A combination fluid level indicator and fluid discharge device is provided for preventing inaccurate fluid level indications and facilitating fluid discharge from a compressor or other container. The device includes a body or conduit having an inlet end installed in an aperture through to a compressor housing to fluidly communicate with the compressor and receive the lubricating oil therefrom. A visual indicator provides an indication of the level of the oil within the compressor housing. A discharge port with cap, plug, valve or other flow control member permits selective discharge of the fluid from the compressor through the body. The device is installed in an aperture extending through a side of a compressor housing proximate the bottom thereof and indicates the level of lubricating oil within the housing and permits discharge of oil from the housing.

As awareness of the detrimental effect of fluorocarbons on the environment increases and government regulations on the release of fluorocarbons become more stringent, the use of refrigerant recovery systems is becoming more widespread. Refrigerant recovery systems are designed to draw refrigerant from disabled refrigeration systems. Typical refrigeration systems include household refrigerators, air conditioning units, heat pumps, vending machines for soft drinks, water coolers for drinking water, and other small air conditioning and refrigerating systems. Such systems typically use chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC's) or other heat transfer medium. The use of CFC's as refrigerants is discussed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,331, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
When the compressor of such a refrigeration system is burned out, the motor winding of the compressor is melted and releases resins and acids into the refrigerant which are harmful to the refrigeration system. The contaminated refrigerant may be removed and recovered by use of a refrigerant recovery system and subsequently cleaned and recycled.
Many refrigerant recovery systems include a compressor for removing substantially vaporized refrigerant from a disabled refrigeration system and expelling the refrigerant from the compressor at an outlet pressure higher than the inlet pressure. Some of the contaminants contained within the refrigerant may be absorbed by the oil in the compressor of the recovery system. Therefore, it is often desirable if not necessary to change the oil in the compressor of the recovery system between different recovery operations. Contaminated compressor oil is typically drained through an oil outlet port and clean oil recharged through an oil inlet port. A small amount of compressor oil may dissipate during operation. In the event that the level of oil in the compressor is insufficient, additional oil may be added to the compressor through the oil inlet port. If the compressor is operated with insufficient lubricating oil for a sufficient period of time, it too will "burn out."
Various means are typically used to determine and/or monitor the level of lubricating oil in the compressor. For example, a sight glass has been mounted at the distal end of an elongated, L-shaped tube which was fluidly connected to the compressor housing However, compressor failure has occurred with the such indicators due to lack of lubrication even though the sight glass at the end of the L-shaped tube indicated that lubricant was present in the compressor because the L-shaped tube was not oriented properly with respect to the compressor housing. In particular, because of its extreme length, the distal end of the tube was often downwardly pitched. Even at a relatively small angle lubricant would collect at the distal end of the L-shaped tube and give an erroneous indication of an adequate level of lubricant in the compressor.
Many compressors are also provided with a separate drain outlet and plug in the bottom of the compressor housing for draining lubricant from the compressor. However, users typically encounter difficulties in completely draining lubricant from the compressor housing. When the unit is recharged, new refrigerant cycled through the compressor may then become contaminated. It would be advantageous to have a single device which may be coupled to a compressor or other container which provides a reliable indication of the oil level in the compressor and permits essentially complete draining of the compressor to inhibit cross-contamination between oil charges.

Combination fluid level indicator and discharge device


Instrumentation for determining audio phase polarity is directed particularly to avoiding errors commonly encountered in pulsed acoustic polarity testing due to waveform distortions such as overshoot and ringing typically introduced by loudspeaker cone resonances, etc. The acoustic signal is sensed by a test microphone, amplified and processed to provide a non-inverted and an inverted waveform which are envelope-detected and their leading edges analyzed in real time at three key levels. One of pair of latching comparators triggers at a designated level to determine the phase polarity. The result is held in register while the signal amplitude is checked. If the amplitude is found to be within a suitable working dynamic range then the registered phase polarity is indicated by a timed indication on either a red or a green LED; otherwise indication is inhibited to avoid error. Thus a user sensitivity control is not required. A special test signal generator provides a fast-rising impulse waveform repeating at one second intervals, available at a line level output port for driving amplifier inputs, and at a loudspeaker output port for direct polarity testing of loudspeakers from special battery-power-efficient drive circuitry. Options include provisions for polarity testing of microphones and for using an external test microphone on a boom to reach inaccessible speaker locations.

In the practice of audio technology there is often a need to determine the polarity of the phase relationship, i.e. whether "in phase" or "out of phase", between the input and output ports of a functional audio block such as an amplifier or an audio channel which may include several links of different media such as electrical, acoustic, modulated r.f., optical, magnetic, etc., connected in tandem.
A common requirement is to determine or verify polarity at the terminals of transducers such as loudspeakers and microphones.
Another common requirement is to determine the overall phase polarity of an audio channel including an amplifier and a loudspeaker.
Where several loudspeakers are operated together there is a need to ensure that all of the loudspeakers are operating in phase with each other to avoid cancellation and loss of acoustic efficiency and quality. This need for relative phasing applies to both monophonic and stereophonic systems, and applies generally wherever interaction may occur, for example between loudspeakers and microphones.
In professional sound activities, good practice requires at least a general observance of relative phasing to minimize the variables; however as increasingly higher levels of excellence are sought, heightened polarity awareness leads to observance of absolute phase polarity throughout an entire system as verified by polarity testing of all system components, electrical and acoustic.


A connector device comprises a tray, a connector body, a lock member and a pressing member. The lock member is unmovable beyond a second position along an ejection direction. The pressing member applies a force toward the second position directly or indirectly to the lock member. The tray is formed with a locked portion. The lock member is provided with a lock portion and a pressed portion. The lock portion locks the locked portion to prevent the tray from moving beyond a lock position along the ejection direction when the tray is accommodated in the connector body. The pressing member presses the pressed portion against the case when the connector device is attached in the case. The tray located at the locked position is positioned relatively to the case by this pressing.

This invention relates to a connector device connectable with a card mounted on a tray, and an electronic apparatus comprising this connector device.
For example, this type of connector device is disclosed in each of JP-B 3213872 (Patent Document 1) and JP-A 2008-108695 (Patent Document 2), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
As shown in FIG. 42, the connector device of Patent Document 1 comprises a tray and a connector body having an electrical connection function. When the tray is accommodated in the connector body, a part of the tray and a part of the connector body are engaged with each other to maintain the accommodated state.
As shown in FIG. 43, the connector device of Patent Document 2 comprises a tray having a locked portion, a connector body having an electrical connection function, and a lock portion. When the tray is accommodated in the connector body, the locked portion and the lock portion are engaged with each other to maintain the accommodated state.
In each of the connector devices of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the position of the tray depends on the position of the connector body. Accordingly, when the connector device is attached in a case of an electronic apparatus, the relative position of the tray to the case depends on the relative position of the connector body to the case. However, it is difficult to control the relative position of the connector body to the case because of fabrication tolerances and erection tolerances of various members. Accordingly, the relative position of the tray to the case cannot be easily controlled. For example, when the tray is accommodated in the connector body, a part of the tray might protrude outward from the case.

Connector device and electronic apparatus including thereof

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited


A self-propelled wrapping machine is movable around a product for wrapping the product with a film of synthetic plastic material and includes a self-propalled carriage provided with directional wheels and with a steering assembly for maneuvering the directional wheels. The wrapping machine further includes a spring acting on the steering assembly to exert a first torque and induce the steering assembly (11) to orient the directional wheels according to a prescribed work direction. The wrapping machine also includes a device that is drivable by the steering assembly to exert a further torque, opposite the first torque, on the steering assembly to lighten the assembly and thus facilitate an orienting maneuver of the directional wheels according to a further direction.

The invention relates to a self-propelled wrapping machine. In particular, the invention relates to a self-propelled wrapping machine, or robot, for wrapping products or groups of products that are palletized or arranged on a pallet or on several superimposed pallets with a film of cold stretchable synthetic plastic material.
Such wrapping machines are generally used for wrapping a product or group of products of non-standard dimensions, mainly in small production runs, and in cramped productive environments in which static wrapping machines cannot be used.


A method and apparatus for applying a query to a database that is distributed into first portions. The query is first partially performed by terminals each containing one of the first portions. The results of the partial queries are recombined in such a way as to minimize the traffic among the terminals connected across networks. Paths of an edge-labeled tree representing the database connecting the first portions are expanded into subpaths corresponding to all the states of an automaton modeling the query. The database is distributed into second portions based on the automaton. Non-existing subpaths are ignored based on the automaton and which of the second portions the paths exit. Thus, the data transferred among first portions are minimized and the query process is optimized.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to queries of decomposed unstructured databases.
2. Description of Related Art
Databases that are distributed across networks are difficult and costly to query because a single terminal does not have immediate access to all portions of the database. This problem is especially aggravated when the database is unstructured because no assumptions are permitted regarding portions of the database not under immediate control. Thus, querying such a distributed database requires voluminous transfers of data and/or processing queries serially following the relationships of data in the database among terminals over the network as they are encountered. Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient technique to process queries of unstructured databases that are decomposed into separated portions where the portions are distance from each other (i.e. cannot immediately access more than one of the portions).

