A surgical tool and control system therefor is provided. The surgical tool can include an instrument mount configured to engage with a robotic manipulator assembly, which can include a gear assembly configured to be actuated by the robotic manipulator assembly. The surgical tool can include an end effector coupled to the gear assembly, which is configured to be actuated by the gear assembly. The surgical tool can include a lockout configured to transition between a first state in which the lockout is physically engaged with the gear assembly to prevent a movement thereof and a second state in which the lockout is disengaged from the gear assembly. The surgical tool can include a control circuit configured to determine whether the end effector is in an energized state or a de-energized state and in the energized state, cause the lockout to transition between the first state and the second state.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of robotic surgery. In particular, the present disclosure relates to, although not exclusively, robotically controlled surgical instruments. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to, although not exclusively, lockout mechanism for use with electrosurgical and ultrasonic robotic surgical instruments.
Ultrasonic surgical devices, such as ultrasonic scalpels, are used in many applications in surgical procedures by virtue of their unique performance characteristics. Depending upon specific device configurations and operational parameters, ultrasonic surgical devices can provide substantially simultaneous transection of tissue and homeostasis by coagulation, desirably minimizing patient trauma. An ultrasonic surgical device comprises a proximally-positioned ultrasonic transducer and an instrument coupled to the ultrasonic transducer having a distally-mounted end effector comprising an ultrasonic blade to cut and seal tissue. The end effector is typically coupled either to a handle and/or a robotic surgical implement via a shaft. The blade is acoustically coupled to the transducer via a waveguide extending through the shaft. Ultrasonic surgical devices of this nature can be configured for open surgical use, laparoscopic, or endoscopic surgical procedures including robotic-assisted procedures.
Ultrasonic energy cuts and coagulates tissue using temperatures lower than those used in electrosurgical procedures. Vibrating at high frequencies (e.g., 55,500 times per second), the ultrasonic blade denatures protein in the tissue to form a sticky coagulum. Pressure exerted on tissue by the blade surface collapses blood vessels and allows the coagulum to form a haemostatic seal. A surgeon can control the cutting speed and coagulation by the force applied to the tissue by the end effector, the time over which the force is applied and the selected excursion level of the end effector.
Also used in many surgical applications are electrosurgical devices. Electrosurgical devices apply electrical energy to tissue in order to treat tissue. An electrosurgical device may comprise an instrument having a distally-mounted end effector comprising one or more electrodes. The end effector can be positioned against tissue such that electrical current is introduced into the tissue. Electrosurgical devices can be configured for bipolar or monopolar operation. During bipolar operation, current is introduced into and returned from the tissue by active and return electrodes, respectively, of the end effector. During monopolar operation, current is introduced into the tissue by an active electrode of the end effector and returned through a return electrode (e.g., a grounding pad) separately located on a patient's body. Heat generated by the current flow through the tissue may form hemostatic seals within the tissue and/or between tissues and thus may be particularly useful for sealing blood vessels, for example. The end effector of an electrosurgical device sometimes also comprises a cutting member that is movable relative to the tissue and the electrodes to transect the tissue.
Electrical energy applied by an electrosurgical device can be transmitted to the instrument by a generator. The electrical energy may be in the form of radio frequency ("RF") energy. RF energy is a form of electrical energy that may be in the frequency range of 300 kHz to 1 MHz. During its operation, an electrosurgical device can transmit low frequency RF energy through tissue, which causes ionic agitation, or friction, in effect resistive heating, thereby increasing the temperature of the tissue. Because a sharp boundary may be created between the affected tissue and the surrounding tissue, surgeons can operate with a high level of precision and control, without sacrificing un-targeted adjacent tissue. The low operating temperatures of RF energy may be useful for removing, shrinking, or sculpting soft tissue while simultaneously sealing blood vessels. RF energy may work particularly well on connective tissue, which is primarily comprised of collagen and shrinks when contacted by heat.
In many cases, it is desirable to prevent a cutting member from moving prior to the application of electrosurgical or ultrasonic energy to the blade element. In a robotic surgical system, a surgeon is typically not in the room with the patient and is unable to visually verify that energy has been applied to surgical instrument prior to activating the cutting member. It would be desirable to provide a mechanism for robotic surgical systems to prevent actuation of a cutting member prior to the application of electrosurgical or ultrasonic energy.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Lockout mechanism for use with robotic electrosurgical device


A method of drying a green particulate article includes the steps of:. a. Providing a green article which includes a particulate material and a pore phase material, the pore phase material including a solvent; and PA1 b. contacting the green article with a liquid desiccant for a period of time sufficient to remove at least a portion of the solvent from the green article, the pore phase material acting as a semipermeable barrier to allow the solvent to be sorbed into the liquid desiccant, the pore phase material substantially preventing the liquid desiccant from entering the pores.

There are four major steps in manufacturing most ceramic articles, including forming, drying, firing, and finishing. The present invention is applicable to the drying step, which often represents a significant and sometimes heretofore insurmountable problem in ceramic manufacturing.
For example, gelcasting is a useful method for forming complex articles in ceramic and/or metal powders. Drying (removing water or other solvent from) green (freshly cast, wet) gelcast articles is an essential step in the gelcasting manufacturing process.
The present invention is also applicable to other powder forming methods, such as solvent-based injection molding and extrusion. The present invention is not limited to drying green ceramic articles, but is also suitable for drying various other types of particulate articles, as set forth hereinbelow.
Conventional drying methods generally comprise exposing a formed article to air or a selected gas or gas mixture having particular conditions of temperature and humidity that will cause solvent to evaporate from the gelled article and be carried away by the atmosphere surrounding the article.
Some types of articles are difficult to dry properly via conventional drying methods because of solvent gradients therein, resulting in significantly differential drying of various regions thereof which induces structural stresses. For example:
1. Thick articles, especially those having at least a one inch minimum cross section, often crack during drying because the interior dries much more slowly than the surface. PA1 2. Thin plates often curl or warp during drying because one side dries faster than the other. PA1 3. Articles having occluded regions (for example, cones and other closed ended containers, and articles having serpentine internal passageways) are subject to stresses and malformation (warping, cracking, etc.) due to the occluded regions drying much more slowly than the open regions. PA1 4. Articles with sharp edge sections tend to dry and crack in the region of such edges before the bulk of the material can be properly dried. PA1 5. Articles having complex shapes, generally which include a plurality of thick regions, thin regions, sharp edges, and/or occluded regions, etc. PA1 1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,194 issued on Jan. 16, 1990 to M. A. Janney entitled "Method for Molding Ceramic Powders." PA1 2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,362 issued on Jul. 2, 1991 to M. A. Janney and O. O. Omatete entitled "Method for Molding Ceramic Powders Using a Water-Based Gelcasting." PA1 3. U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,908 issued on Sep. 8, 1992 to M. A. Janney and O. O. Omatete entitled "Method for Molding Ceramic Powders Using a Water-Based Gelcasting Process." PA1 4. A. C. Young, O. O. Omatete, M. A. Janney, and P. A. Menchhofer, "Gelcasting of Alumina," J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 74 3! 612-18 (1991). PA1 5. O. O. Omatete, M. A. Janney, and R. A. Strehlow, "Gelcasting-A New Ceramic Forming Process," Am. Ceram. Soc. Bull., 70 10! 1641-49 (1991). PA1 6. O. O. Omatete, T. N. Tiegs, and A. C. Young, "Gelcast Reaction-Bonded Silicon Nitride Composites," Ceram. Ens. Sci. Proc., 12 7-8! 1257-64 (1991). PA1 7. O. O. Omatete, A. Bleier, C. G. Westmoreland, and A. C. Young, "Gelcast Zirconia-Alumina Composites," Ceram. Eng. Sci. Proc., 12 9-10! 2084-94 (1991). PA1 8. Fanelli, A. J., et al. in "New aqueous injection molding process for ceramic powders", J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 72, 1833-43 (1989) PA1 9. Rivers, R. D., Method of injection molding powder metal parts, U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,480 issued Sep. 12, 1978. PA1 10. Mark A. Janney, "Extrusion and Injection Molding," Chapter 7 in Ceramic Processing, Terpstra, Pels, and DeVries, eds., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1995. PA1 1. M. A. Janney and C. A. Walls, "Gelcasting compositions having improved drying characteristics and machinability," pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/931,809, filed Sep. 16, 1997. PA1 2. Claudia A. H. Walls, Mark A, Janney, and Glen H. Kirby, "Gelcasting compositions and methods," U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/931,809, filed Sep. 16, 1997 now abandoned.
Such drying problems create defects (e.g. cracking, warpage, other malformations) in the dried articles, reducing the value of the articles, and often rendering the article useless.
Further background information can be found in the following patents and publications:
The following are incorporated herein by reference:

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation


A monoclonal antibody to a consensus peptide of the formula:                VEKKNITVTASVDPTIDLLQADGSALPSAVALTYSPA (SEQ ID NO. 1) is described.

