A metal-coated film can be produced continuously from a non-conducting film by successive electroless and galvanic metallization in such a way that a film of this kind is subjected, in a continuous "roll-to-roll" process, to the following operations:. a) applying a metallizable primer, PA1 b) drying the applied primer, PA1 c) conditioning the applied primer, PA1 d) optionally activating the applied primer, PA1 e) treatment with an electroless chemical metallizing bath, PA1 f) optional treatment with a first rinsing liquid, PA1 g) treatment with a galvanic metallizing bath, PA1 h) treatment with a second rinsing liquid, and PA1 i) optional heat treatment of the metallized film.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the production of metal-coated films in a continuous "roll-to-roll" process. The metal-coated films produced in accordance with the invention are distinguished, in relation to other known metal-coated films which can likewise be produced continuously, by two advantages: firstly, they do not include the commonly employed adhesive interlayers between film and metal coat, and, secondly, they can have very thin metal coats of down to 2-8 .mu.m. On the basis of these dual advantages, the films produced in accordance with the invention can be used with particular advantage to produce miniaturized ultrafine conductor circuits and also 2-layer circuits and multilayers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Polyester and polyimide films with copper foils laminated atop them are known and are produced in large quantities for the production of flexible circuits and of film connectors (Jurgen Bednarz, Kunststoffe in der Elektrotechnik und Elektronik Plastics in electrical engineering and electronics!, Verlag W. Kohihammer, 1988, p. 224 ff.). However, these laminates generally include an adhesive interlayer, which is typically from 25 to 50 .mu.m thick and consists, for example, of an epoxy resin or an acrylate adhesive. Moreover, the copper foils used must be of a certain minimum thickness in order to safeguard mechanical handling. In many cases copper foils 18 .mu.m, 35 .mu.m or 70 .mu.m thick are employed. There are also thinner copper foils on the market, for example those with a thickness of 9 .mu.m, whose use might also be considered. Such thin foils additionally possess, however, a treatment which is up to 9 .mu.m thick, and therefore require etching times whose duration is similar to that for the common, thicker copper foils. Owing to the interlayer of adhesive and the fairly high copper layer thicknesses, the production of 2-layer circuits is difficult and costly, and the production of ultrafine conductor circuits is, accordingly, limited in terms of the width of the individual conductor tracks. The adhesive, moreover, becomes smeared in the course of drilling and has to be "etched back" prior to through-hole plating. In addition the adhesive is sensitive to a variety of organic solvents which might act on circuit boards produced in this way. The omission of an adhesive interlayer would have the advantage that the product could be made even thinner and, in particular, it would be possible in the case of multilayer circuit boards to avoid the currently very great expansion of multilayers in the interlayer. It is therefore a concern of the present invention to avoid such disadvantages.
Another composite material which has become known, comprising copper foil/plastic, is produced by taking the known 18 .mu.m or 35 .mu.m thick copper foils already mentioned above and generating thereon a polyimide layer, by pouring on and drying a solution of a soluble polyimide. These products are produced and marketed, for example, under the designation ESPANEX.RTM. by Rogers, USA. Similar products are manufactured by Nippon Steel Chemical Co., Ltd. Relative to the polyimide film/copper foil laminates mentioned further above, products of this kind have the great advantage of containing no interlayer of adhesive. Nevertheless, they are still based only on the 18 or 35 .mu.m thick copper foils, whose mechanical handling properties are still good, and are therefore less well suited to the production of ultrafine conductor circuits.
A further metal-coated film, bearing the designation NOVOCLAD.RTM. from Sheldal, USA, consists of a polyimide film to which copper has been applied by sputtering. This product possesses the advantage of a very thin copper layer, in the context of the production of ultrafine circuit boards, however, the adhesion of the copper layer is rather low.
EP 256 395 (equivalent to U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,135) and EP 322 641 (equivalent to U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,045) describe processes for the firmly adhering deposition of metal coats atop polymer surfaces, for example plastics films. For this purpose, metallizable primers in the form of binder-containing activator formulations are applied to plastics substrates, and, after drying at elevated temperatures, are provided in chemical metallizing baths with a firmly adhering metal coat. These processes are extremely well suited to the discontinuous production of flexible circuits and ultrafine conductor circuits; however, they are unsuitable for a continuous process, for the following reasons. For the production of special flexible circuits it is true that the deposition of a copper layer having a thickness of 2 .mu.m is sufficient. In order, however, to deposit such a copper layer of 2 .mu.m, a residence time in a chemical copper bath of about I hour is necessary. Such long residence times makes it impossible to transfer the technique to a continuous process, since it would be necessary to have either a much too low rate of passage through the metallizing bath or else far too great spatial dimensions of this bath.

Process for producing metal-coated films in web form


Terpolymer compositions of vinyl caprolactam (VCL), dimethylaminopropyl methacrylamide (DMAPMA) and hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) are described to coat substrates for use in computer printers, and provide advantageous print quality thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to polymer compositions used to coat substrates such as paper for use in computer printers, and, more particularly, to terpolymer compositions which provide advantageous light stability for dyes used in inkjet printers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The advent of color inkjet printing has been instrumental in fueling the print-on-demand revolution and has also created a number of challenges. Often, the surface of the desired media does not possess the necessary properties for accepting the ink-jet ink. This results in long dry times and/or a poor ink-jet image or light stability. It has long been recognized that a surface treatment or media coating plays a critical role in the final print quality. Numerous media coatings are known in the art. They may contain any number of components and often consist of more than one layer.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a terpolymer composition which is particularly suitable for use in surface treating a substrate such as paper, polyester and vinyl plastics, canvas and the like, used in digital printing.

Terpolymer compositions for coating substrates used in computer printers


A bale processor has a horizontal rotor mounted at the center of an upwardly concave bale support. The bale support rocks from side to side across the rotor to bring new parts of the bale against the rotor. The rocking action produces a rolling, sliding or tumbling motion that is suitable for round bales of any size, including old bales that have settled. The apparatus can also handle square bales and loose material.

Currently there are four basic concepts used for handling a bale during processing:
1. TRAVELING TABLE
With this design one or more chains travel over a generally horizontal table. The chains may have slats or spikes attached to them to engage in a bale being processed. The bale processing rotor is located at one end of the table. The table and rotor may be separated by generally vertical bars spaced such that rotor hammers are allowed to pass between the bars and come in contact with the bale being processed. Machines of this sort are designed to process round bales of varying diameters.
In the use of such a machine a bale is placed on the table and the chains travel in a direction to move the bale towards the rotor. The bale engages the vertical bars to limit its movement towards the rotor. Because the chains are continuously advancing, the bale is forced to roll, thus bringing new bale material to the rotor. As bale processing continues, the diameter of the bale is gradually reduced until the entire bale has been fed to the rotor.
Problems can occur with this type of unit when attempting to process old bales which have flattened out. These do not roll well and can cause problems of uneven feeding of the bale into the rotor. In some circumstances, the bale can get into a position in which the rotor hammers are no longer in contact with the bale and the chains are unable to engage the bale sufficiently well to rotate it to expose new material to the rotor. This type of processor can not process square bales, loose hay or other materials.
2. SUPPORT ROLLERS
This type of machine has two rollers mounted above and on opposite sides of the bale shredding rotor assembly. The rollers may have a number of spikes which engage a bale being processed. Between these rollers and the rotor are a number of curved bars arranged to allow rotor hammers to project through the bars into contact with the bale. The bars prevent too much material from coming into contact with the rotor.
To shred a bale with this type of unit, a bale is positioned on the two rollers. At least one of these rollers is driven to cause the bale to rotate. As the bale rotates, new material is brought into contact with the rotor hammers. As processing continues, the diameter of the bale is gradually reduced until the entire bale has been fed through the machine.
This type of machine also has problems with shredding bales that have gone out of round. In some cases the rollers are unable to rotate the bale, thus preventing the completion of the processing operation. Soft or loosely packed bales can also pose problems in that they tend to fall apart before they can be fully processed. This causes uneven feeding of material to the rotor. This type of machine can not process square bales, loose hay or other materials.
3. ROTATING TUB
The rotating tub machine is also designed to process only round bales. It consists of a loading mechanism that grasps the bale and rotates it onto a horizontal table. A portion of the table is open allowing the rotor hammers to come into contact with the bale.
In this type of machine, the bale is processed with its axis in the vertical orientation, unlike the other machines where the bale axis is horizontal. The loading mechanism also functions as the device that rotates the bale. The rotor hammers project above the plane of the table, thus coming into contact with the bale. As the bale tub rotates the bale on the table, new material is brought into contact with the rotor. As processing continues, the bale length is reduced until the entire bale has been fed through the rotor.
This machine is not as sensitive to the condition or shape of the bale being processed. However, very large bales or bales that are badly deformed can cause problems with loading and processing. Because the loading mechanism is also used to process the bale, it is not possible for a second bale to be carried while a bale is being processed as is the case with other machines. It is not possible to process square bales or loose materials with this machine.
4. OSCILLATING TUB
This type of machine is intended to be able to process round and square bales. It consists of a horizontal table positioned above the rotor assembly. There is an opening in the table which allows the hammers of the rotor to protrude above the plane of the table, thus contacting the bale. A series of horizontal bars are positioned across the opening to prevent too much material from contacting the rotor. An open bottom enclosure to house the bale rests on the surface of the table. With a bale loaded into the tub, the tub moves in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the rotor and pushes the bale across the opening in the table, thus exposing new material to the hammers of the rotor. Once the tub is moved to its limit of travel in one direction, it is reversed and the process is repeated.
Theoretically, this machine can process round bales of varying diameter as well as square bales and loose material. The machine should in theory not be susceptible to the condition of the material being processed. This is not found to be universally true.
The tub of this machine must be sized to accommodate the largest diameter of round bale likely to be encountered. In the case of old, deformed bales, this could be eight feet or more. When a smaller diameter bale is processed with such a machine, a problem of uneven feeding occurs. For example, if a five foot diameter bale is placed in an eight foot tub, a total of three feet of clearance exists between the walls of the tub and the bale. As the bale is processed, the tub moves to one side pushing the bale in that direction. When the tub reaches its limit of travel in that one direction, it reverses. There is, at this time, a three foot opening between the tub wall and the surface of the bale. This space must be closed in order for the bale to begin its movement in the opposite direction. During this time, very little new material is made available to the rotor hammers, thus causing uneven shredding of the bale. A similar problem occurs when attempting to process a square bale, as its cross-section is smaller than typical round bales.
Another problem has been noted with this type of machine. As the bale is moved across the opening in the table, part of the bale weight is supported by the horizontal bars located across the rotor opening. The rotor hammers are unable to remove the material immediately above the crossbars. With densely packed bales, the result is that channels are cut in those portions of the bale exposed to the hammers, while the portions immediately above the crossbars remain untouched. Once all of the material between the crossbars has been removed, no further shredding action occurs, as the entire bale weight is now supported by the crossbars. As the bale moves back and forth, it seems to return along the same path, thus not correcting the problem. This can result in a need to manually remove or reposition the bale in order to complete the shredding operation.
With this machine, the side to side motion used to process the bale results in significant shifts in the center of gravity of the unit. This can make the machine unstable when processing bales on uneven terrain. This can be rectified with a wide wheel track, but this in turn is disadvantageous in that it makes the machine more difficult to maneuver.
The present invention is concerned with a novel bale processing apparatus that mitigates the problems of the prior art.