Queries on distributed unstructured databases


The disclosed embodiments provide a system that facilitates the development and execution of a software program. During operation, the system obtains, from the software program, a method call associated with one or more interfaces containing a virtual extension method. Next, the system resolves the method call by obtaining a method implementation corresponding to the method call from at least one of an inheritance hierarchy associated with the method call and the virtual extension method.

1. Field
The present embodiments relate to method resolution in object-oriented programming languages. More specifically, the present embodiments relate to techniques for resolving method calls to virtual extension methods declared in interface types of object-oriented programming languages.
2. Related Art
Extension methods in object-oriented programming languages may possibly enable the addition of methods to an existing type without creating a new type, recompiling the existing type, and/or otherwise modifying the existing type. For example, use of extension methods within interfaces may facilitate the evolution of the interfaces without requiring the addition of method implementations corresponding to the extension methods to all classes implementing the interfaces.
However, naming conflicts may exist among extension methods and/or method implementations. For example, two different method implementations with the same method signature may be provided by a class implementing an interface and an extension method associated with the interface. In addition, such naming conflicts may not be recognized by compilers, potentially resulting in subtle, hard-to-detect bugs. For example, a receiving class may implement two interfaces containing extension methods with the same method signature. During execution, a method call with the same method signature as that of the extension methods may be resolved using an extension method from the first interface at one call site and a different extension method from the second interface at a different call site, thus causing two different method implementations to be used in resolving the same method call.
Hence, what is needed is a mechanism for consistently resolving naming conflicts associated with extension methods in programming languages.

Interface method resolution for virtual extension methods


A cutting method for substrates includes: preparing a substrate which has a predetermined circular cut line set thereon; chucking the substrate on a surface of a chuck table which is rotatably supported around a rotation axis of the chuck table such that the predetermined circular cut line of the substrate is concentric with the chuck table; disposing a disc-shaped cutting blade having a rotation axis so that the cutting blade faces the substrate; and cutting the substrate along the predetermined circular cut line of the substrate by the cutting blade while rotating the substrate by rotating the chuck table. The substrate has two cut points which are set on one side and the other side of the predetermined circular cut line such that a rotation center of the substrate is positioned between the one side and the other side of the predetermined circular cut line. The cutting blade is disposed so that the rotation axis of the cutting blade perpendicularly crosses the rotation axis of the chuck table. The cutting blade is reciprocatably supported along the rotation axis of the cutting blade, and alternately cuts into the two cut points of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutting method for substrates (for example, semiconductor wafers) in which a substrate is circularly cut by using a cutting blade and a groove is formed on a substrate by using it. The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus which is advantageously used for the cutting method.
2. Description of Related Art
Semiconductor devices (for example, semiconductor chips) are produced by the following processes. That is, a wafer (for example, a semiconductor wafer) which is composed of a semiconductor substrate material is prepared. Grid-like predetermined division lines are formed on a surface of the wafer, so that plural rectangular device regions are defined by the predetermined division lines on the surface of the wafer. Next, electronic circuits (for example, Integrated Circuits (=ICs) and Large Scale Integrations (=LSIs)) are formed on the device regions. Next, a rear surface of the wafer is ground, so that the wafer is thinned to have a desired thickness. Next, the wafer is divided along the predetermined division lines. As a result, the semiconductor devices (for example, semiconductor chips) are produced. In the above processes, in order to prevent the occurrence of damage (for example, cracking and breakage) in the wafer during handling of the wafer, a circumferential edge of the wafer may be chamfered before the thinning of the wafer.
When a wafer having a chamfered circumferential edge is thinned, the circumferential edge in a cross section is outwardly sharper and thinner so as to have a knife edge shape. Since the same damage may easily occur again in the above condition of the circumferential edge, the circumferential edge is subjected to cutting before thinning of the wafer so as not to have a knife edge shape, so that the circumferential edge has a surface which extends along a thickness direction of the wafer (which extends perpendicularly to a surface of the wafer) as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-173961. If damage (for example, cracking and breakage) occurs at the circumferential edge, the circumferential edge may be the origin of damage which extends to device regions having electronic circuits formed thereon, and the wafer itself may break and become unusable. Therefore, the above cutting of the circumferential edge is advantageous.
The cutting for preventing the generation of a knife edge shape is performed by forming either a ring-shaped step or a circular groove at a circumferential edge proximate to a surface of a chamfered wafer before thinning. The step and the groove have circular shapes which have diameters corresponding to a diameter of the wafer finally obtained and which have depths corresponding to a desired thickness of the wafer after thinning. When a rear surface of the wafer is thinned by grinding, the circumferential edge does not have a knife edge shape and has a surface extending along a thickness direction as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-173961 (in particular, FIGS. 2 to 4).
The above cutting of the circumferential edge uses the following method. That is, a wafer is held horizontally so that a surface thereof faces upward. A cutting blade, which is rotated at a high speed and is positioned above the wafer, is moved downward and cuts a layer of the wafer, which has a predetermined depth from the surface thereof, at a cutting start point on the wafer. From this condition, the wafer is rotated relatively to the cutting blade, thereby cutting the wafer in a horizontal direction.
In addition, in the field of semiconductor devices, there are cases in which either a wafer having a small diameter or a wafer having a shape different from a circular shape is obtained from a wafer having a relatively large diameter by cutting. In these cases, a cutting blade is moved downward and then cuts a layer, which has a predetermined depth from a surface of the wafer, in a horizontal direction as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H11-54461.
In the cutting apparatuses disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications described above, the wafer which is cut by the cutting blade is horizontally held on a disc-shaped rotation pedestal (for example, chuck table) by a device (for example, vacuum chucking device). The rotation pedestal has a rotation axis extending in a vertical direction. On the other hand, the cutting blade is coaxially provided at an end of a spindle having a rotation shaft. The spindle is supported such that an axial direction thereof horizontally extends in a radius direction of the chuck table. The cutting blade moves downwardly to the wafer and cuts it. While the cutting position of the cutting blade is secured, a groove or the like is circularly formed by rotating the wafer 1.
In the above cutting feature, since the circular cutting is performed while the cutting position of the cutting blade with respect to the wafer is unchangeable, two surfaces of the cutting blade are different from each other in wear amount. FIGS. 12A and 12B are schematic diagrams showing the above condition of the cutting blade. When a relative moving direction of a cutting blade 90 in an arrow direction curves at a predetermined rate, front and back edge portions (which correspond to a hatched portion in FIG. 12B) of the cutting blade 90 on an outer circumferential side of the moving direction strongly contact an internal wall surface of a groove 91 formed on the wafer 1. Due to this, an outer circumferential surface of the cutting blade 90 on the side of the moving direction wears more greatly than an internal circumferential surface thereof. When the wear amount of the one surface is larger than the other surface in the above manner, the wear occurs faster in this circular cutting method than in a typical linear cutting method, so that the lifetime of the cutting blade becomes short. As a result, the exchange frequency of the cutting blade is high, so that production is troublesome and production cost is high.

Cutting method for substrate and cutting apparatus therefor


A corium protection assembly includes a perforated base grid disposed below a pressure vessel containing a nuclear reactor core and spaced vertically above a containment vessel floor to define a sump therebetween. A plurality of layers of protective blocks are disposed on the grid for protecting the containment vessel floor from the corium.

An exemplary nuclear reactor, such as a boiling water reactor (BWR), includes a reactor core disposed in a reactor pressure vessel, with the pressure vessel being in turn disposed in a containment vessel. The reactor core includes a plurality of nuclear fuel rods configured in bundles to generate heat which is transfered to water recirculating therein for generating steam to power a steam turbine generator, for example.
Reactivity in the core is typically controlled by a plurality of control rods typically extending vertically upwardly therein from the bottom of the pressure vessel. Conventional control rod drives (CRDs) are mounted below the pressure vessel in a lower drywell region of the containment vessel for selectively inserting the control rods into the core and withdrawing the control rods therefrom for controlling reactivity. The lower drywell is defined by an annular pedestal which is used to support the pressure vessel and which also supports a rotatable platform below the CRDs for their servicing during a maintenance outage. The pedestal must, therefore, support the substantial weight of the pressure vessel, as well as accurately support the CRD servicing platform for the proper removal and installation of the CRDs during the maintenance outage.
The containment vessel is typically a concrete structure having an inner steel liner designed for containing gas of the expected elevated pressure therein in the event of a nuclear accident, as well as preventing significant nuclear radiation release therefrom.
In the event of a severe accident in which the reactor core melts to form hot, molten core debris known as corium, the corium must be suitably contained within the containment vessel without appreciably damaging the containment vessel or the reactor pedestal. In a conventional design, the lower drywell includes a thick slab of concrete disposed directly on the containment vessel floor which is sized for preventing the corium from breaching the liner of the containment vessel floor. During such an accident, the corium released from the pressure vessel will erode the slab until its heat is dissipated and it solidifies. Accordingly, the slab must be suitably thick to contain the corium until it cools. However, the protective slab, therefore, increases the size of the containment vessel, which in turn increases plant costs.
Furthermore, since the slab is disposed on the liner of the vessel floor, subsequent inspection of the liner is impractical, if not impossible, since the slab would have to be removed for such inspection. And, a suitable sump must still be provided in which any leaking water may accumulate for subsequent removal.


