A method for distributing aggregate routes that does not require a user to provision a next hop address or specify a redistribution policy is presented. Embodiments of the method utilize a modified command language interface (CLI) with a network device (e.g., router). In the various embodiments, the modified CLI is well-suited for use in routers that utilize interior gateway protocols such as open shortest path first (OSPF), routing information protocol (RIP), integrated intermediate system-to-intermediate system (ISIS), interior gateway routing protocol (IGRP), enhanced interior gateway routing protocol (EIGRP), and NetWare link services protocol (NLSP). In one or more embodiments, the invention has the advantage of providing an easier means of specifying aggregate routes, which saves user time and is less error-prone.

A global computer network such as the Internet can be conceptualized as one huge network encompassing scores of smaller networks. The data transfers that take place between these scores of smaller networks are made possible through a hierarchy of communications layers utilizing a variety of communications protocols. A protocol is a set of conventions or rules that govern the transfer of data between network devices. Rudimentary protocols typically define only a hardware configuration, while protocols that are more complex define data formats, timing, error detection/correction procedures, and software structures. The seven-layer Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Reference Model developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO), and extensively articulated in the literature, is generally used to describe the structure and function of data communications protocols. A considerable role of each layer in the OSI model is to supply services to the other layers. Connection-oriented and connectionless network services are two of the types of services provided by the OSI layers.
In a connection-oriented service, a source node creates a connection with a destination node and, after transmitting a data packet, terminates the connection. The overhead related to setting up the connection might be unappealing in the case of nodes that require very efficient communication operations. In this case, a fully connectionless service is preferable. With a connectionless service, each transmitted data packet carries the full address of its destination through the network. The destination address is used by the network layer protocols to determine the route or path of the data packet. Connectionless network services are generally implemented in network layer protocols that perform basic connectionless service, neighbor greeting, and routing functions. The basic connectionless service functions are primarily concerned with data packet formatting and end node status notification, e.g., error messages. The neighbor greeting function enables end nodes to determine which routers are available on their local network, while enabling routers to determine their end node neighbors.
A simplified example of a distributed network system is shown in FIG. 1, and is referred to as internetwork system 100. Internetwork system 100 may contain various routing domains 103, 105, and 107, which are tied to a backbone network 101. In a hierarchically arranged distributed network system 100, backbone 101 is the central connection path shared by the nodes and networks connected to it. The backbone 101 administers the bulk of traffic between communicating nodes to provide end-to-end service between one user, for example source node 122 in domain 103, and another user, for example destination node 142 in domain 107. Each routing domain 103-107 in internetwork system 100 is a collection of one or more local networks 120, 125, 130, 135, 140 that are attached to the backbone 101 through one or more routers 123, 132, and 134. In the following discussion, the term "local network" shall be used to refer to all types of networks that may be included in a domain. Routing domains 103-107 are also referred to as customer networks or autonomous systems (AS), however the term autonomous system is used more often than "routing domain" within the Internet community and in the Internet Protocol Suite, or IP. An autonomous system is a set of nodes and routers that operate under the same administration.
The networks in routing domains 103-107 may be local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN), or the like, all of which are attached to backbone 101 through routers 109, 111, and 113. A router is a specialized computer for processing IP data and forwarding IP data along respective network paths. In FIG. 1, a local network is shown as a horizontal line to which end nodes, such as node 122 on local network 120, or node 137 on local network 135, can be attached. Nodes are depicted by a circle with an 'N' within the circle, and are connected to their respective local networks. If a node is attached to the horizontal line representing a network, that node can transmit data to, and receive data from, every other node attached to the same horizontal line. Source and destination nodes are generally computer workstations and/or servers, but may be any type of device that can include a network interface card, such as a printer, modem, or facsimile machine.
The routing protocols implemented in routers 109, 111, and 113 are referred to as interdomain routing protocols, or exterior gateway protocols (EGP). One example of an exterior gateway protocol is the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP; RFC 1771), which is used to provide loop-free interdomain routing between autonomous systems. Interdomain routers 109, 111, and 113 thus encompass a higher routing level in distributed internetwork system 100. The simplified example of FIG. 1 does not show more than one interdomain router connecting each domain 103-107 to backbone 101, however, it should be noted that oftentimes more than one interdomain router is used to connect domains to the backbone, for purposes of redundancy.
