A ducted fan of an aircraft includes a rotor-side fan and a stator-side duct that surrounds the rotor-side fan radially at the outside and that defines a flow channel for air flowing via the fan. The stator-side duct has an inner wall facing toward the fan, an outer wall averted from the fan, and at least one stiffening strut that runs within the flow channel. The stiffening strut, at one respective end, extends through the duct and protrudes radially relative to the outer wall of the duct. At the respective end of the stiffening strut, a fastening device is formed. The fastening device is configured to mount the ducted fan on a structural component of the aircraft. The fastening device has an insert composed of a fiber-reinforced plastic and laminated into the respective end of the stiffening strut.

DE 10 2018 116 144 A1 discloses an aircraft having a fuselage and having wings which engage on the fuselage. Ducted fans are integrated into the wings. The ducted fans can be covered by slats. The ducted fans may be horizontally or vertically fixed. Horizontally fixed ducted fans serve for the propulsion of the aircraft during a vertical takeoff or a vertical landing. Vertically fixed ducted fans serve for generating forward thrust for the aircraft.
DE 10 2018 123 470 A1 has disclosed an aircraft in the case of which multiple ducted fans are integrated into a wing.
DE 10 2018 116 147 A1 has disclosed a further aircraft. Here, fans which assist the vertical takeoff or a vertical landing of the aircraft engage on a nose of the fuselage of the aircraft.
DE 10 2018 116 153 A1 has disclosed an aircraft in which ducted fans engage on a fuselage, specifically the nose of the fuselage, of the aircraft. Here, two ducted fans are combined to form a unit which is pivotable about an axis of rotation, wherein said axis of rotation runs parallel to a pitch axis of the aircraft.
DE 10 2018 116 166 A1 discloses the basic construction of a ducted fan of an aircraft. According thereto, a ducted fan comprises a rotor-side fan, also referred to as rotor, and a stator-side duct, wherein the duct surrounds the fan radially at the outside. The duct defines a flow channel, extending in an axial direction, for air flowing via the fan.
DE 10 2018 116 149 A1 has disclosed a further ducted fan of an aircraft.
DE 10 2018 120 200 A1 also discloses a ducted fan of an aircraft. In the case of this ducted fan, an electric machine is integrated into the duct.
JP 2020-040566 A has disclosed a further ducted fan such as may be used in drones. This ducted fan has a rotor-side fan and a stator-side duct which surrounds the rotor radially at the outside, wherein stiffening struts for the duct run above and below the duct. By means of several fastening devices that protrude radially outward relative to the duct, the respective ducted fan can be fastened to an adjoining or adjacent structural component of the drone. The fastening of a ducted fan to an adjoining or adjacent structural component as known from JP 2020-040566 A is not suitable for manned aircraft, in the case of which considerably greater forces must be transmitted from the ducted fan into an adjoining or adjacent structural component. There is therefore a demand for a new ducted fan which, on the one hand, can be easily mounted on an adjoining or adjacent structural component of the aircraft and which, on the other hand, is suitable for optimally dissipating forces into the structural component.

DR. ING. H.C. F. PORSCHE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT


A space-saving frame member for use in supporting a keyboard adjacent to a monitor. The frame member has an upper end and a lower end, and means for attaching the upper end of the frame member to the monitor such that the lower end of the frame member extends from a lower side of the monitor to support the keyboard. The frame member may be retractable such that when in an extended position, the user can access the keyboard. When the keyboard is no longer in use, the frame member may be retracted such that the keyboard is stored beneath and behind the monitor.

Keyboards are widely used in association with computer terminals and micro-computers. A very popular keyboard is the free-standing type, generally secured by a flexible cord to other hardware. The electrical connection frequently comprises an extensible coiled cord.
A major disadvantage of locating a computer terminal and keyboard in a multi-purpose workspace is the space requirement. In particular, the computer hardware, particularly the keyboard, occupies premium desktop space, even when not in use. This situation, in combination with the generally lightweight nature and unfixed position of such keyboards, sometimes results in their misuse or abuse. For example, a worker wishing to use the desktop space occupied by the keyboard may place the keyboard on its side on the floor, propped against a side of the desk. This creates a generally undesirable situation because of increased risk of damage to a keyboard being temporarily stored on the floor.
One approach to solving this problem has been to provide dedicated workspace, for sole occupation by computer hardware. The additional furniture thus required generally increases the floorspace required for a workspace. This is undesirable in office situations in which office rent is a function of floorspace.
Another solution to the problem of space occupied by idle equipment has been the modification of office furniture in which such computer hardware is to be used. For example, ancillary sideboards or desk run-offs which can accommodate keyboards are commercially available. Certain such sideboards are dedicated to keyboard use, and may be movable, so that it and the keyboard can be moved out of the way of the worker when the keyboard is not needed for use. One such type is akin to the old fashioned retractable typewriter desk, having the sideboard attached with a levered mechanism to a desk whereby the sideboard and keyboard can be swung into a stowed position beneath the desktop. This type of approach suffers from several disadvantages: it being generally expensive to buy and install such sideboards, a large percentage of office furniture is not amenable to retrofitting, requiring replacement with more suitable or adaptable furniture.
Other approaches to solve the space problem created by keyboards are also available. These approaches include a retractable tray for supporting the keyboard. The tray is typically attached to a lower surface of the desktop. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,284 discloses a retractable work station suitable for use with a computer keyboard. Although this type of system may save space on the desktop, it is not without disadvantages. A major disadvantage is that the keyboard tray is fixed in one position along the workstation. Therefore, if a user desires to relocate the computer and/or monitor associated with the keyboard to another location along the workstation (or to another workstation), the user must disassemble the keyboard tray and reinstall it at the new location.
Thus, a need exists for apparatus for storing a keyboard that keeps the keyboard off and away from the workspace while giving a user flexibility to continue using the keyboard and the ability to easily relocate the keyboard.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Space-saver design for personal computer keyboard


In order to control the deployment of secondary deployment structures in a deployment system that includes both a primary and a secondary deployment, an improved deployment sequencer utilizes the rotational motion of primary deployment structures. In particular, the rotational motion serves to control the retention and release of the secondary deployment structures during the primary deployment. Still more specifically, the deployment sequencer restrains the deployment of the secondary deployment structures until the primary deployment structures have deployed or rotated far enough so that collisions between the secondary deployment structures are avoided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to spacecraft deployment systems and, more particularly, to a deployment sequencer for controlling the deployment of a secondary structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a satellite is launched on a spacecraft, the external equipment of the satellite is stowed in a retracted position to conserve space and to avoid damage to the equipment. Once the satellite is in orbit, stowed equipment is deployed from the satellite to an operative position. Some of the equipment is designed to deploy in multiple stages to facilitate more compact stowage on the spacecraft. One example of a piece of equipment with multiple deployment stages is a solar panel array including reflector panels.
In a solar panel array, the solar panels are pivotally coupled end-to-end and folded accordion style for stowage. Each of the solar panels has a pair of reflectors, each pivotally coupled to an edge that is not coupled to an adjacent solar panel. To store the solar panel array, the reflector panels are folded over their associated solar panel, and the solar panels are folded accordion style into a panel stack. Once the satellite is in orbit, the components are unfolded in reverse order to deploy the solar panel array.
During the primary deployment of the solar panel array, the solar panels are unfolded away from the spacecraft until the panels are in substantially planar alignment. At this point, the solar panels have deployed far enough that the reflector panels coupled to one of the solar panels will not collide with the reflector panels coupled to the adjacent solar panel as the reflector panels are rotated into position during the secondary deployment. The secondary deployment stage is triggered by the release of the reflector panels from the stowed position and is completed when the reflector panels have rotated into their deployed position.
A basic two-stage mechanical deployment system, such as that described above, uses a trigger placed near the end of the path of travel of the equipment during primary deployment to operate a lever system that unlatches and starts the secondary deployment. The trigger is spring loaded so as to require the application of an activation force by a main deployment spring in order to cause the lever system to operate. Due to variations in tolerances and assembly, the activation force can vary significantly. The trigger cannot be so sensitive that it can accidentally cause the lever system to operate. Conversely, the trigger cannot be so stiff that the main deployment spring has difficulty applying a sufficient activation force. The main deployment spring must therefore be sized such that it can provide an activation force sufficient to overcome the spring loading of the trigger while providing a margin for safety. However, an oversized deployment spring stores excessive energy that is difficult to control and causes excessive strain on other parts of the system. Further, the placement of the trigger near the end of the path of travel of the equipment during primary deployment results in the activation force of the main deployment spring being at a minimum.
One alternative method of triggering the deployment of the reflector panels is to use an electronic, pyrotechnic or thermal actuator. Once the solar panels are deployed, a signal is transmitted from the satellite to the actuator to trigger the release of the reflector panels. Although these types of actuators can be effective for triggering the release of the reflector panels, the actuators add weight to the solar panel array, thereby increasing the size of the spring necessary to deploy the solar panel. In addition, this alternative requires additional slip-rings on the solar wing drive to transmit power across the joint to the actuator. Moreover, the actuators and additional slip-rings introduce additional failure modes into the system which ultimately reduce the system reliability.
Another alternative for deploying the reflectors is to link the corners of the reflector panels together with lanyards. In this alternative, the lanyards interlock the reflector panels in a semi-closed position until the solar panels are almost fully deployed, and the reflector hinge lines are linearly aligned. Although this alternative is simple and lightweight, the lanyards allow some relative movement of the reflector panels and, therefore, do no eliminate collisions between the reflectors panels.
In yet another alternative triggering method, a trigger is used near the deployment stop of the main hinge. When the main hinge has deployed and is near the deployment stop, the trigger is activated and a system of springs and levers release a latch which deploys the reflector panels. As with the use of actuators, this method adds complexity to the system, increase the weight of the satellite and the solar panel array, and reduces the reliability of the deployment system. Additionally, the pull of the trigger takes away from the torque available from the main spring at the end of deployment when the torque is at a minimum.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved deployment sequencer for triggering a secondary deployment stage without significantly increasing the weight of the satellite and the deployed equipment, significantly increasing the power required to complete deployment, or significantly reducing the reliability of the deployment system.


