A capacitive coupling circuit device is provided with a capacitive coupling circuit and a ground-side feedback circuit. The capacitive coupling circuit demodulates a modulated signal, which is obtained by modulating an input signal and transmitting a modulated input signal through a coupling capacitor. The ground-side feedback circuit is inserted between a first ground terminal on a signal input side of the capacitive coupling circuit and a second ground terminal on a signal output side of the capacitive coupling circuit. The ground-side feedback circuit is configured by connecting a second capacitor in series to a parallel circuit of a first capacitor and a first resistor. Alternatively, the ground-side feedback circuit may be configured by connecting the second capacitor and a third capacitor in series to both ends of the parallel circuit of the first capacitor and the first resistor, respectively.

In the power supply systems of electric vehicles, in-vehicle equipment that uses high voltage, industrial equipment, medical equipment, etc., it is necessary to design the circuits of low voltage and high voltage to be electrically separated (isolated) for safety reasons. However, even in such equipment, it is essential to send and receive signals between low-voltage and high-voltage circuits. For example, a high-voltage switching power supply circuit operates by receiving control signals from an IC mounted in a low-voltage circuit, and a high-voltage battery sends information on the voltage and temperature of the battery cells to an IC mounted in a low-voltage circuit, and the IC feeds back the received information to the operation of the power supply system.
In such devices, isolators are used to send and receive signals between isolated low-voltage and high-voltage circuits. In general, the isolators are classified into three types according to the coupling method between the signal input side and the signal output side: optical coupling type, inductive coupling type, and capacitive coupling type. In capacitive coupling isolators, the signal input side and the signal output side are coupled by a capacitor. The capacitor insulates the DC component and transmits the high-frequency component, so that the signal transmission from the signal input side to the signal output side is realized by signal modulation using the high-frequency component.
However, since the modulated signal transmitted from the signal input side through the capacitor is demodulated at the signal output side and a new digital signal is regenerated, this becomes a noise voltage source and can cause conducted noise and radiated noise. As a countermeasure, a certain noise suppression effect can be obtained by connecting the ground of the signal input side and the ground of the signal output side with a capacitor.
Patent Document 1 discloses a circuit configuration of a conventional example in which the ground on the signal input side and the ground on the signal output side are connected by a capacitor in an isolator circuit of the capacitive coupling method. In Patent Document 1, it is stated that the capacitor acts as a return path for the modulated signal, and this leads to improvement in the signal integrity (SI). At the same time, the ground potential on the signal output side is stabilized, which is expected to have some noise suppression effect.

Capacitive coupling circuit device provided with capacitive coupling circuit demodulating modulated signal transmitted through coupling capacitor

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A cementitious wall is externally reinforced against out-of-plane or in-plane seismic forces using an overlying layer of composite material, preferably a carbon-fiber/polymer matrix composite material. To externally reinforce the wall against out-of-plane forces, the composite material is applied to the wall as an overlay with the fibers extending vertically. At the base of the wall, the composite overlay is tied to the horizontal building structure using right-angle ties spaced-apart along the foot of the wall. The composite overlay may either be structurally tied to intervening floor structures using right-angle ties, or it may be structurally isolated from the intervening floor structures using flat-tie pass throughs. To externally reinforce the wall against in-plane horizontal forces, the composite material is applied to the wall as an overlay with the fibers running only horizontally.

This invention relates to the construction of buildings and, more particularly, to the reinforcement of cementitious building walls to resist damage produced by seismically induced forces.
There are thousands of buildings located in the earthquake-prone regions of the world whose cementitious walls are susceptible to seismically induced damage. (As used herein unless otherwise indicated, "cementitious" walls include cement or concrete walls made of either masonry or poured construction, which do of do not contain internal steel reinforcing structure.) During an earthquake, the ground upon which the building rests moves laterally and/or vertically. These ground motions are transmitted through the building foundation and thence into the building walls as force responses. The walls may be cracked as a result of the ground motions or, if the motions are sufficiently severe, the walls may fail completely and collapse.
The ground motions produce force response components in the building wall that lie in the plane of the building wall or out of the plane of the building wall. The nature of the ground motions and force responses at any particular location that might result from an earthquake cannot be predicted with complete certainty. However, in many cases the predominant mode of ground motion and the resulting forces on the walls can be estimated. That is, an engineer who analyzes a building and the geological fault structure in its vicinity can often predict that a wall would likely be subject to particular force components that are out-of-plane, vertical in-plane, and horizontal in-plane, where the "plane" refers to the plane of the wall. The present invention is directed toward reinforcement of cementitious building walls to resist damage induced by such in-plane forces and out-of-plane forces, also termed "flexural" response.
It has been known to externally reinforce building walls to resist damage induced by seismic movements. Studies by the inventors have determined that different modes of seismic forces require different types of external reinforcement for optimal damage resistance, and have further shown that some of the most common modes of external reinforcement may have little beneficial effect in resisting cracking and/or failing of the building walls in many cases. There is, therefore, a need for improved approaches to external reinforcement of cementitious building walls to resist damage caused by various types of force and motion components, which are optimized for particular force responses in the building walls. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.

Reinforcement of cementitious walls to resist seismic forces


A wireless communication terminal and a method for controlling power and using a channel by adjusting a channel bandwidth of the wireless communication terminal. The wireless communication terminal generates a plurality of channels by dividing at least part of a frequency band for ultra-wideband communications to a plurality of frequency bands, receives a chaotic signal having a plurality of frequency components in the channels, and adjusts a frequency bandwidth which forms the channel when a certain condition is satisfied. Accordingly, since the chaotic carrier is transmitted and received in the narrow frequency band by adjusting the frequency bandwidth, the power consumption can be reduced drastically and the high-quality communications are feasible between the portable terminal and the wireless headset in the optimized channel environment. Furthermore, a greater number of portable terminals and wireless headsets can execute the radio communications in a certain wireless communication range.

1. Field of the Invention
Methods and apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to a wireless communication terminal and a method for controlling power and using a channel by adjusting a channel bandwidth of the wireless communication terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wireless communication terminal which can change a channel bandwidth for the transmission of radio signals according to environmental conditions, reduce power consumption, guarantee good communication performance by preventing interference between wireless communication terminals, and allow communications of more wireless communication terminals by assigning part of the channel bandwidth to newly-entering wireless communication terminals when every channel is in use, and a method of power control and channel use incorporating such adjustment of channel bandwidth.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bluetooth, which is recently attracting attention in the wireless communication, is a short-distance radio communication standard. Bluetooth enables bidirectional communications among digital devices in real time by wirelessly connecting a mobile phone, a computer, and a personal digital assistant (PDA) within 10˜100 m with a phone, a computer, and home appliances in home or office. Frequency band of Bluetooth ranges 2.402˜2.480 GHz which is the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) bands of 2.4 GHz.
If two wireless terminals communicating with each other, through Bluetooth are referred to as a transmitter terminal and a receiver terminal, respectively, the pair of the transmitter terminal and the receiver terminal can be a mobile terminal and a wireless headset, a computer and a wireless headset, a computer and a peripheral, and the like.
To prevent interference between the receiver terminals at a short distance, the Bluetooth utilizes a frequency hopping which is a kind of spread spectrum method. The frequency hopping, which changes the frequencies at random, defines 79 frequency bands by dividing the bandwidth by 1 MHz in the Bluetooth band of 2.402˜2.480 GHz and converts frequency bands to transmit signals. The frequency band conversion is carried out 1600 times per one second.
Mostly, one receiver terminal is connected to one transmitter terminal for radio communications. At the initial communication, the transmitter terminal matches the channel between the transmitter terminal and the receiver terminal by sending radio signals to the receiver terminal in a preset channel. Herein, the channel is a kind of codes formed through the frequency hopping, and the channel can be set based on in which order 79 frequency bands, which are divided for the frequency hopping, are converted. For instance, if the divided frequency bands are referred to as 1st through 79th bands, the channel 1 can sequentially hop the 1st through 79th bands and the channel 2 can hop the 5th band, the 29th band, the 17th band, the 3rd band, . . . in that order.
Ultra-wideband wireless communication is under development using the ultra-wideband frequency band of 3.1˜5.1 GHz. The ultra-wideband wireless communication transmits and receives communication signals primarily using on-off keying (OOK) modulation which transmits and receives digital signals as ON and OFF. To prevent the interference with other transmitter terminals, the OOK modulation generates a channel by dividing the frequency band of 3.1˜5.1 GHz to a plurality of bands. The transmitter terminal and the receiver terminal communicate with each other using the selected channel of the divided bands.
In the ultra-wideband chaotic communication system using the OOK modulation, since the frequency power density is defined according to the standard specification, the wireless power intensity is determined by the bandwidth of the used channel. Accordingly, the power consumption of the battery is determined. The wider channel frequency bandwidth, the more power consumption of the battery. Although the channel bandwidth is determined to optimize the channel communication state, the communication state may be good without using the whole channel bands depending on the channel environment. However, since the channel bandwidth is not technically adjustable up to now, the channel bandwidth is always the same. Hence, disadvantageously, the power is wasted in the good channel environment.
The power consumption can be reduced by narrowing the channel bandwidth in a good channel environment.
When the pairs of the transmitter terminal and the receiver terminal equal the number of the channels which reside within a certain wireless communication range, that is, when all channels are occupied, a new transmitter terminal 1 and a new receiver terminal 1 may enter the wireless communication range. In this case, communication interference occurs between the new transmitter terminal 1 and the new receiver terminal 1, and between the transmitter terminals using the same channel, and the radio communications fail to both sides.
This disadvantage results from the fixed channel bandwidth and the fixed number of channels in the OOK modulation. Therefore, to overcome it, a new channel is generated by adjusting the channel bandwidth.

