A stroller for carrying a user or multiple users may include a first and second front frame member for supporting a seat or seats and back support member, a first and second back frame member being detachably connected to the first and second front frame member, an expandable base member which connects between the first and second front frame member and the first and second back frame member. The expandable frame member may move between an extended and a retracted position to provide a storage area. The first and second back frame member may include handles, and the first and second front frame members may include an upper section and a lower section. The upper section may pivot with respect to the lower section, and the first and second back frame members may pivot with respect to the extendable base member. The first and second front frame members may pivot with respect to the extendable base member.

Baby strollers have been known and used for a number of years in order to provide a comfortable apparatus to move a baby or small child. The trend in baby strollers has been to reduce the size of the baby stroller in order to provide for a device that can be placed in a vehicle easily. However, reducing the size of the baby stroller has also reduced or eliminated the amount of storage area that is available for purchases while shopping with the baby stroller or for storing the needs of the baby. There remains a need for a baby stroller that can accommodate a large amount of packages or baby needs and yet can be easily stored within a vehicle.
U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 6,657 issued on Sep. 28, 1875, to A. W. Daby describes a children's carriage having a shape of a swan with a canopy and rear handle supported by sills resting on a pair of ornate springs attached to the axles. The carriage is distinguishable for its requirement for spring action.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,539,236 issued on Jan. 23, 1952, to Evelyn Dore describes a bird-shaped baby carriage with two folding seats, which face each other in the body cavity. The carriage has a bird head with a hollow neck for storing items, large wings, a rear handle decorated with small birds, and angularly bent legs resting on the chassis frame supported by four wheels. The carriage is distinguishable for its required folding opposed seats.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,833 issued on Jul. 6, 1976, to Henry Fleischer describes a portable baby holding device which may take the form of a combination baby carriage, stroller, infant seat, car seat, car bed, bassinet, and high chair. The device has a canopy completely covering the baby and a collapsible frame comprising a horizontal primary tubular support having hook-like members angling upward and rearward, i.e., push handle, and supported by an upper cross member and extendible cross members supporting the rear wheels. Front caster wheels support the front portion of the primary tubular support. The device is distinguishable for its required horizontal primary tubular support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,196 issued on Jul. 7, 1987, to Kip Van Steenberg describes a child car seat superstructure apparatus convertible into a stroller comprising a super-structure shell having a pair of longitudinally extending arms, a U-frame rear pusher bar rotatable forward by a rack type positioner, a base frame with four wheels supporting the removable seat and adjustable chair back. The apparatus is distinguishable for requiring a superstructure to accommodate only a single infant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,281 issued on May 9, 1989, to David K. Sanchas describes a convertible car seat to a stroller apparatus comprising a latched together two-piece hollow seat structure having a seat belt on the upper portion across the wings, and openings in the lower portion for the vehicle's seat belt. For forming the stroller, the lower portion is removed to lower the folded perimeter framework supporting four wheels via an inner and outer scissors link. An enclosed U-shaped handle is pivoted upward in the rear. The apparatus is distinguishable for being limited to accommodate one infant and requiring a perimeter frame for the wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,680 issued on Nov. 9, 1989, to Terrence O. Molnar describes a convertible car seat and stroller combination apparatus comprising a padded child's seat having a telescopic U-shaped handle extending upward from behind the back of the seat, and a perimeter frame having four wheels extendible downward. The apparatus is distinguishable for being limited to one occupant and requiring a perimeter frame for the wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,894 issued on Jan. 30, 1990, to David L. Singletary describes a stroller car seat apparatus comprising a conventional infant seat having a safety harness, a U-shaped padded front guard bar, a U-shaped telescoping handle in the rear, a pivoting front footrest, and a folding rectangular scissors framework with four wheels. The apparatus is distinguishable for being limited to one child and requiring an obtrusive lower framework.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,134 issued on Apr. 14, 1992, to Richard E. Cone describes a convertible child's combination car seat and stroller apparatus comprising a molded plastic shell with lower door panels for including a four-wheel assembly on front and rear pivoting legs. The two front wheels can rotate, but the rear wheels are doubled. A telescopic handle is mounted in the shell. The apparatus is distinguishable for being limited to one child and can only be placed on a vehicle seat backwards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,311 issued on Jun. 7, 1994, to Julio A. Bofill describes a combination child vehicle seat and stroller apparatus comprising a hollow chair shaped shell having two telescopic handles with bent handle grips on top of the seatback, two side portions having notches to position the vehicle's seatbelt, and retractable wheel assemblies which form a smooth bottom surface of the apparatus. The apparatus is distinguishable for being limited to a child and requiring retractable wheel assemblies and a pair of telescopic handles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,221 issued on Nov. 1, 1994, to Yoon S. Chai describes a baby carriage convertible to a safety car seat with a harness comprising a body assembly including a seat, a back, a footrest, and side plates. A wheel assembly is pivotally mounted on the body assembly and adapted to be folded back. A handle assembly is pivotally mounted on the body assembly and adapted to be rotated into a horizontal position. A locking assembly locks and releases the wheel assembly. When the carriage is converted into a safety seat, the wheel assembly is released and folded back, and the handle assembly is rotated into a horizontal position to be used as an arm rest plate. The apparatus is distinguishable for being limited to one baby, and requiring the rotation of the handle assembly to serve as an arm rest.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,951 issued on Mar. 21, 1995, to Choon W. Ryu describes a convertible child car seat and stroller apparatus comprising a molded plastic safety seat with a forwardly rotatable U-shaped handle, and a collapsible wheel assembly positioned outside the safety seat. The apparatus is distinguishable for being limited to one child and having an exposed folded wheel assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,096 issued on Dec. 26, 1995, to Chien Ting describes a collapsible multi-use baby carriage having a structure transformable into a dining chair, a safety seat in a car, a cradle, and a bed comprising a seat, a backrest pivotally connected with the seat to change the angle of the backrest, a U-shaped hand rest pivotally connected with the backrest. The structure has a pushing handle, two opposite telescopic side tubes with a windable support plate between the side tubes, and windable on a winding tubular shaft housed in a front tube of the hand rest for pulling out for supporting food. Two front and rear casters are pivotally connected with the bottom of the seat and foldable to the seat bottom. The carriage is distinguishable for being limited to one infant, and requiring a windable support plate and two opposite side tubes.
U.K. Patent Application No. GB 2 211 08 2A published on Jun. 28, 1989, describes an interchangeable infant's seat used as either a car seat or a pram seat comprising a rigid right-angled lightweight chassis left in the car and a pram chassis which accommodates the interchangeable right-angled seat by the car seat belt and clips in the car and by clips in the pram. The device is distinguishable for being limited to one infant and requiring separate car seat and pram supports.
U.K. Patent Application No. GB 2 254 587 A published on Oct. 14, 1992, describes a child seat convertible into a pushchair comprising a seat in a supporting frame adapted to be mounted in a vehicle and on a wheeled frame having releasably mounting parts on each side of the seat and the frame. The carrier is distinguishable for being limited to one infant.
U.K. Patent Application No. GB 2 262 914 A published on Jul. 7, 1993, describes a molded child seat for a vehicle and convertible into a pushchair comprising a supporting frame having two triangular lateral sub-frames interconnected by cross rails. Each sub-frame is equipped with a pair of mounting pins adapted to engage with appropriately shaped and positioned slots on the wheeled pushchair frame. The apparatus is distinguishable for being limited to one infant and requiring a supporting frame.
Other patents include U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,506 discloses a combined shopping cart stroller having cargo carrying and passenger carrying capabilities. The shopping cart stroller comprises a frame supported on wheels for rolling movement, a seat mounted to the frame and being shiftable between an unfolded position in which the seat is positioned to support the passenger and a folded position in which the folded seat defines a portion of a forward cargo area, a rearward cargo area defined by a rearward portion of the frame, and a lower cargo area defined by a lower portion of the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,904 discloses a convertible stroller and shopping cart having a stroller portion and a shopping cart portion. The stroller portion includes a seat secured to a metal frame, and the shopping cart portion comprises a collapsible receptacle. The receptacle can be oriented in two orientations, a stowed orientation adjacent the seat and a deployed orientation over the seat. When the receptacle is deployed, it conforms to the seat, creating a shopping cart from the stroller.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,212 discloses a cart having a frame member including upright and lateral frame portions. A platform is attached to the lateral frame portion and a stationary seat assembly is secured to the upright frame portion. The stationary seat assembly includes a rearwardly facing stationary seat, a handle and a safety bar between the seat and the handle. A pivoting mechanism is mounted to the lateral frame portion remote from the upright frame portion. The pivoting mechanism is moveable between a substantially upright position and a retracted position and is located relative to a back portion of the seat. A flexible receptacle is attached to the pivoting mechanism, and moves between an open and collapsed position when the pivoting mechanism is moved between the substantially upright and the retracted position, respectively. The stationary seat and the platform are accessible when the pivoting mechanism is in the substantially upright position or the retracted position.
U.S. design Pat. D478,198 discloses a combined shopping cart/stroller.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,840 discloses a combined shopping cart stroller having cargo carrying and passenger carrying capabilities. The shopping cart stroller comprises a frame supported on wheels for rolling movement, a seat mounted to the frame and being shiftable between an unfolded position in which the seat is positioned to support the passenger and a folded position in which the folded seat defines a portion of a forward cargo area, a rearward cargo area defined by a rearward portion of the frame, and a lower cargo area defined by a lower portion of the frame.
U.S. design Pat. D470,084 discloses a convertible stroller and shopping cart having an 'X' frame.
U.S. design Pat. D465,632 discloses a combined shopping cart/stroller.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,891 discloses a convertible stroller and shopping vehicle having a stroller portion and a shopping vehicle portion. The stroller portion includes a seat which is movable from a deployed position to a stowed position. In the deployed position, the invention is used as a stroller. The shopping vehicle portion includes a collapsible receptacle that can be oriented in one of two orientations. In an open orientation, the receptacle creates a shopping cart while in a collapsed orientation the invention can be used to transport bulk materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,854 discloses a convertible stroller and shopping vehicle having a stroller portion and a shopping vehicle portion. The stroller portion includes a seat which is movable from a deployed position to a stowed position. In the deployed position, the invention is used as a stroller. The shopping vehicle portion includes a collapsible receptacle that can be oriented in one of two orientations. In an open orientation, the receptacle creates a shopping cart while in a collapsed orientation the invention can be used to transport bulk materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,229,083 discloses a stroller includes a stroller body and a basket support mechanism. The stroller body has two front legs, two rear legs, a handle, and a seat support part. The basket support mechanism has a basket support member disposed below the rear legs of the stroller body, and a flexible member disposed between the basket support member and a front upper part of the stroller body.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,059 discloses a cart including a frame and a rigid base section horizontally registered above a ground level and oriented parallel thereto. Casters are mated to opposed corners of the base section. An upper section is pivotally conjoined to opposed corners of the base section and is offset along a vertical plane. The upper section is spaced from the casters. A collection bin is centrally housed within the upper section and seated on the base section. The bin is arranged so that the upper section abuts proximal and distal top ends of the bin. Clamping arms are anchored to a distal end of the base section and spaced from the upper section respectively. The upper section and the clamping arms are simultaneously and independently articulated during operating conditions.