A light-emitting module may be configured to have improved light emission efficiency and light distribution characteristics. A light-emitting module may include a substrate having a front surface side as a component mounting surface and a rear surface side as a flat heat dissipating surface, a plurality of light-emitting elements arranged in a manner protruding at a central portion of the component mounting surface of the substrate. The light-emitting elements may radiate light at least in an upper surface direction and in a direction along the component mounting surface. The module may further include one or more lighting circuit components electrically connected to the light emitting elements by a wiring pattern arranged on the substrate and which is arranged closer to the peripheral edge side of the substrate than the light emitting elements on the component mounting surface of the substrate, and a connector for power supply connection.

In some known arrangements, LED chips and circuit components are disposed on a surface of the LED module in a mixed manner. Therefore, these known arrangements fail to disclose any technical idea for performing excellent distribution of light radiated from the LED chip, and moreover, there is no description of using a rear surface of the LED module as a heat dissipating surface. Furthermore, in some known configurations of a power feeding terminal and a holding member, the disclosed LED module has a specific structure for attachment and connection, which requires a specified adaptor, thus lacking versatility.

Light-emitting module and lighting apparatus

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation


The disclosure relates to a method for configuring a control device of an automation system, comprising: detecting a local access token via an interface of the control device; and modifying at least one parameter of the control device, which is designed to configure a data connection of the control device in response to the detection of the local access token.

The vast majority of plants in industrial production and manufacturing are now partly or completely automated. For this purpose, specific hardware and firmware modules are used as well as programmable controllers (e.g. PLC, programmable logic controllers) or PC-based controllers. These can perform all relevant functions, such as open-loop and closed-loop control, diagnostics and/or monitoring of automated sensors and actuators.
A machine operator does not usually encounter details of configuration and settings and therefore does not need to have the appropriate knowledge. Therefore, it is often necessary to allow external access for the maintenance or configuration of an automation system. For example, it is advantageous to have a connection to external networks available for maintenance or configuration and to provide appropriate access to the installation controller.
However, such facilities and their control devices are often secured against other modules, against the internal network and/or external networks, in order to prevent security-related intrusions. This function is provided by, for example, physically separated network segments, address spaces, firewalls, and other filter rules.
It is therefore desirable to provide a simple and secure way to configure an automation system.

Method for the secure configuration of automation systems


A photoconductive member for use in an electrophotographic machine includes a substrate having an inside and outside surface. An inner smoothing layer is disposed over the inside surface of the substrate thereby improving the compatibility of the photoconductive member with an air-mounting process by which the photoconductive member is operably associated with a mandrel.

Electrophotographic machines, such as, for example, copiers and printers, produce images by forming a latent image charge pattern on a photoconductive surface. The photoconductive surface carries the latent image through a developing station wherein pigmented toner particles are drawn by electrostatic attraction onto the latent image charge pattern on the photoconductive surface. An electric field is applied to transfer the image from the photoconductive surface onto either an intermediate transfer member or an image substrate, such as, for example, a piece of paper. Thereafter, the image is fixed, such as, for example, by fusing, to the image substrate.
In some electrophotographic machines, the photoconductive surface may be disposed upon an endless-loop belt. In other electrophotographic machines, the photoconductive surface is disposed on a cylindrical roller or drum, variously referred to as the image cylinder, photoconductive drum or photoconductive roller. Generally, the photoconductive drum includes an inner roller or mandrel over which a photoconductive sleeve is disposed. The mandrel is typically constructed of aluminum. The photoconductive sleeve is typically constructed from a metal substrate, such as, for example, nickel, onto which a photoconductive layer is applied.
Typically, the photoconductive sleeve is mounted to the inner roller or mandrel by an air mounting process, as is more particularly described hereinafter. Generally, the air mounting process is very sensitive to the surface characteristics of the inside surface of the photoconductive sleeve. A photoconductive sleeve having a relatively rough inside surface is difficult to air mount or may be incompatible with the air mounting process, whereas a photoconductive sleeve having a relatively smooth inside surface is compatible with the process of air mounting and is relatively easy to air mount.
However, several of the manufacturing processes used to produce the photoconductive sleeve, including, for example, the nickel plating process, the surface of the mandrel used in the plating process, the grain structure of the plated nickel, the acid etching process by which the nickel surface is cleaned, and other manufacturing processes, cause the inside surface of the photoconductive sleeve to be undesirably if not unacceptably rough for use in an air mounting process. Since it is the inside surface of the photoconductive sleeve that must be machined or smoothed, the use of conventional processes such as, for example, grinding or polishing, may be somewhat labor intensive, time consuming, and costly.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a photoconductive sleeve for a photoconductive roller that is compatible with an air mounting process, and a method of manufacturing same.

Image cylinder sleeve for an electrophotographic machine and method for producing same


Provided herein are nitrite salts of 1,1-dimethylbiguanide; and isotopic variants thereof; and pharmaceutically acceptable hydrates and solvates thereof. Also provided herein are their pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use for treating, preventing, or ameliorating one or more symptoms of diseases associated with and/or caused by an abnormal blood glucose level. Further provided herein are methods of their use for treating, preventing, or ameliorating one or more symptoms of a cardiovascular disease.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global prevalence of diabetes has nearly doubled since 1980, rising from 4.7% to 8.5% in the adult population. Global Report on Diabetes—World Health Organization 2016. During the same period, the obesity epidemic has more than doubled between 1980 and 2014. Obesity and Overweight Fact Sheet—World Health Organization 2016. It was estimated that 422 million adults globally in 2014 were living with diabetes, compared to 108 million in 1980. Global Report on Diabetes—World Health Organization 2016. Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012. Id. The dramatic rise in the prevalence of obesity and diabetes is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and public health care costs worldwide. Global Report on Diabetes—World Health Organization 2016; Obesity and Overweight Fact Sheet—World Health Organization 2016.
Diabetes can affect many parts of the body and is associated with serious complications, such as heart disease and stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-limb amputation. Global Report on Diabetes—World Health Organization 2016. When diabetes is not well managed, complications develop that threaten health and endanger life. Id. Acute complications are a significant contributor to mortality, costs and poor quality of life. Id. Over time diabetes can damage the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves, and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Id. Such damage can result in reduced blood flow, which, combined with nerve damage (neuropathy) in the feet, increases the chance of foot ulcers, infection, and the eventual need for limb amputation. Id. Diabetic retinopathy is an important cause of blindness and occurs as a result of long-term accumulated damage to the small blood vessels in the retina. Diabetes is also among the leading cause of kidney failure. Id. Diabetes has also been associated with increased rates of cancers, in particular, breast, colon, prostate, kidney, and pancreas cancers, and with increased rates of physical and cognitive disability. Viollet et al., Clin. Sci. (Lond.) 2012, 122, 253-270; Wong et al., Lancet Diabetes Endocrinology 2013, 1, 106-114; Giovannucci et al. Diabetes Care 2010, 33, 1674-1685.
Cardiovascular disease is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. Mendis et al., Global Atlas on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control World Health Organization, World Heart Federation, and World Stroke Orgnaizaiton 2011. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary artery diseases such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack), stroke, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, and venous thrombosis. Id.; Lancet 2014, 385, 117-171. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. Mendis et al., Global Atlas on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control—World Health Organization, World Heart Federation, and World Stroke Orgnaizaiton 2011. In 2013, cardiovascular diseases resulted in 17.3 million deaths (31.5%), up from 12.3 million (25.8%) in 1990. Lancet 2014, 385, 117-171. In the United States 11% of people between 20 and 40 have a cardiovascular disease, while 37% between 40 and 60, 71% of people between 60 and 80, and 85% of people over 80 have a cardiovascular disease. Go et al., Circulation 2013, 127, e6-e245.
Therefore, there is a need for an effective therapy for treating cardiovascular diseases, and diseases associated with and/or caused by an abnormal blood glucose level.

Nitrite salts of 1,1-dimethylbiguanide, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of use


One object of the present invention is to provide an electrochromic device having improved insulating film structure to reduce electrical leakage. The improved structure includes a lower conductive layer, upper transparent conductive layer, an electrochromic electrode layer, a counter electrode layer, and at least one ion-conductor layer sandwiched between the electrochromic electrode layer and the counter electrode layer. The lower transport conductive layer is scribed and the gap formed from the scribing is filled with the layer(s) formed above the lower conductive layer, such as the electrode layer formed directly above the lower conductive layer. The effective linewidth of the scribe is greater than the migration length of the lithium ions intercalated into the electrode layer, such that the electrode materials occupying the gap do not convert the electrode layer into an electrically conductive region.