Wireless communication terminal and method for controlling power and using channel by adjusting channel bandwidth of wireless communication terminal


Transmission ion microscope. A bright light ion source generates an ion beam that is focused on a sample by an electrostatic condenser lens means. An objective lens focuses the ion beam transmitted through the sample to form an image. A projector lens enlarges the image and a phosphor screen receives the enlarged image to generate light allowing visualization of the image.

This invention relates to microscopy and more particularly to a transmission ion microscope using a bright light ion source.
The transmission electron microscope (TEM) has been in use for almost fifty years and has atomic or near atomic resolution. A transmission electron microscope sends a focused beam of electrons through a sample and an image is created on a phosphor screen by transmitted electrons so that atomic structure of the sample can be visualized. A TEM is a large, complex and expensive tool utilizing very high energy electrons. The use of very high energy electrons results in an operational burden.
Atomic level surface structure from thick samples can be obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and, to a lesser extent, by atomic force microscopy (AFM). These are slow methods that require mechanically scanning a very fine needle-shaped tip over a sample. These methods cannot, however, provide information on what is below the top atomic layer of the sample.
A detailed understanding of the operation of the aforementioned, presently available TEM and STM microscopes is held by many persons skilled in the art of high resolution microscopes. There are myriad public domain publications, classroom text books, and microscope vendor publications that discuss such prior art microscopes. A commonly available publication provided by a microscope vendor is JEOL News, Vol. 37E, No. 1, 2002. Exemplary text books that teach the above mentioned microscopes include Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis by Joseph Goldstein (Editor); Scanning and Electron Microscopy: An Introduction by Stanley L. Flagler, et al.; High Resolution Focused Ion Beams: FIB and Its Applications by John Orloff; Materials Analysis Using A Nuclear Microprobe by Mark B. H. Breese; and Scanning Probe Microscopy and Spectroscopy: Theory, Techniques and Applications by Dawn Bonnell (Editor). The contents of all of these references are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that existing microscopes lack sufficient contrast capability for a fuller understanding of the microscopic world.


An objective is to provide a method of forming a piezoelectric resin film produced at low cost, and specifically to provide the method in which a large-area piezoelectric resin film is produced at low cost, and at reduced investment in facilities. Disclosed is a method of forming a piezoelectric resin film possessing the steps of polymerizing a monomer at a temperature of 5-60° C. to obtain a resin having a polymerization degree of 4-300, and a polarity group possessing one bond selected from a urea bond, an ester bond, an amide bond and an imide bond, coating the resin onto a substrate; and further polymerizing the resin at 70-250° C. while conducting a poling treatment.

As a method of forming piezoelectric resin film, commonly known is a so called co-evaporation method in which a polyurea film is formed by simultaneously evaporating a diisocyanate compound such as 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and a diamine compound such as 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl methane (MDA), for example (refer to Patent Document 1).
However, there is a problem such that a monomer composition ratio in the resulting polyurea film differs from a stoichiometric composition ratio because of a different evaporation temperature of each monomer, since the polyurea film is arranged to be formed by simultaneously evaporating two kind of monomers of diisocyanate compound and a diamine compound in the case of the foregoing conventional technique, and evaporation has to be done while controlling temperature after setting the temperature of each of monomers separately. Also disclosed is reaction with water after limiting a monomer to only diisocyanate in order to avoid this temperature control (refer to Patent Document 2), but there is a drawback of limiting monomer selection. On the other hand, in the case of evaporation polymerization, it takes a long time to form a thick evaporation film, and there is another problem such that a vacuum system is required to produce a large-area piezoelectric film, and as a result, investment in facilities becomes large.    (Patent Document 1) Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 7-258370    (Patent Document 2) Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 2006-063393

Method of forming piezoelectric resin film


In a method for generating a second data stream from a first data stream, which comprises a first header and a first payload data block with payload data, the first header is initially extracted from the first data stream. Subsequently the second header for the second data stream is generated. Then, at least a part of the first header is entered into the second header, the part of the first header including information, which allows conclusions as to the origin of the payload data. Finally, the second payload data block is generated, which comprises the same payload data, so as to obtain the complete second data stream. The method according to the invention enables device-specific encrypting of payload data, a flexible, device-specific “copy” for other devices of a user and, in particular, complete documentation of the origin of the present copy, such that effective copyright protection may be realized.

With the occurrence of telecommunication networks and in particular due to the huge spreading of multimedia data-capable personal computers and, most recently, of so-called solid state players, a need has arisen to market digital multimedia data, such as digital audio data and/or digital video data, commercially. Telecommunication networks for example can be analog telephone lines, digital telephone lines, such as ISDN, or the Internet. Among the commercial providers of multimedia products there is a need to sell or lend multimedia data, wherein it should be possible for a costumer to be able to select a certain product individually at any time from a certain catalogue, this product then of course being only allowed to be used by the costumer who has paid for it.
Unlike well-known encrypted television programs, such as the television channel Premiere, in which the emitted data is encrypted in the same way for all users who have acquired a suitable decryption device by paying a certain charge, the present invention is to provide methods and devices enabling an individual, customer-selective and safe encryption and decryption of multimedia data. Unlike the television channels mentioned above which give a fixed program all of which the user has to decide for, the methods and devices of the present invention enable a maximum freedom of selection for the user, which means that the user has only to pay for those products he or she actually wants to use.
DE 196 25 635 C1 describes methods and devices for encrypting and decrypting multimedia data, the multimedia data being present in the form of an encrypted multimedia file comprising a destination data block and a payload data block. Parts of the destination data block and at least some parts of the payload data block are encrypted by means of different keys, especially symmetrical encryption methods being used.
Further, in the method for encrypting or decrypting multimedia data described in DE 196 256 35 C1 a user index is entered into a determination data block of a bitstream with encrypted multimedia data that identifies the user authorized to use an encrypted multimedia data stream. If this user index identifies merely one person, this method is only safe against unauthorized copying if that person who has purchased an encrypted multimedia data stream acts correctly and legally. This can, however, not always be guaranteed. If the person who has purchased an encrypted multimedia data stream legally carries out copying, it will not be possible to see from a copy who has copied it. The origin of the copy can therefore not be tracked down anymore which will open the way for violations of copyrights, incorrect behaviour assumed.
However, if the user index does, not only identify the user as a person but a specific player of a user, like e.g. the PC of the user, a safety is achieved in such a way that the user can play the encrypted multimedia data stream only on the player identified by the user index regardless whether the user behaves legally or illegally.
However, the problem with this solution is the fact that it is not flexible, i.e. it dictates the user where he has to play the purchased multimedia data stream due to the copyright protection. There is not a lot of imagination needed to predict that such system will only find little acceptance at the market especially when thinking about the fact that a number of players exist in a normal household. Such players can include for example a personal computer, a laptop, a hifi system, a car hifi system, a video recorder, a solid state player, etc.

Method and device for generating a data stream and method and device for playing back a data stream

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


An apparatus for diverting a stream of articles, the apparatus including a first conveyor belt conveying a stream of articles along a conveying surface, a second conveyor belt disposed parallel to the first conveyor belt and having a conveying surface, and a carrier arranged to travel along a path parallel to the first and second conveyor belts. A first drive mechanism drives the first conveyor belt at a first speed in a first direction, and a second drive mechanism drives the second conveyor belt at a second speed in a second direction opposite to the first direction. A diverter element is affixed to the carrier and extends across at least a portion of the conveying surfaces of the first and second conveyor belts to divert articles in the stream on the first conveyor belt onto the second conveyor belt. A differential drive mechanism drives the carrier at a speed and in a direction that depend on the first speed and the second speed. The differential drive mechanism includes a first rotating member receiving input based on the speed of the first conveyor belt, a second rotating member receiving input based on the speed of the second conveyor belt, and a differential gear arrangement operationally connected to the first and second rotating members.

