An approach is provided for automatically recommending ground control points or any other feature points for image correction (e.g., satellite image correction). The approach, for example, involves collecting a plurality of images depicting a geographic area of interest. The approach also involves processing the plurality of images to detect one or more candidate feature points (e.g., ground control points or other features detectable in the images). The approach further involves performing a feature correspondence of the one or more candidate feature points across the plurality of images. The approach also involves triangulating respective locations of the one or more candidate feature points based on the feature correspondence. The approach further involves filtering the one or more candidate feature points based on the respective locations. The approach further involves providing the filtered one or more candidate feature points as an output comprising one or more recommended feature points.

Automated driving has quickly become an area of interest for vehicle manufacturers and navigation/mapping service providers following advances in machine learning, computer vision, and compute power. Digital maps in the form of models of the environment, for instance, are needed for a wide range of automated applications including driving, transportation, guidance, and search and rescue. The significant increase in the availability of high-quality satellite imagery is enabling scalable ways to create high definition digital maps from remote sensing data. However, the camera models supplied by the satellite image vendors are not accurate enough because of various errors in the satellite ephemeris and instrument calibration, there is still a need to correct the systematic biases in the camera models. To correct these errors, map service providers can use ground control points or any other detectable feature points to precisely align and/or to correct digital map data from different sources. Ground control points, for instance, are identifiable points on the Earth's surface that have a precise three-dimensional location (e.g., latitude, longitude, and elevation). However, the current options for generating ground control points are time and money intensive. Accordingly, map service providers face significant technical challenges to automatically select which points need to be collected or marked to meet the accuracy requirements of high precision map making.

Method, apparatus, and system for recommending ground control points for image correction


Methods and devices are described for modifying tissue in a spine of a patient to treat or alleviate spinal stenosis. In one embodiment, a method may include: advancing at least a distal portion of an elongate tissue modification device into an epidural space and between target tissue and non-target tissue in the spine; positioning the tissue modification device so that at least one abrasive surface of the device faces target tissue and at least one non-abrasive surface faces non-target tissue; applying tensioning force at or near separate distal and proximal portions of the tissue modification device; and translating the tissue modification device back and forth while maintaining at least some tensioning force to abrade at least a portion of the target tissue with the at least one abrasive surface. Unwanted damage to the non-target tissue may be prevented via the at least one non-abrasive surface.

Field of the Invention. The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for modifying tissue in a patient.
Many pathological conditions in the human body may be caused by enlargement, movement, displacement and/or a variety of other changes of bodily tissue, causing the tissue to press against (or "impinge on") one or more otherwise normal tissues or organs. For example, a cancerous tumor may press against an adjacent organ and adversely affect the functioning and/or the health of that organ. In other cases, bony growths (or "bone spurs"), arthritic changes in bone and/or soft tissue, redundant soft tissue, or other hypertrophic bone or soft tissue conditions may impinge on nearby nerve and/or vascular tissues and compromise functioning of one or more nerves, reduce blood flow through a blood vessel, or both. Other examples of tissues which may grow or move to press against adjacent tissues include ligaments, tendons, cysts, cartilage, scar tissue, blood vessels, adipose tissue, tumor, hematoma, and inflammatory tissue.
One specific example of a condition caused by tissue impingement is spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis occurs when neural tissue and/or vascular tissue in the spine become impinged by one or more structures pressing against them ("neural and/or neurovascular impingement"), causing one or more symptoms. This impingement of tissue may occur in one or more of several different areas in the spine, such as in the central spinal canal (the vertical passage through which the spinal cord and cauda equina extends), the lateral recesses of the spinal canal, or one or more intervertebral foramina (the openings through which nerve roots branching from the spinal cord pass).
For explanatory purposes, FIG. 1 is offered to show an approximate top view of a vertebra (one of the bones of the spinal column) with the cauda equina (the horsetail-shaped bundle of nerves that extends from the base of the spinal cord through the central spinal canal) shown in cross section and two nerve roots exiting the central spinal canal and extending through intervertebral foramina on either side of the vertebra. (FIG. 1 is not drawn to exact scale and is intended for exemplary purposes only. It should be emphasized here that the drawing figures appended to this application are not intended to be precisely anatomically correct and are provided for exemplary purposes to facilitate description.) The spinal cord and cauda equina run vertically along the spine through the central spinal canal, while nerve roots branch off of the spinal cord and cauda equina between adjacent vertebrae and extend through the intervertebral foramina.
One common cause of spinal stenosis is buckling and thickening of the ligamentum flavum (one of the ligaments attached to and connecting the vertebrae), as shown in FIG. 1. Buckling or thickening of the ligamentum flavum may impinge on one or more neurovascular structures, dorsal root ganglia, nerve roots and/or the spinal cord itself. Another common cause of neural and neurovascular compression within the spine is disease of one or more of the intervertebral discs (the malleable discs between adjacent vertebrae), which may lead to collapse, bulging or herniation of the disc. In FIG. 1, an intervertebral disc is shown with three solid-tipped arrows demonstrating how the disc might bulge or herniate into the central spinal canal to impinge upon the spinal cord, cauda equina and/or individual nerve roots. Other causes of neural and neurovascular impingement in the spine include: hypertrophy of one or more facet joints (also known as zygopophaseal joints, facet joints provide articulation between adjacent vertebrae—two vertebral facet superior articular processes are shown in FIG. 1); formation of osteophytes (bony growths or "bone spurs") on vertebrae; spondylolisthesis (sliding of one vertebra relative to an adjacent vertebra); and (facet joint) synovial cysts. Disc, bone, ligament or other tissue may impinge on the spinal cord, the cauda equina, branching spinal nerves and/or blood vessels in the spine to cause loss of function, ischemia (shortage of blood supply) and even permanent damage of neural or neurovascular tissue. In a patient, this may manifest as pain, impaired sensation and/or loss of strength or mobility.
In the United States, spinal stenosis occurs with an incidence of between 4% and 6% of adults aged 50 and older and is the most frequent reason cited for back surgery in patients aged 60 and older. Conservative approaches to the treatment of symptoms of spinal stensosis include systemic medications and physical therapy. Epidural steroid injections may also be utilized, but they do not provide long lasting benefits. When these approaches are inadequate, current treatment for spinal stenosis is generally limited to invasive surgical procedures to remove vertebral ligament, cartilage, bone spurs, synovial cysts, cartilage, and bone to provide increased room for neural and neurovascular tissue. The standard surgical procedure for spinal stenosis treatment includes laminectomy (complete removal of the lamina (see FIG. 1) of one or more vertebrae) or laminotomy (partial removal of the lamina), followed by removal (or "resection") of the ligamentum flavum. In addition, the surgery often includes partial or occasionally complete facetectomy (removal of all or part of one or more facet joints between vertebrae). In cases where a bulging intervertebral disc contributes to neural impingement, disc material may be removed surgically in a discectomy procedure.
Removal of vertebral bone, as occurs in laminectomy and facetectomy, often leaves the effected area of the spine very unstable, leading to a need for an additional highly invasive fusion procedure that puts extra demands on the patient's vertebrae and limits the patient's ability to move. In a spinal fusion procedure, the vertebrae are attached together with some kind of support mechanism to prevent them from moving relative to one another and to allow adjacent vertebral bones to fuse together. Unfortunately, a surgical spine fusion results in a loss of ability to move the fused section of the back, diminishing the patient's range of motion and causing stress on the discs and facet joints of adjacent vertebral segments.
While laminectomy, facetectomy, discectomy, and spinal fusion frequently improve symptoms of neural and neurovascular impingement in the short term, these procedures are highly invasive, diminish spinal function, drastically disrupt normal anatomy, and increase long-term morbidity above levels seen in untreated patients.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have less invasive methods and devices for addressing neural and neurovascular impingement in a spine. Ideally, methods and devices for addressing impingement in spine would treat one or more target tissues while preventing unwanted effects on adjacent or nearby non-target tissues. Also ideally, such methods and devices would be minimally invasive and reduce impingement without removing significant amounts of vertebral bone, joint, or other spinal support structures, thereby avoiding the need for spinal fusion and, ideally, reducing the long-term morbidity levels resulting from currently available surgical treatments. It may also be advantageous to have less invasive methods and devices for modifying target tissues in parts of the body other than the spine while preventing modification of non-target tissues. At least some of these objectives will be met by the present invention.
Description of Background Art. Flexible wire saws and chain saws, such as threadwire saws (T-saws) and Gigli saws, have been used since the late 1800s to saw through or file/abrade bone and other tissue in the human body. See, for example, Brunori A et al., "Celebrating the Centenial (1894-1994): Leonardo Gigli and His Wire Saw," J Neurosurg 82:1086-1090, 1995. An example of one such saw is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8250, issued to P. A. Stohimann on Nov. 28, 1876. A description of using a T-saw to cut vertebral bone is provided in Kawahara N et al., "Recapping T-Saw Laminoplasty for Spinal Cord Tumors," SPINE Volume 24, Number 13, pp. 1363-1370.
A method and apparatus for treating spinal stenosis is described in PCT Patent Application Pub. No. WO 01/08571. A surgical instrument for removing cartilage from a knee cavity is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,859.