The present invention relates to electrochromic devices and more particularly relates to solid-state, inorganic thin film devices.
Electrochromic materials and devices have been developed as an alternative to passive coating materials for light and heat management in building and vehicle windows. In contrast to passive coating materials, electrochromic devices employ materials capable of reversibly altering their optical properties following electrochemical oxidation and reduction in response to an applied potential. The optical modulation is the result of the simultaneous insertion and extraction of electrons and charge compensating ions in the electrochemical material lattice.
In general, electrochromic devices ("EC devices") have a composite structure through which the transmittance of light can be modulated. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical five layer solid-state electrochromic device in cross-section having the five following superimposed layers: an electrochromic electrode layer ("EC") 14 which produces a change in absorption or reflection upon oxidation or reduction; an ion conductor layer ("IC") 13 which functionally replaces an electrolyte, allowing the passage of ions while blocking electronic current; a counter electrode layer ("CE") 12 which serves as a storage layer for ions when the device is in the bleached or clear state; and two transparent conductive layers ("TCLs") 11 and 15 which serve to apply an electrical potential to the electrochromic device. Each of the aforementioned layers is typically applied sequentially on a substrate 16. Such devices typically suffer from intrinsic electronic leakage (between the electrochromic stack layers) and electronic breakdown.
Typically, electrical power is distributed to the electrochromic device through busbars. FIG. 2 illustrates the electrochromic device of FIG. 1, in cross-section, having power supplied from two conductive elements, such as busbars 18 and 19. In order to prevent the busbars from shorting together, the busbars are electrically isolated from one another. Conventionally, this is done by scribing the TCLs 11 and 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the first (lower) TCL 15 is scribed at point P1, making the lower TCL 15 a discontinuous (i.e., physically separate) layer, and thereby preventing the busbars from shorting across the lower TCL 15. The width of the scribe at point P1 is typically on the order of 25 microns or wider, while the length varies based on the width the particular device being formed. Similarly, the second (upper) TCL 11 is scribed at point P3, making the upper TCL 11 also discontinuous, and thereby preventing the busbars from being shorted together across the upper TCL 11. Similar to the dimensions of the P1 scribe, the P3 scribe is typically on the order to 25 microns or wider, while the length varies based on the width the particular device being formed.
An intrinsic property of the EC layer 14 is that it becomes conductive when it transitions to a colored state. In other words, inserting electrons and charge compensating ions (such as lithium ions) into the EC material 14 leads to the material transitioning from an insulating state to a conductive state. This transition can happen upon the inserted (or "intercolated") electrons or charge compensating ions reaching a threshold concentration, whereupon the EC device transitions suddenly to a conductive state. Under ideal operation of the EC device, insertion of the charge compensating ions will not occur above the P1 scribe itself, as no electric field is generated there due to the absence of the lower transparent conductive layer. However, it is possible that charge compensating ions can migrate laterally (i.e., sideways in FIG. 2) in the layer according to the usual laws of diffusion. Moreover, when a threshold concentration of charge compensating ions migrate laterally into a material, the material becomes conductive. The distance that the threshold concentration of charge compensating ions are capable of diffusing laterally will hereinafter be termed the "migration length." Should the migration length meet or exceed the P1 scribe width, a conductive region can form in the area of the P1 scribe. Furthermore, if the conductive region extends across the full width of the P1 scribe, the two portions 15a and 15b of the lower TCL 15 may be conductively connected by the conductive region. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the portion of the EC layer 14 may be colored for a reasonable amount of time. During this time, lithium can diffuse laterally across the P1 scribe, converting the EC layer 14 in that area 17 from an insulating layer to a conducting layer. If the scribed channel between the two portions 15a and 15b of the lower TCL 15 is not wide enough, current may pass between these portions, thereby electrically shorting the busbars 18 and 19 together. Moreover, once the leakage path is completed, the area 17 cannot simply be converted back from a conducting region to an insulating region, since clearing the electrochromic device 10 will not apply an electric field to that region of the device 10 in order for it to bleach (i.e., transition from a colored state to a non-colored state or a less colored state).
Furthermore, in order to produce electrochromic devices in a more cost effective manner, it is necessary to modify the deposition process to provide for higher yields and to be more amenable to mass production. In general, the yield can be considered to be reduced every time a substrate or other workpiece is cycled between vacuum and atmosphere and vice versa. It is believed that this may be caused by dust and debris from the coating process, which is inevitably present in sputtering and which may be 'blown' around during venting and pumpdown, finding its way onto the active layers, leading to potential defects in the film structure, such as short circuits or "shorts." Thus, depositing all of the layers in one single continuous vacuum step, i.e., one coating machine, would achieve a high yield. However, to produce the structure shown in FIG. 3, depositing all the layers in a single vacuum step would require including a laser scribe (or cut of some type) between the deposition of the lower transparent conductor and the deposition of the second transparent conductor in the same vacuum system. Such cutting processes are very difficult in a vacuum system. For instance, with regard to laser scribing, it is necessary to maintain an extremely tight focus for the laser. Such focus is very difficult to achieve efficiently with the mechanical tolerances present in typical commercial sputtering systems.
It is desirable to reduce the amount of electronic leakage between the portions of the transparent conducting layers of the electrochromic device while maintaining as high a yield as possible (e.g., conducting as few scribing steps during the cutting process as possible).

Electrochromic devices having improved structure for reducing current leakage across lower transparent conductor layers


An online system extracts features from an application linked to the online system. The application is used by users of the online system and posts content to the online system. A trained model is applied to the extracted features to generate a quality score for the application. The trained model is trained using features extracted from a set of training applications and quality scores manually assigned to the training applications, wherein the manually assigned quality scores indicate whether each training application satisfies a set of criteria and the generated quality score represents a probability of the application satisfying the set of criteria. Based on the quality score, content provided by the application is ranked for presentation to a user of the online system in relation to other content of the online system. The online system presents the content provided by the application to the user according to the ranking.

This disclosure relates generally to applications linked to online systems, and in particular to determining quality of the applications and presenting content associated with the applications to users of the online system according to the quality of the applications.
Application providers often integrate their applications with larger online systems to leverage information of the online system and increase visibility of the application. Integration with an online system may also enable the application to provide additional services or functions that are not available in the application alone. The online systems benefit from the integrated applications, as the applications may increase user traffic to the online systems and improve user engagement with the online system.
Users of the online system are more likely to engage with high-quality content in the online system than low-quality content. To improve the likelihood that a user will find high-quality content associated with applications and continue to engage with both the online system and the applications integrated with the online system, it is beneficial for the online system to verify that an application has a sufficiently high quality before allowing the application to post content to the online system.

Analyzing quality of applications linked to an online system


A beverage dispensing apparatus is provided for mixing and discharging a beverage made of liquid and powder into a container. The beverage dispensing apparatus comprises a controller which directs a consistent water flow and a predetermined quantity of powder to a bowl having an impeller blade that stores a predetermined quantity of mixed beverage. The dispensing of the beverage is provided by a dumping valve mounted proximate to the bottom of the bowl. The dumping valve dispenses the contents of the bowl into a container when activated. Sensors are mounted in the bowl and connect the outlet pump and powder auger motor to the controller whereby a replacement beverage is made simultaneously with the dispensing of the contents of the bowl.

In general, the use of beverage dispenser apparatus with heavily sugared powders has been less than satisfactory because of the inability to properly dissolve the sugar. This is particularly problematic in the fast serve environment that the food service industry now demands, for example, restaurants, cafeterias, convenience stores, and fast food establishments. The present invention addresses these concerns.
Various types of beverage dispensing apparatus are well known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,718, 579 entitled "Beverage Dispensing Machine" which issued on Jan. 12, 1988 Brody et al. combines powdered beverage mix containing sugar substitutes such as aspartame and water in a first mixing chamber, provides additional dispersion an solubilization in one or more additional mixing chambers. The mixture is then gravity fed into a reservoir. The reservoir has no additional mixing or stirring capability to aid in the dissolution of the beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,664 entitled "Beverage Dispensing Machine" which issued on Dec. 18, 1984 to Cleland discloses an add on device for those fruit beverage dispensing machines that are equipped with a tank and a beverage circulation pump. The Cleland adaptation to an existing beverage dispensing system includes a mixing chamber I and storage tank T, a concentrate hopper H using an auger 60 used to supply powder to the mixing chamber, water supply means W providing water to the mixing chamber, a control circuit K which includes liquid level sensing means L including high and low level sensors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,020 entitled "Apparatus for Producing a Beverage by Mixing a Powdered Base Including Sugar and a Cold Liquid" which issued on Jun. 20, 1972 to Krup show an alternate method of whipping and suspending the beverage. This delayed delivery of measurable suspended beverage results in overruns of the container.
The known prior art has neither achieved commercial success nor disclosed the combination set forth herein.