Many conveyor applications require that articles transported on one conveyor belt be transferred to another conveyor belt that may be traveling in another direction, such as the opposite direction. Stationary rails spanning the conveying surfaces of the belts at a transfer point are often used for this purpose. In some applications, such as article accumulation, the transfer point can be moved. The moving transfer point allows the effective length of the conveying path and, consequently, the amount of articles accumulated to be controlled. In a spiral accumulator, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,291, two parallel conveyor belts—an infeed belt and outfeed belt—are helically arranged with a rotatable transfer mechanism traveling between them. The position of the transfer mechanism depends on the relative speeds of the two oppositely-moving belts. A guide plate on the transfer mechanism directs articles from the infeed conveyor belt to the outfeed belt. A rotatable member in the transfer mechanism simultaneously engages drivers formed on the specially designed infeed and outfeed belts. The rotatable member, driven by the drivers, translates the transfer mechanism and its attached guide plate along the belts as determined by their relative speeds. The rotatable member rides along with the transfer mechanism.
A more common accumulation system is known as a bi-di (bi-directional) table. Typically, a bi-di table includes a bi-directional conveyor belt arranged to run perpendicular to a main conveyor belt. As articles build up on the main conveyor belt, backpressure directs them onto the bi-di belt, which runs in a direction away from the main conveyor. In this way, articles are accumulated on the bi-di belt's surface. As downstream processes require more articles, the direction of the bi-di belt is reversed so that the accumulated articles are pushed back onto the main conveyor belt. These bi-di tables, which support the bi-di belt and its drive mechanisms, are generally rectangular in shape with drive or idler shafts for sprockets or pulleys at each end. But, unlike the spiral accumulator, these simple, ubiquitous tables are not first-in, first out.
Thus, there is a particular need for a simple first in, first-out accumulation system, especially one that can be easily retrofitted in a bi-di table. More generally, there is also a need for a simple mechanism for diverting articles from one conveyor belt to another, such as oppositely-moving conveyor belts.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus for diverting a stream of articles


The present invention provides a display device that can improve the detection sensitivity for detecting the approach of a user's face, hand, or the like. The display device 10 includes a display substrate D and a bezel 4 that covers side surfaces and a rear surface of the display substrate D. The bezel 4 includes a conductive section 4a and an insulating section 4b. The insulating section 4b covers the side surfaces and the rear surface of the display substrate D and has insulating properties. The conductive section 4a is provided on a surface of the insulating section 4b covering the side surfaces of the display substrate D and has conductivity. The conductive section 4a is configured such that a predetermined voltage is applied thereto and a capacitance is formed between the conductive section 4a and a dielectric object.

JP 2016-009414 A and JP 2016-033830 A disclose touch panel built-in display devices, such as smartphones, provided with a proximity sensor. In such touch panel built-in display devices, malfunctions of the touch panel are prevented by detecting the presence of a user's face, ear, or the like in proximity to the smartphone when the user makes a phone call and controlling the touch panel on the basis of the detection result.


A modular lighting system for use with shelving and a variety of other applications. A power track is adapted to be disposed within an upright support of a shelving unit. A power plug with vertically-aligned prongs inserts through existing openings in the upright support to reach conductors within the power track. The power plug has connecting structure to connect to a cable, and frangible portions that allow the cable to exit in a number of positions. Light bars carry the same connecting structures, can connect to the cable and snap together to extend continuously across a shelf. A second power track and second plug may provide power to the power track within the upright. The second plug carries the same connecting structure as the other components.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to modular power and connector systems for lighting elements, and in particular to modular power and connector systems for light-emitting diode (LED) lighting elements.
2. Description of Related Art
In the last 15 years, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have gone from an extravagant curiosity in the lighting industry to a viable and vital lighting source in any number of applications. LEDs require relatively little power, operate at low temperatures, have long life spans, are mechanically robust, and have a small footprint, especially when compared with traditional incandescent, and even fluorescent, light bulbs. All of those attributes make LEDs very advantageous to use in a variety of applications in which traditional lighting technologies would require too much space or generate too much heat, or when accessing and replacing traditional light bulbs would be too laborious or difficult. Additionally, the plethora of LED products on the market offer a variety of light levels (i.e., output lumens), colors, form factors, power supplies, and controls.
As a practical matter, the advantages of LEDs and the range of products that are available mean that an LED solution can be configured for virtually any lighting application. One of the more promising and commercially useful applications for LED lighting is in lighting shelving units, like gondola shelving units, where LED lighting can be used to illuminate products for sale.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,098,823 to Slesinger et al., which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a shelf power system. The Slesinger et al. patent illustrates both the ways in which LEDs and their power systems can be used in ingenious ways, and the ways in which they can be improved. In Slesinger et al., a power track is inserted into an upright support of a shelving unit. A power plug for a lighting fixture inserts through existing, regularly-spaced openings in the upright support to reach the power track. Yet this system has several shortcomings, including a plug made in both left-handed and right-handed configurations, and a shape and other characteristics that are unlikely to fit all, or even most, shelving units.
More broadly, while the characteristics of various LED lighting elements are becoming more standardized, the power sources, connectors, and other elements that power and connect to those lighting elements are far from standardized, and manufacturers continue to seek power, connection, and cabling systems that are modular, easy to install and check, and are adaptable enough to be suitable for a variety of applications.

Modular power and connector system for lighting elements


A rotating cup type liquid coating device with structure for suppressing pulsatory movement of the coated liquid when stopping rotation of the inner cup 3, includes a buffer space S formed for connecting an inner space of the inner cup 3 and an inner space of an outer cup 2 surrounding the inner cup, on an outer periphery of the inner cup 3 , through respective throttle portions 16, 17.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotating cup coating device which is used to rotate a material to be treated after a coating liquid has been dropped onto the surface thereof for forming a coat of the liquid on the surface of the material to be treated such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer or the like. Such coating device shall be referred to as a "rotating cup type liquid coating device" hereinbelow.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
There is already known a rotating cup type liquid coating device comprising an inner cup which is driven to rotate by a spinner, an outer cup disposed outside of the inner cup, and lid bodies, each of which selectively closes an open upper surface of the respective cup, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-132263 (1995).
According to the known device, a penetrating hole is formed on the lid body for the inner cup and a valve is provided in a portion of the penetrating hole. Further, penetrating holes are also formed on lifting bodies for lifting up the lid bodies for the inner and outer cups. The function thereof is for preventing the dust floating around outside the cups from flowing into the inside of the cups when the lid bodies are opened, by decreasing the pressure difference between the inside of the inner cup and to the outside in advance of opening the lid bodies after the completion of a rotating and coating operation by the device. Particularly, the pressure is decreased through introducing gas (air) into the depressurized closed space defined between the inner cup and the lid body of the inner cup via the penetrating holes by opening the valve.
With the construction mentioned above, although it is possible to eliminate the disadvantage caused by the depressurization of the space defined between the inner cup and the lid body during the rotating and coating of the device, the device is undesirably more complicated in its construction because of forming of a special shape of the penetrating hole and a necessity of further provision of the valve.


A method and apparatus for manufacturing tubular articles from fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets. A horizontal conveyor feeds the sheets to a vertical wrapping belt. The sheets are heated on the conveyor to a molten state and fed to a mandrel rotated by the belt. The molten sheets are wrapped around the mandrel and cooled by the action of the belt to form an integral structure.

The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. ISSUE DATE INVENTOR ______________________________________ 2,649,133 August 18, 1953 Just 2,674,557 April 6, 1954 Boggs 2,964,065 December 13, 1960 Haroldson, et al. 3,125,478 March 17, 1964 Pratt 4,080,879 March 28, 1978 Hoden, et al. 4,273,601 June 16, 1981 Weingart 4,579,617 April 1, 1986 Oberg, et al. 4,923,541 May 8, 1990 Burger 5,024,712 June 18, 1991 Lecourt, et al. ______________________________________
The patent to Boggs (U.S. Pat. No. 2,674,557) teaches a process of making tubular structures out of a glass fibre mat impregnated with liquid thermosetting resinous material and winding the treated mat around a mandrel by means of an enveloping belt. The mandrel and belt operate in a heated oven to heat cure the resinous material.
The patent to Oberg, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,617) teaches an apparatus and method for manufacturing cylindrical components such as tanks and pipes by winding layers of sheet material around a rotating mandrel. FIG. 3 shows a flat sheet (8) being softened by a heating source (9) so as to cause it to drop onto the rotating mandrel. Other layers are directly wound on the mandrel without being heat softened. The various layers are bonded to each other by an adhesive spray which is applied as the mandrel rotates.
The patent to Burger (U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,541) issued to applicant on May 8, 1990 teaches a method and apparatus for manufacturing composite tubes which disclose some concepts related to the present invention. The method in U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,541 employs an inflatable floating mandrel (21) caged in a frame (23). A conveyor sheet (22) is wrapped around the mandrel and composite sheet material placed on the conveyor is also wrapped around the mandrel. The various layers employed are coated with a resin. The mandrel with its partially formed tube is then removed from the cage and inserted into a hollow mold and expanded to shape the tube to the internal surface of the mold.
The apparatus and method of the instant invention differ in major respects over the patented devices as will be described in the descriptive portions of the specification.
The other prior art listed above but not specifically described further catalog the prior art of which the applicant is aware. These references diverge even more starkly from the references specifically distinguished above.