An apparatus and method for processing a Web page is disclosed. A Web processing unit receives a first Web page from a Web server and displays the first Web page on a screen. The Web processing unit acquires a communication program identified by the first Web page. An external state is monitored and thereby operation information responsive to the external state is generated. The Web processing unit executes the communication program to change the first Web page displayed on the screen to a second Web page according to the operation information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus having a function of acquiring a Web page via the Internet, a system, and a Web page processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, digital electric household appliances have become increasingly popular. Such conventional digital household appliances are mainly so-called "stand-alone" devices such as a digital TV, a DVD player and an MP3 player. However, more attention has recently been given to a category called "network electric household appliances." The network electric household appliances sharply differ from the conventional electric household appliances in that they are mainly Internet-capable household devices. This means that Internet technology, whose main platform has been personal computers, begins to be used in the field of electric household appliances. In near future, Internet technology and personal-computer technology would be positively applied to the field of digital electric household appliances.
Technology of so-called Web browser is very prevalent in the technical field of personal computers and the Internet. Web browsers are now introduced not only into personal computers but also into most types of mobile phones and some types of televisions. It is widely recognized that the range of applications of Web browsers is very wide. It is expected that Web browser techniques will be applied very widely to electric household appliance controllers, remote controllers, etc.
One of Web browser techniques, which has drawn special attention, is Java(R). As is well known, the use of Java(R) can remarkably enhance the performance of expression on the screen displayed on the Web browser, and can realize display as if a computer application were running on the Web browser.
However, with increasing popularization of Internet-capable digital household appliances in the future, it will become necessary to harmoniously associate various functions required for digital household appliances, such as "voice recognition", "speech synthesis", "odor recognition" and "emotion recognition", with network functions or Web browser functions. These functions need to be dynamically applied to the network household appliances and Web browsers in the future.

Communication apparatus, system and web page processing method


A switch coupling structure includes a cap and a seat that are coupled to form a housing chamber inside to hold switch elements. The cap and seat have a coupling surface. The cap and seat have respectively a first fastening portion and a second fastening portion formed in a mating convex and concave fashion corresponding to the coupling surface. The first and second fastening portions are partly or entirely covered by a bonding material so that they are bonded together without the bonding material overflowing inside or outside the switch. Hence no interference occurs to the switch elements.

The conventional switch case generally includes a cap and a seat that are coupled through tenons and mortises as shown in FIG. 1 to form a housing chamber inside to hold switch elements. Such a structure has drawbacks, notably: 1. The tenons and mortises have tolerances which make coupling of the cap and seat not precise and firm, and loose coupling occurs; 2. As the cap and seat have tolerances on the coupling surface, moisture tends to enter the switch and results in damage of the conductive elements in the switch; 3. Expensive molds have to be made to produce the mating tenons and mortises, hence the cost is higher.
FIG. 2 illustrates another conventional switch. It has a cap and a seat fastened through a bonding material on the coupling surface. Such a structure can prevent the moisture from entering the switch so that the conductive elements are less likely to be damaged. The production cost also is lower. However, to evenly dispense the bonding material on the bonding surface is difficult, and the bonding material easily overflows from the flat bonding surface under pressure during fastening process to smear the interior or exterior of the switch. The switch elements could be tampered and malfunction or result in poor contact. The production yield could suffer and the production cost could increase.
R.O.C. patent publication No. 484748 discloses a waterproof switch which includes a hollow base with an open end and a pushbutton located on the open end. The inner wall of the base at the open end has at least one jutting detent wall, and the inner walls of the detent wall and the base are interposed by a trough. The trough has at least one channeling port directing outwards to discharge unwanted liquid and external material. It is waterproof and can prevent liquid and external material from entering the switch. But the air contains moisture which still can seep into the switch. Hence how to develop a switch with a case which can be coupled firmly to fend off moisture and reduce damage of the conductive elements in the switch is an issue remained to be resolved in the industry.
Other references of switch with the seat and cap coupled through latches can be found in R.O.C. patent publication Nos. 531036, 515561 and 458358.


There is described a combustion system which completely incinerates substances to be burned, particularly non-industrial wastes and industrial wastes, without involvement of generation of harmful substances. The combustion system has a singlet-oxygen generator for generating singlet-oxygen by excitation of oxygen from the triplet state to the singlet state, and induction means for introducing the thus-generated singlet oxygen into a combustion chamber. More preferably, the combustion system has merging means for merging the singlet oxygen and air. Alternatively, the singlet oxygen generator is built into a combustion chamber. Further, the singlet oxygen generator is arranged so as to excite triplet oxygen to singlet oxygen by means of microwave discharge.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for incinerating substances, and more particularly, to a combustion system suitable for incinerating non-industrial wastes and industrial wastes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Incineration of a substance is usually carried out by means of a high-temperature oxidative reaction between oxygen contained in air and the substance, and therefore the presence of oxygen-containing air is indispensable for combustion. Air surrounding the planet has been considered to be formed during the course of a long history of evolution from the Genesis era. The era at which air has become substantially equal in composition to that at the present time, particularly, the time when the oxygen content of air substantially reached its current level, is not known with certainty. At least in terms of atmospheric composition, it is believed that there is not much difference between air that existed at the time when human beings emerged and air that exists now. Primitive men should have observed, as one type of natural phenomenon, combustion in such forms as spontaneous ignition typified by a forest fire. Combustion per se is a natural phenomenon which has been well known since time immemorial. Since primitive man mastered fire, which is considered to have taken place far back into the prehistoric period, the techniques for mastering fire have probably been utilized actively, as combustion method, for the sake of our lives.
A conventional combustion system is designed so as to effect an oxidative reaction by utilization of oxygen contained in the air, and is provided with means for supplying sufficient oxygen or air to a combustion furnace. In some cases, a proper amount of fuel is added to the furnace in order to efficiently incinerate substances to be combusted, as needed. An air outlet section is further formed in the combustion furnace, and, for example, an exhaust gas is delivered from the air outlet section to a cooling chamber where solid residues are eliminated from the gas. The resultant gas is exhausted from a chimney. In effect, various types of combustion systems or incinerators are available; e.g., a total continuous feed incinerator, a quasi-continuous feed incinerator, a mechanical batch feed incinerator, and a fixed batch feed incinerator.
Although the majority of substances are completely burned during the course of combustion and are converted to stable oxides, some of the substances are incompletely burned and yield various types of volatile, less-volatile, and nonvolatile products. For example, when organic substances, such as ordinary organic compounds, are completely burned, water and carbon dioxides are largely produced. More specifically, when cellulose which is the principal constituent of paper or soybean oil is completely burned, water and carbon dioxides are produced. In contrast, if the cellulose or soybean oil is incompletely burned, various types of unburned substances, e.g., carbon monoxides, aldehyde, and soot are exhausted and a polynuclear aromatic compound, such as pyrene, is produced from the cellulose. Tobacco smoke and exhaust gas from a car are also known to contain various types of products resulting from incomplete combustion.
Unburned products contain substances deleterious to the global environment or human health. Particularly, toxic substances which are also known as environmental hormones act as endocrine disturbing chemicals, such as dioxin, are produced in an incinerator as a result of incineration of wastes at insufficient temperatures. Serious environmental pollution caused by such toxic substances have recently been considered a global social problem. All the countries of the world, including Japan, are required to take immediately measures against such pollution.
In light of the present situation set forth, the object of the present invention is to provide a combustion system which completely burns substances to be incinerated, particularly, non-industrial wastes and industrial wastes, without involvement of generation of harmful substances.