A battery element of a lead acid battery including a negative plate and a positive plate having a macroporous porosity enhancing additive that improves the utilization efficiency of the battery.

The present invention relates to a battery element containing macroporous additives that enhance active material utilization efficiency and improvement in the utilization of sulfuric acid electrolyte necessary for the discharge reaction of a lead acid battery.
The present invention further relates to a battery element containing antimony inhibiting additives. More particularly, the invention relates to antimony inhibiting polymeric additives which are added to the positive active material, negative active material and/or battery separator to inhibit the detrimental effects of antimony on a lead acid battery, particularly the negative plate battery element.
Antimony is added to grid lead in order to make the lead more fluid and more easily cast into the shapes necessary for storage battery grids. Further, it also hardens the resulting casting so that it can be further processed in the plant without damage. In certain battery applications, it may be necessary for the battery to withstand extreme resistance to corrosion of positive plate grids. In that event, higher antimony contents typically within the range of 4.5 to 6 percent are incorporated into the grid to form a lead antimony alloy. Antimony in these concentrations are generally only used in positive grids particularly grids intended for corrosion resistant batteries. Corrosion resistance typically means the ability to withstand the destructive effects of excessive charge or overcharge.
Antimony in the grid metal produces a definite effect on the charge voltage characteristics of the fully charged wet battery. The higher the antimony percentage in the grid metal, the lower the charge voltage and conversely, as the antimony is decreased so the charge voltage increases until pure lead is attained, which produces the highest voltage on charge. Since the use of antimony has gradually been lowered from a maximum of about 12.0% to a maximum of about 6.0% antimony, the charge voltage of average batteries has increased.
Antimony from the positive grids, during service life, slowly goes into solution in the sulfuric acid electrolyte and from there it is believed to electroplate onto the surface of the negative plates. Once there, it acts as an additional electrode with the grid and the lead active material of the negative plates. This combination creates local action, promoting self-discharge and contributes to poor wet battery shelf life. In addition, the battery's charge voltage slowly decreases during life and, in the voltage regulated electrical circuit of a car, the difference between the two becomes greater. The car voltage regulator is set at a voltage just slightly higher than the normal charge voltage of the battery. Thus, the generator is able to restore electrical energy to the battery, as needed, to keep it charged.
With antimony deposition and the lowering of the battery charge voltage, the generator output into the battery increases as an overcharge, which hastens the deterioration of the battery in service, until failure occurs. Therefore, it is very desirable to inhibit the detrimental effects of antimony on the negative plate.
Further the present invention relates to a process for coating a substrate. More particularly, the invention relates to coating a substrate with a tin oxide-containing material, preferably an electrically conductive tin oxide-containing material and to coated porous substrates.

Battery element containing macroporous additives


A hydraulic apparatus control system includes a plurality of directional control valves. Each valve serves to selectively convey pressurized fluid to a hydraulic consumer which is detachably connected to a respective hydraulic output. A plurality of user interface devices control the valves. A terminal includes a display and user input means. The display displays a graphic associated with each hydraulic output. Each graphic includes a displayed user-definable label.

Many tractor-mounted implements include hydraulic consumers such as motors and cylinders. Each hydraulic consumer is hydraulically coupled to a respective control valve on the tractor. Typically a tractor may include six or eight directional control valves (or spool valves) each having an associated coupling member and a user interface device. The couplings are mounted at various locations on the tractor, the majority being positioned at the rear of the vehicle for receiving associated pipework from attached implements. The user interface device typically comprises a joystick, lever or switch which is operable by a driver.
In operation a driver controls the various consumers by operation of a user interface device which directly or indirectly controls the associated directional control valve so as to control the delivery of pressurised fluid to the hydraulic consumer.
Over the past two decades or so the trend for agricultural implements has been for an increase in hydraulic consumers to remotely control various functions previously controlled manually. For example, a modern trailer typically includes hydraulics cylinders to control the opening of the rear tailgate, the steering axle and lifting of the body.
Modern tractors, and particularly high horse power tractors, include a driver terminal which includes a display and associated user input means such as buttons located around the display. The terminal serves primarily to communicate the state of various functions on the tractor and implement during operation. It is known to display a graphical representation of the various hydraulic consumers coupled to the tractor to communicate the current status of each consumer to the driver. Such functionality is available for example on the Datatronic III system fitted to selected Massey Ferguson tractors.
The increase in number of hydraulic consumers makes operation of the implement more and more complex for the driver. The complexity and demands on the driver's memory is compounded by the regular interchanging of implements which come with different functionality.


A power tool for drilling a hole in a workpiece made of wood or a wood material. The power tool generally includes a tool housing defining a handle and a motor contained within the tool housing that includes an output shaft that spins about a motor axis. A gear housing is connected to the tool housing. An output spindle is supported for rotation about a spindle axis in the gear housing. The spindle axis is disposed about ninety degrees from the motor axis. A gear portion on the output shaft is engaged to a gear portion on the output spindle. The motor and the gear portions are configured to rotate the output spindle at a speed in range from about five thousand revolutions per minute to about twenty-five thousand revolutions per minute. A cutting member is connected to the output spindle. The cutting member includes fluted cutting blades. A carriage assembly includes a base member and a head member connected by a first post having a first compliant member and a second post. The head member slides relative to the first and second posts and against a force exerted by the first compliant member when the head member is moved toward the base member to pass the cutting member through the base member to engage the workpiece. The base member includes a generally planar face on a bottom surface of the base member that is generally perpendicular to the spindle axis.

Typically, professionals use a drilling tool to create holes in stud lumber used to frame buildings. By creating holes in the studs, the professionals are able to run electrical wire and plumbing materials through the studs. The holes for the electrical wire and plumbing materials are typically no larger than seven-eighths of an inch. Nevertheless, the drilling tool typically used to create the holes can be capable of creating more than the needed torque to cut such a hole.
The capability to provide torque, even if unused, can require that the drilling tool have a relatively large motor and/or complex transmission that can lead to an increase in the size of the drilling tool. As the studs are generally arranged in a wall at sixteen inches on center, there can be limited room between two studs for placement of the drilling tool. In addition, the additional torque can make the drilling tool cumbersome to hold while drilling, as the user must resist the rotation of the drilling tool.


A valve plug assembly includes a plug base, a first end of the base arranged for attachment to a valve stem, a second end of the plug base including a bore having a first portion and a second portion. The second portion of the bore is a conical terminus forming a first seat. A spacer has a through bore, a first end, and a second end, and is sized for insertion in the bore of the plug base and has a conical shape to engage the first seat, and the spacer also forms a second seat. A plug tip has a through bore and a conical end engaging the second seat and is arranged to engage the valve seat, and a cap screw extends through the plug tip and the spacer to mechanically secure the plug tip to the plug base.

In many control valve applications, and particularly in control valve applications involving severe service conditions, the internal components of the control valve may be subject to three phase flow with, for example, possible flashing, cavitation, and particles, all of which can potentially cause severe erosion and/or vibration. Consequently, such valves are often provided with valve plugs having a corrosion resistant plug tip, which may be a ceramic material such as carbide, tungsten carbide, or other suitable materials.
In construction of such valve components, the plug tip is typically attached to a plug base using a shrink fit procedure where the relevant components are heated, fitted, then cooled. Alternatively, the plug tip may be attached to the plug base using a brazing process. In either process, it is possible that stress risers may be formed at the juncture between the plug tip and the underlying base. Such stress risers can and sometimes do contribute to premature failure of the plug tip by contributing to the formation and/or propagation of cracks in the plug tip.

Mechanical fastening method for valve plug with carbide tip

EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT (TIANJIN) VALVES CO., LTD.


An electrically-powered, diver-borne air compressor is used with a draw-type snorkel to supply air from above the surface to a swimmer. The use of a non-positive displacement compressor--e.g. a blower--allows a shallowly submerged swimmer to breathe through the apparatus when the motor is turned off, which provides extended battery life. The compressor is selected to provide an adequate volume of air to a diver submerged at the depth limit set by the length of the flexible air conduit leading from the surface to his/her mouthpiece. In the simplest embodiment of the invention, the excess air supplied to a less deeply submerged diver is vented through an exhaust valve. In other embodiments, which offer improved operational efficiency at the cost of greater complexity, this otherwise excess air is stored in a tank. When the tank becomes full the compressor is turned off (either manually or automatically) until the stored air is exhausted.