Beverage dispensing apparatus having consistent mix delivery of beverage to container


Systems and methods for sensing air includes at least one, and in some embodiments three, transceivers for projecting the laser energy as laser radiation to the air. The transceivers are scanned or aligned along several different axes. Each transceiver receives laser energy as it is backscattered from the air. A computer processes signals from the transceivers to distinguish molecular scattered laser radiation from aerosol scattered laser radiation and determines air temperatures, wind speeds, and wind directions based on the scattered laser radiation. Applications of the system to wind power site evaluation, wind turbine control, traffic safety, general meteorological monitoring and airport safety are presented.

An Air Data System ("ADS") provides sensed telemetry informing pilots, navigators or Vehicle Management System computers of air parameter(s) affecting aircraft stability. These air parameters include, for example, air speed, air temperature and air pressure, each being useful for navigation and flight control. The ADS exists in many forms, for example, as mechanical, opto-mechanical or opto-electronic devices.
An Optical Air Data System ("OADS") uses light to determine parameters of air speed. The OADS transmits light pulses into the atmosphere and receives light that aerosols reflect or "backscatter" towards the aircraft. Aerosols are fine solids and/or liquid particles suspended in air or other gases. The OADS may also measure the Doppler effect by receiving backscattered light and measuring its return frequency to determine speed. Certain prior art OADSs rely on scattered light that is unpredictable because of aerosol distributions that vary significantly with altitude and cloud content. In addition, some regions of the atmosphere contain too few aerosols to enable reliable air data measurements, and such an OADS cannot determine air temperature or air pressure.
Ground-based air data measurements can also be of interest in other applications such as wind measurements for weather monitoring, weather prediction and traffic alerts.
Wind conditions near airports and on approach paths to airports can be of great interest to pilots. In particular, improved detection and measurement of wind shear, updraft, downdraft, and microburst conditions has been of interest since a microburst was blamed for the demise of a Lockheed L-1011 trying to land at Dallas in 1985. Aircraft are particularly sensitive to such wind conditions during the critical flight phases of takeoff and landing; it is desirable to equip airports with devices for detecting such conditions so that destruction of aircraft and death of crew and passengers can be avoided.
Wind conditions are often measured at more than one point on an airport in an attempt to detect potentially harmful wind conditions. Since wind shear is characterized by a difference in wind speeds and directions with altitude, it is also desirable to measure wind conditions at several altitudes and not just near the surface.
Tax and other incentives enacted by the United States and several states have increased interest in obtaining electric power from renewable energy sources, including wind power systems. Detailed measurements of wind speed, air temperature, air turbulence, and similar information at the surface and at altitudes within a few hundred meters of the surface are of use in evaluating locations for wind power systems. Further, realtime measurements of wind conditions, turbulence, and temperature at the surface and at altitude may be of use in controlling wind power systems and in predicting updrafts and microbursts to help protect such systems from adverse conditions.


Systems having one or more features that are advantageous for depositing fluorinated polymeric coatings on substrates, and methods of employing such systems to deposit such coatings, are generally provided.

Chemical vapor deposition may be employed to deposit fluorinated polymeric coatings. However, some systems employed to perform such processes may exhibit one or more drawbacks that result in uneven coatings, inconsistent coatings, and/or that require undesirably frequent repair and/or adjustment.
Accordingly, improved systems and methods for depositing fluorinated polymeric coating are needed.

Systems, methods, and articles for polymer deposition


A network data flow classification method related to artificial intelligence includes collecting an information set, including a plurality of pieces of dimension information, of a to-be-processed data flow, establishing a static behavior model and a dynamic behavior model of each piece of dimension information in the information set, where the static behavior model represents a value selection rule of the dimension information, and the dynamic behavior model represents a correlation relationship of the dimension information between two adjacent time moments, obtaining, using the static behavior model and the dynamic behavior model respectively, a static model distance and a dynamic model distance between the to-be-processed data flow and a data flow of each target application type, determining an application type of the to-be-processed data flow based on the static model distance and the dynamic model distance.

With increasing popularity of Internet technologies, especially popularity of mobile terminals, data flows of a growing quantity of application types such as an interaction type, a bulk data transmission type, a stream application type, and an abnormal-flow type are emerging in a communications network. Data flows of different application types impose different network service requirements. Therefore, different quality of service usually needs to be provided for the data flows of different application types. For example, data of the interaction type, such as data generated by remote login, has a relatively high delay requirement for the network and has a relatively high real-time requirement, data of the bulk data transmission type, such as file or video download, does not have a high real-time requirement, but a sufficient throughput needs to be ensured, data of the stream application type, such as online video viewing or multimedia conferencing, has a relatively high real-time requirement, and also has a high requirement for network transmission parameters such as jitter and a packet loss rate, alternatively, abnormal data, which needs to be restricted or prohibited by taking a measure because the abnormal data may be used to maliciously attack and even attempt to paralyze the network, and the like.
To provide different quality of service for the data flows of different application types, the application types of the data flows in the network need to be accurately classified before a service is provided. In other approaches, the following three solutions are usually used for implementation.
In a solution, application type classification is performed on a data flow based on a server port number or a client port number of the data flow. However, in this solution, a port number needs to be correlated with an application type of a data flow in advance based on the Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA). The IANA cannot define data flows of all application types, and many applications are not subject to a rule of the IANA, and are assigned port numbers randomly. Therefore, this solution has a limitation on application type classification.
In another solution, in-depth packet parsing is performed on packet content of a data flow in order to identify an abnormal data flow. However, this solution still has a limitation due to inapplicability in a network scenario of data flow packet encryption.
In still another solution, feature extraction is performed on a data flow, machine learning is performed to obtain a classifier through training based on feature, and then application type classification is performed on the data flow. However, in this solution, feature engineering needs to be performed in advance. For example, simple statistics collection needs to be performed on data packet lengths of the data flow to calculate an average value, a variance, a maximum value, a minimum value, and the like of the data packet lengths and use the values as features. However, these features cannot completely represent a behavior of the entire data flow. For example, two data flows of different application types may have a same average value and variance. In this case, application type classification of the data flows is inaccurate.
Therefore, a technical solution that can accurately implement application type classification of data flows in a network is urgently needed to provide different quality of service for data flows of different application types.

Network data flow classification method and system


A parachute extraction line severing apparatus comprising an extensible cutting head depending by means of a power cord from a power cord take-up assembly The cutting head includes a housing having one or more cutting devices and a viper line extending about a parachute extraction line and normally disposed in an out-of-the-way position along the interior walls of a cargo compartment. The opposite ends of the viper line are connected to and adapted to be wound about adjacent spools of a take-up reel mounted in said housing. In the event of a cargo airdrop malfunction, rotation of the spools is effective to gather the viper line into embracing relation with the extraction line to generate a reactive force drawing the cutting head and blades into engagement with the extraction line to sever the same. Once the extraction line is severed releasing the reaction force, a spring loaded spindle in the take-up assembly retracts the power cord carrying the cutting head therewith into its normal inoperative position.

This invention relates to a parachute extraction system for airdropping heavy equipment or cargo from an aircraft and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for severing the parachute extraction line in the event of an airdrop malfunction.
Under normal airdrop conditions, the drag force created by the inflation of an extraction parachute deployed behind the aircraft is utilized to extract cargo therefrom and deploy a recovery parachute from which the extracted load is suspended and lowered to the earth's surface. Alternately, the extraction parachute alone can be utilized to both extract the load from the aircraft as well as lower the load to the earth's surface.
The cargo to be extracted from a cargo aircraft is fixedly secured to a pallet or platform adapted to be moved longitudinally on a roller conveyor mounted along the floor of a cargo compartment. Generally, cargo aircraft employ two separate and distinct, laterally spaced releasable locking mechanisms for restraining the pallet and its associated load in the aircraft. The locking mechanism (left-hand locks) located on the left side of the cargo compartment are called the logistics locks and are engaged or disengaged by the loadmaster. These locks are disengaged prior to reaching the airdrop point. The right-hand locks, also called the Air Drop System (ADS) locks, are operative in the same manner as the left-hand locks. However, the right-hand locks can be set to release or disengage automatically upon the application of a predetermined force, such as that generated by a fully inflated extraction parachute. This prevents the extraction of the load if the extraction parachute does not deploy properly or does not fully inflate.
In operation, the left-hand locks are released a few minutes prior to the time of the airdrop. The loadmaster visually confirms that the left-hand locks are disengaged. The rear door of the aircraft is then opened and, at the proper time, the extraction parachute is discharged through the aircraft's aft open end for deployment. When the extraction parachute is fully inflated, the drag force supplied by the extraction parachute to the load overcomes the release force set in the right-hand locks. The locks are thus disengaged and the extraction parachute becomes effective to withdraw, via the extraction line, the cargo-laden pallet as well as the recovery parachute from the aircraft. As the pallet leaves the aircraft, a force transfer coupling transfers the extraction force from the cargo-laden pallet to the bags holding the recovery parachutes. The bags and recovery parachutes are pulled away from the now free falling cargo-laden pallet until the suspension slings attaching the recovery parachutes to the cargo-laden pallet are fully extended. At this point, the extraction parachute pulls the bag from the recovery parachutes, the recovery parachutes inflate, and the cargo-laden pallet is slowly lowered to the ground.
A serious problem with the above procedure resides in a cargo airdrop malfunction wherein the load is not extracted even though the extraction parachute has deployed properly but for some reason the load fails to exit the aircraft, or because the extraction parachute does not properly deploy or inflate. In either case, the loadmaster must first try to re-engage the left-hand locks. However, once the left-hand locks have been released and an extraction force has been applied, it is often impossible to re-engage the locks. Failing to re-engage the left-hand locks, the loadmaster must chain the pallet to the floor to make it safe to move aft of the load to manually cut the extraction line with a knife. Should the load free itself with the malfunctioning locks released, the load could then be extracted from the aircraft, taking the loadmaster with it. An even worse condition occurs when the drag force of the extraction parachute exceeds the thrust capabilities of the aircraft's engines. In this event, should the load fail to exit the aircraft due to any number of reasons, the extraction line must be cut quickly or the aircraft will lose airspeed and possibly crash.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


The invention relates to a survey system comprising an antenna, a sensor, and a control unit. The antenna is configured for receiving one or more positioning signal, such as for example global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals. The sensor is configured for determining whether the antenna is in a static state, and/or producing information based on which a determination as to whether the antenna is in a static state can be made. The control unit is configured for, if the antenna is determined to be in a static state, obtaining a positioning measurement based on the positioning signal(s). The invention also relates to a method for operating such a system, and to computer programs and computer program products for carrying out such a method.