Present invention teaches a method of producing electric guitar body without the costly and time-consuming process of wood-carving or other traditional woodworking technique. By creating the molds and injecting proper materials, present invention also achieves the 3-D artistic rendition of desired shape for an electric guitar body and at reduced weight than solid wood carving guitar body.

The present invention relates generally to a method for producing electric guitar body, enabling the lively creation of artistic 3-D artistic work onto the shape or surface of an electric guitar body, increasing the value of the musical instrument, making the instrument more appealing to young players by its potential for creating unique and cute designs.
Guitars, whether acoustic or electric, have 3 major portions: body, neck and (tuning) head. Strings, on one end, are attached to tuning pegs (on the tuning head), over a "nut" piece, and over the length of the neck, and over a "saddle" piece, and then are attached to the body on the other end.
The big difference between an acoustic guitar and an electric one is that an electric guitar's body is not hollow. An electric guitar does not rely on the acoustic vibration of the hollow chamber to make the sound of the strings (when plucked) audible. Instead, an electric guitar senses the vibration of the strings electronically by a "magnetic pickup" device (mounted on the body, under the strings) to route the sensed signal to an amplifier and speaker.
Traditionally, wood materials are used on acoustic or electric guitar body, with painting and coating added. To create lively rendition of 3-D works on a guitar by the traditional woodworking such as carving, however, is time-consuming and costly. The cost limitation is the reason why most guitar bodies are in the monotone shapes, without too much attractive design, to increase consumer appeals.
Not only is the woodworking time-consuming and costly, the finished body will be relatively heavy and thus not good for younger players, such as teens or pre-teens.

Method of producing electric guitar body


An antenna. The antenna includes a first dielectric antenna rod having a first dielectric constant. The first dielectric antenna rod is coupled to a first frequency transmission source for propagating first frequency band radiation from the first dielectric antenna rod into a medium having a medium dielectric constant. A second dielectric antenna rod is provided having a second dielectric constant. The second dielectric antenna rod is coupled to a second frequency transmission source for propagating second frequency band radiation from the second dielectric antenna rod into the medium. The first dielectric antenna rod is coaxially mounted within the second dielectric antenna rod. The first dielectric constant is greater than the second dielectric constant. The second dielectric constant is greater than the medium dielectric constant.

This invention relates to the field of antennas, and more particularly, to antenna structures for covering a diversity of frequency bands.
A large number of different radio frequency systems have come into use for communication, navigation, electronic warfare and radar systems. State-of-the-art automotive and aerospace-borne vehicles which utilize such radio frequency systems could have more than a dozen separate antennas to cover a diversity of frequency bands. However, many mobile platforms have limited space for multiple antennas operating in widely separated frequency bands.
Alternatively, a number of wide bandwidth antenna elements have been developed for electronic warfare and signal intelligence systems. Current state-of-the-art antennas include flared notch elements, each with about an octave of bandwidth (2:1). Other antenna elements such as spirals, log periodic elements, biconical dipoles and conical monopoles all have a bandwidth limit of about 2:1 and they tend to have relatively large physical dimensions and, as such, are not well-suited for mobile platform vehicular use.
One solution to this multi-antenna, multi-aperture problem now faced by land, sea, air and space-borne vehicles has been multi-function, multi-frequency, phased array antenna apertures with electronic beam forming and scanning/tracking. However, today broadband antenna elements and phased array antennas are limited by the bandwidth and dimensions of the antenna-feed elements to a maximum frequency ratio of about one octave (2:1). Broad bandwidth phased array antennas composed of broadband feed elements must address several conflicting design parameters:
1) low side lobes require that the phase centers of the feed antennas be closely spaced one half wavelength apart at the highest frequency of operation;
2) feed antennas have dimensions approaching one half wavelength at the lowest operating frequency;
3) large numbers of broadband amplifiers must be connected to every feed antenna in a 2:1 bandwidth array; and
4) a second set of crossed linear antenna elements and associated electronics often are required if the array is to transmit and receive signals in orthogonal linear polarization and in both circular polarizations.
Therefore, there exists a need for an effective antenna structure which can cover a diversity of frequency bands, a diversity of polarizations, and can be useful in phased array antenna systems. The present invention provides a unique solution to meet such needs.
In accordance with the present invention, an inventive three dimensional, ultra-broad bandwidth, multi-aperture, dielectric antenna is provided which combines features of tapered dielectric rod antennas and coaxial dielectric waveguide transmission lines. The coaxial dielectric rod antenna (CDRA) in accordance with the present invention has multi-frequency collinear apertures which can be optimized for use as individual multi-band antennas or as feed elements in broad bandwidth active aperture phased array antennas. In essence, the CDRA in accordance with the present invention combines into a single structure many separate antennas which cover a diversity of frequency bands.
A first embodiment of the invention includes a first dielectric antenna rod having a first dielectric constant. The first dielectric antenna rod is coupled to a first frequency transmission source for propagating first frequency band radiation from the first dielectric antenna rod into a medium having a medium dielectric constant. A second dielectric antenna rod is provided having a second dielectric constant. The second dielectric antenna rod is coupled to a second frequency transmission source for propagating second frequency band radiation from the second dielectric antenna rod into the medium. The first dielectric antenna rod is coaxially mounted within the second dielectric antenna rod. The first dielectric constant is greater than the second dielectric constant. The second dielectric constant is greater than the medium dielectric constant.
In accordance with the first embodiment, the second dielectric antenna rod can include an axial cylindrical cavity along the length of the second dielectric antenna rod. The axial cylindrical cavity can be filled with a dielectric powder having the first dielectric constant. The dielectric powder can be secured within the axial cylindrical cavity by end plugs having the first dielectric constant and be located at respective proximal and distal ends of the second dielectric antenna rod. Further, the first frequency transmission source can be axially coupled to the first dielectric antenna rod while the second frequency transmission source can be coupled to the second dielectric antenna by a transmission line axially offset from the second dielectric antenna rod. The second dielectric antenna rod can be made of a thermoplastic resin. The dielectric powder can be barium tetratitanate or nickel-aluminum titanate.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a first dielectric antenna rod having a first dielectric constant. The first dielectric antenna rod is coupled to a first frequency transmission source for propagating first frequency band radiation from the first dielectric antenna rod into a medium having a medium dielectric constant. A second dielectric antenna rod is provided having a second dielectric constant. The second dielectric antenna rod is coupled to a second frequency transmission source for propagating second frequency band radiation from the second dielectric antenna rod into the medium. The first dielectric antenna rod is coaxially mounted within the second dielectric antenna rod. A third dielectric antenna rod having a third dielectric constant is also provided. The third dielectric antenna rod is coupled to a third frequency transmission source for propagating third frequency band radiation from the third dielectric antenna rod into the medium. The second dielectric antenna rod is coaxially mounted within the third dielectric antenna rod. The first dielectric constant is greater than the second dielectric constant. The second dielectric constant is greater than the third dielectric constant. The third dielectric constant is greater than the medium dielectric constant.