This invention relates generally to the field of draw-type snorkels, and adds to pre-existing art an electrically powered diver-borne compressor that can be used to supply air to a free-swimming diver.
The prior art of interest to the present invention dates back more than a century. In U.S. Pat. No. 0,156,599, issued in 1874, Schmitz taught a breathing aid for a shallowly submerged diver. His device had inlet and outlet breathing tubes running to a diver from a surface float. A more recent teaching in the same area is provided by one of the present inventors in his application Ser. No. 07/790,530, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
The maximum inspiration pressure that a diver can supply severely limits the utility of equipment such as that provided by Schmitz. Schmitz's device could not be used when the diver's chest was submerged more than about 30-40 cm.
Numerous devices have employed a compressor mounted above the surface of the water to supply air to a diver. Shipboard-mounted, manually-actuated compressors have been used for over a century to supply air to a "hardhat" diver. A compressor mounted on a smaller floation means than a boat or ship, i.e. an automobile inner tube, and powered by a small internal combustion engine is also known in the art for supplying air to free-swimming divers. Mitchell, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,493, improves on this art with a battery-powered compressor mounted on a surface float that can be towed behind a free-swimming diver. Kroling, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,082, teaches a manually-operable compressor mounted on a surface float. Kroling's compressor is operated by cables pulled by the diver.
There are also prior art compressors intended to be carried below the surface by a diver:
Houston, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,632, teaches an underwater breathing apparatus that includes two positive displacement compressors carried by the diver. One of Houston's compressors is operated by the diver's exhalations; the other is operated by hand.
Vautin, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,050,055 teaches a diver-mounted apparatus including two piston-type compressors and an air tank. The compressors are actuated by the diver's swimming motions. An improved diver-powered breathing apparatus of this sort is taught by Tragatschnig in U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,327, the teaching of which is herein incorporated by reference. Tragatschnig's apparatus is sold under the name "DIVEMAN", and is distributed in the United States by DIVEMAN America of Clearwater, Fl.
Gross, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,131, teaches an electrically-powered compressor on a diver's backpack. Gross' apparatus is configured for a diver who walks generally upright on the bottom of a body of water. Gross' unusual air compressor comprises an air and water mixing apparatus (of a sort originally developed for sewage treatment) that bubbles breathable air through water in a pre-inspiration chamber that has an open bottom. Gross' apparatus is of no value to a free-swimming diver, as free-swimming divers adopt a head-down attitude when submerging. This would cause Gross' apparatus to deliver water into the breathing tube.


Method for controlling with precision a permanent in-line process for separating constituents of a mixture in a simulated moving bed separation system from concentration and flow rate measurements.. The system comprises a set of columns forming a closed loop comprising several zones between fluid injection and draw-off points. Control of the process (linear or nonlinear) is performed from a knowledge model and from a certain number of operating variables at a plurality of measuring points along the loop (concentrations and flow rates for example) and characteristic measurements of the fluids injected and drawn off. Ratios respectively indicative of the ratio, in each of the different zones, between the fluid flow rates and the simulated adsorbent material flow rates, are determined from actual values of controlled variables depending on the measured operating variables (purity of the constituents, system yield, etc.). Values to be given to the operating variables in order to bring or to bring back the controlled variables to predetermined set values are determined from these ratios. The method can be applied for stabilizing separation processes, notably for aromatic hydrocarbons, in the presence of notable feedstock flow rate or quality variations.

In industry, there are many continuous separation processes based on selective adsorption of at least one component among several in a mixture of fluids, notably processes known as simulated countercurrent chromatography processes where the property of certain porous solids, in the presence of liquid, gaseous or supercritical mixtures, of retaining more or less significantly the various constituents of the mixture is used.
Separation or fractionation processes based on chromatography are most often implemented in a device comprising a set of columns or column fractions interconnected in series, forming a closed loop. Injection points for the mixture to be separated and the solvent or desorbent, and fluid extraction points: extract and raffinate, delimiting different zones are distributed along this loop. Identical liquid flows run through all the columns or column fractions of the same zone.
The devices most often consist of four main zones. However, some have only three zones (in this case, the zone contained between the raffinate draw-off point and the solvent injection point is omitted). There are also devices with five zones where part of the extract separated from the solvent is reinjected between the extract draw-off point and the feedstock injection point. Others may comprise five to seven zones where secondary fluids allow to flush lines carrying successively several fluids, so as to prevent contamination.
A porous solid of determined grain size forms the stationary phase. The mixture to be separated is fed into the column, then displaced by a carrier fluid or desorbent, and the various constituents flow out successively according to whether they are retained more or less significantly by the stationary phase.
In a real countercurrent process (FIG. 1), a fixed and constant concentration profile develops in a separation column 1 where the position of the points of injection of a feedstock A+B, of an eluent S, and of draw-off of an extract EA and of a raffinate RB remains fixed. The adsorbent solid 3 and the liquid 2 circulate in a countercurrent flow. A solid carrying system and a recycling pump P, both placed on the location of the column (at the junction of zones I and IV) where the only species present in the liquid as well as in the solid is the elution carrier fluid, allow respectively to run the solid from the bottom to the top and conversely the liquid from the top to the bottom.
Processes known as simulated moving bed processes allow to avoid a major difficulty inherent in real moving bed processes, which consists in correctly circulating the solid phase without creating attrition and without considerably increasing the bed porosity in relation to that of a fixed bed. In order to simulate the displacement thereof, the solid is placed in a certain number n of fixed beds (generally 4.ltoreq.n.ltoreq.24) placed in series and it is the concentration profile which is displaced at a substantially uniform speed all around a closed loop.
In practice, successive shifting of the injection and draw-off points is performed by means of a rotary valve or more simply by means of a set of properly controlled on-off valves. This circular shift, performed at each period, of the various incoming-outgoing flows in a given direction amounts to simulating a displacement of the solid adsorbent in the opposite direction.
Countercurrent or cocurrent simulated moving bed chromatography processes are for example described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,589 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,832.
A system for separating, in the presence of at least one eluent, a feedstock comprising at least two constituents into at least two fractions generally comprises n closed-loop chromatographic columns or column sections mounted in series (generally 4.ltoreq.n.ltoreq.24) where a pressurized liquid, supercritical or gaseous mixture is circulated, the loop comprising at least one feedstock injection current, at least one eluent injection current, at least one extract draw-off current and at least one raffinate draw-off current, the constituent preferably sought being mainly either in the extract or in the raffinate.
The main inlet flow rates are the feedstock flow rate and the eluent flow rate. The outlet flow rate is the extract flow rate. The raffinate is withdrawn under pressure control. The raffinate flow rate is equal to the sum of the inlet flow rates minus the extract flow rate. In addition to these controlled flow rates there is a controlled recycle flow rate whose value also depends on the position of the pump at a given time. The relative location of each of the four flows around the beds is calculated so as to obtain a satisfactory behaviour depending on the type of separation to be performed and thus defines four distinct zones in the case of the process shown in FIG. 1.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,457,260 and 5,470,482 describe a process controlling a simulated moving bed system for separating a mixture of constituents, comprising two loop interconnected multiple-bed columns, where at least one characteristic such as the purity of a constituent or the yield thereof or a combination of both is controlled. The process comprises measuring the concentration of the various constituents of the mixture circulating in the interconnection circuits of the columns, notably by near-infrared spectroscopy, and using an iterative adjustment algorithm of multivariable regression type or of neural network type which tends to decrease the difference between the actual value of the characteristic and a set value up to a certain threshold. The algorithm used is of the "black box" type with all the drawbacks linked with this type of approach: a considerable implementation time since the result is obtained only after many tests, it is exploitable only in the field of the tests carried out and it is obtained with very little precision, that of the modeling of nonlinearities in general.
In the text hereafter, the following terms designate:
controlled variables: variables which must be constantly close to a precedingly specified set value and which show the smooth running of the process. It may be, for example, the purity of the constituents of an extract, the yield of the separation unit for a given constituent, etc.:
operating variables: variables which can be modified by the operator, such as flow rates or valve switching periods allowing to simulate the displacement of the beds, etc.;
control variables: variables which mainly act on a single zone, for example on the part of the concentration profile contained in a zone. These control variables are determined by the control algorithm and are translated into operating variables.
It may be reminded that the aim of an advanced process intended for control of the running of a separation loop is to calculate a control law (all of the values of the operating variables in the course of time) in order to:
control operation, i.e. to calculate a control law capable of making the transition between two distinct values of one or more controlled variables selected a priori, and
regulate operation, i.e. to calculate a control law capable of compensating as much as possible (in advance or at least asymptotically) for all the external disturbances acting on the process so that the controlled variables selected a priori keep a quasi-constant value.
In the case of a simulated moving bed unit, regulation can also compensate for disturbances due to an evolution in time of the thermodynamic and geometric parameters of the adsorbent (of course for a limited deterioration of the properties of the adsorbent).
These objectives are fulfilled with the process intended for automatic control of a process for separating constituents of a mixture of circulating fluids according to the invention, which allows to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks. It is not based on a "black box" type technique but on a more controlled approach permitted by a nonlinear modeling of the separation process.

Method for controlling with precision a process for separating constituents of a mixture, in a simulated moving bed separation system


An electrical wire pulling device is for pulling wire through a conduit and includes a T-shaped hollow body including a side inlet transversely intersecting a path between a top inlet and a bottom outlet, and a constrictor adjacent the side inlet. A pulling line source, including a supply of pulling line, is positioned adjacent the top inlet and configured to supply the pulling line into the top inlet and out the bottom outlet. A constrictor has a tapered section tapering towards the bottom inlet. The bottom outlet is positioned adjacent the first end of the conduit. The side inlet is coupled to a fluid source to supply a fluid into the hollow body to be pushed downward towards the bottom outlet and create a pressure differential that draws the pulling line towards the bottom outlet and into the conduit.

