An aquatic training aid includes a paddle member for wearing by a swimmer, a variable diaphragm disposed within the paddle member, the variable diaphragm including a plurality of fitted blades arranged to form an aperture, and a housing peripherally framing the plurality of fitted blades. The variable diaphragm is adjustable to change the aperture from a first expanded position to a second contracted position, and hydrodynamic characteristics of the aquatic training aid when moved through water are affected by the change of the aperture. Controlling the aperture enables the swimmer to adjust the resistance provided by the aquatic training aid when it is moved through water.

Various types of restraints, weights and the like are used in training and development of competitive swimmers and water sport participants as well as athletes, surfers, medical rehabilitation patients, and others.
Aquatic training aids, such as hand-held swim paddles, are used for improving a swimmer's technique, efficiency and for increasing muscle strength. Training with the paddles enables a swimmer to strengthen body movement through the water. With use over time, the swimmer is able to swim faster, with proper technique, and for longer periods of time than without the training aid.
Training aids capable of providing a variety of resistance levels are desirable. Current solutions require swimmers to wear paddles of different sizes and shapes in order to provide a range of resistance levels according to skill level, swimming style and intended use of the swimmer (generally speaking, the larger the paddle size, the higher the level of difficulty). One drawback with current approaches is that the swimmer must change paddles to vary the resistance during a swim session.
Current solutions do not allow swimmers to conveniently adjust resistance levels.
A need exists for improved devices and aids that provide variable aquatic training resistance. Improvements in or alternatives to current aquatic training aids are desirable.


An improved continuous passive motion machine preferably having an ankle lock assembly, an extension lock assembly, and an extended rod or handle to assist in locking/unlocking.

The present invention relates generally to continuous passive motion devices used in the rehabilitation of body limbs that have been disabled in some way. More particularly, the present invention provides improvements to a knee continuous passive motion (CPM) machine. Existing CPM devices have been used for sometime to assist doctors and patients in recovering all or part of the use of a body member such as a hand, wrist, knee, ankle, etc. that has been disabled in someway. Patients hurt in accidents or patients having limbs affected by disease have benefitted greatly from the mechanical assistance provided by a CPM device to assist the patient in reacquiring use of a damaged limb.
Existing CPM machines have been found by the present inventor to have at least three deficiencies which are addressed by the present invention. First, in existing machines there is no adequate way of securing the lower limb (below the knee) to maintain alignment of the lower limb throughout a machine cycle. This may be due to the second problem which is that there is no convenient means afforded the patient for locking (entering) and unlocking (exiting) the lower limb from existing machines. Third, the existing devices do not offer controlled resistance with respect to limb extension.
With respect to the first problem of locking the limb in place, the present inventor has discovered that a patient's limb must be secured adequately in the machine or otherwise the full benefits of the CPM device will not be realized. By more rigidly securing the limb in place in the machine it reduces the upward motion of the lower limb while the machine moves the limb into flexion.
With respect to affording the patient a convenient means for entering and exiting the machine, most patients find it difficult and uncomfortable to bend forward to a position where they could actuate any mechanism of the machine at or near their ankle position. Some patients may find it impossible due to obesity, pain, or overall weakness to reach this far.
The last of the three above mentioned problems is the lack of means for generating controlled resistance for patients having extension contractures. Existing CPM devices do not provide calibrated, reproducible, and controlled means for generating resistance and extension. Extension and flexion are not treated similarly by the CPM device. When flexion is set it is limited to within a patient's tolerance. The same should be considered with respect to extension. The machine should be designed to insure that extension is indeed taking place. Existing CPM devices provide extension motion but do not ensure that extension is actually being experienced by the patient.
The present invention provides answers to the above referenced problems. In the present invention the lower extremity is secured into place in the machine. The location of the securing structure of the present invention is preferably between the tibial length adjustment knob and the foot cradle on existing knee CPM machines. In the present invention an ankle lock is built into the frame of the carriage. Motion is restricted to the longitudinal axis of the frame. Within this range of motion, compensating for any forward and backward movement of the leg during a motion cycle, compression and expansion of controlled springs will tend to restore the distal member to a center position. A lock, latch or hinge of various types may be provided to allow opening and closing of the ankle lock for entering and exiting from the ankle cradle. When the lock is closed the lower extremity is completely surrounded and made immobile for motions perpendicular to the frame's longitudinal axis. This arrangement keeps the motion of the distal extremity parallel to the frame's longitudinal axis throughout a flexion and extension cycle. This accomplishes a calibrated and reproducible range of motion. Angular measurements made on the machine members therefore accurately represent the flexions experienced between the distal and proximal members of the patient. Having a calibrated and reproducible range of motion allows doctors' recommendations, regarding flexion settings and patients' tolerance, to be strictly followed.
Also in the present invention handle means attached to the machine may be provided for securing and releasing the distal member from the ankle lock. Therefore, even a patient in a prone position can operate the ankle lock device. A long handle may be specially equipped so that a rotary motion of the handle will be translated into locking or unlocking of the mechanism.
To solve the third problem, the present invention may be equipped with an extension piece. Clamping the proximal member affords a means for controlling the extension resistance to be generated. Similar to the ankle lock, the extension piece is preferably secured to the frame in an area above the normal knee position. Adjustment of the extension piece position along the frame may be provided to accommodate different proximal member lengths. An adjustable clamping arrangement is one preferred extension piece for fastening the proximal member to the machine. In one embodiment of the present invention a one time set-up adjustment of the extension piece may be made to fit a particular patient enabling quick release and locking to be accomplished during subsequent use. This added capability gives the clinician an accurate way to gauge and control the amount of resistance being applied to extension thus providing a reproducible method of treating extension contractures with the CPM device.
Further features of the present invention may include the placement of cushioned material or padding on all areas of the device that bear against the patient's skin and inflatable bladders which may form part of the inner portion of the ankle lock and/or extension piece to softly but firmly secure a limb in place. With the above listed improvements of the present invention there will be increased accuracy in the measurement and setting of the range of motion of the device relative to the actual range of motion experienced by the patient. The present invention further provides easier entering and exiting and will offer slight, constant, and controlled resistance to the upper leg which improves the device's capability of controlling resistance in extension.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings and following detailed description.


A processing device capable of performing appropriate processing on a set platen, and a platen are provided. A platen that is used in a printer and at least one of a pretreatment device and a post-treatment device is provided with a platen identification information portion that identifies the platen. A code reader receives platen identification information that identifies the platen, from the platen identification information portion. The printer and at least one of the pretreatment device and the post-treatment device perform processing on the basis of the platen identification information received by the code reader.

The present disclosure relates to a processing device and a platen.
An inkjet textile printer is known that performs pretreatment before print processing. For example, an inkjet textile printer is provided with a textile printing execution portion and a pretreatment portion. Before the textile printing execution portion ejects ink onto a material to be printed, the pretreatment portion performs processing to smooth out wrinkles of the material to be printed. Further, the pretreatment portion also performs other processing, such as processing to apply a coating liquid, which is used as a pretreatment agent, onto the material to be printed.


In one embodiment, a controller for a network receives, via a user interface, a downgrade policy for the network that specifies an objective for path downgrades in the network. The controller identifies traffic of an application conveyed by an edge router in the network via a particular path in the network and using a first type of link. The controller predicts an effect of downgrading the particular path from using the first type of link to using a second type of link to convey the traffic of the application. The controller causes the edge router to convey the traffic of the application via the second type of link, when the effect predicted by the controller satisfies the objective specified by the downgrade policy.

Software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs) represent the application of software-defined networking (SDN) principles to WAN connections, such as connections to cellular networks, the Internet, and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks. The power of SD-WAN is the ability to provide consistent service level agreement (SLA) for important application traffic transparently across various underlying tunnels of varying transport quality and allow for seamless tunnel selection based on tunnel performance characteristics that can match application SLAs and satisfy the quality of service (QoS) requirements of the traffic (e.g., in terms of delay, jitter, packet loss, etc.).
Optimizing the topology of an SD-WAN or other network is relatively straightforward, when only factors such QoS path metrics are considered. However, the notion of 'optimization' may also encompass other factors, as well. For instance, consider the case in which the network operator has a subjective preference for certain types of links, service providers, or the like. In this case, the subjective preferences of the network operator may even run contrary to the optimization of the QoS path metrics (e.g., a disfavored path actually offers the 'best' QoS metrics). Thus, topology optimization that takes into account multiple factors may actually entail 'downgrading' certain paths, so as to satisfy the overall objectives of the network operator.