Surveying techniques typically involve a reference antenna/receiver located at a known point and a single operator who moves about with a roving antenna/receiver, or "GNSS total station". The operator stops on various unknown points to record position information in a data collector using signals transmitted by a minimum number of satellites which are above the horizon. The satellite positions are monitored closely from earth and act as reference points from which an antenna/receiver in the field is able to determine position information. By measuring the travel time of signals transmitted from a number of satellites, the receiver is able to determine corresponding distances from the satellites to the antenna phase centre, and then the position of the antenna by solving a set of simultaneous equations. The roving antenna is typically carried atop a range pole which is held by the operator to provide a clear view of the sky, although the roving antenna need not be within sight of the reference antenna. A vector or baseline is determined from a reference site to the rover. The need for a reference site is eliminated when a regional or global network of reference sites has been incorporated into the system, which allows the absolute position of the rover to be determined in a global reference frame such as the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRF).
Surveyors may have to measure dozens or possibly hundreds of points during a typical work period. For each point, the survey pole, also known as "range pole", "rover pole", or "roving pole", must be oriented vertically over the ground point for a short time, and the survey point (or "stake-out" point when a physical mark is to be established) is registered by pressing a button on a handheld controller, which is typically connected to a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver to store the point, i.e. to store positioning information associated with the point. This is a tedious procedure. In particular, in accordance with best survey practice, the survey pole has to be set vertically using a physical or electronical bubble and the operator then has to press a button on the survey controller which usually is mounted on the survey pole. At the time when the "save" or "store" button is pressed on the handheld device, the survey pole may have moved from the vertical (historically known as "pole wobble") due to, for example, carelessness or the effect of wind force. This is a potential source of positioning errors.
The receiver of type TRIUMPH-VS from JAVAD GNSS Inc., San Jose, Calif., USA, incorporates a so-called "Lift & Tilt" mode. In that mode, orienting the survey pole vertically or near vertically (better than 5 degrees) over the ground leads to the automatic registration of the current survey point. Thereafter, tilting the pole leads to closing the file, thus recording positioning information associated with the point in memory. The "Lift & Tilt" mode is described on the following web page (consulted on Sep. 30, 2016): https://www.javad.com/jgnss/javad/news/pr20110302.html.
There is a constant need for improving surveying devices and methods for operating those, so as notably to increase their usability, to increase the productivity of the survey and positioning systems, and to reduce unintentional errors introduced during field procedures.

System for registration of survey points


A drive circuit for at least one fluorescent lamp has a half-bridge circuit for production of a supply voltage a resonant tuned circuit coupled to the half-bridge circuit and to which the at least one fluorescent lamp can be connected, a diagnosis circuit with a resistance element coupled to the resonant tuned circuit, at least one current/voltage converter connected to the resistance element that produces at least one measurement voltage from a current flowing through the resistance element, and an evaluation circuit which is connected to the current/voltage converter and is supplied with the at least one measurement voltage and to a method for diagnosis of a fluorescent lamp.

In order to assist understanding of the invention which will be explained in the following text, the basic design and method of operation of an electronic ballast which is used to drive a fluorescent lamp, and its method of operation, will first of all be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. One such ballast is described, by way of example, in EP 1 066 739 B1, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,943 or in U.S. Pat. No. 6,617,805 B2.
The ballast has a half-bridge with a first semiconductor switching element Q1 and a second semiconductor switching element Q2, whose load paths are connected in series between terminals K1, K2 between which a DC voltage Vb is applied. This DC voltage Vb is produced (in a manner which is not illustrated in any more detail), for example, by means of a generally known power factor correction circuit (Power Factor Controller PFC) from a mains AC voltage. This DC voltage Vb has a normal amplitude value of 400 V.
The half-bridge circuit Q1, Q2 uses this DC voltage Vb to produce a voltage V2 with a pulsed signal waveform at an output K3. The two semiconductor switching elements are driven in a pulsed manner by a drive circuit 20 via drive signals S1, S2 in order to produce this pulsed voltage V2. This drive is intended to minimize switching losses, such that the two switching elements Q1, Q2 are never switched on at the same time, and such that both switching elements are switched off for a predetermined time period at the same time during a switching process. The frequency with which the two switching elements are driven in a pulsed manner and at which the pulsed voltage V2 is produced is dependent, inter alia, on the burning state of the fluorescent lamp 10 that is supplied by the circuit and, once the lamp is burning, is, for example, 40 kHz. This frequency is adjusted by the drive circuit in a fundamentally known manner. Signal inputs via which the drive circuit receives information about the burning status of the lamp, and apparatuses for production of such signals, are not illustrated in the figures, for clarity reasons. The figures likewise do not show circuit components for supplying voltage to the drive circuit.
The fluorescent lamp 10 is connected in parallel with a resonant capacitor C1 which is part of a resonant tuned circuit. This resonant tuned circuit which, in addition to the resonant capacitor C1, has a resonant inductance L1 connected in series with the resonant capacitor C1, is connected to one output K3 of the half-bridge Q1, Q2 and is supplied by the pulsed supply voltage V2. A blocking capacitor C2 which is connected in series with the resonant tuned circuit L1, C1 is used to filter out the DC voltage component from the pulsed supply voltage V2, thus resulting in an AC voltage with an approximately square or trapezoidal signal waveform across the arrangement with the resonant tuned circuit L1, C1 and the fluorescent lamp 10. The amplitude of this AC voltage is approximately half the magnitude of the DC voltage that is applied to the half-bridge Q1, Q2.
After being started, the fluorescent lamp 10 behaves like a voltage-dependent resistance. A voltage which is dropped across the lamp 10 after it has been started has a waveform which approximates to a sinusoidal curve.
Before the lamp 10 is started, the lamp electrodes 11, 12 must be preheated to an emission temperature. For this purpose, the supply voltage V2 is produced at a higher frequency than after starting, thus resulting in a voltage V10 which is less than a burning voltage on the lamp 10. After the end of the preheating phase, the drive frequency of the half-bridge circuit Q1, Q2 is reduced in order to reach a burning voltage, which is sufficient for the lamp to burn, and thus to start the lamp.
In order to preheat the lamp electrodes 11, 12, the lamp may be connected in the resonant tuned circuit in various ways. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the current in the resonant tuned circuit L1, L2 flows through the electrodes 11, 12, in order to preheat them. In the example shown in FIG. 2, auxiliary inductances Lh1, Lh2 are provided for preheating of the electrodes 11, 12, are inductively coupled to the resonant inductance L1 and are respectively connected to one of the electrodes 11, 12 in order to preheat them.
The arrangement with the resonant tuned circuit L1, C1 and the fluorescent lamp 10 can be connected, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, between the output K3 of the half-bridge circuit Q1, Q2 and a reference ground potential GND, or with reference to FIG. 3 between the output K3 of the half-bridge circuit Q1, Q2 and the center tap of a capacitive voltage divider C4, C5 which is connected between the input terminals K1, K2.
A snubber capacitor C3 is connected in parallel with the load path of the second semiconductor switching element Q2 of the half-bridge circuit, with the object of allowing zero voltage switching operation (ZVS) of the two semiconductor switching elements Q1, Q2.
Fluorescent lamps have a finite life. Towards the end of this life, when the lamp is worn, the emission capability of the lamp electrodes 11, 12, which emit electrons into a fluorescent gas during operation, falls. As these electrons move from the metal of the electrodes 11, 12 into the gas discharge, this normally actually results in a sufficiently large amount of heat being produced to keep the electrodes 11, 12 at the temperature that is required for emission. If these emission conditions deteriorate as a result of wear, then a greater voltage drop occurs on the electrodes, and this leads to a larger amount of heat being produced, and to poorer lamp efficiency. While relatively old lamp types were normally able to withstand locally greater power loss without damage owing to their larger dimensions, this greater power loss and the greater amount of heat that is produced resulting from it in the case of relatively new lamp types, for example in the case of lamps with a diameter of ⅝″, can in the extreme lead to the glass surrounding the lamp melting. It is therefore necessary to identify the end of the life of fluorescent lamps in good time, in order to avoid such damage.
When the end of the life of a lamp is reached, the voltage V10 across the lamp rises. One of the two electrodes 11, 12 will normally wear earlier than the other, so that the lamp voltage V10 becomes unbalanced, that is to say one of the positive or negative half-cycles has a greater amplitude than the respective other half-cycle. Based on this knowledge, it is known for the wear of a fluorescent lamp to be detected by forming the arithmetic mean value of the lamp voltage and comparing this with zero. If this arithmetic mean value differs by more than a predetermined amount from zero, thus indicating an unbalanced lamp voltage, it is assumed that the end of life has been reached.
Methods such as these, in which the arithmetic mean value of the lamp voltage is evaluated for wear detection, are described by way of example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,422 or EP 0 681 414 A2. These methods make use of the fact that the arithmetic mean value of the lamp voltage V10 plus half the supply voltage Vb is dropped on the blocking capacitor c2, and can thus be measured and monitored relatively easily.
The known methods have the disadvantage that their implementation requires a comparatively large number of components, which cannot be integrated.