Method for manufacturing tubular constructions from fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets


Generally described, a method, software system, and computer-readable medium are provided for preventing a malware from colliding on a named object. In accordance with one aspect, a method is provided for creating a private namespace. More specifically, the method includes receiving a request to create a private namespace that contains data for defining the boundary of the private namespace from the current process. Then a determination is made regarding whether a principle associated with the current process has the security attributes that are alleged in the request. In this regard, if the principle that is associated with the current process has the security attributes that are alleged in the request, the method creates a container object to implement the private namespace that is defined by the data received in the request.

As more and more computers and other computing devices are interconnected through various networks, such as the Internet, computer security has become increasingly more important, particularly from invasions or attacks delivered over a network or over an information stream. As those skilled in the art will recognize, these attacks come in many different forms, including, but certainly not limited to, computer viruses, computer worms, system component replacements, denial of service attacks, even misuse/abuse of legitimate computer system features, all of which exploit one or more computer system vulnerabilities for illegitimate purposes. While those skilled in the art will realize that the various computer attacks are technically distinct from one another, for purposes of the present invention and for simplicity in description, all malicious computer programs will be generally referred to hereinafter as computer malware, or more simply, malware.
Those skilled in the art and others will recognize that malware may become resident on a computer using a number of techniques. For example, a computer connected to the Internet may be attacked so that a vulnerability on the computer is exploited and the malware is delivered over the network as an information stream. By way of another example, malware may become resident on a computer using social engineering techniques. For example, a user may access a resource such as a Web site and download a program from the Web site to a local computer. While the program may be described on the Web site as providing a service desirable to the user; in actuality, the program may perform actions that are malicious.
When a computer is attacked or "infected" by computer malware, the adverse results are varied, including disabling system devices; erasing or corrupting firmware, applications, or data files; transmitting potentially sensitive data to another location on the network; shutting down the computer; or causing the computer to crash. Yet another pernicious aspect of many, though not all, computer malware is that an infected computer is used to infect other systems.
A traditional defense against computer malware, and particularly computer viruses and worms, is antivirus software. Generally described, antivirus software scans incoming data, looking for identifiable patterns associated with known computer malware. Also, increasingly, antivirus software is utilizing heuristic techniques that compare incoming data with characteristics of known malware. In any event, upon detecting a computer malware, the antivirus software may respond by removing the computer malware from the infected data, quarantining the data, or deleting the infected incoming data. However, as antivirus software has become more sophisticated and efficient at recognizing thousands of known computer malware, so, too, have the computer malware become more sophisticated.
In one type of attack, a named object that is typically created by a legitimate program or service is created by a malware before the legitimate program or service. Those skilled in the art and others will recognize that legitimate programs frequently create and use objects to implement functionality of the program including, but certainly not limited to, transferring data between principles of differing identities, inter-process communication, process synchronization, and the like. At a minimum, malware that preemptively creates a named object before a legitimate program has the opportunity to create the object, causes a denial of service problem. In this regard, the legitimate program will not be able to implement program functionality in instances when an object with a specified name was previously created by malware. Moreover, the object may be used to communicate sensitive data, such as user passwords, between a user and malware. In this instance, malware that creates the object before the legitimate program may obtain the sensitive data and use the data to elevate privileges for the purpose of implementing other types of attacks.
More generally, operating systems are increasingly configured to serve multiple users; each user having a different user profile that defines a computer configuration with regard to that user. In these types of operating systems, each user has the authority to access a defined set of resources which may be implemented internally as a named object. Unfortunately, users of a computer system may attempt to create the same named object, resulting in a "collision" in the use of the object. For example, two or more users in a multi-user environment may use the same application program to implement desired functionality. As part of normal operations, the application program may attempt to create an object with the same name for each user. In this instance, after the named object has been created by a first user, a second user of the application program may access program functionality that causes the program to attempt to create the same named object. In this instance, an operating system may not allow two objects to be created with the same name thereby resulting in an error condition.
In any event, a number of different scenarios exist, examples of which are provided above, in which "collisions" on a named object may occur. In some instances, a collision on a named object is deliberate and used by malware to implement malicious functionality. In other instances, the collision on a named object is merely an error that is not anticipated by users or developers. In either case, collisions on named objects reduce the usability of a computer system. While specific disadvantages of existing systems have been illustrated and described in this Background Section, those skilled in the art and others will recognize that the subject matter claimed herein is not limited to any specific implementation for solving any or all of the described disadvantages.


A centrifugal clutch for use with a power door lock actuator. The centrifugal clutch includes an independently rotatable pinion cup having an integral pinion gear which meshes with a jack screw, and a driver rotatably secured to an output shaft of a drive motor. The driver has at least one radially outwardly opening recess formed therein with at least one slider slidably retained within the recess. The slider is biased in a radially inward direction by magnetic lines of force which are provided by a permanent magnet mounted within the driver. Alternatively, a number of sliders can be formed of magnetic material such that the magnetic sliders are mutually attracted to one another in a radially inward direction. A centrifugal force is generated when the driver is rotated. The centrifugal force overcomes the magnetic attractive force to throw the sliders radially outwardly into positive driving engagement with the pinion cup. When the driver is no longer rotatably driven, the centrifugal force is eliminated and the magnetic attractive force then urges the sliders radially inwardly to break the positive driving engagement with the pinion cup.

In power door lock operations, a drive motor is utilized to reciprocally drive or shift a lift arm that is connected to a locking lever of a door latch assembly mounted in an automobile door. The lift arm is typically coupled to an output shaft of the drive motor via an intermediate gear train and operates to position the locking lever in either a locked or an unlocked position.
Additionally, the lift arm can be manually driven or shifted by either repositioning a door lock knob or slider, or by use of a door key. Since the gear train and output shaft are directly coupled to the lift arm, manually shifting the lift arm into the locked position requires driving the gear train and the output shaft, and shifting the lift arm into the unlocked position requires backdriving the gear train and the output shaft. In both cases, the drive motor and gear train undesirably offer resistance to being manually driven/backdriven by the door key, or by repositioning the door lock slider. Relatively speaking, the drive motor offers substantially greater resistance to being manually driven/backdriven than the gear train.
The ease with which a lift arm can be manually shifted by use of a door key or door lock slider is referred to as the key effort or reversibility of the power door lock system which is a measure of the amount of resistance provided by the drive motor and gear train when the lift arm is manually shifted. Thus, the greater resistance provided by the gear train and the drive motor, the greater the key effort required to shift the lift arm and the higher the reversibility of the power door lock system.
One solution to the problem of driving/backdriving the motor during manual operation is by use of a clutch interposed between the output shaft of the drive motor and the gear train. The clutch operates to selectively mechanically couple the output shaft of the motor to the lift arm when the motor is activated, such as during a power door lock or unlock operation, and to decouple the output shaft from the lift arm when the motor is deactivated to thereby permit manual shifting of the lift arm without additionally driving/backdriving the motor.
Thus, when the clutch decouples the motor from the lift arm, the key effort required to unlock the car door with a key, or by repositioning the door lock slider is desirably reduced. The key effort is reduced because only the lift arm, jack screw and gear train are driven/backdriven without additionally driving/backdriving the motor.
Centrifugal clutches for use in selectively establishing a mechanical driving connection between the output shaft and the lift arm are known. For example, EP 0 233 820 discloses a centrifugal clutch interposed between a drive motor output shaft and a gear train of a power door lock actuator. The disclosed centrifugal clutch includes numerous parts such as springs which complicate the clutch design, reduce operational reliability of the clutch, complicate the manufacturing and assembly process, and ultimately increase manufacturing and maintenance costs.
What is needed therefore is a simplified centrifugal clutch design which reduces the number of parts for assembly and thereby increases reliability and reduces labor and material costs.


