A front-loading washing machine includes a tub having a rear wall with an inside surface, an outside surface, and a center, a bearing sleeve connected to the rear wall, a shaft disposed in the bearing sleeve and at the center of the rear wall, a motor connected to the outside surface of the rear wall at a distance from the center of the rear wall, a gear mechanism connected to the shaft and to the motor, and a laundry container mounted in a floating manner to the bearing sleeve through the shaft. The motor produces a torque and the gear mechanism transmits the torque produced by the motor to the shaft. The motor drives the laundry container. If the laundry container has a filling opening inclined upward, then the motor is disposed beneath the shaft in a region between the tub rear wall and a rear wall of the washing machine.

The invention lies in the field of washing appliances. The invention relates to a front-loading washing machine with a laundry container mounted in a floating manner through a shaft within a bearing sleeve fixed to the rear wall of the tub, and driven by a motor disposed behind the rear wall of the tub.
German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 195 47 745 A1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,746 to Skrippek and U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,686 to Skrippek, discloses such a drive device. In the drive device, the horizontally located shaft of the laundry container is connected to the rotor of the motor in a rotationally fixed manner at its outer end. Thus, the motor directly drives the shaft of the laundry container. Because the motor drives the laundry container directly, it has to apply a comparatively high torque to cause the container to move.
German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 39 27 426 A1 discloses a direct-current external-rotor motor for directly driving a laundry container in a laundry-treatment machine and of which the rotor drives the drive shaft of the laundry container through a gear mechanism, for example, a planetary gear mechanism. Because the gear mechanism is it provided between the motor and the rear wall of the washing machine, additional space is required, which is then not available for the laundry container.
Luxemburg Patent Application LU 37 211 discloses an electric drive motor fastened on an oscillating housing through a carrying arm and drives a belt pulley of a tub through transmission belts. British Patent No. GB 2 104 110 A discloses a drive motor fastened outside the periphery of a 354 158 A2, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,331 to Lewis, also disclose drive motors intended for driving laundry containers mounted in tubs and that are disposed behind the rear wall of the tub, but are not connected to the rear wall of the tub.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a front-loading washing machine that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that improves a front-loading washing machine such that the motor is disposed in a space-saving manner.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a front-loading washing machine including a tub having a rear wall with an inside surface, an outside surface, and a center, a bearing sleeve connected to the rear wall, a shaft disposed in the bearing sleeve and at the center of the rear wall, a motor connected to the outside surface of the rear wall at a distance from the center of the rear wall, the motor producing a torque, a gear mechanism connected to the shaft and to the motor, the gear mechanism transmitting the torque produced by the motor to the shaft, and a laundry container mounted in a floating manner to the bearing sleeve through the shaft, the laundry container driven by the motor.
The objectives are achieved according to the invention in that the motor is disposed on the rear wall itself outside the center of the rear wall, the center being formed by the shaft, and in that the torque produced by the motor can be transmitted to the shaft through a gear mechanism.
A particular advantage of the invention is that a motor that, in comparison with direct driving, has a lower torque drives the laundry container. The torque is reduced by a gear mechanism that, nevertheless, in contrast to a motor disposed concentrically to the drive shaft and an associated, likewise concentrically disposed gear mechanism, as is disclosed in German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 39 27 426 A1, results in a reduction in the installation space required for the drive.
Particularly advantageous in the case of the drive according to the invention is that the motor requires lower outlay in terms of materials than direct-drive motors. Moreover, for the drive according to the invention, the tolerances in the air gap can be better controlled than in the case of direct driving. Such control has a favorable effect on the machine efficiency and the motor noise.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, there is provided a carrier part connecting the motor to the outside surface of the rear wall, the carrier part being connected to the outside surface of the rear wall. Preferably, the carrier part directly connects the motor to the rear wall.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the bearing sleeve is fixed to the rear wall.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the carrier part has a carrier arm with a cup-like widened section housing the motor.
A further advantage of the invention is that the motor is disposed either on the rear wall itself or on the carrying part. The carrying part is formed, for example, by arms extending outward from the center formed by the laundry-container shaft, with the motor being disposed on one of the arms. The motor-bearing arm is preferably widened in the form of a circle in the same plane as the rear wall of the tub. As a result, in a plan view of the rear wall of the tub and of the carrying star, the motor extends in its entirety in the region of a carrying arm of the carrying part. The carrying part preferably has a U-shaped profile that is oriented away from the rear wall of the tub and gives it a higher level of rigidity. The U-shaped profile preferably also encloses the circular convexity in the motor-accommodating carrying arm. In another exemplary embodiment, the U-shaped profile for accommodating the motor is directed toward the rear wall of the tub.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, if the laundry container has a filling opening inclined upward, then the motor is disposed beneath the shaft in a region between the tub rear wall and a rear wall of the washing machine.
The motor according to the invention is particularly advantageously used when the laundry container and the tub accommodating it are disposed in the washing machine with a slight inclination, for example, approximately 10xc2x0 or 15xc2x0, in relation to the horizontal, with the front side of the tub, which is provided with the filling opening, being located at a higher level than the rear wall. In such a case, the motor is disposed beneath the laundry-container shaft. As a result, the top edge of the rear wall of the tub is located in the vicinity of the rear wall of the washing-machine housing and, beneath the laundry-container shaft, which is located in the center of the rear wall of the tub, there is sufficient space between the rear wall of the tub and the rear wall of the housing to accommodate the motor.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the carrier part has a carrier side directed away from the rear wall and the motor is disposed on the carrier side.
In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the motor is disposed on the carrier part in a region between the carrier part and the rear wall.
In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the motor has a motor shaft, a pulley is connected to the motor shaft, a belt is connected to the pulley and to the shaft, and the motor drives the shaft through the belt and the pulley.
In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, the shaft has a shaft pulley and the belt is disposed around the shaft pulley.
In accordance with again another feature of the invention, the shaft has a bell-like flange and the belt is disposed around the flange.
Possible gear mechanisms include a toothed belt or a V-belt in conjunction with corresponding belt pulleys or a toothed gear mechanism, in particular, with helically toothed gearwheels. It is also possible to use a chain to transmit the movement from a pinion provided on the motor shaft to a chain wheel provided on the laundry-container shaft.
In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, the belt is one of a V-belt, a toothed belt, and V-ribbed belt.
In accordance with again an added feature of the invention, the gear mechanism has gearwheels and the gearwheels drive the shaft.
In accordance with again an additional feature of the invention, the motor is an external-rotor motor. The stator cores and the magnetic poles of the rotor are disposed either axially or radially in relation to one another.
In accordance with still another feature of the invention, the motor has stator cores and the carrier part has a flange forming a bearing sleeve of the motor shaft and bearing the stator cores.
In accordance with still a further feature of the invention, the motor has magnetic poles and the stator cores and the magnetic poles of the motor are located opposite one another in an axial or direction with respect to the motor shaft.
In accordance with still an added feature of the invention, the motor has a rotor and the rear wall or carrier part has an annular-shaped side wall surrounding the rotor.
In accordance with still an additional feature of the invention, the motor has a rotor shaped as a bell-like flange.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the motor is an electronically commutated direct-current motor, an asynchronous motor controlled by a frequency converter, or a reluctance motor.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a front-loading washing machine, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.


A bicycle rack with a wheel fixing means for fixing a wheel of a bicycle. The wheel fixing means comprises a receiving space for receiving the wheel in a clamping manner. The width of the receiving space can be varied to receive different wheel widths. Further, a single bicycle rack with only one such bicycle rack is provided. Moreover, a bicycle rack system with at least two such bicycle racks is provided which are connected with each other.