The effect of E. coli in mammals is dependent on the particular strain of organism. Many beneficial E. coli are present in the intestines. Since the initial association of E. coli with diarrheal illness, five categories of diarrheagenic E. coli have been identified and are presently recognized: enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enteropathogenic (EPEC), enterohemorrhagic (EHEC), enteroaggregative (EAggEC), and enteroinvasive (EIEC). These categories are grouped according to characteristic virulence properties, such as elaboration of toxins and colonization factors and/or by specific types of interactions with intestinal epithelial cells. ETEC are the most common of the diarrheagenic E. coli and pose the greatest risk to travelers. E. coli of the family CS4-CFA/I are some of the more common enterotoxigenic E. coli. There is need for vaccines which are specific against this class of E. coli that give rise to antibodies that cross-react with and cross-protect against the more common members of the CS4-CFA/I family. Six members of this family of ETEC fimbrial proteins are CFA/I, CS1, CS2, CS4, CS17 and PCF 0166. ETEC are responsible for high infant mortality in developing countries, with an estimate that almost 800,000 deaths per year due to these organisms. These organisms also cause illness in adult travelers to regions where the disease is endemic.
Colonization factor antigens (CFA) of ETEC are important in the initial step of colonization and adherence of the bacterium to intestinal epithelia. In epidemiological studies of adults and children with diarrhea, CFA/I is found in a large percentage of morbidity attributed to ETEC. The CFA/I is present on the surfaces of bacteria in the form of pili (fimbriae), which are rigid, 7 nm diameter protein fibers composed of repeating pilin subunits. The CFA/I antigens promote mannose-resistant attachment to human brush borders with an apparent sialic acid sensitivity.
A study of proteins in E. coli belonging to the CS4-CFA/I family resulted in the finding that the N-terminal region of the protein maintains a high degree of sequence identity between members of this group. Immunological evidence shows that cross-reaction exists between members of the family CS4-CFA/I.
Cassels, et al. have identified a consensus peptide of 36 amino acids which acts as an immunogen raising antibodies against the proteins of all members of the E. coli family CS4-CFA/I . The region of the protein represented in the subunit encompasses known linear B- and T-cell epitopes of CFA/I. The consensus peptide has a high level of homology to strains bearing six different colonization factors. The consensus peptide is of the formula:                VEKNITVTASVDPTIDLLQADGSALPSAVALTYSPA (SEQ. ID. NO. 1)

Monoclonal antibody which agglutinates E. coli having the CS4-CFA/I family protein

Abstract: The monoclonal antibody of the invention binds exclusively to the sequence SAVALTYS (SEQ ID NO. 2) and has use as a diagnostic and for prophylaxis against illness arising from E. coli which produce the CS4-CFA/I family of proteins and for treatment of disease arising therefrom.

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


An imaging system is provided with integrated measurement of wear in at least one of the system's optical elements working in the transmission mode, in a given spectral band. The system includes a combination of optical elements and an imaging detector on which there is projected the image of an observed scene by means of the optical elements which produces a video signal of the observed scene. An alarm is provided to signal the existence of an optical element having a degree of wear which exceeds a critical value.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of the checking of the surface quality of optical elements and its object is an imaging system with integrated measurement of the wear of its optical elements working in transmission mode, notably domes or windows for the protection of airborne optronic instruments. The invention can be applied more particularly but not exclusively to the airborne optronic instruments comprising an imaging system such as this.
An imaging system comprises a combination of optical elements, working in transmission and reflection modes, and an imaging detector. The combination of optical elements projects an image of the scene observed in the sighting direction on the imaging detector, and the imaging detector gives a video signal by which this scene can be displayed on a monitor.
In the context of the main application envisaged, it may be recalled that an optronic instrument placed on board an aircraft is constituted conventionally by an imaging system and a sighting head that is movable in relative bearing (and possibly in elevation) in order to orient the direction of the sighting line of the imaging system.
The sighting head houses a sighting line deflection mirror and has a dome or window to shield and isolate the delicate elements of the imaging system from the external atmosphere. The window and the mirror form part of the optical combination of the imaging system for they play a role in the formation of the image projected on the imaging detector.
2. Description of the related art
The spectral band of operation of the equipment determines the choice of the material constituting the window. Unfortunately, the materials (ZnSe, Ge or ZnS) selected as a function of their possibility of optical transmission in the useful ranges of infrared transmission (3-5 .mu.m and 8-12 .mu.m) do not have special qualities of hardness and of surface condition. These materials stand up poorly to the stresses generated by flight at high speeds in a hostile environment, notably to pluvial erosion, and are then exposed to the phenomenon of wear and tear.
This wear and tear depends very substantially on particular flying conditions encountered during the various missions carried out. It therefore proves to be very difficult to make a priori plans for a periodicity of replacement of the window that would be adapted to all missions.
Thus, the replacement of the window should be governed not by its duration of use but by the determining of the starting point of time at which the wear becomes such that it reduces the performance characteristics of the optronic equipment, i.e. to the point of rendering its operational use impossible.
A visual examination of the surface condition of the window most usually leads to the premature conclusion that it is worn out and hence to its replacement, thus substantially increasing maintenance costs. Besides, an examination such as this can be made only on the ground.

Imaging system with integrated measuring of the wear of its optical elements working in transmission mode and optronic imaging equipment comprising an imaging system such as this


A linear burner has a tubular casing with an elongated opening having inwardly sloping sides. A threaded stainless steel rod is disposed across the opening such that the threads contact the opening sides to support the rod. A series of gas flow passages are formed between the opening sides and the rod threads.

Linear burners and, in particularly, tubular ribbon burners are commonly used in the area of commercial baking. A typical tubular burner comprises a steel tube with a sealed end and a threaded end for connection to a gas supply, such as an force air or air inspirator for mixing a combustible gas with air.
The burner has a plurality of gas passages or ports disposed along its length.
In earlier burners, the passages or ports were formed by a series of drilling holes along the length of the burner tube.
Many modern burners are of the ribbon type, wherein a plurality of corrugated sheet metal strips are inserted into an elongate opening cut into the burner tube. Ribbon burners are disclosed for instance in U.S. Pat. No. 1,758,628 to Thurm et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,210,069 to William B. Ensign and U.S. Pat. No. 2,443,101 to John Harold Flynn et al., each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In a typical ribbon burner, the elongate opening has flat parallel sides and the strips are stacked so as to form an insert which just fits through the opening. To support the insert and keep the various strips aligned, a plurality of pins are inserted at intervals along the length of the tube and transversely through the tube and the plurality of strips. Typically, the pin ends are welded to the tube or casing. FIG. 6 of '628 patent shows the use of a wire wound rod as an insert between plates to provide the burner ports. The wire wound rod is retained in the assembly by transverse pins.
Prior art ribbon burners suffer from a number of disadvantages. The burners are relatively complex and expensive to manufacture and are subject to corrosion and fouling with use. Once the burner tube has been cut to size, threaded at one end and sealed at the other, and the opening has been cut, significant work remains to be done. The ribbon strips must be formed and cut to length and width and holes or slots must be drilled or cut through the strips for subsequent receiving of the transverse pins. Corresponding transverse holes must be drilled through the burner tube.
In a typical ribbon burner, to economize on materials and to maintain adequate gas flow, the insert only slightly penetrates into the central cavity of the burner tube, the holes in the burner tube which receive the pins must be drilled oblique to the tube surface. Such drilling is often difficult and imprecise.
The insert is then assembled from the strips and carefully held in the opening for insertion of the pins. As the opening has parallel sides, the insert may have a tendency to slip, thus requiring care to hold the insert in the proper orientation. The pins having been cut to length are then inserted through the casing and the insert and welded to the casing.
In operation, the thin strips will have a propensity to corrode due to condensation of water of the air used in combustion and the products of combustion and will also tend to become fouled with carbon and other deposits. Forming the ribbons out of a corrosion resistant stainless steel aids but greatly add to the expense. In consequence of using less resistant materials of construction at various intervals the burners must be either replaced or disassembled for replacement of the insert. The latter situation will entail a cumbersome extraction of the pins and a possible forced extraction of the insert, which may have become corroded to or otherwise stuck in the burner opening. The replacement insert will be formed and installed in a similar tedious manner as in the original fabrication.
It is therefore desirable that a burner be designed for ease and low cost of manufacturing, with resistance to fouling and corrosion and more uniform fuel burn characteristics.


A Reed-Solomon decoder that can correct t errors or fewer which includes: a syndrome calculation circuit for calculating syndromes Sj (J=0, 1, . . . , 2txe2x88x921) using the first codeword Yi (i=0, 1, . . . , nxe2x88x921) (so-called received codeword) that may include errors; and a coefficient calculation circuit for, by using the syndromes Sj, calculating coefficients xcex9k (k=1, . . . , e) of an error-locator polynomial. The coefficients xcex9k correspond in number to e estimated errors (exe2x89xa6t less than n). The syndromes Sj, calculating coefficients Er1 (1=0, . . . , xc3xaa) (xc3xaa can be as small as O(e)) of an error polynomial, and the coefficients Er1 correspond in number to the e estimated errors. An error value calculation circuit for calculating error values Ei by using the coefficients Er1 of the error polynomial, and for using the coefficients xcex9k of the error-locator polynomial to generate a signal concerning the error value Ei to be used and an output circuit for using the first codeword Yi and the error value Ei, which correspond to the signal used to calculate the second codeword Wi (so-called source codeword) in which the estimated errors are corrected. Since exe2x89xa6t less than n, and since there are e coefficients xcex9k and e coefficients Er1, the number of calculations performed by, and the sizes of the coefficient calculation circuit and the error value calculation circuit are reduced. Specifically, since the coefficient calculation circuit requires gate-consuming non-linear operations in order to calculate the coefficients xcex9k and Er1, the effects achieved by such a reduction are greater.