The routing protocols implemented in routers 123, 132, and 134 are referred to as intradomain routing protocols, or interior gateway protocols (IGP). Examples of an interior gateway protocol are routing information protocol (RIP), open shortest path first (OSPF), and NetWare link services protocol (NLSP; from Novell, Inc.), among various others. Intradomain routers 123, 132, and 134 encompass a lower routing level in distributed internetwork system 100, and are tasked with managing communications between local networks and nodes within their respective domains 103-107. The interdomain routers manage all of the intradomain routers without addressing details internal to lower routing levels. Communications amongst these routers generally comprises an exchange (i.e., an advertising) of routing information. This exchange occurs between routers at the same routing level (peer routers), as well as between routers at different routing levels.
Although the majority of Internet users have never seen a router, the functions performed by this specialized computer are largely responsible for allowing the Internet (or any other large internetwork such as hierarchically arranged distributed network system 100) to exist. Routing and the information routers exchange may be considered the "glue" that binds distributed networks together. Without routers and routing, IP traffic would be limited to a single physical network. IP routing specifies that IP packets (datagrams) travel through internetworks one hop at a time (next hop routing) based on the destination address in the IP header. The entire route is not known at the outset of the journey. Instead, at each stop, the next router or destination end node (referred to as the next hop) is calculated by matching the destination address within the datagram's IP header with an entry in the current node's (typically, but not always, a router) routing table. Alternately, a route policy may be used instead of routing table entries to derive the next hop address. As more nodes are added to an IP network, the amount of routing information that must be shared (exchanged) between routers increases, as does the size of the routers' configuration or routing tables. A routing or configuration table is a collection of information that a router uses to decide where a packet should go (which network path to take), and includes information such as which connections lead to a particular address, priorities for connections to be used, and rules to use for handling routine and special cases of packet traffic, etc.
A network with a limited number of gateways to other TCP/IP networks can be configured with static routing. A static routing table is constructed manually by the network administrator using the ip route command via a command language interface (CLI) to the router(s). Static routing tables do not adjust to network topology changes, so static routing tables should only be used where the topology seldom changes. In the case where remote destinations can only be reached through one route, however, a static route is generally the best routing choice. When there is more than one possible route to the same destination, dynamic routing is recommended. A dynamic routing table is constructed from the information exchanged by routing protocols, which are designed to distribute information that dynamically adjusts routes to reflect changing network topology conditions. Routing protocols can manage complex routing situations more efficiently and accurately than the network administrator can.
Improvements in router processing power and in the development of routing protocols and other techniques such as aggregation of routes have been used to reduce the amount of routing information that needs to be shared between routers. Aggregation is the process of combining several different routes in such a way that a single route can be advertised. For example, an aggregate route can be considered a route in which only an IP subnet address for each route needs to be considered for routing purposes. Advertising an aggregate route means exchanging or providing information about the aggregate route to other routers. Aggregation serves the purpose of minimizing the size of routing tables used to store advertised IP routes. This concept is demonstrated in FIG. 2, which shows a simple aggregate route being advertised from one router to another router.
In FIG. 2, router B 215, shares routing information with another router A 210, in the form of an autonomous system (AS) external link state advertisement (LSA) message 220. Thus router B 215 is utilizing a link-state protocol, in the example presented, OSPF, in which a link can be considered as being an interface on router B 215. The state of the link is a description of that interface, and of its relationship to its neighboring routers, such as router A 210. A description of the interface could include, for example, the IP address of the interface, the mask, the type of network it is connected to, the routers connected to that network, and the like. The compilation of all these link-states forms a link-state database (not illustrated).
LSA message 220 contains the IP address of an aggregate route, i.e., 18.104.22.168/16. In the example of FIG. 2, the aggregate route information provided by server B 215 is obtained from server B's 215 access to three separate servers, server 217, server 218, and server 219, at IP addresses 220.127.116.11, 220.127.116.11, and 188.8.131.52, respectively.
The various types of routers follow routing models, e.g., GateD derivations or RouteD derivations, and each routing protocol can be a source of information. That routing information can be subjected to import policies, which affect whether or not the information will enter the Routing Information Base (RIB). Import policies may not be applied to routes representing directly connected interfaces, static routes, and aggregate routes. These directly connected interfaces, static routes, and aggregate routes will be in the RIB for as long as they are valid. The RIB contains all routes that are valid and are not rejected by an import policy. Typically, the RIB contains multiple routes to the same prefix (e.g., the number of leading bits in an IP address which represents the net number portion of the IP address, for example, the IP address bits common to the IP addresses occurring within a subnet), but from different protocol sources.