A template minutia set of a fingerprint comprising template minutiae and a template interest region is provided. Further, an input minutia set comprising input minutiae and an input interest region according to an input fingerprint is provided. The input minutia set is matched with the template minutia set. All matching template/input minutiae are determined. Furthermore, an updated template minutia set is determined dependent on the matching template/input minutiae and the non-matching template/input minutiae, and dependent on whether the template minutiae are inside the input interest region or outside of it and whether the input minutiae are inside the template interest region or outside of it.

The invention relates to a method and a device for computer-based processing a template minutia set of a fingerprint and a computer readable storage medium.
In order to provide an identification mechanism based on biometric characteristics of a person which is to be identified, one biometric characteristic often used for personal verification/identification is the person's fingerprint.
In this kind of verification/identification, typically the person's fingerprint is detected by a fingerprint sensor, thereby generating a fingerprint image.
The word "fingerprint" is herein used as a representative of a fingerprint or a like pattern or figure. More particularly, the fingerprint may be an actual finger; a palm print, a toe print, a soleprint, a squamous pattern, and a streaked pattern composed of streaks. The fingerprint may also be a diagram drawn by a skilled person to represent a faint fingerprint remain which is, for example, left at the scene of a crime.
Usually, the person, who would like to use a device for this kind of verification/identification is required to register his or her fingerprint in a registration step for later verification/identification in a verification/identification step.
During the registration, characteristic features of the fingerprint will be extracted and stored in a storage media of the device. Such a fingerprint image is called the template fingerprint and such a stored characteristic features are called the template minutiae.
When a person wants to use the device, he has to present his fingerprint to the device.
The unknown fingerprint of the person who wants to be identified in a verification/identification step is usually called input fingerprint. The characteristic features of the input fingerprint will be extracted and matched against the template minutiae of the template fingerprint. If a match is found, the person is identified as the person the respective pre-stored template fingerprint refers to. Otherwise, the person is identified as an unauthorized user and the further use of the device will be prohibited.
The template minutiae usually comprise geometrical and other useful characteristic information (or features) pertaining to the local discontinuities (the minutiae) of the fingerprint, such as                the type of the current minutiae,        the location of the current minutiae,        the direction of the current minutiae,        the ridge count between the current minutiae and its neighboring minutiae,        the location of the neighboring minutiae,        the distance relationship of the current minutiae with respect to its neighboring minutiae, and/or        the angular relationship of the current minutiae with respect to its neighboring minutiae.
In [1], [2] and [3], methods to determine the template minutiae are described. The basic concept of these methods is to determine the minutiae present in a single fingerprint image. From these determined minutiae, the required parameters are subsequently determined.
Furthermore, methods to match the fingerprints or to compare whether two fingerprints are similar to each other or not using the fingerprint templates, are described in [4], [5], [6] and [7].
Noise, contrast deficiency, improper image acquisition, geometrical transformation, deformation and skin elasticity will make a captured fingerprint image deviate from the ideal fingerprint of the person. The poor quality of the captured fingerprint image will make a reliable minutia extraction very difficult. Spurious minutiae can be produced, valid minutiae can be dropped and the minutia type (ending and bifurcation) may be exchanged due to the noise and interference of the fingerprint image. The problem of automatic minutia extraction has been thoroughly studied but never completely solved. The employment of various image enhancement techniques can only partly solve the problem [8]. In [2] five different minutia extraction techniques well known in the literature were implemented and their performances were compared. In the experiments disclosed in [2], the best technique dropped 4.51% genuine minutiae, produced 8.52% spurious minutiae and caused 13.03% minutiae exchanged their type. The total error is then 26.07%. For the rest four approaches, the total error is 33,83%, 119.80%, 207.52% and 216.79%, respectively. From these experimental results it is seen that a perfect minutia extraction is a very difficult task.
An automatic fingerprint verification/identification system will successively receive fingerprint images of users in the practical application after the registration. The fingerprint imaging condition, which causes the minutia extraction error, will change with time due to the change of the skin condition, climate and on-site environment. Thus, the image noises and interferences of fingerprints received by the system at different time might be quite different.
However, improving the fingerprint image quality based on these multiple images is very difficult and memory and computation too expensive due to the image size and image pose transformation.

Method and device for computer-based processing a template minutia set of a fingerprint and a computer readable storage medium


A detergent bar composition containing 5-70% detergent active, 0.5-30% amorphous alumina, 0.5-30% of at least one alkali metal salt of carboxylic/sulphonic acid, and 10-55% water.