Topology optimization in SD-WANs with path downgrading


A method and apparatus for securing a foundation anchor to a foundation wall. Tension members comprising the foundation anchor are individually fixed to a plurality of stacked anchor plates positioned over an access hole in a foundation wall by use of threaded fasteners. The method comprises inserting each tension member through an anchor plate hole and separately fixing each tension member to at least one anchor plate. A plurality of tension members are permitted to be threaded with threaded fasteners in a manner calculated to reduce the bearing load exerted on the threaded fasteners. Further, by selectively staggering the threaded fasteners over a plurality of stacked anchor plates, the surface area of the anchor plates can be reduced to a minimum, thereby permitting a proportionate reduction in the size of the foundation wall access hole.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus and methods for securing foundation anchors to foundations. More particularly, this invention relates to foundation anchors which are embedded in the ground for the purpose of resisting earth pressure and hydraulic pressure acting on concrete structures, and resisting the floating-up tendency of structures due to the buoyancy effect of underground water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art foundation anchors are known which comprise elongated steel rods, bars, strands, and/or wire, either separately or in bundles. These anchors are used to resist pressures to which concrete foundations are normally subjected, such as the lateral thrust of earthen backfill and hydraulic pressures. Hydraulic pressures may be either lateral, against the foundation side wall, or buoyantly vertical, caused by water beneath the foundation.
The anchors are customarily anchored in the earth by some form of deadman, sometimes secured in a bed of grout. Various conventional means are known for fastening and tensioning anchors to foundation walls. These means are divided broadly into two groups consisting of wedge fasteners and threaded fasteners. This invention is solely concerned with anchors in the threaded fastener group. Threaded fasteners are advantageous over wedges in that threaded fasteners are more reliably secured and are less likely to permit a loss of tension in the anchor.
A threaded fastener comprising a threaded shank on the rod, bar, or strand anchor tension member and a nut threaded on the shank is usually employed in conjunction with a bearing plate on the side of the foundation wall opposite the anchor. A hole in the foundation and in the bearing plate permits the threaded shank of the anchor tension member to pass through the foundation wall. A nut is then threaded onto the shank and brought into pressure engagement with the bearing plate, which pressure also tensions the anchor tension member.
The disadvantage of the threaded fastener type anchor tension member is that the surface area on the bearing plate required to turn the nut severely limits the number of nuts that can be accommodated on a bearing plate without resorting to a bearing plate which is impractically excessive in area. In the alternative, to bridle a plurality of anchor tension members to a single threaded shank tends to overload and thereby strip the threads of the nut, thus losing the tension in the bridled tension members. As a consequence, when a plurality of tension members are fastened to one bearing plate, the wedge securing and fastening system is the apparatus and method most commonly used.

Foundation anchor and method for securing same to a foundation


A sample chip for electron microscope includes a first substrate having a film layer, a buffer layer, and a body layer, a spacing layer positioned below the first substrate, and a second substrate positioned below the spacing layer. The buffer layer is positioned on the film layer and has a buffer opening corresponding to an area of the film layer, the body layer is positioned on the buffer layer and has a body opening corresponding to the buffer opening of the buffer layer to expose the area of the film layer corresponding to the buffer opening, the body layer has a thickness of 10 μm-800 μm, and etching properties of the film layer, the buffer layer, and the body layer are different. A specimen accommodating space is defined in the spacing layer to correspond to the area of the film layer corresponding to the buffer opening.

As shown in FIG. 18, a specimen kit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,979 includes two substrates (1), two films (2), an adhesive (3), and a specimen cell (4). Each substrate (1) has a window (11), each film (2) is positioned on the corresponding substrate (1), the adhesive (3) is positioned between the two films (2) and has at least one slot, and the specimen cell (4) is formed between the two films (2) for accommodating a specimen.
As shown in FIG. 19, a sample loading device for electron microscope disclosed in Taiwan Invention Patent No. 1433195 includes a cap (5) and a base (6). The cap (5) has a body (51) and a first film (52). The body (51) has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, the first film (52) is positioned at the second side, the body (51) has a groove (511) formed with an opening at the first side to expose the first film (52) through the groove (511), and a wing portion (512) is horizontally extended from the first side. The base (6) has a substrate portion (61), a welding portion (62), and a second film (63). The substrate portion (61) has an upper edge and a lower edge, the second film (63) is positioned at the lower edge, the substrate portion (61) has a trench (611) formed with another opening at the upper edge to expose the second film (63) through the trench (611), the trench (611) corresponds to the body (51) with respective to their structure to align the second film (63) with the first film (52) in a vertical direction, the welding portion (62) is positioned at the upper edge to correspond to the wing portion (512), and the welding portion (62) is soldered to the cap (5) with a metal composition.
A liquid sample can be loaded in the above-mentioned devices for observation under an electron microscope. However, the window (11) of the substrate (1) is tapered toward the specimen cell (4) (FIG. 18), and the trench (611) of the substrate portion (61) is tapered toward the second film (63) (FIG. 19), which can make the sample-viewing area narrow so as to restrict the device application. For example, the number of the specimen cells is decreased, or only part of the sample is observed.
For these reasons, there is a need to tackle the foregoing problems.

Sample chip for electron microscope and its related application


A base carrier (2) for an illumination device (L1; L2; L3), comprising a printed circuit board (4) having at least one first plug-in connection element (9) for mechanically securing and electrically coupling a light source carrier (3) to the printed circuit board (4).

For variable alignment of light sources of an illumination device it is known in the prior art to offset sections of a printed circuit board of the illumination device on which one or more of the light sources are fixedly mounted at an angle with respect to the remaining level printed circuit board. This enables the main radiation directions or optical axes of the light sources of different sections to be orientated differently. It is disadvantageous that producing an angular offset entails an increased investment in terms of resources and consequently also cannot usefully be accomplished locally on site. Furthermore, the number and type of light sources cannot be variably adjusted. Conductor tracks in the vicinity of the bending edge may also tear if the bend is extreme.
An illumination device having a plurality of rigid printed circuit boards is also known in which the printed circuit boards are in each case populated with at least one light source and are connected in series with one another by means of flexible sections. It is disadvantageous that the bend can only be produced in the longitudinal direction of the illumination device and in order to set a desired angle between two printed circuit boards it is necessary in addition to fix these in position by means of a securing device. Furthermore, the number of printed circuit boards and number and type of light sources per printed circuit board are not variably adjustable on site.
Also known are LED tapes having a ribbon-like flexible printed circuit board, with a series of light-emitting diodes being mounted on the printed circuit board. It is disadvantageous that the flexibility is given essentially only in the longitudinal direction of the illumination device and in addition setting a desired angle between the light-emitting diodes requires the bend to be precisely positioned and the flexible printed circuit board to be fixed in place accordingly. Although the number of light sources is variably adjustable locally by customizing the printed circuit board on site, the type of light sources is not.

Base carrier, light source carrier and system comprising a base carrier and a light source carrier


A metal ground engaging tool (GET) component is selected. One or more critical wear surfaces on the GET component are identified. The GET component is selectively reinforced by depositing one or more metal matrix composite components at the one or more identified critical wear surfaces on the GET component. The metal matrix composite components consist of a reinforcement preform and a metal. The preform is formed from a material selected from one of ceramic, cermet, or mixtures thereof. The metal is selected from one of iron, alloy steel, or mixtures thereof. The reinforcement preform is present in the metal matrix composite in the range of about 30% to about 60% by volume.

The earthworking machinery industry has for years experienced the challenge of designing ground engaging tools (GET's) that not only have a combination of abrasion resistance, long wear life and impact resistance, but also the ability to retain their original shape and dimensions even after repeated use. The shape of a GET component, such as a bucket tip, is defined by several surfaces that are geometrically related to each other. This designed geometrical relationship of a GET component affects the earthmoving efficiency, such as the ability to penetrate soil and/or rocks, of the GET component. As a GET component penetrates soil and/or rocks, it begins to wear at locations where the normal forces acting upon the GET component by the soil and the resultant frictional stresses, are the highest. With the passage of time, the surfaces of the GET component become abraded in a non-uniform manner and the geometrical relationship of the various surfaces with respect to one another is altered. This alteration of the GET component's shape detrimentally affects its performance.
In the past, increased wear resistance has been achieved by increasing the hardness of the wear component of the GET component while high impact strength has been attained by increasing the fracture toughness of the wear component. It is known in the industry that the useful life of a GET component is related not only to the wear and impact resistance properties of its cutting edge or cutting bit, but is also related to the retention of dimensional relationship between the various facets of the GET component.
In the past, researchers at Caterpillar Inc., the assignee of the present invention, have developed composite materials having a combination of impact and wear resisting surfaces. Other methods developed at Caterpillar Inc. include techniques where abrasion resistant materials are welded onto a surface of, or into cavities in, the metal base comprising the GET component. Although the foregoing techniques have been very successful, there is a desire to continuously improve the ability of the GET component to retain its dimensional characteristics and thus retain its earthworking efficiency.
It has thus been desirable to have GET components having wear resistant materials that impart a combination of (i) wear and impact resistance properties, and (ii) properties that enable the GET component to retain its dimensional characteristics even at those locations on the tool which are exposed to most severe impact and abrasion forces.
The present invention is directed to overcome one or more problems of heretofore utilized GET components for the earthworking machinery industry.