The present invention relates to a bicycle rack, a single bicycle rack as well as to a bicycle rack system.
A bicycle rack, also referred to as bicycle parking rack or bicycle stand, is a device for parking bicycles. These should be differentiated from devices such as bicycle kick-stands, for example, which are in particular fixedly connected with the bicycle. Thus, bicycle racks are devices separate from the bicycle into which the bicycle can be placed or pushed, thereby allowing for the parking of the bicycle.
A simple and widely used design of a bicycle rack is the rim clamper. Common rim clampers comprise two wire brackets arranged in parallel or in a funnel-shape, into which the wheel of a bicycle, in particular the front wheel, is pushed and is thereby held by clamping. Such rim clampers are disadvantageous in that bicycles with narrow wheels, e.g. racing bicycles, will not find a hold therein and/or bicycles with wide wheels, such as fatbikes, will not fit into the clamping means, so that the bicycles can be supported only insufficiently or not at all.
It is an object of the invention to provide a bicycle rack, a single bicycle rack as well as a bicycle rack system, in which parking of bicycles with different wheel widths is improved.
The object is achieved with a bicycle rack as defined in claim 1, a single bicycle rack as defined in claim 14, as well as a bicycle rack system as defined in claim 15.
The bicycle rack of the invention comprises a wheel fixing means for fixing the wheel of a bicycle. The wheel fixing means comprises a receiving space for clampingly receiving the wheel of the bicycle. It is preferred that the receiving space substantially has a pitch-circle shape and thus reflects in particular the shape of the bicycle tire. In this manner, the clamping is effected preferably only on the rubber of the bicycle tire so that no contact is made with the rim. The width of the receiving space is variable to accommodate different wheel widths of the bicycle wheel. Thus, the width of the receiving space can be reduced or enlarged, respectively. It is particularly preferred that the width of the receiving space can be changed in a stepless manner. The receiving space is preferably designed to be open to at least one side so that the wheel of the bicycle may be introduced into the receiving space via this opening. This at least one opening preferably is an upward directed opening if the bicycle rack is positioned on a surface, in particular a ground surface. As an alternative or in addition, the receiving space is open to another side, which preferably is a side of the bicycle rack in the longitudinal direction, if the bicycle rack is positioned on a surface, in particular a ground surface. It is particularly preferred that the receiving space is open to both longitudinally directed sides. Via the opening on one or both longitudinal directed sides of the receiving space it is preferably possible to introduce, in particular to push the bicycle wheel into the receiving space from one or both sides. The opening on one or both longitudinally directed sides of the receiving space could, in other words, be referred to as a receiving passage. In a preferred embodiment, the receiving space is narrowed or closed in case of an opening on one or both longitudinally directed sides, e.g. by means of at least one strut and/or at least one protrusion. By means of this narrowing and/or closure of the receiving space on one or both longitudinally directed sides, it is achieved in an advantageous manner that the bicycle wheel may be easy to introduce into the receiving space, while the wheel is prevented from rolling out on one or both sides. Due to the variable width of the receiving space, it is achieved in an advantageous manner that bicycles with different wheel widths can be parked in the bicycle rack. It is particularly preferred that the width of the entire bicycle rack is designed to be variable. In this particularly preferred embodiment in which the entire bicycle rack is designed to be variable in width, it is achieved in an advantageous manner that the entire bicycle rack can be compressed. Thus, it is achieved, for example, that the bicycle rack can be stowed away and/or transported more easily.
In a preferred embodiment the bicycle rack has a hinge device for changing the width of the receiving space. It is particularly preferred that the hinge device is designed such that a change of the width of the entire bicycle rack is effected via the same. It is particularly preferred that the bicycle rack has no rails, in particular with a view to changing the width of the receiving space. Accordingly, it is preferred in a rail-free design that the bicycle rack comprises no rail, specifically no rail guiding.
In a preferred embodiment the hinge device has a scissors hinge or a telescopic device or a hinge arm. It is particularly preferred that the hinge device is formed by the scissors hinge or the telescopic device or the hinge arm. Here, the scissors hinge is preferably designed as a pantograph.
In a preferred embodiment the bicycle rack has a raised holder for an elevated positioning of the bicycle wheel. Preferably, this is a point-wise raised holder so that the bicycle wheel is supported at points, i.e. at at least one support point. It is particularly preferred that the raised holder is a two-point raised holder, so that the bicycle wheel is supported at, in particular exactly two support points. The raised holder is designed such that the bicycle wheel is supported elevated, i.e. preferably spaced from a surface, in particular a surface on which the bicycle rack is arranged. In other words. the bicycle wheel is preferably "held in the air" by the raised holder. In particular, the raised holder comprises at least one positioning surface on which the bicycle wheel can be positioned. Practical tests have shown that by raising the wheel, a substantially better clamping is achieved than with bicycle racks of the prior art without raised holding. In addition, it is also prevented in particular that the rim of the bicycle itself is clamped. Especially with high-quality rims, a clamping of the rims themselves is not desired.
It is preferred that the wheel fixing means comprises two opposing, preferably parallel fixing bodies for forming the receiving space. Preferably, each of the fixing bodies comprises, in particular consists of a bracket or a surface. For changing the width of the receiving space, the distance of the fixing bodies from each other is variable, in particular by means of the hinge device. It is particularly preferred that the fixing bodies are connected such that they are movable relative to each other, in particular via the hinge device. Preferably, the fixing bodies are connected with each other only by the hinge device. The fixing bodies are designed in particular for fixing the tire of the bicycle wheel, in particular by clamping. It is particularly preferred that a clamping of only the tire is effected and thus, in particular no contact with the rim of the wheel occurs. Preferably, the fixing bodies comprises a fixing surface, in particular comprising rubber, for fixing the tire of the wheel. The fixing bodies and/or the fixing surfaces are preferably designed substantially with a pitch-circle shape. Thus, it is preferred that the same pick up the shape of the bicycle tire. In this manner, the clamping preferably occurs only at the rubber of the bicycle tire so that there is no contact with the rim.
Each of the fixing bodies preferably comprises a side wall. The side wall is designed in particular to be plane. It is preferred that the side walls are designed substantially with a pitch-circle shape. By means of the side wall, in particular the plane side wall, it is advantageously achieved that, when the bicycle wheel is clamped by the two side walls, a plane clamping occurs and thus, the clamping force is distributed over a large surface of the wheel, preferably only at the tire, without rim contact. In contrast to bicycle racks of the prior art, this results in an optimal clamping of the wheel and/or in a minimized risk of bending the wheel in case the wheel or the entire bicycle should tilt.
In a preferred embodiment the wheel fixing means comprises rubber, in particular elastomer, for a clamped holding of the bicycle wheel. Advantageously the rubber is arranged such that, when the bicycle is held in the bicycle rack, the rubber is allocated to the bicycle wheel held clamped. It is preferred that the fixing bodies comprise rubber. It is particularly preferred that the side walls comprise rubber, in particular all over their surfaces. If the side walls are realized using rubber, it is preferred that the side walls are rubberized at least on the side directed to the wheel. The rubber provides the advantage that scratches, in particular in the rim, are prevented and/or the friction of the clamping is increased.
It is preferred that the hinge device connects the fixing bodies in a movable manner. It is preferred that the hinge device is arranged, in particular completely, between the fixing body and thus does preferably not extend beyond the dimensions the receiving space defined by the fixing bodies. With this arrangement of the hinge device between the fixing bodies a compact design of the bicycle rack is obtained, on the one hand, and/or on the other hand, a change of width of the entire bicycle rack is possible.
It is preferred that the bicycle rack comprises a pre-tensioning device. The pre-tensioning device is designed in particular such that it pushes the fixing bodies towards each other. It is particularly preferred that the pre-tensioning device is arranged between the fixing bodies and in particular connects fixing bodies. The pre-tensioning device preferably comprises a spring, in particular a tension spring, the device being in particular formed by such a spring. The pre-tensioning device advantageously allows for an automatic reduction of the receiving space width and thus e.g. an automatic clamping of the bicycle wheel and/or an automatic compression of the bicycle rack is effected.
It is preferred that the raised holder is connected with the fixing bodies, preferably fixedly and, as is particularly preferred, integrally.
In a preferred embodiment at least one protrusion is arranged between the fixing bodies. The at least one protrusion is designed in particular such that it narrows or closes the receiving space preferably on at least one longitudinally directed side. In particular the at least one protrusion thus ends the receiving space on that side. It is particularly preferred that at least one protrusion narrows or closes the receiving space on both longitudinally directed sides, respectively. It is preferred that this narrowing and/or closing by means of protrusions corresponds to the above described narrowing and/or closing. The at least one protrusion is, in particular, designed as a spacer and/or as a wheel support for the bicycle wheel and/or forms the raised holder. If the at least one protrusion is designed as a spacer, the protrusion defines a minimum distance between the two fixing bodies and thus defines a minimum width of the receiving space. If the at least one protrusion is designed as a wheel support, the tread of the bicycle wheel can be in contact with the protrusion on one or both sides, when the wheel is fixed in the bicycle rack. Thus, the wheel is prevented in an advantageous manner from rolling out on the longitudinally directed side. In the embodiment in which the at least one protrusion forms the raised holder, the at least one protrusion keeps in particular the bicycle wheel in a raised position. It is particularly preferred that at least one, preferably two protrusions are connected, in particular integrally, with each of the fixing bodies, respectively. It is particularly preferred that the protrusions of the two fixing bodies respectively oppose each other with their end faces. It is preferred that the fixing body has a height of 10 to 15 mm, in particular a height of 11 mm.
In a preferred embodiment the width of the receiving space can be changed variably in a range from 0 to 150 mm, preferably between 22 and 130 mm. This variable width of the receiving space advantageously allows to hold most of the common wheel widths.
It is preferred that the bicycle rack, in particular the hinge device, comprises a blocking device. The blocking device is designed such that the width of the receiving space can be fixed, preferably temporarily. The blocking device preferably comprises at least one screw or a fast blocking device and is in particular formed thereby. It is particularly preferred that the blocking device blocks the hinge device so that the same is immovable. By means of the blocking device it is it is achieved in an advantageous manner that on the one hand, the receiving space can be set to a certain width and thus a certain wheel width can be set and/or, on the other hand, a fixed press fitting of the bicycle wheel in the wheel fixing means can be effected.
In a preferred embodiment the bicycle rack comprises a base device for arranging the bicycle rack on a surface, preferably a ground surface. It is particularly preferred that the base device is connected with the wheel fixing means, in particular the fixing bodies. This connection between the base device and the wheel fixing means is in particular fixed, preferably permanently fixed. The connection may be designed as a single-piece connection, which may also be referred to as an integral connection. By means of a fixed or integral connection between the base device and the wheel fixing means, it is achieved in an advantageous manner that when the width of the receiving space is changed by movement, the base device is also changed and can thus be compressed advantageously. It is preferred that the base device substantially has the shape of a planar surface. The base device preferably has a polygonal shape. It is particularly preferred that the base device has a quadrilateral or hexagonal shape. Due to the straight sides of the polygonal shape it is advantageously possible to position a plurality of bicycle racks of the invention side by side by straight faces.
In a preferred embodiment the base device has a foot. It is particularly preferred that the base device has two feet. If the base device has two feet, it is preferred that one foot is connected with preferably only one fixing body, respectively. The connection between the foot and the fixing body is in particular fixed, particularly preferred integral. Advantageously, it is thus possible to move the feet along when the distance between the fixing bodies is changed, and to thereby influence the dimensions of the bicycle rack as a whole, in particular to compress the same.
In a preferred embodiment the bicycle rack has at least one connection device for a preferably temporary connection of the bicycle rack of the invention with another bicycle rack, in particular a bicycle rack of the invention. It is particularly preferred that the connection device is part of the base device. Preferably, the connection device is a contact and/or positive and/or material-bond and/or selectively couplable connection device.
It is preferred that the bicycle holder is symmetric, in particular mirror-symmetric. It is particularly preferred that the bicycle rack, when positioned on a surface, is mirror-symmetric with respect to at least one, in particular with respect to both vertical planes, e.g. the longitudinal and the transversal plane.
The single bicycle rack of the invention preferably is a single parking device. The single bicycle rack is designed for parking only a single bicycle. The single bicycle stand comprises a single bicycle rack of the invention having one or a plurality of the above described features.
The bicycle rack of the invention in particular is a device for parking in rows. The bicycle rack system comprises at least two bicycle racks of the invention connected with each other. It is preferred that the connection of the at least two bicycle racks is a contact and/or positive and/or material-bond and/or selectively couplable connection. It is particularly preferred that the connection of the at least two bicycle racks is made via the connection device. The connection of the at least two bicycle racks is preferably made via the base device of the bicycle racks.
Similar or identical components or elements are identified by the same reference numerals or variations thereof (e.g. 10 and 10a and 10b). Elements may not be provided with reference numerals in all Figures, in particular for the sake of clarity.