The invention includes a system for monitoring the performance of an automatic dosing siphon utilized in reservoir which is a part of a wastewater treatment system. The siphon includes a bell type cover, a fluid trap having one leg extending upward into the bell, and an outlet discharge pipe connected to said trap. A flow detect switch is located in the discharge pipe. Upon siphon activation the switch is opened and a countdown timer is reset. After draining the reservoir, the switch closes and the timer starts counting down a predetermined time period. If the siphon doesn't activate, time expires and an alarm is triggered. A second system utilizes a solenoid drain valve located above the outlet portion of the siphon trap such that upon time expiring the valve opens, the tank drains, and the timer resets. The valve automatically reprimes the siphon. The system continues to monitor the siphon and initiates an alarm upon subsequent siphon failures. Another system for restarting the siphon replaces the solenoid valve with an air pump whose air hose is situated under the siphon bell. Upon time expiring, the air pump activates and pumps air under the siphon bell thereby activating the siphon. The tank drains, the switch closes, and the siphon is reprimed for normal operations. A second timer counts down after the activation of the air pump or solenoid valve. If the switch is not opened within the second predetermined time period, an alarm is triggered.

An automatic dosing siphon is a device that allows effluent to be stored in a sewage treatment tank until a pre-determined level is reached. At which time the siphon is activated, the tank is drained to the low water line, the siphon is deactivated, and the tank begins refilling. Automatic dosing siphons contain no moving parts or electrical devices and have been used for on-site sewage treatment to dose a leach field or sand filter.
Although the siphon is extremely simple, and very reliable it is still subject to failure. For example, siphon failures can be caused by heavy inflows into the siphon tank just as the siphon is reaching the end of its cycle. The siphon takes a "gulp" of air which is insufficient to break the siphon and the siphon fails and begins to trickle. Siphon failures are usually one-time events which are normally detected years after the siphon actually failed by a catastrophic failure of the entire sewage treatment system.
Until this invention there has not been an effective method of monitoring siphon performance. Previous methods have included high level water alarms, where a float switch is placed above the high water level, and an alarm is triggered if the water reaches the level of the float switch. This method has proven ineffective because most siphon failures result in water trickling through the siphon before the high water level is reached.
Another method utilizes cycle counters, whereby a digital counter is incremented every time the siphon is activated. If the the counter stops incrementing, a siphon failure is indicated. For this method of monitoring siphon performance, someone must periodically check the counter. Experience has shown that homeowners will not remember to check the counter.
Due to the fact that effective siphon performance monitoring systems did not exist prior to this invention, and because numerous devices exist to monitor pump performance, engineers will often specify that pumps be installed instead of automatic siphons. This invention will eliminate the need for pumps by providing reliable siphon performance monitoring. Additionally, the present invention will provide an automated means of restarting a one-time siphon failure.


A method may include acquiring first physiological data relating to a first subject, extracting at least one first physiological feature from the first physiological data relating to the first subject, determining a first model relating to at least one first reference physiological feature, generating, based on the first model and the at least one first physiological feature, a second model, the second model relating to at least one second reference physiological feature corresponding to the second model, and determining, based on the second model and the at least one first physiological feature, at least one identification physiological feature relating to the first subject. In some embodiments, the at least one identification physiological feature may correspond to the at least one second reference physiological feature.

The biometric technology for personal identification by utilizing signals, such as voice signals and personal data extracted from a body, has been used in various fields, such as those of security and fraud detection. Exemplary biometric technologies may include fingerprint identification, voice identification, vein identification, iris recognition, retina recognition, facial recognition, DNA recognition, or the like, or a combination thereof. However, the bio-signal mentioned above (e.g., fingerprint, vein, voice, etc.) may be stolen, lost, or forged, which may compromise the accuracy of identification. It is thus desirable to provide systems and methods for identifying a user effectively based on physiological signals.


A system for automatic detection of defects in railroad wheels, a system that is stationary and is installed in extended intervals in the rails uses stationary acoustical/vibration sensors installed at intervals in the rails. Rail segments associated with the detectors are acoustically isolated. The sensors acquire the sounds and vibrations generated by the wheels rolling over the rails. Signal analyzers identify rail defects from intensity vs., frequency distributions of acoustical spectra. Such spectra reflect the condition of the wheels and change their intensity vs. frequency distributions when the wheels pass the sensors installed in the rails. The acquired information on the condition of the wheels is transmitted to a central location. Any defective wheel is identified and marked for repair or replacement.

Railroads are important transportation systems for moving passengers and freight. The railroad car wheels are subject to wear and to damage due to material defects, and even sabotage. Many defects worsen gradually and, if detected early, can be repaired or replaced before accidents occur.
An automatic system for detection of such defects, aside of its value as a means for preventing accidents, injuries and deaths, would also allow for train maintenance schedule to be done as indicated by the condition of the wheels, rather than just based on past experience or regulations—an opportunity for cost-saving.
The advent of inexpensive and reliable sensors, microprocessors and electronics makes such automated systems practical and cost-effective.

System for detection of defects in railroad car wheels


A self-balancing line shaft of a machine tool includes a spindle device, a cutter tool holder and at least one balancing assembly. The spindle device includes a spindle extending along and rotatable about an axis, and at least one precision lock nut threadedly engaged with and rotated with the spindle. The cutter tool holder is coaxially connected and rotated with the spindle. The balancing assembly includes an annular groove formed in one of the precision lock nut and the cutter tool holder and extending along a circle path surrounding the axis, and a plurality of weight members disposed in the annular groove to be moved in a direction opposite to a rotation unbalance during rotation of the spindle such that the center of mass of the whole rotating system is close to the axis.

In order for a spindle device of a machine to reach a high rotational speed with a cutter tool holder thereof while maintaining a high machining precision, measurement and correction of any rotating unbalance of the spindle device is regularly conducted to prevent occurrence of chatter and undesired vibration. When doing so, the machine tool has to be shut off, which increases downtime of the machine tool and leads to undesirable increase in the manufacturing cost.