In the case of multiple routes to the same prefix, the router needs to decide which source (of the same information) will be considered more "trustworthy" than others will, that is, there is a measure of preference between different routing protocols. Each routing protocol is assigned a default preference value, which can be modified when configuring a router. The route selection process, with the help of route preference, chooses the active routes from the RIB, and copies them into the Forwarding Information Base (FIB). The FIB is used for packet forwarding, and contains straightforward mapping between prefixes and next hops to be used for those prefixes.
Export policies can be applied to the active routes in the FIB to control which of those will be exported (distributed, or in the vernacular of the art, redistributed) to other routing protocols. Unlike import policies, export policies can be applied to prefixes from any source, including connected, static, and aggregate routes. Redistribution can be considered a "shortcut" means of configuring an export policy. As an export policy, redistribution takes active routes from the RIB that originate from a given source protocol, and advertises them to a target protocol.
FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram showing the generation of an autonomous system (AS) external link state advertisement (LSA) message such as AS external LSA message 220 discussed in FIG. 2. The generation of external LSA message 220 involves a configuration interface 310 such as command language interface (CLI) within router B 215. A user, e.g., network operator, system administrator, etc., inputs the various commands into a console 315, typically via a keyboard, which console 315 transmits to the CLI configuration interface 310. The CLI configuration interface 310 then instructs an open shortest path first (OSPF) routing protocol process 305 running on router B 215 to generate the message according to the received input from user at console 315. The commands input in the example of FIG. 3 are shown in sample input commands area 316.
In the example of FIG. 3, operator sample input commands 316 are provided for distributing three aggregate routes, IP route 184.108.40.206/16, IP route 18.104.22.168/16, and IP route 18.104.22.168/16. Each of the aggregate routes also requires the operator to provide a next-hop address 320 in the input commands 316 for the respective aggregate routes. In FIG. 3, for example, the next-hop address 320 of 220.127.116.11 is provided by the user for aggregate route 22.214.171.124/16, the next-hop address 320 of 184.108.40.206 if provided by the user for aggregate route 184.108.40.206/16, and the next hop address 320 of 126.96.36.199 is provided by the user for aggregate route 18.104.22.168/16. A next hop address 320 is an address of one of the devices accessible by the aggregate route. Each aggregate route must have a next hop address such as 320 that is reachable through Router B 215. For example, in the simple model illustrated in FIG. 2, the aggregate route 188.8.131.52/16 could specify a next hop address of 220.127.116.11, or 126.96.36.199, or 126.96.36.199—only one next hop address is required even though an IP subnet (i.e., 18.104.22.168/16) can be reached through three different device addresses.
The aggregate routes must be added as static routes and then redistributed into OSPF 305. When route redistribution is invoked, all static routes in Router B 215 are redistributed over to Router B's 215 neighbors. A redistribution policy 330 must be used to filter out all unwanted static routes from being redistributed into OSPF 305. To this end, the user creates a route map which specifies a redistribution policy 330 required by the redistribute static command, as is illustrated in an exemplary manner in the commands area 316. The route map is a means of controlling the (re)distribution of routes between routing domains. The syntax and/or purpose of these various commands are well-known in the art, and will therefore not be discussed in detail.
One problem with the prior art such as the example presented in FIG. 3 is that each static route representing an aggregate route requires a user to provide a next hop address in the CLI/router configuration process. As previously stated, however, a next hop address is only one of the device addresses reachable via the aggregate route. However, should the device specified as the next hop address become unavailable, i.e., be out of service for whatever reason, the entire aggregate route is adversely affected. For example, if the next hop address 320 of 18.104.22.168 is out of service, the static route with IP subnet 22.214.171.124/16 is no longer reachable because it does not have a reachable next hop address 320. This static route would be removed from the routing table in Router B 215, and OSPF 305 in Router B 215 would send another AS external LSA message 220 informing its neighbors that 126.96.36.199/16 is no longer reachable, even if numerous other devices are still in service with addresses within IP subnet 126.96.36.199/16, i.e., 184.108.40.206, or 126.96.36.199, etc. No other routers in the network know about 220.127.116.11 and 220.127.116.11 because the subnet address 18.104.22.168/16 is no longer advertised by Router B 215 should the specified next hop address 320 go out of service. That is, advertisement of the aggregate route to other routers will be suspended for as long as the unavailability of the device specified as the next hop address persists, thereby rendering other devices subtending from the aggregate route unreachable, and potentially disrupting a large portion of the routes in a segment or segments of IP networks.
Another problem with the prior art as regards a user having to manually provision a next hop address is the amount of time often required of a user to do so, which can be considerable in the case of numerous entries. In addition, there is a possibility of the user inadvertently introducing errors when entering the next-hop address via the CLI, e.g., entering x.z.x.x instead of x.x.x.x for the next-hop address. Correction of entry errors is also time consuming, and may render portions of a network unreachable until the entry error is corrected.
Therefore, what is needed is a method for distributing aggregate routes that overcomes the problems inherent when a user must manually provision a next hop address.