Bicycle rack, single bicycle rack and bicycle rack system


A light-emitting device includes a first light-emitting element and a second light-emitting element. The first light-emitting element has a first LED, and emits a first spectrum. The second light-emitting element has a second LED and a constant voltage element connected in series, and emits a second spectrum different from the first spectrum. The second light-emitting element is connected in parallel to the first light-emitting element. First light-emitting element and the second light-emitting element are configured such that their lines indicating the forward current-forward voltage characteristics cross each other. This enables to change spectral distribution emitted from the light-emitting device just by changing power supplied from a single power circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The field relates to light-emitting devices, and light sources for lighting and lighting apparatuses in which light-emitting devices are used.
2. Background Art
Semiconductor light-emitting elements, such as light-emitting diode (LED), are broadly used in a range of apparatuses as highly-efficient and space-saving light sources. For example, LEDs are used as light sources for lighting, such as an LED bulb lamp and straight-tube LED lamp, and backlight light sources for liquid crystal display devices. In this case, LEDs are unitized and built in a range of apparatuses in the form of LED modules (light-emitting devices).
These LED modules include a COB (Chip On Board) light-emitting device in which multiple LED chips are directly mounted on a board, and an SMD (Surface Mount Device) light-emitting device in which multiple packaged LED elements are mounted on a board.
For example, a COB light-emitting device includes multiple LEDs (LED element array) linearly aligned on a long board and linear sealing member (resin containing phosphor) for sealing multiple LEDs.

Light-emitting device, and light source for lighting and lighting apparatus using the same

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


The present invention is a method and system for estimating interference. Packet characteristics of relevant packets within the channel at a given point in time may be processed. For example, a power level, occupied frequency and corresponding time references may be accumulated and stored for each relevant packet within the channel at a given point in time. As each packet is processed for demodulation, the channel samples, at which interference occurred, may be appropriately weighted based on the packet characteristics. Advantageously, the nature of the interfering channel traffic may be measured to properly de-weight the interference in a computationally efficient manner.

Wireless communication systems have been developed to provide communication links between multiple mobile parties. Many wireless communication systems operate according to a channel model with multiple messages being transmitted across the communication system simultaneously. With multiple messages passed across a communication system, collisions between messages occur which creates interference.
Interference may prevent the recovery of data from a transmitted packet. Consequently, frequency hopping and the use of coding techniques in conjunction with weighting algorithms for responses to non-stationary channel conditions may be employed. Frequency hopping reduces the effects of interference by spreading a transmission over multiple center frequencies. Coding techniques, such as forward error correction, allows recovery of lost channel bits and improves the robustness of data transmission.
In order to further improve data reception, interference is de-weighted. The conventional technique for de-weighting interference is limited due to the failure to account for the nature of the interfering channel traffic. Packets being transmitted across a channel simultaneous with a packet for reception create interference. Consequently, an improved interference processing technique which accounts for the interfering channel traffic is necessary.

Interference estimation for interference excision with low computational complexity


A catalyst for generating hydrogen containing at least one composite metal selected from the group consisting of a composite metal of platinum and nickel and a composite metal of iridium and nickel, the catalyst being used in a decomposition reaction of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of hydrazine and a hydrate thereof; and a method for generating hydrogen, including contacting the catalyst for generating hydrogen with at least one compound selected from the group consisting of hydrazine and a hydrate thereof. Hydrogen can be efficiently generated with improved selectivity in the method for generating hydrogen that utilizes the decomposition reaction of hydrazine.

Various methods for generating hydrogen gas that is supplied to fuel cells are known. Examples of such methods include the electrolysis of water; reactions between metals and acids; the reaction of water with metal hydrides; the reformation of methyl alcohol or natural gas with steam; and the release of hydrogen from hydrogen storage materials, such as hydrogen storage alloys, activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, and lithium-nitrides. However, these methods have drawbacks in that much energy is required to generate hydrogen, the amount of hydrogen generated is small relative to the amount of starting materials used, large-scale equipment is required, etc. For this reason, although these methods are applicable to hydrogen generation on an industrial scale or on a laboratory scale, they are not suitable for use in supplying hydrogen to fuel cells for automobiles, portable fuel cells for, for example, cellular phones and personal computers, and the like, which require a continuous supply of necessary amounts of hydrogen fuel, and for which there is a demand for miniaturization.
Metal hydrides, such as LiAlH4 and NaBH4, are used as hydrogen-generating reagents in laboratories and the like. These compounds need to be handled carefully because they rapidly release a large amount of hydrogen upon contact with water, producing an explosive phenomenon. For this reason, these compounds are also not suitable for use as hydrogen supply sources for fuel cells as mentioned above.
Methods for releasing hydrogen by utilizing hydrolysis reactions of tetrahydroborates, such as NaBH4 (see, e.g., Patent Literatures 1 and 2, and Non-Patent Literatures 1 and 2 listed below), and hydrolysis reactions of ammonia borane represented by the formula NH3BH3 (see, e.g., Patent Literature 3, and Non-Patent Literatures 3 and 4), have also been reported. However, these methods have problems with recovery and regeneration of the resulting borate compounds.
Hydrazine (H2NNH2), which is liquid at room temperature and has a high hydrogen content (12.5 wt %), is considered to be promising as a source of hydrogen. Hydrazine is reported to be capable of being decomposed into nitrogen and hydrogen by catalytic reactions. For example, Patent Literature 4 listed below discloses a method for generating hydrogen comprising contacting hydrazine or a derivative thereof with a metal capable of catalyzing the generation of hydrogen, such as nickel, cobalt, iron, copper, palladium, or platinum. However, an investigation of the ability of these metal catalysts to catalyze the generation of hydrogen via decomposition reactions of hydrazine revealed that a sufficient amount of hydrogen is not produced using these catalysts (see Non-Patent Literature 5 below).
Further, Patent Literature 5 discloses a system for producing hydrogen, comprising a decomposer that decomposes ammonia or hydrazine, which is used as a hydrogen source, into nitrogen and hydrogen, and supplies them into fuel cells. However, Patent Literature 5 does not disclose a specific method for generating hydrogen by the decomposition of hydrazine.
Patent Literatures 6 and 7 disclose methods for generating hydrogen by contacting an aqueous hydrazine solution with a catalyst comprising rhodium supported on a support containing alumina or silica. However, according to these methods, hydrogen is not produced from hydrazine at high yield, resulting in an insufficient amount of hydrogen.