Self-balancing line shaft of a machine tool


A wind power plant including a rotor having at least one angle-adjustable rotor blade, a generator that, for generating electrical power, can be directly or indirectly coupled to the rotor and, for supplying the electrical power, can be directly or indirectly coupled to an electrical grid, at least one rotor blade adjusting device for setting an angle of the rotor blade including at least one blade adjusting drive having at least one direct-current motor that can be coupled to the electrical grid via a converter, a control device, coupled to the converter and via which the control and/or regulation of the blade adjusting drive ensues, and a direct current voltage source that ensures a power supply to the blade adjusting drive in the event of grid power failure, whereby the direct current voltage source can be directly coupled to the blade adjusting drive or indirectly to the blade adjusting drive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wind-driven power-plant comprising a rotor.
2. Description of Related Art
Known wind-driven power plants, in general, comprise a rotor fitted with three rotor blades and directly or indirectly linked to an electric power generator. The generator in turn may be connected to an electric power grid of a power supplier to feed said wind-driven power into said grid.
In known wind-driven power plants, the rotor blades are angularly adjustable. In this manner the attitude of the rotor blades illustratively impacted by strong winds may be adjusted to lower the wind power input. In this design, these kinds of powerplants adjust the rotor blades in a manner that at least one blade adjustment system is used for all three rotor blades. Known wind-driven power-plants provide at least one rotor blade adjustment system to each rotor blade, each system including one blade adjusting drive with a DC motor coupled through an inverter to the electric grid. As a rule, the relatively high rotational speed of the drive motor is reduced by a step-down gear of very high reduction ratio onto a slowly rotating drive pinion, meshing with a crown gear connected directly to the rotor blade. The rotor blade adjustment system also includes a control unit controlling the blade adjustment drive.
The wind-driven power-plant must be allowed to be decelerated, i.e. lowering its power output and/or being shut down at any time and in the presence of any malfunction to secure it against damage and to make it safe.
As a rule, known wind-driven power-plants are decelerated by rotating the rotor blades into the known "feathered pitch" position. "Feathered pitch" means the rotor blades are rotated away from the wind so that, as in a flag exposed to wind, the effective blade surface impacted by the wind is minimized and hence the wind no longer can apply the power that would be required to maintain rotor rotation and on that account the power-plant shall be stopped entirely or at most shall rotate only very slowly.
Malfunctioning may for instance include electric grid failure. In such a case, the grid manager/operator may prescribe separating the wind-driven power-plant within a given time interval from the grid to protect latter. Separating the wind-driven power-plant from the grid in turn perforce prevents feeding the power-plant output into said grid and critical, excessively high rotor speeds may ensue. For its own protection the power-plant itself must be able to rapidly reduce its rotor speed.
On the other hand, grid failure also entails that the electrical blade adjustment system no longer is electrically fed from it and that the wind-driven power-plant rotor speed no longer can be reduced. In order to nevertheless decelerate the wind-driven power-plant by rotating the rotor blades into the feathered position, a DC voltage source is provided additionally in the rotor blade adjustment systems of known wind-driven power-plants and is directly applied to the blade adjustment drive when the power grid fails, thereby assuring power at all times to the blade adjusting drive.
This known wind-driven power-plant, however, incurs a drawback that because of directly connecting the DC voltage source to the blade adjusting drive, the rotor blades can be rotated only in an uncontrolled manner in a general direction of feathering. Control to accurately set a desired rotor blade angle, or in particular a given rate of rotor blade adjustment, is impossible when wind-driven power-plants of the state of the art discussed do experience malfunctions.
As a result, when the external grid fails, the rotor blades of a wind-driven power-plant must necessarily be rotated into the fully decelerated, i.e. feathered position, whereby in general the power-plant rotational speed will be decelerated fairly abruptly. However, abruptly shutting down a power-plant always entails high stresses that are a factor in power-plant size and hence entail larger power-plant costs.
Moreover, the constrained reduction in power-plant rotational speed always penalizes the power-plant operator economically. Such losses will be especially irksome when illustratively the external grid failure is very brief whereas the speed reduction and the ensuing startup of the power plant generally require considerably more time than the duration of external grid failure.
The objective of the present invention is to so further develop a known wind-driven power-plant as to allow optimized regulation of the rotor-blade angle both in normal operation and, especially, in the presence of various malfunctions, for instance failure of the external grid.

Wind power plant comprising a rotor blade adjusting device


Increased solubilization of ascorbic acid in organic solvents results in the formulation of potent compositions and the complete stabilization of this vitamin. Compositions comprising ascorbic acid and solubility increasing agents, such as avocado oil and avocado oil unsaponifiables, in organic solvents, may be topically applied in order to impart considerable aesthetic improvements to the skin.

This invention relates to new agents that increase the solubility of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), and stable cosmetic compositions incorporating ascorbic acid in an non-aqueous base, which maintains it completely stable. This nonaqueous composition, when mixed with a face cream or lotion prepared with standard processes, is easily emulsified, and it imparts all of the known beneficial effects of Vitamin C on the skin.

Increased solubilization and stable cosmetic preparations of ascorbic acid


A fluid dynamic bearing motor is described. In one embodiment, the fluid dynamic bearing motor includes a stationary member and a rotating member. The motor further includes a fluid dynamic thrust bearing disposed along an axial surface of a sleeve. The thrust bearing is configured to axially support the relative rotation of the rotating member and the stationary member and to pump bearing fluid towards a corner of the sleeve. The motor also includes a fluid dynamic journal bearing disposed radially inboard of the thrust bearing along a radial surface of the sleeve, where the radial surface is adjacent to the axial surface. The journal bearing is configured to radially support the relative rotation of the rotating member and the stationary member and to pump bearing fluid to the corner of the sleeve.

Disk drives are capable of storing large amounts of digital data in a relatively small area. Disk drives store information on one or more recording media, which conventionally take the form of circular storage disks (e.g. media) having a plurality of concentric circular recording tracks. A typical disk drive has one or more disks for storing information. This information is written to and read from the disks using read/write heads mounted on actuator arms that are moved from track to track across the surfaces of the disks by an actuator mechanism.
Generally, the disks are mounted on a spindle that is turned by a spindle motor to pass the surfaces of the disks under the read/write heads. The spindle motor generally includes a shaft mounted on a base plate and a hub, to which the spindle is attached, having a sleeve into which the shaft is inserted. Permanent magnets attached to the hub interact with a stator winding on the base plate to rotate the hub relative to the shaft. In order to facilitate rotation, one or more bearings are usually disposed between the hub and the shaft.
Over the years, storage density has tended to increase, and the size of the storage system has tended to decrease. This trend has lead to greater precision and lower tolerance in the manufacturing and operating of magnetic storage disks.
From the foregoing discussion, it can be seen that the bearing assembly that supports the storage disk is of critical importance. One bearing design is a fluid dynamic bearing. In a fluid dynamic bearing, a lubricating fluid such as air or liquid provides a bearing surface between a fixed member of the housing and a rotating member of the disk hub. In addition to air, typical lubricants include gas, oil, or other fluids. The relatively rotating members may comprise bearing surfaces such as cones or spheres and comprise hydrodynamic grooves formed on the members themselves. Fluid dynamic bearings spread the bearing surface over a large surface area, as opposed to a ball bearing assembly, which comprises a series of point interfaces. This bearing surface distribution is desirable because the increased bearing surface reduces wobble or run-out between the rotating and fixed members. Further, the use of fluid in the interface area imparts damping effects to the bearing, which helps to reduce non-repeatable run-out. Thus, fluid dynamic bearings are an advantageous bearing system.
Many current fluid dynamic bearing motor designs used in small form factor drives—that is, drives with stringent axial height constraints—suffer from insufficient angular stiffness due to the limited height/axial space available for journal bearing span. For example, conventional "single plate" fluid dynamic bearing motors are characterized by a journal bearing located on a shaft surface adjacent to a plate upon which two axial thrust bearings are formed. Since there are no features on the outer circumference of this thrust plate, its thickness (i.e., axial height) is essentially wasted space in the overall height budget of the motor. Similarly, vertically "stacking" the journal bearing and thrust plate results in a relatively tall bearing, which is difficult to fit in a small form factor motor while maintaining effective performance.
Further, it is well known in the art that angular stiffness is a function of the axial stiffness in a thrust bearing times a moment arm length (i.e., the thrust bearing diameter). However, as large diameter thrust bearings consume relatively more power, fluid dynamic bearing motor designs using large diameter thrust bearings to increase angular stiffness have been found to consume too much power to work effectively in small disc drives.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a fluid dynamic bearing design for small form factor disc drives that employs a large diameter thrust bearing that increases angular stiffness without consuming an impractical amount of power and a short journal bearing that conserves axial space.

Single thrust-journal bearing cup fluid dynamic bearing motor


A method and a device for attaching a sensor device relative to a glass pane of a motor vehicle are described, a contact space being provided, which is sealed and which is provided with a partial vacuum.

It is generally known that a measuring device, an optical sensor for example, may be attached to a glass pane, in particular to the glass pane of a motor vehicle, the windshield for example. However, various external influences affect the measuring function during operation. These include, for example, dust accumulation, condensation on the glass surface, i.e., the surface of the measuring device, after a temperature change in a detrimental climate, the deposit of gas released by plastics, or the exposure to everyday gases, such as cigarette smoke.

