An in-line reactor for the treatment of liquids or gasses by light radiation is disclosed. The reactor is made of tube, pipe, or chamber made of a transparent material, having at least one fluid inlet and correspondingly at least one fluid outlet. The transparent material of the tube is selected such that its refractive index is as possible close to the refractive index of the fluid to be treated. Air gap is kept around the outer transparent walls of the reactor, in order to allow for total internal reflection inside the reactor, of light directed into it from a light source in angles of incidence greater than the critical angle. Fluid treatment systems comprising at least one said in-line reactor are also disclosed. Furthermore, method of in-line fluid treatment, and especially of water sterilization and disinfection and aseptic filling of water are disclosed. Surfaces hit by the in-line disinfected water after being launched through an outlet nozzle, could also be sterilized by launching the water with the same UV light used for the in-line treatment locked in total internal reflection within the free flow water jet.

Water is a multi purpose life resource. It uses for drinking, cleaning, irrigation, swimming, and for very wide variety of industrial utilities including in the food industry. Due to the vitality of water for life, population development significantly influenced from the availability of water, and thus efforts are always made to increase water availability and to reduce the expenses involved in their production. This is because the existence of rich water sources not always assures their adaptation to the intended use, due to the presence of other substances in it. In many of water uses there exist standards and health requirements as for the quality of water with respect to the concentration of contaminants in it, which are no doubt essential, but normally increase the production costs of water due to special treatments it should have in order to bringing it with conformity with such standards and requirements. The costs of water treatment is often such high, such that pure populations cannot withstand, thus abandon themselves to the dangers hiding in non treated water. Furthermore, costs of water treatment many time prevent water recycling, and thus even in places all over the world were water is not so much available or low priced, water is wasted in huge amounts after single use, since their recycling treatment costs higher.
Although in pure populations the costs of water production are critical to people lives, they are also of highly significance in well developed populations as well, from several aspects. This is because water treatment costs very much influence life level indexes, since water is involved in all life aspects either directly (i.e. in direct consumption such as drinking, washing, swimming) and indirectly (i.e. in indirect consumption such as industrial processes).
The present invention shall concentrate on disinfection and decontamination of water from health damaging biological and chemical substances.
When dealing with water disinfection, it should always be remembered that in order to maintain the aseptic conditions of disinfected water, it is required that all the solids and gasses that may become in contact with such water should be disinfected as well then maintained in an appropriate aseptic condition.
During the years several basic concepts of disinfection and decontamination of water have been developed, which compete on the global market with their advantages and disadvantages.
Many times, producers harness several disinfection concepts on one production line, wherein, for example, water reservoirs and conveyor belts are decontaminated using toxic chemicals (then washed very strictly to avoid chemical residuals from the end product), water pipes are decontaminated by delivering boiled water, end product bottles are disinfected using chemicals, and the water itself (as a product) may be irradiated by UV light for disinfection.
It is appreciated that a most significant factor in determining what treatment concept would be chosen for a decontamination treatment, is the cost involved. Probably, chemical disinfection process which involves the use of toxic substances which should then be cleaned off and removed, will not be chosen unless other concepts, e.g. heating, costs higher.
Another clean disinfection concept which involves no toxic substances is irradiating the disinfected medium by germicidal UV light. However, although many patents have been issued and many efforts are all the time made to provide UV disinfection system having industrial capacity that may address all sorts of production requirements and still offer reasonable prices either for establishment and for current maintenance, a great success in that field could not yet be observed.
One obstacle in the path of providing optimal UV disinfection devices is the cost of the optics. Optic systems which will allow for a reliable disinfection process needs to ensure that each and every portion of the disinfectant will receive appropriate amount of germicidal energy. Unfortunately, the either the basic costs and the maintenance costs of such optical systems are not small enough so as one may absolutely prefer the UV concept versus others.
One obstacle in the path of providing optimal UV disinfection devices is the cost of the UV light source itself, and of course its maintenance costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,937 to Horton et. al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,156 to Wedekamp, are both directed to irradiating flowing fluids with UV light in a direction along the flowing path, in order to maximize the efficiency of the UV energy and to minimize the absorption of UV light by the walls of vessels or pipes which contain the irradiated fluid. For this purpose UV light sources are arranged according to said patents to emit maximum energy in a direction parallel to the axis of a pipe (or pipes) through which flows the fluid.

In-line treatment of liquids and gases by light irradiation


An optical module for an optical unit associated with forming a light curtain for monitoring a protective or surveillance field. The optical module includes at least one radiation emitting and/or radiation receiving element for transmitting and/or receiving a radiation beam associated with forming a light curtain. The optical module includes a module body for mounting a radiation transmitter/receiver carrier that carries the at least one transmitting and/or receiving element associated with the radiation beam. The module body has at least one alignment element for aligning the optical module within a support element that forms an outer housing of the optical unit.

The present invention relates to industrial light curtains which monitor a protective or surveillance field and in particular relates to optical modules that can be used for such a light curtain. One or more of said optical modules and a control module may be combined to form an optical unit according to the present invention.
Light curtains which are formed by one or more radiation beams are usually also referred to as light grids or light barriers.
Some light curtains detect the movement or intrusion of objects into guarded zones and may provide protection for human operators who are working with machines or other industrial equipment. Other light curtain systems are designed to control and monitor industrial automation processes and are in particular used for verifying assembly processes, counting objects, confirming an ejection process, recognize leading edges of transported goods, recognizing irregular shapes and a lot of other applications.
Safety light curtains employing infrared or visible light beams are used to provide operator safety in a variety of industrial applications. In particular, the operator protection around machinery, such as punch presses, guillotines, molding machines, automatic assembly equipment, coil winding machinery, robot operation, casting operations and the like can be ensured by using light curtains. Conventional light curtains typically employ light emitting diodes (LED) mounted at spaced positions along a transmitter bar at one side of the guarded zone, and phototransistors (PT), photodiodes or other photo receivers mounted along a receiver bar at the opposite side of the zone. The LEDs transmit modulated infrared light beams along separate parallel channels to the PTs at the receiver bar. If one or more beams are blocked from penetration by an opaque object, such as the operator's arm, the control circuit shuts down the machine, prevents the machine from cycling, or otherwise safeguards the area.
As mentioned above, such an interruption of the beam can also be used for counting objects or verifying the entrance of goods through defined areas.
Usually, light curtains comprise two optical units, often called bars, sticks or strips, which are formed as to different constructional units, one of the optical units having the function of an emitter and one of a receiver. This dedicated architecture of an emitter and receiver, however, has several drawbacks, for instance the fact that the fabrication costs are high, because each type of optical unit has to be fabricated differently. Consequently, there exist concepts that use an architecture, wherein each optical unit has light emitting elements and light receiving elements at the same time. By providing the optical units with identical optical modules, which can operate as a receiver as well as a transmitter, and by additionally providing plug-in units, which differentiate the particular optical unit in its function as the emitter with, for instance, a test input, or as the receiver with, for instance, the output signal switching devices (OSSD), a particularly cost-effective way of fabricating optical units for a large scale production can be achieved.
Such a modular architecture is for instance proposed in the European patent application EP 11 162 263.5.
Optical modules, however, often suffer from the problem that the alignment of the optical axis for each of the radiation beams is difficult and that the fabrication of the whole module is expensive and involves a lot of rejections due to defects. This alignment is particularly difficult in respect to the various surfaces to where the assembled optical unit is mounted for the actual operation.
The problem underlying the present invention therefore is to provide an optical module, an optical unit and a fabrication method, whereby a particular cost-effective and reliable fabrication and adjustment of the optical components can be achieved.

Optical module and optical unit for a light curtain, and fabrication method


An integrated circuit including embedded test functionality. An integrated circuit may include a plurality of processor cores each configured to execute instructions, and a test access port configured to interface circuits included within the integrated circuit with a test environment external to the integrated circuit for testing of the circuits. The test access port may include virtualization logic configured to allow a first set of instructions executing on the given processor core to control activity of the test access port for testing of the circuits. In one embodiment, the circuits may be accessible for testing via a plurality of scan chains, wherein the scan chains and the test access port are compliant with a version of Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) standard IEEE 1149, and wherein the test access port includes a Test Data In (TDI) pin, a Test Data Out (TDO) pin, and a Test Clock (TCK) pin.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to integrated circuits, and more particularly, to techniques for implementing embedded test functionality within integrated circuits having multiple processor cores.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuits, which may include microprocessors and other digital logic devices as well as analog and mixed-signal devices, may generally include a significant number of semiconductor components manufactured through complex fabrication processes. As manufacturing geometries shrink, complex designs including hundreds of millions of interconnected transistor devices become feasible. However, advances in integrated circuit density and design and manufacturing complexity significantly increase the challenge of ensuring that the resulting device is functional, reliable and capable of operating within expected performance and environmental parameters.
For example, as microprocessor implementations become increasingly sophisticated, it may become more difficult to functionally verify the design, as increased functional complexity may lead to a greater number of possibilities for error in implementation. Likewise, as device geometries shrink, opportunities for manufacturing defects increase due to manufacturing environment impurities, process inconsistency, and other factors.
Integrated circuits are often tested during the manufacturing process through the use of a test environment including sophisticated and expensive automated test equipment. However, reliance on such test equipment may represent a significant time and economic cost in the manufacture of complex integrated circuits. For example, test equipment is often a limited resource within a test environment. If increased integrated circuit complexity requires an increased number of tests or duration of testing for a given circuit, overall manufacturing throughput may be correspondingly decreased, which may raise manufacturing costs. Alternatively, if the number of tests to be run is constrained to reduce overall testing time, product reliability may be impaired (e.g., if a defective product fails to be detected as such). Further, test equipment is generally an expensive resource whose cost scales with the complexity of the testing being performed. An integrated circuit with a large number of high-speed interface pins, for example, may thus require more expensive test equipment to adequately test the design, which may in turn increase manufacturing costs.