In-ground swimming pools (also spas, hot tubs, and fountains etc.) may have electrical lighting. Such lights include the use of a lighting fixture that has a niche (fixture housing) that is mounted in the pool wall or floor. The light bulb is coupled to the niche, and a rigid conduit (e.g. PVC or metal) extends (e.g. underground) between the niche and a junction box or transformer (power source) to carry the light electrical cord. The conduit typically includes one or more turns (e.g. 90-degree elbows or sweeps) and may run in lengths of 25 to 200+ feet, for example.
The use of fish tape and various other methods exist for pulling the cord through the conduit from the niche to the junction box. These methods may involve multiple workers and the use of wire lubricant.
Faster, easier and more efficient approaches for pulling cord through conduit are needed.
This background section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of typical technology that may be related to various aspects or embodiments of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be useful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects and embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in light of, and not as admissions of, the prior art.

Device, system and related methods for pulling electrical cords through conduit


A personal treatment device comprising a personalized capsule that has a bed for a person to lie thereon in a supine position, the capsule has a cover that is openable for access to the bed and closeable to define a chamber in which a person lies. The cover has a divider adjacent a head portion of the bed, such that the head of a user will extend out of the cover. Suitable heaters are provided in the cover to radiate energy onto a person on the bed, and a steam generator is provided for adding steam as desired to the interior of the chamber and also to direct steam toward the face of a user under control of the user.

The present invention relates to a personalized therapy cabinet or enclosure having a bed on which a person will lie and be treated with both heat and steam therapy on an individually controlled basis to permit a person to provide overall therapy.
Individual personalized saunas have been advanced, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,809, and these devices have used dry heat for providing a pleasant environment for a person reclining on a vibratable bed. Steam has also been used in cabinets such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,915, which shows a vibrating, reclining chair with a hood on the outside that carries a speaker, a fan and an oxygen inlet. The steam supply also is provided to the interior of this type of cabinet. Various other steam sauna or steam cabinets have been advanced as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,578, shows a compartment having treatment with light and heat, together with a vibratable bed.
The present invention relates to a personalized cabinet which includes a bed, and which has an array of interior heaters for providing controllable dry heat to a user, and which further has one or more steam sources controlled for providing steam to the interior of the cabinet. Steam is provided on the interior of the cabinet and ducts can be used for directing the steam to various locations for desired therapeutic treatment. There are also steam outlets on a control panel that direct steam onto the face of a riser. A removable transparent tunnel hood can be placed over the head of the user to direct the steam over the face.
A fan is used to provide a positive pressure to insure proper steam distribution.
By providing a combination of heat and steam with a full length bed, which can be vibrated if desired, the treatment can take place as needed for complete relaxation and therapeutic applications of both radiating heat and steam.

Therapy steam and heat treatment cabinet


A holographic image that has been transferred from a conventional polymeric support to an aluminum stock element is described in this invention. A host of images may be envisioned and since this image, on a aluminum stock element, may then be wound up in a roll, it can be used in the manufacture of cans, containers and the like. The aluminum stock element containing the holographic image may also be used in sheets for advertisements and the like. This element and process permits the wide spread use of such holographic images, such use not being available until now.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to holographic images formed by a unique process for various security and decorative purposes. Also, this invention relates to aluminized roll-stock holographic images formed on a plastic layer. Further, this invention relates to elements and process for transferring these holographic images to yet another substrate. Still further, this invention relates to a unique process for transferring holographic images from a carrier surface directly to the end use substrate thus eliminating the need to permanently laminate a holographic imaged film to the substrate itself (prior art). This permits a wider and more commercial use of the holographic image.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Holographically enhanced materials are well known in the prior art. These are usually made by very proprietary methods which include passing a layer of plastic, for example, through a machine which imparts a variation (e.g. which can be an image itself) within covering or upper strata of the plastic layer. This step is somewhat similar to, but not exactly the same, as embossing. A powdered metallic element (e.g. aluminum) is then applied thereon by the so-called metallizing process. After this step, the element appears to have a two or three dimensional diffractional grating holographic image imparted on the layer of plastic. This image is extremely pleasing and is widely used within the credit card and security industries, for example, to impart an image particular to that credit card or to provide a security element thereon. The resulting image is difficult to duplicate and thus these elements assist in the prevention of fraud by counterfeiting, for example. The draw-back to the use of these images is the cost since the machines to produce the image are complicated and costly in and of themselves. Additionally, holographic elements produced by this method (the so-called "shim" method) are usually small in size and thus cannot be imprinted with larger images. Thus, this material has not been widely used outside of the credit card and novelty industry.
There are other prior art process for the direct lamination of holographic images formed as taught above directly to another substrate. This step, however, leaves the holographic image and the substrate on which it was first formed, on the second substrate and this has at least two disadvantages. Firstly, it is extremely costly to leave the first substrate laminated to the second. Secondly, this second lamination tends to distort the image, change the physical properties and leaves the system with a bulky three and four layer product.
It is well-known in the industry to place images on aluminum roll-stock, such as that used to make aluminum cans and other aluminum containers. These images impart either the items contained therein or ingredients, price or simple advertising, for example. There is a long standing need, however, to provide holographic elements on to this aluminum roll stock in order to provide increased beauty and to otherwise enhance the logos, labels, identities and other information and decoration contained thereon.
Recently, a process for making large sheets of holographically enhanced material has been developed. Thus, the costs of such holographically enhanced material have been significantly reduced. However, these large sheets of material are usually placed on a plastic surface which is also rather expensive and thus the use of this material is still rather limited. If the holographic image could be further transferred to yet another substrate, one which was less expensive and one which had higher utility (e.g. aluminum roll stock used in the manufacture of cans and containers, for example), the use of holographically prepared images would find wider use in the use of this aluminum roll stock. Thus, there is a long-standing need in the packaging, wrapping and advertising industry to have a holographic image which can be directly laminated to a second surface and then delaminated therefrom, leaving the metallized holographic image on this second surface and leaving the polymeric substrate suitable for reuse by further metallization. More specifically, there is a long standing need to transfer decorative holographic images to aluminum roll-stock, roll-stock that can be further used to make cans and containers, for example

Method for transferring a metallized holographic image

Hampshire Holographic Manufacturing Corp.


An electromagnetic induction heating or cooling system including a housing having a fluid air inlet, a sleeve shaped support extending within the housing and including a plurality of spaced apart and radially extending magnetic or electromagnetic plates communicated with the inlet. An elongated conductive component is rotatably supported about the sleeve support and includes linearly spaced apart and radially projecting conductive plates which alternate with the spacing established by the magnetic or electromagnetic plates. A motor rotates the conductive component which, upon rotation of the conductive plates, generates magnetic fields to condition the fluid according to either of induction heating or cooling. The rotating plates of the conductive component are further individually configured so that they simultaneously redirect the conditioned fluid flow through a warm air outlet of the housing.

The phenomena of induction heating is well known in the prior art by which heat is generated in an electrically conductive object by the generation of eddy currents. The typical induction heater includes an electronic oscillator which passes a high frequency alternating current through an electromagnet. The eddy currents flowing through the resistance of the material in turn heat it. Put another way, the eddy currents result in a high-frequency oscillating magnetic field which causes the magnet's polarity to switch back and forth at a high-enough rate to produce heat as byproduct of friction.
One known example of a prior art induction heating system is taught by the electromagnetic induction air heater of Garza, US 2011/0215089, which includes a conductive element, a driver coupled to the conductive element, an induction element positioned close to the conductive element, and a power supply coupled to the induction element and the driver. Specifically, the driver applies an angular velocity to the rotate the conductive element about a rotational axis. The power supply provides electric current to the induction element to generate a magnetic field about the induction element such that the conductive element heats as it rotates within the magnetic field to transfer heat to warm the cold fluid flow streams. The fluid flow streams are circulated about the surface of the conductive element and directed by the moving conductive element to generate warm fluid flow streams from the conductive element.
Also referenced is the centrifugal magnetic heating device of Hsu 2013/0062340 which teaches a power receiving mechanism and a heat generator. The power receiving mechanism further includes a vane set and a transmission module. The heat generator connected with the transmission module further includes a centrifugal mechanism connected to the transmission module, a plurality of bases furnished on the centrifugal mechanism, a plurality of magnets furnished on the bases individually, and at least one conductive member corresponding in positions to the magnets. The vane set is driven by nature flows so as to drives the bases synchronically with the magnets through the transmission module, such that the magnets can rotate relative to the conductive member and thereby cause the conductive member to generate heat.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Magnetic induction style furnace or heat pump or magnetic refrigerator having combination conductive and heated or cooled fluid redirecting rotational plate


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for debugging correctness issues in training machine learning models. In one aspect, a method comprises training a first machine learning model using a first computing system having a first configuration; training a second machine learning model using a second computing system having a second configuration, wherein the second configuration of the second computing system is different than the first configuration of the first computing system; and determining, for each of a plurality of shared training operations that are performed by both the first computing system and the second computing system, a respective similarity measure that measures a similarity between: a first training output generated by the first computing system by performing the shared training operation, and a second training output generated by the second computing system by performing the shared training operation.

