The package may contain at least a liquid primary ingredient and a secondary ingredient and comprises at least one wall defining a chamber at least partially filled with the primary ingredient, an outlet for dispensing the prepared product, and a capsule surrounding the primary ingredient separating the secondary ingredient from the primary ingredient. The capsule may be attached to insides of opposing walls of the package such that as the opposing walls are moved further apart the capsule breaks. At least one of the ingredients may include a foaming agent such that the foamed product is produced when the capsule is broken and the primary and secondary ingredients mix.

Over the past few decades, there has been an erosion of traditional eating habits and this has led to a growth in the snack food market. Snacks are no longer confined to grazing between meals, but also are taking the place of meals, for example, as workers eat lunch at their desks.
Whilst consumers are demanding products which may be indulgent, more affordable, playful or overall more interesting, the success of any snack product is still highly dependent on its convenience.
Alongside the development of snack food products, there is a greater demand for a greater range of beverages and in particular there has been a rapid rise in packaged coffee products which have developed from a basic drink to a wide range of drinks designed to appeal to different consumer tastes. In particular some of these drinks use premium coffees, which are leading to the development of indulgent treats in the form of foamed food and beverage products.
One process for serving a ready-to-drink cappuccino is described in DE-A-4332387. This describes an extraction method using coffee powder which is mixed with liquid and stored in a container with an air space of a quarter to a twentieth of the container volume. Prior to opening and consumption, the containers are shaken until foam has formed in the air space. The container is then opened and the beverage drunk from the container or emptied into a separate drinking receptacle.
The Douwe Egberts Café Switch™ product launched in 2006 is described in US-A-2007/0031545 and comprises a package which can be used for preparing a coffee beverage from a foamable liquid and a gas. The package comprises two chambers which are connected, between which the liquid and gas are displaceable by squeezing each chamber consecutively. A flow disrupter placed in the connecting passage assists the mixing and foam formation. After pumping the package can be opened and the contents poured into a drinking vessel and topped up with hot or cold water.
Both of these prior art solutions, however, require rigorous shaking or some form of manual manipulation. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved package for preparing a foamable beverage or food product.


A flapper valve having a valve body which includes first and second ends, a flow bore which extends between the first and second ends, and an enlarged diameter cavity which is formed coaxially within the flow bore; a valve seat which comprises a through bore that is aligned with the flow bore; a retainer which is positioned radially outwardly of the cavity; and a flapper which is pivotally connected to the retainer. The flapper includes a sealing side which is configured to engage the valve seat when the flapper is in a closed position, a core which is made of a rigid material, a circular stop ring which is connected to or formed integrally with the core on the sealing side of the flapper and is configured to engage the valve seat when the flapper is in the closed position, and a resilient coating.

The present invention relates generally to flapper valves having a flapper on which a resilient coating is disposed in order to increase the sealing effectiveness of the valve. In particular, the invention relates to a flapper valve having an improved flapper which is configured to prevent the resilient coating from undergoing plastic deformation and consequently failing under relatively high operating pressures.
Typical prior art flapper valves have a flapper which is configured to engage a valve seat that is positioned across a flow bore extending through the valve. The flapper is pivotally connected by a pivot pin to a retainer ring which is mounted in the body of the valve above the flow bore. During normal flow conditions the flapper is maintained in a raised, open position by the flow, but when pressure downstream of the valve increases, the flapper pivots to a closed position under the influence of gravity and seals against the valve seat to thereby prevent backflow through the valve. In order to enhance the sealing ability of the valve, the flapper is sometimes coated with a resilient material, such as a urethane. However, when the pressure in the flow bore exceeds the compressive strength of the resilient coating, the coating can undergo plastic deformation, which can reduce the sealing effectiveness of the flapper valve. Also, when the flapper valve is used with abrasive fluids, the pivot pin is subject to undue wear when the flapper is repeatedly pivoted open and closed.