Integrated circuit with embedded test functionality


Disclosed is an interventional device for delivery of therapeutic agents from an angioplasty balloon and from a prosthesis such as an intraluminal stent. The invention also relates to the method of loading the beneficial agents onto the balloon and the device, as well as the method of delivery of the agents from separate surfaces. The invention also relates to an interventional device having a prosthesis surface that is loaded with a first beneficial agent, and a balloon surface loaded with a second beneficial agent. The invention also relates to a method of loading multiple beneficial agents onto the prosthesis surfaces and the balloon surfaces, and to a method of manufacturing an interventional device for the delivery of a first beneficial agent and a second beneficial agent from separate surfaces.

1. Related Application
The present invention relates to an interventional device for delivery of therapeutic agents from an angioplasty balloon and from a prosthesis such as an intraluminal stent. The invention also relates to the method of loading the beneficial agents onto the balloon and the medical device, as well as the method of delivery of the agents from separate surfaces. The invention also relates to an interventional device having a prosthesis surface that is loaded with a first beneficial agent, and a balloon surface loaded with a second beneficial agent. The invention also relates to a method of loading multiple beneficial agents onto the prosthesis surfaces and the balloon surfaces, and to a method of manufacturing an interventional device for the delivery of a first beneficial agent and a second beneficial agent from separate surfaces.
2. Description of Related Art
Balloon angioplasty associated with the implantation of a vascular stent is a procedure designed to expand occluded blood vessels, resulting in adequate perfusion of distal tissues. The stent, which is crimped onto the balloon, is introduced via a peripheral artery, and advanced to the lesion site over a guidewire. Inflation of the balloon results in compression of plaque and simultaneous implantation of the stent, which acts as a scaffold to keep the vessel expanded to its normal diameter. The balloon is then deflated, allowing removal of the catheter assembly, leaving the stent in place to maintain patency of the vessel.
This percutaneous intervention, described as PCI when associated with coronary balloon angioplasty, has been effective in normalizing the vessel lumen, and providing relief of pain often associated with myocardial ischemia. The procedure is not restricted to the coronary vasculature, but may also be applied to other vessels, including renal, carotid, iliac and superficial femoral arteries. However, although the success of the intervention is generally high, the long-term patency of the vessel is often reduced by restenosis of the vessel at the site of the original lesion. This restenotic process is the consequence of a variety of factors acting in concert to re-occlude the vessel, reducing blood flow and nutrient supply to tissues. These include progression of the underlying disease, as well as the generation of cytokines and other growth factors which promote cell proliferation. These factors emanate from a variety of inflammatory cell types including monocytes and macrophages. In addition to inflammation and cell proliferation, migration of cells from the medial or adventitial layers of the vessel wall may contribute to the growth of a new layer, described as neointima, which re-occludes the vessel. In recent years, the use of bare metal stents, while effective in the short-term, has been associated with a significant rate of restenosis. Therefore, many investigators have sought to provide technologies to reduce the restenosis rate, while maintaining the beneficial effects offered by these metal scaffolds. The coating of stents with bioinert polymers has been somewhat effective, but the most important advance in this field has been the loading of these polymers with drugs known to block cell proliferation. One commonly applied technique for the local delivery of a drug is through the use of a polymeric carrier coated onto the surface of a stent, as disclosed in Berg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,650, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Such conventional methods and products generally have been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. The gradual elution of drug from the polymer is known to impact the restenotic process, providing beneficial concentrations of the beneficial agent at a time when the inflammatory and proliferative processes are thought to be most prevalent. The introduction of these drug-eluting stents (DES) has reduced the restenosis rate from 20-30% to less than 10% in several clinical trials. However, many are attempting to reduce the rate even further, providing nearly all patients who receive a DES with long-term vessel patency and minimal chance of return to the cath lab for repeat procedures. The delivery of multiple drugs, using both the stent and the balloon itself as delivery platforms, may help to achieve this goal.
As evident from the related art, conventional methods of loading interventional devices with beneficial agents, such as drugs, often requires coating the entire prosthesis with a polymer capable of releasing beneficial drugs, as disclosed in Campbell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,977 and Dinh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,227, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference.
Therefore, the present invention proposes the use of one or more beneficial agents, applied to the surface of the balloon material by any method, and the application of one or more beneficial agents applied to either the bare-metal surface of a second device, or incorporated with the polymer which coats the second device. The delivery of the beneficial agent from the balloon is expected to occur during either pre-dilatation of the vessel at the lesion site, or from the balloon during the delivery of the device during a stenting procedure. Additionally, the delivery of the beneficial agent can be from the balloon during a final stent sizing balloon expansion. The delivery of the beneficial agent from the prosthesis is expected to occur over a longer period, as the drug is released from the polymer or from the surface of the device. The associated prosthesis may be placed directly when the balloon is inflated at the lesion site, immediately after as commonly practiced in pre-dilatation procedures, or within a suitable time period in a second interventional procedure.

Multiple drug delivery from a balloon and a prosthesis


A golf ball heating appliance for heating 4 or more golf balls to an average temperature of between 40° C. and 55° C. during an active heating period of 30 minutes or less has a lower thermally conductive and an upper non-thermally conductive receptacle for receiving a plurality of golf balls and includes an electrical heating element capable of delivering at least 4 watts of power per ball during the active heating period.

It is known that golf balls heated to temperatures between about 30° C. and about 50° C. have improved performance as evidenced by the greater distance a warm or hot ball will travel as compared to a cold ball when hit with the same driving force. A number of prior art heating devices have been proposed to take advantage of the aforesaid performance improving heating effect. Most of the proposed heaters use hot air for heating the balls, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,683,155, 4,420,681, 4,967,062 and 5,057,670. According to the aforesaid patents the golf balls are intentionally heated relatively slowly to temperatures of up to about 120° F. (48.9° C.) for at least about six hours or longer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,001) and up to two days or longer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,155) prior to use. For most golfers, such heating times are often impractical. The heated balls must also be maintained at the desired elevated temperatures until they are ready for use, thus requiring continued heating or storing the balls in a well-insulated container.
In our prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,411 there is described a golf ball heater appliance utilizing upper and lower receptacles having opposite and facing cavities both receptacles comprising a thermally conductive material capable of heating the golf balls within the cavities.


A communication apparatus using infrared rays (IR) and capable of receiving an IR signal without regard to its orientation is disclosed. An IR signal incident to the apparatus is transmitted through an IR signal inlet implemented by a one-way mirror. Subsequently, the IR signal is sequentially reflected by reflectors and the IR signal inlet to reach an IR signal receiving portion.

The present invention relates to a communication apparatus and, more particularly, to a communication apparatus of the type interchanging data signals by use of infrared rays.
A infrared ray (IR) communication apparatus capable of interchanging IR signals is extensively used today. This type of communication apparatus has an IR signal transmitting/receiving portion for transmitting or receiving an IR signal, as needed. The prerequisite with the IR communication apparatus is that the transmitting/receiving portion be accurately aligned with the transmitting/receiving portion of the other communication apparatus during communication. Should the transmitting/receiving portions of the two apparatuses not exactly face each other, the apparatuses would fail to interchange the IR signal
Technologies relating to the present invention are taught in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 62-201325.