Catalyst for generating hydrogen and method for generating hydrogen

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A search and recommendation system employs the preferences and profiles of individual users and groups within a community of users, as well as information derived from categorically organized content pointers, to augment electronic commerce related searches, re-rank search results, and provide recommendations for commerce related objects based on an initial subject-matter query and an interaction history of a user. The search and recommendation system operates in the context of a content pointer manager, which stores individual users' content pointers (some of which may be published or shared for group use) on a centralized content pointer database connected to a network. The shared content pointer manager is implemented as a distributed program, portions of which operate on users' terminals and other portions of which operate on the centralized content pointer database. A user's content pointers are organized in accordance with a local topical categorical hierarchy. The hierarchical organization is used to define a relevance context within which returned objects are evaluated and ordered.

The explosion in information search, retrieval and management that has been fueled by ever-increasing advances in computerized data storage and retrieval systems, attendant with the now pervasive World Wide Web, has made a universe of information available to anyone who is able to afford the price of a simple personal computer and has the infrastructure necessary to connect that computer to the global Internet. Anyone, anywhere, may now have access, at anytime, to such vast stores of information as to dwarf the largest historical library system heretofore known.
Information search and retrieval systems enable the ordinary user to acquire any information or knowledge that they deem necessary to carry out any one of a number of daily tasks, from the mundane such as searching out a recipe, to the more prosaic, such as performing research on a Ph.D. thesis in advanced telecommunication theory. Although the World Wide Web has been termed an information superhighway, it is more appropriately characterized as an "information furball", in that there are no clear routes, on-ramps or off-ramps, or more particularly entrance and exit signs, that can point a user to the specific "parking lot" or "garage" that contains the information most relevant to their search. In formation is generally presented in web pages which are posted and accessible through an IP address which has no intuitive relationship to the information it contains. It would be as though a library shelves its volumes in the order in which the volumes were received from a publisher, as opposed to being shelved in accordance with any rational structure.
This particular aspect of "information disorganization" is highly relevant in the area of electronic commerce, once it is understood that a vast body of product is being offered by a large number of vendors over an information medium that is not particularly inductive to rational organization and structure. A user must have some knowledge of certain product offerings, or at least some knowledge of the vendors which offer those products in order for that user to access the particular electronic commerce domain or web page where those products are featured. A user who is performing a generalized search for a particular product is often at a loss to know how to begin, much less how to proceed. Accordingly, if a user were interested in obtaining information relating to wood working tools, for example, the user would either have to have a priori knowledge of the relevant tools, the manufacturer or vendor of the tools, or have access to a large body of relevant keywords along with knowledge of a tool manufacturer or vendor's classification system, in order to develop even a starting point for a relevant search.
Pertinent to the difficulties in rational information retrieval discussed above, are the operational characteristics of commonly known and used search engines which have been developed in an effort to make some sense out of the "information furball". Conventional search engines try to extract particular relevant documents or objects from the plethora of offerings available over the World Wide Web. However, the form and scope of information that is extracted from the net and presented to a user is often as disorganized and unprioritized as the Web itself.
In the context of electronic commerce, a user might be interested in only certain of the offerings made available by a particular commerce domain, while preferring certain other offerings presented on a different domain. Conventional search engines are not able to differentiate between products offered by a multiplicity of commerce domains, particularly when a number of users would assign a different relevance characteristic to the different offerings of the different domains.
Further, anyone ever having performed a search of the Web will recall the frustration at receiving "131,256 hits" in response to a simple query for "java". This is not as fanciful as it appears, since "java" might refer to a programming language, coffee, or one of the larger islands in the southwest Pacific. The particular "java" being referred to in the search is known only to the user. The vast majority of "java" hits are irrelevant and serve only to confuse, frustrate and misdirect.
Recommendation systems are capable of organizing retrieved search results based on criteria provided by a user or by comparing each of the search results to a single specific referred document (i.e., the "more like this" feature offered by EXCITE™ and FIREFLY™, for example). Google™ is an example of a search engine that incorporates several recommendation system-like features and operates in a manner similar to traditional key-word search engines. A search begins by the user's entry of one or more search terms which are used in a pattern matching analysis of documents available on the World Wide Web. It differs from traditional keyword search-based engines in that search results are retrieved and ranked on the basis of a page importance metric, which differs from a mere number of occurrences of a desired search term.
Notwithstanding the attempt to put a page importance metric on particular pages of particular web domains, a user is still confronted with the inability of traditional search and/or recommendation engines to determine the degree of relevance that any one user places on a particular page or commerce domain. For example, one user might prefer products obtained from the SEARS domain, while other users might prefer products offered by WALMART. Search and recommendation engines are unable to make a relevance connection with the user, if a user were to search for shirts. Conventionally, the same list of site hits would be presented to all users, regardless of their domain preferences.
Certain network browsers allow a user to construct a categorical listing of certain of their favorite web pages or domains, i.e., the "favorites" feature offered by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. When visiting a particular page, a user may add that page to their "favorites" as a bookmark and might further organize their bookmark collection according to category. A user must manually select and add a number of sites to their collection which, once added, maintain their importance within the structure without regard to any further access of that bookmark by the user.
A user might construct a set of electronic commerce bookmarks, but these bookmarks might only be pertinent for a particular period of time or in response to a particular interest frame. As a user's interest changes, a conventional bookmark collection will not, unless manually reconfigured from time to time.
Accordingly, what is needed is an intelligent agent or system which is able to understand user imperatives, and track user behavior, so as to adaptively and dynamically construct a personalized, relevance driven domain and/or page map that can assist a user during electronic commerce activities. As a user searches the Web for a particular product offering, the relevance agent or system is able to adaptively inform both searching and result recommendations so as to present only relevant content loaded sites to the user. Further, the relevance agent or system is able to prioritize results in accordance with previously established user preferences for particular commerce domains or specific product manufacturers or vendors.
Having recourse to a user's preferences, the relevance agent or system should be able to automatically generate relevant search parameters, such that if a user is located within a particular commerce domain and wishes to search for particular or alternative product offerings, the system understands the user's desires and automatically generates a directed query for the specific desired goods and/or services.
Such a system should be accessible to a user as an adjunct to a conventional network browser application program and be able to automatically organize and construct an electronic commerce metacatalog, containing only product information which is relevant and timely to a particular user. The system should be accessible at will and not interfere with the ordinary functionality of a browser and, when invoked, not occupy a considerable amount of valuable screen real estate.

Interface and system for providing persistent contextual relevance for commerce activities in a networked environment


Embodiments of method and apparatus for acoustic echo control are described. According to the method, an echo energy-based doubletalk detection is performed to determine whether there is a doubletalk in a microphone signal with reference to a loudspeaker signal. A spectral similarity between spectra of the microphone signal and the loudspeaker signal is calculated. It is determined that there is no doubletalk in the microphone signal if the spectral similarity is higher than a threshold level. Adaption of an adaptive filter for applying acoustic echo cancellation or acoustic echo suppression on the microphone signal is enabled if it is determined that there is no doubletalk in the microphone signal through the echo energy-based doubletalk detection, or there is no doubletalk through the spectral similarity-based doubletalk detection.

Acoustic echo control involves cancelling or suppressing undesired echo signals that result from acoustic coupling between a loudspeaker and a microphone. Acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) or acoustic echo suppression (AES) may be used for this purpose.
AEC is a method where echo cancellation is accomplished by adaptively identifying the echo path impulse response and subtracting an estimate of the echo signal from the microphone signal. AES is a method where spectrum of the echo signal contained in a microphone signal is estimated, and the echo suppression is achieved by spectrum modification.
To estimate the echo signal, coefficients of an adaptive filter are adaptively updated to identify the echo path response. However, in the case that a doubletalk detector (DTD) detects a doubletalk (when a talker at the near-end of the microphone is talking in the presence of echo), usually the adaption of the adaptive filter is disabled to prevent that the near-end signal has a negative effect on the adaptive filter in terms of estimating the acoustic echo path.