The invention provides instrumentation and control of the water plumbing system of a recreational vehicle, marine vessel or other such mobile self-contained environment. In addition to indicating externally supplied water pressure, typically from park or dock pressurized hook-ups, either a leak or an excessive pressure condition is detected, to which the device responds by energizing an appropriate alarm and performing safety functions. In the event of a leak, the onboard water pump is disabled and the external water supply is diverted from the vehicle plumbing and dumped to the onboard fresh water supply tank which is vented, thereby allowing overflow to the exterior of the vehicle instead of the interior. In the event of the external water pressure exceeding a safe allowable value the same dumping action is initiated to protect the plumbing system, or alternatively the device can provide for isolating the plumbing system from this external over-pressure. Utilizing instrumentation which typically already exists, this dumping action can also be initiated by the user to test the safety actuation and to automatically fill a fresh water tank to a variety of selectable levels, either from a central control panel or a remote location.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for use in recreational vehicles, marine vessels, and other such mobile self-contained living environments. The device provides instrumentation and control functions for the water plumbing system of such recreational vehicles.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Self contained recreational vehicles (RV's) and marine vessels contain an on-board supply tank of fresh water and an electric demand pump to provide water pressure to the plumbing system enabling flow to appliances such as faucets, a shower, or toilet which then drain into various waste tanks. As is known in the art, the plumbing system can be connected to an external pressurized water supply when available, such as hookups available from an RV park or dockside. Typically the connection is made by a standard garden hose.
Commercially available systems are typically installed to indicate the water level in the fresh water supply tank. U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,950 of McKiernan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,956 of Ruben et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,673 of Sawada et al are examples in the prior art which accomplish this level indication utilizing some assembly or sensor mounted in the tank. U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,927 of Larson is an example of level indication using a non-intrusive method by sensing the variation in capacitance between the walls of the tank as the water level changes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,658 of Slavik is an example of an extremely common implementation in the art utilizing commercially available conductive probes protruding into the tank at varying heights to sense the presence of water at different levels.
Typically in the art the fresh water tank is filled manually from a fill tube which is accessed from a hatch in the exterior of the vehicle. A relatively few commercially available RV's, typically more expensive luxury models have an installation permitting the manual opening of a valve to allow water flow from the external pressure source into the tank, a somewhat more convenient arrangement. U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,001 of Weldy uses a pressure switch to detect the presence of an externally available pressure to open a solenoid actuated valve so as to back-fill the tank with water automatically U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,385 of Houghton also provides means to use the external pressurized supply to flush and dump the waste tanks of the RV.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,604 of Reed relates to transport of RV's on water carriers and provision of fresh water and removal of waste water to and from the RV's so as to keep the center of gravity of the water such that the carrier stays level, and as such does not address the water pressure or levels of the tanks within the RV's.
The plumbing systems and fittings in RV's are typically made from lower pressure, light weight components relative to residential plumbing and therefore a water pressure regulator can be installed between the external water pressure source and the RV plumbing connection to protect the internal RV plumbing system from high municipal, park, or dockside pressure. Indication of the actual water pressure is normally not provided, and the more expensive water pressure regulators that do provide such indication unfortunately use only a mechanical dial gage which is installed at the water source, not at or within the RV for convenient inspection. The water pressure regulators commercially available to RV owners are normally of a simple spring diaphragm type and subject to frequent failure as they get stuck either open, closed, or in between. Failure of the water pressure regulator can therefore lead to reduced pressure, or worse, higher pressure than that recommended for RV-type plumbing, normally about 60 psi. This failure can occur without knowledge of the RV owner. Also, due to the lightweight nature of the plumbing and the constant vibration of the vehicle, the fittings of the plumbing system are prone to leaks. Depending on the size of the leak and the routing and location of the plumbing, some time normally passes before the leak is detected, usually after some degree of vehicle interior wood or carpet damage has occurred. An unattended vehicle or one with occupants asleep can incur a higher degree of damage, since either the external source will provide flow indefinitely if hooked up or, if not hooked up, the on board pump can empty the entire fresh water tank Further, the on board demand pump will run dry and heat up, causing permanent damage.
As is evidenced from the discussion of the prior art, there is a need in the art for improved instrumentation and control of water pressure. Further, although the prior art provides for instrumentation of water level, the best control of water level in the art is only to automatically fill the tank until full. As is known in the art, the added weight of a full tank is undesirable since the large weight of the water can severely detract from vehicle performance, particularly when traveling up grades in mountainous terrain. Further, the penalty in gas mileage and performance due to the added weight is often unnecessary since the owner of the RV may only need a fraction of a tank for a given trip or weekend. Also, when traveling, the RV owner often knows the occupants will only need such a fraction of a tank for the present travel segment, after which he may hook-up at an RV park for the night, for example, providing the opportunity to refill for the next leg of the journey. At this time the waste tanks can also be dumped. In addition to commercial RV parks, many rest areas on the nation's highways provide for such facilities. The ability to conveniently use such resources to refill the tank only partially would maintain the vehicle payload weight, gas mileage, and vehicle performance while meeting the water needs of the occupant(s).
There is a need in the art to provide the RV owner with improved control over fresh water supply level and the flexibility to automatically fill to a user selectable level.
Further, the prior art does not provide for the enabling of automatic filling from more than one location and as such does not provide for the convenience of performing this operation when hookups to the RV are being made at the external water supply access location.
Further, since in the prior art the filling of the water tank required the addition and installation of additional and expensive hardware components such as pressure switches, float valves and the like, there is a need for such a system which utilizes already existing instrumentation and does not have inherent difficulties in installation such as removing tanks, intrusively mounting float assemblies, and so forth.

Water plumbing instrumentation and control system for recreational vehicles and marine vessels


An optical apparatus includes a laser beam emitter for outputting a laser beam modulated in accordance with image information, and a lens unit resting on a lens mount. The lens unit includes, all formed integral with one another, an effective lens portion, a cylindrical portion surrounding a side surface of the effective lens portion, and projections extending from peripheral positions of the cylindrical portion. The lens mount includes a holder for holding the cylindrical portion of the lens unit to be rotatable and axially slidable on an optical axis of the laser beam, and a groove formed in the bottom of the holder for receiving the projection.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical apparatus, and more particularly to a laser beam scanning optical apparatus including a deflector for deflecting a laser beam within a plane to form an image on a photoreceptor.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Various laser beam scanning optical apparatus have been proposed for incorporation into laser beam printers and facsimile machines for image recording purposes. Efforts are being made in relation to such apparatus to devise a simple structure for fixing optical elements such as a cylindrical lens, a toroidal lens, reflecting mirrors and the like to precise positions. In particular, the cylindrical lens used to compensate for a tilt of a polygon mirror, conventionally, is fixed to a holder having a shaft screwed to a mount which in turn is screwed to a case. Inclination of the generatix of the lens is adjusted by rotating the holder shaft relative to the mount, while the focal point thereof is adjusted by moving the mount along an optical axis relative to the case. Such adjusting operations have been quite troublesome.

Optical apparatus with improved lens mounting device


An air conditioning system and method whereby water sprays are arranged and modulated in air washers from recirculated water and a cooled or non-cooled central water source to provide precise psychometric (dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, dew point temperature and specific humidity) conditions in the space being conditioned while conserving energy by reducing the cooling load, reducing the pumping horsepower load, and eliminating reheat under all weather conditions. This system also reduces maintenance and operating costs by allowing chemical treatment, makeup water, water overflow, and water filtration to be provided in a central location even with multiple air washers and water chillers.