In a method for managing design data regarding an electronic circuit in order to design and analyze the electronic circuit, the design data is arranged according to a hierarchical-layer module structure. The design data in each of hierarchical layers of the hierarchical-layer module structure is divided into objects. The objects together for each of the hierarchical layers are connected together and the objects are connected together over the hierarchical layers. The design data including design data having different items and design data having different data lengths is integrally managed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for managing electronic circuit design data.
Recently, there has been the following increased demands in the development of electronic circuit devices.
(1) There is a trend in an increase in the circuit scale of devices, down-sizing of devices and an improvement in the performance of devices. For example, full-custom LSI devices and MCM (multi-Chip Module) devices have been developed as devices on the above trend. Normally, a hierarchical-layer module design has been employed to achieve such devices, which have a very complex hierarchical-layer structure. In order to realize the high-quality design based on interchangeability in the overall device, it is necessary to analyze and evaluate the design from viewpoints in which the designed hierarchical structure is seen through. Hence, it is required to provide a design data management function capable of integrally managing design data having different lengths in each of the designed hierarchical layers even when the design data should be originally managed in each of the hierarchical layers or originally includes items to be managed in each of the hierarchical layers.
(2) The development of electronic circuit devices is very competitive in order to market higher performance devices in advance of competitors. Hence, nowadays concurrent engineering has been employed in which various design works necessary for the development of devices are concurrently promoted. Examples of these design works are mounting design, a delay time analysis, thermal analysis, test design and so on. In order to perform the concurrent engineering, it is required to efficiently manage a plurality of design versions of a single design object in a period of time. That is, it is required to provide the function of managing the histories in processing of a variety of design data and of easily and efficiently recovering old data.
(3) It is required to follow various needs in the market by efficiently managing different versions of mounting design data with respect to identical circuit design data. That is, it is required to additionally manage different versions of design data having different contents with respect to one basic design data.
(4) The description of the content of the design is not given at the logic gate level but at the high-class description language level corresponding to the operation level under the circumstance in which there are demands of improvements in the quality of electronic devices (in views of parameters such as functions, performance, reliability), an increase in the circuit scale and a reduction in the time necessary for the development. The logic gate level design description can be efficiently generated by using an automatic logic synthesis function. Hence, the following function of managing the electronic circuit design data is needed. That is, the function is needed which simultaneously manages a description of the operations of designed parts in the module design is given by the logic gate level design description and the high-class description language. Further, the function is needed which is capable of providing all possible combinations of arbitrary description levels depending on the objects when handling the overall device.
(5) The development of the following distributed design process is required. That is, the whole design data of the target device is managed by a host computer, while engineering workstations which have recently become popular are used. In this case, the high performance and the graphic function of the workstations are positively unitized to provide the appropriate design environment. Hence, it is required to efficiently manage how the design work is distributed to the workstations. For example, which parts of the design module are handled by the workstations.
(6) There is an increased complexity in the design and analysis works with respect to the layout design of full-custom LSIs or a validation of a logic design including macrocells in which only the timing or function level is known. Under the above situation, a group of CAD (Computer-Aided Design) tools cannot handle all of the design work because the group of CAD tools are developed under the condition that all works are based on consistent interfaces. Hence, it is required to provide CAD tools developed under the assumption of use of different interfaces. It is necessary to apply design data to the CAD tools capable of handling the different interfaces and to feed back the design results to the input sides of the CAD tools.
(7) In order to efficiently accomplish the high-quality design matching the complexity and advance in the design conditions under the LSI technologies, it is required that the designer inputs a design target or intent regarding a particularly design part or use different design restriction conditions with respect to a partially identical design element. Hence, even in the management of design data, it is required to manage the design target, the design intent and the design restriction and apply information concerning the above matters to the CAD tools for use in supporting of design/analysis, so that the design and analysis can be finely supported.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a printed circuit board in which LSI chips are used as sub-modules. A printed-circuit board 50 has external terminals (1), (2) and (3), and three LSI chips LSI.a, LSI.b and LSI.c mounted on the printed-circuit board 50. Numerals in circles denote input or output terminals of the LSI chips, and symbols .alpha., .beta., .tau. and .delta. denote interconnections (nets) connecting the input/output terminals of the three LSI chips and the external terminals (1), (2) and (3) of the printed-circuit board 50.
FIG. 2 is a conventional method for managing electronic circuit design data regarding the printed-circuit board shown in FIG. 1. The method shown in FIG. 2 includes a first hierarchical layer 61, a second hierarchical layer 62, and a third hierarchical layer 63. The first hierarchical layer 61 describes the structure of the printed-circuit board design data. The second hierarchical layer 62 describes the structure of LSI design data. The third hierarchical layer 63 describes the structure of in-LSI layout/block design data. The numerals and symbols (1), (2), (3), a, b, c, .alpha., .beta., .tau., and .delta.1 through 5 placed in circles correspond to those shown in FIG. 1.
The first layer 61 describing the structure of the printed-circuit board design data manages printed-circuit board title data 611, printed-circuit board external terminal data 612, mounted-LSI data tables 613, a mounted-LSI input/output terminal data table 614, an on-printed-circuit board interconnection data table 615, and a database access unit 616. The printed-circuit board title data 611 stores data which represents the overall printed-circuit board. The printed-circuit board external terminal data 612 stores data regarding the external terminals attached to the printed-circuit board. The mounted-LSI data table 613 stores the design data of the LSIs mounted on the printed-circuit board. The mounted-LSI input/output terminal data table 614 stores data regarding all the input/output terminals attached to the printed-circuit board. The on-board interconnection data table 615 stores data regarding the shapes of the nets formed on the printed-circuit board. The database access unit 616 indicates the size of data of the minimum unit accessible to the database.
Further, a group of an operation describing test 617 and net wiring figure (pattern) data 618 is managed as particular (exclusively used) data. The operation describing test 617 describes the operations in test format. The net wiring pattern data 618 is length-undefined data which is not suitable for management of arrangements.
In FIG. 2, the printed-circuit board external terminal data table 612, the mounted-LSI data table 613 and so on are managed for each hierarchical layer in table format by a database which manages data in table format such as a relational database. For example, in the printed-circuit board external terminal data table 612 is managed so that data can be individually accessed for each design work while keeping the correspondence with the table as in the case of a logic design attribute table, a mounting design attribute table, a text design attribute table and so on. The logic design attribute table indicates which logic levels of signals are applied. The mounting design attribute table indicates connections when mounting parts. The test design attribute table indicates states to be set when testing the circuits.
More particularly, the logic design attribute table, the mounting design attribute table and the test design attribute table manage the following data.

Method for making electronic circuit design data and CAD system using the method


An ignition assembly configuration in piston engine with a main piston and an auxiliary piston, the ignition assembly is mounted on the cylinder wall and connects to the combustion chamber; the ignition assembly comprises an connection cut-out passage, an ignition device, or ignition device combined with a fuel injection nozzle, or an ignition device combined with a fuel injection nozzle and a pressure sensor passage. Wherein the auxiliary piston has a by-pass passage to keep the ignition assembly connected to the combustion chamber when the auxiliary piston moves down below the uppermost position of the main piston and blocks the ignition assembly cut-out passage; wherein the uppermost position of the ignition assembly is at or aligned with the uppermost position of the auxiliary piston in combustion stroke, the lowermost position of the ignition assembly is at or aligned with the uppermost position of the main piston. Fuel-water injection, multiple fuel injections and combustions can be easily practiced in the new configuration.

In previously filed novel piston engine disclosures, (U.S. application Ser. Nos. 17/064,051, 17/094,300, 17/157,890 and 17/500,682, U.S. patent Ser. Nos. 11/136,916 and 11/131,255), different methods and engine geometries are presented. In the present disclosure, more considerations of ignition, fuel injection and fuel-water mixture are described in details.
In the new engines, because the fixed cylinder head in the conventional engine is replaced by the moving piston (the auxiliary piston), there is no space or room on the top side of the cylinder to install ignition plug, intake and exhaust valves. Therefore, there remains a need for a novel configuration for installing the ignition plug, cylinder pressure sensing, the intake and exhaust valves to make the new piston engine practical both in manufacturing and cost.

Engine and ignition assembly with two pistons


A process is provided for decontaminating metal objects, such as warhead components having hazardous materials adherent thereto. In the process, the objects are contacted with steam at a temperature above about 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of at least about 15 minutes under sub-atmospheric conditions. Thereafter, the steam used in the process is condensed to form a condensate and the condensate is used as a makeup component for an aqueous pacifying solution for pacification hazardous materials.

The pacification of hazardous materials is a major problem facing the world today. The problem is particularly acute where the hazardous materials are contained within sealed containers, such as military cannon shells or warheads containing explosives, chemical warfare materials or other deadly materials.
Historically, many such hazardous materials have been pacified by incineration. However, there is increasing concern that the combustion products from such incineration pose a potential health risk. Accordingly, in some recently developed processes, hazardous materials were pacified by being contacted with one or more pacifying solutions.
In such solution pacification methods, a problem arises as to how to thoroughly decontaminate the metallic components which formerly made up the hazardous materials containers--without incineration methods.
Accordingly, there is a need for a non-incineration method for decontaminating hazardous material containers.

Method for decontaminating hazardous material containers

Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group, Inc.