Method for distributing aggregate route information


A device for monitoring the leakage of cooling gas into the stator water cooling system is disclosed. The vent from the water cooling reservoir tank is connected to the inlet of a U-shaped passageway and the outlet of the passageway is connected to an atmospheric vent. A liquid is provided in the passageway so as to prevent the passage of cooling gas from the inlet to the outlet without a desired pressure differential. At the specified pressure differential however, gas bubbles from one side of the passageway to the other and is trapped by a measuring cup in one position. When a sufficient quantity of gas is passed under the cup, the buoyancy of the cup becomes positive allowing it to rise to a second position where at least a portion of the gas is discharged. Because the amount of gas discharged can be determined and a number of cycles of operation of the cup can be measured, the flowrate can be precisely measured. Appropriate electronic circuitry processes the electronic indications of cup operation to provide an electronic flowrate indication, an alarm indication should the flowrate exceed a predetermined amount and conditioning for computer storage and processing of flowrate information in preferred embodiments.

Commercial electric power generation systems utilize the liquid cooling of stator windings to remove heat generated in the stator windings during power generation. Many systems are designed such that a hydrogen gas coolant in the generator is at a pressure higher than the coolant fluid pressure (generally oil or water). This serves to minimize the leakage of liquid into the generator frame if an opening develops in the cooling system. However, even with the pressure difference, a long split in a cooling hose would probably produce a major liquid leak even though hydrogen gas would probably also flow into the cooling liquid.
This reduced coolant pressure design (also called a "reverse pressure design") provides an early warning of incipient liquid leaks by the monitoring of the presence of hydrogen gas in the coolant liquid. While the coolant liquid can be oil, unless otherwise specified for purpose of clarity, water will be referred to hereinafter as the coolant. An indication of stator winding coolant system leaks have been diagnosed by one or more of the following events:
(1) An observation of high hydrogen gas usage in the generator;
(2) An increase in water conductivity values resulting from ion particles carried into the water system by gas leakage into the same system;
(3) Measurements of the quantity of hydrogen gas leaving the water reservoir tank vent line (normally measured by placing a plastic bag over the exit of the coolant reservoir vent line and monitoring the time to fill the bag with hydrogen);
(4) The observation of liquid in the bottom of the generator (either visually or by float valve actuated switch);
(5) For oil-cooled stator windings, an indication that the normal vacuum of 28" of Hg cannot be maintained and thus a gas leak is overpowering the reservoir tank vacuum pump.
Normal generator operation provides a slight gas flow of around 3-10 cubic feet per day from the coolant reservoir vent line. Of course, it is desirable never to plug the coolant reservoir vent line (to avoid the possibility of explosion) and thus available small orifice flow meter devices would not be appropriate.
Gas flow can reverse under a number of different circumstances. When reduced generator loads are encountered, the temperature of the gas and or coolant liquid will decrease. Reductions in the reservoir gas temperature can establish reservoir pressures less than atmospheric. It is desirable that any flow meter be able to tolerate occasional reverse flows of gas.
Higher than normal gas flows can result during electrical load increases and/or increases in the reservoir gas temperature would provide a higher than normal gas flow rate out of the reservoir tank. Occasional higher flowrates need to be tolerated by any flow meter.
Because the gas hydrogen (in many generator systems) is an explosive gas (when mixed with oxygen), no device capable of producing sparks could be used.
It is desirable to be able to provide a visual indication of the leakage rate especially if the leakage monitor signal suggests a potential problem. It is also desirable to provide a flow measurement signal which can be monitored and is capable of providing a visual and/or audible alarm if the flow rate exceeds the desired levels.
One such device meeting a number of the above requirements is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,017 issued to Barton et al. on Apr. 3, 1984 entitled "Hydrogen Leak Monitor for a Turbine-Generator," the subject matter herein incorporated by reference. This reference provides a detailed description of the water cooling circuit and the monitoring of leak detection based upon venting of gas from the water storage reservoir. It is noted that this device requires a solenoid valve, two float level switches, a bypass valve, a flow reservoir and a relief valve rendering the system relatively complex.

Water cooled stator winding leak detector


Apparent distance of a pixel within an optical field of view is determined. Incoming light is scanned along a raster pattern to direct light for a select pixel onto a light distance detector. The distance is sampled for each pixel or for a group of pixels. The light distance detector includes a concentric set of rings sensors. The larger the spot of light corresponding to the pixel, the more rings are impinged. The diameter of the spot is proportional to the distance at which the light originated (e.g., light source or object from which light was reflected). Alternatively, a variable focus lens (VFL) adjusts focal length for a given pixel to achieve a standard spot size. The distance at which the light originated correlates to the focal length of the VFL.

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for determining an optical distance, such as a distance of an object within a field of view, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for scanning distances within a field of view.
A conventional camera includes an objective lens and a light detector, such as a photographic film, CCD array or other photosensitive device or structure. Light from a viewing environment enters the camera through the objective lens and impinges on the light detector. The portion of the viewing environment for which light enters is the camera""s field of view. Some cameras pass the light to a viewfinder or eyepiece allowing an operator to select a desired field of view from the background environment. To take a picture or record, the light detector captures frames of the background light from the field of view.
Often the field of view is divided into discrete picture elements or pixels. In conventional digital video cameras the light detector records data for each pixel within the field of view for a given video frame. The data includes color, intensity and the pixel coordinates (i.e., x,y coordinates).
Conventional still cameras and video cameras include optics for focusing within the field of view. Thus, an operator can select to focus on a near field object or a far field object. Some cameras even include autofocus devices which automatically adjust the focal length of the objective lens to focus within the field of view.
According to the invention, an apparent distance of one or more points within an optical field of view is determined. For example, an apparent distance is determined for each pixel, or for one or more group of pixels, within a field of view. Such distance is also referred to as a depth of view. One advantage of the invention is that pixel data for an object viewed may be recorded, input to a computer and mapped enabling display of a 3-dimensional model of the object. Another advantage is that an augmented display device or camera device can have variable accommodation.
Incoming light is scanned along a raster pattern to direct light for a select pixel onto a light distance detector. The distance is sampled for each pixel or for a group of pixels. In one embodiment a light distance detector is used. In an alternative embodiment a variabe focus lens is used.
The light distance detector includes a concentric set of ring sensors. The larger the spot of light corresponding to the pixel, the more rings are impinged. For light entering from a far distance, such as from infinity to about 20 feet, the spot will be small. For light coming from closer distances the spot is larger. The diameter of the spot is proportional to the distance at which the light originated (e.g., light source or object from which light was reflected). Each ring corresponds to a distance. The number of rings impinged determines the distance for the pixel being sampled.
The variable focus lens (VFL) is included in the light path. For a given pixel to be sampled, the focal length of the VFL is varied to achieve a small spot size. The distance at which the light originated correlates to the resulting focal length of the VFL.
Although, distance is sampled for each pixel or for a group of pixels, light intensity and color also may be sampled to record a digital image of a field of view, such as for a camera implementation.
The invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Optical scanning system with variable focus lens