This specification relates to debugging correctness issues that occur during machine learning model training.
Machine learning models receive an input and generate an output, e.g., a predicted output, based on the received input. Some machine learning models are parametric models and generate the output based on the received input and on values of the parameters of the model.
Some machine learning models are deep models that employ multiple layers of models to generate an output for a received input. For example, a deep neural network is a deep machine learning model that includes an output layer and one or more hidden layers that each apply a non-linear transformation to a received input to generate an output.
A variety of correctness issues can occur during machine learning model training, e.g., operations performed during the training may result in the generation of not-a-number (NaN) values, or the model parameters of the machine learning model may fail to converge. More generally, a correctness issue occurs during training when the execution of the training fails or is otherwise not deemed to be acceptable for a particular context.

Debugging correctness issues in training machine learning models


A system and method for creating a sports video may include receiving video of a sporting event inclusive of players with unique identifiers on their respective uniforms. At least one unique identifier of the players in the video may be identified. Video segments may be defined from the video inclusive of the at least one unique identifier. Video segments inclusive of the at least one unique identifier may be caused to be individually available for replay.

Sports has a wide range of players, levels, supporters, and fans. Players may range from beginners (e.g., 4 years old and higher) to professionals. The levels of sports teams may range from beginners through professionals. Supporters of sports teams and players may include family members, assistants, volunteers, former players, and coaches. Fans may include family members and people who like the sport, team, or team members.
Coaches and players often find reviewing practice and game video footage useful in helping players and teams improve their performance. In the case of an individual player, video footage of the individual player's actions is beneficial to view so that the individual player can see what he or she did well and not so well.
With low-funded teams (e.g., non-professional teams), video editors who can review video footage to identify specific segments related to specific players is generally not an option due to cost. Moreover, even if a video editor is willing to work at no or low cost, the amount of time needed to create video segments for specific players is not always feasible due to games being long and manually reviewing the footage to identify the specific players in specific video segments is difficult, especially when there are multiple players who enter and exit video scenes.
Beyond the obvious use of the video footage to assist players and coaches in improving skills and teamwork, families and friends of a player often like to view the player during a game without having to watch or fast forward through an entire game, but rather be able to see the player when he or she is "in action." Additionally, video scrapbooks or gifts for family, such as grandparents who live far away, are often desired, but tend to be costly due to tedious editing processes that currently exist. Moreover, for gifted athletes who want to provide video clips to prospective colleges or professional teams, or scouts of professional teams looking for gifted athletes, creation of quality video segments that meet their respective needs is a time consuming process.
For amateur sports, there is a desire to view the players from multiple angles and from unique angles (e.g., from goal viewpoint, overhead, sidelines, home team side, away team side). However, the availability of collecting such video footage is not possible for a variety of reasons, and establishing a coordinated control structure for such a video production is generally not financially possible.
Hence, there is a need for a system and process (i) to expedite identification of players on sports teams in video footage, (ii) to capture video footage of sport teams from multiple mobile recording devices, possibly disparate recording devices, and from different angles, and (iii) to synthesize and organize video footage, optionally in real-time, that is cost effective.

System and method for creating a sports video


A bulb socket with a fastening structure for electrical contacts, which comprises a body portion and a secondary body portion to be welded together by means of a supersonic welding; inside the socket, there are screw threads for fastening a bulb. The bottom surface and one side of the body portion are furnished with two electrical contacts respectively; the electrical contacts on the side has two flat surfaces to be positioned in place with two rib plates respectively; the upper end of the electrical contact is held in place by means of a stop shoulder of the secondary body portion to prevent from pulling upwards; a resilient piece is furnished between two flat surfaces of the secondary body portion, and the resilient piece has a free end. Another electrical contact is inserted into a groove through the cover-fitting channel, and is bent into a bent plate above the bottom surface; the outer end of the bent plate is held in place by means of a positioning lug, which is horizontally positioned between the two electrical contacts to prevent the two from contact un-intentionally ( i.e., short circuited ).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bulb socket, and particularly to a bulb socket which can prevent the electrical contacts therein to be pulled out or to become shortcircuited by using a fastening structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional and festival decoration bulb socket, the lower buttom of the socket has a channel for mounting power-supply wires; the bottom surface of the socket is mounted with two grooves for inserting two electrical contacts. The prongs of the electrical contacts extend into the grooves; after the power-supply wires are mounted in a channel, a fastening cover is fastened in the channel, and then the prongs of the electrical contacts will pierce through the insulator of the power-supply wires respectively to fulfill electric connection. The end portions of the electrical contacts extend upwards into the socket for connecting the bulb electrodes. The flange of the electrical contact will be in contact with the bulb base; such products are manufactured in Taiwan and in China mainland.
The aforesaid bulb socket caused a short-circuit accident in the United States in 1993 upon being used by children; the short-circuit accident was resulted in the flange portion and the bent plate portion. Such accident did happen, though it has passed the UL test; as a result, the UL has re-established their new standards to test the safety of such products. In accordance with the new standards of UL, the side and center contacts shall be supported, restrained, or constructed such that when subjected to a 3 lbf (13.3 N) applied in any direction, they can not become contacted each other, and a lamp screw base causes a short circuit when a lamp is installed. The screw threads inside the socket should keep a bulb therein without being pulled out upon applied with a given force; the screw threads should not become wear-and-tear. When the socket is pressed, the copper plate should not deform and dislodge.
However, both the conventional sockets and the socket disclosed in some patents (such as Taiwan patent Nos. 82209610, 82207093, 82215955 and 82218418) not do conform to the US standards; particularly, the screw threads in the bulb socket fail to meet that standards; for instance, in Patent '418, the screw threads are made with a direct ejection method, i.e., it is impossible to pass the new test standards. Other patents, such as '610, '093, and '955, the sockets thereof are made of copper with good screw threads, but the fastening method of the socket and the base is poor, i.e., by using a reverse hook, which is unable to withstand a pulling test.

Bulb socket with fastening structure for electric connectors


An industrial vehicle has an engine, a drive wheel, and a power transmission mechanism that transmits power of the engine to the drive wheel wherein the power transmitted through the power transmission mechanism causes creeping of the vehicle. The industrial vehicle includes a control unit that controls an engine speed of the engine and a vehicle speed detection unit that detects a vehicle speed of the vehicle. The control unit controls the engine speed at a first engine speed when the vehicle is in a non-traveling state, and when the vehicle speed has exceeded a predetermined vehicle speed, the control unit controls the engine speed at a second engine speed that is lower than the first engine speed, and the second engine speed is set to generate a desired creeping speed.

The present invention relates to an industrial vehicle in which the power of an engine is transmitted to drive wheels through a power transmission mechanism and in which creeping of the vehicle occurs.
There has been a vehicle which is provided with a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of an engine. In the vehicle, the power transmitted through the power transmission mechanism causes creeping of the vehicle (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-323826). Such creeping is useful for starting a vehicle smoothly.
An industrial vehicle such as a forklift truck may have an engine mounted immediately below the driver's seat due to the limited size of the vehicle. In such vehicle, the driver's seat is subjected to the vibration of the engine. Therefore, there has been a demand for controlling the engine vibration. Furthermore, the engine of the forklift truck that may be used for loading operations near a rack or the like is required to operate with stability during the loading operations with the forklift truck being at a stop. The idling speed of the forklift truck may be set relatively high for the purpose of suppression of the vibration and stabilized operation of the engine of the forklift truck.
The creeping occurs also in an industrial vehicle, such as a forklift truck, if the power transmission mechanism of the engine of the vehicle includes a torque converter and an automatic transmission. Therefore, in the above case of the forklift truck in which the idling speed is set relatively high, the vehicle is required to creep at a desired stabilized speed so that loading operations may be performed safely near a rack or the like while the forklift truck is at a stop or traveling at a crawling speed.
The present invention, which has been made in view of such problems underlying the background art, is directed to providing an industrial vehicle that achieves a desired creeping speed.


A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions executable by one or more processors to perform operations including: receiving a plurality of input parameters including (i) a workload type, (ii) a list of selected nodes belonging to a distributed computer system, and (iii) a list of frequencies; responsive to receiving the plurality of workload parameters, retrieving calibration data from a calibration database; generating a power estimate based on the plurality of workload parameters and the calibration data; and providing the power estimate to a resource manager is shown. Alternatively, the input parameters may include (i) a workload type, (ii) a list of selected nodes belonging to a distributed computer system, and (iii) an amount of available power, wherein the estimator may provide an estimation of the frequency at which the nodes should operate to utilize as much of the available power without exceeding the available power.