An apparatus for attaching hydraulic cylinders to a vehicle chassis. A plurality of vertical, parallel, spaced apart plates having first apertures through which stub shaft pins are disposed for attaching hydraulic cylinders, and second apertures below the first apertures through which a separate, tubular shaft is disposed. The stub shaft pins may be removed and replaced without removing the rest of the assembly or the tubular shaft from the apparatus or the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for securing equipment to a vehicle chassis. Specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus for attaching lifting equipment and hoists that utilize hydraulic cylinders to a truck chassis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hoists and lifts mounted to the frames of vehicles are well known in the art. Also well known are methods and apparatuses for attaching hydraulic cylinders associated with hoists, lifts and the like to a truck frame. Stub shaft pins and bent shafts are typically disposed within corresponding apertures in a pair of vertical plates, the vertical plates being welded to downward-depending mounting plates that hang over a vehicle chassis. Hydraulic-cylinders are then attached to the pins and are retained with a cap. The shaft is bent, usually in a vee, to provide sufficient clearance for a drive shaft and other related vehicle components. In this common arrangement, the pins are subject to single shear. Replacement of one or both pins is labor intensive and requires torching, cutting and re-welding the entire apparatus to the chassis. The shaft may be replaced, but it typically does not wear at the same rate as the pins and may not actually need replacement at the same time. Therefore, replacement of this shaft either occurs before it is necessary or requires a separate set of tasks. In both cases representing inefficiency. Further, the "V" shape of the shaft creates a weak area in the shaft.
A need exists for an improved apparatus that permits more economical and convenient replacement of one or both stub shaft pins, without resort to welding, torching or cutting.
A further need exists for an improved apparatus that reduces cantilever bending; a further need exists to remove the weakness inherent in a bent shaft.
Yet a further need exists for an improved apparatus that provides an aspect that protects hydraulic hoses.
Finally, a need exists for an improved apparatus that allows simple replacement and securing of one shaft.


A shift mechanism for the transmission of a vehicle in which a locking arm is provided to prevent shifting of the shift lever, the locking condition of the locking arm being controlled by a magnetic latch which includes a permanent magnet that produces a magnetic flux to hold the arm in locked position. A coil is provided in the magnetic latch to produce a magnetic flux that opposes the magnetic flux produced by the permanent magnet to destroy the holding force of the permanent magnet when a brake switch is closed to energize the coil thus permitting the locking arm to be moved to an unlocked position and the shift lever to be shifted.

In recent years, it has become mandatory under rules and regulations governing the shifting of transmission shifters for vehicles to require a safety feature in which the shift lever cannot be shifted out of park until the brake has been applied and/or until the steering column has been unlocked. Numerous different constructions have been developed and suggested for preventing such shifting of the shift lever. These constructions have in the past been very complicated and have required extensive modification of existing shifting mechanisms Further, most of these systems have involved solenoids in which current is constantly applied to the solenoid to hold the locking means in a locked position for preventing the shifting of the shift lever.
In addition, prior park lock and ignition key lock mechanisms have been quite noisy and, therefore, undesirable from the noise standpoint of view. In addition, prior art constructions have been extremely expensive because of their complications and particularly, because of the number of parts involved in the assembly work involved in assembling all of the parts.
Further, to my knowledge, no locking mechanisms have been devised which can be easily incorporated in existing shifters
Therefore, it has become desirable to provide for a simple arrangement of a means for locking the shifting lever in the park position until the brake has been applied and/or the ignition key has been turned unlocking the steering column.
An object of this invention is to provide a simplified locking system which requires a minimum number of parts, is relatively inexpensive, and is less noisy than most prior art structures.

Vehicle transmission shifter with park lock controlled by magnetic latch

Grand Haven Stamped Products, Div. of JSJ Corporation


An apparatus and method for canceling system oscillations caused by acoustical coupling is provided. The invention can be implemented in a low voltage environment and as an integrated circuit. Audio voltage signals generated by a microphone are provided as input to a data/fax/voice modem. The data/fax/voice modem processes the audio voltage signals and outputs differential transmit voltage signals to a hybrid/daa circuit for converting to a two-wire (tip and ring) circuit before connecting to a communication device such as a land based telephone or a cellular radio. Audio voltage signals generated by the communication device are provided via a two-wire (tip and ring) circuit to the hybrid/daa circuit for converting into a four-wire circuit and then provided as input to the data/fax/voice modem as differential receive voltage signals. The differential transmit voltage signals are amplified and phase shifted so that they are out of phase relative to the differential receive voltage signals which are also amplified. The differential transmit voltage signals and the differential receive voltage signals are then added together. The combined signals are then output to an audio speaker.

Modems are commonly employed for allowing a host computer to input and output data to other devices through a telephone line connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Traditionally, modems allowed for only data communication in the form of encoded data or facsimile data. To allow for ordinary, voice telephone calls, a separate telephone is needed for direct connection into the PSTN.
More recently modems have been developed which incorporate voice telephonic features. One such device is a data/fax/voice modem. The data/fax/voice modem automatically answers an incoming telephone call received along a telephone line connected to the PSTN. The data/fax/voice modem then determines whether the received telephone call includes a data message, a facsimile message, or an ordinary voice message. If the incoming message is a data message, a data modem module of the data/fax/voice modem operates to receive and decode the data message for storage in a computer memory or other storages of a host computer such as a hard disk drive. If the incoming message is a facsimile message, a fax module of the data/fax/voice modem operates to receive and decode the facsimile image for storage within the memory of the host computer. Alternatively, a facsimile print-out device may be connected to the data/fax/voice modem for automatically printing the facsimile image, thus eliminating the need to store the facsimile image within the host computer. If the incoming message is a voice message, an answering machine module of the data/fax/voice modem operates to answer the incoming voice communication. Initially, the answering machine module of the data/fax/voice modem outputs a prerecorded greeting, then records a voice message in response to the greeting. An analog-to-digital converter means is typically included within the data/fax/voice modem for converting the incoming voice message to digital signals for storing in the memory of the host computer. Alternatively, the data/fax/voice modem may be connected to a conventional analog recording device, such as a tape recorder for recording the voice message. As can be appreciated, a variety of implementations and configurations are available.
To allow an operator to listen to received voice messages and to record the answering machine greeting, a telephone headset is typically provided. The telephone headset, which includes an earphone and a microphone, is connected directly into the modem. However, no capability is provided for receiving or placing a voice telephone call using just the headset, modem and host computer. To be able to place telephone calls or to converse directly with a calling party, a separate telephone is required for connection to the PSTN line.
FIG. 1 illustrates a set-up wherein a telephone is provided in combination with a modem. More specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a set-up having a modem 10, a host computer 12, a telephone headset 14, and a separate telephone 16. As can be seen, telephone 16 is directly connected to a telephone line 18 interconnecting the PSTN and modem 10. In some systems, telephone 16 is directly connected into modem 10. However, even in such systems, internal circuitry bypasses the modem operations to provide only a direct interconnection between telephone 16 and telephone line 18.
Although the setup of FIG. 1 provides for both placing and receiving voice telephone messages, the setup is not ideal. For example, undesirable redundancy results from a need to provide both a complete telephone 16 and a separate telephonic headset 14. In particular, two sets of speaker and microphone mechanisms are required, one on the headset and one on the telephone. Moreover, much of the functionality of the telephone, including call initiation, dialing, repertory dialing and call answering, are duplicated within the modem and the telephone. Another disadvantage is that a large bulky telephone is required to conduct ordinary voice communications. Carrying such a large telephone may not be practical, especially for portable applications. Moreover, the physical size of a standard module telephone jack is difficult to incorporate into small form-factor modems and other devices. To avoid these and other disadvantages, it would be desirable to provide a mechanism which would allow modem 10, host computer 12 and headset 14 to emulate the telephone, thereby eliminating the need to provide a separate telephone.
Similar disadvantages occur with other communications devices, besides modems, such as facsimile machines and personal digital assistant systems (PDA's).
Non-land-line based communication media have been employed for transmitting telephonic communications. Examples include cellular radio and related devices. Other examples include non-hard-wired local area networks (LAN's) which may employ radio or infrared signaling. The above-described disadvantages in conventional modems can occur in non-land-line based devices and are not limited solely to land based telephone lines or to the PSTN telephone network.
A natural extension of telephonic communication which has gained wide usage in recent years is the speakerphone. Using the speakerphone, a user can communicate without the cumbersome handset. Additionally, using the speakerphone, more than one user may join in a conversation at any given time. Consequently, the speakerphone offers great conveniences for users who require the use of a telephone while engaging in other tasks. The speakerphone is also ideal for teleconferences. Speakerphones are broadly classified as Half-Duplex or Full-Duplex. Half-Duplex speakerphones allow a conversation to proceed in one direction at a time. This one way at a time conversation keeps the speaker signal from being fed back into the microphone. On the other hand, Full-Duplex speakerphones allow a conversation to proceed in both directions simultaneously. This provides the most natural feel since it is just like using a telephone handset.
In general, the speakerphone requires more microphone sensitivity and more audio speaker drive than its counterpart, the more conventional handset telephone. The increase in microphone sensitivity and audio speaker drive, however, can exacerbate the problem of speaker-microphone coupling which may adversely effect the performance of the speakerphone. In short, output from the audio speaker can undesirably feed back into the microphone to form an infinite loop. If the feedback signal is slightly out of phase with the original microphone input signal and the loop gain is more than one (1), a system oscillation may occur thereby generating an echoing or howling sound that is analogous to holding the microphone of a public announce (PA) system directly in front of the system.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open 62-116023, a two-wire speakerphone system with an echo canceling circuit is disclosed. The echo canceling circuit utilizes current feedback to eliminate echoing or howling problems associated with the operation of a speakerphone. In telephone systems, two-wire circuits having a single pair of separate tip and ring lines, as opposed to four-wire circuits, are used to connect a telephone to a central switching office. This connection is called a local loop which carries a direct current supplied by batteries at the central switching office. The aforementioned direct current acts as a medium to allow speech and signaling communications to be transferred over the telephone network. The speakerphone system with echo canceling from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open 62-116023 is designed for a two-wire telephone circuit and uses negative feedback current in its echo canceling circuit to minimize echoing.
On the other hand, four-wire circuits in which two wires are used for transmitting and two for receiving are used in other telephone circuits such as the telephone handset and modem interface circuits. Four-wire circuits are used when all types of transmissions (i.e., digital data and voice) are transferred over the telephone network. Moreover, while four-wire circuits are designed for low voltages, two-wire circuits are designed for use with high voltages. In particular, two-wire circuits of telephone lines occasionally are known to carry up to 1500 volts when they come in contact with a live high-voltage power line. As a result, for safety and other reasons, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Part 68 Specification for the telephone system requires that circuits and devices that are connected to high voltage portions of the telephone line such as two-wire circuits must be able to withstand a high-voltage exposure of up to 1500 volts. This requirement greatly effects the design, construction, and integration of circuits and devices connecting to high voltage portions of the telephone line. Because the echo canceling circuit from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open 62-116023 is designed for high voltages, its design and construction present technical and integration challenges particularly with its implementation in an integrated semiconductor chip. Moreover, the current feedback characteristic of the echo canceling circuit from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open 62-116023 presents a challenge to implement efficiently and inexpensively in a four-wire telephone circuit.