RS encoding and decoding can be defined as constituting a polynomial using the element in the Galois field GF(2m). The following codeword polynomial W(x) is calculated for (n, k) RS encoding where n denotes the number of code blocks and k denotes the number of information blocks (a test block is nxe2x88x92k=2t, where t is the maximum correctable number of symbols).
W(x)=M(x)xnxe2x88x92kxe2x88x92R(x)
where
M(x): a polynomial using information symbols as coefficients;
R(x): a polynomial using parity symbols as coefficients;
R(x)=M(x)xnxe2x88x92k mod G(x); and
G(x): generator polynomial,
G(x)=(xxe2x88x92ad)(xxe2x88x92adxe2x88x921) . . . (xxe2x88x92ad+2txe2x88x921).
In the above equation, a is defined by GF(2m) and is a solution of the m-order irreducible polynomial, i.e., a solution that satisfies a8+a4+a3+a2+1=0 when m=8. The polynomial W(x) can be divided by G(x) without yielding a remainder. The codeword polynomial W(x) can be a systematic codeword, compared with a method that calls for the direct multiplication of M(x) by G(x).
Generally, an LFSR (Linear Feedback Shift Register) is used for calculating the remainder of the M(x)xnxe2x88x92k by G(x). If one LFSR is used for the encoding one block, the LFSR has 2t constant multipliers and uses them (nxe2x88x922t) times. Thus, 2(nxe2x88x922t)t constant multiplications must be performed for the encoding.
The RS decoding is an operation used for estimating the original W(x) by using a received polynomial
Y(x)=W(x)+E(x).
E(x) is a polynomial using an error symbol as a coefficient. Y(x) can also be expressed as follows, where Yi is a received codeword,
xe2x80x83Y(x)=Ynxe2x88x921xnxe2x88x921+Ynxe2x88x922xnxe2x88x922+ . . . Y1x+Y0.
The decoding methods are mainly
(i) a method for using Y(x) to perform decoding in a time domain;
(ii) a method for using for a polynomial a remainder obtained by dividing Y(x) by G(x) (remainder-based decoding); and
(iii) a method for performing a DFT (Discrete Fourier Transformation) for Y(x) to calculate 2t continuous spectra (syndromes) in a frequency domain (syndrome-based decoding).
According to the second and the third methods, information that depends only on an error (i.e. syndromes) is calculated by using the received information, and the location of the error is extracted. Thus, the number of terms is not O(n), but instead is reduced to O(t). Therefore, since generally t less than n, a required circuit in the succeeding stages is small. The third method (iii) is generally used, and is further sorted into algebraic decoding and transform decoding. The prior art will now be described by using the two decoding methods that are most closely related to the present invention.
(a) Algebraic Decoding
Specifically, this method includes the following five steps that must be performed for decoding:
(i) calculating a syndrome by performing a DFT for a received codeword;
(ii) obtaining an error-locator polynomial and an error-evaluator polynomial by using the calculated syndrome;
(iii) calculating the solution for the error-locator polynomial in order to estimate the location of the error;
(iv) estimating an error value from the error-locator and the error-evaluator polynomial by using the Forney algorithm; and
(v) correcting the error by using the received codeword and the error value.
In the calculation of the syndrome at step (i), the DFT calculation for GF(2m) need be performed. The DFT calculation is performed by substituting into Y(x) the elements 1, a, a2, a3 . . . and a2txe2x88x921 of GF(2m). That is, the syndrome is obtained by
S0=Y(1)
S1=Y(a)
S2=Y(a2)
S3=Y(a3)
.
.
.
S2txe2x88x921=Y(a2txe2x88x921).
Since W(ai)=0,
Si=Y(ai)=W(ai)+E(ai)=E(ai)(i=0, . . . , 2txe2x88x921).
The occurrence of an error in Y(x) can be determined by examining the syndromes to determine whether they are all 0. Since generally 2t arithmetic circuits are used n times to calculate the syndromes, 2nt constant multiplications are required.
Error correction using the syndromes is performed by estimating the number of errors using Si. This is the calculation performed with E(x) that provides the calculated syndrome and that has a Hamming weight of t or less (i.e., that includes non zero terms equal to or less than t), and is the NP complete problem in general. However, the calculation method in the polynomial order is well known for RS code. At step (ii) the coefficient for the following error-locator polynomial is calculated by using the fact that the syndromes can be expressed as a linear combination of error values, and that symmetry exists relative to the exchange of orders of error locations.
Expression 1      Λ              (      x      )        =            ∏              k        =        0                    t        -        1                        (              1        +                              a                          i              k                                          x                    )
Coefficients xcex9t . . . and xcex9l for xcex9(x) are obtained by the following expression, wherein L0 is defined as 1.
Expression 2            [                                                  S              0                                                          S              1                                            …                                              S                              t                -                1                                                                                S              1                                                          S              2                                            …                                              S              t                                                            ⋮                                ⋮                                              xe2x80x83                                            ⋮                                                              S                              t                -                1                                                                        S                              t                -                2                                                          …                                              S                                                2                                    t                                -                2                                                        ]                  [                                                  Λ              t                                                                          Λ                              t                -                1                                                                          ⋮                                                              Λ              1                                          ]        =      [                                        S            t                                                            S                          t              +              1                                                            ⋮                                                  S                                          2                                t                            -              1                                            ]
The Peterson method, the Berlekamp-Massey (BM) method and the Euclid method are proposed for performing this calculation in the polynomial order. According to these methods, O(t3), O(t2) and O(t2) multiplications are respectively performed to calculate the coefficients of the error-locator polynomial. Since these calculations are not directly related to the subject of the present invention, however, no further explanation shall be given for them. For the details, see the referenced document 1, xe2x80x9cTheory And Practice Of Error Control Codes,xe2x80x9d R. E. Blahut, Addison-Wesley 1984, or referenced document 2, xe2x80x9cCoding Theory,xe2x80x9d Hideki Imai, Institute of Electronic Information Communication, 1990.
When the coefficients xcex9t . . . and xcex9l of the error-locator polynomial are obtained, at step (iii) an error location i is obtained by performing the calculations for the polynomial. Generally, axe2x88x92i (i=0, 1, . . . , nxe2x88x921) are sequentially substituted into the error-locator polynomial, and the relation xcex9(axe2x88x92i)=0 is checked by using a sequential circuit (Chien Search). Since xcex9(x) is the t-order polynomial, t constant multiplications must be repeated n times (a total of nt constant multiplications).
At step (iv), the Forney algorithm is used to calculate the error value by employing the following error-evaluator polynomial
xcexa9(x)=S(x)xcex9(x) mod x2txe2x88x921,
where S(x) is the following polynomial having syndromes as coefficients:
Expression 3      S              (      x      )        =            ∑              i        =        0                              2                    t                -        1                                S        i                          x        i
The obtained error value Ei is
Ei=xcexa9(axe2x88x92i)/(xcex9xe2x80x2(axe2x88x92i)axe2x88x92i),
where xcex9xe2x80x2(x) represents the derivative of xcex9(x).
Finally, at step (v) the error is corrected. That is,
W(x)=Y(x)+E(x)
Most of these calculations are performed as sequential steps using a sequential circuit, as previously mentioned. Specifically, steps (i) to (v) are sequentially performed, and at each step many processes are sequentially performed, including iterative calculations. The implementation of the RS decoder does not precipitate any problem in applications that has a relatively low data transfer rate. However, with a memory ECC application for which high through-put and low latency are required, a problem may arise concerning the processing speed.
The RS decoder requires only the linear calculation performed up to the acquisition of syndromes (step (i)), but for the following process to estimate the error location and error value, it requires multiple non-linear circuits. It is difficult to provide a small, fast circuit for the nonlinear calculation in the Galois field (a circuit for two-input multiplication, reciprocal calculation, etc.) using the basic logical function primitives (AND and XOR).