The invention relates to a synergistic composition of soap/detergent bars for personal/fabric washing, or cleaning of hard surfaces. This invention particularly relates to a low density detergent bar comprising high levels of water and other liquid benefit agents.
Conventional detergent bars, based on soap for personal washing contain over about 70% by weight total fatty matter (TFM), the remainder being water (about 10-20%) and other ingredients such as colour, perfume, preservatives, etc. Structurants and fillers are also present in such compositions in small amounts, which replace some of the soap in the bar while retaining the desired hardness of the bar. A few known fillers include starch, kaolin and talc.
Hard non-milled soaps containing moisture of less than 35% are also available. These bars have a TFM of about 30-65%. The reduction in TFM has been achieved by the use of insoluble particulate materials and/or soluble silicates. Milled bars generally have a water content about 8-15%, and the hard non-milled bars have a water content of about 20-35%.
Fabric washing compositions contain, as an essential ingredient, a surfactant system whose role is to assist in removal of soil from the fabric and its suspension in the wash liquor. Detergent bars require an acceptable physical strength so that they retain their structural integrity during handling, transport and use. The hardness of the bars, at the time of manufacture and subsequently, is an especially important property. Inclusion of certain ingredients to make the bar harder usually results in higher density bars, making the bars considerably smaller and thus less attractive to the consumer and more difficult to handle during fabric washing, and sometimes also gritty to feel. Commercially available detergent bars contain detergent active components and detergent builders together with optional components such as for example abrasives, fillers, perfumes, alkaline salts and bleaching agents.
Commercial hard surface cleaning compositions typically comprise, one or more surfactants and a plurality of abrasives dispersed therein. Combinations of these together with electrolytes are generally used to form a suspending system, as is well known in the art
Increased water structuring of the bars helps in improving the in use properties of the bar without affecting its physical properties in an economical way. It is important to deliver sensory properties such as lather and skin feel by incorporating benefit agents in the formulation without altering the processability and physical properties of the bar.
IN 176384 discloses a detergent composition with low TFM content having high ratio of water to TFM without affecting hardness, cleaning and lathering properties of the bar by the incorporation of up to 20% colloidal aluminium hydroxide (A-gel). The A-gel/TFM combination enabled the preparation of bars with higher water content, whilst using TFM at a lower level. In this patent, although the A-gel concentration disclosed is upto 20% by weight, the demonstration of the invention is restricted to the use of 7.5% by weight A-gel in combination with 40 TFM with an additional structurant such as 5% by weight of alkaline silicate.
Our copending application 811/Bom/98 discloses that the use of A-gel from 9 to 16% by weight of the composition synergistically improves the processability, sensory and physical properties of low TFM bars.
It is an advantage of the invention to be able to formulate high moisture detergent compositions with good processability and improved water retention capacity without affecting in-use properties of the bar.
It is another advantage of the invention to be able to manufacture extruded detergent bars using fatty acids mixtures having Iodine Value (IV) in the range from 0 to 110. It is possible to produce detergent bars using fatty acid mixtures with an IV beyond 70 with good physical properties by an extrusion route without addition of processing aids such as silicates. It has also been possible to structure better and higher levels of liquid benefit agents other than water.
It is another advantage of the invention to be able to formulate low density detergent bars suitable for fabric washing having acceptable physical strength so that they retain their structural integrity during handling, transport and use.
Accordingly, in a first aspect the invention provides a detergent bar composition comprising:
from 5 to 70% by weight of detergent active;
from 0.5 to 30% by weight of amorphous alumina;
from 0.5 to 30% by weight of at least one alkali metal salt of carboxylic/sulphonic acid;
0-60% by weight inorganic particulates;
from 0-30% by weight detergent builder;
from 10 to 55% by weight of water;
optionally other benefit agents; and
the balance being other and minor additives.
According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided a detergent bar composition comprising:
from 15 to 70% by weight of total fatty matter;
from 0.5 to 30% by weight of amorphous alumina;
from 0.5 to 30% by weight of at least one alkali metal salt of carboxylic/sulphonic acid;
from 10 to 55% by weight of water;
optionally other liquid benefit agents; and
the balance being other and minor additives
According to yet another aspect of this invention there is provided a detergent bar composition comprising:
from 10 to 70% by weight of non-soap detergent active;
from 0.5 to 30% by weight of amorphous alumina;
from 0.5 to 30% by weight of at least one alkali metal salt of carboxylic/sulphonic acid;
from 10 to 35% by weight of water;
optionally other liquid benefit agents;
0-60% by weight inorganic particulates;
0-30% by weight detergent builder; and
1-15% by weight sodium aluminosilicate.
The detergent active used in this process may be soap or non-soap surfactants. The term total fatty matter, usually abbreviated to TFM, is used to denote the percentage by weight of fatty acid and triglyceride residues present in soaps without taking into account the accompanying cations.
For a soap having 18 carbon atoms, an accompanying sodium cation will generally amount to about 8% by weight. Other cations may be employed as desired, for example zinc, potassium, magnesium, alkyl ammonium and aluminium.
The term soap denotes salts of carboxylic fatty acids. The soap may be derived from any of the triglycerides conventionally used in soap manufacturexe2x80x94consequently the carboxylate anions in the soap may generally contain from 8 to 22 carbon atoms.
The soap may be obtained by saponifying a fat and/or a fatty acid. The fats or oils generally used in soap manufacture may be such as tallow, tallow stearines, palm oil, palm stearines, soya bean oil, fish oil, caster oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, babassu oil, palm kernel oil, and others. In the above process the fatty acids are derived from oils/fats selected from coconut, rice bran, groundnut, tallow, palm, palm kernel, cotton seed, soybean, castor etc. The fatty acid soaps can also be synthetically prepared (e.g. by the oxidation of petroleum, or by the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide by the Fischer-Tropsch process). Resin acids, such as those present in tall oil, may be used. Naphthenic acids are also suitable.
Tallow fatty acids can be derived from various animal sources, and generally comprise about 1-8% myristic acid, about 21-32% palmitic acid, about 14-31% stearic acid, about 0-4% palmitoleic acid, about 36-50% oleic acid and about 0-5% linoleic acid. A typical distribution is 2.5% myristic acid, 29% palmitic acid, 23% stearic acid, 2% palmitoleic acid, 41.5% oleic acid, and 3% linoleic acid. Other similar mixtures, such as those from palm oil and those derived from various animal tallow and lard are also included.
Coconut oil refers to fatty acid mixtures having an approximate carbon chain length distribution of 8% C8, 7% C10, 48% C12, 17% C14, 8% C16, 2% C18, 7% oleic and 2% linoleic acids (the first six fatty acids listed being saturated). Other sources having similar carbon chain length distributions, such as palm kernel oil and babassu kernel oil, are included within the term xe2x80x9ccoconut oilxe2x80x9d.
A typical fatty acid blend consists of 5 to 30% coconut fatty acids and 70 to 95% fatty acids ex. hardened rice bran oil. Fatty acids derived from other suitable oils/fats such as groundnut, soybean, tallow, palm, palm kernel, etc. may also be used in other desired proportions.
The composition according to the invention will preferably comprise detergent actives which are generally chosen from both anionic and nonionic detergent actives.
Suitable anionic detergent active compounds are water soluble salts of organic sulphuric reaction products having in the molecular structure an alkyl radical containing from 8 to 22 carbon atoms, and a radical chosen from sulphonic acid or sulphuric acid ester radicals, and mixtures thereof.
Examples of suitable anionic detergents are sodium and potassium alcohol sulphates, especially those obtained by sulphating the higher alcohols produced by reducing the glycerides of tallow or coconut oil; sodium and potassium alkyl benzene sulphonates such as those in which the alkyl group contains from 9 to 15 carbon atoms; sodium alkyl glyceryl ether sulphates, especially those ethers of the higher alcohols derived from tallow and coconut oil; sodium coconut oil fatty acid monoglyceride sulphates; sodium and potassium salts of sulphuric acid esters of the reaction product of one mole of a higher fatty alcohol and from 1 to 6 moles of ethylene oxide ; sodium and potassium salts of alkyl phenol ethylene oxide ether sulphate with from 1 to 8 units of ethylene oxide molecule and in which the alkyl radicals contain from 4 to 14 carbon atoms; the reaction product of fatty acids esterified with isethionic acid and neutralised with sodium hydroxide where, for example, the fatty acids are derived from coconut oil and mixtures thereof.
The preferred water-soluble synthetic anionic detergent active compounds are the alkali metal (such as sodium and potassium) and alkaline earth metal (such as calcium and magnesium) salts of higher alkyl benzene sulphonates and mixtures with olefin sulphonates and higher alkyl sulphates, and the higher fatty acid monoglyceride sulphates.
Suitable nonionic detergent active compounds can be broadly described as compounds produced by the condensation of alkylene oxide groups, which are hydrophilic in nature, with an organic hydrophobic compound which may be aliphatic or alkyl aromatic in nature. The length of the hydrophilic or polyoxyalkylene radical which is condensed with any particular hydrophobic group can be readily adjusted to yield a water-soluble compound having the desired degree of balance between hydrophilic and hydrophobic elements.
Particular examples include the condensation product of aliphatic alcohols having from 8 to 22 carbon atoms in either straight or branched chain configuration with ethylene oxide, such as a coconut oil ethylene oxide condensate having from 2 to 15 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of coconut alcohol; condensates of alkylphenols whose alkyl group contains from 6 to 12 carbon atoms with 5 to 25 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alkylphenol; condensates of the reaction product of ethylenediamine and propylene oxide with ethylene oxide, the condensate containing from 40 to 80% of polyoxyethylene radicals by weight and having a molecular weight of from 5,000 to 11,000; tertiary amine oxides of structure R3NO, where one group R is an alkyl group of 8 to 18 carbon atoms and the others are each methyl, ethyl or hydroxyethyl groups, for instance dimethyldodecylamine oxide; tertiary phosphine oxides of structure R3PO, where one group R is an alkyl group of from 10 to 18 carbon atoms, and the others are each alkyl or hydroxyalkyl groups of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, for instance dimethyldodecylphosphine oxide; and dialkyl sulphoxides of structure R2SO where the group R is an alkyl group of from 10 to 18 carbon atoms and the other is methyl or ethyl, for instance methyltetradecyl sulphoxide; fatty acid alkylolamides; alkylene oxide condensates of fatty acid alkylolamides and alkyl mercaptans.
It is also possible to include cationic, amphoteric, or zwitterionic detergent actives in the compositions according to the invention
Suitable cationic detergent actives that can be incorporated are alkyl substituted quarternary ammonium halide salts e.g. bis (hydrogenated tallow) dimehtylammonium chlorides, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, benzalkonium chlorides and dodecylmethylpolyoxyehtylene ammonium chloride and amine and imidazoline salts for e.g. primary,secondary and tertiary amine hydrochlorides and imidazoline hydrochlorides.
Suitable amphoteric detergent-active compounds that optionally can be employed are derivatives of aliphatic secondary and tertiary amines containing an alkyl group of 8 to 18 carbon atoms and an aliphatic radical substituted by an anionic water-solubilizing group, for instance sodium 3-dodecylamino-propionate, sodium 3-dodecylaminopropane sulphonate and sodium N-2-hydroxydodecyl-N-methyltaurate.
Suitable zwitterionic detergent-active compounds that optionally can be employed are derivatives of aliphatic quaternary ammonium, sulphonium and phosphonium compounds having an aliphatic radical of from 8 to 18 carbon atoms and an aliphatic radical substituted by an anionic water-solubilising group, for instance 3-(N-N-dimethyl-N-hexadecylammonium)propane-1-sulphonate betaine, 3-(dodecylmethyl sulphonium) propane-1-sulphonate betaine and 3-(cetylmethylphosphonium) ethane sulphonate betaine.
It is especially preferred to incorporate for personal wash formulations benefit agents comprising up to 30% by weight of the composition. The benefit agents are generally skin benefit materials such as moisturisers, emollients, sunscreens, or anti-ageing compounds, and are incorporated at any step prior to step of milling. Alternatively certain of these benefit agents may be introduced as macro domains during plodding.
A typical fatty acid blend consisted of 5 to 30% coconut fatty acids and 70 to 95% fatty acids ex. hardened rice bran oil. Fatty acids derived from other suitable oils/fats such as groundnut, soybean, tallow, palm, palm kernel, etc. may also be used in other desired proportions.
For the purpose of the invention, the amorphous alumina-carboxylate and/or amorphous alumina-sulphonate is prepared by reacting at least one carboxylic acid and/or sulphonic acid such as herein described with an aluminium containing alkaline material such as sodium aluminate typically with a solid content of 20 to 55%, wherein the Al2O3 to Na2O is typically in a ratio of 0.5 to 1.55:1 by weight, in a hydrophilic medium to obtain amorphous alumina-carboxylate and/or amorphous-sulphonate at a temperature-of between 25xc2x0 C. and 95xc2x0 C.
The carboxylic acids mentioned are those which preferably have an equivalent weight of less than 150, and may be selected from aliphatic monocarboxylic acids that are not fatty acids and their polymers; more preferably they are C1 to C5 carboxylic acids and their polymers. Other suitable carboxylic acids are aliphatic or aromatic di, tri, or poly carboxylic acids, and hydroxy and amino carboxylic acids.
The carboxylic acids may be selected from monocarboxylic acids such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butanoic acid, isobutyric acid, etc., di- or poly- carboxylic acids such as succinic, malonic, malic, maleic, citric and tartaric acid etc. or their polymers such as polyacrylic acids, acrylic-maleic copolymers, etc.
Hydroxy carboxylic acids selected from glycolic, lactic, ricinoleic, or the amino carboxylic acids such as glycine, valine, or leucine may also be employed.
The sulphonic acid may be selected from aliphatic or alkyl aromatic having a molecular weight less than 350. The hydrophilic medium used for the reaction may be water or a mixture of water and alcohol/polyol/ether/polymers.
The detergency builders used in the formulation are preferably inorganic, and suitable builders include for example alkali metal aluminosilicates (zeolites), alkali metal carbonate, sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), tetrasodium pyrophosphate (TSPP), citrates, sodium nitrilotriacetate (NTA) and combinations of these. Builders are suitably used in an amount ranging from 1 to 30% by wt.
Examples of moisturisers and humectants include polyols, glycerol, cetyl alcohol, carbopol 934, ethoxylated castor oil, paraffin oils, lanolin and its derivatives. Silicone compounds such as silicone surfactants like DC3225C (Dow Corning) and/or silicone emollients, silicone oil (DC-200 Ex Dow Corning) may also be included. Sun-screens such as 4-tertiary butyl-4xe2x80x2-methoxy dibenzoylmethane (available under the trade name PARSOL 1789 from Givaudan) and/or 2-ethyl hexyl methoxy cinnamate (available under the trade name PARSOL MCX from Givaudan) or other UV-A and UV-B sun-screens may also be used.
Inorganic particulate phase is not an essential ingredient of the formulation, but may be incorporated especially for hard surface cleaning compositions. Preferably, the particulate phase comprises a particulate structurant and/or abrasive which is insoluble in water. In the alternative, the abrasive may be soluble and present in such excess to any water present in the composition that the solubility of the abrasive in the aqueous phase is exceeded, and consequently solid abrasive exists in the composition.
Suitable inorganic particulates can be selected from particulate zeolites, calcites, dolomites, feldspars, silicas, silicates, other carbonates, bicarbonates, borates, sulphates and polymeric materials such as polyethylene.
The most preferred inorganic particulates are calcium carbonate (such as e.g. Calcite), mixtures of calcium and magnesium carbonates (such as e.g. dolomite), sodium hydrogen carbonate, borax, sodium/potassium sulphate, zeolite, feldspars, talc, koalin and silica.
Calcite, talc, kaolin, feldspar and dolomite and mixtures thereof are particularly preferred due to their low cost and colour.
Other additives such as one or more water insoluble particulate materials such as e.g. talc or kaolin, polysaccharides such as starch or modified starches and celluloses may be incorporated.
Minor and conventional ingredients are preferably selected from enzymes, anti-redeposition agents, fluorescers, colour, preservatives and perfumes, and also bleaches, bleach precursors, bleach stabilisers, sequestrants, soil release agents (usually polymers) and other polymers may optionally be incorporated up to about 10 wt %.
The process of the invention may be carried out in any mixer conventionally used in soap/detergent manufacture and is preferably carried out in a high shear-kneading mixer. The preferred mixers include a ploughshare mixer, mixers with kneading members of Sigma type, multiwiping overlap, single curve or double arm. The double arm kneading mixers can be of overlapping or the tangential design.
Alternatively, the invention can be carried out in a helical screw agitator vessel, or multi-head dosing pump/high shear mixer and spray drier combinations, as in conventional process.
Illustrations of a few non-limiting examples are provided herein by way of demonstration only showing comparative results of the composition prepared according to the present invention and beyond the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows an x ray diffraction spectrum of amorphous silica.