Method and apparatus for minimizing system oscillations caused by acoustical coupling


A method, apparatus and computer program product for managing a storage system are provided. For example, in a method, a tree index of the storage system is obtained, where a leaf node among multiple leaf nodes in the tree index comprising a keyword and an attribute of an object among multiple objects in the storage system. Respective attributes of nodes in a set of the multiple leaf nodes in the tree index are obtained, and the set of the multiple leaf nodes having a same parent node. The tree index is updated based on respective attributes of the leaf nodes in the set of the multiple leaf nodes. With the above example implementations, performance of the index of the storage system can be increased, and further overall response speed of the storage system can be improved. Further, there is provided an apparatus and computer program product for managing a storage system.

With the development of data storage techniques, various data storage devices now provide users with increasingly high data storage capacity, and their data access speed has been improved greatly. With the increase of data storage capacity, users also impose greater demands on response time of storage systems. So far, there have been developed technical solutions for building an index for data stored in a storage system so as to accelerate data access speed. However, during the operation of the storage system, it is necessary to traverse the index so as to look up desired data. This will cause great time cost and further reduce response speed of the storage system. At this point, how to improve response speed of the storage system becomes a focus of research.

Method, apparatus, and computer program product for managing storage system


A coarse material comminution machine 1 comprises a rotor 2 fitted with blades 4 and a stator body 3 located on the stator side with at least one blade 5 adjustable by means of a control device 11 in the direction towards the rotor 2 and in the direction away from the rotor 2. The control device has an adjusting slide 12 that is movable relative to the rotor 2 as well as an activating device 13 for the movement of the adjusting slide 12 in the direction towards the rotor 2 and in the direction away from the rotor 2. The blade 5 is kinetically coupled to a movement of the adjusting slide 12. The blade 5 is connected to the adjusting slide 12 by one or several coupling members 14 connectible to the adjusting slide 11 and the blade 5 in form-fitting and detachable fashion.

Comminution machines are used to reduce the particle size of hard material in industrial processes. Comminution machines that are granulators are equipped with a rotor fitted with blades. The blades can be chipper knives, with several chipper knives typically being arranged lying one behind the other in the rotational direction of the rotor. The arrangement of blades of the rotor essentially extends across its entire longitudinal extension.
The rotor blades work together with the blades of a stator body during maceration operations. The stator is kept fixed in place in relation to the rotational movements of the rotor. The stator body bears one or more blades arranged in a row parallel to the shell of the rotor. The blades of the stator are typically designed as cutter bars. The edge of the blade pointing against the rotational direction of the rotor functions as cutting edge and acts with the rotor blades to macerate the feed material.
During operation of such a comminution machine, the blades and particularly the stator blade or blades, become worn, resulting in an increases of the cutting gap between the rotor blades and the stator blade. The stator blade(s) are worn faster because several rotor blades are generally arranged one behind the other in the rotational direction of the rotor, so a single stator blade represents the stator blade for several rotor blades. Therefore, comminution machines have been developed that have a stator body whose blades can be moved in the direction towards the rotor using an adjustment mechanism to compensate for the enlargement of the cutting gap occurring during operation.
In previously known stator bodies with adjustable blades the adjustment mechanism acts directly on the blades. The blade or blades can be moved towards the rotor using adjustment device, for example an adjustment spindle, to compensate for the increasing cutting gap caused by wear. These blade readjustments are typically done manually. During the readjustment of the stator blade(s), care must be taken to ensure that the stator blade(s) are not moved too far towards the rotor to prevent blocking the rotation of the rotor. If a blade has been moved too far towards the shell of the rotor, a user has to open the entire blade mounting and move the adjusting mechanism back before a new blade adjustment can be done. This is time-consuming.
In DE 20 2005 013 719 1, a stator adjustment mechanism for a comminution machine is described with an adjustable stator blade that can be moved either towards the rotor or away from it. The stator adjustment mechanism has a push-pull screw, a lever and an adjustment screw. The push-pull screw is attached to a connecting element which in turn provides the form-fitting connection with the stator blade. The adjustment screw acts on the push-pull screw via a lever integrated into a housing. This allows adjustment of the stator blade without releasing the pre-stress on the blade. This prior art comminution machine has a stator adjustment mechanism which moves the stator blade towards and away from the rotor with relative ease. However, the exchange of a worn-out blade in the prior art machine is laborious and time-consuming. In addition, the blades need to be equipped with long mounting holes for the mounting screws to engage.
The foregoing example of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.


The invention concerns a rotary contactor comprising a fixed casing which houses a movable hub and a flexible strip attached at one end to the hub and at its other end to the casing. An internal rotor is disposed radially between the hub and the internal bore of the casing. A planetary gear train supported by the casing, the internal rotor and the hub is provided for rotating the internal rotor via the hub. The internal rotor comprises means for the passage of the flexible strip. The invention is useful for motor vehicles.

The present invention relates to rotary contactors, especially for motor vehicles, of the kind comprising two coaxial parts which are mounted for rotation of one with respect to the other against the action of an electrically connecting flexible tape which is wound in a spiral between the said parts, being attached at one of its ends to one of the said parts and at its other end to the other one of the said parts.
Such a contactor is described for example in the document EP-A-0 479 567.

Rotary contactor with a short strip, in particular for motor vehicles


Embodiments describe a system and/or method for efficient classification of network packets. According to an aspect a method includes describing a packet as a feature vector and mapping the feature vector to a feature space. The method can further include defining a feature prism, classifying the packet relative to the feature prism, and determining if the feature vector matches the feature prism. If the feature vector matches the feature prism the packet is passed to a data recipient, if not, the packet is blocked. Another embodiment is an apparatus that includes an identification component that defines at least one feature of a packet and a classification component that classifies the packet based at least in part upon the at least one defined feature.