A logic circuit includes an input for one or several input operands, an output for a result and an inverted result, a first circuit branch with a first logic assembly, which is coupled to the input and the output, to calculate the result, as well as a second circuit branch with a second logic assembly, which is coupled to the input and the output, to calculate the inverted result, wherein the first logic assembly and the second logic assembly have different run times for calculating the result and the inverted result, respectively. Further, a delay circuit and a compensation circuit, respectively, are provided in the first and/or second circuit branch to reduce a difference of the run times and the power consumptions, respectively, of the first and the second circuit branch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to logic circuits and particularly to such logic circuits where two different circuit branches are connected between input and output to calculate a result and an inverted result in dependency on one or several inputs.
2. Description of Prior Art
Circuits of this type are used, for example, in circuits with a dual rail encoding or in circuits of the NCL (Null Convention Logic® (registered trademark)) of the company Theseus or in different circuits.
FIG. 4 generally shows the structure of such logic circuits based on an example of a logic device, which maps two input operands, A, B to one result operand C and outputs the result C as well as the inverted result {overscore (C)}. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the logic device, which is generally indicated with 300, consists of two inputs 302 and 304 for the input operands A and B, respectively, on the input side, of two outputs 306 and 308 for the result C and the inverted result {overscore (C)}, respectively, on the output side and in-between of two logic assemblies 310 and 312, each of which is coupled to both inputs 302 and 304, and the logic assembly 310 is coupled to the output 306, and the logic assembly 312 to the output 308.
The logic assemblies 310 and 312 are equalized to perform together a certain logic function with regard to the input operands A and B, such as an AND, OR or XOR function, or another complicated function. Accordingly, the logic assembly 310 is provided for calculating the result C from the input operands A and B, while the logic assembly 312 is provided to calculate the inverted result {overscore (C)} from the input operands A and B. Depending on the type of logic function and the used gates within the logic assemblies 310 and 312, the selection of which, in turn, depends, for example, on the production technique used for the integration of the logic circuit, the logic assemblies 310 and 312 require different durations and different powers for the calculation of the result C and the inverted result {overscore (C)}, respectively. In other words, the logic assemblies 310 and 312 can have different run times and different power consumptions.
It is a disadvantage of the logic device described with reference to FIG. 4 that when using such logic devices in cryptographical circuits, such as chip cards or SIM cards, different run times and power consumption are caused, depending on the data to be encrypted within a logic device according to FIG. 4, which, in turn, present a potential for possible attacks, for example to draw conclusions about the used cryptography algorithm, the cryptographic key and other secret data. Attacks, which are suited for this, are referred to as hardware attacks, such as DPA (differential power analysis) and timing attacks. In the case that, for example, the logic device of FIG. 4 operates clocked within a synchronous logic, the course of the power consumption of the circuit changes within one clock, since, depending on the input data, more logic branches with that logic assembly switch to a logical high state, such as 5 V, as the result, and, in the case of a CMOS implementation, consume power thereby, which have a higher or lower power consumption and a longer or shorter run time, respectively, compared to the respectively different logic branches. In the case of the logic device of FIG. 4, for example, the power consumption as well as the time course of this power consumption differ for different input operands A and B depending on which of the two logic branches, namely the one into which the logic assembly 310 is switched or the one into which the logic assembly 312 is switched, outputs a logical high state as result and inverted result, respectively.
Even more serious is the effect of the different run times of power consumption of the different circuit branches of the different logic devices in the case of using them in asynchronous circuits as self-clocked logic devices. Depending on the data to be processed and to be encrypted, respectively, the different power consumptions and run times, which occur depending on which of the power branches "switches", add to a different total power consumption and total calculating duration per encryption or sub-operation of a cryptographical algorithm.