Detergent bar comprising amorphous silica and salt of carboxylic and/or sulphonic acid

Unilever Home and Personal Care USA, division of Conopco, Inc.


A system and a method for profiling traffic on a computer network. Flows are observed traversing a communication link. Relative uncertainty values are computed for the dimensions of these flows. These relative uncertainty values are used to identify dominant feature values in the various flow dimensions. Flows having these dominant feature values are filtered.

As computer networks such as the Internet continue to grow in size and complexity, the challenge of effectively provisioning, managing and securing networks has become linked to a deep understanding of their traffic. Indeed, recent spates of cyber-attacks and the frequent emergence of applications affecting Internet traffic dynamics demonstrate the importance of identifying and profiling significant communication patterns within network traffic data. Nevertheless, because of the vast quantities of data and the wide diversity of traffic on large networks, developing a comprehensive understanding of the collected data remains a daunting and unfulfilled task. Most of the prior work in this area has focused on specific aspects of traffic or applied metrics that are deemed interesting a priori to identify significant network events of interest. For example, several systems today focus on techniques for identifying port scans or for analyzing worm and other exploit activities on the Internet. Further, signature-based intrusion detection systems look for well-known signatures or patterns in network traffic, while several anomaly detection systems have been developed using data mining techniques.
However, there are currently insufficient techniques in the art directed towards generating general profiles of traffic in terms of behaviors, i.e., communication patterns of end-hosts and services. The need for such profiles has become increasingly imperative and urgent in light of wide spread cyber attacks and the frequent emergence of disruptive applications that can rapidly alter the dynamics of network traffic and bring down valuable Internet services. Complicating the task of profiling during these cyber attacks is the large volume of network traffic that accompanies such attacks. Indeed, there is a need for a robust real-time traffic behavior profiling system that is capable of continuously extracting and analyzing "interesting" and "significant" traffic patterns on high-speed network links, even in the face of sudden surge in traffic (e.g., when the network is under a denial-of-service attack).

Profile-aware filtering of network traffic


A cartridge and method that is useful in installing an endless belt in one or more modules of a belt containing system is disclosed. The cartridge may include at least two internal cartridge rolls around which said belt is wound, a traveling roll around which belt is positioned, and gear racks on which said traveling roll will move, said belt being movably connected on one end to one of said internal cartridge rolls and on an opposite end to said traveling roll, end caps located at each end of said internal cartridge rolls, said end caps and internal cartridge rolls having conduits therethrough, and a sheath to cover and contain said internal cartridge rolls.

The continuous belt described in this disclosure includes a wide range of applicable belts including systems using media belts, photoconductor belts, photoreceptor belts, intermediate transfer belts, electrostatic belts and transport belts. While the present invention can be used in all of these above-noted systems, it will be described herein for clarity as used in electrostatic marking systems.
By way of an example, in one color system, an array or series of different color imaging stations are aligned above an endless belt. Each imaging station contains a raster output scanner (ROS), photoreceptor drum, development station and cleaning station. The ROS emits an electronic beam (laser) which impinges on the rotating photoconductive drum thereby causing that location on the drum to undergo a change in electrical charge. As the drum continues to rotate past the development station, toner particles of a color which is unique to that imaging station will attach to the drum at the location charged by the ROS. This colored image is then transferred to an intermediate transfer belt that is passing by and in contact with the photoreceptor drum. As the intermediate belt passes by the different imaging stations (each usually containing a different color), it picks up subsequent color layers to create a complete color image which is then transferred to media.
In today's high speed systems, the intermediate belt is in contact with several abrading components of the marking system such as other belts, drums, rolls, cleaning blades/brushes, etc. and frequently needs replacement. Care must be taken when installing new belts since even minor damage to the belt could cause it to lose functionality totally or partially. Current methods require handling of exposed and/or loose belt to place belt over a series of rollers. Removal/handling of a belt module and removal/handling of the belt increases probability of module/belt damage. The complication of the current prior art approach restricts continuous belt replacement to a technical service call.
In these electrostatic marking systems, a photoreceptor belt surface is generally arranged to move in an endless path through the various processing stations of the xerographic process. Sometimes, the photoreceptor or photoconductor surface is in the form of an endless belt and in other systems it is in the form of a drum. In this endless path, several xerographic-related stations are traversed by the photoconductive belt, which becomes worn as are belts in several of these stations in various belt configurations. In addition to photosensitive belts included for use in this invention are transfer belts, intermediate transfer belts, and the like. Each of these belts is exposed to friction and moved by rollers that provide the belt movement to accomplish the belt purpose. After awhile, the belt needs to be replaced. Since the intermediate transfer and photoreceptor surface in particular are reusable, the surface of the belts is constantly abraded and cleaned by a blade and/or brushes and prepared to be used once again in the marking process.
Image-carrying belts such as intermediate or photoreceptor belts used in color printing processes can be especially difficult to replace and install. In some machines, the horizontal intermediate transfer belt is over 6-10 feet long; however, any suitable length belt may be used in the present invention. Belt installation requires careful alignment with the belt module to prevent belt damage. At even longer belt lengths, the replacement operation is extremely difficult to install without belt damage occurring.
Even in monochromatic marking systems that use shorter belts for various functions, extreme care must be taken not to damage the belts during installation. In some instances, the belts are constructed of thin flexible polymeric materials that can easily scratch or be damaged during belt replacement or even during original installation.
Embodiments of belt installation of this invention in marking systems provide belt alignment during the installation process with a minimum of belt damage.