A distributed computer system may perform parallel computing by the simultaneous use of multiple nodes to execute a computational assignment referred to as a job. Each node may include one or more processors, memory, an operating system, and one or more input/output (I/O) components. The nodes may communicate with each other through a high speed network fabric, e.g., an Ethernet, an Omni-Path, an InfiniBand, or other network, and may use shared file systems or storage. The job may be divided into thousands of parallel tasks distributed over thousands of nodes. These nodes may synchronize with each other hundreds of times a second.
Future distributed computer systems are projected to require tens of megawatts of power, making their power management as a foremost concern in the industry. These distributed computer systems will be expected to deliver exascale performance with limited power and energy budgets. Current distributed computer systems may apply power capping to adhere to the limited power and energy budgets. However, current approaches to power capping negatively impact the performance of the distributed computer systems due to typically inaccurate power capping.
Current approaches estimate the power needed by one or more nodes of a distributed computer system to run a job based upon the thermal dissipation power (TDP) value of the one or more components comprising each node. As it is rare that a job actually uses the TDP value of each node on which the job is run, the estimation using the TDP values results in an over-estimate. By over-estimating the power needed to startup and run a job, current approaches delay the start of the job and reduce the efficiency of the distributed computer system by preventing other jobs from running.
The start of running a job is delayed as the over-estimation of the necessary power to start the job causes the distributed computer system to delay the start of the job until the over-estimated startup power is available. Alternatively, a more accurate estimation of the startup power would avoid a delay of running the job. In addition, the over-estimation of the power required to run the job results in an over-allocation of power for the job. The over-allocation takes away from power that could be allocated to other jobs requesting to be run by the distributed computer system.
In addition, the TDP is not the maximum power that may be consumed by a node. For example, TDP does not accurately measure the electrical power consumption when every component of the node is being used but measures the thermal dissipation. Therefore, it is possible that a job request may consume more power than the TDP estimate which may lead to the distributed computer system attempting to consume more power than it has been allocated by a utility facility.

Methods and apparatus to estimate power performance of a job that runs on multiple nodes of a distributed computer system


In a code multiplexing communication system, a transmission apparatus includes a code generator, a signal distribution unit, spreading units, a synthesizer, and a modulator, and a reception apparatus includes a correlator, an equalizer, demodulators, and a coupler. The code generator generates n spreading code series which are generated at timings different from the timing of a predetermined spreading code. The signal distribution unit divides a serial input signal having n.times.m bits per symbol timing into n parallel signals each consisting of m bits. The spreading units respectively spectrum-spread the n m-bit output signals by using the n output signals from code generator. The synthesizer synthesizes the output signals from the spreading units. The modulator modulates the output signal from the synthesizer. The correlator calculates the correlation between a baseband signal and the spreading code. The equalizer removes a delay distortion caused by a radio transmission path from the output signal from the correlator, and separates the signal into n signals. The demodulators respectively demodulate the n output signals from the equalizer and extract m-bit parallel signals. The coupler synthesizes the m-bit output signals from the demodulators and outputs a serial signal.

The present invention relates to a code multiplexing communication system used for a wireless local area network (LAN).
Wireless LANs are much more flexible than conventional wire LANs in terms of the locations and movement of terminals. However, since frequencies used for a wireless LAN are limited, it is difficult to increase the number of communication lines in accordance with the number of users as in a wire LAN. A 2.4-GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical use) band is one of the frequency bands that the wireless LAN can use. This band is also used for RF heating and the like. For this reason, in order to share the ISM band, it is mandatory to use a spectrum spread scheme in the wireless LANs. In addition, since the bandwidth is limited to 26 MHz in Japan, the transmission rate limit in the conventional wireless LANs is 2 Mbps. At a transmission rate of 2 Mbps, however, the transmission rate per user decreases with an increase in the number of users.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional modulation amplification scheme. FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of a wireless LAN based on the scheme recommended by IEEE 802.11.
The signal transmission rate is 2 Mbps, and a 11-bit Barker code is used as a spreading code for spectrum spread. A spreading code is output from a spreading code generator 203 at a chip rate of 11 MHz. As shown in FIG. 3, a 11-bit Barker code has an auto-correlation value of +1. The correlation value of a Barker code having undergone a timing shift is -1/11 or 0.
One-bit serial data input through a terminal 200 of a transmission apparatus 220 is converted into 2-bit parallel data by a serial/parallel (S/P) converter 201. A spreading unit 202 multiplies the output signal from the S/P converter 201 by a spreading code output from the spreading code generator 203. The output signal from the spreading unit 202 is modulated and converted into an RF signal by an analog transmission processor 204. The RF signal is then output to the air through the antenna.
In a reception apparatus 230, the signal received through the antenna is amplified and converted into a baseband signal by an analog reception processor 205. A correlator 206 calculates the correlation between the baseband signal and the Barker code. As shown in FIG. 4, the correlator 206 is constituted by cascaded delay elements 401 each having a delay corresponding to a chip rate, multipliers 402 each serving to multiply an output from a corresponding one of the delay elements 401 by .+-.1, and adders 403 each serving to add an output from a corresponding one of the multipliers 402, an input signal, and a sum output from the preceding multiplier 402. The multipliers "+1" and "-1" are identical to a Barker code series.
In the correlator 206, a delayed wave caused by multipath reflection in a transmission path is decomposed in units of chips upon spectrum spread, as shown in FIG. 5. Only the chip signal having the maximum correlation value is extracted, but the remaining chip signals produced by the delayed wave are discarded, thereby reducing the distortion caused by the delayed wave. The output signal from the correlator 206 is demodulated by a demodulator 207, and converted into 2-Mbps serial data by a P/S converter 208. The serial data is then output to an output terminal 209.
Means for increasing the transmission rate on the basis of conventional techniques include a method of increasing the symbol rate and a method of increasing the number of bits per symbol.
In the method of increasing the symbol rate, a spreading ratio must be 10 or more, and the band width is limited to 26 MHz in Japan. Owing to such limitations, the transmission rate cannot be expected to be doubled or more.
The method of increasing the number of bits per symbol includes a method using a multiple-PSK or QAM. However, since the signal quality greatly deteriorates due to the influences of delay distortions and the like, and a high arithmetic processing precision is required, it is technically difficult to use such a method. For example, in order to obtain a transmission rate twice that of QPSK, signal multiplexing higher in degree than that of hexadecimal QAM is required. Hexadecimal QAM requires power 10 times that required by QPSK, and is more susceptible to amplification distortions. For this reason, in order to obtain the performance equivalent to that of QPSK, the loads on devices need to be considerably increased. In addition, this method becomes susceptible to the influences of distortions in transmission paths, resulting in a smaller service area.


A coupling prism assembly between a light valve and a projection lens includes a right angle prism and a wedge prism. The right angle prism has two sides of substantially the same length and a hypotenuse side. The wedge prism has a side which is adjacent the hypotenuse side of the right angle prism. The light valve is adjacent one of the two sides of the right angle prism and the projection lens is adjacent the other of the two sides of the right angle prism. Light enters the coupling prism assembly through a second side of the wedge prism, passes in substantially a straight line through the wedge prism and right angle prism to the light valve where the light is modulated. The modulated light passes back into the right angle prism and is reflected by the hypotenuse side into the projection lens. In a color projection system, the light is split into three color components. A separate light valve is provided to modulate each color component which is directed to a projection lens. A separate coupling prism assembly is adjacent each light valve to direct each color component to the light valve and direct the modulated light to the projection prism. A color combining prism assembly is provided between the coupling prism assemblies and the projection lens to combine the three modulated beams into a single beam which is directed into the projection lens.

In one type of a video projection system, a beam of light is projected onto means for modulating the light in accordance with a video signal. The modulated light beam is then directed through a projection lens onto a video screen. For a color projection system, the light source is split into its three color components, i.e., red, blue and green. Each color component of the light beam is then individually modulated. The three modulated components are then directed simultaneously through the projection lens and onto the screen.
One type of light modulator is a light valve having a blazed surface. A blazed surface is a surface made up of a plurality of small surfaces each at an angle less than ninety degrees with respect to the axis of the device. Also, the light valve includes means for selectively reflecting the light beam impinging on the blazed surface to the projection lens, or directing the light away from the projection lens so as to modulate the light. A type of light valve which has been developed for this purpose is a deformable mirror device which is formed of a plurality of mirrors which can be simultaneously pivoted to change the angle of deflection of light impinging on the mirrors. With a light valve having a blazed surface, the light from the light source is directed onto the blazed surface and is reflected from the blazed surface to the projection lens. Thus, the system heretofore used had the means for directing the light onto the light valve surface and the projection lens at the same side of the light valve, i.e., the side having the blazed surface. To permit the incoming beam of light and the outgoing beam of light from interfering with each other, it has been necessary to provide a relatively large space between the light valve and each of the means for directing the light beam onto the light valve and the projection lens. This is particularly true for color projection systems which have three separate light valves, one for each color. In order to make the projection system more compact, it is desirable to have a system in which the light directing means and the projection lens can be placed as close as possible to the light valve and still not have interference between the incoming and outgoing light beams.

Coupling prism assembly and projection system using the same


The present disclosure provides compositions and methods for making and using engineered killer phagocytic cells for immunotherapy in cancer or infection by expressing a chimeric antigen receptor having an enhanced phagocytic activity, the chimeric receptor is encoded by a recombinant nucleic acid.