Coaxial dielectric rod antenna with multi-frequency collinear apertures


Provided herein are pyrrolomycin derivatives, which can be used to modulate Mcl-1, inhibit proliferation of bacteria and pathogens, as well as to treat infectious diseases and cancers.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a widespread problem with grave implications for public health. Most bacteria have a genome that consists of a single chromosome and, consequently, replicate using a process that is simpler than mitosis or meiosis. Because bacteria can grow and divide at a rate that is much faster than that of eukaryotic cells, they can undergo evolution, i.e., natural selection, to produce a significant number of multidrug-resistant strains on a time scale that is short enough to pose a serious threat to human health worldwide. Much of the rise in multidrug-resistant bacterial strains can be attributed to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, by patients and physicians alike. Multidrug-resistant bacterial strains may also be engineered by persons with nefarious goals, e.g., bioterrorists. Therefore, the development of new antibiotics must be an ongoing endeavor.
Bacillus anthracis (BA) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) are important human pathogens, but for very different reasons. BA is the causative agent of anthrax, which is a serious and fatal disease, and is considered an agent of biological warfare or terrorism.1,2 Although it holds great potential as a biological weapon of mass destruction (WMD), the intentional use of this organism to infect our population has, to date, been limited to the letter attacks in 2001. While efforts to develop better-defined vaccines to the prophylaxis of anthrax are actively ongoing, their use for administration to humans is limited and their availability is very restricted.3 Although doxycycline and ciprofloxacin can be used to treat anthrax upon immediate administration to infected patients,4,5 BA resistance to ciprofloxacin, doxycycline and macrolides have appeared in the literature.6-8 Furthermore, capable terrorists can engineer the resistance to these antibiotics.
In contrast to BA, SA is one of the most common causes of infection in the U.S., attributable in large part to its propensity to become multidrug-resistant.9,10 The Infectious Disease Society of America has classified it as one of the "ESKAPE' pathogens that can readily develop resistance to the biocidal action of antibiotics.11,12 Currently, vancomycin is the most common first-line treatment for antibiotic-resistant SA infections.13 However, its overutilization has resulted in an increase in vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains.9,14-16 Further, except for the addition of the oxazolidinone linezolid17 in 2000, the lipopeptide daptomycin18 in 2003, and the FDA's recent approval of ceftaroline,19 tedizolid,26 and dalbavancin,21 the options to treat infections caused by SA are limited. Additionally, although these recently approved and late-stage antibiotics in development may prove invaluable in combating SA resistance, these bacteria will almost inevitably develop resistance to new antibacterial agents introduced to the clinic.22 For instance, reports of resistance to linezolid and daptomycin have quickly emerged upon their introduction. In essence, antibiotic resistance is occurring faster than new compounds can be introduced into clinical practice.
Compounding this problem is the propensity of SA to form biofilms, which are a leading cause of chronic infections in medical devices and are tolerant to most currently available antibiotics. Biofilm-growing bacteria are known to mutate at a higher frequency compared to planktonic, isogenic bacteria, and thus can more quickly undergo natural selection and gain resistance to antibiotics. Additionally, biofilms thrive under hypoxic conditions, which retards growth, metabolic activity, and protein synthesis. Thus, when bacteria are producing biofilms, they are said to be in a non-replicative, "stationary" phase. Most drugs are ineffective against bacteria in such a phase, even when their planktonic progenitors remain susceptible to the same drugs. To date, no antibiofilm agents have been made available for clinical use. Thus, there is a need for new drug for combating biofilm-related infections.

Pyrrolomycins and methods of using the same

BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA


A remote locomotive control system includes a slave controller configured to receive data strings from remote transmitters. The slave controller is responsive to an acquire signal received from one of the remote transmitters for configuring the slave controller to control one or more control functions of the locomotive as a function of one or more data strings received exclusively from the one remote transmitter. However, the slave controller is configured so that any remote transmitter can control safety functions of the locomotive via the slave controller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic system for remotely controlling a locomotive.
2. Description of Related Art
In switching yards, it is desirable to have one or more ground-based operators controlling the movement of a locomotive. This is typically accomplished by each ground-based operator having a radio transmitter that communicates with a slave controller located on board the locomotive via a radio link. Typically, the operator carries the transmitter and manipulates knobs, buttons, switches, and the like to control corresponding functions on the locomotive via the slave controller and the radio link therewith.
It is often desirable in switching yards to have a ground-based operator positioned at each end of a consist, with each operator having a radio transmitter. The transmitters are configured so that both transmitters can cause the execution of safety functions of the locomotive but only one transmitter at a time controls control functions of the locomotive. To this end, depending on the movement of the consist, it is desirable for each transmitter to selectively assume exclusive control of the control functions of the locomotive while preserving the ability of both transmitters to, at all times, control safety functions of the locomotive.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a remote locomotive control system that includes two or more transmitters in radio communication with a slave controller located on board a locomotive for controlling control and safety functions thereof. The system is configured so that only one transmitter at a time can assume exclusive control of the control functions of the locomotive while at all times all of the transmitters can control safety functions of the locomotive. The system is configured to enable control of the control functions of the locomotive to be assumed by any of the transmitters on a first-come first-served basis when no transmitter is currently controlling the control functions of the locomotive. Moreover, the system is configured so that a user of each transmitter can relinquish control of the locomotive when desired. Still other objects of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description.


A display panel for display devices which enables precisely determining whether or not adjacent signal lines are shorted or opened and a method for detecting defects of the signal lines are disclosed. The display panel includes a substrate on which a plurality of signal lines to transmit various signals required by pixels is formed, and one of any two adjacent signal lines is connected to at least one of main signal transmission lines and the other one of the two adjacent signal lines is maintained in a floating state.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display panel for display devices which precisely determines whether or not adjacent signal lines are shorted and/or opened and a method for detecting defects of signal lines for display devices.
Discussion of the Related Art
Display devices, such as a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display device and a light emitting display device, generally go through several test processes before they are put on the market.
These various processes include a process of testing short and open conditions of signal lines, such as gate lines and data lines.
However, as display devices are scaled up, the number of signal lines is increased in proportion to the size of the display device, and thus signal lines are more densely formed on the display devices. Particularly, in order to compensate for current driving capability of drive switching elements, a light emitting diode display device requires a large number of switching elements and various drive signals supplied thereto. Thereby, the space between signal lines is inevitably reduced.
Therefore, in conventional display devices, signal waveforms detected from adjacent signal lines are almost similar due to signal interference between the adjacent signal lines, and thus detection as to whether or not the respective signal lines are shorted and/or opened and the precise location of the shorted and/or opened signal lines may be difficult to determine.

Display panel for display device and method for detecting defects of signal lines for display devices


An peripheral to area adapter for an integrated circuit chip. The adapter comprises pads on an upper surface of a support in a pattern corresponding to the terminals on a integrated circuit, planar reroute lines on the upper surface with first ends at the pads, and vertical conductive vias extending through the support. The vias are connected at the upper surface to the second ends of the reroute lines. The vias are connected at the lower surface of the support to an area array of coupling elements. A protective bumper attached to the sides of the package provides mechanical shielding for the chip. The pads and reroute lines can be fabricated on a tape-automated-bonding (TAB) frame support and personalized to match a particular configuration of terminals or bumps on a chip. The coupling elements can form a generic array compatible with a wide variety of interconnect substrates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carrier adapter for use between an integrated circuit chip with peripheral terminals and an underlying substrate with area-patterned bond sites, and more particularly to an adapter with mating pads on the top surface of the adapter that can be aligned with, connected directly with and bonded to peripheral terminals on a chip, reroute lines on the top surface of the adapter with first ends connected to the pads, and vertical through-vias connected to the second ends of the reroute lines that terminate at coupling elements in an array pattern on the bottom of the adapter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current multi-chip circuitry design requires attachment of numerous electronic devices to an electrical interconnect substrate. Terminals on the electrical devices can be connected to pads on the surface of the substrates. The substrate can further include buried metal lines which interconnect selected pads, thereby providing electrical interconnection for the electronic devices.
Typically the conductive terminals on a high density integrated circuit chip are distributed over a very small area along the periphery of the top surface of the chip. Flip-chip bonding involves inverting the chip, aligning the terminals on the chip with pads on the substrate, contacting the terminals to the pads and then bonding the terminals to the pads.
There also exist adapters which can be sandwiched between an inverted integrated circuit and an underlying interconnect substrate. In particular, existing adapters can translate the conductive terminals on a chip to an array pattern of coupling elements, to be bonded to the substrate, which can be positioned inside the area of the chip and have substantially larger bonding faces than the terminals. The array pattern of coupling elements can also have generic configurations and dimensions suitable for a wide variety of substrates.
Kyocera has developed an adapter which uses the internal layers of a multilayer ceramic carrier to accomplish the translation, but must modify the ceramic fabrication process in order to customize the adapter for a terminal configuation. An adapter by Fujitsu connects the inner ends of bent leads to the terminals on the bottom of a chip, and the outer ends of the bent leads to the pads on an adapter, but requires two bonding steps for each terminal.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved adapter capable of providing periperal to area translation for the terminals on an integrated circuit chip.

Peripheral to area adapter with protective bumper for an integrated circuit chip

Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation


A portable, inexpensive, and easy to operate vehicle oxygen sensor analyzer shows, in real time, on an ultra-bright LED display, the dynamic operation of the oxygen sensor, simulates sensor signals into the computer, while monitoring the oxygen sensor to confirm correct computer operation, and performs a quick, simple and accurate test on the oxygen sensor to prove that it will pass emissions tests for oxygen sensors of the type typically required under emissions control regulations.