Device and method for fixing a sensing means


The inventive control system, as typically embodied, includes sensing mechanisms, a computational processing unit, and an algorithm for processing inputs and generating outputs to control a rotating pedestal crane equipped with a Rider Block Tagline System (RBTS). Typical inventive embodiments uniquely feature a processing algorithm that distributes various control modes that operate not only through the crane's hoisting, luffing, and slewing mechanisms but also through the crane's RBTS; the inventive algorithm thereby effectuates motion compensation and pendulation damping with respect to the crane. This algorithmic allocation of control represents a more efficient crane anti-pendulation methodology than conventional methodologies; in particular, the inventive methodology exerts significantly greater control of the payload while exacting significantly less burden upon the hoisting, luffing, and slewing mechanisms of the crane.

The present invention relates to cranes, more particularly to methodologies for controlling pendulation that is associated with motion of suspended payloads during operation of cranes, such as rotary boom (slewing pedestal) cranes mounted aboard ships for transferring cargo to piers or other ships.
Crane technology is prevalent in a variety of settings for effecting lift-on, lift-off transfer of cargo. A "gantry crane" implements a horizontally moveable trolley from which a payload is suspended. A "slewing pedestal crane" (also commonly referred to as a "rotary boom crane" or a "rotary jib crane") involves the suspension of a payload from the tip of a rotatable "boom" ("jib"). According to a "simple" type of slewing pedestal crane, a payload hoist line extends between the boom tip and the payload. The operator of a simple type of slewing pedestal crane is challenged with the task of manually controlling the crane in three degrees-of-freedom, viz., slew (horizontal rotational motion of the boom that results in translation of the payload in a direction transverse to the orientation of the jib), luff (vertical rotational motion of the boom that results in translation of the payload in a direction parallel to the orientation of the jib), and hoist (vertical translation of the payload).
Known in the art is a type of slewing pedestal crane that incorporates a so-called "Rider Block Tagline System" ("RBTS"). An RBTS-equipped crane includes a boom, a rider block (which is situated generally intermediate the boom tip and the payload), a rider block lift line (which extends between the boom tip and the rider block), a payload hoist line (which extends between the boom tip and the payload and is reeved through the rider block), a left tagline, and a right tagline. An RBTS-equipped type of slewing pedestal crane, more complicated than a simple type of slewing pedestal crane, is characterized by the three aforementioned degrees of freedom plus two additional degrees of freedom, viz., the vertical and horizontal positions of the rider block. Due to its greater complexity as compared with a simple slewing pedestal crane, an RBTS-equipped slewing pedestal crane demands greater dexterity and decision-making from the crane operator. Of particular note, the crane operator is required to maintain the rider block within a "feasibility region" in three-dimensional space in order to maintain operability of the RBTS-equipped crane.
The complexity of operating an RBTS-equipped slewing pedestal crane can be alleviated in a manner such as disclosed by Naud et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,193 issued 21 Mar. 2000, entitled "Integrated and Automated Control of a Crane's Rider Block Tagline System," incorporated herein by reference. Naud et al.'s automatic control of the RBTS is "integrated" with the RBTS-equipped crane so as to, in effect, reduce the number of degrees-of-freedom confronting the crane operator from five degrees-of-freedom to the three degrees-of-freedom that characterize a simple slewing pedestal crane. According to Naud et al., automated control is exercised with respect to the vertical and horizontal positions of the rider block. The method of Naud et al. includes generating a matrix defining incremental changes of the rider block's position in the context of a coordinate system, providing a vector defining velocity criteria for the rider block, multiplying the vector by an inversion of the matrix to obtain a control matrix defining speed and direction of travel for the rider block lift line and the taglines, and controlling movement of the rider block lift line and the taglines using the control matrix.
The RBTS was developed by the U.S. Navy in the mid-1970s to improve the capability of conventional lattice-boom construction cranes for use in container-handling operations in an offshore environment. An important motivation for the U.S. Navy in this regard was to seek to mitigate "pendulation" associated with cargo handling at sea. The principle pendulation-mitigating feature of the RBTS is the presence of a rider block, which serves to effectively reduce the pendulum length to that portion of the hoist line that is between the rider block and the payload. Such pendulum length reduction tends to increase the payload's oscillatory frequency, thereby preventing the entrainment of the payload's oscillation with respect to the oscillation characterizing the ship's motion. Pendulation—swinging or swaying of the payload attached to one or more hoist lines—is a fundamental problem associated with control of a slewing pedestal crane. Crane operators usually seek to avoid or minimize pendulation.
The following paper, which discloses a Pendulation Control System (PCS) for a simple type of ship-based rotary crane, is incorporated herein by reference: Michael Agostini, Gordon G. Parker, Kenneth Groom, Hanspeter Schaub and Rush D. Robinett, "Command Shaping and Closed-Loop Control Interactions for a Ship Crane," Proceedings of the American Control Conference, Anchorage, Ak., 8-10 May 2002, pages 2298-2304. According to the methodology disclosed by Agostini et al. 2002, a payload mass is conceived to swing on the end of a spherical pendulum that includes a payload hoist line, which is attached to a boom, which is attached to a rotatable column having a geometric axis that is perpendicular to the deck of a ship. The crane has three degrees-of-freedom, viz., slew, luff and hoist. The perpendicular column can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise; this is referred to as "slewing." The boom can be rotated to elevate or lower the tip of the boom, thereby positioning the payload closer to or farther from the crane column; this is referred to as "luffing." The length of the payload hoist line can be lengthened or shortened; this is referred to as "hoisting." The crane operator positions the payload by issuing luff, slew and hoist commands in real time.
Agostini et al. 2002's control strategy for mitigating pendulation combines three controllers that interact with each other, viz., a command shaper, a ship motion compensator, and a swing damper. The command shaper filters ("shapes") the operator's commands, preventing the inadvertent addition thereby of energy to the system. The ship motion compensator compensates for sea-induced crane base motion by isolating energy; it prevents transmission of energy from the sea into the payload. An inertial measuring unit can be situated on the ship to measure the sea-induced crane base motion in terms of six degrees-of-freedom, viz., roll, pitch, yaw, heave, surge, and sway. The swing damper compensates for external swing disturbances by introducing slew, luff, and hoist commands that tend to null a pendulation error signal generated by a pendulation sensing mechanism and summed to an internally generated "nominal" pendulation value; it removes energy that has entered the system from external sources (e.g., wind) or from system nonlinearities. The pendulation sensing mechanism must be capable of resolving the position of the payload in a frame of reference fixed to the boom and oriented to the local gravity vector. One means of effecting a solution is via a sensor situated at the upper end of the payload hoist line attached to the boom tip to provide swing angle feedback.
Also of interest regarding PCS are: W. Thomas Zhao and Frank Leban, "Human/Hardware-in-the-Loop Testbed of Cargo Transfer Operations at Sea," ASNE (American Society of Naval Engineers) Joint Sea Basing Conference, Arlington, Va., Jan. 27-28, 2005, 10 pages, incorporated herein by reference; and, Robinett, III et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,439 B1 issued 27 Aug. 2002, entitled "Pendulation Control System and Method for Rotary Boom Cranes," incorporated herein by reference. The pendulation control system of Robinett, III et al. '439, which pertains to the command shaping aspect of the Pendulation Control System disclosed by Agostini et al 2002, includes an input command sensor, a pendulation frequency identifier, and a command shaping filter. In a simple type of slewing pedestal crane, the input command sensor responds to the operator commands from the operator input device, and the input commands are thus filtered so as to reduce pendulation. The pendulation frequency identifier indicates the residual payload pendulation frequency of the crane. The command shaping filter filters out the residual payload pendulation frequency from the operator commands.
Other electromechanical and/or algorithmic approaches have been considered for assisting crane operators in controlling slewing pedestal cranes. See, for instance, the following United States patents, each of which is incorporated herein by reference: Nayfeh et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,300 B1 issued 7 Oct. 2003, entitled "Nonlinear Active Control of Dynamical Systems"; Naud et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,574 B1 issued 14 Jan. 2003, entitled "Vertical Motion Compensation for a Crane's Load"; Robinett, III et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,496,765 B1 issued 17 Dec. 2002, entitled "Control System and Method for Payload Control in Mobile Platform Cranes"; Jacoff et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,486 B2 issued 11 Nov. 2003, entitled "System for Stabilizing and Controlling a Hoisted Load"; Jacoff et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,407 B1 issued 27 August 2002, entitled "System for Stabilizing and Controlling a Hoisted Load"; Overton et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,563 issued 5 Oct. 1999, entitled "Anti-Sway Control for Rotating Boom Cranes"; Robinett, III et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,122 issued 1 Jun. 1999, entitled "Sway Control Method and System for Rotary Boom Cranes"; Nachman et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,972 issued 18 Feb. 1992, entitled "Moored Ship Motion Determination System." See also, Bonsor et al. United Kingdom Patent Application GB 2267360 A published 12 Jan. 2003, entitled "Method and System for Interacting with Floating Objects," incorporated herein by reference.
Generally speaking, control systems and methods known in the art for facilitating crane operation are not entirely successful in limiting or alleviating pendulation to acceptable magnitudes under all standard operating conditions.