Method and apparatus for acoustic echo control

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


In an intermittent receiving apparatus (10) for intermittently receiving a carrier signal having a carrier frequency (f.sub.R) and carrying data as an intermittent received carrier signal so as to alternate between a reception state for a reception time interval (T.sub.R) and a nonreception state for a nonreception time interval (T.sub.NR), an oscillation circuit (16) oscillates a reference signal having a reference frequency (f.sub.REF) equal to the reproduced clock frequency (F.sub.BTR). A clock supply circuit (20) intermittently supplies an output clock signal for a predetermined time duration including the reception time interval to a clock reproduction circuit (15) on the basis of the reference signal.

This invention relates to an intermittent receiving apparatus for use in a digital receiver and, in particular, to an intermittent receiving apparatus for alternately carrying out receiving operation and nonreceiving operation on a received carrier signal.
An intermittent receiving apparatus of the type described is operable in an intermittent operation. That is, the intermittent receiving apparatus alternately carries out reception operation and nonreception operation on a received carrier signal having a carrier frequency. The intermittent receiving apparatus has a received carrier input terminal supplied with the received carrier signal, a reception data output terminal for outputting reception data, and a reception clock output terminal for outputting a reception clock signal having a reception clock frequency. The reception clock frequency is identical with a reproduced clock frequency which is lower than the carrier frequency.
A conventional intermittent receiving apparatus comprises a detection circuit, a clock reproduction circuit, and an oscillation circuit. Supplied to the received carrier input terminal, the received carrier signal is supplied to the detection circuit and the clock reproduction circuit. The oscillation circuit oscillates an oscillation signal having an oscillation frequency which is equal to N times as large as the reproduced clock frequency where N represents a predetermined positive integer. The positive integer N is normally set in a value between thirty-two and three hundred. The oscillation frequency is higher than the carrier frequency.
Responsive to the received carrier signal, the clock reproduction circuit reproduces a reproduced clock signal having the reproduced clock frequency with reference to the oscillation signal. The reproduced clock signal is supplied to the detection circuit. The detection circuit detects the reception data in the received carrier signal using the reproduced clock signal as a detection timing. The reception data is supplied to the reception data output terminal. The reproduced clock signal is supplied to the reception clock output terminal as the reception clock signal.
In the above-mentioned conventional intermittent receiving apparatus, the clock reproduction circuit carries out synchronization holding operation so that the oscillation circuit always oscillates the oscillation signal having the oscillation frequency which is N times the reproduced clock frequency on the nonreception operation as well as the reception operation. As a result, the conventional intermittent receiving apparatus is disadvantageous in that the higher the oscillation frequency becomes, the larger current consumption becomes.

Intermittent receiving apparatus capable of reducing current consumption


An energy supply system includes at least two devices selected from a device for generating electric power, a device for heating a heat conveying medium to an atmospheric temperature or higher and a device for cooling a heat conveying medium to the atmospheric temperature or lower; a device for supplying at least two selected from electric power, heat of atmospheric temperature or higher and cold of atmospheric temperature or lower to a plurality of customers; a device for measuring supply quantities of electric power, heat and cold, supplied to the plurality of customers; a device for calculating usage charges for electric power, heat and cold, consumed by each of the customers on the basis of the supply quantities; and a device for settling the usage charges. One enterprise entity manages these activities.

The present invention relates to an energy supply system and, more particularly, to a system which is able to effectively supply energy to a specific area and a control method of the system.
Hitherto, it is general that individual enterprise entities independently supply a main energy source such as electric power, gas, etc. In a partial area, supply of heat and cold, using electric power and gas as an energy source, so-called a distinct heating and cooling enterprise is conducted.
However, this enterprise also is run independently of an enterprise supplying the other energy source. Further, there also is an enterprise entity which introduces a co-generation system in view of improvement of the whole thermal efficiency which uses generated power for home consumption and supplies heat by using a part of exhaust heat. However for the entity a main object is to reduce a power generation cost, and an enterprise to supply widely the generated power in the area is not conducted. An example of a conventional technique relating to the co-generation system is disclosed in JP A 6-131004 in which a plurality of co-generation systems are used, and an energy supply means and a energy circulating means are controlled so that a cost of energy to be supplied to a plurality of energy consumption areas will be minimum. However, in the technique it is not considered to more efficiently do energy business by measuring a quantity of energy consumption of a customer and lump-sum charging. Further, since a main energy source is supplied by different enterprise entities, it is general that the quantities of consumption are measured independently and individually charged. However, there is proposed a system in which the consumption quantities of electricity, water and gas are measured and totally charged for residents of office buildings, etc., as in JP A 6-631132, for example, however, in this technique it is not considered to feed those measured values back to the energy supply system.
The above-mentioned conventional techniques have a problem that the energy sources are supplied by different enterprise entities, so that it-is difficult to supply combination energy optimum for a power-generation cost or a load on environment to energy-consuming customers in a specific area. Further, consumption quantities of energy are individually measured and charged, so that time is required for the treatment thereof and it is difficult to totally acknowledge energy consumption of respective customers. Although there are conventional techniques solving partially those problems, there was not anything to make efficient the energy supply business and realize as new business, by solving those problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide an energy supply system which efficiently supplies energy customers and makes it easy to synthetically keep trace of energy consumption of respective customers.
An energy supply system according to the present invention to achieve the above-mentioned object comprises: at least two means selected from means for generating electric power, means for heating a heat conveying medium to an atmospheric temperature or higher and means for cooling a heat conveying medium to the atmospheric temperature or lower; means for supplying at least two selected from electric power, heat of atmospheric temperature or higher and cold of atmospheric temperature or lower to a plurality of customers; means for measuring quantities of electric power, heat and cold, supplied to each of a plurality of customers; means for calculating usage charges for electric power, heat and cold, consumed by each of the customers on the basis of the supply quantities; and means for settling the usage charges.
Further, a method of operating an energy supply system having at least two means selected from means for generating electric power, means for heating a heat conveying medium to an atmospheric temperature or higher and means for cooling a heat conveying medium to the atmospheric temperature or lower, and means for supplying at least two selected from electric power, heat of atmospheric temperature or higher and cold of atmospheric temperature or lower to a plurality of customers, comprises: measuring amounts of electric power, heat and cold, supplied to a plurality of customers; calculating a usage charge for each customer on the basis of usage; and settling the usage charge.

Energy supply system and operation method thereof


A tubular printing blanket for a blanket cylinder in an offset printing press comprises a cylindrical sleeve, a compressible layer over the sleeve, and an inextensible layer over the compressible layer. The cylindrical sleeve is movable telescopically over a blanket cylinder. The compressible layer comprises a first seamless tubular body of elastomeric material containing compressible microspheres. The inextensible layer comprises a second seamless tubular body of elastomeric material containing a tubular sublayer of circumferentially inextensible material. A seamless tubular printing layer over the inextensible layer has a continuous, gapless cylindrical printing surface. Methods of manufacturing the tubular printing blanket are also disclosed.