Process for making a selectively reinforced ground engaging tool component


Detector receives optical radiation transmitted through measured object and is responsive to one or more predetermined optical absorption bands of water and cellulose and two or more separate optical bands related to spectral disturbance caused by coloring substance. The measuring unit measures, on basis of responses of the detector, a water dependent value on basis of attenuation of optical radiation in predetermined optical absorption band of water, a cellulose dependent value on basis of attenuation of optical radiation in predetermined optical absorption band of cellulose, determines general dependence of attenuation with respect to wavelength including spectral disturbance caused by coloring substance by measuring attenuations in predetermined separate optical bands apart from predetermined bands of water and cellulose, and forms a moisture value on basis of moisture dependent value, cellulose dependent value, and general dependence of attenuation for compensating for spectral disturbance of at least one coloring substance.

Moisture content of paper may be measured by directing infrared light from an optical source to the paper. Interaction between the paper and the infrared light attenuates the power of the infrared light. For example, water attenuates strongly at known, narrow optical bands in infrared region. The attenuation of water depends on the amount of the water in the paper. When an attenuation of an absorption band of water is measured, it is possible to determine moisture content of the measured paper.
When paper comprises colorants such as ink on the surface or inside the sheet the measurement faces serious problems and fails to provide reliable results. Hence, there is a need for a better measurement.


The hands of a baseball batter which are exposed to the greatest risk of injury from impact by a baseball are protected by specially configured gloves. The gloves are retained in position by selective finger hole placement in a stretchable sleeve. A shock absorbing material in a pad overlies the areas of greatest injury risk. The material absorbs and distributes energy from the blow of the baseball thereby avoiding or at least significantly minimizing the prospect of serious injury to the bones and tissue of the hand caused by striking thereof by a baseball or the like.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices and methods for protecting the hand against injury from an impact. More particularly, this invention relates to new and improved glove type or structures and processes especially useful to protect the bones of the hand, including the metacarpal bones and knuckles, as well as the tissues in a hand of the user, from injury caused by a traumatic blow. The present invention is especially useful for baseball players while participating as batters in a baseball game.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many sports, the hands of participating players are highly subject to injury during play. A hand injury not only can cause severe pain, discomfort and disruption in the personal life of the player, but also can sideline that player for an entire season, hampering development and performance for that player in the sport. Such injuries impact team performance, as well by denying the services of the player to the team. For the amateur player, a hard injury impedes playing time and thus skill development at all ages. In professional sports, hand injuries can have a dramatic effect, such as a negative economic impact on the injured player, as well as on the team of that player. The team must pay for a player to replace the injured party all the while that they may have a responsibility to continue paying the player whose services are denied to the team while disabled. If the player is exceptionally skilled in the sport, a forced injury absence of the player may affect the overall team performance which in turn could well affect game attendance, playoff chances, fan support, and the financial reward for all.
Specifically, the hands of a baseball player are highly subject to injury while batting. The baseball batter must attempt to hit the ball with a bat as it moves at least partially through an area over home plate called the strike zone where the ball is supposedly hittable by the batter. Historically, baseball pitchers have developed pitches intended to fool the batter into thinking the ball will not enter the strike zone, but which actually curve or "move" into the strike zone at the last moment. Thus, in order to hit a pitched ball, the player must watch the ball from its release by the pitcher until it crosses the plate.
With the refinement of sophisticated pitching techniques and greater athletic skill, present pitchers are throwing balls faster (upwards of 100 miles per hour), and with more movement (such as the so-called curveball, slider, sinker, palmball, knuckle, etc.,--some moving 12 inches or more), thus requiring the player to watch the ball very closely after release by the pitcher in order to determine if the ball is worth attempting to hit.
Hands are exposed to injury during batting typically because the batter is watching in an effort to decide whether or not the ball will move into the strike zone. When the pitcher throws the ball high and inside with respect to the strike zone (meaning towards the hitters head/neck), oftentimes the ball is a curveball or other "moving" pitch and may break across the plate into the strike zone. In this case, the batter needs to watch the ball to insure it is going to curve, and thus is worthy of an attempt to hit it.
Unfortunately, pitchers sometimes release a fastball, which does not curve or move laterally as it approaches the plate, but which is moving towards the batter instead of the strike zone. There is little time for the batter to conclude it is necessary to take evasive action to avoid being hit by the ball. Furthermore, batters are trained to prepare for balls that curve or move by watching the ball all the way across the plate. This further reduces the time in which the batter can decide to take evasive action and move away from the ball. As a result, the chances increase that a pitch which is high and inside relative to the strike zone and which does not break away from the batter very well may strike the batter.
The potential injuries sustained by a hand when struck by a pitched ball that is high and inside relative to the strike zone include soft tissue damage as well as bone damage. The metacarpal bones along the back of the hand, especially the metacarpal bones connected to the little finger and the ring finger, are especially vulnerable to injury from impact by a pitched ball. As mentioned above, if even one of the metacarpal bones are broken, the player is unable to play for several weeks, if not months, resulting in the aforementioned adverse physical, mental and monetary effects.
While batting, most players use batting gloves on either or both hands. Batting gloves are light, close-fitting gloves which improve the batter's grip on the bat, and also protect against hot-spots and abrasions. Batting gloves are considered as personal items. Players are often sensitive and even temperamental about the batting gloves they use. For instance, batting gloves are sometimes considered good and bad-luck charms. Players are also often sensitive to their habits while batting, and will not accept additional weight or bulk which might adversely affect their bat speed. Also, batting gloves are basically considered consumable, and are sometimes used once and thrown away by the player. Sometimes the player also wears the same batting glove while on defense to help make the fielding glove fit more securely.
The contemporary systems developed for dealing with the potential hand injuries while batting have not resolved the problem. Some attempts include building rigid protection into the batting glove, the rigid protection covering both the back of the player's hand and part of the player's wrist. Other attempts have included rigid protection built into the batting glove over only the back of the hand. These attempts at reducing and preventing hand injuries have not proven successful for many reasons. One major reason is that the gloves are too structurally bulky for the player, potentially altering the player's swing, and thus making the player choose to risk injury. Other reasons include that the player cannot use the same glove in conjunction with his fielding glove when playing defensively, that the gloves are too expensive to be simply thrown away if the player decides it is bad-luck, etc.
As is apparent from the subsequent description, the aforementioned deficiencies in the prior art are overcome by the present invention.


Provided is an additive masterbatch having excellent storage stability (agglomeration resistance), which also has reduced surface tackiness despite comprising a low-melting-point resin additive at a high concentration. The additive masterbatch of the present invention is characterized by comprising, with respect to 100 parts by mass of (A) a polyolefin resin, 65 to 300 parts by mass of (B) a resin additive having a melting point of not higher than 80° C.; and 0.8 to 24 parts by mass of (C) a benzotriazole-based ultraviolet absorber.

Resin additives such as phenolic antioxidants, ultraviolet absorbers and hindered amine compounds are known to inhibit deterioration of organic matters such as synthetic resins caused by light and/or heat.
In general, a compound to be used as a resin additive is preferably one which has a high melting point and shows limited plasticization of a resin and evaporation from a resin, such as tetrakis(3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionyloxymethyl)methane or tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphite. However, an additive having an excessively high molecular weight cannot move in a resin, so that its stabilizing effect tends to be small.
Meanwhile, low-melting-point compounds such as stearyl(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate and bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl)sebacate have a relatively low molecular weight and thus exhibit excellent initial stabilizing effect; however, since they readily evaporate from a resin, their long-term stabilizing effect is poor. In addition, those compounds that are in the liquid, viscous or powder form generate large aggregates during storage due to caking and are thus poor in the ease of handling; therefore, in order to improve the ease of handling, these compounds are required to be masterbatched.
However, when an ordinary hindered amine compound or benzoate compounds is used in a polyolefin resin, it exhibits low compatibility with the resin; therefore, in the preparation of a masterbatch comprising such a compound at a high concentration, there is a problem that a condition where the hindered amine compound or benzoate compound bleeds out to the pellet surface and the resulting pellets adhere to each other to form an aggregate is generated, that is, a problem of agglomeration. Particularly, in cases where a hindered amine compound having a low melting point (for example, a melting point of not higher than 80° C.) is used, it is melted and bleeds out under a high temperature of summertime or the like. Such a hindered amine compound is also solidified when cooled to cause solidification of masterbatch pellet; therefore, there is a drawback in terms of the storage stability (agglomeration resistance).
For example, those hindered amine compounds that are obtained by a reaction between 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidinol and fatty acid exhibit excellent light stability effect; however, they are likely to be in the form of liquid at a low molecular weight. Therefore, when such hindered amine compounds are masterbatched with a resin so as to improve the ease of handling, there is a problem that the additive tends to bleed out to the surface of the masterbatched resin composition to show adhesive property.
As a method for improving the surface tackiness caused by bleeding of an additive component in such resin additive masterbatches, there have been proposed, for example, a method in which tackiness is suppressed by masterbatching with an oil-absorbing polymer (Patent Document 1), a microencapsulation method (Patent Document 2) and a method in which tackiness is suppressed by masterbatching with an organic acid metal salt (Patent Document 3). However, when an oil-absorbing polymer is used, it remains in the resulting resin composition. In addition, for example, microencapsulation is costly. Therefore, none of these proposed methods is satisfactory.