Pendulation control system with active rider block tagline system for shipboard cranes

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A regeneration tower 7 of a CO2 recovery unit includes an upper regeneration portion 51 that has a tray portion 45, a lower regeneration portion 52 provided below the upper regeneration portion 51 and having a liquid dispersion portion 46, and a supply line L5 that supplies absorbing liquid stored in the tray portion 45 to the liquid dispersion portion 46. The supply line L5 is provided with a heat exchanger 53, and the absorbing liquid is circulated using the density difference between the absorbing liquid flowing before the heat exchanger 53 and the absorbing liquid flowing after the heat exchanger 53 as a driving force. This reduces the cost of equipment while reducing the power in the delivery of the absorbing liquid in the regeneration portion.

The CO2 recovery unit recovers carbon dioxide (CO2) that is generated when fossil fuel is burned at a thermal power plant etc. The CO2 recovery unit allows amine compound solution (hereinafter, referred to as "absorbing liquid") to contact with combustion exhaust gas discharged from a boiler to eliminate CO2 included in the combustion exhaust gas, and stores CO2 without discharging it to the ambient air.
The CO2 recovery unit includes an absorbing tower that allows the combustion exhaust gas with the absorbing liquid and a regeneration tower that heats the absorbing liquid that absorbed CO2 to eliminate CO2 while regenerating the absorbing liquid. The regenerated absorbing liquid is delivered to the absorbing tower and reused.


The present invention relates to an analog of Neuropeptide FF (e.g., daY8Ra) and to a pharmaceutical composition containing same. The invention further relates to methods of using the analog to attenuate the effects of drug addiction, drug tolerance, drug dependence or of abstinence syndrome.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a peptide analog and to methods of using same to attenuate the effects of drug addiction, drug tolerance, drug dependence or of abstinence syndrome.
2. Background Information
The octapeptide NPFF (Phe-Leu-Phe-Gln-Pro-Gln-Arg-Phe-amide (SEQ ID NO:1)-amide) was originally isolated by Yang et al from bovine brain (Yang et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 82:7757-7761 (1985)). It has also been referred to as "morphine-modulating peptide" or "FMRF-NH.sub.2 -like mammalian octapeptide" (Panula et al, Med. Biology, 65:127-35 (1987)) or Neuropeptide FF (Kivipelto et al, Journal of Comparative Neurology). There are reasons to suspect that NPFF may be an "anti-opiate peptide": NPFF is localized in several brain regions rich in endogenous opioids (Ferrarese et al, Regulatory Peptides, 13:245-52 (1986); Panula et al, Med. Biology, 65:127-35 (1987)), is released from the brain by morphine infusion (Tang et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 81:5002-5 (1984)), and potently antagonizes analgesic effects of morphine and certain endogenous opioid peptides (Tang et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 81:5002-5 (1984); Yang et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 82:7757-7761 (1985); Yang et al, Prog. Clin. Biol. Res., 192:313-22 (1985)). IgG from NPFF antiserum augments morphine and stress-induced analgesia (Kavaliers et al, Peptides, 10:741-5 (1989)).
There is also evidence that NPFF may participate in opiate tolerance and dependence. IgG prepared from FMRFa antiserum cross-reacts with NPFF and interferes with morphine tolerance (Tang et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 81:5002-5 (1984)). NPFF levels in CSF are markedly increased in opiate dependent rats as compared with non-dependent rats (Malin et al, Peptides, 11:969-972 (1990)). NPFF (2 .mu.g i.c.v.) precipitates opiate abstinence syndrome in morphine-dependent rats (Malin et al, Peptides, 11:277-280 (1990)), and NPFF (15 .mu.g i.c.v.) induces a quasi-morphine-abstinence syndrome (QMAS) in opiate-naive rats (Malin et al, Peptides, 11:277-280 (1990)) (see also Guzman et al, Neuropeptides 14:253-261 (1989); Majane et al, Peptides, 8:657-662 (1987); Majane et al, Peptides, 9:1137-1144 (1988)). Third ventricle infusion of IgG from NPFF antiserum reverses opiate dependence, as evidenced by prevention of naloxone-precipitated abstinence syndrome in morphine-dependent rats (Malin et al, Peptides, 11:969-972 (1990)). The mechanism of action of NPFF is not understood as yet, but a recent receptor binding study in spinal cord membranes suggested that the neuropeptide binds to specific NPFF receptors. The .sup.125 I-Y8Fa binding site showed high affinity for NPFF, whereas opioid ligands failed to compete for binding (Allard et al, Brain Research, 500:169-176 (1989)).
Applicants recognized that an NPFF antagonist peptide would be useful as a probe for determining the physiological role of endogenous NPFF, as well as further ascertaining its role in opiate dependence, tolerance and abstinence. Accordingly, a NPFF analog was synthesized. A preferred embodiment of this analog differs in two respects from the NPFF sequence. First, in order to reduce receptor activation, the C-terminal Arg-Phe-amide is replaced by Arg-amide. Secondly, in order to increase resistance to aminopeptidase, the N-terminal is blocked with desaminotyrosine (daY). With both N-and C-terminals blocked, this peptide has increased enzyme resistance and receptor availability. DaY increases peptide binding affinity at molluscan FMRFa receptors and it was for this reason that it was added (see Payza, Peptides, 8:1065-1074 (1987)).
The analog of the invention is useful in acting as an antagonist in blocking the effects of NPFF, and in acting to block dependence on drugs of abuse or addiction and their subsequent abstinence syndromes. The present invention provides a method by which the NPFF analog can be employed to either enhance the efficacy of morphine treatment or to prevent drug dependence and to ameliorate the effects of abstinence syndromes.


A print settings screen for instructing creation of form data is displayed as a screen provided by a printer driver. Further, when a form data creation instruction has been received, a screen showing a message indicating that an instruction to complete an operation is required on a print screen provided by an application is displayed in order to execute the instructed creation of form data. Stored, as a form file, is form data created by a creation instruction given on the print settings screen, after the instruction to complete the operation was given on the print screen provided by the application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to print control technology that uses form data for decorating printed material using a special color material such as transparent ink (clear ink).
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, printers such as inkjet printers have performed printing using a special color material such as transparent ink, for example, in addition to the color inks cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) inks. In this case, an effect is typically obtained by applying inks to the entire printable area of the recording medium, although a certain effect can also be obtained by applying the transparent ink to only the image data.
Meanwhile, in the world of commercial printing, including offset printing and electro-photographic on-demand printing, the trend is increasingly towards decorating printed material using transparent ink and the like.
In view of this, technology for registering form data transmitted from an information processing apparatus in an image forming apparatus as image data onto which transparent toner is to be transferred, and combining registered form data with content data have been proposed (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-188816). Here, additional information whose color is transparent is transmitted to the image forming apparatus as form data, together with a command indicating that this form data is additional information whose color is transparent.
In form combination printing, a configuration is typically adopted such that, when creating form data, the same operations as normal printing are performed with respect to the printing system, after having designated form data creation in the print settings for desired print data. Data designated for form data creation is registered in the printing system as form data as a result of the instruction given to print the data by this operation.
However, for the user, the operations for creating form data are different from the normal printing process, and the procedures and outcome of the operations are arguably extremely difficult to follow, since they do not culminate in paper output from the printing apparatus.
Also, even in the case where a combination printing instruction is actually given, it was not always possible to confirm whether the print format of the created form data matches that of the data with which the form data will be combined. Additionally, flexible print control using created form data has not been adequately provided, and improvement in operability is desired.

Print control apparatus and control method thereof


A device for preventing water seepage over a foundation wall of a building, such device having first and second L-shaped members disposed facing each other with the base of one resting on the base of the other with a conduit resting on the upper base for the receipt and direction of water away from the foundation wall.

1. Field of the Invention
The device of this invention resides in the area of structures for directing water away from building foundations and more particularly relates to a structure placed against the exterior of a building foundation to direct water pooling on the ground to distant collection areas to prevent such water from passing over the foundation under the wood frame and into the basement of the building.
2. History of the Prior Art
Buildings, such as homes, having foundation walls resting upon footings wherein gravel is placed against the exterior of such foundation up to the ground level are well known. Water pooling on the ground surface often seeps over the foundation and down the wall into the basement, and such seepage is undesirable. A curtain drain is designed to intercept the lateral movement of the surface water and direct the surface water to another location away from the building. Curtain drains are shallower than drainage systems that are sometimes termed perimeter drains, french drains and footer drains.


The present invention relates to an improved process for the production of perchlorinated quinones by oxidative dehalogenation comprising the steps of providing a stoichiometric mixture consisting of sulfur trioxide, sulfuric acid and at least one aromatic compound containing one or more unsaturated carbon-rings therein. The mixture is reacted with a stoichiometric quantity of chlorine by slowly adding the chlorine to the mixture while stirring. After a sufficient reaction time the resultant perchlorinated quinone product is recovered from the reacted mixture.