A web offset printing press typically includes a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder and an impression cylinder supported for rotation in the press. The plate cylinder carries a printing plate having a rigid surface defining an image to be printed. The blanket cylinder carries a printing blanket having a flexible surface which contacts the printing plate at a nip between the plate cylinder and the blanket cylinder. A web to be printed moves through a nip between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder. Ink is applied to the surface of the printing plate on the plate cylinder. An inked image is picked up by the printing blanket at the nip between the blanket cylinder and the plate cylinder, and is transferred from the printing blanket to the web at the nip between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder. The impression cylinder can be another blanket cylinder for printing on the opposite side of the web.
A conventional printing blanket is manufactured as a flat sheet. Such a printing blanket is mounted on a blanket cylinder by wrapping the sheet around the blanket cylinder and by attaching the opposite ends of the sheet to the blanket cylinder in an axially extending gap in the blanket cylinder. The adjoining opposite ends of the sheet define a gap extending axially along the length of the printing blanket. The gap moves through the nip between the blanket cylinder and the plate cylinder, and also moves through the nip between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder, each time the blanket cylinder rotates.
When the leading and trailing edges of the gap at the printing blanket move through the nip between the blanket cylinder and an adjacent cylinder, pressure between the blanket cylinder and the adjacent cylinder is relieved and established, respectively. The repeated relieving and establishing of pressure at the gap causes vibrations and shock loads in the cylinders and throughout the printing press. Such vibrations and shock loads detrimentally affect print quality. For example, at the time that the gap relieves and establishes pressure at the nip between the blanket cylinder and the plate cylinder, printing may be taking place on the web moving through the nip between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder. Any movement of the blanket cylinder or the printing blanket caused by the relieving and establishing of pressure at that time can smear the image which is transferred from the printing blanket to the web. Likewise, when the gap in the printing blanket moves through the nip between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder, an image being picked up from the printing plate by the printing blanket at the other nip can be smeared. The result of the vibrations and shock loads caused by the gap in the printing blanket has been an undesirably low limit to the speed at which printing presses can be run with acceptable print quality.
Another problem caused by the gap at the adjoining ends of a conventional printing blanket is the circumferentially extending void defined by the width of the gap. The void defined by the width of the gap interrupts and reduces the circumferential length of the printing surface on the blanket cylinder. This causes an area of the web to remain unprinted each time the blanket cylinder rotates. Such unprinted areas of the web reduce productivity and increase waste. In addition, such a conventional printing blanket is not easily properly attached to a blanket cylinder. As a result there can be considerable press downtime, which can be expensive. Furthermore, the blanket cylinder itself must be equipped with means for engaging the opposite ends of the printing blanket to hold them in place.
Another problem associated with conventional printing blankets is caused by the pressure exerted against the flexible surface of the printing blanket by the rigid surface of the printing plate at the nip between the blanket cylinder and the plate cylinder. The flexible surface of the printing blanket is indented by the rigid surface of the printing plate as it is pressed against the printing plate upon movement through the nip. At the center of the nip, the cylindrical contour of the rigid printing plate impresses a corresponding cylindrical depression in the flexible printing blanket. When a depression is pressed into the flexible printing blanket, bulges tend to arise on each of the two opposite sides of the depression. Such bulges appear as standing waves on the surface of the printing blanket on opposite circumferential sides of the nip. A point on the surface of the printing blanket moves up and over such standing waves as it enters and exits the nip. Compared with a point on the rigid cylindrical surface of the printing plate, a point on the flexible surface of the printing blanket traverses a greater distance as it moves past the nip. The speeds of those surfaces therefore differ at the nip. A difference in surface speeds causes slipping between the surfaces which can smear the ink transferred from one surface to the other.
Printing blankets are known to include compressible rubber materials which compress under the pressure exerted against the printing blanket by the printing plate at the nip therebetween. Compression of the printing blanket at the nip reduces the tendency of bulges to form at opposite sides of the nip. Standing waves which could smear the ink on the rotating printing blanket are thus reduced, but repeated compression and expansion of the compressible rubber material can cause the printing blanket to overheat.


Structural health monitoring (SHM) is essential but can be expensive to perform. In an embodiment, a method includes sensing vibrations at a plurality of locations of a structure by a plurality of time-synchronized sensors. The method further includes determining a first set of dependencies of all sensors of the time-synchronized sensors at a first sample time to any sensors of a second sample time, and determining a second set of dependencies of all sensors of the time-synchronized sensors at the second sample time to any sensors of a third sample time. The second sample time is later than the first sample time, and the third sample time is later than the second sample time. The method then determines whether the structure has changed if the first set of dependencies is different from the second set of dependencies. Therefore, automated SHM can ensure safety at a lower cost to building owners.

Structural inspection ensures the integrity of structures. Structural inspection includes informal subjective methods such as visual or hammer testing, and quantitative modern methods such as ultrasound, x-ray, and radar non-destructive testing techniques. These structural inspection methods are relatively intensive because they depend on the experience of the inspector and the time to inspect suspected damaged locations in the structure. Inspections are typically carried out periodically.

Motion sensing wi-fi sensor networks for continuous 3D modeling and prediction of facility responses to disturbances


A trailer-stabilizing device that stabilizes movement between a fifth-wheel trailer and the towing vehicle during normal trailering operations and that more effectively distributes the weight of the trailer to the towing vehicle is disclosed. The trailer-stabilizing device extends between the trailer and towing vehicle and is preferably positioned spaced apart from a traditional hitch and tongue connection pivotally securing the towing vehicle to the trailer. Preferably, the fifth-wheel trailer is pivotally secured to a conventional hitch within the bed of the pickup truck, and the stabilizing device is detachably secured to a conventional receiver on the back of the pickup truck.

Trailers are towed vehicles that are operably secured to a towing vehicle, usually at a hitch or the like. One type of trailer in common use is known as a travel trailer, which is a towed vehicle usually having many of the conveniences of a home. A particularly popular travel trailer is known as a "fifth-wheel" trailer, which is adapted to be towed by a traditional pick-up truck. Namely, the forward portion of the fifth-wheel trailer is elevated above the bed of the pick-up truck and includes a mounting portion, or tongue, extending from the bottom of the elevated forward portion to a trailer mount, or hitch, secured to the bed of the pick-up truck.
Usually, the distal end of the tongue is usually pivotally secured to the hitch so that the towing vehicle and trailer can pivot with respect to each other about a defined pivot axis. This arrangement allows the towing vehicle and trailer to each have a turn radius that is sufficiently small so that both the towing vehicle and trailer can complete most turns found on conventional roads and the like. Preferably, the tongue is also detachably secured to the hitch so that the trailer may be easily attached and detached from the hitch.
Despite the benefits offered by conventional trailer tongues and hitches, they have several drawbacks. For example, the sole connection between the towing vehicle and trailer is at the pivot. Accordingly, all the pulling and braking forces offered by the towing vehicle are transferred to the trailer at this one location. Similarly, all forces generated by the trailer are transferred to the towing vehicle at this one location. This single point of connection at the pivot places enormous stress on the hitch and tongue, and can cause uneven weight and force distribution between the trailer and towed vehicle during some transient conditions, such as during acceleration and braking of the towing vehicle.
Efforts to improve the weight distribution and stabilization between a tongue & ball-type trailer and its towing vehicle have had limited success. For example, some trailer hitch manufacturers sell a product know as "sway control bars" that extend between the tongue of the trailer and ball on the towing vehicle to dampen side-to-side movement about the pivot. However, these structures also tend to limit the range of motion of the trailer about the pivot, thereby compromising the turn radius of the trailer and towing vehicle. Moreover, such structures are not adaptable for use with fifth-wheel trailers, where the tongue of the trailer connects to a trailer hitch resting in the bed of a pick-up truck-style towing vehicle.

Trailer stabilization and weight distribution device


In accordance with these and other embodiments of the present disclosure, a system may include a processor and a program of executable instructions embodied in non-transitory computer-readable media accessible to the processor. The program of executable instructions may be configured to, when read and executed by the processor, monitor for a failure of a storage resource in a pool of storage resources configured as a plurality of optimally-redundant virtual storage resources, determine if a virtual storage resource comprising the storage resource is able to rebuild the virtual storage resource, and, in response to determining that the virtual storage resource comprising the storage resource is unable to rebuild the virtual storage resource, migrate each of one or more virtual machines mapped to the virtual storage resource to another virtual storage resource in an optimal redundancy state.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In many computing applications, an information handling system includes a hypervisor for hosting one or more virtual machines. A hypervisor may comprise software and/or firmware generally operable to allow multiple virtual machines and/or operating systems to run on a single information handling system at the same time. This operability is generally allowed via virtualization, a technique for hiding the physical characteristics of computing system resources (e.g., physical hardware of the computing system) from the way in which other systems, applications, or end users interact with those resources. Thus, a virtual machine may comprise any program of executable instructions, or aggregation of programs of executable instructions, configured to execute a guest operating system on a hypervisor or host operating system in order to act through or in connection with the hypervisor/host operating system to manage and/or control the allocation and usage of hardware resources such as memory, central processing unit time, disk space, and input and output devices, and provide an interface between such hardware resources and application programs hosted by the guest operating system.
Information handling systems and virtual machines often use an array of storage resources, such as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), for example, for storing information. Arrays of storage resources typically utilize multiple disks to perform input and output operations and can be structured to provide redundancy which may increase fault tolerance. Other advantages of arrays of storage resources may be increased data integrity, throughput and/or capacity. In operation, one or more storage resources disposed in an array of storage resources may appear to an operating system as a single logical storage unit or "virtual storage resource." Implementations of storage resource arrays can range from a few storage resources disposed in a server chassis, to hundreds of storage resources disposed in one or more separate storage enclosures.
As a specific example, a user may implement a RAID configuration including one or more servers coupled to a number of storage enclosures containing hundreds of storage resources. In a typical configuration, a RAID may include active storage resources making up one or more virtual storage resources and one or more spare storage resources (also known as "hot spares"). In such a configuration, the storage resources configured as active spares generally may remain idle until a virtual storage resource suffers a failure of one of its active storage resources, at which time the virtual storage resource may rebuild itself using an active spare. However, situations may exist in which a spare storage resource is not available to rebuild a virtual storage resource after failure of an active storage resource, placing the virtual storage resource in what is known as a degraded state. In such a situation, failure of another active storage resource in the virtual storage resource may lead to loss of data.