This invention relates generally to diagnostic equipment for vehicle engines, and more particularly to portable and convenient oxygen sensing equipment for verifying that the on-board oxygen sensor is operating correctly, and in accordance with emissions control regulations.
Most computer controlled gasoline vehicle engines are equipped such that the air-fuel ratio is controlled by a 0–1 V oxygen sensor as specified, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,768. Such oxygen sensors are required to operate from a maximum of 175 mV (lean) to a minimum 800 mV (rich) and should be able to move between these voltage limits, from lean to rich, within 100 mS as detailed in emissions regulations, such as those set forth in the California Bureau of Automotive Repairs Oxygen Sensor Test. The ideal stoichiometric condition of 14.7 to 1 is approximately 500 mV, which the on-board control computer tries to maintain by cutting back on fuel when the oxygen sensor reads rich and increasing fuel when the oxygen sensor reads lean. The oxygen sensor is the primary feedback sensor controlling emissions and fuel mileage and it is important that it is operating correctly. Late model cars with OBD2 (On-Board Diagnostics 2) emissions control equipment (required by the Federal Government since 1996) may be able to identify slow or faulty sensors, but pre-1996 automobile on-board diagnostic systems (OBD1 systems) only have the capability to detect catastrophic failures.
To test this on-board oxygen sensor, to ensure operation within emissions control regulations, the California Bureau of Automotive Repairs Oxygen Sensor-Test, for example, requires that propane be fed into the air intake to enrich the engine, so that when the flow of propane is turned off, the engine will go lean and the oxygen sensor signal will fall below 175 mV. When this is observed on an expensive digital storage oscilloscope (DSO), the throttle is snapped, forcing the engine to go rich very quickly. The oxygen sensor signal must exceed 800 mV within 100 mS of moving above 175 mV, as measured on the oscilloscope using 100 mS/Div time base, or it is considered slow or faulty, and should be replaced. With some 4-wire oxygen sensing systems, which can cost in excess of $300, an accurate test is essential, but this official test, although it is required for smog technicians, is time consuming because of the propane usage requirement, and accurate to only about 20%, when trying to read 100 mS on a single division. As a result, most oxygen sensors are replaced on a whim, a guess, or according to arbitrary vehicle mileage levels. This is a very expensive and unnecessary approach for the consumer, particularly if this arbitrary course of action does not resolve the actual emissions system problem. Many technicians try to diagnose the condition of an oxygen sensor with a scanner, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,560, but since these use the ALDL serial data diagnostic link, which comprises an under-dash serial data port required as standard equipment in automobiles under U.S. regulations, with perhaps 500 mS update times, they can only capture a voltage on a random basis, and cannot identify a bad oxygen sensor, unless its failure is catastrophic. Also, they cannot show real time operation of the oxygen sensor, where other engine faults can be seen, especially while the vehicle is being operated, and do not have any capability of simulating to the computer to confirm correct operation.


A new and distinct hybrid of Campanula plant characterized by semi-double, light purple flowers.

Campanula punctata.
xe2x80x98Pantaloonsxe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct hybrid of Campanula punctata, of the family Campanulaceae, which originated from an open-pollination of Campanula punctata xe2x80x98Wedding Bellsxe2x80x99, an unpatented plant (seed parent). It is unknown whether this is the result of a self-pollination or an outcross.
The new variety has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant.
This plant is characterized by the following:
1. Unusual flower type as it is a semi-double with the outside corolla covering the top one to two thirds of the inside corolla and reflexing back, looking like a skirt.
2. Numerous large, light purple flowers held above the foliage.
Asexual propagation by tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

Campanula plant named xe2x80x98Pantaloonsxe2x80x99


The present invention relates to an esterase, its DNA, its overexpression and a method for preparing an optically active aryl propionic acid of formula (1) using the same in high yield,

Indeed, FDA (Food and Drug Administration)'s Policy Statement for Development of New Drugs recommends "that the pharmacokinetic profile of each isomer should be characterized in animals and later compared to the clinical pharmacokinetic profile obtained in Phase I" drug testing. Thus, the demand for racemic switch technologies to produce each pure isomer has been rapidly increased in recent years.
Aryl propionic acids are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and known as profen drugs such as ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, flurbiprofen, fenoprofen, suprofen and the like. It is generally believed that (S)-profens have higher pharmacological effects of the racemic mixture of profens bearing at least one benzene ring. A method for preparing optically pure (S)-profen drugs involves the conversion of a racemic mixture of profen ester to optically active profen carboxylic acid by reacting with a stereoselective chiral enzyme.
However, it has been recently reported that (R)-enantiomers of profens also exhibit therapeutic effects. Particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,255,347 discloses that (R)-enantiomer of ibuprofen may be used as a prophylactic and therapeutic agent in the treatment of diseases such as cancers, Alzheimer's and Alzheimer's-related diseases. In the method for preparing (R)-enantiomer of aryl propionic acid, a racemic mixture of aryl propionic acid is treated with an esterase to produce an ester of (S)-enantiomer of aryl propionic acid and un-reacted (R)-enantiomer of aryl propionic acid is recovered.
Further, inventors of the present invention have identified the presence of a stereoselective hydrolase activity in Pseudomonas sp. and its use in the preparation of (S)-profen (KR Patent Application No. 2000-02565). U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,151 discloses a process for preparing an optically active (S)-aryl propionic acid by hydrolyzing racemic thioester of aryl propionic acid in the presence of a (S)-stereoselective lipase. KR Patent Application No. 2001-0044879 discloses a process for preparing optically pure acetylmercaptoisobutylate using an esterase isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. KR Patent Application No. 1996-14399 discloses a process for preparing optically pure aryl carboxylic acid stereoselectively from a racemic mixture of α-aryl carboxylic acid using S-(-)-α-ethyl benzylamine. KR Patent Application No. 1999-0042314 discloses a process for preparing optically active carboxylic acids and esters as drugs for the treatment of hypertension using a hydrolase isolated from Klebsiella pneumoniae. U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,690 discloses that (S)-ketoprofen can be produced with a purity greater than 95% using isolated Trichosporon laibacchii.
However, the above-mentioned enzymes were not shown suitable for the selective production of optically pure (S)- or (R)-enantiomers of aryl propionic acid and there has been no report on mass production of those enzymes.

Esterase, its DNA, its overexpression and production of optically active aryl propionic acids using the same

Abstract: wherein R1 represents an aryl group; and R2 represents a hydrogen atom.

Korea Research Institute of BioScience and Biotechnology


The present invention relates to polymeric particles comprising a biodegradable polymer, and at least one microorganism in a total concentration of at least 108 CFU/g dry weight that is stable for at least 35 weeks at 30° C. and optionally additional carriers and additives as well as to methods for producing polymeric particles and use thereof.

The application of microorganisms for plant protection, growth promotion and fertilization purposes at commercial scale strongly depends on the reliability of microbial preparations. Particularly, when microbial agents are intended to be applied as additive in coatings for seed treatment processes, the requirements for the formulation are high. Apart from the general desiccation stress in dry formulations, microorganisms are additionally exposed to physical (e.g. shear forces), thermal as well as to detrimental chemicals (e.g., pesticidal agents). Except for some spore-forming bacteria, the majority of microorganisms are unable to cope with those stress moments and lose viability. To circumvent problems with the stability of microbial strains, mostly Gram-positive bacteria with spore-forming ability are currently being commercialized. Notwithstanding, sensitive Gram-negative bacteria possess a greater potential for biological plant protection and fertilization.
Bashan et al. (Appl Environ Microbiolv. 51(5); 1986) describe a method of inoculation of non-symbiotic rhizosphere bacteria in biodegradable polymeric substances. Azospirillum brasilense Cd is grown in nutrient broth to a final concentration of 109 CFU/ml. The bacterial cells were then entrapped in alginate beads. After washing, the beads were again incubated to allow bacteria multiplication inside the beads. After washing, the beads were either kept at 4° C. in hermetically sealed flasks under moist conditions or as lyophilized beads.
Alginate is considered as the most common biomaterial for the encapsulation of bacterial and/or other type of cells. In presence of multivalent ions, alginate form three-dimensionally structured hydrogels in which bacterial cells are embedded (John R P et al., Crit Rev Biotechnol. 2011 September; 31(3):211-26). Although favoring in some extent the survivability of microbial cells due the high moisture rate, saturated alginate hydrogels are unsuitable and impractical for use as commercial products. In dried alginate aggregates with low moisture content, however, the vitally of the majority of microorganisms is severely impaired.
Usually, microbial cells are produced by submerged fermentation processes using liquid media. In a dispersed form, cells grow planktonically and possess a metabolism that favors multiplication rates and biomass gain, but reduces the robustness and compromise stress tolerance. Despite the application of protective additives to compensate missing resilience, survival rates are insufficient.
Despite much attention on the stabilization of microorganisms in formulations suitable for large scale applications, including seed treatment processes, no appropriate solution is currently available (Vemmer & Patel, 2013).