In some embodiments, techniques for modifying a profile may include receiving a first profile data associated with a first user, associating the first profile data with a profile associated with the first user, receiving a second profile data from a second user that is a result of a modification of the profile data, associating the second profile data with the profile, and providing the profile to a third user, wherein the profile includes the second profile data and an indication that the profile has been modified, which includes an indication that the second user is responsible for the modification.

Online services with a strong social component have grown exponentially in the last several years. Sites such as MySpace and Facebook have garnered tens of millions of users. Many online services include user profiles, in which various information relating to a user can be displayed, such as friends, music, videos, comments, etc.
Many sites allow a user a degree of control over such data, such as selecting how to order friends, or what music or video is played when a profile page is viewed. Some sites also provide for community modifications to a particular constrained portion of a page, such as an area to leave comments about or endorsements of the user. However, current online services do not allow for community editing of profile data relating to the user associated with the profile, such as the ordering of friends, "what I like," favorite bands, interests, physical appearance, characteristic music, videos, etc.
Community-edited content sites such as Wikipedia and other wikis offer members of a community the ability to alter content relating to a wide variety of topics. However, such community editing is generally applied toward knowledge management and does not apply to user-related data such as profile data.
Unfettered modifications by a community of user-related data could lead to problems such as digital vandalism or inappropriate content. Community-edited sites have suffered widely from such problems and have instituted various reputation systems, with mixed results. In the case of user-related data, there is an opportunity to avoid such problems by allowing a user control over the availability and extent of such editing, and by using friend relationships and other data to ascertain permission. However, current online services do not provide this control for user-related data.
Accordingly, it would be useful to enable community-based editing of user-related data, and it would be further useful to enable a user control over the availability and extent of such editing.

Community-modified user data with accountability


The present invention is a separation process for atmospheric gases. In the process, an atmospheric gas stream, for example air, is compressed and may be partly condensed prior to introduction into a vortex tube air separator. The performance of the tube separation can be upgraded, i.e. by improving the concentration and/or purity of the main oxygen stream, by enhancing the separator efficiency of the vortex tube (VT) apparatus. One approach is by selectively refrigerating the cold end of the tube with partial recycle of nitrogen gas waste stream, effecting a rectification section. Another approach is to increase the heat transfer between the outlet gas stream and the liquid film flowing along the curvilinear periphery of the separator means, by mechanical innovations in its configuration.

A vortex line is a line drawn through a fluid such that it is every way tangent to the rotation vector, which aspect is parallel to the axis of rotation. A collection of vortex lines through a small closed curve defines a vortex tube, which has certain special properties. Vortex lines move with the fluid, while vorticity is a property of the fluid itself and not of the space it occupies. A smoke ring is a natural example of a closed vortex tube.
Vortex tubes have been tried as gas phase refrigerating devices since the 1930s, but only more recently are they proposed as gas-liquid separation and fractionation devices. One approach to a vortex tube air fractionator was described by Suslov et al in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering 16, 507 Sep.-Oct. 1980, "Development and Investigation of a New Type of Air Separation Apparatus".
Certain changes in the 1980 published article are later described in a U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,371 to the same Suslov et al. It teaches using two vortex tubes in series, but it is equivocal as to how much the 0.sub.2 recovery at a given purity will be improved. In any event, using multiple vortex tubes will increase the size and piping complexity of a refrigeration system. Such a trend is an inappropriate way to go for an onboard refrigeration means that is to be made adaptable to hypersonic aircraft applications.
Nonetheless, a vortex tube separator has been perceived as a viable means for producing liquid O.sub.2 during hypersonic flight, predicated on major configurational changes. This auxiliary O.sub.2 source could be applied as the fuel oxidant for boosting the vehicle into space orbit. On board O.sub.2 generation will reduce the take-off weight if the air separation system can be made lightweight enough to meet the cost-benefit standard.
Vortex tube (VT) separators are promising as they lack moving parts, are unaffected by gravity and acceleration changes, and can process large volumes of air per unit volume and weight of apparatus. The typical configuration and flow patterns of a VT separator are shown in FIG. 1.
As seen, the separator consists of an elongated conical chamber with a tangential nozzle entrance. The chamber has a constricted end having an axial gas stream outlet opening, and on the opposing enlarged end by a diffuser ring having a liquid stream outlet. Supplemental to the air feed through the tangential inlet, the art has suggested that a recycled gas may be introduced through a perforated tube disposed along the central axis of the vortex tube.
The tangential introduction of partially condensed air sets up a two-phase vortex flow consisting of an annular film of liquid on the chamber wall and gaseous core. A liquid film is held on the wall by centrifugal forces that far exceed the effect of gravitational acceleration. Thus, operation of the VT is not effected by the changes in orientation or acceleration that will occur during hypersonic flight. As the film moves from the inlet end of the separator to the diffuser, it exchanges mass with the gaseous core and becomes enriched in oxygen. A liquid stream enriched in oxygen is withdrawn through the diffuser ring.
Two zones may be differentiated in the gaseous core. A peripheral zone in which gas flows in the same direction as the liquid film, and a central core zone in which the gas moves back towards the gas outlet, becoming enriched in nitrogen. The vortex flow is accompanied by phase separation and by development of radial and axial temperature gradients.
Still, application of a two-phase VT to air separation has been restricted due to the inability to concurrently obtain both high purity oxygen and high O.sub.2 recovery rates.

Process and apparatus for producing nitrogen and oxygen


A hydraulic pressure amplifier, coupled to a turbine, for creating a fluid impulse directed to a blade of the turbine causing it to rotate. The hydraulic pressure amplifier is comprised of a series of connected sections with each section having a large cylinder and a small cylinder with a large piston and a small piston placed therein. The small piston providing an amplified force applied to the larger surface area of the larger piston through hydraulic coupling to effectively amplify an initial pressure or force. As a result very high forces are generated with relatively small movement. A free piston placed in an impulse cylinder in an end section is struck, causing a fluid impulse. The fluid impulse creates an impulse wave used to move a blade of a turbine, causing a shaft to rotate. An efficient rotational motor is achieved that has many practical applications. Additionally, the hydraulic pressure amplifier may be used in any application where a very high force is desired with relatively little motion.

There are many different hydraulic systems used to do various kinds of work. Additionally, there are many turbine systems using fluids to drive the impellers or blades. Most of these turbine systems require relatively large fluid flow in order to provide sufficient energy to drive the turbine. There is a need for a more efficient turbine system and a hydraulic system that can generate large hydraulic forces including an impulse.


Polymer antenna structures having low reflectivity and high efficiency are disclosed. Wire antennas can be configured from coaxial cable having center conductors and outer conductors made from conductive polymer. Fabrics can also be configured with conductive polymer antenna elements formed in or on the fabric. The conductive polymer antenna elements can be configured with a graded conductivity to facilitate capture (as opposed to reflection) of electromagnetic energy.

Antennas are deployed in many applications, and in many different configurations, to receive and transmit electromagnetic energy. Configurations range from basic monopole and dipole wire antennas to complex antenna arrays having multiple elements.
In any such configurations, the antenna or elements making up the antenna must be able conduct electrical signals and currents so that electromagnetic energy can be transmitted and/or received. In addition, the supporting structure of the antenna or antenna elements typically have sufficiently high electrical conductivity to provide shielding for electronics within the structure and to provide electrical symmetry. Given these conductivity requirements, most antennas and antenna structures are fabricated from metals, which generally have good conductive qualities.
One significant problem associated with using metal in antenna systems is that metal generally produces a high degree of reflections of incoming radar signals. Such reflections are sometimes referred to as backscatter or retroreflections. In certain applications, these reflections are undesirable, particularly in applications such as stealth operations or in those applications where low detectability of a deployed antenna system is necessary. This is because the reflections are sent back toward other antennas and/or tracking radars, and can therefore increase a host platform's radar cross section (RCS) caused by the increased RCS of the antenna system causing the reflections. In short, the reflections can be used to identify, track, and/or target the system(s) causing the reflections.
Recently, polymer materials having sufficiently high electrical conductivities have been developed and are commercially available. Examples of such materials include polypyrrole, polycarbazole, polyaniline, polyacetylene, and polythiophene. The electrical conductivity level of these materials can be varied significantly as a function of the dopant level applied to the polymers. This dopant level is determined or otherwise set during the manufacturing process of the polymer. The doped and now conductive polymers can then be used as a coating over materials like fiberglass to provide an electrically conductive composite material that can be used to form parts of the antenna system, thereby reducing that system's effective radar cross section.
However, conventional polymer antenna systems still rely on metallic materials for transmitting and receiving, which remain a significant cause of reflections. For example, metal material is typically used as one of the constituents that form the polymer composite material, or metal coatings or tips are used on the antenna elements in conjunction with the polymer composite. Thus, undesirable reflections (e.g., backscatter and retroreflections) are still a problem for conventional polymer composite antenna systems.
Moreover, significant differences in dielectric constants associated with conventional antenna systems cause lower antenna efficiency. Antenna efficiency is reduced by incident signal that is not captured by the antenna, but re-radiated. Differences in dielectric constants inhibits some of the electromagnetic energy signals of interest from being captured by the antenna system, which in turn reduces antenna efficiency. This relationship between antenna efficiency and high conductivity represents a longstanding trade that is acceptable for many antenna systems. However, given more demanding requirements associated with today's communication systems, greater efficiencies are desirable.
What is needed, therefore, are polymer antenna structures having low reflectivity and high efficiency.