A movement guiding device for a vacuum environment is provided so that the device is able to suppress a base oil vaporized in the vacuum environment from leaking to the outside. The movement guiding device for a vacuum environment according to the present invention comprises a track member (1) having a rolling-element rolling part (1a), a moving member (2) having a rolling-element circulation passage containing a loaded rolling-element rolling part (2a) facing the rolling-element rolling part (1a) and being movable relatively to the track member (1), a plurality of rolling elements (3) arranged in the rolling-element circulation passage, clearance seals (5, 6) arranged with the moving member (2) and sealing a clearance formed between the track member (1) and the moving member (2) without coming in contact with the track member (1).

A movement guiding device provided with rolling elements, such as balls or rollers, and arranged in guiding parts of a moving object moving linearly have now been used so that the device is able to perform a guide function using rolling movements of the rolling elements. In late years, this kind of movement guiding device has many applications in a clean environment, which is required by, for example, apparatuses for manufacturing semiconductors and liquid crystal products, and medical facilities. With semiconductors highly integrated and other factors, it has now been indispensable that semiconductor manufacturing lines be processed in a vacuum atmosphere.
When a general type of grease is applied in a vacuum environment, the grease is subjected to vaporization of its oil component so that lubricating property will be lost in the grease. Therefore, even if a movement guiding device is used under normal use conditions without any problem, the movement guiding device will encounter various problems when being used in the vacuum environment. The problems include not only an early disappearance of lubricating property of the grease applied inside the device but also discharging a vaporized gas from the grease, resulting in a fear that the outside environment is polluted.
In consideration of these problems, as a lubricant applied in movement guiding devices used in the vacuum environment, a vacuum grease is used which contains an inert fluorinated oil as its base oil. This vacuum grease is lower in general in steam pressure than a grease which contains a mineral oil to be used in the atmosphere. However, for applications in higher vacuum environments, use of the vacuum grease inevitably results in the vaporization of the oil component. Hence it is obliged to use a solid lubricant.

Movement guiding device for vacuum environment


A Wireless battery area network permits the wirelessly monitoring and controlling of individual batteries within large-scale battery applications. The system automatically configures its wireless nodes in the network and provides for the linking of a plurality of batteries (10) to a master battery management unit (M-BMU) (100) by establishing a wireless battery area network within a battery pack that include slave units (S-BMU) (210). The entire system may also be controlled by a top level battery management unit (T-BMU) (510). The system and method allows for the monitoring of voltage, current, temperature, or impedance of individual batteries and for the balancing or bypassing of a battery.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a battery management system including a plurality of battery cells in a battery pack in which a wireless battery area network is automatically established between a base station (M-BMU) and a plurality of slave battery cell sensor nodes (S-BMU).
2. Description of Related Art
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are growing in popularity as energy storage reservoirs for industrial and automotive applications, high-voltage energy uses (smart grid), such as wind turbines, photo-voltaic cells, and hybrid electric vehicles, and this has spurred demand for safer, higher performing battery monitoring and protection systems. Compared to NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) battery management systems, see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,097, Li-ion batteries have better energy-to-weight ratio, offer more efficient storage capacity over multiple charge-discharge cycles, and suffer less charge leakage when not in use. Unlike NiMH batteries traditionally used in high-voltage applications, battery stacks using Li-Ion technology can comprise a large number of individual cells totaling hundreds of cells at different voltages. Each cell must be properly monitored and balanced to ensure user safety, improve battery performance and extend battery life. Therefore, the battery management system (BMS) is one of critical components for small and large-scaled battery applications. Examples of Li-ion battery packs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,602,460; 5,631,537; and 5,646,508. The main objectives of a BMS are: (1) to guarantee appropriate use of the battery, (2) to guarantee maximum performance of the battery, (3) to monitor necessary battery state data, and (4) to permit diagnosis. The BMS architecture should overcome the three major hurdles of state-of-the-art Li-Ion batteries: life cycle, cost and scalability. For example, in Smart Grid and power plant applications, the battery capacity needs to be as large as a few hundred kWh to a few MWh. However, current BMS architecture is not scalable to handle such a large number of battery cells. More importantly, the complexity and cost of wire harnesses for handling large-scaled battery applications is often not acceptable. Also, conventional battery management systems require data bus isolators such as an opto-coupler based vertical bus, and suffer from high cost and high power consumption. Most research efforts have been focused on improving the cell chemistry aspects. Considering that roughly 30% of the cost of a battery pack is for the BMS and the percentage increases as the battery capacity becomes larger, BMS can be a source of significant cost reduction especially for large-scale Li-Ion battery packs. Very few prior art battery management systems use wireless communication, instead of wired media, or a combination of wired and wireless.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,097 describes a battery management system for Ni—Cd and NiMH, while the following U.S. Patents discuss possibly relevant battery management systems for Li-Ion or Li-Polymer batteries: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,963,019; 7,619,417; 7,888,912; 8,022,669; and US 2007/0029972. A useful discussion of secondary battery reuse and protection is found in U.S. Pat., No. 7,710,073.
Lastly, the following U.S. Patents are cited for their useful discussions of the current state-of-the-art of wireless communication in battery management systems: U.S Pat. Nos. 7,598,880; 7,774,151; and US 2006/0152190.