Circulating monocytes represent a versatile and dynamic cell population, composed of multiple subsets which differ in phenotype, size, morphology, and transcriptional profiles and are defined by their location in the blood (Geissmann et al., 2003; Cros et al., 2010; Ingersoll et al., 2010; Wong et al., 2011; Mildner et al., 2013a). These discrete monocyte subsets can be distinguished by the expression of CD14 and CD16 in humans and Ly6C, CCR2, and CX3CR1 in mice. In humans, CD14+ CD16− (classical) monocytes make up ˜85% of the circulating monocyte pool, whereas the remaining ˜15% consist of CD14+ CD16+ (intermediate) and CD14lo CD16+ (nonclassical) monocytes (Passlick et al., 1989; Wong et al., 2011). Similarly, in mice, two populations of monocytes have been described: Ly6Chi CCR2+ CX3CR1int and Ly6Clo CCR2− CX3CR1hi, representing classical and nonclassical monocytes, respectively (Geissmann et al., 2003). Monocyte egression from the bone marrow requires expression of the chemokine receptor CCR2, which is restricted to CD14+ CD16− classical monocytes.
Classical monocytes are rapidly recruited to sites of cancer, infection, autoimmunity and injury, where they exhibit considerable functional plasticity, differentiating into a number of downstream cells such as dendritic cells and macrophages. Classical monocytes replenish resident peripheral monocyte-derived cells under steady-state conditions.

Therapeutic cell compositions and methods of manufacturing and use thereof


A ball joint assembly is disclosed which comprises a generally cylindrical housing having a recess at one end thereof with a circumferential lip, a ball element disposed in the housing, and a joint pin connected to the ball element and extending from the housing. The assembly further includes a polymeric bearing disposed over the ball element in the housing and a cover plate for sealing the ball element and bearing in the housing and preventing contaminants from entering the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ball joint assemblies. More particularly, the present invention relates to an economical ball joint assembly which prevents contaminants from entering the assembly.
2. Disclosure Information
In known ball joint assemblies, cover plates are typically crimped over the assembly to prevent axial movement of the joint in a housing and to prevent water or other contaminants from entering the joint and degrading its function. Typically, the cover plates are flat and are secured by crimping a lip of the joint housing over the plate. The lip extends above the plate after crimping, resulting in an area between the lip and the cover plate which collects contaminants while the joint is in use. Although a seal is provided by the cap, the contaminants still flow into the assembly, typically by capillary flow between the cover plate and the lip of the housing.
Many suggestions for preventing contamination have been proposed. For example, it is known to fill the collecting area with adhesives or liquid sealers. However, these sealers are messy, difficult to control and often wear out or do not completely prevent contaminants from flowing past them. Another proposal is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,651. The '651 patent teaches hermetically sealing a ball joint assembly by friction welding a dome-shaped cap over the end of the ball and socket assembly. The '651 patent uses a metal disk which is friction welded to a polymeric material. Although this system probably achieves the goal of completely preventing contamination of the assembly, it is expensive and difficult to implement in a production environment because of the added equipment and labor to friction weld.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an economical, simple solution for preventing contamination of a ball joint assembly.


FCC process uses an open reactor vessel to house cyclones or other separation devices that reduce the carry through of product gases with the catalyst into the reactor vessel to less than 10 wt. % so that the catalyst in the reactor vessel provides a secondary dealkylation zone. By using a highly efficient separation device to remove product from the catalyst, the environment in the reactor vessel receives a low volume of cracked hydrocarbons from the riser conversion zone and provides a convenient secondary reaction zone that receives a recycled heavy gasoline fraction separated from the riser product stream. Dealkylation in the secondary reaction zone provides additional light gasoline to satisfy T90 requirements.

The fluidized catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons is the main stay process for the production of gasoline and light hydrocarbon products from heavy hydrocarbon charge stocks such as vacuum gas oils or residual feeds. Large hydrocarbon molecules, associated with the heavy hydrocarbon feed, are cracked to break the large hydrocarbon chains thereby producing lighter hydrocarbons. These lighter hydrocarbons are recovered as product and can be used directly or further processed to raise the octane barrel yield relative to the heavy hydrocarbon feed.
The basic equipment or apparatus for the fluidized catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons has been in existence since the early 1940's. The basic components of the FCC process include a reactor, a regenerator and a catalyst stripper. The reactor includes a contact zone where the hydrocarbon feed is contacted with a particulate catalyst and a separation zone where product vapors from the cracking reaction are separated from the catalyst. Further product separation takes place in a catalyst stripper that receives catalyst from the separation zone and removes entrained hydrocarbons from the catalyst by counter-current contact with steam or another stripping medium.
The FCC process is carried out by contacting the starting material whether it be vacuum gas oil, reduced crude, or another source of relatively high boiling hydrocarbons with a catalyst made up of a finely divided or particulate solid material. The catalyst is transported like a fluid by passing gas or vapor through it at sufficient velocity to produce a desired regime of fluid transport. Contact of the oil with the fluidized material catalyzes the cracking reaction. The cracking reaction deposits coke on the catalyst. Coke is comprised of hydrogen and carbon and can include other materials in trace quantities such as sulfur and metals that enter the process with the starting material. Coke interferes with the catalytic activity of the catalyst by blocking active sites on the catalyst surface where the cracking reactions take place. Catalyst is traditionally transferred from the stripper to a regenerator for purposes of removing the coke by oxidation with an oxygen-containing gas. An inventory of catalyst having a reduced coke content, relative to the catalyst in the stripper, hereinafter referred to as regenerated catalyst, is collected for return to the reaction zone. Oxidizing the coke from the catalyst surface releases a large amount of heat, a portion of which escapes the regenerator with gaseous products of coke oxidation generally referred to as flue gas. The balance of the heat leaves the regenerator with the regenerated catalyst. The fluidized catalyst is continuously circulated from the reaction zone to the regeneration zone and then again to the reaction zone. The fluidized catalyst, as well as providing a catalytic function, acts as a vehicle for the transfer of heat from zone to zone. Catalyst exiting the reaction zone is spoken of as being spent, i.e., partially deactivated by the deposition of coke upon the catalyst. Specific details of the various contact zones, regeneration zones, and stripping zones along with arrangements for conveying the catalyst between the various zones are well known to those skilled in the art.
The FCC unit cracks gas oil or heavier feeds into a broad range of products. Cracked vapors from the FCC reactor enter a separation zone, typically in the form of a main column, that provides a gas stream, a gasoline cut, cycle oil and heavy residual components. The gasoline cut includes both light and heavy gasoline components. A major component of the heavy gasoline fraction comprises heavy single ring aromatics.
Recent concerns about volatility and toxicity of hydrocarbon fuel and the resultant environment damage has prompted legislation that will limit the content and composition of aromatic hydrocarbons in such fuels. Some of these limitations relate specifically to benzene which, due to its toxicity, will be substantially eliminated from the gasoline pool. Restrictions on the content of heavy aromatics will result from proposed end boiling point limits of gasoline fuels, referred to as T90. T90 limits curtail the presence of hydrocarbon components that boil above temperatures in a range of about 350.degree.-430.degree. F. Therefore, a process is sought that will eliminate the presence of high boiling aromatics from FCC gasoline.

FCC process with secondary dealkylation zone


A rotary-blade cutting apparatus which includes a spring-biased cutting-blade cover. The cover is spring biased to a closed position and includes a projection for manually applying a hold-open force to rotate and hold the spring-biased cover in an open or retracted position in a cutting-blade chassis. The handle of the apparatus is angled to provide for a more comfortable grip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rotary wheel cutters, and more particularly, to a rotary wheel cutting apparatus with a spring-biased blade cover which automatically covers the rotary blade when a manual hold-open force is eliminated.
2. General Background
Rotary wheel cutters are used in a variety of industries which require cutting soft material such as cloth. As with other cutting implements, when the cutter is dropped or left unattended, workers are not always aware of the cutting edge and have become cut or injured. However, uncovered cutting edges not only present a hazard to personnel but also to the materials used. For example, if a cutter is dropped, the cutting edge could cut the material in a location which is undesirable.
Further, carpal tunnel, xe2x80x9ctennis elbowxe2x80x9d and sore neck injuries are common in this industry.
In view of the above, there is a continuing need for a rotary wheel cutting apparatus which includes a spring-biased blade cover which is biased to a closed position and which requires a manual force to hold the spring-biased blade cover open.
The preferred embodiment of the rotary wheel cutting apparatus of the present invention solves the aforementioned problems in a straight forward and simple manner.
Broadly, the present invention contemplates a rotary wheel cutting apparatus with a spring-biased blade cover which automatically covers the rotary blade when a manual hold-open force is eliminated.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary wheel cutting apparatus with a spring-biased blade cover to minimize the occurrence of unwanted cuts in the material being cut or in personnel.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rotary wheel cutting apparatus which is ergonomically engineered to relieve stresses off of the gripping hand and wrist and which is comfortable to hold.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a rotary wheel cutting apparatus with a spring-biased blade cover to protect the blade when not in use.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a rotary wheel cutting apparatus with a spring-biased blade cover which automatically closes so that the user does not have to cover the rotary blade before storage.
In view of the above, a feature of the present invention is to provide a rotary wheel cutting apparatus which is easy and safe to use.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a rotary wheel cutting apparatus which is relatively simple structurally and thus simple to manufacture.
An advantage of the of the present invention is to provide a rotary wheel cutting apparatus with a spring-biased blade cover to protect the user of the cutting apparatus from cuts or nicks if the cutting apparatus is accidentally dropped.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings, the description given herein, and the appended claims.