Low backscatter polymer antenna with graded conductivity

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


Interface object classes providing a template class (402) for list boxes (500) and a template class (410) for combo boxes (506) which encapsulates a linkage mechanism to associate the items listed in the list box and combo box to objects (614) in a business object (612). When an item is selected in a list box or combo box, the object associated with the selected item is referenced automatically without explicit coding.

In object-oriented programming, real-world objects are modeled by software objects that have encapsulated therein special procedures and data elements. In object-oriented programming jargon, procedures are referred to as methods, and data elements are referred to as data members. To avoid having to redefine the same methods and data members for each and every occurrence of an object, object-oriented programming provides the concept of classes. An inheritance structure of one or more levels of increasingly more specialized classes is created to provide templates that define the methods and variables to be included in the objects of each class. Therefore, an object belonging to a class, which is an instance of that class, contains the special behavior defined by the class. In this manner, each object is an instance of a defined class or template and the need to redefine the methods and data members for each occurrence of the object is eliminated.
Microsoft Windows.RTM. applications displaying information in the form of windows and dialog boxes are becoming the norm for graphical user interfaces. Object-oriented programming techniques and languages are typically used to create these Windows.RTM. applications. The windows can be easily manipulated by the user in size, location, and arrangement. Several special types of windows are provided for displaying as well as receiving information. For example, a list box is a window that provides a list of text strings and a combo box is a window that provides a list of text strings as well as editing functions. A user may select one or more items in the list in both types of boxes and further edit the list in the combo box.
Tools are currently available to allow programmers to generate code for graphical interface objects such as menus, dialogs and windows. One tool is the such Object/Designer.RTM. by ImageSoft Incorporated, Port Washington, N.Y. However, the interface objects generated by these tools are not linked to any data or methods in the application. For example, if the graphical user interface generator tool is used to generate a list box containing a list of camera presets for a particular video camera, the selection of a camera preset would not automatically result in changing the camera pan, tilt, focus and zoom to achieve the selected preset. The programmer has to write explicit code to link the text items in the list box to business objects, in this case the camera, in order for the selection to have any real meaning. When there are many business objects requiring linkage to interface objects, the programmer has to write the code for each and every one of the links. This becomes time consuming and error-prone to write and debug, since the explicit code has to be modified everywhere when the application is expanded or when the objects are reused in another context.

Object-oriented business object interface framework and method


A video data communication system and method are disclosed which provides for the secure transmission of video data among devices connected to a video data bus. The video data is transmitted with address information corresponding to a particular device or, alternatively, video data is encrypted and transmitted on the data bus without address information.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a video data communication system and method in which video data is transmitted between devices connected to a data bus according to a protocol which ensures the security of the transmitted video data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Video data devices are connected to a common data bus to facilitate the communication of video data among the devices. Such devices include video signal receivers, video signal decoders, video signal recorders, video signal processing devices, video signal display devices, and video signal reproducing or playback devices. The data bus architecture has the advantage of being easy to implement, modify, and expand.
A video data bus system which conveys digital video data signals has the added advantage of substantially preserving the integrity of digital video signals transmitted on the bus. Such a system may transmit video data at great speeds without degrading the quality of the transmitted signal. Such a system is particularly useful for reproducing and disseminating copyrighted video data.
To preserve the value of copyrighted video data, a data bus communication system is needed that can selectively prevent certain devices connected to the bus from accessing certain video data but allowing such devices to access other video data. Also, a flexible communication protocol is needed to facilitate the secure and organized flow of video data through a video data bus system.

Video data bus communication system and method


A steel wire retainer for a sliding block comprises a plurality of steel wire retaining members, each of which includes a locking section on the sliding block and a plurality of steel wire retaining members. The steel wire retaining members each has a hook formed on the retaining portion thereof for hooking the locking section of the sliding block. The restraining portion of the respective steel wire retaining members will cooperate with the rolling grooves of the sliding block to form a ball rolling path, and the restraining portion of the respective steel wire retaining members is formed with a plurality of reinforced folding portions. The simple, low cost and easily assembled steel wire retaining members have sufficient support strength and are suitable for various sized sliding blocks and can make the linear transmission apparatus operate stably.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a retainer used in a sliding block of a linear guideway, and more particularly to a simple, low cost and easily assembled steel wire retainer for a sliding block, which has high quality and can meet the market's requirement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since linear transmission products are being applied more and more widely in the modern industry, various linear transmission mechanisms have widely come into human life, manufacturing factory and high science and technology instruments, such as linear guideway, ball screw, and the like. Particularly in a large-scale precision mechanism are usually installed various large and small ball screws or linear guideway systems. Although the technology for linear transmission element is developing fast, consumers still need the technology to be improved uninterruptedly. Therefore, there are still some problems to be solved. And this desire for constant improvement of technology is particular strong in many high precision mechanism-manufacturing fields that require comparative stability and quiet. Hence, the existing linear mechanism still has some technological blind spots to be improved. Retainers in the sliding block of a linear guideway generally include metal board type retainer and embedded type plastic retainer, which are described as follows:
Metal Board Type
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, which show the metal board type retainers disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,253,709 and 4,747,284, both of these two patents disclose a metal retaining board that is disposed between the sliding board and the rail. The metal retaining board is made by pressing and folding process. The metal board 12 as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,709 is fixed on the inner surface of the sliding block 10 by screws 141 and is adapted to retain a plurality of ball grooves 14 at a time, and the metal board 12 is shaped for mating with the rail 11. However, this metal board is impractical because of the following reasons:
First, the metal board 12 is made by pressing and folding process, accordingly its production cost is relatively high.
Second, the metal board 12 is fixed on the inner surface of the sliding block 10 by screws 141, the metal board 12 must be processed to form threaded holes, and this will complicate the assembly process.
Third, loading balls 142 in the respective ball grooves 14 or adjusting the balls 142 therein requires the user to assemble and disassemble the metal board 12 repeatedly by rotating the screws 141, therefore, the efficiency of balls loading or adjusting is very low.
Fourth, the metal board 12 is likely to produce noise when the balls 142 roll on it, and the impact of the balls 142 on the metal board 12 will aggravate the noise. To overcome the abovementioned assembly problems, U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,284 discloses another type product, wherein a plurality of metal retaining boards 15 are partially embedded in the sliding block 10 for mating with the respective ball grooves 14, and the metal retaining boards 15 are used to retain the balls 142, enabling the balls 142 to abut against the rail 11. Although the retaining boards 15 are modified to be positioned in an embedded manner, and this can substantially reduce the complexity of assembly and adjustment, it still has the following problems:
First, the metal retaining boards 15 should be processed with pressing and folding, the quantity of the metal retaining boards 15 is comparatively large, and it has to make the to-be-embedded portion whose angle is very difficult to make, therefore, the production cost of these metal retaining boards 15 is relatively high.
Second, the metal boards 15 may produce noise when the balls 142 roll on it, and the noise will be aggravated by the impact of the balls 142 on the metal boards 15.
Embedded Type Plastic Retainer
Another product that can overcome the noise and the production cost problems appears on the market, as shown in FIG. 3, wherein a plurality of plastic boards 18 are embedded during the assembly of the sliding block 16 and the end caps 17 and are used to prevent the disengagement of the balls out of the balls groove. Although the plastic boards 18 are made by plastic injection molding and it can simplify the production and effectively reduce the noise, the plastic board still has the problems as follows:
First, the plastic boards 18 can't provide sufficient support strength and must cooperate with the sliding block 16 and the end caps 17, since the plastic boards 18 are embedded between the sliding block and the end caps 17, such arrangement will increase the complexity of balls loading and adjusting.
Second, the plastic board is susceptible to deformation when it is subjected to temperature changes and erosive work surrounding, furthermore, the deformation of the plastic board will interfere with the operation of the balls.
To solve the aforementioned problems, the inventor of this invention, on the basis of the accumulated experience and skills associated with the linear transmission field, develops a brand new steel wire retainer for a sliding block that is free of influence from the factors, such as material, assembly and strength.