Conventional air washers introduce a constant amount of water spray into the air washer chamber to saturate the air supply leaving the air washer to approximately 95% relative humidity. Even with air washer bypass, heat is required when the sensible heat gain in the conditioned area drops below approximately 67% of its design heat load. Even when chill water is introduced on a separate bank of sprays or manifold together with recirculating water (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,965,690, 4,604,108 and 5,247,809), these conventional air washers still saturate the air supply to a fixed relative humidity, provide no means for throttling the recirculated water sprays to obtain a variable discharge relative humidity, and require heat to maintain desired conditions in a partially loaded space.
Air washers incorporating spray throttling techniques, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,089,666, 4,312,189 and 4,399,864, introduce chill water into the suction side of the recirculating water pump. During light load periods this requires minimum recirculating water sprays to maintain the desired psychometric conditions in the conditioned space. This in turn can produce an overcooling effect and require heat to maintain the desired space psychometric conditions. During periods when a substantial amount of outside air is required to maintain the desired air washer discharge dew point temperature and the outside air is humid, the air supply is saturated to a higher relative humidity than is desired and heat is required to dry it out.
Another problem that occurs when conventional or spray throttling air washers are connected to one chill water supply system is that during the winter months the chill water is turned off and each washer must operate independently. This means that a central chemical water treatment system does not function during this period. Automatic chemical feed systems installed on individual air washers are expensive. Owners often resort to manually feeding chemicals into each air washer which produces overfeeds or underfeeds and less than optimum results. Also the chill water piping interior is exposed to air and corrodes more during this period.
Conventional air washer controls with or without spray throttling capabilities utilize space temperature control to maintain the desired psychometric conditions in the conditioned space. In some instances, high limit humidistats are provided to override the space thermostats in the event that chill water is unavailable when it is needed. This does not provide consistent control of conditioned space relative humidity when chilled water is required but unavailable. It also uses more energy than necessary.
Air washers are used to condition spaces where precise psychometric conditions are required and where the internal sensible heat gain is usually much higher than the external heat gain. In most cases latent heat gain or loss in these spaces is negligible when compared with the sensible heat. However, there are several cases where this is not true. For example, when water jet looms are used in the textile industry, there is a large latent heat gain in the space that is uncontrollable. In northern climates during the winter time, where outside walls have inadequate vapor barriers there are large latent heat losses.
Traditional spray throttling air washer control systems compensate for space latent heat load changes by increasing or decreasing the recirculating water spray saturation. This provides overcooling or undercooling, poor control, and excessive use of heat.

Air conditioning system and method for providing precise psychometric conditions in an air conditioned space


A portal system identifies a language in which content can be displayed to the user. Possible languages can be determined from one or more of identity information for the user, a container for the user's directory entry, and the user's location. The determined languages can be ranked, and the highest-ranked available language can be selected for content display to the user.

The Internet has become a resource of incredible power for many people. The ability to locate information on almost any subject, simply by using a computer, has made possible whole new avenues of research. Users can locate information on their subject of choice almost as simple as asking a question.
But language issues complicate the use of the Internet. Although English is currently the dominant language of the Internet, it is by no means the only language available. Content pages exist in just about every written language on the face of the planet.
Since few people can read every written language, different language versions of content pages can be provided. For example, a person who is comfortable communicating in English can view a content page written in English, whereas a Japanese native can view a content page prepared in Japanese.
The original way users specified the language in which they viewed material was by knowing the uniform resource locator (URL) of the content site written in that language. For example, if a site provided a content page in both English and Japanese formats, the user had to know the URL of the English content page to view the page in English, or the URL of the Japanese content page to view the page in Japanese.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art system for accessing information in a preferred language. In FIG. 1, a user is using computer system 105 to access network 110. Computer system 105 includes the standard components of a computer system: computer (including a processor, memory, etc.), monitor, keyboard, and mouse, but a person skilled in the art will recognize other variations that can be substituted for computer system 105 (e.g., a dumb terminal). Across network 110 is server 115, storing content page 120. When the user enters the URL of content page 120 into address field 125 of browser 130, the content page is shown in browser 130 (displayed on the monitor of computer system 105). Note that in FIG. 1, the user has entered http://www.website.com/webpage_EN.html as the content page. The use of '_EN' as part of the URL lets the user know that the content page is written in English. If the user wanted to see the content page in Japanese, the user could enter http://www.website.com/webpage_JP.html instead ('_JP' specifying the Japanese-language version of the content page). (There is no required format for the names for content pages: these are merely exemplary.)
But there is a significant handicap to the approach of having the user specify by URL the preferred language for display in the browser. If the user does not know the correct URL, the user cannot see the material in the preferred language.
More recently, browsers have added the capability to specify a preferred language as a setting for the browser. The user then only needs to know the URL for the main content page. Processing the URL by the browser includes sending the preferred language to the web site (as shown by arrow 135). This information is included in the header of a packet sent from the browser to the web site. Then, it becomes the responsibility of the web site to process the header information, determine the preferred language, and display the content page in the preferred language (assuming the web site includes the content page in the preferred language).
But still problems remain. Problems lie in defining the user's preferred language. Although the user does not need to specify for each content page the preferred language for display of the content page, the user still has to set the browser up to know the preferred language. This requires a manual step by the user on his computer. Further, every time the user changes computers, the browser on the new computer must be configured to know the preferred language. Finally, if the user uses a computer that is not dedicated to him (for example, the user works on a locally public machine or on machines dedicated primarily to other users), changing the preferred language would affect other users, perhaps to their displeasure (if the other users prefer a different language).
Problems also exist in displaying content to the user in the desired language. The earlier-described technique of assembling a content page with a unique URL for each different language is a straightforward solution, but has flaws. First, someone must craft a version of the content page in each possible language. The straightforward approach typically involves generating a master version of the content page in one language (e.g., English) and then translating the master version into all of the target languages. Given the number of languages that exist and the complexity of accurate translation of documents, this is by no means a simple task.
Second, when the content on the master version of the content page changes, the content on each of the translated versions must be changed to match. Again, given the number of languages and the complexity of accurate translation, this can be costly.
Third, a file naming convention, consistent across the entire network, is required. The user must know this naming convention, and must modify the URL of the content page to reflect the desired language. Conceivably, the task of modifying the URL can be shifted to the browser, but then the browser must be given specialized knowledge to know when not to modify a URL (e.g., when the user wishes to view a content page in a language other than the default). If the content provider does not conform to the file naming convention, then the user will not be able to access the content. In addition, if the content provider does not provide the content page in the language specified by the user, the user will be told that the content page does not exist, when it might exist in another language.
Accordingly, a need remains for a way to identify a user's preferred language without having to manually set a preferred language in a browser on a computer, and without the user having to specify language-specific content pages, to address these and other problems associated with the prior art.

Method to dynamically determine a user's language for a network


Control of rotational speed of a direct current multi-phase brushless motor is provided using an apparatus and method that works at low speed but does not depend upon Hall effect sensors. An apparatus for accelerating rotation of the motor shaft has a power stage circuit coupled to a back Electromotive Force (EMF) sensor circuit and a microprocessor. The power stage pulses at a duty cycle less than 100% under control of the microprocessor. The back EMF sensor circuit measures an order with respect to voltage of at least one phase relative to one or more other phases during off-time. The microprocessor determines one or more phases to be pulsed, and the polarity of the pulses based on the measured order. A method for sustaining rotation pulses the phases, measures order with respect to voltage of at least one phase relative to one or more other phases, and updates commutation state based on the measured order. A method of accelerating rotation generates one or more power pulses, determines an order with respect to voltage of one phase relative to one or more other phases, and generates subsequent pulses on phases and with polarity determined by the measured order.

The present invention relates to sensors for direct current (DC) motors, and, more particularly, to a sensor circuit having a comparator responsive to back Electromotive Force (EMF) signals from a multi-phase brushless DC motor.
One method known in the art to control a three-phase brushless motor is to detect the zero-crossing event between a floating or released phase of the motor and the neutral phase. When the voltage on the released phase is equal to the neutral phase, the next phase is commutated after a predetermined delay period. Each phase is in turn driven, tied to ground and released. The output of a comparator on each of the phases is used for comparison to the neutral voltage. One problem with this method is the voltage offset from one comparator to the next may be significant, especially at low voltages and in an electrically noisy environment resulting in inconsistent or ambiguous comparisons.
Other methods use relatively complex or expensive circuits to determine the phase angle of the rotor using rotor angle sensors or phase angle detectors. Additionally, from an initial position, the DC motor may not start when power is applied if the motor is aligned with the actuated phase, the motor may start in the wrong direction, or the motor may rotate too slowly resulting in insufficient back EMF for comparisons.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a sensor for a brushless DC motor which is reliable, simple and relatively inexpensive to produce, particularly adapted for use in radio controlled model vehicles, such as airplanes, helicopters, boats and cars, and which senses the back EMF of the DC motor.

Controller for a multi-phase brushless DC motor


In a method for determining field of view dependent depth map correction values for correction of a depth map of an image taken with a lens having a field of view the following is performed:    obtaining (31) relative depth information for at least two different depths and at least two different predetermined locations of the field of view of the lens;    receiving (32) an image;    determining (33) a depth of the received image; and    determining (34) on the basis of the determined depth of the received image at least one depth map correction value on the basis of the relative depth information.

Generally it is known to perform a depth measurement of an image with the so called depth from focus method or other known methods. Such depth measurements are used, for example, for gesture detection for user interfaces, extended depth field systems or the like.
Although there exist techniques for determining depth from images, it is generally desirable to improve the depth determination.

Methods and apparatus for determining field of view dependent depth map correction values


Loop sensing apparatus for detecting vehicles traveling along a lane of a roadway comprises an outer loop producing a region of magnetic field with the same polarity and an inner loop sized to fit within this region of constant polarity. The inner loop provides two regions of opposite polarity, so that field produced by the outer loop has a null effect on the inner loop. Detection circuitry energizes both the outer and inner loops individually for separate detection of vehicles passing over the loops.