Perchlorinated quinones are well known in the art providing a variety of uses in both the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. For example, chloranil (2, 3, 5, 6-tetrachloro-p-benzoquinone) is a powerful oxidant which has been used in the oxidation and dehydrogenation of a large number of organic compounds. It is used commercially as an oxidizing agent in the preparation of dyes such as methyl violet and as a fungicide in agricultural applications. Chloranil is also known to be a useful reagent for tamaquine detection in urine.
Various industrial processes exist for the manufacture of chloranil. U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,537 (Fox) discloses a process for the preparation of chloranil through oxidative chlorination of cyclohexane using hydrogen chloride and oxygen at a temperature between 180.degree. and 260.degree. C. U.S. Pat. No. 2,414,008 (Alquist et. al.) discloses the production of chloranil by admixing a polychlorophenol with concentrated sulfuric acid and passing chlorine into the heated mixture. U.S. Pat. No. 2,422,229 (Fletcher) discloses a process for manufacturing chlorinated quinones by chlorination of derivatives of phenol and alphahydroxynapthalene, the derivatives being present in a liquid medium comprising a mixture of sulfuric acid and acetic acid.
Although the above noted prior art processes do in fact produce chloranil, they often suffer from low yields and exist as relatively "dirty" reactions generating excessive and unwanted byproducts.

Oxidative dehalogenation process for the production of perchlorinated quinones


A dump bucket apparatus is described for use in a toilet of conventional shape and appearance, which is of simple construction and operation. The apparatus includes a bucket (50) that lies in a conventional tank (44) of long lateral (L) length and short front-to-rear depth, wherein the tank lies on the rear portion (40) of a toilet bowl part (20). Each end of the tank has a hole (122), and a bearing (124) extends through the hole and is fixed thereat to the tank. At least one end of the bucket is fixed to a trunnion (122) that extends through the bearing and that is fixed to a lever (64) lying immediately outside a tank end wall (100), with pivoting of the lever resulting in pivoting of the bucket. A deflector (82) lies at the bottom of the tank to one side of the water exit hole to minimize splashing and to concentrate water at the exit hole. At least one end (94) of the bucket is rounded into about a half circle as seen in a plan view, to provide room for a water inlet pipe (54).

A large majority of toilets in present use include a tank that can hold considerable water (e.g. five gallons) between flushings, and a flush valve at the bottom of the tank which is lifted to release water to the toilet bowl. Recent government regulations generally limit the amount of water used in each flushing to about 1.6 gallons. Although timed valves have been used to close the flush valve early and bricks have been placed in the tank to reduce the amount of water, such measures are easily reversed.
Applicant has been considering the development of a dump bucket toilet, which is described in several old patents, but which applicant has not seen in use. In such toilets, a bucket holds water between flushings and is tipped to release substantially all water. Applicant's recent U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,674 shows one design that applicant earlier developed. Applicant realizes that despite the advantages of a dump bucket toilet, of accurately measuring flush volume, permanently limiting the amount of water dispensed in each flushing, and avoiding leakage from leaky flush valves, that such toilets will not replace modified conventional toilets unless the new dump bucket toilet is of great simplicity and operates to provide an effective flushing with little water, in a tank of conventional shape and moderate height. Such a conventional tank usually lies very close to a bathroom wall, with the toilet bowl part extending forwardly therefrom. The shape and size of the toilet bowl part is substantially fixed, and to assure that it projects as little as possible forward of the bathroom wall, the tank must have a small forward-to-rearward depth of less than one foot. A dump bucket toilet which fit into a tank of such conventional shape, and which was of great simplicity and of reliable and efficient construction, would be of value.


A balloon inflation apparatus for inflating balloons is provided. A balloon plug having a resilient body with an outer perimeter designed to engage the inside of the neck of a balloon. The balloon plug is interconnected to a spool. A pierceable central portion is provided. The inflation apparatus includes an inflation station supported by a support frame. The inflation station includes an engagement opening for retaining a balloon plug with a balloon engaged therewith. The station also includes an inflation needle which has a retracted position and an inflation position that extends through the pierceable central portion of a balloon plug retained by the plug connector when the needle is in the inflation position. The inflation station also includes an actuator to move the needle between the retracted and inflation positions. A pressurized gas supply is in fluid communication with the needle and operable to selectively supply gas to the needle when the needle is in the inflation position so that a balloon engaged with the pierced plug is inflated.

The present invention relates generally to an inflation apparatus and, more specifically, to an apparatus for inflating novelty balloons and a balloon sealing plug for use therewith.
Balloons are popular novelty items, often used for celebrating special events and for decorating purposes. Balloons typically are formed from a rubber or rubber-like substance, such as latex, or may be made from a non-rubbery material such as Mylar. The balloons typically include an inflatable body and a neck which terminates in an inflation opening. An inflation gas, such as air or helium, is introduced through the inflation opening until the body of the balloon is inflated to a desired level.
A user may inflate a balloon manually by blowing air through the inflation opening using their mouth. A variety of pumps are also available to assist users in inflating balloons with air. These pumps typically blow air out through an opening which is adapted to mate with the inflation opening on the balloon. However, to inflate a balloon with helium, a lighter than air gas that causes the balloon to float, some type of inflation apparatus must be used. Helium typically is supplied in pressurized tanks. The inflation apparatus routes the helium from the tank into a balloon to be inflated. A variety of such inflation devices have been developed. The simplest helium inflation devices include a flow control valve and an inflation nozzle with a tapered tip. Often, this inflation apparatus is relatively small and mounts directly to the top of the helium tank. The inflation opening of a balloon is placed over the nozzle and is held in place by the user. The user then opens the flow control valve to allow helium to flow through the nozzle and into the balloon. Once the balloon is sufficiently inflated, the user turns the control valve back off. A somewhat simpler to use helium inflation device integrates the inflation nozzle and the control valve. In this system, the control is opened by either flexing or pushing down on the nozzle. Therefore, the user merely places the balloon neck onto the inflation nozzle and bends or pushes the nozzle to begin the flow of gas. Once the balloon is sufficiently inflated, the user lets up on the nozzle to stop the flow of gas. Another helium inflation device includes a flow control valve with a built-in timer. The user pushes a button or turns a dial to start the flow of gas. The gas then shuts off after a predetermined time limit. This allows repeated inflation of balloons to approximately the same size.
After a balloon is inflated, with either air or helium, the neck of the balloon must be sealed to prevent the escape of gas. With balloons formed of an elastic material, the traditional approach has been to stretch the neck of the balloon and tie a knot. The approach is effective and sufficient when only one or a few balloons are being inflated. However, for many applications, such as the assembly of balloon bouquets or decorations, a large number of balloons must be inflated and sealed. Some entertainers use balloons as part of their act and inflate and seal many balloons. In light of this, there has been a need for improved methods of sealing the necks of balloons. One approach has been to provide a clip or sealing device which assists in the sealing of the neck. One example is a simple plastic disc sold under the trademark E-Z BALLOON DISC(trademark). This device is a flat plastic disc with slots cut into the disc at various positions around its perimeter. To seal the neck of a balloon, the neck is inserted into one of the slots in the disc and then stretched so as to pass through one or more additional slots. The stretching of the neck and the convoluted route it is forced to take seals the balloon. While an improvement over simple hand tying, this device still requires manual manipulation of the balloon neck and may lead to tired or sore fingers. Another available clip device is generally funnel shaped with a slot cut into the edge of the funnel to accept the neck of a balloon. The funnel shape allows the clip device to conform to the shape of the lower side of the balloon. That is, the balloon body extends out of the top of the funnel while the pinched off neck extends downwardly near the base of the funnel. A ribbon is wrapped about the base of the funnel and may be unwrapped to provide an attachment to the balloon.
Clips are also available which have a pair of opposing jaws which interlock about the neck of a balloon to seal the neck. These clips typically require a machine or device designed to press the jaws together so that they may interlock. Yet another balloon sealing device is sold under the name Snappi Seal from the West Winds Company. This device wraps a small piece of tape about the neck of a balloon when the neck is pulled through an opening in the device. A user first fills the balloon, then twists the neck and stretches it. If desired, a piece of ribbon may be held next to the twisted neck. The neck is then pulled down into a slot in the machine which wraps a small piece of tape around the neck. The user is instructed to rub their fingers over the tape to secure the seal after removing the balloon from the machine.
As an improvement on the various clip-like sealing devices just discussed, a variety of balloon valves have been developed. These valves typically consist of a one-way check valve which is assembled into the neck of a balloon. Then, gas may be introduced through the valve into the balloon. However, the one-way check valve prevents the flow of gas back out through the valve. An example of one such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,203 to Murray. This valve assembly includes a tube through which gas may be introduced and a flexible valve flap which overlies one end of the tube. When gas is introduced into the tube, the valve is forced out of the way by the flow of gas. However, once the flow of gas through the tube into the balloon ceases, the flap falls back into position over the end of the tube preventing gas from flowing out of the balloon. A slightly different device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,204 to Zeyra. This device also includes a flow passage designed for the introduction of a flow of gas into a balloon and a flap member which overlies the end of the tube. However, in this case the flap is more rigidly secured over the tube. To allow the flow of gas, an inflation member must be inserted into the tube far enough to press against the underside of the flap. This inflation member slightly lifts the flap allowing gas to flow around its perimeter. Once the inflation member is retracted, gas no longer flows in either direction. One-way check valve type valve assemblies for use with balloons generally suffer from the drawback that they are complicated and expensive to manufacture. For example, to provide a reliable seal, the check valve must be manufactured to reasonably tight tolerances.
All of the inflation devices and valves so far discussed do not address the need for an inflation device which provides for rapid and convenient inflation of multiple balloons without needless manual manipulation. A variety of more complicated inflation devices have been developed in an attempt to address this need. For example, one design was sold under the name Auto Flate, which was designed by LEJ Designs of Laurens, S.C. and was sold by the Wayside Gallery in the same city. This design automatically injected a substance called HI-FLOAT(copyright) into a balloon, spread the HI-FLOAT(copyright) around, and then inflated the balloon. HI-FLOAT(copyright) is a substance that may be injected into a balloon prior to inflation. It helps to seal the balloon so as to avoid leakage of helium through the balloon material. HI-FLOAT(copyright) is the subject of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,634,395 and 5,244,429. The Auto Flate machine required an operator to first clamp the neck of a balloon in a specially designed clamp. The machine then injected HI-FLOAT(copyright) and inflated the balloon. Afterwards, the neck of the balloon was tied off to seal the balloon. The machine provided a crochet-hook-like device to assist in the tying of a balloon neck or the tying of a ribbon around the neck of a balloon. This device was laborious to use and did not significantly improve the process of inflating and tying off multiple balloons. A variety of other balloon inflation devices have also been developed. However, they all fall short of providing the desired convenient and rapid inflation of multiple balloons, while avoiding the laborious process of tying the balloons or mechanically sealing the balloons.
A balloon inflation apparatus is designed to inflate balloons that have a neck and a body. A balloon plug is designed for use with the inflation apparatus and is designed to seal the neck of the balloon. The balloon plug has a resilient body with an outer perimeter to engage the inside of the neck of the balloon and a pierceable central portion. The inflation apparatus includes a support frame and an inflation station supported by the support frame. The inflation station includes a plug connector to retain the balloon plug with a balloon engagement plug. The station also includes an inflation needle which has a retracted position and an inflation position. The needle extends through the central portion of the balloon plug retained by the plug connector when the needle is in the inflation position. The needle does not extend through the central portion of the balloon plug when the needle is in the retracted position. The inflation station also includes an actuator operable to move the needle between the retracted and inflation positions. The balloon inflation apparatus includes a pressurized gas supply to provide gas to the needle. The apparatus may be operated to actuate the actuator so the needle moves from the retracted position to the inflation position. The central portion of the plug retained by the plug connector is then pierced. The apparatus is also operable to supply gas to the needle when the needle is in the inflation position so that a balloon engaged with the pierced plug is inflated.