The invention describes a product and a method for generating electrical power directly from nuclear power. More particularly, the invention describes the use of a liquid semiconductor as a means for efficiently converting nuclear energy, either nuclear fission and/or radiation energy, directly into electrical energy. Direct conversion of nuclear energy to electrical energy is achieved by placing nuclear material in close proximity to a liquid semiconductor. Nuclear energy emitted from the nuclear material, in the form of fission fragments or radiation, enters the liquid semiconductor and creates electron-hole pairs. By using an appropriate electrical circuit an electrical load is applied and electrical energy generated as a result of the creation of the electron-hole pairs.

Ever since the potential for generating electrical power from nuclear reactions was recognized, scientists have strived to devise the best methods of harnessing nuclear power and putting it to practical use. The main objectives of such research have been to create the most efficient methods of power conversion, power converters that can generate electrical power from nuclear power sources for sustained periods of time without maintenance, and smaller, more manageable power converters that can be used as everyday power sources. The sources of nuclear energy that scientists have sought to harness include nuclear fission (the splitting of atoms), radiation (the emission by radiation of alpha, beta or gamma rays) and nuclear fusion (the fusing of atoms). The present invention is designed to generate electrical power from energy produced from nuclear fission and/or radiation. For the purposes of this document, the following terms shall have, in addition to their generally accepted meaning, the meanings listed below:
(a) the term "nuclear material" or "nuclear materials" refers to fissile materials and radioactive isotopes that are non-fissile, but produce radiation—either alpha, beta or gamma type radiation;
(b) the term "fissile material" includes uranium, plutonium, thorium, neptunium and mixtures of plutonium and uranium;
(c) Uranium refers to the following classifications—depleted uranium (U-235 concentration less than 0.7%), natural uranium (U-235 concentration equal to approximately 0.7%), low enriched uranium (U-235 or U-233 concentration less than 20%), high enriched uranium (U-235 or U-233 greater than 20%);
(d) Plutonium refers to reactor grade plutonium where the Pu-240 concentration is nominally 10% to 15%.
The best-known method of generating electrical power using nuclear energy is via heat exchange processes, the method used in nuclear power plants to generate electricity for use in the United States national grid. In the nuclear power plant, rods of uranium-235 are positioned in a reactor core where fission, the splitting of the uranium-235 atoms, occurs. When the uranium-235 atom splits apart, large amounts of energy are emitted. Inside the nuclear power plant, the rods of uranium are arranged in a periodic array and submerged in water inside a pressure vessel. The large amount of energy given off by the fission of the uranium-235 atoms heats the water and turns it to steam. The steam is used to drive a steam turbine, which spins a generator to produce electrical power. In some reactors, the superheated water from the reactor goes through a secondary, intermediate heat exchanger to convert water to steam in the secondary loop, which drives the turbine. Apart from the fact that the energy source is uranium-235, the nuclear power plant uses the same power conversion methods found in power plants that burn fossil fuels.
Nuclear power plants, in general, have energy conversion rates of between 30 and 40 percent. This efficiency rate is very good considering that several steps are used in such power plants to convert the nuclear energy to electrical energy. Consequently, nuclear power plants are a good source for large-scale generation of electricity. However, apparatus that use heat transfer techniques for generating electricity from nuclear energy are, in general, large and inefficient for small-scale power conversion.
Research has been performed into ways of reducing the size of the equipment necessary for an effective heat transfer system for generating electrical power from nuclear materials. Some success has been achieved, and since the 1950s small nuclear power plants have powered a great number of military submarines and surface ships. However, because of the associated risks, heat transfer systems have not been used for other small-scale energy sources and are no longer used on United States space vehicles. The use of nuclear energy to power nuclear submarines highlights the advantages that nuclear materials have as a power source; for example, a nuclear submarine can travel 400,000 miles before needing to be refueled.
Because of the potential of nuclear materials as a source for providing energy over a long period of time, a great deal of research has been performed to develop a small, self-contained power source utilizing nuclear materials that does not have the associated risks inherent in a heat transfer system. This research has led to the development of several methods of converting nuclear energy into electrical energy.
Theoretically, the best methods for converting nuclear energy into electrical energy should be direct methods where the nuclear energy is directly changed into electrical energy. The nuclear power plant discussed above involves an indirect, two-step process in which the nuclear energy is transferred into thermal energy that causes water to turn to steam that is used to drive turbines and create electrical energy. Direct conversion methods are potentially the most efficient conversion methods because they would avoid the inherent energy loss during each conversion process. The following are examples of direct conversion techniques that have been proposed up until the present date.
Conversion of nuclear energy to electrical energy using solid semiconductors. In this process, radiation energy from the radioactive isotope is directly converted to electrical energy by irradiating a semiconductor material with radioactive decay products to produce a number of electron-hole pairs in the material. To accomplish this, nuclear material, such as a radioactive isotope, is placed in close proximity to a solid semiconductor. As it decays, the radioactive isotope produces radiation. Because it is in close proximity with the solid semiconductor, some of this radiation enters the solid semiconductor and causes electron-hole pairs to be generated. Generally, the solid semiconductor is configured so as to incorporate a p-n junction that contains a built-in electric field within a region called the depletion region. This electrical field applies a force that drives electrons and holes generated in the depletion region in opposite directions. This causes electrons to drift toward the p type neutral region and holes toward the n type neutral region. As a result, when radiation enters the solid semiconductor, an electrical current is produced. Current can also be generated from electron-hole pairs produced within a few diffusion lengths of the depletion region by a mechanism involving both diffusion and drift. A Schottky barrier junction formed on either an n-type or p-type semiconductor can also be used in lieu of the p-n junction. In that case, an analogous process occurs when the metal on the n-type (p-type) semiconductor collects drifting holes, as did the p-type (n-type) neutral region in the p-n junction.
The potential conversion efficiency of the solid semiconductor system is high. However, the solid semiconductor method of converting nuclear power cannot be used to produce large power outputs for extended periods of time because the high energy radiation that enters the solid semiconductor also causes damage to the semiconductor lattice. Furthermore, if the energy source is fissile material, some of the fragments of fissile material that enter the solid semiconductor remain in the solid semiconductor. The introduction of trace amounts of defects, including native and impurity point defects and extended defects, can significantly reduce semiconductor device performance. Over time the solid semiconductor is degraded and efficiency decreases until it is no longer useful for power conversion. Consequently, even though systems using solid semiconductors as direct converters of nuclear energy to electrical energy are potentially very efficient, they are often impractical for high power, long duration applications.
Conversion of nuclear energy to electrical energy using Compton scattering. Compton scattering occurs when high-energy gamma radiation interacts with matter causing electrons to be ejected from the matter. A method for direct conversion of nuclear energy to electrical energy has been proposed in which a gamma radiation source is surrounded by an insulating material. As a result of Compton scattering, the gamma rays interact with the insulating material and cause electrons to be produced. These electrons can be collected to produce an electric current. Experiments to date have not been able to demonstrate that this method can generate sufficiently large amounts of electricity with the required efficiency and reliability at a sufficiently low cost to be useful for widespread use in practical applications.
Conversion of nuclear energy to electrical energy using an induction process. The use of induction to convert nuclear energy to electrical energy involves apparatus that provides electrical power by modulating the density of a cloud of charged particles confined within an enclosed space by a magnetic field. A radioactive material is positioned at the center of an enclosing hollow sphere having its inner surface coated with a metal, such as silver. The sphere is centrally positioned between the poles of a permanent magnet. As the radioactive material decays it emits radiation that in turn causes the cloud of charged particles to move. The movement of the charged particles results in a variation in the density of the cloud of charged particles and a variation in the magnetic field created by the cloud. This variation in the magnetic field induces an electric current in a conductive wire. Once again, the conversion efficiency of the system is very low and the amount of electrical power provided is too small for most applications.
Conversion of nuclear energy to electrical energy using thermoelectric systems. Thermoelectric conversion systems rely on direct conversion of thermal energy to electricity by means of the Seebeck effect. The Seebeck effect describes the phenomenon that when a thermal gradient occurs in a system containing two adjacent dissimilar materials, a voltage can be generated. Therefore, if radioactive material is placed in proximity to the system, the radiation produced by the radioactive material will heat the material causing a thermal gradient and as a result of the Seebeck effect, a voltage difference can be generated. A load can be inserted into the system, allowing electrical power to be removed from the system. Thermoelectric converters are used in radioisotope thermoelectric generators for deep space probes and can provide up to a kilowatt of power. However, theoretical conversion efficiencies for commonly used materials are only 15-20 percent and in practice, conversion efficiencies are much lower.
Conversion of nuclear energy to electrical energy using thermionic systems. Thermionic systems make use of the physical principle that certain materials when heated will emit electrons. Thermionic systems use nuclear matter, radioisotopes or fissile material, as an energy source to heat an emitter cathode that emits electrons which can be collected on an anode surface, delivering electrical power to an external load. Conversion efficiencies for thermionic systems increase with emitter temperature, with theoretical efficiencies ranging from 5% at 900 K to over 18% at 1,750 K. The drawbacks of the thermionic conversion system are poor efficiencies, high operating temperatures, and intense radiation environments.
Conversion of nuclear energy to electrical energy using fluorescent materials. In this system, a mixture of a radioactive substance and a fluorescent material is positioned between a pair of photovoltaic cells. The radioactive substance produces radioactive rays that excite the atoms of the fluorescent material and cause it to emit photons. The photovoltaic cells use this radiation to generate electricity. In general, this system requires a very complex structure but nevertheless provides poor conversion efficiency on the order of less than 0.01%.