A high speed modem for simultaneously transmitting both voice and precoded digital data signals over a single communication channel. The modem is operable to combine a voice signal with a precoded digital data signal for transmission at high speeds, high power levels and low distortion previously attainable by high speed data-only modems. The voice signal is processed using conventional data processing techniques to produce a voice signal and a control signal containing information relating to the coding of the voice signal. The control signal is multiplexed and mapped for transmission with the digital data. Selected bits of the multiplexed data are used to define the rotation of the digital data and to rotate the voice vector. The digital data is precoded to compensate for and minimize noise in the communication channel. The rotated voice vector and the precoded digital data are then combined and transmitted. At a remote location, the transmitted signal is received by a receiving modem and is filtered and separated to thus recover the individual coded signals. The separation of the coded voice signal from the precoded digital data signal is performed prior to reconstruction of the precoded digital data signal. The coded voice signal is then de-rotated. The coded voice and precoded digital data signals are then individually decoded to retrieve the voice and data signals that originated at the transmitting modem.

High speed data modems, well known in the art, are operable to transmit data at signaling rates of up to 28,800 bits per second over the general switched telephone network and on leased point-to-point two-wire telephone type circuits. High speed data modems are described in ITU-T recommendation V.34, entitled "Data Communication Over the Telephone Network", submitted to the telecommunication standardization sector of the International Telecommunication Union in September 1994. In order to obtain these high transmission rates, a transmitter of such modems includes a precoder operable to minimize (whiten) or compensate for noise in the communication channel which can affect the transmitted signal at such high rates. A receiver in a second modem receiving the transmission must include the necessary circuitry for reconstruction of the precoded signal.
This preceding of the data signals thus permits the attainment of high data transmission rates at high power levels and reduced signal distortion. However, these high-speed modems are unable to transmit and/or receive voice and data signal transmissions simultaneously.
It is nevertheless known to simultaneously transmit voice and data signals along a single communication line, as for example an analog telephone channel. The transmission of simultaneous voice/data signals is performed through modems specially constructed for transmitting and receiving such simultaneous signals. However, these modems are unable to transmit simultaneous voice/data signals at the high power rates and reduced distortion achievable by a modem which incorporates preceding of the data signal.
It would thus be desirable to provide a high speed simultaneous voice/data modem incorporating data precoding and that is capable of maintaining power levels above and distortion below that achievable by conventional simultaneous voice/data modems.

Apparatus for high-speed simultaneous voice/data communications


A marinating machine rotates a drum containing the food to be marinated. The drum is positioned on a pair of rotatable shafts only one of which is drivingly engaged to a motor rotating the drum. The drum is rotated by a drive wheel that is mounted on the rotating shaft. The drive wheel is locked for rotation with the shaft by a set screw in a threaded bore extending into the wheel at an angle with the axis of rotation of the wheel, and with the nearest portion of the bore spaced from the axis of rotation to allow the threads of the set screw to cut into the surface of the rotating shaft.

The taste and cooking qualities of red meat, pork, poultry, and fish may all be improved by marinating the products prior to cooking. It is desirable during the marinating process to have the product absorb a significant volume of the liquid in which the product is being marinated to improve the moisture content of the product and impart flavor thereto. When a meat product is immersed in a liquid marinating material and left in refrigerated conditions for a number of hours, the meat will absorb a quantity of liquefied marinating material equal to approximately one and one-half percent of the weight of the meat. On the other hand, where meat, poultry or fish is placed in a drum with liquid marinating material, and a vacuum is drawn within the drum and the drum is thereafter rotated for twenty to forty-five minutes, fish, pork and chicken will absorb up to twenty percent of their weight in marinating material and beef will absorb up to ten percent of its weight in marinating material.
Marinating not only adds flavor to the meat or fish, but improves the cooking qualities thereof. When meat having a greater quantity of liquid therein is cooked, some of the liquid within the meat will convert to steam, causing the meat to be cooked from within and the cooked meat will be more moist and flavorful.
A typical marinating machine includes a drum having a plurality of paddles therein, which extend radially inward from the inner surface of the drum to agitate the meat or fish as the drum is rotated. A vacuum is also drawn within the chamber of the drum and the vacuum and the paddles pull the meat product apart for deeper penetration of the liquid while the drum is being rotated at a speed of between eight and fifteen rpm.
The drum rests on a plurality of wheels that allow the drum to rotate about its axis. At least one of the wheels upon which the drum rests is a drive wheel mounted on a rotating drive shaft for rotation with the shaft.