Balloon inflation apparatus and plug therefor


A valve retainer is provided for securably retaining a discharge valve assembly within a recess formed in a scroll. The valve retainer can be installed between the recess of the non-orbital scroll and the discharge valve assembly to retain the discharge valve assembly at the recess. The valve retainer can include a ring-like body having inwardly and/or outwardly extending tangs for cooperating with structure formed on the respective valve and the recess of the non-orbital scroll.

Scroll compressors have become widely utilized in many refrigerant compression applications. Scroll compressors are relatively efficient, and are being utilized in more and more applications. In a typical scroll compressor, the compression chambers are defined by two generally spiral wraps. The spiral wraps are formed on individual scroll members, and extend from a base plate. The spiral wraps interfit to define compression chambers. One of the spiral wraps is driven to orbit relative to the other, and the size of the compression chambers changes to compress the entrapped refrigerant.
As the compression chamber nears the end of its cycle, the entrapped gas is exposed to a discharge port. The entrapped gas leaves the discharge port and moves through a check valve to a discharge plenum. The discharge check valve is typically opened during operation of the scroll compressor. The check valve closes the discharge port and desirably prevents backflow once the compressor is stopped.
Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the disclosure, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

Scroll machine having improved discharge valve assembly


A vehicle assembly includes a front end module, an upper panel, and a fender covering the upper panel. The vehicle assembly also includes a housing, mounted to the front end module, having a first contour, and a bracket, having a second contour complementary with the first contour, attached with the housing. The bracket generally maintains a position of the headlamp assembly relative to the upper panel during a RCAR Low Speed Structural Crash Test Protocol (Issue 2.2).

In order to sufficiently retain a vehicle headlamp assembly, brackets are used to mount the vehicle headlamp assembly directly with a front end module. These brackets help to maintain vehicle headlamp assembly position during an impact event. By tying the vehicle headlamp assembly directly to the front end module of the vehicle, the load generated from the force of the impact event on the headlamp assembly is transferred to the front end module.


A port monitor allows a computer, digital camera, or other device to send a print job to a target printer, where the only known information about the printer is its network address. Communication is attempted to the network address, sequentially using each of a plurality of port numbers. If none of the plurality of port numbers is successful in initiating communication to the network address, communication to the network address is attempted using an LPR port number, sequentially using each of a plurality of LPR queue names.

The basic model of digital printing over a network is well known. A population of computers, each of which may hold document data which is desired to be printed, communicates with a population of digital printers, using a print protocol such as Raw or LPR (Line Printer Request) over TCP/IP. An IP network address of a "target printer" on which the document data in the computer is desired to be printed is used by one computer to identify, and initiate communication with, the target printer. Once contact is made, Raw or LPR protocol is used to submit the document data.
In a practical network context, where a computer on a network is desired to send a set of data to be printed (herein, a "document") to a desired target printer, other parameters, "settings," must be determined and taken into account. First, even if the IP address of the target printer is determined, it must further be known what the "printer port" of the printer is. Printer port is a TCP/IP port on which the digital printer accepts print requests or documents. The printer port can be classified into two categories, ones that support Raw print job submission and the ones that support LPR submission. Raw printer port accepts print jobs using the standard TCP/IP communication commands, whereas LPR defines a set of commands which have to executed to submit the print job. Different printer vendors have different "printer port" numbers for their machines: common Raw printer port numbers are 9100, 2000, or 2105. In case of LPR, the port number is 515, as is common in legacy UNIX® printing applications. With LPR, there must further be submitted what is called a "queue name," which enables a type of handshake between the computer and the target printer. The queue name identifies the print channel/queue to be used by the printer; an incorrect value will lead to failure of the document submission.
In a typical network environment such as managed corporate intranet, all of the computers and printers on the network are managed with a network server. The network server typically retains, and regularly updates, a network directory of all printers and related devices directly accessible to it. The network directory retains, for each printer, information about the other necessary parameters, such as port numbers, print protocol (Raw/LPR) and other settings (e.g., queue name in case of LPR), so that any computer on the network can use this information when submitting a document thereto.
With the emergence of sophisticated portable computers and computer-like devices, such as lap-tops, personal data assistants, digital cameras, wireless telephones, pagers, etc. (hereinafter generically called "computers"), it is becoming common that a human user may wish to print a document on a printer which is located in an unfamiliar building to which he has brought his computer. Ordinarily, such a human user would have to ask the local system administrator to let him get on the local network, and in turn receive the necessary parameters or settings for printing on a selected printer in the building.

System for determining communication parameters associated with an unknown digital printer


A system for operating a hearing instrument is disclosed. The system comprises one or more electrodes for measuring the brain wave signals of a user wearing a hearing instrument. The electrodes are placed on the scalp of the user. Based on the measured brain wave signals, a detecting unit is configured to detect a relaxation state of the hearing instrument. A controller sets the hearing instrument to a relaxation mode setting in response to the detection of the relaxation state of the user.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to hearing instruments and particularly to configuration of a hearing instrument based on a mental state of a user. The invention specifically relates to a method for configuring one or more settings of the hearing instrument in response to detection of a particular mental state of the user wearing the hearing instrument.
Related Art
Hearing instruments, such as hearing aids, are electroacoustic devices often used for enhancing sound by ways of amplification and modulation. A hearing instrument gathers sound from surroundings, amplifies the sound and directs the sound to ear canals of the user wearing the hearing instrument. For example, in case of a hearing impaired person, a hearing instrument may be configured to amplify sound coming from a frontal direction and cancel noise generated from all other audio signals, such that clear sound is perceived by the hearing impaired person, wearing the hearing instrument. The amplification and/or modulation are typically performed based upon a hearing profile of the hearing impaired person.
Conventionally, hearing instruments are fitted in a user's ear in an in the ear (ITE) configuration, a behind the ear (BTE) configuration, an in the canal (ITC) configuration, etc. In some cases, when the user is in a relaxation state, the user usually tends to either remove the hearing instrument from the ear, or switch off the hearing instrument such that no sound reaches the user in the relaxation state. However, in such cases, the user may not even hear normal sounds that the user otherwise wishes to hear, for example, another person speaking with the user, ringing of a telephone, a door bell, etc., sounds that may signal emergency, and the like. In addition, the user may also face problems if the hearing instrument is misplaced or permanently lost. Further, some types of hearing instruments may be difficult to repeatedly remove and put on.
User configurable hearing instruments are known in the art. These hearing instruments are configured by a user according to particular needs of the user. The user can program the configurable hearing instrument using a computing device. Once the configuration is complete, the hearing instrument may work according to the configured settings. However, the user may require different types of configurations of the hearing instruments for different needs. For example, a user may want to have a decibel level of the sound, of the hearing instrument, automatically adjusted based on a particular mental state of the user. However, to change the settings repeatedly may be cumbersome for the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,339 discloses an invention intended to reduce the power consumption of a hearing aid chip by taking into account the users behavior, e.g. to reduce power if the hearing aid user is sleeping, in motion (accelerators) or if it is detected that the hearing aid user does not wear them, or if a time clock says that it is night, and thereby power could be reduced (by changing to various power saving modes).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hearing instrument without the above disadvantages. It is a further object to provide a method for operating the hearing instrument which allows the hearing instrument to operate without the above disadvantages.