Drive circuit for a fluorescent lamp with a diagnosis circuit, and method for diagnosis of a fluorescent lamp


A loudspeaker diaphragm manufacturing apparatus of the present invention comprises; a paper tank, a pulp dispersion reservoir tank connected to the paper tank, a stirring means provided in the paper tank, a water inlet unit connected to the paper tank, a drain unit disposed under the paper tank, and a paper mold disposed at the bottom of the paper tank or in the drain unit, wherein a sectional area of the drain unit is larger than the plane area of the paper mold. The drain unit may be further provided with a water flow control plate in a draining direction of the paper mold. According to the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the present invention, diaphragms with very uniform internal composition and diaphragms with intentionally varied internal composition in accordance with required sound characteristics can be mass-produced with good reproducibility.

A technique of manufacturing a conventional loudspeaker diaphragm will be described with reference to a sectional view of the loudspeaker in FIG. 6 and a schematic view of a paper forming machine in FIG. 7.
The loudspeaker shown in FIG. 6 comprises magnetic circuit 1 comprising lower plate 1a with a center pole, magnet 1b, upper plate 1c, and magnetic gap 1d; frame 2; conical diaphragm 3 with its outer periphery bonded to the frame 2 via edge 3a and its inner periphery bonded to voice coil 4; and damper 5.
As the diaphragm 3, a plastic or metal-sheet diaphragm is available, but a paper sheet is generally employed as a loudspeaker diaphragm. Paper is excellent in physical properties such as large internal loss and rigidity that are basically required for a loudspeaker diaphragm, and also, it has various features such as being inexpensive and being amenable to manufacture by blending various kinds of pulp to obtain characteristics appropriate for each application.
A manufacturing method for the diaphragm made of a paper sheet will be described with reference to FIG. 7.
In FIG. 7, the diaphragm manufacturing apparatus comprises paper tank 11 for feeding dispersed pulp after beating, paper mold 12 made of wire mesh or the like, measuring tank 13 for material pulp dispersed in water, feed pipe 14, feed valve 15, water inlet pipe 16 for diluting the dispersed pulp, inlet valve 17, drain pipe 18, and drain valve 19.
The paper forming process using the above apparatus will be described in the following.
First, water is supplied from the dilution water inlet pipe 16, and after the water level becomes higher than the paper mold 12, the pulp dispersion measured by the measuring tank 13 is supplied into the paper tank 11. After that, the pulp dispersion in the paper tank 11 is stirred by air or other stirring means 10.
After predetermined amounts of pulp dispersion and dilution water are supplied into the paper tank 11, and uniformly stirred, the pulp material in the paper tank 11 begins to slowly deposit on the paper mold 12. To finish this process in a short time, it is a common method to rapidly drain the water from the drain pipe 18. This method is called a draw-down method. At the time, a swirl is generated near the drain port of the paper tank 11, and the pulp rotated due to the swirl in the paper tank 11 is deposited on the paper mold 12. The pulp deposited on the paper mold 12 is taken out and dried, and then the central and peripheral portions thereof are cut off to obtain the diaphragm 3 shown in FIG. 6.
Besides the above method, there is a method like a traditional manual paper forming method as is employed in manufacturing Japanese paper. In this method, a net is put into the water tank and is slightly moved in all directions to regulate a thickness and orientation in a skillful manner, which is then taken out of the water. This is a so-called draw-up method.
The formed paper is dried to be a loudspeaker diaphragm as required. In this case, it is preferable to dry the loudspeaker diaphragm naturally. However, in the case of an industrial production, it is a common method to employ hot air, hot press, and flames individually or in combination in order to efficiently dry the diaphragm in a short time.
Although the diaphragm 3 using pulp is inexpensive and can be easily provided with desired sound characteristics by blending various kinds of pulp, it is difficult to control the variation of pulp deposition on the paper mold 12 in the paper forming process. Therefore, it is liable to cause variations in sound characteristics of a loudspeaker. On the other hand, as sound sources are recently becoming digital and higher in performance, it is increasingly required to develop a method of manufacturing loudspeaker diaphragms with highly accurate reproducibility.
The present invention is intended to address the above problems and to provide a manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of a diaphragm, a diaphragm manufactured by the method, and a loudspeaker using the diaphragm.

Device and method for manufacturing speaker diaphragm, the diaphragm, and speaker

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system (30) can be configured with a plurality of subsystem modules (45a-45n), to tailor the system (30) to different requirements. CPU (32) is connected by a 32-bit, system bus (38) to a random access memory (RAM) (40), a cache (42) and an interface (44a) in graphics subsystem module (45a). Interface (44a) includes a module ROM (47a) containing firmware specific to such graphics subsystem modules. Similarly, each of the other subsystem modules (45b-45n) have interfaces (44b-44n) containing firmware specific to the particular type of module (45b-45n). The elements (32-42) of the system (30) comprise a base module (43), which is the same for all system configurations. A ROM (49) is provided in the base module (43), connected to the bus (38). The base module ROM (49) contains a software routine that locates all the option module ROMs (47a-47n) and, using the information in them creates a relocated version of the code in the option module ROMs (47a-47n) in the computer system's main memory (40). The relocated code will operate at any address in the computer's address space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method which allows subsystem modules containing module specific firmware in read only memories (ROMs) to be connected in different configurations. More particularly, it relates to such a system and method which will allow the firmware to be copied to system memory locations that will vary depending on system configuration for execution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Computer systems often are composed of multiple modules that may be connected in different configurations. This multiplicity of configurations allows the systems to be tailored for the problem at hand. In many system designs, module specific firmware is stored on each module in ROMs. This firmware is used for a variety of purposes, with diagnostic software and bootstrap software being most common.
ROM based firmware is normally stored in a form that is either executed directly or first copied to a fixed location in memory and executed there. In system architectures such as the MIPS R2000/R3000, the address where this code must be executed is fixed when it is placed in ROM. Since systems can be subsequently configured with an arbitrary collection of modules, it is very difficult to insure that the code from different modules does not have overlapping address ranges assigned to it. If the address ranges overlap, the system will not work. Nevertheless, simultaneous access to the code of multiple options is necessary to perform some firmware tasks. The problem is to provide a means to load and execute code stored in multiple option module ROMs. This problem is especially severe if a user is able to reconfigure his or her system with varying option modules according to needs after initial installation of the system.
It might be possible to store such code in absolute format, but copy it into random access memory (RAM) and inspect the copied code to determine which memory addresses referred to in the code need to be changed (relocated) to avoid overlapping address ranges, based solely on inspection of the code itself. However, any simple inspect and relocate algorithm tends to make mistakes. Therefore, unless the code is written in assembly language, this approach cannot be made to work in practice. Coding in assembly language is labor intensive and time consuming. The ability to use a higher level language, such as C, is desired.
Another known approach is to store code in a higher level language, such as FORTH, in ROM and use a FORTH interpreter on a base module of the system to interpret the code. This interpretive approach avoids the problem by storing the FORTH code in character format, and it need not contain any address specific information. However, FORTH and FORTH-like languages are poor languages to use for large software projects. For large projects, FORTH is difficult to understand and maintain.
Some computer systems, such as Digital Equipment Corporation's VAAX systems, when supported by the appropriate software tools, can generate position independent code. This is code that can be executed directly by the computer, but which contains little or no absolute address information. With such systems, the above problems can be avoided. However, such software tools are not available for all systems, especially newer systems.

System and method for automatically relocating and configuring firmware stored in subsystem modules


A multiple wireless networks structure comprising a plurality of beacon groups each comprising one or more devices communicating via an associated wireless network utilizing a superframe structure; wherein each device of each beacon group allocates a local control period and one or more neighbor control periods in each superframe; wherein the neighbor control periods in each beacon group cover all one or more control periods of other beacon groups detected by one or more of the devices in said each beacon group to an extent as said control periods do not overlap with the local control period in said each beacon group.