To resolve the problem concerning the processing speed, a combinational circuit can be provided. Actually, in BCH encoding, the part of the circuit used for calculating the coefficients of a polynomial is developed into a combinational circuit. The calculation expressions up to t=5 are represented, and an example for t=3 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,481 However, in the design of the combinational circuit, a circuit sharing which is one of the design techniques that are frequently used in the design of sequential circuits is difficult. Therefore, unless the processing flow is so designed that the number of nonlinear operations is reduced, the number of nonlinear operating units required is increased in accordance with the number of iterative steps performed in a loop, a number that is increased in proportion to t, and the number of conditional branches in the loop. In addition, while in the BCH code only the error locations need be obtained, in the RS code not only the error locations but also the error values must be obtained. As a result, when t greater than 1, the RS encoding uses more nonlinear operations than does the BCH encoding.
Because of the above described background, in most cases a conventional RS decoder is provided as a sequential circuit. In prior art, only when the maximum number of correctable symbols is small (t=1) the RS decoder is provided as a combinational circuit.
Specific problems will now be described that arise when algebraic decoding is implemented by using a combinational circuit.
(1) One problem arises when the Peterson method, the BM method or the Euclid method, which are frequently used to obtain the error-locator polynomial and the error-evaluator polynomial, are implemented as combinational circuits. Since the Peterson method provides a simple, direct method for the calculation of coefficients when the maximum number of correctable error symbol t is small (e.g., two), the Peterson method can be implemented by a combinational circuit. However, when the number of error symbols is increased, the size of the operations is increased as O(e3) when e is the actual number of error in the received codeword. Therefore, the Peterson method is implemented by using the combinational circuit, and circuits for the calculation of coefficient xcex9(x) must be prepared in a number equivalent to the error count, which is equal to or smaller than t, so that the size of the circuit is increased by the amount
Expression 4      ∑          e      =      1        t                e      3        ~          O                    (                  t          4                )
instead of O(t3). The BM method provides a calculation algorithm that requires only the calculation amount O(t2). However, since a plurality of conditional branches are included in a single loop, it is not easy to increase the processing speed by using the algorithm to implement the combinational circuit within a practical number of gate size. Especially for RS encoding, the number of required loops is double that required for BCH encoding (see referenced documents 1 and 2). While the Euclid method also requires only the calculation amount O(t2), it includes the division by a polynomial, so that the size of a combinational circuit required to implement this method is unrealistically large.
(2) If, for the estimation of an error value, following the Chien Search, paths are merely arranged in parallel to constitute a combinational circuit, n dividers have to be prepared for the Forney Algorithm for the calculation of the error value. In this case, not all the dividers are effectively used; actually, only the dividers equivalent in number to the error corrections t are actually used. In addition, even when the dividers are designed to be used in common, the size of the circuit is not reduced very much, whereas the decoding speed is lowered considerably. This occurs because a circuit for allocating dividers in accordance with the error location requires 2t n-bit multiplexers (t multiplexers each at the preceding and succeeding stages) and t priority encoders.
(b) Transform Decoding
In the present invention, for decoding. the following five steps are performed:
(i) calculation of syndromes by performing a DFT for received codeword;
(ii) calculation of coefficients for an error-locator polynomial by using the obtained syndromes;
(iii) reflexive calculation of the DFT elements of n errors without resolving the error-locator polynomial;
(iv) calculation of error values by performing an IDFT (Inverse DFT); and
(v) correction of the errors by using the received codeword and the error values.
The method in (a) is used for steps (i) and (ii). At step (iii) the DFT elements E*i of the errors are obtained. Since the following relationship is established for the first 2t,
E*i=E(ai)=Si(i=0, . . . , 2txe2x88x921),
the high-order elements are calculated using
Expression 5      E    i    *    =            ∑              j        =        1                    n        -        1                                Λ        j                          E                  i          -          j                *
where i=2t, . . . , nxe2x88x921.
At step (iv), an IDFT is performed by substituting axe2x88x92i (i=0, . . . nxe2x88x921) into the polynomial that is defined bv using E*i as a coefficient. That is,
Ei=E*(axe2x88x92il)
is used to calculate error value Ei.
The method described in (a) is performed at step (v).
Since a division circuit is not used for transform decoding, a problem precipitated by a division circuit, when method (a) is used to implement the combinational circuit, does not arise when method (b) is used. However, the following problems, in addition to the calculation of coefficient xcex9(x), which is one ofthe problems that accompany the implementation of method (a), are encountered with method (b).
(1) While the same circuit in the sequential circuit can be iteratively used to calculate all the values Ei, nxe2x88x922t circuits must be prepared for a combinational circuit. And since t 2-input multipliers are required for a single iteration, a total of t(nxe2x88x922t) 2-input multipliers are required. In addition, since a recursive calculation is performed, i.e., a low-order calculation must be completed before a next-order calculation is begun, the calculation speed cannot be increased very much by implementing a combinational circuit.
(2) Since the error values are calculated after all the DFT elements for n errors are obtained from the syndromes, this algorithm is easily implemented by a combinational circuit, but for an IDFT, an enormous number of circuits must be used. That is, for an IDFT n2 constant multipliers are required.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a high-speed, low power consumption Reed-Solomon decoder.
It is another object of the present invention to constitute a Reed-Solomon decoder by using only a combinational circuit, and without using a sequential circuit.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a Reed-Solomon decoder having a circuit size that can actually be achieved.
To achieve the above objects, according to the present invention, a Reed-Solomon decoder that can correct t errors or fewer comprises: a syndrome calculation circuit for calculating syndromes Sj (j=0, 1, . . . , 2txe2x88x921) using the first codeword Yi (i=0, 1, . . . , nxe2x88x921) (so-called received codeword) that may include errors; a coefficient calculation circuit for, by using the syndromes Sj, calculating coefficients xcex9k (k=1, . . . , e) of an error-locator polynomial, the coefficients xcex9k corresponding in number to e estimated errors (exe2x89xa6t less than n), and for, by using the syndromes Sj, calculating coefficients Er1 (1=0, . . . , xc3xaa) (xc3xaa can be as small as O(e)) of an error polynomial, the coefficients Er1 corresponding in number to the e estimated errors; an error value calculation circuit for calculating error values Ei by using the coefficients Er1 of the error polynomial, and for using the coefficients xcex9k of the error-locator polynomial to generate a signal concerning the error value Ei to be used; and an output circuit for using the first codeword Yi and the error value Ei, which correspond to the signal used to calculate the second codeword Wi (so-called source codeword) in which the estimated errors are corrected. Since exe2x89xa6t less than n, and since there are e coefficients xcex9k and xc3xaa coefficients Er1, the number of calculations performed by, and the sizes of the coefficient calculation circuit and the error value calculation circuit are reduced. Specifically, since the coefficient circuit is required to perform a nonlinear operation in order to calculate the coefficients xcex9k and Er1, the effects achieved by such a reduction are greater.
At least one of the syndrome calculation circuit, the coefficient calculation circuit, the error value calculation circuit and the output circuit is constituted by a combinational circuit, as will be described later. And as a result, the calculation speed is increased.
The coefficient calculation circuit is so designed that it includes a circuit for calculating, in the ascending order of e coefficients xcex9w(e) (w=1, . . . , e) of an error-locator polynomial corresponding to the number e (exe2x89xa6t) of errors by using the syndromes Sj and coefficients xcex9v(nxe2x88x921) (v=1, . . . , exe2x88x921). By using this circuit in common, the size of the circuit can be limited.
The error value calculation circuit performs a calculation by using the element ai and the inverse element axe2x88x92i of the Galois field GF(2m) corresponding to an error location i. In this case, by using a linear operation the calculation can be performed at high speed.
The coefficient calculation circuit may further use the coefficients xcex9k ofthe error-locator polynomial, which correspond to the estimated errors e, in order to calculate the coefficients Er1 of the error polynomial corresponding to the estimated errors e.
When a value of 0 is obtained by substituting the inverse element axe2x88x92i of GF(2m) corresponding to the error location i, into the error-locator polynomial, the error value calculation circuit outputs a signal indicating the error values Ei are to be used. In the other cases, the error value calculation circuit outputs a signal indicating the error values Ei are not to be used.
The error value calculation circuit may include a constant multiplier for receiving the coefficients Er1 of the error polynomial, and a constant multiplier for receiving the coefficients xcex9k of the error-locator polynomial. When the element ad and the inverse element axe2x88x921 of the Galois field GF(2m) corresponding to the error location i are used, because the values are constants, the multipliers are hard-wired.
The thus arranged present invention can be applied for memory circuits for which high speed and low power consumption are demanded. These memory circuits are, for example, (i) a fast error correction circuit with low power consumption for extending the DRAM refresh time; (ii) a main memory redundancy circuit for a server for which high reliability and an adequate processing speed are desired; and (iii) a cache memory ECC circuit for which a high processing speed is desired.