Fault tolerant wireless battery area network for a smart battery management system


A flying glider game has a lightweight glider, a launcher and a target attached to the launcher or hand-held. The glider includes a U-shaped planar wing with elongated outwardly projecting side stabilizers, rear ailerons, a rounded nose with an upwardly curved leading edge, and a rigid nosepiece connected thereto. The nosepiece is provided with a finger grip, a rubber band hook, a rectractable trigger pin, wing fasteners and adjustable weight fasteners.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a toy glider and in particular to an ultra-light weight toy glider that can be catapault launched wherein the user, using eye and hand coordination, develops a skill utilizing the guidance control of the launcher and the aerodynamics of the glider to link the glider in flight to a hand held target or land it on a preselected target. The device relates then to a game of skill as well as a toy.
2. Description of Prior Art
Light weight toy gliders go back to the first folded paper gliders patented at the turn of the century. They are still made and flown for fun today by both adults and children. More recent prior art includes expanded styrofoam in place of paper or balsa wood and it has been employed with basically the same flying qualities as the two, however, styrofoam has very poor shear strength, very poor tensile strength and very poor compressive strength as compared to paper or balsa wood. To overcome these problems prior art shows a preponderance of weight adding and bulk adding built up surfaces. The distinction between a light weight glider and an ultra-light weight glider is based on their comparitive weights. Prior art lightweight gliders start at 1 once and up. 1 once equals 28.4 grams. An ultra-light weight glider has a maximum weight of about 4.0 grams and can be less.
Launching devices for gliders also go back to the turn of the century. They all have two basic objectives: a) get the glider to flying speed before it leaves the launcher. b) get it to travel as far as possible after it leaves the launcher. No consideration is given to accurately controlling the trajectory other than to indicate it will loop, spiral or boomerang.
One such early catapaulted glider is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,644,271 issued Jul. 7, 1953 to W. J. Shapiro for a "Toy Glider and Launching Platform" in which a heavy paper, or the like, body is reinforced by doubling it and laminating the two bodies together with glue in order to absorb the tensile and shearing strength of the resilient rubberband launching device. The wings also are altered to rest on the platform holding the glider upright. The glider nosepiece is a large heavy syringe shaped piece of soft rubber added to the body. The catapault is a simulated aircraft carrier flight deck rubberband powered and finger released by pushing the glider tail and stabilizers up and away from the platform.
Another such catapaulted glider is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,647 issued Dec. 27, 1977 to J. H. Lemelson for a "Catapault Launched Model Glider" in which an expanded styrofoam flying wing type body utilizes a tail trigger locking insert imbeded in the rear of the built up styrofoam body and a separate front launching insert imbeded in the front of the built up body with a rather large heavy molded snubnosed nosepiece added to it. The catapault is a two handed rifle holding a stick mounted rubberband. The glider is launched by pushing the tail up and away from the gun.
Another such launchable glider is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,103 issued Jun. 1, 1982 to L. Shulman for a "Model Aircraft Glider" in which an expanded styrofoam flying wing type body utilizes a front rubberband hooking insert in a heavily built-up styrofoam body with a large, heavy foam rubber bumper added to it. The catapault is a stick mounted rubberband.
Another such launchable glider is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,401 issued Mar. 5, 1991 to H. Rose et al. for an "Aerial Toy" in which a nose piece of heavy plastic fastens to the entire length of the leading edge of a rather large, thick (1/8 to 1/4 inch), flat piece of expanded styrofoam board. The catapault is a stick mounted rubberband.
Other pistol type rubberband powered catapaults are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,426,437 issued Aug. 26, 1947 to H. E. Cole et al. for a "Toy" and U.S. Pat. No. 3,068,612 issued Oct. 23, 1961 to R. R. Simpson for a "Self-controlled Toy Airplane". Both utilize sliding carriages and long length barrels to launch a heavy weight glider.
A non-catapaulting glider showing prior art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,425 issued Apr. 19, 1966 to C. Miller, entitled "Aerial Glider Toy" disclosing a thick expanded styrofoam planar wings extending from a full length expanded styrofoam non-lifting fuselage, a pair of verticle non-lifting tail fins, a single fixed molded aileron at the rear and a heavy sliding metal clip and heavy non-lifting snub-nose in front to balance all the non-lifting tail weight.
Another non-catapaulting glider is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,737 issued May 22, 1973 to H. Goodman entitled "Toy Airplane", such patent disclosing a thin planar delta shaped wing having parallel top and bottom surfaces, moveable non-locking ailerons and moveable non-locking side stabilizers fastened to a full length tube fuselage.
Another non-catapaulting flying wing type glider is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,639 issued Jan. 7, 1992 to S. Kippen entitled "Model Aircraft Glider", such patent disclosing thick contoured wings with a planar undersurface extending on either side of a large heavy bulbous nose extending in front of built up weighty wings and a full length fuselage all of expanded styrofoam.
In a toy glider of the present invention, the safety features of the glider and the launcher, the accuracy of the glider flight trajectory, the vastly improved sustained height of flight, the compactness of the glider flight surfaces, the compactness of the launcher, the accuracy of the launcher, the durability of the structure of the glider when used, the stability of the flight control features of the glider when in use, the stability and efficiency of the launching control features of the launcher enable the launcher and glider to be used safely and easily as a toy for children or as a game when used in conjunction with a target.