System for installing a continuous belt in a marking system


A digital signature is generated in association with target data. The computer generating the digital data encrypts the digital signature using a public key encryption system. The private key is stored in dynamic memory in a secure manner. The public key associated with the private key is stored in an accessible database. The public key is accessed from the database and used by recipient computers to authenticate the target data by decrypting the encrypted digital signature. When the computer generating the digital signature is restarted, the private key stored in dynamic memory is lost. The computer obtains a new private and public key pair from the public key encryption system. The previously used public key is maintained in the database until a predefined time has elapsed, after which it is removed from the database.

Where the trustworthiness of digital data is important, it is known to use digital signatures to permit authentication of the digital data. When data is transferred from a sender to a recipient, the prior art provides a mechanism for the recipient to confirm that the received data is the same as the data as it was sent. A known technique is for the sender to compute a digest of the data before it is sent. The digest, and potentially other identifying data, makes up a digital signature. The digest is encrypted using a private key generated using a public key encryption standard (for example, the RSA encryption standard) and is attached to the sent data. A party seeking to authenticate the data is able to decrypt the digital signature (the data digest) using the public portion of the public-private encryption key pair. The recipient is able to compare the decrypted digest with the data received. If the decrypted digest conforms to the data actually received then the recipient of the data has an assurance that the data is the same as what was sent.
Due to the properties of the public-private pair of keys in the public encryption standard, the recipient can be assured that the digest of the data was generated by the party having access to the private key, only. In this way, the party using the data can ensure that the data has not been tampered with after the digest was encrypted by the party holding the private key.
In such a system the sender will make available the public key portion of the public-private key pair generated by the public key encryption system. This public key will permit any user having access to the public key to decrypt the digital signature which has been generated by the use of the associated private key.
Typically, in systems such as that described above, a given public-private key pair will be valid for a certain period of time, following which a new public-private key pair is generated. To ensure that the public key remains useful during the stipulated time period, it is known to save, in a secure manner, the private key, to ensure that if the system generating data is restarted for any reason, the private key will be available for use digitally after the system is restarted.
As will be apparent, the security of this system is compromised where the private key is not securely stored. In the prior art different approaches are used, including the use of smart cards for the storage of private keys, to keep the private keys secure.
Such approaches, however, either make the private keys potentially vulnerable to breaches of security or incorporate potentially expensive and complex security mechanisms to maintain the private key in a secure manner.
It is therefore desirable to have a digital signature system in which the private key may be maintained in a secure manner without requiring complex security mechanisms.

Generation and use of digital signatures


A signal adjuster is disclosed to include a first connector and a second connector respectively connected to a signal source and a video display device, a buffer for buffering a high frequency signal, a signal bandwidth detector connected to the buffer for detecting the continuation condition of the high frequency signal, an adjustable equalizer connected between the buffer and the second connector and connected with the signal bandwidth detector for actively adjusting signal strength of the high frequency signal subject to the detection of the signal bandwidth detector, an amplifier for amplifying the enhanced high frequency signal from the adjustable equalizer, and a driver for driving the second connector to output the amplified high frequency signal from the amplifier to the video display device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to signal adjuster and more particularly, to a signal adjuster for connection between a signal source and a video display device through a high frequency signal cable to enhance the strength of the transmitting high frequency signal by means of an adjustable equalizer subject to the detection of a signal bandwidth detector.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there is a great change in audio and video application industry. In consequence, a variety of audio and video devices have been developed and intensively used in our daily life. These audio and video devices including CD/VCD/DVD players, high resolution digital TVs, video phones and videoconference systems commonly use a digitalized technology to process audio signal in video signal. Following different application requirements, related protocols have been well defined. For example, DVI (Digital Video Interface) is a connection standard for connection between a display card system and a display device, for particularly, a digital display device. A DVI display card system comprises a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter can be built in the display card system. DVI is established subject to TMDS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) protocol, i.e., PanelLink technology that supports VGA to QXGA (2048×1536) resolution, has the pulse speed of 25˜165 MHz. The bandwidth can reach 1.65 Gbps during transmission under one single channel link, or over 2 Gbps during transmission under two channel links. TMDS allows transmission of digital signal, therefore it is connectable to a conventional CRT monitor.
Early analog TVs adopt analog signal only. Analog signal uses a low frequency as the transmission interface. Low frequency allows transmission of only one signal at a time. The picture quality of an analog TV is less clear. In recent years, digital TVs have been intensively used to substitute for conventional analog TVs. A digital TV accepts transmission of multiple image signals at a time. For transmission of a big amount of video data, a digital TV uses a high-frequency interface for signal transmission. This high-frequency interface is used an application of HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable that provides an uncompressed digital link between consumer electronics equipment such as DVD players, set-top boxes and audio/video monitors such as plasma display screens for HDTV's. HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a signal cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports 4-channel digital audio, with bandwidth to spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements.
However, when multiple users share one single high frequency signal cable through a router and there is a long distance between transmitter side and receiver side, the signal will be attenuated following the increasing of the distance between the transmitter side and the receiver side, and the images will be interfered with noises. Due to this drawback, a high-frequency interface may be not usable in certain fields. Further, in order to eliminate noises during transmission of a signal to a digital TV through the cable, a signal adjuster may be attached to the transmitter side or the receiver side to enhance the signal.
Although many new video signal transmission interface means have been continuously developing, there is still a limitation to the effective transmission distance. The use of a conventional signal adjuster in a high frequency signal cable still cannot allow a great extension of the length of the high frequency signal cable.


A method and apparatus for encapsulating microelectronic devices. In one embodiment, the method includes removing a portion of encapsulating material that at least partially surrounds a microelectronic substrate by directing a source of laser radiation toward the encapsulating material. The method can further include exposing a surface of the microelectronic substrate, for example, to enhance a rate at which heat is transferred away from the microelectronic substrate. Alternatively, the encapsulating material can be removed to form heat transfer structures, such as pins or ribs, also to enhance a rate at which heat is transferred away from the microelectronic substrate. In still another embodiment, a portion of the encapsulating material or a support member to which the substrate is attached can be removed to define interlocking features that allow one microelectronic substrate package to be stacked on another and to resist relative movement between the two packages.

Packaged microelectronic assemblies, such as memory chips and microprocessor chips, typically include a microelectronic die mounted to a substrate and encased in a plastic protective covering. The die includes functional features, such as memory cells, processor circuits, and interconnecting circuitry. The die also typically includes bond pads electrically coupled to the functional features. The bond pads are coupled to pins or other types of terminals that extend outside of the protective covering for connecting the microelectronic die to buses, circuits and/or other microelectronic assemblies.
In one conventional arrangement shown in FIG. 1A, a die 20 is mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB) 30 with an adhesive layer 23. The die 20 has internal functional features (not shown in FIG. 1A) coupled to die bond pads 33a on an external surface of the die 20. Each die bond pad 33a is connected with a wire bond 34 to a corresponding PCB bond pad 33b on a surface of the PCB 30 facing away from the die 20. Accordingly, the PCB 30 has a central aperture 31 that receives the wire bonds 34 and is aligned with the die bond pads 33a. The PCB bond pads 33b are connected to solder ball pads 32 with circuitry (not shown) internal to the PCB 30 for coupling the die 20 to other devices or circuit elements.
To encapsulate the die 20, the die 20 and the PCB 30 are positioned in a mold apparatus 40 by clamping a portion of the PCB 30 between an upper mold portion 41 and a lower mold portion 42. The die 20 is aligned with an upper cavity 43 in the upper mold portion 41 and the wire bonds 34 are aligned with a lower cavity 44 in the lower mold portion 42. A mold compound 60, such as an epoxy mold compound, is injected into the mold cavities 43 and 44, and the encapsulated die 20 and PCB 30 are then removed from the mold apparatus 40. The periphery of the PCB 30 is trimmed to form the device package 50 shown in FIG. 1B. Solder balls 35 are attached to the solder ball pads 32 for coupling the device package 50 to other devices, such as another PCB 30a having bond pads 33c aligned with the solder balls 35.
One drawback with the approach described above with reference to FIGS. 1A-1B for packaging the die 20 is that the mold apparatus 40 can allow the mold compound 60 to adhere to the solder ball pads 32 during the encapsulation process. For example, unclamped regions 45 of the lower mold portion 42 directly adjacent to the solder ball pads 32 are not directly supported by any corresponding structure of the upper mold portion 41 when the mold portions 41 and 42 are clamped together (by contrast, adjacent clamped regions 46a of the lower mold portion 42 are subjected to a direct normal force by corresponding clamped regions 46b of the upper mold portion 41). Accordingly, the PCB 30 can flex away from the unclamped region 45 and can allow the mold compound 60 to cover the solder ball pads 32. The mold compound 60 on the solder ball pads 32 can prevent the solder balls 35 from properly adhering to the solder ball pads 32, and can accordingly interfere with a secure electrical connection between the device package 50 and other devices or circuit elements to which the package 50 is attached. Furthermore, the flexing PCB 30 can place stresses on the die 20 that can potentially damage the die 20.
One approach to addressing the foregoing drawback is to form a trench in the lower mold portion 42 adjacent to the solder ball pads 32 for collecting any mold compound 60 that approaches the solder ball pads 32. However, such trenches are not always effective and, as the dies 20 become smaller, it can be difficult to find space between the lower cavity 44 and the solder ball pads 32 in which to position such a trench.
Another drawback with the conventional approach described above with reference to FIGS. 1A-1B is that it can be difficult to transfer heat away from the die 20 through the mold compound 60. Accordingly, the die 20 can overheat, which can limit the performance and/or the expected life of the die 20.
Still another drawback with the conventional arrangement described above with reference to FIGS. 1A-1B is that it may not be convenient to stack the device packages 50 on top of each other, a technique that can increase the number of packages 50 provided per unit area in compact electronic devices. In one conventional stacked arrangement, notches are cut into the edges of the PCB 30 of each package 50 and a jig is used to align the notches of a first package with the notches of a second package stacked on the first package. However, this arrangement can be cumbersome and can cause damage to the dies 20, for example, if the jig is handled improperly.