I. Field
The following description relates generally to data communication and more particularly to efficient classification of network packets and scalable firewalls.
II. Background
Firewalls are a type of system designed to protect unauthorized access to or from a private network and can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware and software. The recent trend in firewall protection is toward "personal firewalls." The security benefits of this trend have been positive and have provided an improvement in configurability, utility, and (in the case of mobile devices) portability of firewalls. This is referred to as the "every node is a firewall" model, which presumes the underlying fundamental economic assumption that the cost of delivery of unwanted packets is negligible. This economic assumption is not always correct, especially in the realm of wireless communication.
To be effective in contexts where packet delivery costs are not negligible, firewalls should mitigate the volume of unwanted traffic; even a small reduction of such unwanted traffic is a net gain. The more precisely a firewall policy fits the actual traffic requirements of a legitimate node population, the more effective the policy and the greater the mitigation of unwanted traffic volume. Therefore, firewalls in these contexts should permit remote ad hoc updates to the policy from authorized sources.
A common type of firewall is a packet filter that passes or blocks packets, but otherwise leaves the traffic flow untouched. At the core of each packet filter is a mechanism that classifies packets according to a supplied policy. Stateful packet filters (such as OpenBSD's pf) possess scalable mechanisms for processing packets that belong to established traffic flows. Packets that do not belong to an established flow are classified according to a policy, which is expressed as a set of rules. Rules are generally processed in sequence order to assess each packet.
Some packet classifiers employ optimization techniques to their rule sets in order to speed up packet processing. Facilities for early termination of rule processing under specified circumstances are common. A more sophisticated example is pf's skipsteps, which enable predictive skipping when contiguous rule blocks could never match a packet. Such techniques can be very effective if the rule set is highly ordered and exhibits strong commonality in rule criteria. However, in a highly dynamic environment, where there are ongoing incremental updates to the rule set, these conditions are not generally met.
Traditionally, classifier rule sets tend to be quite static in nature, and are often updated through a manual process. Since extant classifiers typically exhibit sequence dependent behavior, it is generally difficult to insert and remove arbitrary rules from a policy without unwanted or unintended side effects.
Nodes protected by a centralized packet filter may wish to extend service (typically by listening for packets that initiate a flow) at any time. Similarly, they may wish to retract previously offered services. This is consistent with the Internet end-to-end model. If the maximum number of unwanted packets is to be blocked while allowing ad hoc service extension and retraction, the filtering policy must be dynamically updated by nodes as changes occur. The filter should also have a mechanism (such as keep-alives) to discover when a node departs the network abruptly, so that obsolete rules can be removed from the policy in a timely fashion.

Efficient classification of network packets


An optical printhead for a medium including material that forms an optically visible spot in response to energy of a predetermined wavelength, the optical printhead includes a laser configured to impart energy of the predetermined wavelength to the material through a fixed-focus lens arrangement.

Conventional optical data storage devices are configured to read digital data from and write digital data to a removable optical disc. Currently, writable compact discs (CD-R) and re-writable compact discs (CD-RW) are popular formats for personal computers and other like devices. Re-writable digital versatile discs (DVDs), known as DVD-RAMs (random access memory), DVD-R, DVD-R/W, etc., have also become popular as the price of the applicable DVD drive devices has become more affordable.
The process of writing data to an optical disc is often referred to as "burning" the disc, since a beam from a write laser is used to selectively raise the temperature of certain materials within the optical disc such that the materials are altered in some manner. Consequently, features are formed on the disc. These features represent binary data values, i.e., 1's and 0's, which can subsequently be detected (read) using a read laser. After burning in a CD-R, for example, the user may decide to label the CD-R disc to reflect the data files that have been stored on the disc.
The LightScribe™ printing system developed by the Hewlett-Packard Company of Palo Alto, Calif. is a direct disc labeling technology that produces optically visible text and graphics on the surface of a CD or DVD disc media using the disc drive's laser and a specially coated LightScribe disc. A LightScribe disc drive writes data (on the data side of the disc) and creates optically visible labels (on the label side of the disc) with the same drive, and may use the same laser for both operations by flipping the disc over after writing the digital data in order to create the label. Using laser technology, LightScribe's specially coated discs chemically change when a laser strikes its label side with energy of a particular wavelength, producing optically visible marks that can be arranged to form titles and graphics using LightScribe software. One embodiment of a suitable coating is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0108708 A1.
It would be useful to avoid having to flip a disc over in order to label it. It would also be useful to reduce the cost or complexity of a printhead for a disc drive.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A machine tool includes a driver, a tool holder, and a locking device in the form of, for example, an alignment collar. In use, the machine tool carries a tool, such as a surface refinishing bit, which may be lowered into a workpiece bore, such as a cylinder head valve seat, and subsequently rotated by a machine spindle for resurfacing the bore. The machine tool receives a pilot shaft placed in a reference bore associated with the workpiece bore. The pilot shaft functions to ensure general alignment of the machine tool cutting axis and the refinishing surface.

It is well known in the machining art that multiple machining operations require repositioning of the workpiece or repositioning of the machine spindle to precisely align the center line of a work piece reference bore with the centerline of the machine spindle, thereby ensuring a concentric and longitudinal orientation of the machining tool. When the alignment angle between the reference bore and the spindle is not accurate, a misalignment angle between the tool and workpiece results. This misalignment angle may result in the tool providing inaccurate or uneven machining. To prevent this, either the work piece or the machining spindle must be realigned, relative to one another, so as to negate the misalignment angle. To reposition the machine spindle generally requires manual realignment of the machine spindle relative to the workpiece or repositioning the workpiece relative to the machine spindle. Such repositioning is generally impractical as well as time consuming, and therefore expensive.


Examples allocating resources to virtual network functions (VNFs). Some examples include monitoring information associated with a set of VNFs that includes a set of VNF instances. A resource allocation event may be predicted for a VNF instance based on the monitored information and a resource flexing model that is developed using a capacity metric of the VNF instance. A resource flexing plan may be generated based on the resource allocation event and an order of the set of VNFs in a service function chain.

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) virtualizes network services as virtual network functions (VNFs). NFV attempts to bring agility to network function deployment and leverage elastic scaling to reduce operational expenses. As an example, VNFs may be deployed on commodity compute, storage, and networking resources to reduce operational expenses and provide greater flexibility. VNFs may be chained in a particular order in a service function chain (SFC) in order of network traffic traversal and may be elastically scaled, as needed. In some examples, each VNF may be elastically scaled.