Locking a wheel for rotation with a shaft


A molded surface fastener having on its engaging surface an ornamental pattern, such as characters, design, symbol, etc., which is devoid of engaging elements. This ornamental pattern is formed using a die wheel having a multiplicity of engaging-element-forming cavities arranged on the entire circumferential surface except an ornamental pattern of area.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a synthetic resin molded surface fastener having a multiplicity of engaging elements on an engaging surface of a substrate sheet and a method of manufacturing the molded surface fastener, and more particularly to a molded surface fastener having an ornamental pattern formed on its front or front and rear surfaces simultaneously with the molding and a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing the molded surface fastener.
2. Description of the Related Art
In manufacturing woven and knit fiber surface fasteners to be used as opening and closing means for garments, bags, etc. as well as detachably attaching means such as fastening bands, various attempts have been made to improve the fashionability of products using surface fasteners. To this end, it has been a common practice to form an ornamental pattern, such as characters, design, symbol, etc. on the surface fastener's engaging surface, from which a multiplicity of hooks or loops as engaging elements stand, in an effort to give the surface fastener a good external view.
For example, according to Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 3-79001, an ornamental pattern, such as characters, design, symbol, etc., is formed on the engaging surface of a surface fastener by press-heating and solidifying soft and flexible material, such as silicone rubber, onto the engaging surface, on which a multiplicity of engaging elements in the form of hooks or loops stand, of the surface fastener.
Further, according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-19105, a desired pattern, such as desired characters, design, symbol, etc., of dye paste is stamped on the rear surface, which is opposite to the engaging surface, of a surface fastener and sucking the dye paste on the rear surface to the engaging surface by a vacuum pump disposed on the side of the engaging surface of the surface fastener. Then the resulting surface fastener is treated with a dyeing process so that characters, design, symbol, etc. come out on the engaging surface of the surface fastener.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 3-69658 discloses a method of and an apparatus for dyeing a surface fastener. According to this disclosure, a desired pattern, such as characters, design, symbol, etc., is formed by spouting ink drops over the engaging surface of a surface fastener in a dot-matrix format, based on the data regarding the position and shape of the pattern, by ink-jet means and then sucking ink on the engaging elements from the side of the rear surface so that the ink reaches the substrate sheet. Then the substrate sheet and the engaging elements are dyed so that a pattern of characters, design, symbol, etc. come out definitely.
In the meantime, recent advances of surface fasteners entirely molded of synthetic resin by injection molding are astonishing; as a result, in addition to molded surface fasteners having a certain degree of rigidness to be used as conventional industrial materials and interior ornamental goods, various molded surface fasteners having a very high degree of flexibility have been developed. Application of this flexible molded surface fasteners are on the increase for ordinary garments and daily goods strongly requiring high flexibility from a fashionability view point.
Nevertheless, all of the above-mentioned methods of forming an ornamental pattern are aimed at fiber surface fasteners. Practically, it is virtually impossible to adopt these methods in molded surface fasteners made by such as integral injection molding for the following reasons. Any effective ornamental pattern forming method for molded surface fasteners has not been established yet.
Although the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 3-79001 could be applied to the above-mentioned molded surface fastener, an ornamental pattern area would have bulged from the engaging surface of the surface fastener so that the engaging elements around the bulged ornamental pattern area would tend to fail to catch the engaging elements of a companion surface fastener when the two surface fasteners are pressed to engage, thus it is probable that a desired engaging strength required in the surface fastener can not be achieved.
Assuming that the methods disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications Nos. Sho 62-19105 and Hei 3-69658 could be applied to the molded surface fastener, since the substrate sheet of the integrally molded surface fastener is a molded sheet of synthetic resin, it would have been impossible to absorb dye liquid or ink through the molded substrate sheet unlike the woven or knit fiber substrate sheet having minute gaps.

Molded surface fastener having an ornamental pattern, and method of and apparatus for manufacturing same