CPCS-UU in the CPCS-PDU trailer defined by the AAL Type 5 in an ATM network is used as a sequence number for error handling. CPCS-UU in the CPCS-PDU trailer is used as a sequence number of an MPEG-2 transport stream packet contained in CPCS-PDU; by monitoring the number of packets, and based on the check results of CRC-32, LI, and cell count, error handling is performed at the receiving end, and for corrupted packets, null packets are inserted in place of the corrupted packets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an error-handling method used in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, and more particularly to an error-handling method and apparatus used when transmitting over the ATM adaptation layer (AAL) Type 5 the kind of data that cannot be retransmitted.
2. Description of the Related Art
The AAL Type 5 in B-ISDN (Broadband aspects of Integrated Services Digital Network) protocols is being considered, as a simplified AAL protocol, for application to video on demand (VOD), for example.
If the AAL Type 5 is to be applied for transmission of data, such as video data in VOD, that cannot be retransmitted even if received in error at the receiving end, provisions must be made for reliable error handling.
VOD is considered the most promising section in the multimedia field, and trials of VOD have been started in many parts of the worlds, most notably in North America. However, the work to standardize VOD technology is incomplete. Implementing VOD using ATM networks will require equipment such as video servers, ATM switches, and set top boxes (STBs). Furthermore, in reality, in order to achieve fiber to the curb (FTTC), equipment for implementing asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) technology as well as multiplexing and other equipment will become necessary.
While it is an essential condition to make the interfaces between these pieces of equipment (protocols at each layer) compatible, the work of standardization is still incomplete. Furthermore, these pieces of equipment are large in scale and technically difficult to develop, and it is not possible for any single company to supply all of the equipment; in fact, this is unrealistic. Therefore, collaboration by a plurality of companies will be needed to construct a system, but this is difficult under the present circumstances for the reason stated above.
In a VOD system using an ATM network, image data is run at a higher layer, above the AAL, and the ATM Forum and other organizations are working vigorously to standardize running image data at the higher layer. For image data, standardization of image compression techniques, such as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, considering the current transmission limits, has been completed by the Moving Picture Coding Experts Group (MPEG) Standardization Committee. Furthermore, an MPEG system for transmitting MPEG-compressed image data on networks has also been standardized, and currently, a method of transmission on ATM networks is being studied by the ATM Forum among others. More recently, a method of mapping MPEG-2 transport stream packets to the AAL Type 5 has been standardized by the ATM Forum as follows:
(1) For ordinary MPEG-2 transport stream packets, two packets are mapped to the AAL Type 5 PDU (protocol data unit) and segmented into eight cells for transmission. In this case, no stuffing is necessary. PA1 (2) If the header of the first packet contains a program clock reference (PCR) as timing clock information, the packet is immediately mapped to the AAL, Type 5 PDU and segmented into five cells for transmission. In this case, stuffing of 44 bytes becomes necessary.
When transmitting MPEG-2 transport stream packets in ATM cells, a phenomenon, called cell delay variation (CDV) or jitter, will become the most serious problem. A large CDV greatly affects the arrival time of PCR which provides the clock recovery information for synchronizing video and audio. For PCR, not only its value but its arrival time is also important, and the above-described method standardized by the ATM Forum alleviates this problem. Nevertheless, occurrence of CDV is unavoidable because of asynchronous transfers, cell discarding, etc. in the ATM network. Therefore, in order to reproduce video data from the packets transmitted from a video server without degrading quality by suppressing occurrence of CDV, a buffer must be provided in intermediate equipment to adjust the arrival time, and also error control must be performed correctly. In error control, if common part convergence sublayer (CPCS) PDUs where errors occurred are simply discarded, a significant effect will be caused in the arrival time of PCR.
To perform the error control correctly, a sequence number should be provided for each CPCS-PDU, but this function is not provided for the AAL Type 5.
To detect loss of MPEG-2 transport stream packets, the continuity counter contained in the header of each packet should be checked, but this is delegated to the higher layer above the AAL. It is, however, difficult to perform error control correctly at the higher layer. Moreover, checking the continuity counter field will lead to complexity of processing since there are two kinds of CPCS-PDUs as described in the above items (1) and (2). It will also become necessary to check the viability of the continuity counter field itself.

Error handling in transmission of data that cannot be retransmitted


A gaming terminal for playing a wagering game includes a basic game and a bonus game. The basic game has a plurality of symbols that indicate a randomly selected outcome from a plurality of outcomes in response to a wager input by a player. The bonus game is triggered by a predetermined event such as by selecting a start-bonus outcome from the plurality of outcomes. The bonus game includes a plurality of free spins and a plurality of blind selections, at least one of the blind selections being selected before playing each of the free spins. The selected blind selection reveals a bonus enhancement that is provided to the player after the bonus enhancement has been revealed.

Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting of the machines.
Consequently, shrewd operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines available because such machines attract frequent play and, hence, increase profitability to the operator. In the competitive gaming machine industry, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to produce new types of games, or enhancements to existing games, which will attract frequent play by increasing the entertainment value and excitement associated with the game.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is that of a "secondary" or "bonus" game which may be played in conjunction with a "basic" game. The bonus game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game, may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the basic game.
Some existing bonus games award the player a plurality of free games, more generally referred to as free spins. The free spins are generally provided with a specific bonus enhancement that is applied to all the free spins played that are awarded during a particular bonus game. One problem with this approach is that the bonus enhancement has already been determined before the first free spin is played, and, consequently, there is no surprise as to what the bonus enhancement will be for each additional free spin. Thus, the level of excitement is reduced after the bonus enhancement has been selected, regardless of whether the number of free spins is two or fifty. Because the bonus enhancement has already been determined for all the free spins, the player will most likely lose interest in some or most of the remaining free spins.
In some bonus games, the specific bonus enhancement is a blind selection, wherein the bonus enhancement is revealed only after the player makes the selection. Although a blind selection might be more exciting than a known selection, these bonus game suffer from the same problem as discussed above. The level of excitement lasts only until the blind selection is revealed. Thereafter, the player is a mere observer of the game for the remainder of the free spins, regardless of the number of free spins.
Although free spins have the potential to raise a player's level of excitement and to produce a sense of achievement even if the free spins do not provide additional winnings, the mere award of free spins may not necessarily provide enough entertainment value to maintain the player's interest. An award of free spins can be further improved by providing the player with additional choices for affecting the outcome of each one of the free spins. Providing additional interaction between the player and the bonus game such that the outcome of the free spins may be different for each free spin may increase the time a player will spend at a particular gaming machine.
Thus, the present invention is directed to satisfying the needs of players for enhanced excitement by enabling the players to affect the outcome of each one of a plurality of free spins awarded during a bonus game.

Wagering game having a blind selection feature


A control for an electric water heater detects a condition of a heating element when the heating element is not being energized. A switching module is operable to interrupt power to the heating element, which de-energizes the heating element. A detector module detects the condition of the heating element when the heating element is de-energized. The detector module senses current flowing through the heating element and generates a detection signal that is indicative of the current.

This application relates to the art of controls and methods for operating electric water heaters. The invention is particularly applicable to a control and method that uses a control module running software and will be described with specific reference thereto. However, it will be appreciated that the invention has broader aspects and can be carried out with other types of controls.
An electric water heater energizes one or more heating elements located within the water heater tank to heat water. Electrical power to the heating elements is managed through the operation of a control module, which controls the opening and/or closing of electrical relays connected in series between a power source and the heating elements. The thermal energy generated by the heating elements dissipates in the water, thereby heating the water according to a desired or preset water temperature. The control module is operable to interrupt power to the heating elements by opening one or more of the electrical relays.
Certain circumstances may cause the heating elements to malfunction or burn out, causing an open circuit. When this occurs, the control module is unable to use the heating element to heat the water. Operation of the electric water heater with an open heating element may result in further damage to one or more additional components of the electric water heater. Therefore, it is desirable to detect an open heating element prior to providing power to the heating element.

Apparatus and method for detecting condition of a heating element