Polymeric particles containing microorganisms

BIOTENZZ GESELLSCHAFT FÜR BIOTECHNOLOGIE MBH


A power transmission device includes a drive shaft, one end of which extends beyond a drive-side transmission case, a drive wheel mounted onto the one end of the drive shaft, a driven wheel journaled by a driven-side transmission case that is mounted onto the driven-side transmission case, and a cover member. The cover member is mounted on the driven-side transmission case and covers one end of the drive shaft, the drive wheel and the driven wheel from a location on an outer side of the transmission case. A regulating member is provided to regulate movement of the drive wheel in an axial direction relative to the driven-side transmission case. The regulating member and the cover member are each in separate abutment with corresponding abutment surfaces the driven-side transmission case. The abutment surfaces of the transmission case are substantially coplanar with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power transmission device in which a transmission case includes a drive-side transmission case and a driven-side transmission case mounted onto the drive-side transmission case, and a method for assembling the power transmission device. The power transmission device and the associated assemble method have particular utility when employed with a motorcycle or a similar vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior motorcycles have included transmissions with split transmission cases. Japanese Patent Publication No, 2000-130254 discloses an example of such a transmission. The disclosed transmission includes a drive shaft journaled by a drive-side transmission case such that one end of the drive shaft extends beyond the drive-side transmission case and is coupled with an internal combustion engine that generates power for traveling. A drive wheel is mounted onto the one end of the drive shaft. A driven-side transmission case is mounted onto the drive-side transmission case, and a driven wheel is journaled by the driven-side transmission case so as to be coupled with the drive wheel through a belt. The driven wheel is also drivingly coupled with a rear wheel of the motorcycle. A cover encloses the drive and driven wheels and the belt within the transmission cases.
Upon operation of the internal combustion engine, the power thereof is transmitted to the rear wheel through the drive shaft, the drive wheel, the driven wheel and the like, with the speed reduced. The driven rear wheel propels the motorcycle.
The above-described power transmission device is assembled in, for example, the following method. First, the drive-side transmission case is assembled. Specifically, for example, the drive shaft is assembled with the drive-side transmission case. Second, the drive wheel is temporarily placed onto the driven-side transmission case, and the endless member is wrapped around the drive wheel and the driven wheel. Third, the driven-side transmission case is mounted onto the drive-side transmission case, and the drive wheel is mounted onto the one end of the drive shaft. Finally, the cover member is mounted onto the driven-side transmission case to complete the assembly processes of the power transmission device.
As the conventional assembly methods has thus been described, the drive wheel is mounted onto the one end of the drive shaft as one of the last steps in the process; however, before this step, the drive wheel has been temporarily placed onto the driven-side transmission case. Because of this temporary setting, the drive wheel often unintentionally slips relative to or off from the driven-side transmission case. When this occurs, the assembly process becomes more complicated and difficult.

Power transmission device and assembling method for a motorcycle


A perpendicular magnetic recording medium is manufactured having excellent thermal stability and recording performances across the entire disk surface. In one embodiment, the recording layer includes at least two layers deposited by using a reactive sputtering method under an oxygen-containing atmosphere at a deposition rate larger than the second recording layer which is formed on the first recording layer while depositing the first recording layer on the intermediate layer.

The present invention relates to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium in which mass information can be recorded.
In a longitudinal magnetic recording system used in current magnetic disk storage equipment, it is necessary to increase the coercivity of the recording layer and decrease film thickness in order to increase the linear recording density, because the magnetization recorded in the medium is adjoined in mutually opposite directions. However, a problem arises that the write magnetic field of the recording head becomes insufficient when the coercivity of the recording layer is increased, and that recorded information may be lost due to thermal fluctuations when the film thickness of the recording layer is decreased. Because of problems like these, improving the recording density using a longitudinal magnetic recording system becomes difficult. Attention has been paid to a perpendicular magnetic recording system in order to solve these problems. A perpendicular magnetic recording system is a system of forming recorded bits so that a recording medium will be magnetized perpendicularly to the surface of the recording medium and the magnetization directions in adjacent recorded bits will be anti-parallel to each other. Since the demagnetization field in the magnetic transition region is small compared to a longitudinal recording system, the medium noise can be reduced and the recording magnetization can be stably maintained during high density recording.
As a magnetic recording layer (recording layer and magnetic layer) of the perpendicular magnetic recording medium, Co—Cr—Pt-based alloy films, which are also used for a longitudinal magnetic recording medium, have been studied. Reduction of the crystal grain size in the recording layer, reduction of the grain size distribution, and reduction of inter-granular exchange coupling are important for reducing the noise and improving the thermal stability of the medium using these recording layers. In the case when the Co—Cr—Pt-based alloy films are used for the magnetic recording layer, the c-axis of the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure is aligned all together in a direction perpendicular to the film surface, and only a slight difference of the in-plane crystallographic orientation exists in the adjoining crystal grains. Because of this, Cr segregation to the grain boundaries hardly occurs. This results in insufficient magnetic decoupling of crystal grains and/or an increase in crystal grain size due to coalescence of crystal grains in the course of crystal growth. Consequently, it is difficult to obtain low noise characteristics.
In order to solve problems like these, a granular medium has been proposed in which crystal grains are surrounded by non-magnetic compounds such as oxides and nitrides. For instance, JP-A No. 342908/2002 discloses a manufacturing process in which a recording layer mainly composed of a CoCrPt-based alloy includes Si oxides and the Si content, converted to Si atoms, is 8 at. % or more and 16 at. % or less, and the recording layer is deposited in a chamber under an Ar gas pressure of 0.133 Pa or more and 2.66 Pa or less by sputtering. Because of this, it is understood that inter-granular exchange coupling of CoCrPt crystal grains can be reduced, and high coercivity and SNR can be obtained. Moreover, in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 40, No. 4, July 2004, pp. 2498-2500, "Role of Oxygen Incorporation in Co—Cr—Pt—Si—O Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Media", a process for manufacturing a recording layer having a granular structure is disclosed in which a composite target containing a Co—Cr—Pt based alloy and SiO2 is used and DC magnetron sputtering is used in an argon-oxygen mixed gas atmosphere. It is reported that performing reactive sputtering in an oxygen-containing atmosphere not only increases the coercivity but also improves the recording performances. Moreover, it is reported that the appropriate oxygen partial pressure is decided depending on the SiO2 concentration, and the appropriate oxygen partial pressure becomes higher with lower SiO2 concentration, and that the magnetic properties and recording performances deteriorate drastically when the oxygen concentration exceeds the appropriate value and reaches an excessive condition. In the case when reactive sputtering is applied under an oxygen-containing atmosphere, obtaining homogeneous magnetic properties and recording performance across the entire disk surface become very difficult because the oxygen concentration taken up into the magnetic film changes depending on the position on the disk, caused by the inhomogeneity of the distribution of oxygen concentration in the sputtering chamber.

Manufacturing process for perpendicular magnetic recording medium

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A rail mountable device may be provided that is configured to be secured firmly to a rail, such as a rail on a firearm, and released easily from the rail. In one example, the rail mountable device may include a rail clamp that includes first and second rail-engaging surfaces of corresponding first and second ramp members and a cross member that, in response to rotation of a screw, move toward or away from the longitudinal faces of the rail of the firearm to secure or release the rail mountable device to or from the rail. Additional embodiments and related methods are provided.

It is often useful to mount an accessory device, such as a lighting device, to a rail that may be secured to or integrated into a firearm such as a handgun. When the rail is disposed on a firearm, it is of utmost importance that the mounting apparatus, which interfaces the accessory device and the rail, be firmly clamped or otherwise firmly secured to the rail, while at the same time it is desirable that the accessory device be quickly and easily securable to and removable from the rail.
Conventional apparatuses for mounting of accessory devices are typically complicated and require large numbers of moving parts. For this reason, the accessory devices can be difficult to install and remove and can be prone to failure due to failure of one or more of the moving parts. This can be problematic, particularly in military or police operations in which failures or excessive time or energy to install or remove the device can be dangerous. Moreover, conventional apparatuses for mounting of accessory devices can be bulky and heavy and can therefore negatively affect the aiming of the firearm when mounted and can be difficult to install on small firearms such as handguns. It would therefore be desirable to provide improved systems and methods for mounting of accessory devices to a rail.


A device for storing and transporting tube scaffolding which is comprised of a U-shaped cradle and an attachable closure member. The cradle is constructed from square tubing and is made up of a horizontal member and two vertical members which extend upward from and at right angles to the horizontal members to form an approximate U-shape. The closure member is a rigid rectangular plate which extends across the top of the cradle member and attaches thereto with a bolt and pin assembly. Alternatively, the closure member may rotate and lock into position with a pair of bolts. When in use, a pair of the devices are used together by stacking the tube scaffolding in the cradles of the devices so that the cradle members are adjacent the opposite ends of the tube scaffolding. Once a twenty-five count of tube scaffolding has been placed in the cradles, the closure members are attached to the cradles to secure the tube scaffolding in place.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for storing and transporting tube scaffolding and, more specifically to a device for storing and transporting tube scaffolding which includes a U-shaped cradle member and an attachable closure member.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the building and construction industry, there exists a need to store and transport large quantities of elongated building material such as tube scaffolding. Due to the scale of some building and construction operations, it is desirable to make this as efficient and economical as possible, and even seemingly minor differences in the equipment used to do this can, in fact, be quite
significant. This is illustrated by the fact that several devices for storing such materials have been disclosed in previous patents.
Previous U-shaped cradle devices for storing and transporting large numbers of pipes or other elongated materials such as loads of lumber, raw logs, or bundles of wires or tubing having described in the patent literature. None however use a rigid closure or are drawn to specifically handle bundles of standard sized diameter tube scaffolding.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,923, issued Apr. 5, 1983 to Isao Takei, shows a device which is placed at opposite ends of a number of elongated pipes to bind them for storage and transportation purposes. The device has top and bottom pipe holding members with concave recesses formed therein which are sandwiched around the pipes so that they are held in spaced relationship to each other to avoid damage during transportation. The above described device is adapted to store and transport pipes with protective coatings which are susceptible to damage during transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,793,059 (Chambers) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,993,216 (Marshall) show devices for transporting large quantities of cylindrical pipe in which the pipes are stacked within a U-shaped cradle and secured therein by a flexible closure strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,245,607, issued Nov. 6, 1917 to Ralph S. Maxwell, shows a lumber binding device with a U-shaped cradle portion and a rigid closure member that may be moved vertically within the cradle by a chain and pulley assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,404, issued Apr. 7, 1990 to Knut Yngve Rehnstrom and Per Ablin Strombeck, shows a device with a U-shaped cradle member with an adjustable and releasable vertical member and a chain closure member for handling stacks of cut lumber.
Soviet document number 1,689,153 and French document number 2,420,446 show devices for transporting large elongated materials such as logs within wheeled U-shaped cradle members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,985 (Moritz) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,319 (Hawash et al.) show devices with U-shaped cradle members and attachable closure members which are adapted to hold electrical cable, and small hoses and tubing.
Despite previous efforts, the need still exists for an inexpensive, simple device for storing and transporting tubular scaffolding, especially scaffolding having the approximate diameter of 1.9 inches.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a device for storing and transporting tube scaffolding solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Device for storing and transporting tube scaffolding