Systems and methods for migration of virtual machines across virtual storage resources


The invention relates to an apparatus and a process for optimized electro-hydraulic pressure pulse generation that records characteristic parameters which can be measured insusceptible to error and compared with set values. The object of the invention is achieved by an apparatus in which an electro-hydraulic shock wave system is provided with a measuring and control device (13a, 13b) that measures the discharge current between the electrode tips (4, 5), and a process that influences the system parameters by means of the apparatus.

Electro-hydraulic shock wave systems are used to generate pressure pulses by applying voltage by means of an RLC discharge circuit between two electrodes located in a fluid, causing a plasma to form between the electrodes during the discharge, generating a shock wave.
The properties of the shock wave depend significantly on the discharge current and the charging voltage. These, in turn, result from the parameters of the RLC circuit, the applied voltage and the geometry of the electrode configuration.
Document DE 40 20 770 elucidates the characteristic of the discharge curves of current and voltage, Conventional systems make use of a damped oscillation.
The breakdown of the discharge voltage between the tips of the electrodes, which usually are located in an aqueous solution, is a statistical effect, since local physical conditions of the electrical field and the inhomogeneities of the medium located between the tips cause extreme variations in the formation of the electric arc and of the plasma. The reproducibility of the discharge is made more difficult by the fact that the electrode tips wear out after many discharges, which not only alters the surface roughness, but also increases the distance between the electrodes due to loss of material in the tips. In the course of time, this results in an increase in the minimum voltage, which is necessary in order to achieve a breakdown.
From DE 40 20 770 it is known that this problem can be countered by using a highly conductive electrolyte as the fluid in which the electrodes are located. The discharge then becomes a type that is critically damped, in which the latency time, i.e. the time until the breakdown, is more or less completely suppressed, since the electrical energy is converted directly to form a vapor bubble and therefore a pressure wave, so that the formation of a plasma does not even come about.
However, this apparatus requires a very careful control of the electrode distance, since the system reacts very sensitively to this distance.
Another procedure is depicted in EP 0911 804. This document describes an apparatus that measures the directly controlled distance, i.e. voltage and its gradient, and varies the distance between the electrodes based on deviation from a set voltage. The set value is defined so that when it is reached the optimum conversion of electrical energy into pressure energy takes place. The increase in distance between the electrode tips can therefore be corrected, increasing the life of the electrodes. The individual shock waves are more similar to each other, because they are generated at least with equivalent electrode geometry. Depending on whether a constant or a variable reference value is used, the electrode distance can be increased or decreased.
However, voltage measurement in a high-voltage discharge circuit is difficult to implement. Interference causes very high proneness to errors.
The object of the invention is to present an apparatus and a process for optimized electro-hydraulic pressure pulse generation that records characteristic parameters which can be measured insusceptible to error and compared with set values. A voltage measurement alone furthermore enables no conclusion about the energy conversion between the electrodes.
The object of the invention is achieved by an apparatus in which an electro-hydraulic shock wave system is provided with a measuring and control device that measures the discharge current between the electrode tips, and a process that influences the system parameters by means of the apparatus.

Apparatus and process for optimized electro-hydraulic pressure pulse generation


A wafer stacking method and structure are provided. The wafer stacking method includes: providing a first wafer, wherein an upper surface of the first wafer includes a first bonding pad configured to connect to a first signal; fabricating a first redistribution layer (RDL) on the first wafer, comprising a first wiring electrically connected to the first bonding pad, and the first wiring includes a first landing pad; bonding a second wafer on the first RDL, wherein the second wafer includes a second bonding pad configured to connect the first signal and located corresponding to the first bonding pad; fabricating a first through silicon via (TSV) with a bottom connected to the first landing pad at a position corresponding to the first landing pad; and fabricating a second RDL on the second wafer to connect the second bonding pad and the first TSV. This wafer stacking method improves the manufacturing yield.

In an IC manufacturing process, by stacking multiple dies and establishing mechanical and electrical connection thereon, the size of an IC may be reduced. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in existing practices, a through silicon via (TSV) may first be fabricated for each to-be-stacked die, then a micro bump may be formed for each TSV. Last, the dies may be bonded together through die-to-die or die-to-wafer bonding, and inter-layer electrical connections may be established through the micro bumps and TSV.
The die-to-die or die-to-wafer bonding process, however, has a low efficiency, which drives up the cost. Additionally, the TSV and the micro bumps needs to be fabricated for each die in advance, and the risks associated with a positioning or a connection error in the bonding process are substantial. The electrical connection path between dies located on different layers may be easily disrupted. All of these may reduce the production yield.
Therefore, a die stacking method that can overcome the aforementioned issues is desired.
It is to be noted that the information disclosed in the above background is merely for strengthening the understanding on the background of the present invention and thus may include information that does not constitute prior art known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Wafer stacking method and wafer stacking structure


A pneumatic mattress has two edge cells and transverse inner cells, arranged in adjacent pairs as alternate cells. An inflation hose has internal pipes, which receive alternating pneumatic pressure for the cells via extensions to connectors at both ends of cells. The edge cells are physically connected to the inner cells via the connectors.

The present invention relates to a pneumatic mattress.
A pneumatic mattress is a mattress having a plurality of pneumatic cells which are so connected that sets of them can be selectively and cyclically pressurized and exhausted—or inflated and deflated—in sequence to support a user, normally a patient liable to suffer or actually suffering from pressure sores. Cycling the mattress simulates movement that a patient would make if fit and healthy so as to avoid supporting his/her weight in the same place all the time. Pneumatic mattress design suffers from a dichotomy that separate independent cells held together only by an outer cover make for simplicity and cheapness, whereas integrally fabricated and smaller cells provide support in such a way that portions of the patient's anatomy are not liable to slip between two pressurized cells when an intervening one is deflated.
Pneumatic mattresses are usually pressurized with air drawn from the ambient atmosphere. However, the term is not intended to preclude use of any other inflation gas.
It is known to provide pneumatic mattresses with upper and lower layers of cells. Often these are pressurized and exhausted in phase, that is the cells above each other being pressurized and exhausted together. Advantages of this are not only that in the event of accidental puncturing of a cell in the upper layer, the corresponding cell in the lower layer can guard against the patient being dropped onto a hard bed base beneath the mattress; but also that two smaller cells on top of each other have less tendency to fill the space left by a deflating neighboring cell, thus the portion of the patient supported by the neighboring cell when inflated is more certainly relieved of support by the deflating cell than would be the case if the two superposed cells were a single cell.
It is also known to provide cells as triplets in each layer, with one cell in every three being deflated at any one time.
The present invention is an improved pneumatic mattress.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A shock suppressor has a first base, a second base, a sliding tray and a slider. The first base has a first guiding recess. The second base is mounted above the first base at an interval and has a second guiding recess facing the first guiding recess of the first base. The sliding tray is slidably mounted in the first guiding recess of the first base and has a sliding recess and a convex surface slidably mounted on and abutting against the first base in the first guiding recess. The slider is slidably mounted between the sliding recess of the sliding tray and the second guiding recess of the second base and has two convex faces. The abutments between the first base, the sliding tray, the slider and the second base can provide three concave sliding mechanisms to the shock suppressor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shock suppressor, and more particularly to a shock suppressor that can absorb or dissipate seismic shock energy in both horizontal and vertical directions, has a simplified structure and can slide with three concave sliding mechanisms.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional shock suppressor can be applied on a building, a bridge or a sensitive equipment to absorb or dissipate seismic shock energy. The applicant has previously proposed a seismic energy converter as disclosed in Taiwan Patent Number TW554124 and a shock absorber structure as disclosed in Taiwan Patent Number TW585955. The conventional shock suppressor has a first base, a second base and a slider. The first base has a top side and a first sliding recess. The first sliding recess is curved and is formed in the top side of the first base. The second base is parallel to the first base at an interval and has a bottom side and a second sliding recess. The second sliding recess is curved, is formed in the bottom side of the second base and faces the first sliding recess of the first base. The slider is slidably mounted between the bases and abuts against the sliding recesses in a curved-contact-surface manner.
With the curved-contact-surface structural relationship between the sliding recesses of the bases and the slider, the slider can be automatically relocated to the original position. When an earthquake or a vibration occurs, the bases and the slider of the conventional shock suppressor can be moved relative to each other in both horizontal and vertical directions, and this can isolate the transmittance of shock energy generated by the earthquake or the vibration and can absorb the shock energy to provide an isolating-damping effect to the building, the bridge or the sensitive equipment.
The conventional shock suppressor can dissipate shock energy by the curved-contact-surface structural relationship between the sliding recesses of the bases and the slider, but only two sliding recesses of the conventional shock suppressor are used to isolate and dissipate the shock energy, and this limits the isolation speed and efficiency of the conventional shock suppressor. Then, when an isolation device that requires a large-scale and rapid damping condition is in use, the user only can increase the number or size of the conventional shock suppressor to meet the above-mentioned requirement. However, increasing the number of the conventional shock suppressor may increase the equipment cost, and increasing the size of the conventional shock suppressor may complicate the structure of the conventional shock suppressor, and increase the equipment cost and difficulty of installation.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a shock suppressor to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


Coding and decoding words formed of alphanumeric characters, in which a listing of symbols are provided, each symbol being associated with a different alphanumeric character, converted and transmitted to another who has the listing of symbols, (the symbols may be different colors icons, or sounds), each associated with a different alphanumeric character.