The present invention relates to loop sensing apparatus for traffic detection.
Such loops are well known and used commonly for monitoring traffic flow along the lanes of roadways. Typically a loop may comprise a rectangular outline loop of conductor buried just beneath the surface of the roadway and connected to energising and detecting equipment at the side of the roadway. The loop is energised with alternating current at a selected frequency to produce a corresponding alternating magnetic field in the space above the loop. Vehicles passing over the loop affect the inductance or another parameter of the loop and this can be detected by the detection equipment. Typical prior art loops comprise a single rectangular winding having a length, in the distance of travel of vehicles along the roadway, which may be a substantial proportion of the length of vehicles travelling along the roadway, say 1 meter or more, and a width transversely in the direction of travel only slightly less than the width of the roadway lane. The detection signal produced in such loops responds to the metal mass of a vehicle passing over the loop, particularly the engine and drive train, and also chassis components of longer vehicles. For detection of vehicles as a whole, loops are designed to ensure a good detection signal is achieved as the vehicle passes by. U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,531 discloses a typical inductive loop sensor roadway installation of this kind. Loops of this kind are often referred to as inductive loops and the parameter affected is usually the inductance. However other parameters could be affected, such as the Q value of a resonant circuit incorporating the loop.
There is also a requirement to count the number of axles of vehicles passing along a roadway so that multi axle vehicles for example can be distinguished from ordinary domestic automobiles for example. Accordingly, loops have been designed which are intended to be specifically sensitive to axles, or more particularly to the wheels, of vehicles passing over the loop. U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,894 discloses a wide variety of inductive loops used for the detection of the wheels of vehicles passing along the roadway. A separate loop may be used for each wheel track in each lane of the roadway and the patent indicates that the overall length of the loops in the direction of traffic movement should be relatively short, comparable to the footprint on the roadway of the vehicle wheels to be detected by the loops.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,894 also discloses (in FIG. 11) an arrangement comprising an axle detecting loop located within a larger size loop. The two loops are effectively connected in series from the same length of conductor. It is stated in the specification that this loop permits the determination of the length and the speed of the vehicle, though no indication is given as to how this is achieved.
The present invention provides loop sensing apparatus for detecting vehicles travelling along a lane of a roadway, the apparatus comprising an outer loop configured to provide at least one primary surface region of the roadway lane over which magnetic field produced by current in the outer loop has the same polarity, an inner loop sized to fit and located within said primary surface region, said inner loop being configured to provide a first partial surface region of the roadway lane which is within said primary surface region and over which magnetic field produced by current in said inner loop has a first polarity and a second partial surface region of the roadway lane which is within said-primary surface region and over which magnetic field produced by the same current in said inner loop has second polarity opposite to said first polarity, and detection circuitry connected to permit each of said outer and inner loops to be energised individually and arranged to be responsive to respective detection signals generated in each of the loops by vehicles passing over the loops.
Using an inner loop having the configuration set out above, enables the outer and inner loops to be inductively decoupled so that separate detection signals can be obtained from each of the two loops. Because the inner loop has first and second partial surface regions providing magnetic field of opposite polarity for the same energising current in the inner loop, and these two partial surface regions are located in a primary surface region of the outer loop which has the same magnetic field polarity, it can be seen that a magnetic field produced by the outer loop should produce minimal EMF in the inner loop, and vice versa. The apparatus thus provides a more compact arrangement enabling individually independent detection signals to be obtained from the two loops.
Typically, the outer loop will be used for detecting the chassis of a vehicle as a whole, whereas the inner loop may be used for detecting a wheel or axle of the vehicle. Importantly, because such an axle loop detector provides its detection signal within the time frame of the detection signal from the main outer loop detecting the vehicle as a whole, it becomes much easier to ensure assignment of axle detections to the correct vehicle detection, thereby improving the reliability of systems intended to measure the number of axles of vehicles passing over the loop.
The inner loop may be configured to provide a central conducting segment and outer conducting segments spaced on opposite sides of said central segment whereby an electric current in the inner loop flows in a first direction along said central segment and in a second direction opposite to said first direction along each of said outer segments. Such a loop configuration is known as a figure-of-eight loop or a double D loop.
The central segment and one of the outer segments effectively enclose said first partial region and the central segment and the other of the outer segments enclose the second partial region. The outer segments of the inner loop may be symmetrically spaced on opposite sides of the central segment.
Preferably for detecting wheels and axles, the central and outer segments of the inner loop extend transversely to the traffic flow direction in the roadway lane. Again for wheel detection, the distance between the outer segments of the inner loop may be between 20 cms and 60 cms.
The first and second partial regions of the roadway lane provided by the inner loop, may have substantially the same area. However, if there is a substantial non uniformity in the field strength produced by current in the outer loop, this could be compensated for by adjusting the relative areas of the first and second partial regions of the inner loop, in order to maintain minimal inductive coupling between the two loops.
Preferably the outer loop has a leading edge and a trailing edge relative to the traffic flow direction in the roadway lane and the inner loop is located asymmetrically relative to a median line substantially halfway between the leading and trailing edges of the outer loop. Then, the relative timing of the detection signals from the inner and outer loops can provide an indication of the direction of travel of a vehicle over the loop. Conveniently, the inner loop can be located nearer to the leading edge of the outer loop.
The apparatus may include a second outer loop of the same form as the first mentioned outer loop and located, relative to the first outer loop, upstream in the traffic flow direction along the roadway lane, the detection circuitry then further permitting the second outer loop to be individually energised and being responsive also to detection signals generated in the second outer loop by vehicles passing over the second outer loop. Such an arrangement not only allows the direction of a vehicle over the loops to be confirmed, but also permits the correct detection of vehicles entering the detection zone in the normal traffic flow direction, coming to a stop on the loops, and then reversing back off the loops. It is especially useful to be able to detect such a manoeuvre when detection loops of this kind are used for example at the entry of a toll lane. Previous arrangements have had considerable difficulty in detecting when a vehicle entering the lane does not proceed onwards but instead reverses backwards off the detection zone.
The apparatus may also include an additional inner loop of the same form as the first mentioned inner loop and located within a said primary surface region of the outer loop at a position downstream in the traffic flow direction relative to the first inner loop, the detection circuitry then further permitting said additional inner loop to be individually energised and being responsive also to detection signals generated in the additional inner loop by vehicles passing over the additional inner loop. Such an arrangement enables a composite loop structure within the confines of a single outer loop, to be used for detecting vehicle direction, vehicle speed and also vehicle length.
A pair of the inner loops may be located side-by-side across the width of the outer loop at the same position in the traffic flow direction, each of the pair of inner loops being located within a said primary surface region, the detection circuitry then further permitting each of the inner loops to be individually energised and being responsive also to respective detection signals generated in each of the inner loops by vehicles passing over the loops. Such an arrangement enables a response to be obtained from each of the wheels on a single axle of a vehicle.
In one arrangement, the outer loop has the same form as the inner loop, being configured to provide first and second partial surface regions corresponding to the partial surface regions of the inner loop, the inner loop then being sized to fit and located within one of the first and second partial surface regions of the outer loop. Usually the central and outer segments of the outer loop are arranged to extend transverse to the traffic flow direction. Then the outer loop can be for axle/wheel detection and the inner loop enables the direction of travel across the axle detector to be identified.