An illuminating bridle catheter installation system includes a flexible member having a leading end and a trailing end with a first magnet coupled to the leading end of the flexible member, and a retrieving member having a leading end and a trailing end with two non-contacting second magnets coupled to the leading end of the retrieving member. An illuminating member is coupled to one of the flexible member or the retrieving member and the illuminating member is coupled to an electronic circuit having a switch that allows the illuminating member to be illuminated when the first magnet meets the second magnets.

In an effort to prevent premature pullouts, nasoenteric tubes are often fixed in place using a wide variety of bridling systems. Prior systems were difficult to place in a patient and presented discomfort, such as the system taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,448 to Meer, where both ends of a bridle are inserted into separate nostrils until the ends are present in the hypopharynx. Each end of the bridle is then extracted through the mouth of the patient using forceps and tied together to form the bridle.
An improvement to this technique is taught by the bridling system of U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,715 to Kim, which uses a flexible tube like member as the bridle for securing a nasal tube. The flexible member has a magnetic end that is inserted into a first nare of the patient's nose and a magnetic probe that is inserted into a second nare of the patient's nose. Both the flexible member and magnetic probe are inserted just beyond the posterior border of the nasal septum. The magnetic probe retrieves the flexible member, which loops the flexible member around the nasal septum. Once the magnetic end of the flexible member is pulled from the second nare and trimmed away, the flexible member remains in the patient and serves as the bridle for retaining a nasal tube, for example.
Another type of bridle system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,005 to Ballantyne. Ballantyne utilizes two magnetic insertion tools to place a bridle around the posterior nasal septum of the patient. A first insertion tool with the bridle attached is inserted into the first nostril and a second insertion tool is inserted into the second nostril of the patient until they magnetically couple behind the posterior nasal septum. Once coupled, the first insertion tool is removed from the first nostril leaving the bridle coupled to the second insertion tool. The second insertion tool is then removed from the second nostril, which pulls the bridle from the first nostril around the posterior nasal septum and out the second nostril.
In applicant's prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 7,534,228 to Williams, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, applicant discloses a device that uses a flexible member with a magnet attached to one end of the flexible member and an umbilical tape attached to the flexible member. The flexible member is inserted into a first nare using an insertion tool, which makes the flexible member stiff enough to be inserted into the nasal cavity. A retrieving tool having a magnetic end is inserted into a second nare and couples with the magnet of the flexible member. Once the retrieving tool and the flexible member are coupled magnetically behind the posterior nasal septum of the patient, the retrieving tool is pulled out of the second nare and the flexible member follows around the vomer bone and out the second nare, pulling the umbilical tape with it. The flexible member is pulled entirely out of the second nare, leaving the umbilical tape in position behind the vomer bone.


A refrigerator includes a cabinet including a storage compartment provided therein; a first door rotatably coupled to the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a second door rotatably coupled to the first door and comprising a stopper; a locking device configured to selectively allow the rotation of the second door with respect to the first door, wherein the locking device includes a moving member having different displacements according to an opening/closing state of the first door; and a hooking member having different displacements according to the displacements of the moving member and selectively hooking the stopper thereto.