In view of problems of the Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) MAC protocol of the IEEE standard 802.15.3, which is based on a centralized-control protocol, the Multi-Band OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) Alliance (MBOA) group started its MBOA MAC subgroup. To address the problems of the IEEE 802.15.3 MAC such as Simultaneous Operating Piconet and Mobility issues, the MBOA MAC is based on a distributed protocol rather than a centralized-controlled one. In order for every device to be able to form a network by itself, each device is required to beacon in a distributed fashion. The MBOA MAC v0.5 defines the superframe of a device to be of 65536 μs. The superframe is to be composed of 256 Media Access Slots (MASs) where each MAS length is 256 μs. The first 8 MASs of a superframe, relative to an individual group, are defined as a Beacon Period (BP) and are sub-divided into 24 Beacon Slots (BSs). The rest of the MASs in the superframe are used for data transfer, employing either EDCA (Enhanced Distributed Channel Access) (data contention method) or DRP (Distributed Reservation Protocol) (data reservation method). The superframe 100 of MBOA MAC is illustrated in FIG. 1.
Devices powering up first scan the medium for any existing network by listening to beacon frames. If beacon frames are heard, each device attempts to broadcast their beacon in a randomly selected vacant BS. Devices receive the BS occupancy information via the beacon of neighboring devices through the Beacon Period Occupancy Information Element (BPOIE) transmitted together within every beacon.
In order to support more than 24 devices in different groups operating simultaneously, the MBOA MAC protocol allows devices to create and broadcast their beacons in new BPs different from existing ones. This means that in a superframe of a device, there can be multiple BPs used by other neighboring devices. Another reason for having multiple BPs is network merging between 2 or more Beacon Groups (BG), illustrated in FIG. 2. A BG is formed by 1 or more devices beaconing in the same BP.
The MBOA MAC protocol allows devices within the same BG to communicate. Since each device listens in the BP of the local cluster around each device, data reservation announcements in the BG can be heard via beacon frames. However, for a device to communicate with another device in another BG, the communicating device is required to beacon in the target device's BP as well.
When a neighboring BG is detected, first the local BG informs the devices in the local BG of the presence of the neighboring BG via the beacon of the local BG. In addition, the local BG attempts to inform the neighboring BG if the local BG determines that the local BG is not protected in the same way as the neighboring BG. To do so, the local BG transmits a beacon frame in the BP of the neighboring BG for a number of consecutive superframes. The BS the local device uses is chosen at random from the list of available vacant slots.
In mandating a device to beacon in a neighboring BP so that data communication is enabled across BGs, unnecessary beaconing is imposed on the beaconing device.
To protect the neighboring BG, a device sends out a reservation request to block devices in the local BG from using the BP of the neighboring BG. In the case of multiple neighboring BGs having one or more BPs overlapping, a device has to send this reservation multiple times.
When making a neighboring BG announcement, a device uses a BS of the neighboring BG's BP. The neighboring BG's BP may be running low in available BSs and this might cause new devices not being able to join the neighboring BG. In addition, if there are no more BSs available, that neighboring BG cannot be informed of the presence of the local BG.
In addition, if multiple BGs make announcement beaconing to the same neighboring BG, announcement beacon frames may colloid. This makes announcement beaconing unreliable.


A layout includes a plurality of cells and at least one dummy gate electrode continuously extends across the cells. Since the dummy gate electrode is electrically conductive, the dummy gate electrode can be utilized for interconnecting the cells. That is, some signals may travel through the dummy gate electrode rather than through a metal one line or a metal two line. Therefore, an amount of metal one lines and/or metal two lines for interconnecting the cells can be reduced.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation.
The trend in very-large-scale integration (VLSI) technology has resulted in narrower interconnection lines and smaller contacts. Furthermore, integrated circuit designs are becoming more complex and denser. More devices are compressed in integrated circuits to improve performance

Integrated circuit and method of fabricating the same

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A bale dispenser for dispensing hay or silage from a bale is disclosed which has a support table for receiving a bale. Drawing frame is engaged by a cable which is wound onto a winch and which in turn is driven by a motor. The cable draws the drawing frame to move a bale towards an end of the platform. Arranged at the end of the platform is cutting knife for slicing the bale and doffer elements which are rotated to break off biscuits of the hay bale as the hay bale is drawn past the knife. A storage frame is arranged adjacent to the support frame and includes a positioning frame movable from a generally horizontal position to an inclined position to roll a bale from the storage frame onto the support frame.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bale dispenser for dispensing hay or silage from a bale of hay or silage. The invention has particular application to the dispensing of lucerne hay for feeding cattle.
2. Related Art
Cattle are commonly fed from baled hay by transporting the baled hay to a paddock and dispensing the baled hay from the back of a trailer or tractor. Hay is generally dispensed manually with the use of a pitchfork or the like. However, some machines are provided for automatically dispensing the hay. However, particularly with the dispensing of lucerne hay, it is necessary that any automatic dispenser be rather gentle, otherwise leaves will be threshed from stems of the lucerne hay. This can result in the feed being unsuitable for feeding cattle and therefore of little use.
The object of this invention is to provide a machine for dispensing hay and, in particular, lucerne hay or for dispensing silage which can gently dispense the hay or silage.


There is disclosed an ink ribbon for forming a dye image on a photographic paper by the thermal transfer system. An ink layer of the ink ribbon includes anion dye in which paired ion is exchanged for hydrophobic organic cation and hydrophobic polymer. As anion dye, phthalocyanine system anion dye is used. The hydrophobic organic cation is selected from aliphatic amine, aliphatic quaternary ammonium ion, aromatic quaternary ammonium ion, and heterocyclic quaternary ammonium ion. The rate of anion dye to the total quantity of the anion dye and the hydrophobic polymer is 10 to 90% by weight.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ink ribbon for thermal transfer used for an image formation method for forming a dye image on a photographic or printing paper by the thermal transfer system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to print out an image photographed by, e.g., an electronic still camera, etc. on a photographic paper in the same manner as in the silver salt system photograph, an attempt has been made to form an image by the thermal transfer system.
In such a thermal transfer system, an ink ribbon is caused to be in contact with a photographic paper on which an image receiving layer consisting of hydrophobic high molecular substance or polymer such as polyester, etc. is formed on a transferred material such as a synthetic paper, etc. to heat the ink ribbon by means of a thermal head, etc. to allow dye included in this ink ribbon to be transferred to the image receiving layer of the photographic paper.
The ink ribbon can be obtained by dissolving dye into an organic solvent together with a binder high molecular substance to coat it on a base. Hitherto, as the dye of this ink ribbon, a disperse dye has been used mainly with a view to ensuring practical sensitivity.
However, in the case where an ink ribbon including such disperse dye is used, it is pointed out that an image formed by the thermal transfer system is remarkably inferior to that of the silver salt photograph in respect of conservative stability, particularly light resistance.
On the other hand, there has been also proposed a method of using, in place of the disperse dye, phthalocyanine anion dye which can obtain excellent light resistance as compared to that of the disperse dye.
However, since phthalocyanine includes a hydrophilic group or radical in the molecule, it exhibits poor or unsatisfactory compatibility with the binder high molecular substance. Accordingly, it is difficult to form a practical image.


An apparatus usable with a well includes a gas lift valve having a check valve arrangement located between an annulus and a passageway of a tubing. The check valve arrangement is adapted to selectively allow fluid flow from the check valve arrangement from an inlet side of the check valve arrangement to an outlet side of the check valve arrangement, and is biased to prevent a leakage flow through the check valve arrangement from the outlet side to the inlet side. The check valve arrangement is defined by a valve element movable into and out of engagement with a valve seat wherein one of the valve element and the valve seat has a first sealing structure engageable with a second sealing structure on the other of the valve element and the valve seat. At least one of the first and second sealing surfaces include at least one pair of sealing members.

For purposes of communicating well fluid to a surface of a well, the well may include a production tubing. More specifically, the production tubing typically extends downhole into a wellbore of the well for purposes of communicating well fluid from one or more subterranean formations through a central passageway of the production tubing to the well's surface. Due to its weight, the column of well fluid that is present in the production tubing may suppress the rate at which the well fluid is produced from the formation. More specifically, the column of well fluid inside the production tubing exerts a hydrostatic pressure that increases with well depth. Thus, near a particular producing formation, the hydrostatic pressure may be significant enough to substantially slow down the rate at which the well fluid is produced from the formation.
For purposes of reducing the hydrostatic pressure and thus enhancing the rate at which fluid is produced, an artificial lift technique may be employed. One such technique involves injecting gas into the production tubing to displace some of the well fluid in the tubing with lighter gas. The displacement of the well fluid with the lighter gas reduces the hydrostatic pressure inside the production tubing and allows reservoir fluids to enter the wellbore at a higher flow rate. The gas to be injected into the production tubing typically is conveyed downhole via the annulus (the annular space surrounding the production tubing) and enters the production tubing through one or more gas lift valves.
As an example, FIG. 1 depicts a prior art gas lift system 10 that includes a production tubing 14 that extends into a wellbore. For purposes of gas injection, the system includes a gas compressor 12 that is located at the surface of the well to pressurize gas that is communicated to an annulus 15 of the well. To control the communication of gas between the annulus 15 and a central passageway 17 of the production tubing 14, the system may include several side pocket gas lift mandrels 16 (gas lift mandrels 16a, 16b and 16c depicted as examples). Each of the gas lift mandrels 16 includes an associated gas lift valve 18 (gas lift valves 18a, 18b and 18c depicted as examples) for purposes of establishing one way fluid (gas) communication from the annulus 15 to the central passageway 17. As is well known, the gas lift valves 18a, 18b and 18c are commonly installed and retrieved from mandrel side pockets, such as by using a wireline and kickover tool inserted within the production tubing 14.
The gas lift valve 18 typically contains a check valve arrangement having a check valve element that opens to allow fluid flow from the annulus 15 into the production tubing 14 and closes when the fluid would otherwise flow in the opposite direction. Thus, when the pressure in the production tubing 14 exceeds the annulus pressure, the valve element is closed to ideally form a seal to prevent any reverse flow from the tubing 14 to the annulus 15. The prior art check valve arrangements are defined essentially by a single pair of sealing surfaces. One of the sealing surfaces belongs to a seat which is generally fixed in a housing or the like. The other sealing surface belongs to a valve element that is typically spring biased and moved back and forth in and out of engagement with the seat to close and open the check valve arrangement depending on a fluid pressure differential. The valve element could be a ball, a dart (or poppet), a flapper, a diaphragm, etc. In certain high temperature working conditions such as in an oil well environment, it is common to use dart-type check valve arrangements where substantially only metal-to-metal sealing elements are used. Metal-to-metal sealing is mainly dependent on conformity between sealing surfaces, surface finish, and contact stresses. Contact stresses are functions of applied pressure and contact area. The present inventors have found that a challenge can arise when a particular check valve arrangement is required to perform steadily at low back pressures and over a wide range of back pressures. If the contact area is too small once the valve is subject to high pressure, it is plastically or non-reversibly deformed. If the contact area is too large, the valve arrangement can experience low contact stresses at low pressure and thus will not seal.