Method and apparatus for removing encapsulating material from a packaged microelectronic device


Compounds useful to control pests are provided.

There is an acute need for new pesticides. For example, insects and mites are developing resistance to the insecticides and acaricides in current use. At least 400 species of arthropods are resistant to one or more insecticides. The development of resistance to some of the older insecticides, such as DDT, the carbamates, and the organophosphates, is well known. But resistance has even developed to some of the newer pyrethroid insecticides and acaricides. Therefore, a need exists for new insecticides and acaricides, and particularly for compounds that have new or atypical modes of action.


A method of and apparatus for operating an automated mechanical transmission (AMT) achieves switching between and selecting one of a plurality of automated mechanical transmission shift scheduling modes. Such switching or selection occurs and is controlled by the vehicle operator undertaking a sequence of non-routine operating steps or inputs which are interpreted by a microprocessor or controller as a request for a change of the shift scheduling mode.

The invention relates generally to operating methods and apparatus relating to automated mechanical transmissions (AMT's) and more particularly to a method and apparatus for selecting one of a plurality of automated mechanical transmission shift scheduling modes and associated software.
Automated mechanical transmissions may be accurately characterized as comprising two components: a multiple speed gear change transmission having pneumatic, electric or hydraulic actuators which control translation of transmission shift rails and a microprocessor based electronic control unit which receives data from multiple sensors which sense, for example, shaft speeds, engine operation and operator commands and provides transmission and clutch actuators with control signals based upon stored software embodying specific shift scheduling modes.
While the transmission and actuators are fairly characterized as sophisticated, it is the operating algorithms and related memory and control systems of the electronic control unit which controls overall operation of the transmission and its actuators to which the designation sophisticated is most aptly applied. The engineering and program or software choices embodied in the controller and algorithms are primarily responsible for satisfying the vehicle operator, achieving smooth, predictable and safe vehicle operation, providing improved fuel efficiency and extending the service life of components such as the master friction clutch.
One of the benefits of automated mechanical transmissions and particularly the algorithms and data systems of the associated electronic control units is the ability to provide a transmission shift scheduling mode optimized for a particular operating condition or set of conditions such as performance, fuel economy, a routinely encountered operating condition such as urban congestion or steep grade associated with mountain operation, a particular tractor manufacturer's operating preferences, even a particular vehicle operator's preferences or any other specific or unique operating parameters.
Generally speaking, to change from one shift scheduling mode to another, that is, to change from one set of operating algorithms to another, requires removal or deletion of the undesired software and downloading of the new software. This activity is preferably undertaken only by a tractor dealership or authorized service organization and typically requires expensive service tools and highly skilled technicians.
The present invention presents a method and apparatus for addressing these difficulties of the prior art and providing improved automated mechanical transmission performance.

Method and apparatus for changing shift scheduling modes of automated mechanical transmission


The present invention provides a composition for detecting and/or characterizing a multiple-charged biomolecule comprising a charged d8 or d10 metal complex, wherein the metal complex electrostatically binds to the multiple-charged biomolecule to induce aggregation and self-assembly of the metal complex through metal . . . metal interactions, π . . . π interactions, or a combination of both interactions. The present invention further provides assay methods and kits for label-free optical detection and/or characterization of biomolecules carrying multiple charges, e.g., single-stranded nucleic acids, polyaspartate, polyglutamate, using a composition comprising a charged d8 or d10 metal complex.

Nucleic acids, either DNA or RNA, single-stranded or double-stranded, are the most fundamental and important class of biomolecules in a living cell. DNA encodes the genetic information that passes from generation to generation. Through transcription, the coded information is transferred to mRNA, which binds to ribosome (specific ribosomal RNA and protein complex). With the assistance of tRNA, which contains an anticodon and a specific amino acid, the carried information of mRNA is translated into a precise sequence of a polypeptide of 20 amino acids. Folding of the polypeptide into a well-defined three-dimensional structure gives the protein. Many classes of protein act as building blocks, enzymes, and regulation factors. Together with other classes of biomolecules, proteins are responsible for the buildup and proper function of a living cell.
Since nucleic acids carry multiple negatively charged phosphate functional groups, they are polyanions. Under physiological conditions, poly(aspartic acid) and poly(glutamic acid) form polycarboxylates, which are also polyanions. On the other hand, polylysine, polyarginine, and polyhistidine (in an acidic aqueous solution) carry multiple positive charges, and are considered polycations. Many proteins, when the solution pH is not at their isoelectric point (pI) value, carry net positive or negative multiple charges. In light of the above, methods that can detect and characterize biomolecules with multiple charges are of great importance, which can not only help us to understand how the cell functions, assist biological/biochemical research, but may also provide ways to facilitate biomedical research, clinical diagnosis, and new drug development.
The intriguing structural and bonding properties of square-planar d8 or d10 metal complexes have attracted long-standing interest, and more so recently with the growing interest in the spectroscopic properties associated with this class of metal complexes. These metal complexes are known to display a strong tendency towards the formation of highly-ordered extended linear chains or oligomeric structures in the solid state. The extent of the metal-metal interaction and the π . . . π stacking of the aromatic ligand have led to the observation of interesting spectroscopic and luminescence properties, and recent reports based on the utilization of these observations for molecular recognition, chemosensing, and optoelectronic applications have been made. (17, 23, 27)
A representative example of the class of the aforementioned d8 or d10 metal complexes is the alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridyl complexes (25, 26, 28). By changing the solvent polarity, or using a polyelectrolyte (a polyanion), namely polyacrylate, the d8 or d10 metal complexes are induced to aggregate and self-assemble, thereby creating observable dramatic changes in the UV/vis and emission spectra.
There are a number of assay methods available nowadays for the detection and characterization of multiple-charged biomolecules. However, most of the commonly used existing methods require sophisticated analytical techniques and expensive instrumentations. Many of these methods require labeling with a detectable group, which can be a radioisotope or a fluorescent substance, as well as hybridization procedures for nucleic acid detection. Hence, such methods usually demand high financial cost and are technically complicated and time-consuming.
The present invention provides a novel label-free assay method to sense and characterize multiple-charged biomolecules. Binding of the charged d8 or d10 metal complex to the biomolecule carrying opposite charges induces aggregation and self-assembly of the metal complex, and hence gives rise to remarkable UV/vis, emission, and CD intensity changes. The assay not only provides a means to detect the presence of multiple-charged biomolecules, but can also be used to study their secondary structure and structure/conformation changes.

Label-free optical sensing and characterization of biomolecules by d


A window includes a weather seal system that employs two seals. The first seal is located towards an exterior surface of the window and forms an air-permeable water barrier between an active sash and a sill. The second seal is located towards an interior surface of the window and forms a substantially air-impermeable and water-impermeable barrier between the active sash and the sill.

Buildings and other structures are often constructed with rough openings in which a window is installed. The window may include seals to prevent moisture entry into the building, for example, during a rainstorm. Pressure differentials between the exterior of the building and the interior of the building can have a negative effect on the effectiveness of a seal by pushing water through the seal.

Weather seal system for double hung windows


A desiccant rotor including three or more barrels rotatably disposed in a housing, each of the barrels having a passage formed in a center portion and made of screen material and having one end for receiving air, and a stop disposed in a middle portion of the passage for preventing the air from directly flowing out of the barrel. A rotating mechanism is disposed below the housing for rotating the barrels relative to the housing.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a desiccant rotor, and more particularly to a desiccant rotor of a dehumidifier.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Plastic particles are molten before the plastic materials can be injected and molded, however, the plastic particles should be dried before the melting processes. A typical dehumidifier for dehumidifying the plastic particles is shown in FIG. 7 and comprises a desiccant rotor 90 for supplying dehumidified air into a hopper dryer 91 in which plastic particles are contained. It is preferable that the air is preheated by a heater 92 before entering into the hopper dryer 91. The air flown out from the hopper dryer 91 flows through a filter 93 and an air cooler 94 and is pumped into the dehumidifying areas of the desiccant rotor 90 by a blower 95, part of the air flown out of the hopper dryer 91 flows through a filter 93 and an air cooler 94 and is pumped into the cooling areas of the desiccant rotor 90 by the blower 95. A pump 97 also pumps air into the regeneration areas of the desiccant rotor 90 and the air is preheated by a heater 98 before entering into the regeneration areas of the desiccant rotor 90, such that a heated air is pumped into the regeneration areas of the desiccant rotor 90 in order to draw the humidity from the desiccant of the desiccant rotor 90.
A typical desiccant rotor 90 is shown in FIG. 8 and comprises a cylindrical housing 80 rotatably engaged between a cap 81 and a base 82, two plates 83, 84 engaged on the upper portion of the housing 80 and two boards 85, 86 engaged on the lower portion of the housing 80, a shaft 87 rotatably engaged between the cap 81 and the base 82 and having three blades 88 fixed thereon. The base 82 includes three inlets 89 formed therein such that air can be supplied into the housing 80 of the desiccant rotor 90, the air then flows out of the housing 80 via the cap 81. In this type of single desiccant rotor 90, the interior thereof is divided into three areas which require different temperatures, however, the temperature of the areas will be interfered with one another such that the air can not be suitably dehumidified.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional desiccant rotors of the dehumidifiers.