International Business Machines Corporation


In relation to a blade cutting stone or concrete, a blade, preventing wearing of a core while preventing the core from wobbling, cuttable at a stable speed is provided. In a blade formed by providing slots on the outer peripheral edge of a circular core and fixing a superabrasive layer to a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the core located between the slots, the superabrasive layer consists of a first superabrasive layer having an extension formed by partially extending the superabrasive layer toward the inner periphery of the core and a second superabrasive layer. A reinforcing superabrasive layer extending from the outer periphery toward the inner periphery of the core is formed on the inner peripheral side of the second superabrasive layer while the reinforcing superabrasive layer is located closer to the outer periphery than a radial central portion of the core, and an outer peripheral end of the reinforcing superabrasive layer is located closer to the outer periphery than an inner peripheral end of the extension of the first superabrasive layer. The second superabrasive layer can also be provided with an extension having a relatively short radial length with respect to the extension of the first superabrasive layer.

A diamond blade is used for cutting a hard and brittle material such as stone or concrete. A general example of this blade is a segmented blade shown in FIG. 12 formed by providing slots on the outer peripheral edge of a circular core while providing superabrasive layers on portions of the outer peripheral surface located between these slots, and the superabrasive layers are prepared by bonding superabrasive grains to each other through a metal bond or the like. The superabrasive layers are bonded to the core by brazing, welding or simultaneous sintering for bonding the superabrasive layers to the core simultaneously with sintering.
The superabrasive layers of the blade have recently been reduced in thickness, and the thickness of the core must also be reduced following this. When the thickness of the core is reduced, dust resulting from cutting enter clearances between the core and cutting grooves to wear particularly portions around junctions between the core and the superabrasive layers (hereinafter referred to as undercutting), leading to a significant problem. In other words, a thin core may be broken if worn with dust, while no problem arises in a thick core even if the core is worn with dust and slightly reduced in thickness.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-90425 describes a blade preventing the aforementioned undercutting. FIG. 13 shows this blade. This blade is formed by providing a plurality of slots on the outer peripheral edge of a core and fixing superabrasive layers to portions of the outer peripheral surface located between the slots while providing extensions by partially extending the superabrasive layers toward the inner periphery of the core, in order to prevent the undercutting in a segmented blade.
Further, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-207633 describes a large-diameter blade of at least 250 mm in diameter preventing undercutting while preventing a core from wobbling in cutting. FIG. 14 shows this blade. This blade is formed by providing extensions by partially extending superabrasive layers toward the inner periphery of a core while mounting a plurality of core reinforcing diamond segments radially formed with a prescribed width on substantially intermediate positions between the outer periphery of the core and the center of the blade at prescribed intervals.
However, the aforementioned blade mounted with the core reinforcing diamond segments depends on the reinforcing diamond segments for preventing wobbling during cutting, and hence prevention of wobbling is limited and not necessarily satisfactory. In other words, the core is reinforced due to the rigidity of the radially formed diamond segments and hence circumferential rigidity of the core tends to be insufficient although radial rigidity is improved, to possibly cause wobbling. Further, the diamond segments are provided on the substantially intermediate positions between the outer periphery of the core and the center of the blade and hence there is an apprehension that tension adjustment of the core cannot be performed and the core cannot be completely inhibited from wobbling. The tension adjustment of the core is an operation of extending the inner peripheral side of the core with a pressure roll or extending the same by striking with a hammer thereby supplying stress in a direction for spreading the inner peripheral side and providing the outer periphery with circumferential tensile stress with this force. Thus, the outer peripheral side provided with the superabrasive layers serving as inserts is pulled for suppressing wobbling in cutting.
If dry cutting is performed with a blade not subjected to the aforementioned tension adjustment (tensioning), heat is generated around superabrasive layers to disadvantageously expand the core by thermal expansion and wobble the same. While wobbling can be prevented despite slight expansion of the outer periphery if tension adjustment is performed in this case, the aforementioned blade causes this problem due to impossibility of tension adjustment. Therefore, cutting must disadvantageously be frequently interrupted in order to cool the blade. While the aforementioned blade aims at preventing wobbling with reinforcing superabrasive layers, wobbling is frequently caused due to thermal expansion of the core resulting from heat generation during use of the blade in practice, and hence tension adjustment must be previously performed.


A rotor controlled CVT including: input and output shafts (28,44), an elongated cam-shaped rotor (12) which is uniformly and linearly tapered over its length and is engaged for rotation with the input shaft, a plurality of cam follower units (54) which are located in structure about and are reciprocated by the rotor and include rollers (56) having treads which bear and rotate in circumferential paths on the rotor surface, angular velocity extraction devices (38) which are each engageable and partially rotated by a cam follower, means (14) for causing the extraction devices to collectively produce an output velocity at the output shaft, elements for causing relative movement between the rotor and cam followers to vary the ratio of rotation between the input and output shafts, and elements for keeping the roller treads in contact with the roller surface. The roller treads are in line contact with the rotor surface.

Many CVT machines have over the years been proposed and developed in attempts to produce, from a constant input velocity, an acceptably linear continuously variable output angular velocity and torque.
The basic approach to these machines has initially been to apply a single input angular velocity to a number of parallel stages of the machines which, by means of angular velocity generators such as cams, slotted plates, linkages, off-centred sun gears, non-circular gears, orbital devices, universal joints, cranks, cams and so on to produce pulsed or cycled angular velocities (angular acceleration and deceleration cycles) in each of the stages which are appropriately phased to the input angular velocity. The pulsed or cycled angular velocities from the machine stages are then used to drive selective extraction devices, such as overrunning or sprag clutches and/or differentials which extract the maximum portions of the driven cycles of the parallel stages to provide modulated angular velocity outputs. These outputs are then recombined in an output stage of the machine to provide the output angular velocity of the machine.
Examples of such machines, particularly those in connection with cam based CVT's, are disclosed in the specifications of the following U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,301, U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,085 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,159,739.
Common problems which are typically associated with the above-mentioned CVT machines of the prior art are that:
the cam followers are in a single point contact with the cam, with the point contact generating unacceptably high stresses which make their use, in high power applications such as automotive or truck applications, impractical. This problem is partially solved by the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 2,159,739 by having a stepped cam rotor on which, in each rotor step, line contact with cam followers is maintained, but in transition from one step to the next involves point contact of the followers with the cam and therefore only partially solves the problem and then only in respect of discreet step fixed gear ratio machines.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,301 an attempt is made to solve the point contact problem by employing a perfectly circular cam, the eccentric offset of which is adjustable by a repositioning of the axis of rotation of the cam. The circular cam profile of this type of arrangement creates an output angular velocity which is rippled and results in unacceptable vibration.
The cam shaped rotor profiles used in the prior art machines are incapable of providing a specifically defined linear scaling over the length of the rotor to make line contact with the cam followers possible.
Further in the prior art machines, the cam followers are attached to an oscillating shaft creating a crank or lever action with the follower attached to the end of the lever or crank while riding on the cam. This lever or crank action does not represent a linear conversion of cam lift to a rotational motion of the oscillating shaft as the linear motion of the cam is not connected in a linear fashion to the angular motion of the lever or crank, and therefore their constant cam lift rates do not result in a constant angular velocity of the oscillating shaft. To overcome this problem in some prior art applications the cam lift has been altered to produce a non-constant lift to compensate for the non-linear crank or lever conversion.
Other prior art machines employ the use of gears as well as rack and pinion arrangements to convert linear motion to rotational motion which results in high stresses at the gear interfaces and, with the crank/lever arrangements in practice being very short, results either in very high stresses or very large gear/rack and pinion arrangements in high power applications. None of the prior art machines provide for power transmission in both directions (are not able to perform engine braking) due to the use of sprag clutches and the inability of the followers to drive the cam in the cam lift stroke.
The general state of the prior art reflects inventions for use in low power applications, such as bicycles, where constant angular output velocity is not crucial.
The prior art machines are also not suitable for high power high speed applications in which the CVT's need to provide a very high consistency in output angular velocity to avoid vibration and are not adequately compact with minimal stress concentrations to make them economically viable in the transmission industry.


According to examples described herein computer devices coupled to a network can be automatically configured. Systems information is gathered from a plurality of computer devices by way of one or more of an agent and a scout. This information is standardized and stored in one or more databases. A program function is determined from the standardized information. This program function is used to identify two different sets of computer programs installed on a set of networked computer devices. This configuration is then replaced by a configuration where only a single common computer program is used to perform the program function.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to configuring computer devices that are communicatively coupled to one or more computer networks. In particular, the present invention relates to determining a configuration of a plurality of such computer devices by monitoring the operation of each device.
Description of the Related Technology
Nearly all modern organizations use some form of computer network. For example, an exemplary organization may own or lease a plurality of computer devices that may be connected to one or more internal local area networks. In organizations that span multiple locations one or more local area networks may be communicatively-coupled to form one or more wide area networks. Nearly all organizations are also normally in some way communicatively coupled to the largest of wide area networks: the Internet.
The computer devices that make up a computer network are often heterogeneous. For example, a computer network may comprise desktop computers, mobile devices, tablets, server computers, network-attached storage etc. Even within a set of desktop computers, computer architectures, ages and features may vary. For example, desktop computers may be added as an organization expands and/or operating system upgrades may be applied in a haphazard manner. When organizations merge or restructure, previously distinct sets of computer devices may also be communicatively-coupled to a common network. This often leads to a plurality of computer devices with different configurations being connected to one or more networks controlled by an organization.
Having a plurality of computer devices with different configurations communicatively coupled to a common network can cause a variety of problems. These can be security and/or operational problems. For example, if different operating system patches are applied to different sets of computer devices then they may experience difficulties communicating with each other and/or provide security weaknesses that may be exploited by malicious parties. The larger the organization the bigger these problem become. A network of computers can be very large with hundreds or more computer devices on the network, each with one or more software packages. Additionally, computer programs or operating system functions that require access to a local or wide-area network may compete for limited bandwidth. For example, a plurality of networked computer devices may access data and/or functions hosted on a remote server. If each computer device has a different configuration it can be difficult to control remote access and message exchanges may be unnecessarily duplicated.
US 2013/0013614 A1 describes how a catalogue of standardized identifiers may be used to identify software installed on computer devices coupled to a network. Data relating to the use of the software may also be obtained and associated with the identification data. The usage data together with the standardized identifiers allows managers to more reliably manage software on the network. For example un-used software may be un-installed.


A networking device such as a router may include, in one embodiment, a database storing a plurality of link state entries, and a cache operatively coupled with the database, the cache storing entries relating to the link state entries of the database. The networking device may also include a module for sending, over a network, packets including link state data, the module operatively coupled with the cache. In one example, the module accesses the cache to create one or more packets including link state data. Embodiments of the invention may be used for forming CSNP packets (complete sequence number packets) without the need for having to repeatedly walking a link state database in order to form the CNSP packets.