Loop sensing apparatus for traffic detection


The present invention provides a holder device for securing one or more non-rigid safety cones, each of which having a flexible conical part that can be reduced to a small volume substantially linearly. The holder device has an open frame construction and is lightweight, compact, and durable. The holder device has two bracket-like main components that are movably joined or connected at one common end and that can be secured or locked together at the other ends. By selecting material and strengthening design configuration of the two components to counteract the spring force of the coil or coils held therebetween, by strategically placing a positioning element to secure the cone or cones centrally, and by supporting their base from at least three sides, the holder device of the present invention offers sufficient support and efficient stowage of non-rigid safety cones in a convenient, secure, and cost effective manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to holding devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to a holder device particular suitable for holding, storing, carrying, and/or packaging non-rigid, flexible safety cones in a convenient and compact manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traffic marker devices such as safety cones are useful in alerting, informing, directing, or diverting motorists as well as pedestrians to avoid or pass safely around hazards, obstacles, work zones, and so on. Currently available safety cones can be generally divided into two main categories: rigid ones and non-rigid ones.
Rigid safety cones are well known in the art, an example of which is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,333,273. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,434 shows how rigid safety cones are deployed from a specially designed deployment vehicle. Conventional rigid safety cones are not particularly suitable for consumer applications because they are awkward to handle and/or carry around. Their weight, size and bulkiness in general make it difficult to transport and store, for example, in a trunk or cargo area of a vehicle. This problem worsens with an increase in the number of rigid safety cones that need to be held, carried around, or stored together in the trunk or any place where space is limited or minimal.
Non-rigid safety cones can be further divided into subcategories: collapsible ones that can be compressed in a substantially flat form, as exemplified in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,624, and a new generation of self-righting flexible ones disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,760, of which is issued to the same inventor and assigned to the same assignee of the present application.
Unlike rigid safety cones, non-rigid safety cones such as the collapsible signal device disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,624 can be compressed into a compact, substantially flat form, making them more suitable for individual use and storage. For example, a built-in hinged bar secures the collapsed, substantially flat signal device of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,624 under a hook fixed onto the base thereof. The collapsed device is then stowed in a separate storage case with a cover flap.
Other ways to stow, hold, carry, pack, and store collapsible safety cones exist, each of which is usually tailored to a specific design. For example, for carrying and storing the collapsible rocking road emergency warning sign of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,554, a separate top cover is latched onto the base of the warning sign via two clips. In another example, for carrying and storing the collapsible traffic warning sign of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,792, a circular recess on the base thereof is designed to receive the conical covering and spring of the warning sign in collapsed form and a separate case is designed to receive the collapsed warning sign.
A common trait in conventional collapsible safety cones is that they are structurally weakened by design to allow the overall height of the cone to be compressed or flattened. Another common trait is that they generally cannot self-right. Consequently, when confronted by an indirect or direct force, e.g., natural wind, passing traffic, or violence, collapsible safety cones are likely to fall over or collapse, thereby becoming a flying or lying object endangering following traffic and/or surrounding people. Moreover, conventional collapsible safety cones are not suitable for vehicular deployment. They are more suitable for individual use.
The above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,760 discloses a new generation of flexible safety cones that can be deployed and placed via a moving vehicle and can self-right upon deployment or perturbation. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,582, which is also issued to the same inventor and assigned to the same assignee of the present application, discloses a novel method and device for placing and deploying the self-righting flexible safety cones from a moving vehicle, which is minimally modified to implement the placing device.
For stowage and carriage, the self-righting flexible safety cones can be conveniently reduced to a compact size without compromising the structural integrity and resilience thereof. What is needed in the art, therefore, is a holder device that can secure one or more self-righting flexible safety cones in a reduced or otherwise minimized form so that they can be held, carried, packaged, stowed, and/or stored in a compact, convenient, and effortless manner. The present invention addresses this need.


A system may be configured to dynamically update deployed machine learning models. In some aspects, the system may receive sampled video information, generate first object detection information based on a cloud model and the sampled video information, and generate second object detection information based on a first edge model and the sampled video information. Further, the system may select, based on the first object detection information and the second object detection information, a plurality of training images from the sampled video information, detect motion information corresponding to motion of one or more detected objects within the plurality of training images, generate a plurality of annotated images based at least in part on the first object detection information and the motion information, and generate a second edge model based upon training the first edge model using the plurality of annotated images.

Many industries employ artificial intelligence technologies to analyze video information for a wide array of applications, e.g., object detection, object classification, etc. For example, in the retail sector, machine learning models may be employed to monitor entry and exit at a retail location, support traffic flow applications that monitor customer journeys within a retail location, and/or enable surveillance systems that detect unauthorized activity by retail customers with respect to retail articles offered for sale. Typically, video capture systems employ pre-built ML models that are not tailored for a particular video capture device capturing video information and/or particular camera scenes or environments represented in the video information. As a result, system accuracy may be significantly reduced due to false positives and/or false negatives.

Dynamic artificial intelligence camera model update


A method and apparatus of raising or lowering an oil drilling rig mounted on a platform is provided. The rig is mounted on the platform hull, which is supported by a plurality of legs. Each leg has a plurality of jacking chords. The legs are raised or lowered relative to the hull to lower or raise the rig. The elevation of each chord of a leg is measured during the raising or lowering action, and the measured elevations are used to determine the deformation of the leg. In this manner, a corrective action is instituted according to the determined deformation by acting individually on each chord of the leg.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the technical field of oil drilling, and more particularly to that of drilling rigs of the "jack-up" type, i.e. with the rig raised on legs, using a rack-and-pinion system, after being towed to the site.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such "off-shore" rigs are very well-known and consist schematically of the drilling rig or "hull" proper, which will not be described in detail here, generally mounted on three "legs", generally arranged in a triangle, and each provided with a base forming a supporting foot ("spud can" of the leg). The characteristic of these structures is to be assembled and then towed in a lowered floating state to the drilling site. They are then positioned on the site, and the rig is raised to the "high" position, i.e. to its operational height above the sea. Elevation is carried out by motorized displacement ("jacking") of the rig along each of its legs through "wells" arranged for the purpose. Each displacement along a leg is naturally independent of the others to a certain extent, so that the operator can, for example, correct uneven penetration of the legs into the sea bed. The rig is raised or lowered in relation to each leg by sets of racks-and-pinions mounted on each leg, the systems generally being arranged in each angle or "comer" of the triangular structure with three metal chords and struts ("chord" designating each "member" of each triangular leg). When the position of a given leg is changed, all the pinions of the system relating to this given leg are always in operation simultaneously, in the same direction and with the same theoretical speed. With regard to the speed of linear displacement, on the other hand, this depends on the load, which is one of the problems solved by the invention: when a leg is inclined, the least-loaded chord will be raised more quickly than the others by its motors, hence an additional increase in the RPD [Rack Phase Difference] on the leg concerned. The relative position of the rig (hull) and of the legs (geometry of the system) in relation to the sea bed is checked in relation to two series of fixed reference points, which are the bottom ofthe hull of the rig and the top of the "jacking structure" or "jacking house".
This positioning is, however, rendered difficult by many factors. These factors are also well known. An inclination or deviation may be due in the first instance to incorrect positioning by the operator, or to the existence or appearance of major lateral stresses or loads, such as those due to currents, swell and/or wind, or in particular to uneven embedding of the feet of the legs, or to heterogeneous or inclined ground, or to an operating fault on a lifting motor or brake. However, during operation, it is practically impossible to determine which factors are involved.
A fault of this type is manifested in particular in excessive stresses on the structure and particularly on the legs, with the risk of damage to the legs, to the structure of the leg, which can lead to an accident, and thereby to protracted immobilization of the rig, and to an appreciable reduction of the service life of the rig.
One concern of the industry is therefore to reduce this horizontality defect, referred to as "RPD" or "Rack Phase Difference" (difference for a given rack phase, i.e. geometrical difference in the structure for a given number of rack notches).
Normally, when the rig is on site, the legs are lowered until their tips are resting on the sea bed, then the rig is raised out of the water up to its operating position. This involves a certain penetration of the tips into the sea bed, according to the nature of the bed, but normally the legs remain vertical and the only forces acting on the unit remain within the strength limits selected when designing the rig. However, in certain cases, the sea bed may be inclined or uneven, etc., which can cause a deviation of one or more legs in relation to the vertical, which creates a bending moment on the leg concerned. Naturally, these deviations, if they affect two or three legs, are not necessarily "parallel", which complicates the problem posed. In its turn, such bending causes the load to become unequal on the three chords of the leg concerned, the leg being in a skewed position in its guide ("cock"). The imbalance can be such that it is no longer possible to move the rig. Corrective action is then necessary.
The rig then has to be lowered again to water level, to a floating state to eliminate the load, the supporting legs are withdrawn from the sea bed over a part of the penetration obtained, and then the jacking operation is recommended. This may possibly be combined, according to the seriousness of the situation, with a slight shift of position in order to avoid the first footprints, although such an operation is not generally recommended, and with a backward and forward movement of the legs ("reaming") to correct the deviation. Such action is obviously time consuming and is not always successful. In certain severe situations, a decision has to be made to move the rig from the planned drilling point to another location 50 to 100 meters away, and to recommence the operation, with the same uncertainties. This latter solution is impossible to implement when the rig has to be located alongside a fixed production platform. In such a case, only a margin of a few tens of centimetres is available for jacking up the rig.
It is therefore easy to appreciate the problem faced by the industry, which is to simplify such corrective action and to render it more efficient. The problem is aggravated by the magnitude of the stresses and mechanical forces involved, and by factors such as swell, wind, currents and the like, which can thwart the efforts of the operator. The problem is further complicated by the fact that an action which is as simple and reliable to implement as possible has to be proposed, since any inaccuracy on the part of the operator can cause major damage to the structure.