Rotary wheel cutting apparatus with a spring-biased blade cover


A prosthesis for leg amputation at the knee joint or short distance above the knee is disclosed which includes an upper leg socket and artificial lower limb pivotally coupled together by a knee bracket attached to upper leg socket. The knee bracket is also pivotally coupled to a hydraulic unit carried by the lower limb. The knee bracket provides a hinge arrangement for the knee joint above the end of the amputee's leg stump by several inches thus providing a more natural looking and operating artificial limb.

Generally, the art of prosthesis is old and many attempts have been made to achieve endoskeleton prosthesis which restores function and is also provides cosmetically aesthetic appearance. Artificial limbs that reproduce natural movement are desired so the user can function normally in society performing typical daily tasks and routines at both work and home. In the United States attempts to make acceptable prosthetic devices date back to the 1800's as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 168,140 "Artificial Leg" to Collins and McCalla (1875); No. 489,258 "Artificial Limb" to Marks (1893); No. 453,285 "Artificial Leg" to Kneider (1891); No. 492,583 "Artificial Leg Attachment" to Duffie (1893); No. 909,859 "Artificial Leg" to Apgar (1909); No. 1,216,367 "Artificial Leg" to Rowley (1917); No. 1,314,136 "Artificial Leg" to Gaines and Erb (1919); No. 1,370,299 "Artificial Limb" to Flanagan (1921); No. 5,139,526 "Long Above Elbow and Elbow Disartic Prosthesis" to Skardoutos et. al (1992), and No. 5,226,918 "Prosthesis with Adjustable Fitting Clearance" to Silagy and Lenze (1993). As people with disabilities are becoming increasingly active in today's society, continued efforts are being made to develop more functional artificial limbs.
For leg amputations, prior art prosthesis devices have mainly been designed for amputations which occur below the knee as exemplified in a number of the above listed US Patents. Since the knee joint is left in tack, it still has functionality and the prosthesis merely replaces the lower leg portion typically with an artificial leg shin and foot. While factors such as weight and leg attachment must still be addressed to create a natural working lower leg, the knee joint is still used to provide the pivotal point for the lower leg and simplifies the prosthesis design. However, for the most part prior art including the aforementioned prior art patents do not provide an adequate prosthesis solution for the particular problems that arise for amputation at or just above the knee. Such amputations either disable the knee joint or take it out altogether, and therefore a properly functional prosthesis device must include a suitable arrangement that substitutes for the former knee.
A conventional prosthesis to accommodate a leg stump of an amputee which attempts to incorporate a knee joint arrangement is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, which prosthesis includes an upper leg socket section 20 for receiving a leg stump and a lower leg section 22. The upper leg socket section is attached to the lower leg section by knee joint 24. The knee joint 24 rotates or swings about the knee axis 26 which is established in the knee joint 24 by knee axis bolt 28 which pivotally couples the upper and lower leg sections. As the knee joint 24 is connected near the bottom of the upper leg socket section 20, the knee axis 26 may end up as much as about 21/2 to 31/2 inches below the bottom of the leg stump. Additionally, since the knee joint side attachments depend on a single axis bolt to create the knee joint pivot, a properly aligned knee axis pivot is difficult to achieve.
While most prior art leg prosthetic arrangements, such as the examples listed above, are fine for short or mid-length femur amputations, these arrangement typically result in several functional and cosmetic problems for long femur and knee disarticulation amputations. Functionally, it results in an awkward stride length, stride timing, and gait pattern for the amputee, and thus a natural appearing walk is not possible. Cosmetically, this arrangement results in a longer than desired leg thigh section and corresponding short shin section. This looks unpleasant while the amputee is in a sitting position, as the prosthetic knee sticks out further that the sound knee and the short shin section may leave the foot swinging in the air when it does not reach the ground. Furthermore, while walking the shin section has less weight and shorter pendulum swing, resulting in an undesirable swing period which does not match the sound side leg. Patients do not desire a prosthesis with these shortcomings and an improved leg prosthesis without the foregoing disadvantages would provide a desirable advancement in the prosthesis art. It should be noted that a knee disarticulation amputation, if possible, provides a much more solid support for a prothesis than an amputation of the femur. Amputation of the femur leaves only a small diameter of bone end for support as contrasted to the relatively large bone mass at the knee joint.

Prosthesis for long femur and knee disarticulation amputation


A system and method for disabling and re-enabling peripheral devices (PDs) in a computer system is disclosed. The system includes a CPU, a host bus coupled to the CPU, a host-bus-to-peripheral-device-bus (HB/PDB) bridge coupled to the host bus, at least one PD, at least one peripheral device bus coupling the HB/PDB bridge and at least one PD, and a device, typically in the form of a digital gate, for selectively disabling and re-enabling at least one PD. The disclosed method operates in connection with a computer system having a CPU, a HB/PDB bridge coupled to the CPU and capable of sending a device-configuration-space-access-signal (DCSAS) to the DCSAS input pin of a target PD when attempting an access operation, such as a read or a write operation, on the target PD, and one or more system I/O registers having a CONFIG ENABLE bit that reflects a user's request to disable or re-enable a PD. The method intercepts the DCSAS before it reaches the DCSAS input pin of the target PD, provides the intercepted DCSAS to the input of a digital gate such as an AND gate, provides a signal corresponding to the CONFIG ENABLE bit to the input of the same digital gate, and delivers the resulting output signal from the digital gate to the DCSAS input pin of the target PD.

This invention relates to a system and method for disabling and re-enabling peripheral devices (PDs) containing a device-configuration-space through hardware by controlling device-configuration-space-access-signals (DCSASs) to the PDs using system Input/Output (I/O) registers. The invention advantageously permits users to disable and re-enable user-selected onboard PDs, such as video controllers or Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) controllers. Users may, for example, wish to substitute another PD in place of a particular PD provided by the computer manufacturer. In other cases, users may wish to disable a particular PD either temporarily or indefinitely.
At the present time, several computer manufacturers provide a user-initiated software method of disabling PDs. The software that accomplishes disablement of PDs is typically found in the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) memory of a computer system. (BIOS is the firmware in a personal computer that interfaces directly with the hardware to perform I/O and other low-level functions. Typically this firmware is permanently stored in Read Only Memory or flash memory on the computer system's motherboard.) Subsequently, when the computer system is powered on, the system's Power On Self Test (POST) is executed. During POST, software contained in BIOS memory determines which PDs are disabled. Upon determining that a particular PD is disabled, the BIOS software does not initialize and execute the Read-Only Memory (ROM) associated with that device. However, a configuration space for each onboard PD is still accessible to system software, including operating system software. This configuration space remains accessible because typical peripheral device/bus standards do not recognize disablement of PDs by BIOS software.
As operating system software has become increasingly sophisticated, there has developed a clear trend toward automatically configuring all devices attached to the computer system, including PDs. Certain recent generations of operating systems--e.g., Microsoft Windows NT, and the Microsoft Windows 95 product--are likely to continue this trend. Specifically, the operating system software will endeavor to detect all accessible hardware associated with a computer system. The operating system software will detect and have access to the disabled PD's configuration space and possibly attempt to initialize it. Thus, despite a user's express request to disable a particular PD, the operating system software will detect the PD's configuration space and re-activate it.
Therefore, what is needed is a hardware-based method for disabling the PDs of a computer system to avoid the problem of operating system software detecting disabled PDs and initializing them in contravention of a user's requests.

System and method for disabling and re-enabling at least one peripheral device in a computer system by masking a device-configuration-space-access-signal with a disable or re-enable signal


A call to an external interface to execute a target callee program associated with a first addressing mode in a secondary runtime environment (RTE) is received from a caller program associated with a second addressing mode running in a primary RTE. An address of a share area (SA) storing existing dynamic link object information in the primary RTE in storage is passed to the secondary RTE. The SA is accessible by both the caller program and the target callee program. In response to a request to load a dynamic link object by an initiating program during execution of the target callee program in the secondary RTE, an entry address of the dynamic link object is retrieved in the SA. The dynamic link object is loaded based on the retrieved entry address of the dynamic link object.

The present disclosure relates to dynamic link objects and addressing modes, and more specifically, to using dynamic link objects across different addressing modes.
A 64-bit processor architecture is capable of referencing a considerably larger memory space than a 32-bit processor architecture and is thus gradually replacing the 32-bit processor architecture. Accordingly, 64-bit operating system (O/S) and 64-bit computer programs, applications, or the like typically written for the 64-bit O/S, all of which are configured to run on a 64-bit processor, are prevailing over their 32-bit counterpart that is configured to run on a 32-bit processor, i.e. 32-bit O/S and corresponding 32-bit computer programs, applications, or the like.

Dynamic link objects across different addressing modes

International Business Machines Corporation