In computer networks, routing protocols are used to communicate route information dynamically as networking devices such as routers are added or removed from the network. Routers may build packets or messages known as link-state packets (LSPs) based upon their local interfaces, and an LSP packet describes the router's interfaces and neighbors in the network (i.e., adjacent routers). Typically, an LSP message includes the name of the router that originated the LSP packet, a sequence number, and a list of "links" or neighboring routers.
Each router uses a conventional "flooding" algorithm to transmit its LSPs to adjacent neighbors, and the LSPs are passed along unchanged to other adjacent routers until all the routers in the area have received them. When collected together, the LSPs can be used to describe the topology of the network.
Each router maintains a link-state database (LSDB) that includes all the LSPs the router has received. When a change in the network topology occurs, a corresponding change in one or more of the LSPs will follow.
Designated routers send packets known as CSNP packets (complete sequence number protocol data units (PDUs)) to other routers in order to maintain database synchronization relating to network topology information. CSNP packets include as all the link states known to the router sending the CSNP packets. For instance, in the routing protocol IS-IS (Intermediate System to Intermediate System), designated routers send CSNP packets for ensuring that all routers participating in the protocol have a complete copy of the link state database. Typically, a CSNP message includes entries that each have a source identification (LSP IDs, identifying the source router for this respective LSP) and a sequence number corresponding to the LSP.
Each router that receives CSNP packets compares the list of link states (i.e., from the LSPIDs and the sequence numbers) in the CSNP packets with its own internal link state database. For instance, a mismatch in a sequence number in a router receiving a CSNP indicates that the receiving router may not have the most current link state as reported by another router in the network. Differences are resolved by either transmitting LSPs in the receiver's database or by transmitting a request (in the form of a partial sequence number (PSNP)) to another router for transmission of the missing LSPs.
CSNP packets or messages are sent periodically based on a CSNP interval timer which defines the number of seconds between transmissions of CSNP packets from an interface. Periodic CSNP transmission is required on local area networks (LANs) by the IS-IS specification. Conventionally, periodic CSNP packet transmission is implemented in a router by the using CPU resources to walk its link state database and rebuild the resulting the CSNP packets every time a CSNP timer expires. For instance, as shown in FIG. 1, a conventional router 10 includes an IS-IS software process 12 which operatively includes a link-state database 14 and a periodic CSNP function 16.
As topologies have grown more dense, however, there have been scaling issues. As recognized by the present inventors, there are a number of issues that make periodic CSNP transmission problematic. The CSNP interval on a given interface is configurable, the maximum transmission unit (MTU) on various interfaces might not be identical, and there may be hundreds if not thousands of interfaces or links such as peer-to-peer links (P2P) to support. Furthermore, the amount of CPU time that can be devoted to the CSNP processing can be quite limited. Rebuilding the CSNP packets by walking a link state database after every expired CSNP timer may require excessive CPU resources of a router.
Accordingly, as recognized by the present inventors, what is needed is a method and apparatus that provides periodic CSNP functionality while reducing CPU consumption and increasing scalability.
The features, utilities and advantages of the various embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

CSNP cache for efficient periodic CSNP in a router


Devices, systems and methods are disclosed for selecting and sending one of a plurality of responses to a call on a communications device. A user may select a default response or a custom response. When the user receives a call to a communications device, a set of responses is displayed on the communications device to facilitate selection by the user. A response includes a message and a call processing command. A message is in the form of an audio clip, text message, webpage, picture, video, etc. A call processing command, such as “accept call”; “reject call with voicemail”; “reject call without voicemail”; “place caller on hold”; “forward call to 555-555-5555”; “I will call you back”; etc. is performed along with the message. This plurality of responses can be organized by the user in groups associated with classes of callers, such as friends, family, co-workers, etc. In this manner, the responses available to the user when a call is received changes depending on the caller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications. In particular, the present invention relates to devices and methods for allowing users of a mobile service network increased flexibility in how they respond to calls.
2. Background of the Invention
Traditionally, in both a plain old telephone service (POTS) or in a mobile service network, when a caller initiates a call to a recipient, a standard ring tone is generated at the recipient's device and a standard ring-back tone is generated at the caller's device. The recipient of the call has little choice in how to respond to this call other than accepting the invitation or letting their device continue to ring.
Developments in mobile service technology have allowed call recipients some choice in how they respond to invitations for a connection via a pre-set list of Caller IDs to be rejected. Rejecting the call immediately terminates the ringing cycle period. A user of a mobile service network may customize the ring-back tone a caller to their device hears. The user could select a piece of music to be played for the caller instead of the standard ring-back tone based on, for example, the caller's Caller ID and the time of the call. Further enhancements of this service, such as allowing for multimedia messages to be played for the caller during the ringing cycle period, have been promoted as well.
Customizable ring-back tones give the user the ability to provide a user-defined response to a call. However, this response must be defined in advance of the call, not in real-time as the call is received by the user's device. Rejecting the call allows the user to decide in real-time how he/she wants to treat the call. However, this rejection is only done in ways defined by the device manufacturer and, possibly, the mobile service provider. There is thus a clear need for a system and apparatus which allows the user of a mobile service network to, in real time, provide a user-defined response to a call. Such a system and apparatus would be ideal for communicating information about the current state of the call recipient in response to the call and allow users to better define when, where, and how they would like to communicate over the mobile service network.

Devices, systems and methods for mobile custom response


Embodiments of the present invention provide a circuit board enclosed in an encasing with processors and memory, configured to receive and analyze data, and containing computer logic capable of receiving and analyzing data. The apparatus further includes sensors connected to the processors configured to transfer data to the processors, a power source configured to provide power to the processors, memory modules and sensors, one or more of a light source, an audio source, a vibration source, and a video source, a timing device, a wireless component and/or a wired component capable of transferring data, a light sensor capable of determining the intensity of the received light, computer logic capable of generating a report or transferring the data to a source capable of generating the report, where the report is a cognitive assessment, a comparison of cohorts, or a determination of how the subject puts together an apparatus with a second apparatus, and where the cohorts are people with same or similar diseases, conditions, ages, medical histories, social demographics, experience levels, or locations.

The present invention relates generally to cognitive testing, and more particularly to testing an individual's cognitive status by analyzing the individual's handling of, and interactions with, certain objects.
Many individuals facing cognitive issues or deteriorating cognitive status show physical or emotional signs of the issue. Some of these signs may be obvious to a human observer, but some may be more subtle or require multiple points of analysis to fully analyze the issue. Using various objects, and the ways in which individuals interact with, handles, and respond to these objects can create multiple points of analysis from which can be determined which disorder the individual suffers from and the severity of the disorder.

Analysis of cognitive status through object interaction

International Business Machines Corporation


A tractor including: a traveling body having an engine; a post-processing device configured to purify exhaust gas of the engine; and a reductant tank configured to store a reductant to be supplied to the post-processing device. A pair of left and right fuel tanks are arranged respectively on left and right sides of a longitudinally midway portion of the traveling body. A tank-accommodation recess for accommodating a reductant tank is formed at a lower-front portion of one of the left and right fuel tanks. While the reductant tank is accommodated in the tank-accommodation recess, an upper front portion of the fuel tank and the reductant tank are aligned up and down.

Traditionally, a technology which purifies exhaust gas discharged from a diesel engine, by providing an exhaust path with a case having therein a diesel particulate filter (hereinafter, DPF case) and a case having therein a selectively reducing catalyst (hereinafter, SCR case), as a post-processing device (also referred to as exhaust gas purification device), and introducing the exhaust gas discharged from the diesel engine into both cases (see for example Patent Literatures 1 and 2; hereinafter, referred to as PTL 1 and PTL 2, respectively) is known.
To remove nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas through a selective catalytic reduction (SCR), a reductant (e.g., urea water) needs to be supplied. In order to mount an SCR denitration device to a tractor, a space is needed for not only mounting the SCR case but also for mounting a reductant tank.


Method for increasing the molecular weight of polyacrylates, in which polyacrylates, functionalized at least in part of their chain ends by functional groups X, are reacted with a compound having at least functional groups Y capable of linking reactions with functional groups X.

Among producers of acrylate pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) there is a trend toward reducing the proportion of solvent in the production process. This relates in particular to the coating process, since here in general the polymers are coated from a solution with a concentration of 20 or 30% onto the corresponding carrier material and subsequently the solvent is distilled off again in drying tunnels. As a result of the heat introduced, the drying step may additionally be utilized for the thermal crosslinking of the PSA.
If it is then desired to reduce the solvent fraction or to eliminate it completely, polyacrylate PSAs can be coated from the melt. This is done at relatively high temperatures, since otherwise the flow viscosity would be too high and the adhesive would exhibit an extreme resilience during the coating operation. One example of a functioning commercial system is represented by the UV acResins™ from BASF AG. Here, a low flow viscosity at temperatures of less than 140° C. has been achieved by lowering the average molecular weight to below 300 000 g/mol. Accordingly, these materials are easy to coat from the melt. As a result of the lowering, however, there is also a deterioration in the technical adhesive properties, especially the cohesion, of these PSAs. In principle, the cohesion can be raised by UV or EB crosslinking. Nevertheless, the UV acResins™ do not achieve the level of cohesion attained by high molecular mass acrylate PSAs which have been applied conventionally from solution and crosslinked thermally.
A key problem is the network arc length, since acrylate hotmelt PSAs generally have a relatively low molecular weight, possess a relatively low fraction of interloops, and thus need to be crosslinked to a greater extent. Although the greater crosslinking does increase the level of cohesion, the distance between the individual crosslinks becomes smaller and smaller. Consequently, the network is significantly tighter and the PSA then possesses only a low level of viscoelastic properties.
Accordingly, there is a need for a polymer which is easy to coat from the melt and is subsequently crosslinked on the carrier material in film form in a specific way, so that, preferably, a linear polymer with only a very few crosslinking sites is formed.
Endgroup-functionalized polymers have already been known for a long time. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,626, for example, polyesters were impact modified using carboxy-terminated polyacrylates. However, no description was given there of specific endgroup crosslinking.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,950 describes thiol-functionalized polymers and block copolymers. The polymers, however, contain only one functional group, which is subsequently used for polymerization or for other reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,456 describes maleate- or fumarate-functionalized polyesters. Subsequent crosslinking takes place in the presence of vinyl ethers. Here again, polyacrylates are not described.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,644 describes a process for preparing release coating materials. Its starting point is formed by polyfunctional acrylates, which are reacted with polysiloxanes. Here again, no defined network is formed, so that this process too cannot be transferred to acrylate PSAs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,111,022 describes poly(meth)acrylonitrile polymers prepared by ATRP. Terminally functionalized polymers can also be prepared by these processes. Advantageous processes for preparing purposively crosslinked PSAs are not disclosed, however.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,848, terminally functionalized polymers are prepared by a new, controlled polymerization process. The polymerization process employed is an iodine transfer process. However, polymers of this type lack great thermal stability, since iodides generally react with air and are easily oxidized to iodine. Severe discolorations are a consequence. This applies in particular to hotmelt processes with high temperatures.
None of the aforementioned documents indicates a process in which endgroup-functionalized polyacrylates were mixed with a second component and reacted with it in a deliberate way in order to construct a linear polymer chain or a polymer network.
It is an object of the invention to specify a process for building up the molecular weight of polyacrylates, in particular for crosslinking thereof, which exhibits the disadvantages of the prior art only to a reduced extent, if at all.
Surprisingly, and unforeseeably for the skilled worker, this object is achieved by the process of the invention, as set out in the independent claim and in the subclaims.