The invention is named Prism Code because when a user sends white light into a prism, the prism converts the white light and transmits out light that looks different than what was input. White light is sent into a prism, but red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet colors transmit out. Similarly, when a user sends an alphanumeric message via Prism Code, Prism Code converts the alphanumeric message and transmits out a message that looks different than what was input. It becomes a message comprised of symbols, colors and/or sounds.
In contrast to other methods, (e.g. Morse code), Prism Code is unique. A Morse code user inputs, (sends) a message (e.g. -.-), and the same message, (-.-) transmits out. Prism Code is different than standard, well known, email clients, (e.g. AOL®, GMAIL®). When a user inputs, (sends), an email message such as, 'Hello' using standard email clients, the same exact 'Hello' transmits out and is viewed by the recipient. With Prism Code, when a user inputs, (sends), the message 'Hello', a different looking message transmits out. What is viewed by the recipient is not what was sent. Instead of seeing, 'Hello', the recipient sees symbols, that when decoded, translate as 'Hello'.


A cabling machine for laying optofibers, cables or the like in an oscillating, wavy path around a smooth pull-reliever, or into grooves having an oscillating, wavy shape which are extruded around a pull-reliever, i.e., so-called S/Z-cabling. The machine includes a pull-reliever pulling-off device, a braking capstan, a fiber reeling-off device, and an S/Z-bench (6) for laying the fibers around the pull-reliever. When used with a grooved pull-reliever (2), a laying-on tube (11) of the S/Z bench (6) is connected to a transmission (14), and a sensor (17) is connected to the transmission and functions to detect rotation of the laying-on tube (11) caused by the oscillating waveshape of the grooves. The reeling-off device (1) and the braking capstan (3) are controlled to cause the pull-reliever (2) to rotate to perform a corrective function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cabling machine, more particularly to laying optofibers, cables or the like in an oscillating wavy path around a smooth pull-reliever, or down into grooves of oscillating waveshape that have been extruded around a pull-reliever, as in so-called S/Z-cabling.
2. Description of Related Art
Cabling machines for laying optofibers or the like in an oscillating, wavy path around a smooth pull-reliever are known to the art. These cabling machines include an S/Z-bench which includes a laying-on tube or discs which are oscillated backwards and forwards for the purpose of laying the fibers on the pull-reliever. The fibers, which pass along the laying-on tube to a laying-on head located on the forward end of said tube, become wound to a greater or lesser extent around the laying-on tube during operation of the machine, which causes the fibers to be subjected to friction forces. These frictional forces will vary in accordance with the rotational movement of the laying-on tube at that particular moment in time, and when the fibers are wound to a great extent on the tube, the frictional forces can be so high as to damage the fibers.
Also known to the art are cabling machines which are intended to lay optofibers or the like in grooves of oscillating waveform extruded around a pull-reliever. These machines also include an S/Z-bench provided with a laying-on tube or discs over which the fibers pass to a laying-on head. The pull-reliever is pulled rectilinearly through the laying-on tube and, because of the oscillating form of the grooves, the tube tends to rotate forwards and backwards as a result of the fibers being guided down into the grooves. This rotational movement or twisting of the laying-on tube will also cause fibers to be wound around the tube and subjected to frictional forces that are liable to damage the fibers, similar to the former case.
Thus, the known cabling machines have the disadvantage of subjecting fibers to large frictional forces with subsequent risk of damage to the fibers. Furthermore, the known machines are intended for laying fibers in an oscillating waveform, i.e. S/Z-cabling, solely on one type of pull-reliever, namely either on a smooth pull-reliever or on a pull-reliever on which grooves have been pre-extruded.

S/Z cabling machine for laying fibers around a grooved pull-reliever


Techniques described herein are directed to, among other things, utilizing a self-centering user interface to receive information associated with a transaction. For instance, a computing device may receive a first input at a first location of a display. The computing device may then determine a positioning for the user interface, where the user interface may be substantially centered about the first location. In some instances, the computing device may display the user interface using the positioning. The computing device may then receive a second input corresponding to swipe from the first location of the display to a second location of the display. The computing device may then determine a symbol included in the user interface based at least in part on the second input. In some instances, the user interface includes a keypad for entering a personal identification number associated with a payment instrument.

In today's commerce, customers use payment instruments, such as debit cards and credit cards, to conduct transactions with merchants. For instance, during a transaction, a point-of-sale (POS) device of a merchant may receive payment information (e.g., a card number, an expiration date, etc.) associated with a payment instrument. The customer may then use the POS device to input a personal identification number (PIN) associated with the payment instrument. In some instances, the POS device may include a touchscreen display that the customer uses to input the PIN. However, this may be problematic if the customer is visually impaired, such as if the customer is blind or nearly blind.
In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical items or features. Moreover, multiple instances of the same part are designated by a common prefix separated from the instance number by a dash. The drawings are not to scale.

Self-centering user interface for inputting information


In a pulse radar ranging system, directional coupling means are configured to convey transmit pulses to be transmitted via an antenna to a target and to convey target echoes received by the antenna to a signal mixer that generates an intermediate frequency signal. To embed a reference measurement into the target measurement, the directional coupling means include a four-port circulator with an additional port arranged between a port receiving the transmit pulses and a port coupled to the antenna. A reference line is coupled to the additional port for generating reference echo pulses in response to input pulses. The circulator is configured to split a portion of the transmit pulses to the reference line and to convey there reference echo pulses to the antenna.

Such a pulse radar ranging system is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,778 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,991.
Pulse radar ranging systems provide distance or level measurement based on the direct measurement of the running time of microwave pulses transmitted to and reflected from a target, e.g. the surface of a fill material in a container. As the running time for distances of a few meters is in the nanosecond range, a special time transformation procedure is required to enable these short time periods to be measured. The microwave pulses are transmitted to the target at a repetition rate or transmit clock frequency which is given by a transmit clock generator. In a signal mixer, the received echo pulses reflected from the target are sampled by cross-correlation with sampling pulses of the same shape as the transmit pulses but at a sampling clock frequency slightly lower than the transmit clock frequency. The cross-correlation and subsequent integration or low-pass filtering leads to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal corresponding to the received echo pulses but time-expanded relative thereto by a factor T1/(T1−T2), where T1 is the transmit pulse repetition period and T2 is the sampling period. The time-expansion allows for amplifying, digitizing and further processing of the echo pulses with standard techniques.
One of the sources of errors in pulse radar ranging systems is the temperature drift. Due to variation of the parameters of the semiconductor devices of the pulse radar, the level measurement result will change over the specified temperature range without a real change of the measured level.
From US 2008/0036649 A1 a pulse radar ranging system is known, where a controllable switch, depending on a control signal, either conveys the transmit pulses to the antenna to be transmitted to the target or to a calibration module, preferably a delay line of known delay and terminated with a pulse reflecting impedance mismatch. Thus, the known pulse radar ranging system has two operating modes, wherein a measuring mode is periodically interrupted by a calibration or diagnostic mode. In the calibration or diagnostic mode the equivalent of a reference distance, given by the delay line, is measured. For calibrating the pulse radar, corrections are calculated from the measured reference and are applied to the target measurement results. For diagnostic purposes, the value measured from the reference is checked against an acceptable range. The performance of the switch may impose limitations with respect to frequency range or noise on the measurement function and the calibration or diagnostic function.

Siemens Milltronics Process Instruments, Inc.