A computer file system, particularly adapted to UNIX operating systems, for transparently allowing access to and modification of snapshot objects, i.e., files, directories, and symbolic links. The file system creates a mountpoint directory and dynamically searches the computer system to find a requested file object, manifesting a representation of the requested file object in the mountpoint directory if it is found. If an earlier representation of the requested file object already exists (in the mountpoint directory), then any further requests for the file object are directed to the earlier representation. Searching can be performed along a viewpath having two or more independent search paths, including those based on an object name, or based on an object name extension. The binding file translation is done entirely within the kernel to speed up processing, as well as minimize the overhead required to establish mountpoints across different machines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer systems, and more particularly to a method of displaying information associated with computer file systems, such as directories, files, and symbolic links.
2. Description of the Related Art
To an end user, most computer systems have the same general structure for storing and accessing data, that is, by placing the data in "files" whose names have a particular format, and placing files in "folders" or "directories" to further organize them. These file objects are physically encoded into the machine's storage device, e.g., hard disk. Computer operating systems such as UNIX or MS-DOS use this type of a filing system ("UNIX" is a trademark of UNIX System Laboratories; MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.). In these systems, each file has a unique path name which identifies its location within the file structure. UNIX and MSDOS computers have a "root" directory from which all other directories or sub-directories branch out; in a UNIX operating system, the root directory is designated by the forward slash symbol ("/"), which is also used to separate parts of the path name. For example, the path name "/pdir/sdir/myfile" refers to a file named "myfile" that is located in the "sdir" subdirectory, which is, in turn, located in the primary directory "pdir" at the root level.
Processes interact with the file system using a specific set of commands, such as "open," "read," "copy," etc. For example, the command line "copy .backslash.user.backslash.oldfile.backslash.system.backslash.newfile" instructs the operating system to create a duplicate of the file named "oldfile" in the "user" directory, name the duplicate copy "newfile," and place it in the "system" directory. Such interaction can extend between cooperating computer systems, i.e., two or more UNIX machines that are interconnected. These distributed systems provide different types of access to remote computers based on the particular system architecture. In a fully "transparent" distributed system, standard path names are used to refer to files on other machines, as the operating system recognizes that they are remote. In other words, users on one machine can access files on another machine without realizing that they cross a machine boundary. This configuration is convenient for users who commonly share files, whether program or data files. Files can also be shared among users using a single machine whose physical storage device has been partitioned into two or more sections that are specifically assigned to each user when the system is mounted (so there are multiple root directories, one for each user).
Typically a software product comes in many versions. It might evolve over time, adding new features or improving performance, etc. Each new version is typically built from different versions of the same source code, header files, etc. The file system objects utilized to build a given version of software will herein be referred to as "snapshots," given that collectively they are used to build one of many possible versions of a software product. At the user level, four basic schemes have traditionally been employed to make snapshots visible to tools: (a) those that populate tool working directories with snapshot copies prior to tool invocation, (b) those that prepopulate tool working directories with symbolic links pointing to snapshots, (c) those that feed snapshot pathnames to tools at tool invocation time, and (d) those that resort to intercepting tool generated system (input/output, or I/O) calls by way of special took-linkable libraries.
Variations of the first schema are impractical if a sizeable number of snapshots must be made visible, due to time constraints and storage capacity (disk space,) and due to the necessity of recopying objects each time the tool is invoked. If a build took (e.g. UNIX make) is using "dependency" checking to ensure that all source files are up to date, the timestamps must be retained on copies which is easily overlooked and can result in unnecessary rebuilding. Confusion is also likely to result if copied files are updated. For example, if a build is partially successful, and one or more copied files have been updated in order to correct the error(s) that caused that build to fail, those updated files must be recopied. If the builder makes a mistake, perhaps because it is not cognizant of all files that have in fact been updated, the wrong files may be processed when that partially successful build is restarted.
The obvious virtue of the second schema is that it completely eliminates the time and space problems associated with the aforementioned simple copying schema. The new problem is that if the manifestation of a snapshot is a symbolic link, issuance of every possible modification system call against snapshot manifestations cannot be permitted. With two notable exceptions, namely remove( ) and rename( ) (in UNIX,) symbolic links do not protect their target objects from arbitrary modification system calls. If given a symbolic link, remove( ) does not remove the object pointed to by that symbolic link, but rather the symbolic link itself. Similarly, rename( ) operates on a passed link rather the object pointed to by that link. But snapshots manifested by way of symbolic links are not necessarily protected from other modification system calls. AI remaining modification system calls ultimately follow links (e.g. creat( ), mkdir( ), mdnod( ), truncate, write( ),) applying the requested operation to the object pointed to by that link, In this case the only way to protect these objects is to deny write access to them, but then tools are not permitted to issue any of the aforementioned system calls against any of the symbolic links that might refer to these objects. System call anomalies are the norm for circumstances of this sort. If a snapshot of "x.o" exists, it is made visible by way of a symbolic link, and is protected in the aforementioned way, a simple command kke "cc-c x.c" will fail because that "x.o" directory before the compile will succeed. If the newly generated "x.o" file to become a member of some snapshoted library made visible by way of a symbolic link, say the library with name "libfoo.a," a simple subsequent command like "ar x.o libfoo.a" will also fail if that snapshot is not writable. The file "libfoo.a" must also be explicitly copied.
Symbolic links have always been troublesome because they are indistinguishable from the objects they point to. A symbolic link that points to a directory is not itself a directory, though it may under certain circumstances appear to be one. Symbolic links cannot be assumed to be, for all intents and purposes, directories or files. Symbolic links masquerading as files or directories may or may not fool tools that expect to operate on files or directories. It depends upon which system calls those tools use, and when they are not fooled, they are likely to be confused, a condition that usually results in abnormal termination.
Given the quirks associated with symbolic links, one might be tempted to simply make use of some variant of the third schema: passing pathnames of snapshots directly to the build tools that manipulate them, rather than referencing them in a roundabout fashion via symbolic links.
If a make-like build took determines that some buildable item is out of date, it either directly or indirectly executes a user supplied build rule to (re)build that item from its dependencies. In general, each such build rule consists of one or more lines of shell commands, each of which when put into execution, invokes some build tool (e.g. compiler, linker, loader) via its shell interface. One such line might for example invoke a C compiler to (re)build an "x.o" object file from a source dependency with name "x.o." The make-like tool maybe modified in such a way that, just prior to executing the build rule containing this compile line, it replaces the dependency basename "x.o" with the complete pathname of the snapshot that should be made manifest as "x.o." Thus when the compiler is involved, it will see the proper snapshoted version of x.o. The make-like took can be further modified so that it scans the entire build rule prior to execution, replacing all dependency basenames with complete snapshot pathnames. In this way, the appropriate snapshots of all dependencies maybe explicitly named in a build rule visible to the tools that must manipulate them, manifested by explicitly feeding the pathnames to the tools that use them.
The foregoing might seem sufficient for making snapshots visible, but it is not. The files that a UNIX tool operates on are often named on the command line used to invoke that took, but not always. Many extremely important exceptions exist. A C compiler might for example read a large number of header files, none of which are explicitly named on the command line responsible for invoking that compiler. Instead it finds the names of these header files in the source text it is asked to compile, embedded within "include" preprocessor statements. In order to find the file associated with a header file name, it searches the set of include file directories specified on the command line via the "-I" flag. In order to make visible the appropriate snapshoted versions of these header files, the make-like tool must therefore not only expand dependency basenames appearing in a build rule, but must also insert "-I" flags that list the appropriate set of snapshot directories a C compiler should search for snapshoted header files. This is processing that requires knowledge of a specific tool, in this case a C compiler. Every build rule step that invokes a C compiler must be found and expanded in a C compiler specific way, namely by the insertion of a list of header file directories to search. It is not difficult to see the general problem this might lead to. If a C compiler command line must be expanded in a C compiler specific way, a command line for some arbitrary tool X might need to be expanded in an X tool specific way. In this case the make-like took must also be modified to scan for and expand took X command lines appearing in our build rules, which is a difficult undertaking. Matters are made yet more complex when one considers that a program invoked by a build rule might need to invoke yet another program in order to do its job. If that other program must manipulate a dependency, the first program that invoked it must explicitly pass the complete expanded pathname of that dependency to the other program. Otherwise, the correct snapshoted version of that dependency will not be visible to the other program. This requirement must be noted as a convention, a convention that users must be made aware of and must diligently follow. Finally, if we manifest a snapshot by way of its complete pathname, and snapshots are read only, tools that see snapshots via this mechanism will not be able to modify them.