The invention comprises an apparatus and methodology facilitating an accurate, user-friendly system for controlling the charge state (i.e., color level) of an electrochromic device. The invention provides a two button control methodology implemented as a sequential logic controller or, in another embodiment, a microprocessor-based controller. After initiation via, e.g., an external switch, the invention iteratively modifies and measures a charge level of the electrochromic device until an additional switch activation or until a maximal or minimal charge level is achieved.

The optical properties of electrochromic materials change in response to electrically driven changes in oxidation state. Thus, when an applied voltage from an external power supply causes electrons to flow to (reduction) or from (oxidation) an electrochromic material, its transmittance properties change. In order to maintain charge neutrality, a charge balancing flow of ions in the electrochromic device is needed. By enabling the required electron and ion flows to occur, an electrochromic device utilizes reversible oxidation and reduction reactions to achieve optical switching.
Conventional electrochromic devices comprise at least one thin film of a persistent electrochromic material, i.e., a material which, in response to application of an electric field of given polarity, changes from a high-transmittance, non-absorbing state to a low-transmittance, absorbing or reflecting state. Since the degree of optical modulation is directly proportional to the current flow induced by the applied voltage, electrochromic devices demonstrate light transmission tunability between high-transmittance and low-transmittance states. In addition, these devices exhibit long-term retention of a chosen optical state, requiring no power consumption to maintain that optical state. Optical switching occurs when an electric field of reversed polarity is applied.
To facilitate the aforementioned ion and electron flows, an electrochromic film which is both an ionic and electronic conductor is in ion-conductive contact, preferably direct physical contact, with an ion-conducting material layer. The ion-conducting material may be inorganic or organic, solid, liquid or gel, and is preferably an organic polymer. The electrochromic film(s) and ion-conductive material are disposed between two electrodes, forming a laminated cell.
When the electrode adjacent to the electrochromic film is the cathode, application of an electric field causes darkening of the film. Reversing the polarity causes electrochromic switching, and the film reverts to its high-transmittance state. Typically, an electrochromic film such as tungsten oxide is deposited on a substrate coated with an electroconductive film such as tin oxide or indium tin oxide to form one electrode. The counter electrode is typically a similar tin oxide or indium tin oxide coated substrate.
Since an electrochromic device may be modeled as a non-linear passive device having an impedance dominated by a capacitive component, the amount of charge transferred to an electrochromic device is typically controlled by utilizing current sources and current sinks.
Unfortunately, present control methodologies tend to be directed towards ease of use and accuracy, but not both. Therefore it is seen to be desirable to provide a method and apparatus facilitating ease of use and accuracy within the context of an electrochromic control system.

Method and apparatus for controlling an electrochromic device


In a double-clad optical fiber comprising a core having an index of refraction n.sub.1, an inner cladding surrounding the core and having an index of refraction n.sub.2, and a first outer cladding surrounding the inner cladding and having an index of refraction n.sub.3 (wherein n.sub.1 >n.sub.2 >n.sub.3), the softness of the first outer cladding often renders it difficult to perform polishing or other mechanical operations on the end of the fiber. To reduce such difficulties it is advantageous to remove the first outer cladding from a limited end portion of the fiber, replacing it with a second outer cladding having an index of refraction n.sub.4 (wherein n.sub.2 >n.sub.4) and a hardness which is greater than that of the first outer cladding.

This invention relates to a double-clad optical fiber and to a process for the production of such a fiber. More specifically, this invention relates to a double-clad optical fiber in which the outer cladding on an end portion of the fiber differs from that on the central portion of the fiber, thereby facilitating polishing or other mechanical manipulation of the fiber.
Double-clad optical fibers comprising a core having an index of refraction n.sub.1, an inner cladding surrounding the core and having an index of refraction n.sub.2, and an outer cladding surrounding the inner cladding and having an index of refraction n.sub.3 (wherein n.sub.1 >n.sub.2 >n.sub.3) are well known and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,815,079; 5,268,978; 5,373,576 and 5,418,880. Such double-clad optical fibers are used primarily as fiber lasers, and when so used the core is normally a single-mode core of laser material which is disposed within a multi-mode inner cladding.
The number of materials which are practical for use in the core of such a double-clad optical fiber is small, and accordingly the available values of n.sub.1 are limited; a typical core material is a rare earth-doped silica, having n.sub.1 .about.1.47. The inner cladding is typically substantially pure silica, having n.sub.2 .about.1.46. Furthermore, as is well known to those skilled in the optical fiber art, the numerical aperture of a double-clad fiber depends upon the difference between the refractive indices of the inner and outer claddings (i.e., on the difference between n.sub.2 and n.sub.3) and since a large numerical aperture is desirable to facilitate introduction of light into the fiber, n.sub.3 should be substantially less than n.sub.2 ; in practice, n.sub.3 should be less than about 1.43, and desirably not more than about 1.39. Furthermore, the outer cladding needs to have good adhesion to the inner cladding and low light attenuation to avoid loss of energy from the fiber. Finally, the material of the outer cladding must be such that a uniform thin layer of outer cladding can be formed at high speed upon the inner cladding.
The number of materials which can meet all these requirements for the outer cladding is extremely limited, and considerable research has been devoted to developing outer cladding materials. In practice, the only materials which meet the requirements of refractive index, adhesion, low attenuation and ease of application are radiation-cured polymers derived from highly fluorinated acrylates or similar monomers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,507 describes the preparation of a cladding from a photopolymerizable composition comprising an unsubstituted or fluorosubstituted diacrylate monomer; a fluorinated monofunctional acrylate monomer in an amount of from about 2 to about 12 parts by weight per part by weight of the diacrylate monomer; a photoinitiator; and a viscosity modifying agent to increase the viscosity of the composition to about 1000 to about 15000 cP. Upon photocuring with ultra-violet radiation, the composition has a refractive index not greater than about 1.43, and preferably not greater than about 1.40. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,484,822; 5,492,987 and 5,534,558 describe a process, for cladding an optical fiber, in which a photoinitiator monomer, having both a photoinitiating group and an ethylenically unsaturated group, is reacted with a fluorosubstituted monomer having an ethylenically unsaturated group, thereby preparing a copolymer having pendant photoinitiating groups. This copolymer is then mixed with a fluorosubstituted diacrylate, thereby forming a photopolymerizable composition, which is coated on to the optical fiber and exposed to ultraviolet light, thereby curing the photopolymerizable composition to produce the cladding. Preferred claddings of this type can have refractive indices below 1.35. (For convenience, outer claddings produced using the composition of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,024,507; 5,484,822; 5,492,987 and 5,534,558 will hereinafter be called "Fluoropolymer claddings".)
Although Fluoropolymer claddings meet the requirements of refractive index, adhesion, low attenuation and ease of application to fibers, they are, like most highly fluorinated polymers, soft, having hardness values not greater than about HDD-50, where "HDD" refers to the Hardness Durometer D grade hardness measured in accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard D2240 (usually abbreviated "ASTM D2240"); all hardness values quoted herein are measured at 23.degree. C. The softness of Fluoropolymer claddings tends to cause problems during mechanical operations on the double-clad fibers. In most uses of such fibers as fiber lasers, it is necessary to provide one or both ends of the fiber with a reflective end surface, i.e., with an optically flat end surface extending perpendicular to the axis of the fiber, or with a similar, closely controlled end surface to allow reliable optical contact with an external mirror. Such an end surface is normally prepared by polishing the end of the fiber. Given the small diameter, of the order of 0.5 mm, and the consequent flexibility of the fiber, it is necessary to confine the fiber in a rigid holder during polishing, and in practice it is convenient to fix the end of the fiber (normally with a strong adhesive) within a capillary tube, with the end of the fiber essentially flush with the end wall of the tube, and to polish the ends of the fiber and the tube simultaneously. Unfortunately, the Fluoropolymer claddings are so soft, and the differences in coefficient of thermal expansion between them and glass capillaries so large, that during such a polishing operation the fiber tends to extrude out of the capillary and it is very difficult to control the exact form of the end surface produced; thus, a good reflective end surface is often not formed. Similar problems may occur during other mechanical operations on the fiber.
It has now been found that the aforementioned problems with Fluoropolymer clad fibers can be reduced or eliminated, without significant adverse effects on the optical properties of the double-clad fiber, by modifying the outer cladding on an end portion of the fiber.

Clad optic fiber, and process for production thereof