Virtual network function resource allocation

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


The present invention provides an optical information recording medium that includes a substrate including a groove with a track pitch of 200 to 400 nm and a groove depth of 20 to 150 nm and having successively disposed thereon a light reflecting layer, a recording layer containing a dye in which information is recorded by irradiation with a laser beam having a wavelength of no greater than 450 nm, an adhesive layer, and a cover layer with a thickness of 0.01 to 0.5 mm. A surface of the optical information recording medium on a side disposed with the cover layer has a center surface average roughness (SRa1) of no greater than 3.0 nm when measured over a large surface area and a center surface average roughness (SRa2) of no greater than 3.0 nm when measured over a minute surface area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical information recording medium, and particularly to an optical information recording medium rewritable in a heat mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the beginning of BS (Broadcast Satellite) digital broadcasting in high definition television (HDTV) image quality just around the corner, the development of large capacity recording media, capable of recording BS digital broadcasting in HDTV image quality for about 2 hours, is advancing. In an optical disc for a violet laser beam source, regarded as having high potential as the next generation of optical disc, a recording layer is formed on a substrate by coating a thin cover layer having a thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm. In a system using the optical disc, the laser beam is throttled using an objective lens with a high numerical aperture (hereinafter referred simply as to NA) of 0.65 or higher for a pickup, and recording is carried out by irradiation with a laser beam from a thin cover layer side of the optical disc to achieve a one-sided recording capacity as high as 22.5 GB.
Also, with respect to ISOM 2000 (International Symposium on Optical Memory 2000), DVR-Blue, which is a phase change medium using a violet laser, has been released.
However, in developing such an optical disc for use with a violet laser light source, one method employed for increasing a density of the optical recording medium has been to shorten the wavelength of the laser to be employed and to increase the NA of the objective lens. In such a case, a laser spot becomes small and a distance between the pickup and the medium (a working distance) is narrowed, so that a problem occurs in that a roughness of the medium surface, which scarcely has any effect in the case of a conventional optical recording medium, does have effects on this medium.
In other words, if the slight unevenness of the recording medium surface is significant, diffused reflection of light from the medium surface occurs, resulting in problems such as decreased reflectivity, deterioration in the shape of marks to be recorded, and lowered C/N and jitter. Over a wider area, it is observed that a focus margin and a tilt margin are narrowed when the roughness (waviness) is great, and further that the disc and the pickup, which generally do not make contact, are brought into momentary contact with each other due to surface movement and tremor of the disc. Accordingly, the disc surface is easily scratched causing errors at the time of reproduction (playback).
As described above, a high density optical information recording medium (DVD), capable of recording and reproducing a large quantity of text information, image information, and audio information, is increasingly in demand, and, in particular, research of even greater density recording using an optical information recording medium is being carried out in order to record digital high vision TV broadcasting. As a method for performing high density optical recording, the wavelength of a laser beam employed for recording and reproducing with the optical information recording medium has been further shortened and the numerical aperture (NA) of an objective lens employed in an optical system of a recording and reproducing apparatus has been further widened.
A previously known phase change type optical disc, comprises an alloy layer, such as GeSbTe, as a recording layer, and recording and reproducing are carried out by irradiating the recording layer with a laser beam to instantaneously heat the irradiated portion and change a state thereof from a crystalline state to an amorphous state and by utilizing the changed reflectivity resulting from the phase change. Recently, the DVR-Blue system, in which recording and reproducing are carried out by a violet laser using a recording layer of the phase change type, was disclosed (ISOM 2000, pp. 210–211).
This system employs a land-groove recording method, which refers to a method for carrying out recording at both groove portions of a guiding groove for a laser beam and land portions (hill portions) formed on a substrate and which is a recording method employed for DVR-RAMs (rewritable type). On the other hand, DVDs include those of DVD-RW (rewritable type) and DVD+RW (rewritable type) standards, and a groove recording method for carrying out recording only in the groove is employed.
As compared with the groove recording method, the land-groove recording method is suitable for achieving high density since a track pitch is easily increased. The recording tracks, however, are so close to one another that problems such as cross erasing and cross stroking affecting tracks already recorded by the laser are apt to take place when recording is carried out in tracks adjacent to the already recorded tracks. Furthermore, conversion to DVD-ROM is difficult.
In order to solve such problems, a phase change medium for DVR-Blue, in which a method of recording only in grooves is employed, has been disclosed [ODS (Optical Data Storage) 2001, pp. 139–141].
Further, among DVDs, a writable DVD-R, capable of undergoing recording once, is known. Since a dye is applied for recording on the DVD-R, the DVD-R utilizes a groove recording method allowing easy dye accumulation and having balanced properties.
Generally, when the wavelength of the laser beam to be employed is shortened and the NA of the objective lens is increased, the common energy of the light increases in inverse proportion to the wavelength. Accordingly, when the wavelength of the laser beam is shortened in order to increase the density, the light energy radiated to the medium is increased. Therefore, durability with respect to repeat reproduction becomes an issue. In order to assure reproduction durability, a method of lowering the laser output at the time of reproduction can be used. When the reproduction output is lowered, however, the reflectivity is decreased, resulting in RF output decrease, C/N decrease, and jitter deterioration.
A DVD-R is manufactured by applying a dye to a substrate A to form a light reflective layer, subsequently forming a protective layer, and adhering the resulting substrate to another substrate B. At the time of recording and reproducing, a laser beam is radiated to groove portions (convex portions, when observed from a substrate A side of the medium) from the substrate A side. Generally, the dye is thicker in the groove portions, and, from the standpoint of shape, heat accumulates more easily in the groove portions at the time of laser beam irradiation. As a result, the groove portions are superior to land portions (concave portions, when observed from the substrate A side of the medium) in modulation degree, C/N, and jitter.
In the DVR-Blue system, a light reflective layer is formed only on a substrate A, a dye is further applied thereto, and a cover layer is formed thereon. Recording and reproducing are carried out by radiating a laser beam from a cover layer side, and, in contrast to a conventional DVD, the groove portions are concave portions when observed from the cover layer side. Such a structure, therefore, leads to problems including RF output decrease, C/N decrease, and jitter deterioration.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A syringe system is providing including a body and a needle assembly including an elongated hollow shaft slidably positioned within the body. Also included is a plunger assembly for expelling fluid from within the body out through the shaft of the needle assembly and further for engaging the needle assembly upon abutment therewith. This allows withdrawal of the shaft of the needle assembly into the body. Next provided is a locking mechanism for precluding reinsertion of the shaft of the needle assembly exterior of the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to syringes and more particularly pertains to a new retractable syringe for preventing contact with a needle of a syringe before and after use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of syringes is known in the prior art. More specifically, syringes heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,265; U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,382; U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,870; U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,628; U.S. Pat. No. Design 377,687; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,291.
In these respects, the retractable syringe according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of preventing contact with a needle of a syringe before and after use.

South Queenferry, West Lothian Scotland EH30 9PF


A system and method for determining whether a particular wheel on a vehicle is un-balanced during operation of the vehicle. The method includes providing wheel angle signals from the wheels of the vehicle and providing a vibration measurement signal from a response point on the vehicle, such as from an accelerometer on a steering column of the vehicle. The method also includes generating a regression vector using the wheel angle signals. The method also includes generating an estimated parameter vector using a recursive least squares algorithm, the regression vector and the vibration measurement signal. The method then calculates an imbalanced magnitude value of each wheel of the vehicle using the estimated parameter vector. The method uses a persistency of excitation test to determine whether the parameter vector has converged to a true value to determine whether the calculated imbalanced magnitude values are accurate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and method for determining vehicle wheel imbalance and, more particularly, to a system and method for determining that a particular wheel of a vehicle is out of balance using wheel angle signals from the wheels and a vibration measurement at a response point on the vehicle that includes calculating a recursive least squares solution from the wheel angle signals and the vibration measurements.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Wheel imbalance is a common problem that owners of a vehicle often experience. Wheel imbalance usually manifests itself through vibrations at the steering wheel, which become more pronounced at higher vehicle speeds. There are many causes for wheel imbalance and associated vibrations at the steering wheel. For example, the wheels and/or tires may have developed defects over time. Also, imbalances could occur from denting the wheel by hitting a curb, which may change the wheel's physical dimensions, and therefore, destroy the symmetry of the wheel that would result in vibrations. Further, wheel imbalance induced vibrations is one of the major causes of failure or degradation of vehicle chassis systems, such as steering and suspension. Thus, left untreated, wheel imbalance may lead to excessive degradation of chassis components, such as bearings, bushings, etc.
When a customer services a vehicle wheel imbalance problem, typically only the presence of the vibration is communicated to the service personnel. A technician then has to remove each wheel of the vehicle, mount it on a wheel balance machine, and make necessary adjustment to quell rotational imbalance. This process of "hunting" for the suspect wheel location that causes the imbalance presents an opportunity. If the location of wheel imbalance (e.g., left front vs. right rear wheels) could be identified in advance, it would save time currently used in locating the suspect wheel, which would reduce the warranty cost dramatically. Moreover, detecting imbalances during vehicle operation, and re-balancing the wheel at an early stage can prevent the propagation of harmful vibration to other chassis components. This will reduce chassis component failure and associated warranty costs.

Method and apparatus for real-time estimation of four wheel imbalances for chassis prognosis


The AC-DC converter comprises a first rectifier circuit having a three-phase input and an output in DC. A compensating device is connected between the input and output of the first rectifier circuit to compensate the stray disturbances generated by a current flowing in said first rectifier circuit. The compensating device makes a compensation current flow between the three-phase input and the DC output. Said compensating circuit comprises a second rectifier circuit with controlled rectifiers connected to the three-phase input, a step-up circuit connected between the second rectifier circuit and the DC output, and a control circuit to control the step-up circuit and the second rectifier circuit.

The invention relates to an AC-DC converter comprising a three-phase input, designed to be connected to an AC power system having a first fundamental period, a DC output, and a first rectifier circuit connected between said input and said output.
Known converters often comprise three-phase rectifiers with diodes connected to the AC power system and a DC voltage smoothing capacitor connected on output of the rectifier. However this type of converter produces very high harmonic currents on the power system. These harmonic currents generate a high distortion ratio even with input filtering inductors.
To limit the harmonic current ratio, it is known to use controlled chopper transistor rectifiers to take a sine wave current from the power system. However such a converter is very costly and complex. Moreover, the DC output voltage is very high for regulation of the input current. This has the consequence of using overdimensioned components having high voltage withstands.
Other solutions consist in combining diode-based rectifiers with a chopper. However, in such combinations the current flowing in the diodes has a very high frequency. It is compulsory for this type of converters to have high-speed diodes. These diodes also have to be overdimensioned for large current peaks to be able to pass at each chopper pulse. Furthermore, a high frequency filter is necessary to eliminate the chopper frequency.
The solutions proposed in the state of the art are not able to be applied to already installed converters. Compliance with stray disturbance standards then requires total replacement of converters of known type.


A device for dosed dispensing of a fluid medium is provided with a pen-like housing which has a storage chamber for accommodating the fluid medium and which has at its front end a tip in which there is provided an outlet opening for the fluid medium. Arranged in the front end is a valve element which closes the outlet opening under the force of a spring and is arranged such that it at least partially opens the outlet opening in the event of radial pressure being applied from the outside on the front end of the housing. The valve element is arranged in a tiltable manner at the outlet opening.