Providing extended or end-to-end data integrity through layers of a system. In one aspect, information is to be transmitted between an application end of the system and a physical storage medium that stores the information for a database of the system, the information to be transmitted via a database server in a database server layer of the system. At least a portion of data protection is provided for the information, the data protection causing the information to be protected from corruption between a system layer and the physical storage medium, where the system layer is a separate layer provided closer to the application end of the system than the database server layer.

Recent studies have found that a large percentage of new information is stored on magnetic storage media as opposed to other forms of storage. In addition, a growth of at least 30% of new information has been recently estimated for each new year. Information can be stored in file systems, on magnetic tape, and in databases. The most critical of information, such as stock market information, medical information, and financial information, is likely to be stored in databases which in turn store information in file systems. The file systems, in turn, are stored on permanent physical media such as a disk device.
One large challenge to storing information electronically is that there are many layers between the end user and the underlying physical media that stores the data. The physical media can cause corruption in data that is stored, and so can any of the layers between a user and physical media, including but not limited to the database server itself. For example, data can be corrupted in system memory from a memory error, in a disk device or controller from hardware or driver errors, or from other errors in an operating system, program, or utility on any system in a solution. Such corruption can cause inaccurate data to be sent to, retrieved from, and/or stored on the physical media.
There are many possible layers in a "solution stack" (all the layers of a system from an application to physical storage, including an I/O stack), including such layers as the application layer, server operating system layer, file system layer, interface protocol layer, peripheral driver layer, hardware/software controller layer, and disk layer. Some methods exist for preventing corruption in data provided to some of the layers in an I/O stack. However, some of the layers in a system are not addressed by existing methods of maintaining data integrity. There are industry standards such as T10 and proprietary implementations that aim to catch and correct data corruption in the I/O stack, but none link the actual database with the other higher layers in the solution such as an application layer. Database systems are the primary storage interface for the vast majority of critically important information. If the database or earlier layer corrupts the data, all of the data protection "below" the database (down to the physical storage media) will not detect or prevent the data corruption.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and apparatus that extends data integrity and the detection of data corruption in an I/O stack up through a database layer and other system layers to the application end. The present invention addresses such a need.

Method and system providing extended and end-to-end data integrity through database and other system layers

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a backrest unit for a motor vehicle seat, in particular a rear seat comprising a backrest and support connected thereto. A guide rail is arranges on the rear surface of the backrest on an x-z plane. A slide is movably mounted on the guide rail and is lockable therein in different positions. When a control device associated with the slide is actuated, it brings the slide from a normally locking position into a released position. A support comprises a near end which is hinged on the slide and a distant end which is fixable to a bodywork part.

The invention relates to a backrest of a motor vehicle seat which is particularly suited for backrests of rear seats, e.g. for a third seat row and in particular for a backrest of a seat row that is immediately adjacent a trunk. The invention relates further to a motor vehicle equipped with a seat having such a backrest.
A backrest of a motor vehicle seat is known in the art which has a length-variable support hinged to its backside. The backrest is reclined more or less by varying the length of this support.
By reclining the backrest, more or less space can be made available behind the backrest. By reclining the backrest, the seat comfort on the associated seat is also modified. As a result, a compromise must be found somehow. But generally there is the possibility to enlarge the cargo area behind the seat at the expense of the seat part and vice versa.
This advantage, which is given in the backrest of the type mentioned herein above, is intended to be preserved while further improving this backrest. It is the object of the invention to further develop the seat back of the type mentioned herein above so as to allow for more flexible and better adjustable adjustment, more specifically so as to allow for skillfully concealing the adjustment possibility so that it is hardly visible from the outside.


A compressor for file drawers includes a central housing or body supporting a pair of extensible and retractable bumpers. Suspension hooks are joined to the central housing permitting the central housing to be suspended from different width drawers An actuating handle or lever is mounted in the housing for vertical movement. The actuating lever is connected to the bumpers to move them from an extended position to a retracted position. A spring biases the bumpers to their extended position.

The present invention relates to furniture and, more particularly, to file drawers, cabinets and the like.
A wide variety of furniture systems and components are presently available for the storage of documents, file folders and other items in a vertical orientation. Free-standing file cabinets, desk pedestals and other such components include drawers having spaced, parallel sides, a front, a back and a bottom. Different proposals have been made for organizing documents and files in a vertical position within such drawers. For example, hang files have been used to support documents. Such hang files include hooks to suspend the file from parallel sides of the drawer.
Adjustable partitions have also been proposed. Such partitions may be generally rectangular members which are selectively positionable at discrete locations to subdivide the drawer into smaller compartments. If the subdivided areas are not full, the documents will not stand up vertically. Selectively positionable partitions are, therefore, only a partial solution to the problem.
It has been proposed to construct drawers with slideably positionable partitions or file compressors. Provision is made for locking or holding the partitions in selected positions at which they engage and compress documents, files and the like to maintain them in a vertical position. Examples of prior file compressors may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,192 entitled FILE FOLLOWER, which issued on Nov. 2, 1954 to James; U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,695 entitled DRAWER AND COMPRESSOR PLATE CONSTRUCTION, which issued on Mar. 10, 1972 to Studinski; commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,451 entitled DRAWER, which issued on Jul. 1, 1975 to Bruins; U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,630 entitled FILE DRAWER COMPRESSOR, which issued on Jan. 10, 1978 to Stark et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,470 entitled DRAWER FILE FOLDER STOP, which issued on Jul. 25, 1978 to Timmons.
Prior file compressors have been integrated into the drawer structure and, hence, are not readily removable. Other structures suffer from undue complexity or a lack of sufficient rigidity to support documents, files and the like in a vertical orientation. Many prior file compressors are incrementally adjustable and not infinitely adjustable between the front and back of the drawer. In addition, existing file compressors are not usable in different size drawers.


An electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which a process cartridge is detachably mountable, the process cartridge can be positioned with high accuracy in a simple construction in an apparatus main body. The process cartridge is put on a cartridge tray, and the process cartridge is replaced by a front access. Furthermore, the process cartridge is moved in conjunction with opening/closing operations of a door member so that a photosensitive drum and a transfer belt are brought in contact with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a process cartridge.
Here, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium in an electrophotographic image forming method. Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer and the like), a facsimile machine and a word processor.
In addition, a process cartridge (hereinafter, referred to as a cartridge) is a cartridge into which an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a process member acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally incorporated, and which is detachably mountable to an apparatus main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Here, the cartridge may be a cartridge into which an electrophotographic photosensitive member and at least one process member such as charging means, developing means, and cleaning means are integrally incorporated. The apparatus main body is a part of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus from which the cartridge is removed.
The cartridge can be mounted and detached from the apparatus main body by a user in person. Therefore, the maintenance of the apparatus main body can be done easily.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the construction of positioning a cartridge in an apparatus main body has been known. For example, a compression spring is disposed along a guide surface in the apparatus main body. This compression spring exerts a compression force on a dowel provided on the cartridge, about a fulcrum. When the cartridge receives a turning force from the apparatus main body, the turn of the cartridge is regulated by this construction (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-132069). Owing to this construction, at the time of forming an image, the cartridge can be positioned in the apparatus main body with high accuracy.
Furthermore, an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges are arranged in line, (called an in-line type) is known. In this image forming apparatus, there are provided cartridges each including an electrophotographic photosensitive member and developing means for an associated color of yellow, magenta, cyan and black; and images of respective colors are superimposed to form a full-color image. Some image forming apparatuses are adapted to support a plurality of cartridges by a moving member that can move with respect to the apparatus main body (US 2006/0067734). Owing to this construction, by inserting the moving member into the apparatus main body, the plurality of cartridges can be inserted into the apparatus main body concurrently.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus and process cartridge


A water to fuel electrolysis system for providing hydrogen and oxygen gases to a steam boiler for the production of heat and steam.