2-Component crosslink of end-functionalized polyacrylates


A method and mechanism for aligning a fixed scroll member relative to a main bearing member in a scroll compressor. A shoulder is machined on the outer perimeter of a main bearing member and interfits with an arcuate lip on the fixed scroll member to thereby center the fixed scroll member. A notch is machined into the arcuate lip of the fixed scroll member and receives a projecting pin disposed on the main bearing member when the fixed scroll is assembled to the main bearing member. Relative rotation of the fixed scroll member and main bearing member brings one edge of the projecting pin into engagement with an abutment surface defining one end of the notch and thereby properly rotationally positioning the fixed scroll member. The fixed scroll member is subsequently axially secured to the main bearing member with a plurality of bolts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to scroll compressors and, more particularly, to mechanisms and methods for aligning a fixed scroll member relative to a main bearing member in a scroll compressor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Scroll compressors are well known in the art and utilize a fixed scroll member having an involute wrap and a moveable scroll member also having an involute wrap to compress a fluid, typically a refrigerant. The scroll members are positioned with the involute wraps in mutual engagement. The mutually engaged wraps form compression pockets which confine the fluid. The compression pockets progressively decrease in size as they travel towards the center of the scroll members as the moveable scroll member is orbited relative to the fixed scroll.
The moveable scroll member is eccentrically mounted on a crankshaft to provide for the orbital movement of the moveable scroll. The crankshaft is, in turn, supported by a main bearing member. An anti-rotation device is used to prevent the moveable scroll from rotating about its own axis as it is orbited relative to the crankshaft axis by rotation of the crankshaft. The anti-rotation device, often comprising an Oldham ring, is commonly placed between and in engagement with both the main bearing member and the moveable scroll member.
Improper relative positioning of the two scroll members can lead to gaps between the involute wraps and leakage of fluid from individual compression pockets thereby leading to inefficient operation of the compressor. The mounting of the moveable scroll member to the crankshaft controls the position of the moveable scroll member relative to the main bearing. The position of the fixed scroll member relative to the main bearing member is commonly achieved by directly attaching the fixed scroll member to the main bearing member which thereby relatively positions the fixed and moveable scroll members. The fixed scroll may be either axially secured to the main bearing member or mounted in an axially compliant manner which permits relative axial movement between the fixed scroll member and main bearing member.

Mechanism and method for aligning a fixed scroll in a scroll compressor


A sensor is described for sensing a substance such as for example glucose. The sensor is implantable in the body of a living creature. The sensor comprises a photonic integrated circuit, e.g. silicon-photonics, based radiation processor for spectrally processing radiation interacting with the sample. A continuous monitoring system also is described using such a sensor.

According to the estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with diabetes will increase from 177 million in 2000 to 300 million by 2025. It is also estimated that 9% of all deaths worldwide are due to diabetes. Although diabetes is presently not curable, intensive insulin therapy in diabetic patients can dramatically delay the onset of serious complications.
The cornerstone to tight glycemic control is frequent or even continuous glucose monitoring, where blood glucose concentrations are measured to help administer proper levels of insulin and maintain euglycemic conditions. Continuous glucose monitoring (in practice a measurement every few minutes) is the prerequisite to enable strict glycemic control lowering the blood glucose levels within a "healthy" range (80-110 mg/dL) that prevents medical complications while avoiding dangerously low blood glucose concentrations (hypoglycemia). The ability to maintain blood glucose levels within this healthy range requires frequent measurements of glucose concentrations in the blood. Each measurement provides information that can be used to deliver the proper amount and type of insulin to maintain blood glucose levels within the targeted concentration range.
It is demonstrated that tight or continuous blood glucose control can introduce substantial reductions in overall medical care costs. Glucose sensing technology has advanced considerably in recent years, thereby providing excellent tools for home glucose monitoring and establishing opportunities for tight glycemic control. Unfortunately, the cost and pain associated with current glucose test-strip technology generally restrict the number of daily measurements performed by the average person with diabetes (on average 4-6 times a day).
Examples of next-generation sensors are implantable glucose bio-sensors. To date, implantable glucose sensors are all based on surface chemical reactions. Such sensors are very stable, accurate and sensitive in vitro. However, once the sensors are implanted, the stability and reliability reduces dramatically after a few days owing in large part to fouling of the sensor surface by proteinaceous material. They can therefore not be used for long term implantation. Alternative sensors under study are based on spectrometric devices which should allow long term in vivo operation thus justifying the surgical procedure to implant the device.
Some initiatives in the domain of subcutaneously implantable spectroscopic sensors are already reported. In US2007/0066877 A1, an implantable sensor device is established. In vitro testing confirms practicability of the invasive concept and the feasibility of target specifications. The device has a fluid inlet port, a measurement volume and a fluid outlet port. Bodily fluid and/or target analyte is forced to the measurement volume using micro-dialisis or ultra-filtration with vacuum source and analysed using a spectrometer. In "Optical Absorption Glucose Measurements Using 2.3-μm Vertical-Cavity Semiconductor Lasers" IEEE phot. Tech. lett., 20(11), pp. 930-933, 2008, the development of a 2.3 μm vertical-cavity semiconductor laser (VCSEL) is reported for applications wherein the tunable VCSEL and detector are packaged as an implantable design. However the finite tuning range of 5 nm that can be reached with the VCSEL limits the potential for in vivo use of the radiation source.


Provided are a method of correcting a critical dimension (CD) in a photomask and a photomask having a corrected CD using the method. The method may include providing a substrate that is transparent with respect to an incident light, forming shielding patterns on the substrate to form a photomask, detecting a CD error region of the shielding patterns, and forming a correction film to vary an intensity of the incident light in the CD error region to correct critical dimensions (CDs) of circuit patterns formed by the shielding patterns.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments relate to a photolithography technique. More particularly, example embodiments relate to a method of correcting a critical dimension (CD) in a photomask and a photomask having a CD corrected using the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a photomask refers to a high-precision plate used to form an integrated circuit (IC) on a wafer. Such a photomask may include a transparent substrate and a shielding pattern formed on one surface of the transparent substrate. Generally, the shielding pattern in the photomask defines a circuit pattern. For example, the shielding pattern may be a photoresist pattern used to form a circuit pattern on a substrate. Theoretically, a critical dimension (CD) of the shielding pattern of the photomask and a CD of the corresponding circuit pattern formed on the wafer should be identical to each other. However, for reasons including space distribution defects of an exposure source, defects of exposure equipment such as lens defects, errors of the shielding pattern of the photomask, etc.; the CD of the shielding pattern and the CD of the circuit pattern may be different from each other.
Conventionally, correcting a CD of a photomask may include a method of etching a transparent substrate adjacent to a shielding pattern of the photomask by a desired and/or predetermined depth or a method of forming a diffraction grating on a rear surface of a transparent substrate in which a shielding pattern is not formed.
However, both the conventional method of etching the transparent substrate and the conventional method of forming the diffraction grating require etching a substrate in a photomask by a desired and/or predetermined depth, so as to precisely correct CDs of shielding patterns. Conventional techniques for precisely etching the substrate may be difficult, costly and/or lead to defects.

Method of correcting critical dimension in photomask and photomask having corrected critical dimension using the method


A chip card holder, for securing a chip card in an electronic device, includes a housing and a locking member, the housing defines an assembling recess for receiving a chip card, the assembling recess has a slant wall defining a through cutout; the housing defines a latching hole in line with the cutout. The locking member forms a protrusion. when a chip card is disposed in the assembling recess, the locking member passes through the cutout and presses the chip card, the protrusion of the locking member is latched into the latching hole, the chip card is secured by the locking member.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a chip card holder for a portable electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable electronic devices such as mobile phones typically employ chip cards such as SIM cards, for example for storing user information. Chip card holder is used to hold the chip cards within the portable electronic devices.
A conventional chip card holder is usually provided to facilitate convenient assembly and disassembly of a chip card. With the development of electronic industry, the chip card can be integrally manufactured with the chip card holder for decreasing the production cost. Such chip card cannot be taken out from the chip card holder.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.