Compliant dart-style reverse-flow check valve


Positions of a tail end of a molded synthetic resin material, which is conveyed precedently, and a leading end of a molded synthetic resin material, which is conveyed following the molded synthetic resin material which is conveyed precedently, are adjusted simultaneously with respect to two reference surfaces, which are close to each other and are spaced a predetermined distance apart from each other. A process is carried out simultaneously on or parts are simultaneously associated with both a portion in the vicinity of the tail end of the molded synthetic resin material, which is conveyed precedently, and a portion in the vicinity of the leading end of the molded synthetic resin material, which is conveyed following the molded synthetic resin material which is conveyed precedently, while the positions of the tail end and the leading end are kept in the adjusted states. Regardless of fluctuations in dimensions of molded synthetic resin materials, the process or parts association is carried out accurately such that the working efficiency may be kept high.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing molded synthetic resin materials, wherein a process is carried out on or parts are associated with a plurality of molded synthetic resin materials, which are conveyed one after another. This invention particularly relates to a method and apparatus for processing molded synthetic resin materials, wherein a process is carried out on or parts are associated with portions of a plurality of molded synthetic resin materials, which materials are conveyed intermittently, the portions being located in the vicinity of leading and tail ends of the plurality of the molded synthetic resin materials, which leading and tail ends are taken in the direction along which the plurality of the molded synthetic resin materials are conveyed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In automatic processing lines, processes are carried out on or small parts are associated with predetermined portions of a plurality of molded synthetic resin materials, such as magnetic tape cassettes, which materials are conveyed intermittently. In such cases, positions of the molded synthetic resin materials are adjusted, and thereafter processes are carried out by processing means on the molded synthetic resin materials, the positions of which have been adjusted, or parts are associated by parts associating means with the molded synthetic resin materials, the positions of which have been adjusted.
In such automatic processing lines, it often occurs that a process is carried out by a single processing means simultaneously on portions of each of the plurality of the conveyed molded synthetic resin materials, such as portions in the vicinity of a leading end and a tail end of each molded synthetic resin material, which leading and tail ends are taken in the direction along which each molded synthetic resin material is conveyed. Such portions of each molded synthetic resin material are spaced far apart from each other. Also, it often occurs that parts are associated simultaneously by a single parts associating means with such portions of each molded synthetic resin material. As an example of such operations, a plurality of recognition holes are made through portions of a lower cassette half of a magnetic tape cassette, which portions are located in the vicinity of a leading end and a tail end of the lower cassette half. Such a perforating process is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2(1990)-30499.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a lower cassette half of a magnetic tape cassette. As illustrated in FIG. 1, in the disclosed process for making a plurality of recognition holes, recognition holes 2a, 2b, and 2c are made at a corner portion in the vicinity of a leading end of a lower cassette half 1. Also, recognition holes 2d and 2e are made at a corner portion in the vicinity of a tail end of the lower cassette half 1. The recognition holes 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, and 2e are made simultaneously by a single perforating means. The positions, at which the recognition holes are made, are determined in accordance with the type and thickness of a tape accommodated in the magnetic tape cassette such that the type and thickness of the tape can be discriminated from others. It is necessary to carry out the process for making the recognition holes accurately.
However, dimensions of molded synthetic resin materials fluctuate due to differences among molds, differences among mold cavities, differences among lots, or the like. Therefore, in cases where a process is to be carried out by a single processing means accurately and simultaneously on portions of each of a plurality of molded synthetic resin materials, such as portions in the vicinity of a leading end and a tail end of each molded synthetic resin material, which portions are spaced far apart from each other, (as in the aforesaid process for making a plurality of recognition holes) or in cases where parts are to be associated accurately and simultaneously by a single parts associating means with such portions of each molded synthetic resin material, it is important which region of each molded synthetic resin material is taken as a reference for the position adjustment.
For example, in cases where the leading end of each molded synthetic resin material, which leading end is taken in the direction along which each molded synthetic resin material is conveyed, is employed as the reference for the position adjustment, a process can be carried out accurately on or parts can be associated accurately with the portion of the molded synthetic resin material in the vicinity of the leading end. However, because of fluctuations in the dimensions among the molded synthetic resin materials, the process cannot be carried out accurately o or the parts cannot be associated accurately with the portion of the molded synthetic resin material in the vicinity of the tail end. Such problems occur because the region employed as the reference for the position adjustment is spaced far apart from the portion of the molded synthetic resin material, on which the process is carried out or with which the parts are associated. Therefore, in order to eliminate the aforesaid problems, the region employed as the reference for the position adjustment and the portion of the molded synthetic resin material, on which the process is carried out or with which the parts are associated, should be as close to each other as possible.
However, when the region employed as the reference for the position adjustment and the portion of a molded synthetic resin material, on which a process is carried out or with which parts are associated, are set as close to each other as possible, problems described below occur. Specifically, in cases where the process is to be carried out on or the parts are to be associated with portions in the vicinity of the leading end and the tail end of each molded synthetic resin material, which is conveyed, in the manner described above, it is necessary that the region serving as the reference for the position adjustment is set at two regions (i.e., at the leading end and the tail end), and the position adjustment is carried out twice. However, if the region serving as the reference for the position adjustment is set at the leading end and the tail end, and the position adjustment is carried out twice, the process cannot be carried out by a single processing means simultaneously on the portions in the vicinity of the leading end and the tail end of each molded synthetic resin material in the manner described above. Also, the parts cannot be simultaneously associated by a single parts associating means with the portions in the vicinity of the leading end and the tail end of each molded synthetic resin material in the manner described above. As a result, the working efficiency cannot be kept high. Accordingly, a processing means or a parts associating means has heretofore been adjusted in accordance with fluctuations in the dimensions among molded synthetic resin material such that a process may be carried out simultaneously on or parts may be simultaneously associated with portions in the vicinity of the leading end and the tail end of each molded synthetic resin material, which portions are spaced far apart from each other. However, in such cases, the working efficiency cannot be kept high due to the operations for adjusting the processing means or the parts associating means.

Method and apparatus for processing molded synthetic resin materials


A game table assembly comprises a game table having opposing first and second game playing surfaces, with the game table being rotatable to orient a desired one of the game playing surfaces facing upward. The game table assembly includes opposing and non-rotatable end sections positioned adjacent the width ends of the game table and a cross member engaged with and extending between the end sections, with the game table being rotatable about the cross member. The game table assembly further includes at least one corner bracket pivotally mounted to either the corresponding end section or the game table such that the corner bracket may be horizontally pivoted into and out of selective locking engagement to prevent rotation of the game table and thereby selectively lock the game table in the desired orientation with the desired one of the game playing surfaces facing upward.

Watching and participating in sporting events and games is a popular pastime for many people. However, due to time, space and the number of people needed for most such games, it is not always practical to arrange a full-scale game at any particular time. Moreover, due to the skill and physical conditioning required, plus the potential injuries from many such games, individuals are not always prepared to participate in a full-scale game. Other factors such as weather have also been known to make arranging games difficult. Accordingly, there has developed a need and market for indoor or smaller scale games, including recreational game tables such as for table soccer (sometimes called foosball), air hockey or field hockey, which can be played with less room and require fewer people. Game tables allow the participants to simulate a full-sized game with fewer people, less space and in a protected environment. Additionally, game tables for playing other popular pastime games such as billiards are in demand. The game tables, for example, can be set up in basements, garages, game rooms, backyards, gyms, party facilities or otherwise and are often played with two or four people.
Additionally, it may be desirable to convert between at least two games within one multi-game table assembly. Improved systems and assemblies for playing and converting between table games are desired.

Locking mechanism for a convertible game table