The present invention relates to a steam boiler which uses electrolysis to convert water to high pressure steam.
Steam boilers are well known in the prior art. For years they have been operated by petroleum fuels such as kerosene, light oils, and natural gases. Wood and coal are other sources of fuel for steam boilers. Environmentally, it is destructive to continue to burn petroleum fuels other than natural gas, since they pollute the atmosphere. The use of coal puts sulfur and other compounds into the atmosphere. In addition, it is wasteful to use wood and petroleum as fuels, as there are many more useful products that these products can be used to produce, such as plastics, wooden articles, and the like.
Prior art known to applicant is as follows; U.S. Pat. Nos. 583,104 issued to WATTLES, 2,365,330 issued to CARMICHAEL, 2,496,632 issued to FRAGALES, 3,648,668 issued to PACHECO, 4,009,006 issued to HREKA, 4,023,545 issued to MOSHER.
In general, these patents disclose separating hydrogen and oxygen from water by electrolysis and pumping the gases into an internal combustion engine where the gases are compressed and ignited. An electrical spark ignites the hydrogen and oxygen gases to operate the engine.
The present invention does not operate an internal combustion engine, it does drive steam engines, turbines and similar steam operated equipment. The electrolysis of water is similar to the copending application Ser. No. 07/854,079 filed Mar. 19, 1992 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,104 however there are distinct differences which will be brought out in the drawings, description and claims.


A package for light emitting element including a package main body 1 having a bottom face 7a on which a light emitting element 2 is arranged, and a concave portion 7 which is formed in an inverted truncated cone shape by an inner wall face 7b intersecting with the bottom face 7a with a predetermined angle, and a translucent member 6 filled in the concave portion 7 of the package main body 1, the angle between the inner wall face 7b composing the concave portion 7 and the bottom face 7a is selected within ±15° of the incident critical angle in which a direct light radiated from the light emitting element 2 undergoes total reflection at the interface between the translucent member 6 and air.

A package for storing semiconductor light emitting element, for example, is shown in Japanese Patent Official Gazette laid open No. 2003-163378. The package is provided with a package 1 made of resin with a concave portion of inclined inner wall 7 on the upper face, as shown in FIG. 8 of the Gazette. On the bottom face of the concave portion of the package 1, a first lead frame 3a and a second lead frame 4a, both are arranged facing to each other, are provided. One electrode of semiconductor light emitting element 2 is mounted on the first lead frame 3a to be connected electrically. Another electrode of the light emitting element 2 is connected with the second lead frame 4a through a wire 5. In the concave portion of the package 1, a translucent sealing resin 6 is filled for sealing.
In such a package, light emitted from the light emitting element 2 is radiated outward through the sealing resin 6.

Package for light emitting element and manufacturing method thereof


An indoor and outdoor smokeless grill comprising a housing which contains at least two openings, one at the bottom and one at the top. The housing consists of a water tank, which is situated between the openings of the housing. The housing is situated on a heat source such as a stove, whereby the hot air that rises from the burner of the stove will bypass the tank and will cook the meat that is situated on a grill that is disposed on top of the housing. When fat from the meat melts, the fat will drip into the water tank, such that fat will not drip on the heat source, thus grilling the meat while avoiding the smoke that results from the burning of the fat.

The benefits of grills for cooking food have been known since the early days when people used fire to cook and grill. But no one has offered an open grill that can be used indoors without a chimney, since contact between meat and fire melts the fat in the meat and the contact between the fat and the fire will ignite the fat, which will burn and create smoke.
Many ideas have been proposed for indoor grills, such as frying with no oil on intermediate heat, or having the cooking flame positioned above the meat, but none have succeeded. My invention uses the concept that fire or very hot air will heat the meat from underneath and from the top, and that the very same air will ventilate the kitchen.
The other problem that this invention solves is that there is no direct contact between the fat and the fire or heat source, which eliminates the residue of fat or other liquids that might drip on the source of the fire. Like the stove burner, it will keep the stove clean of meat particles and fat.
It is known that if foods like red meat or chicken are left on a grill too long, they will burn or become dry. My invention addresses this problem and provides a solution to it.


A compound of the formula [I] and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; and a synthetic intermediate represented by the formula [II] and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, ##STR1## wherein R 1 is hydrogen or lower alkyl;. R 2 is hydrogen or a protective group of thiol; PA1 R 3 is hydroxy, a remainder of ester group or a remainder of amido group; PA1 A is straight or branched lower alkylene, and PA1 the sulfur atom in the side chain may be directly join with --CO-- to conform a thiolactone ring.. The compounds of this invention have excellent thymulin-like activities and are expected to be useful for treatment of various immune disorders such as immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases.

There are many active studies on mechanisms and therapeutic agents for various immune disorders or immune depression caused by carcinostatic drugs. It is known that thymulin, a nonapeptide produced in the thymus, forms a complex with zinc and improves a depressed immunity (Med. Oncol. & Tumor Pharmacother. 6, 25-29, 1989).
However, there remain many problems in practical use of thymulin. For example, the availability of thymulin is limited due to a small yield in the thymus and duration of the activity thereof is short because thymulin is easily decomposed by endogenous enzymes.
Therefore, synthetic compounds are desired which have a long lasting activity and can be prepared in a large amount. As such synthetic compounds, lactone or lactam compounds having two intramolecular sulfur atoms in the side chains are proposed (PCT/JP92/00002). As shown in the PCT application, the lactone or lactam compounds show excellent thymulin-like activities.
However, it is further desired to study other useful compounds such as different heterocycles.
The inventors focused on lactone derivatives having two sulfur atoms in their side chains, which were disclosed in PCT/JP92/00002, and studied to take one sulfur atom in a ring system, and succeeded in obtaining novel tetrahydrothiophene derivatives which have excellent thymulin-like activities.


Apparatus for regenerating spent hydrocarbon conversion catalyst. Catalyst particles in a vertically-elongated movable tapered bed are contacted with a hot oxygen-containing gas stream in order to remove, by means of combustion, coke which accumulated on the catalyst particles while they were used in a hydrocarbon conversion zone. Catalyst moves downward under the influence of gravity. The catalyst bed is tapered such that the thickness of the bed, in a dimension which is transverse to the direction of catalyst movement, varies from a minimum at the top of the tapered bed to a maximum at the bottom of the tapered bed. Gas passes through the tapered bed in a direction which is substantially transverse to the direction of catalyst movement. Substantially, all of the catalyst in the bed is in contact with the flowing gas. The variation in bed thickness causes a varying gas flow rate through the bed, from a maximum flow rate at the top of the tapered bed to a minimum flow rate at the bottom of the tapered bed and reduces the time that catalyst is exposed to high temperature gases. This flow pattern results in the delivery of oxygen in a manner which more closely matches the oxygen requirement for combustion at each point in the tapered bed. Advantages of the invention include increased coke burning capacity and longer catalyst life. Catalytic reforming is an example of a hydrocarbon conversion process in which the invention may be advantageously employed.

Catalytic processes for the conversion of hydrocarbons are well known and extensively used. Invariably the catalysts used in these processes become deactivated for one or more reasons. Where the accumulation of coke deposits causes the deactivation, reconditioning of the catalyst to remove coke deposits restores the activity of the catalyst. Coke is normally removed from catalyst by contact of the coke containing catalyst at high temperature with an oxygen-containing gas to combust and remove the coke in a regeneration process. These processes can be carried out in-situ or the catalyst may be removed from a vessel in which the hydrocarbon conversion takes place and transported to a separate regeneration zone for coke removal. Arrangements for continuously or semi-continuously removing catalyst particles from a reaction zone and for coke removal in a regeneration zone are well known.
In continuous or semi-continuous regeneration processes, coke laden particles are at least periodically added and withdrawn from a bed of catalyst in which the coke is combusted. In those processes having an essentially linear progression of catalyst particles through the bed and a transverse flow of oxidizing gas coke combustion, there are regions of intense burning that extend through portions of the catalyst bed.
These regions vary the oxygen demands down the length of the bed so that a uniform gas addition across a surface of the bed will not provide the most effective utilization of the oxygen-containing gas. Inefficient utilization of the oxygen-containing gas raises overall gas demands which wastes equipment and energy. One of the ways in which gas is wasted is by variations in the oxygen demand that can permit oxygen to break through the catalyst bed. Therefore it would be generally desirable to direct the oxygen-containing gas to areas where it can be most effectively used to burn coke from the catalyst.
Another problem associated with localized regions of intense coke combustion is catalyst deactivation. Exposure of high surface area catalyst to high temperatures for prolonged periods of time will create a more amorphous material having a reduced surface area which in turn lowers the activity of the catalyst until it reaches a level where it is considered deactivated. Deactivation of this type is permanent, thereby rendering the catalyst unusable. When moisture is present--water is a by-product of the coke combustion--the deactivating effects of high temperature exposure are compounded.
The combination of temperature and exposure time determine the useful life of the catalyst. The burning of coke in localized portions of a catalyst bed has the deleterious effect of heating gases and generating moisture that pass through downstream portions of the bed and extend the high temperature exposure time of catalyst particles in the bed.

Catalyst regeneration apparatus with radial flow distribution