Disclosed herein is an alignment system which is tractable by amateur boat builders and flat-packable for shipping, to assist such builders in assembling plate-based boat hulls free from hull skin warping, such system comprised of (a) longitudinal and transverse skeleton elements, such elements employing half-lap or similar joints and (b) an alignment jig comprised of a horizontal plate with intruded deep slots corresponding to the thickness and location of upper edges of the skeleton elements. The jig is set atop a planar surface (i.e., concrete floor or worktable), with the slots facing upwards. The skeleton elements are inverted, mated with each other at the half-lap joints, and inserted into the slots in the plate jig. The slots and the skeleton joints work together to maintain precise location and rotation of all skeleton elements, such that the edges of the freestanding skeleton present a developable arc for hull skin panel installation.

Typically, a boat hull 50 is an integration of three primary structural systems as shown in FIG. 1: a skeleton 52 composed of both longitudinal and transverse elements, a hull skin 54 composed of panels wrapped around the skeleton 52, and optionally a deck 56 composed of panels both attached to the top of the skeleton 52 and terminating at the top of the hull skin panels 54.
The boat building field is composed of various designs, manufacturing methods, and materials used for these three structural systems. Some boats can be made from wood plate materials such as plywood, which can create challenges since the hull skin is curved, whereas the hull skin plates (from which the skin is formed) are flat. While flat hull skin plates can be bent smoothly into curves, these curves must be perfectly conical or cylindrical. Such curves are called developable, because they can be constructed from plates. Bending a hull skin plate around any non-developable arc will result in warping, which is an aesthetic and performance flaw in a hull.
A boat's hull skin plates 54 are attached to the outer edges of the skeleton elements 52, such that the arc that the hull skin plates will form is defined by the outer edges of skeleton elements. Consequently, designers specify precisely the shape and size to which these elements will be manufactured, as well as the positioning of these elements relative to one another, such that the resulting outer edges of all the skeleton's elements 52 will together correspond to the desired hull curve over which the hull skin plates 54 will be bent. Therefore, precision manufacturing of parts is necessary but not sufficient; the position and orientation of the skeleton elements 52 during assembly are also subject to tight precision tolerances to prevent any departure from a developable arc in the hull skin panels 54.
Experienced artisans and production factories have evolved sophisticated methods and tooling to ensure the skeleton elements 52 are located precisely so that the attached hull skin panels 54 form the desired hull curve. Typically, these methods revolve around the construction of a freestanding jig 60 (FIG. 2) which seeks to hold the skeleton elements 52 in perfect alignment such that hull skin panels 54 can be attached in a developable arc.
These conventional jigs 60 employ columns or plates 62 that extend vertically/upwardly at defined horizontal stations from a planar base; a simplified version of a conventional jig 60 is illustrated in FIG. 2. Skeleton elements 52 are then attached to the vertical elements 62 of the jig 60, as shown in FIG. 3, typically using screws. These attachments must be done such that the skeleton elements 52 are held precisely relative to each other—both with respect to position along each axis and with respect to rotation around each axis.
Building a precision freestanding conventional jig structure 60 (such as shown in FIGS. 2-3) that is axially and radially true in three dimensions requires specialized expertise and tools, both of which are the domain of artisans and production factories but not amateurs. Further, building such a conventional jig 60 involves a significant investment of time in addition to and relative to the time required to build the boat hull on the jig thereafter.
Further, when a hull is formed and completed on such a conventional jig 60, a worker must crawl under the hull to unscrew the skeleton 52 from the jig 60 before the hull can be lifted off for finishing work.
Moreover, to the extent that an amateur boat builder attempts to build a freestanding conventional jig 60 such as shown in FIG. 2-3, the resulting jig 60 can have various imprecise portions, and it is believed that there is generally no effective method or apparatus tractable by the amateur to ensure precise alignment of the skeleton 52 to the jig 60 prior to hull panel 54 attachment. The resulting hull 50 can therefore be formed with various deformations that adversely affects the overall performance of the boat's hull 50 when traveling in water.

Devices, systems, and methods for aligning a boat skeleton to form a boat hull


The invention relates to ceramic granules with a high UV opacity and high solar reflectance, which is produced by forming a calcined clay mineral powder into green body and re-calcining, featured with a water absorption of 15-35%; ≥97% crystalline content and 90-100% UV opacity. The invention further relates to a method for preparing ceramic granules with a high UV opacity and high solar reflectance and the use thereof for reflectance-improving application on building surface for the purpose of energy conservation.

The literatures are cited in the present description for the purpose of describing the state of the art to which the present invention pertains, and are incorporated herein by reference in their entire disclosures.
In order to reduce energy consumption, building codes issued in California, USA, require that the solar reflectance of low-slope roofs should be 70% min. It is a very effective heat-shielding technique to adhere highly solar reflective granules on the surface of asphalt roofing materials. Compared with other reflective materials such as plastics, metals, and organic coatings, highly solar reflective granules are featured by low costs and high aging resistance. Most of commercially available white granules, such as quartz, calcite, calcined kaolin, synthetic ceramic granules usually have high solar reflectivity when measured as bulk granules, but have a rather low solar reflectivity after being applied on black substrate. Furthermore, white granules tend to discolor due to significant oil absorption, which in turn reduces its solar reflectivity. In addition, the asphalt substrate to which the granules are embedded would easily degrade due to the low UV opacity of the granules.
White granules used on the roof are required to have high whiteness, which significantly limits the source of white granules available for roofing. There are mainly two kinds of highly solar reflective granules available on the market, in which one is obtained by directly calcining special raw mineral ore, and another one is obtained by calcining milled raw minerals powder with the addition of a certain amount of flux/fluxing agent. As to the former one, the raw mineral tends to change its color during calcination, making it difficult to control the quality of the final product. This further limits the source of raw materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,714,512B discloses a cool roofing system comprising highly reflective calcined kaolin granules with solar reflectance of 80-92%. The calcined kaolin granules are applied to a roofing substrate after being coated with a polymeric organic coating, forming a roof system with solar reflectance of at least 70%. The bright white calcined kaolin granules in this invention are restrained by the locations from which the raw materials are mined, and limit their application on the market.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,944,562 B discloses highly reflective ceramic granules comprising core particulates and at least one layer of coating, wherein the sand particulates comprise calcined ammonium illite obtained by calcining ammonium illite ore at 700-1200° C., and the preparation method of the same. The sand core granules, after being coated with an inorganic coating, are calcined at 800 to 1200° C. to obtain ceramic granules. The ceramic granules have a particle size of 0.1 to 3.5 mm, with a solar reflectance of at least 80% and a staining index DL* of less than 6%.
US20150192698 discloses highly reflective ultra-white roofing granules with a solar reflectance of at least 80%, which are prepared by using a homogeneous mixture comprising clay, sintered material and optionally quartz particles.
The market demands for a new roofing granule with high UV opacity and high solar reflectance with mass supply. On the other hand, it is desirable that the raw materials for the preparation of ceramic granules can be easily obtained economically. It is also desirable that the ceramic granules have superior performance in high porosity, high whiteness, high reflectivity, and low consumption and the like.
Furthermore, it is desirable to prepare ceramic granules with simple procedures. It is also desirable to produce a final roofing product that has high solar reflectance, long service life, and ease of maintenance.

Ceramic granules with high UV opacity and high solar reflectance


Eyewear, such as sunglasses, is provided having a self-adjusting ear stem system. The eyewear has upper and lower frame members which contain an elastic cord means disposed there through wherein the elastic cord means can be extended on opposite sides of the wearer's face to fit around the wearer's ears.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eyewear and, more particularly, to eyewear having a self-adjusting ear stem system.
2. Description of the Art
There are many varieties of wrap-around or shield-type eyewear, particularly sunglasses, available and known today. Generally, these sunglasses have cylindrical or spherical shaped lenses designed for use during sports activities. For example, these sunglasses are typically designed to fit firmly on the wearer's head during activities such as skiing, biking, speed skating, volleyball, and the like. In such applications, it is important that these sunglasses fit comfortably on the wearer's head yet have sufficient retention so as not to slip or fall off during active movement.
Conventional eyewear of this type, generally includes a one-piece lens that is supported by an upper frame member, a lower frame member, or a continuous frame member which surrounds the lens. The frame member or the lens is typically connected to two ear stems on opposite sides of the lenses. The ear stems are affixed to the frame members with hinges in a manner well known in the art. Most commonly, these sunglasses have conventional ear stems with a paddle shaped or an arcuate shaped end and are attached to the lens or frame members with conventional hinge means.
Other types of eyewear or eyeglasses have also been designed where the typical rigid ear stem is replaced with a flexible ear stem or suspension wires. Various rubber-like or plastic boots, which are attached to the free end of conventional ear stems, have also been designed to aid in the retention of the eyewear about the wearer's head. Last, retractable or spring-loaded hinges have also been designed which aid in the retention and fit of the eyewear.
However, none of these previous attempts to improve the retention of eyewear on the wearer's head, provide the secure retention necessary for active movement, comfortably fit the wearer's head, and have the means for self adjustment.
The present invention provides a new and unique ear stem system for maintaining the eyewear, and lenses, about the wearer's head. Further, this invention provides for a unique system which firmly attaches the eyewear to the wearer's face and self-adjusts to maintain uniform and constant pressure across the wearer's face or readjust after contact. Moreover, the present invention provides for a self-adjusting ear stem system wherein one size can comfortably fit a great cross section of people without providing complicated parts which require time-consuming adjustment procedures.