Variations of the fourth schema also suffers a number of disadvantages. All tools that might be used in build must be linked with a library providing alternate implementations for all I/O system calls but it is not always possible to do this. It should also be kept in mind that the tools relinked to this special library may be used by others for purposes other than building software. In such a context, outside of any build environment, it might be the case that those alternate system call implementations results in unacceptable performance problems, or fail with some strange error. Additionally, tools often come prelinked to the standard I/O library. The I/O system calls issued by these tools cannot therefore be intercepted.
Rather than rely on user level schemes to make snapshots visible, a more recent approach has been to implement special file systems that are specifically designed to make snapshots visible to tools in novel ways.
Examples include Sun Microystem's TPS, Bell Lab's 3-D file system and Atria's MVFS. These systems, though similar at a high level of abstraction, differ markedly in detail, largely due to the fact that each has been designed with a very different stipulated user community in mind.
At its simplest, a directory viewpath mechanism manifests an illusory patchwork directory that might be seen along some ordered list of specified directories, an ordered list that constitutes a "viewpath." All children of the foremost directory in that list are brought into view, as are all children of the second directory without named counterparts in the foremost directory, as are all children of the third directory without named counterparts in either the second or the first directory, and so on. If the viewpath mechanism happens to be implemented by a build file system, it is likely that all of the directories in that ordered list are themselves snapshots of a given directory, snapshots that represent revisions of that directory as it evolves over time.
Directory viewpath mechanisms come in a variety of forms. The more flexible the filesystem viewpath mechanism, the fewer restrictions need be place don the structure of the directories searched for snapshots. Of the three aforementioned file systems, TFS is likely the closest prior art. TFS comes packaged with Sun's Network Software Environment (NSE.) Within that environment, it is used to construct the directory trees that software developers do virtually all of their work in, from prebuild activities like source code editing to build activities like compiling and linking to post build activities like debugging. NSE's "activate" command is used to perform the TFS mounts needed to make a TFS directory visible. The snapshots made visible by TFS are found by way of an extremely simple viewpath mechanism that essentially manifests virtually all snapshots at mount time, rather than by way of a search on reference by snapshot name. In effect, TFS permits but a single mountpoint viewpath, statically defined by physically linking all of the physical directories appearing in that path. The n+1th physical directory appearing in the viewpath is specified by way of a textfile named "tfs.sub.-- info" appearing in the nth physical directory of that same viewpath. The textfile itself is referred to as a "searchlink" and simply contains the pathname of the n+1th physical directory. The viewpath itself behaves in precisely the manner described above. Tools simply see the illusory patchwork directory along the set of physical directories making up the viewpath. Though not explicitly assigned one, each mountpoint subdirectory might be thought of as having its own viewpath as well, derived from the viewpath of its parent in a very simple manner, by appending the subdirectory name to the pathname of each directory appearing in the parent viewpath. Thus, the resulting TFS directory takes on the semblance of the directory that might logically be constructed by "layering" the searchlink connected viewpath directories, one over the other over the other, from the last directory in the viewpath to the first.
With this view in mind, TFS refers to each viewpath directory as a "layer," where each layer is to be thought of as a revision of the mounted TFS tree; a snapshot of its contents at some point in time. The first layer appearing in the viewpath is envisaged as the newest revision of the mounted directory, while the last layer is envisaged as the oldest. If multiple revisions of a file exist along the viewpath, the revisions appearing in the foremost layer is made manifest, while the remaining revisions are masked. The names appearing in the TFS directory thus consists of the union of the file names appearing along this single viewpath. If a tool attempts to reference a name that does not currently appear in a TFS directory, TFS will not dynamically search for and make manifest an appropriate revision with that name. It will simply report the name as nonexistent. Files in a common directory cannot be manifestations of revisions found by traversing two or more independent dynamically selected viewpaths. This makes it extremely difficult to make manifest "alternate" versions of files, versions that do not appear in any viewpath layer, but perhaps instead in a special set of directories that have been setup to revision alternate versions of those same files.
In TFS, only the first layer in the viewpath, referred to as the "front" layer, can actually be written to; all other directory layers are read only. From the tool point of view however, all manifested objects appear to be writable. If the manifestation of a revision appearing in some back layers (i.e. some layer other than the front layer) is made the target of a modification system call, TFS copies the revision to the front directory, and redirects that an all subsequent system calls to the resulting copy. If a TFS directory is asked to create a file, the file made manifest as a result of that request is in actually created within the front layer directory. Thus, the front layer contains all files that have been modified/created since mount time.
In general, it is assumed that all back layers in a viewpath are public shareable directories. A special command is used to create a user private front layer that points via search link to the first of these public back layers. Thus, each user can arbitrarily modify shared files made visible by virtue of this mechanism without concern. In all such cases, they are copied by TFS to the user's private front layer without her awareness. If these public back layers belong to two or more viewpaths at the same time, only the front layer of each such viewpath may differ, a back layer cannot be made to simultaneously point to two or more different following layers. Thus is a direct consequence of the fact that each such directory may contain but a single search link.
The 3-D file system introduces the notion of a "version file", where a version file is conceptually organized like a directory. Whenever a process references a 3-D version file by name, the file system selects and makes manifest a specific "instance" of that file conceptually contained within that directory, based on per-process information maintained in tabular form. Tools that are aware of the fact that they are manipulating a 3-D file may also explicitly select a specific instance of that file by tacking a "/X" to the end of that file's pathname, where X is the "name" of that specific instance (assigned at instance creation time). Unlike TFS, the 3-D file system thus provides file revisioning support for user-level version control systems.
Much like TFS, a 3-D directory might be assigned a single viewpath. Also, like TFS, each and every subdirectory possesses a viewpath implicitly derived from the viewpath of its parent, by appending the name of that subdirectory to the pathnames of each directory appearing in that parent viewpath. Unlike TFS however, these derived viewpaths can be overridden by explicit assignment. All explicitly viewpath assignments are specified in simple tabular form via a file that associates the pathname of a 3-D directory with the set of directories in its viewpath. The table can be set for a particular shell via a special shell command. Once set, the directories specified by that table will, for all intents and purposes, appear to be layered in the manner of TFS. Similarly, a table of slightly different form might be used to set instance mappings for version files, so that the correct instance of these files will be made manifest.
With MVFS, versioned data is stored in something Atria refers to as a network-accessible Versioned Object Base or VOB. A VOB is a simply a mountable file system. Like any other mountable file system, many VOBs can be mounted, as desired. A VOB will version files containing virtually anything (binaries, libraries, directories, text, etc). Unknown to the user, when appropriate, text files might be stored in delta or compressed formats in order to save disk space. A database manager associated with each VOB is used to maintain meta-data for every versioned object (referred to as an "element") within that VOB. Recorded meta-data might for instance note when an element was initially created. It also supports traditional checkin/checkout/branch creation/element deletion/compare/merge type facilities that might be applied to elements. Elements are made visible to UNIX tools when a VOB is first mounted. From the point of view of a standard UNIX tool, a mounted VOB appears to be no more than a standard UNIX directory tree, a directory tree filled with standard UNIX files, directories, and symbolic links, all of which the knowledgeable user knows to be MVFS element, versions. Thus, a VOB provides transparent tool access to element versions. Like 3-D however, the file system must make use of a special table in order to dynamically resolve tool element references a particular versions of those elements. In the case of MVFS, this table, referred to as a "configuration specification", contains a number of user-specified version selection rules that the file system tests on element reference. Once "set" by a user for a particular VOB, a configuration specification is said to present that user with a "view" of that VOB, simply because it determines what version of the VOB's elements that user will in fact see and work with. The collection of bound elements (bound in the sense of having been mapped to particular versions) is itself collectively referred to as a view "configuration", and might be modified by the developer at any time. Each selection rule, appearing within a given configuration specification, maps a qualifying expression of some kind (typically a wildcard expression) to a description of some version. When an element is referenced, the file system attempts to match the element name with the qualifying expression of each and every rule, from first rule to last. If the name matches (i.e. meets the criteria of) some qualifying expression, the element version that meets the criteria of the associated version description will be fetched by the file system. In the case of MVFS, the manifestations of elements are read-only. Thus, MFS transparently makes manifest files for build tools by way of a special file system.
As can be seen, while some of the prior-art file systems provide superior transparency, they still suffer from other restrictions. It would, therefore, be desirable to devise an improved mechanism for making the appropriate versions of files and/or directories transparently visible to users, and effectuating that transparency in such a way that the user may read, write, truncate, remove, rename, or otherwise modify them without modifying in any way the original (snapshot) files and directories made visible by that mechanism, but without the foregoing restrictions (e.g., preventing back layers from simultaneously pointing to two or more different following layers). It would be further advantageous if the mechanism requires no specialized knowledge on the part of the user to implement and provide for dynamic selection of the appropriate viewpath.

International Business Machines Corporation