The present invention relates to a device for dosed dispensing of a fluid medium, said device comprising a pen-like housing which has a storage chamber for accommodating the fluid medium and which has at its front end a tip in which there is provided an outlet opening for the fluid medium, and further comprising a valve element which is arranged in the front end, closes the outlet opening under the force of a spring and is arranged such that it at least partially opens the outlet opening in the event of radial pressure being applied from the outside on the front end of the housing.
Such a device is known from EP 0 256 279 A1.
The known device is what is known as a metering pen with which fluid media can be dispensed in a dosed manner.
A "fluid medium" is understood within the context of the present invention to mean flowable liquids, materials and substances of any kind, which are held in a storage chamber in a metering pen and are dispensed in a dosed manner as desired. These include, for example, refinish paints and liquid or pasty correction agents which are applied to the surfaces to be treated via an applicator, for example a brush or wick, provided in the tip of the metering pen.
Such metering pens are for example used to eliminate paint damage on motor vehicles or to repair scratches and scores on structural elements such as window frames, etc., before they are painted over.
On account of the possibly relatively long storage time of the metering pens filled with the fluid media, it is frequently necessary to remix the medium, for which purpose there is provided in the metering pen a mixing ball which ensures that the medium is mixed again when the metering pen is subjected to a shaking movement.
What is also important is the option of being able to dispense the fluid media in a dosed manner, since it is frequently the case that only small amounts of the medium are required for the work to be carried out and the applicator should not become oversaturated with the medium.
In order to make this possible, the device known from above-mentioned EP 0 256 279 A1 has a cylindrical housing in which a storage chamber for the respective liquid medium to be used is provided. At its tip, the housing has an opening which is closed by an axially movable valve element in the form of a sealing rod. At the upper end of the sealing rod there is arranged a membrane plate which is pushed forwards by a compression spring so that the sealing rod closes the outlet opening by way of its front end.
In the region of the tip, the housing is produced from an elastically deformable shell so it can be pushed in there. Pushing in the housing shell on radially opposite sides or from one side only causes the membrane plate to be bent upwards, as a result of which it moves the sealing rod likewise upwards and thus lifts the sealing element fitted at the front end of the sealing rod off the outlet opening, thereby opening an annular gap through which medium can emerge.
Disadvantages with this device are in particular the large number of parts required and also the welded connection required between the tip, which consists of the elastically deformable and therefore thin housing shell, and the rest of the housing.
It is also disadvantageous that the mixing of the medium with the aid of the mixing ball is not always ensured, because the medium that accumulates in the region of the front tip cannot move readily into the rear region, since the membrane plate causes virtually complete sealing off of the chamber in the front tip from the rear storage chamber.
A comparable device is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,815 A. In this device, the outlet opening for the liquid at the tip of the housing is closed by a stem-like valve member which is pushed axially forwards by a compression spring into the closed position. In order to open the outlet opening, there are provided push buttons, which are arranged diametrically in the housing wall and when pushed together ensure via interposed leaf springs that the valve member moves axially towards the rear and opens the outlet opening.
FR 1 434 743 A1, too, describes a comparable device, in which the outlet opening is closed via an axially adjustable valve member.
The two last-discussed devices are also structurally complex and so have problems associated with assembly and with use.
US 2007/0201940 A1 discloses a liquid applicator having an applicator that is displaceable in longitudinal direction and interacts with a front end of a valve element.
DE 199 34 445 A1 discloses a device for dispensing a fluid like ink from a fluid chamber through an inner channel provided in a valve part. The valve part has a tip protruding from the fluid chamber through a further channel provided in an inwardly pointing cylindrical shank provided at a front face of the fluid chamber.
The rear end of the valve part is a cylindrical block having the same outer diameter as the shank. The inner channel terminates in lateral openings provided between the shank and the cylindrical block. By this, fluid from the fluid chamber can pass through the lateral openings into the inner channel and therefrom to the outside.
However, provided on the shank and the cylindrical block is a helical spring which separates the fluid chamber from an inner chamber surrounding the lateral openings. The coils of the helical spring are tightly compressed such that no fluid can pass from the fluid chamber into the inner chamber, so that the valve is closed.
The tip is arranged within the channel such that it can be tilted. When the tip is tilted this bulges the helical spring such that the coils are splayed apart to open a fluid passage from the fluid chamber to the inner chamber.
Thus, when the tip is at rest, the coil closes off the fluid chamber. When the tip is tilted, the coil opens fluid passages that allow flow of ink from the fluid chamber through the lateral openings and the inner channel to the outside.
In this construction, the valve element, in the meaning of the present invention, is the helical spring, although it cannot be opened by applying radial pressure to the fluid chamber.
This construction has several disadvantages. When the tip is at rest, the inner chamber is still connected via the lateral openings to the inner channel, so that over the time all fluid trapped within the inner chamber can either drop out or get dried. This, of course, cannot be accepted.
Further, as the helical spring has tightly compressed coils in order to ensure closure of the fluid chamber, a large tilting force is required to open the fluid passages between certain coils.
Still further, a sealing ring is provided in the further channel provided in the inner shank. This sealing ring surrounds the tip of the valve part and allows the tilting thereof. The further channel is in fluid communication with the fluid chamber as soon as the tip is tilted. However, tilting the tip stresses the sealing ring so that fluid may pass the sealing ring and rinse out of the fluid chamber on the outer surface of the tip. This can by no means be accepted.
Seen as a whole, this known device is unsuited for dosed application of a fluid medium in the meaning of the present application.

Device for dosed dispensing of fluid media

Gebr. Schmidt Fabrik fuer Feinmechanik GmbH & Co. KG


A display mode switching device and method automatically switches a display mode of a television set to an overscan mode or to an underscan mode depending on a content of a screen. In a case of connecting a television set to a computer, a call from an application for an API in an OS is detected by a device driver when a user starts playing a DVD or a game. Accordingly, an output mode for the television set is switched to the overscan mode. In this way, a motion video or a game is displayed on the television set in the overscan mode. Meanwhile, when the user finishes playing the DVD or the game, a call for the API to release resources is detected by the device driver, and the output mode is restored to the underscan mode. In this way, a computer screen is displayed on the television set in the underscan mode.

The present invention relates to a display mode switching device, a display mode switching method, a display mode switching program, and a computer-readable recording medium recording the display mode switching program. More specifically, the present invention relates to a display mode switching device, a display mode switching method, a display mode switching program, and a computer-readable recording medium with the display mode switching program stored therein, which are configured to switch a display mode of a television set automatically between an overscan mode and an underscan mode.
Unlike a computer display monitor, about 10% in size of a screen is hidden at four edges by bezels and is not therefore displayed on a consumer television set. This display mode will be referred to as an "overscan" mode.
The overscan mode is suitable for a display on a television screen. However, this mode is not suitable for a display on a computer screen. The television screen mainly displays motion videos, in which important information is usually displayed in the center. On the contrary, the computer screen mainly displays still images, in which important information (such as icons or menu items) is often displayed close to four edges of the screen. Accordingly, when the computer screen is displayed on the television set, the entire computer screen is often scaled down to an effective display area of the television set. This display mode will be referred to as an "underscan" mode.
When a computer is connected to a television set, it is preferable to use the underscan mode to display a normal computer screen (such as a desktop screen of an operating system (OS)). However, it is preferable to use the overscan mode when playing a game or a digital versatile disk (DVD) movie, because it is more visible to spread the screen all over a display even if four edges of the screen are hidden by the bezels.
As described above, when a user connects the computer to the television set, the user may wish to display the normal computer screen in the underscan mode but the motion videos and the game in the overscan mode. However, it is cumbersome for the user to switch between the overscan mode and the underscan mode manually.
The following Patent Document 1 discloses a screen display range switching method of switching a display mode for a cathode ray tube (CRT) between the overscan mode and the underscan mode. This method is configured to display an image outputted from a computer in the underscan mode and to display an image outputted from a television tuner in the overscan mode by turning a switch. However, this method requires special hardware for switching between the overscan mode and the underscan mode. In addition, the image outputted from the computer will be always displayed in the underscan mode. Accordingly, even when a DVD is played on the computer, the image will be displayed in the underscan mode.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61(1986)-176973
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-194347

Display mode switching apparatus, method and program product


Some aspects include selection of a cell of a report section, the cell associated with a data dimension and with a context of the report section, and association of the cell with an input parameter of a software service. Aspects may include identification of a contextual report specification associated with a software service and with one or more report elements, at least one of the one or more report elements being associated with an input parameter of the software service, determination of data corresponding to a plurality of the one or more report elements, generation of a script to invoke the software service and to pass contents of the at least one of the one or more report elements as the input parameter to the software service, and generation of a report output based on the data and the script.

Conventional enterprise software systems receive, generate and store data related to many aspects of a business enterprise. In some implementations, this data may relate to marketing, sales, customer relations, supplier relations, inventory, human resources, and/or finances. Reporting tools are commonly used to collect and present enterprise data in a coherent manner. Reporting tools may therefore facilitate and improve business enterprise decision-making.
Reporting tools typically allow a user to create a report specification. A report specification defines the layout of report elements (e.g., sections, tables, columns, rows, header, footer, etc.) and the data which is to populate the report elements. When a report is requested, the tools generate a populated report based on stored enterprise data and the report specification. If the relevant data changes, a subsequently-generated report will include the changed data.
For most users, the reporting interface is the primary, if not exclusive, interface to the stored enterprise data. It would be beneficial to leverage this well-known and well-used reporting metaphor to provide mechanisms for modifying the stored enterprise data.

Contextual report element mapping to web service input parameter