A refrigerator is an electric appliance configured to freeze or refrigerator the food stuffs stored in one or more storage compartments by lowering the temperature in the storage compartments, using the cold air generated via the freezing cycle configured of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator.
Such a refrigerator typically includes a refrigerator compartment for storing refrigerated food or beverage at a low temperature and a freezer compartment for storing frozen food at a low temperature below zero.
The refrigerator may be categorized into a top mount type refrigerator having a freezer compartment arranged in a top; a bottom freezer type refrigerator having the freezer compartment arranged in a bottom; and side-by-side type refrigerator having the freezer and refrigerator compartments arranged side by side. In this instance, doors are coupled to the freezer and refrigerator compartments, respectively, so that a user can have access to the compartments.
Rather than the refrigerator having the freezer and refrigerator compartments provided independently, there is another type of a refrigerator having one door. Such the refrigerator allows the user to have an access to the freezer or refrigerator compartment via one door and it is usually a mini refrigerator having the freezer compartment provided in a predetermined internal space of the refrigerator compartment.
The top mount type refrigerator includes a French type refrigerator having the top mount refrigerator compartment which is closable by right and left doors. The freezer compartment of the French type refrigerator can be also open and closed by right and left doors.
Recently, the refrigerator is provided with diverse functions which developed from original functions of freezing or refrigerating food or beverages. Specifically, a dispenser is installed in the door of the refrigerator to provide purified water and ice. A display is provided in a front surface of the door to show an operational state of the refrigerator so that the user can manage the refrigerator.
There is released a type of a refrigerator having the storage compartment configured to be partially open. In other words, a sub-door is provided in a sub-storage compartment which is provided in a main-door of the refrigerator. A predetermined area of the main-storage compartment as the sub-storage compartment is partitioned off by a partition wall. Such the type of the refrigerator may be called a DID (door in door) refrigerator or a double-door refrigerator. When the sub-door is open, the cold air leaked outside from the main-storage compartment may be reduced enough to enhance energy efficiency.
For example, the beverages which are used often are stored in the sub-storage compartment and the user can open the sub-door to have access to the sub-storage compartment, without opening the main-door.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The invention is directed to a liquid phase oxidation process, wherein a first oxygen-containing gas is injected into the lower portion of a bubble column reactor vessel containing an oxidizeable organic liquid. A second oxygen-containing gas is further injected into the reactor at a point or points wherein the liquid is substantially depleted in dissolved oxygen prior to said injection. Oxygen from both the first and second oxygen-containing gases is used to oxidize the organic liquid.

Bubble column reactors (BCRs) are widely-used in the chemical industry as a low-maintenance, inexpensive means to mix and react gases with liquids, particularly in liquid phase oxidations of organic chemicals. In such liquid phase oxidations most, if not all, of the oxidation reaction occurs with oxygen dissolved in the liquid rather than the oxygen in the gas bubble. Therefore, the rate of oxygen dissolution is generally a prime factor in the process.
In its simplest form, a BCR as used for liquid phase oxidations is comprised of a column of liquid into the bottom quarter of which a reactant gas such as air or oxygen enriched air (e.g. air having up to 40 vol. % oxygen) is injected. The buoyancy of the injected gas causes the bubbles to flow upward. This upward flow of gas bubbles pulls surrounding liquid upward. The amount of liquid which flows upward due to bubble buoyancy exceeds the net liquid flow through the column. Therefore, the upward flow of liquid in regions where many or large bubbles exist must be countered by the downward flow of liquid in regions where such bubbles are rare. In this way, a liquid circulation pattern is created which is unique to the specific geometry of the BCR. Since BCRs have no mechanical agitation, the injected reactant gas functions to mix the liquid.
Most liquid phase oxidations of organic chemicals occur via free radical chain mechanisms. In general, the mechanism proceeds by four steps: initiation, propagation, branching, and termination. The termination of the radical chain involves the combination of free radicals. High molecular weight by-products are produced in termination reactions because two radicals react with each other prior to reacting with oxygen. The normal termination reactions are as follows: EQU ROO*+ROO*.fwdarw.R.dbd.O+ROH+O.sub.2 1) EQU R*+R*.fwdarw.R--R 2)
In the above reactions ROO* are peroxide radicals and R* are hydrocarbon radicals. In the presence of sufficient oxygen, the concentration of ROO* radicals is relatively high and the reaction of two ROO* radicals in reaction 1 dominates. However, if there is insufficient oxygen, as in an oxygen-starved region of a reactor, the reaction of the two radicals in reaction 2 will become significant, thus forming undesirable high molecular weight by-products. In addition to forming these by-products, the recombinations will enhance the termination rate over the propagation rate, consequently lowering the overall reaction rate.
The high molecular weight by-products are typically colored and difficult to remove from the final product. As such, they may devalue the product, even at very low concentrations. Thus the elimination of the radical pathway of reaction 2 can substantially increase product value and, in some cases, may also significantly increase reaction selectivity.
In reactors of this type the use of air enriched with up to 40% oxygen has been employed to increase production rates. However, the use of oxygen enriched air can create regions of the reactor having undesirably high reaction rates, and often undesired, excessively high, temperatures. Indeed this is often a problem for air fed reactors generally. Unfortunately, these high temperatures may promote the formation of byproducts such as carbon oxides in these regions, and as such the yield of the desired product and/or the productivity of the reactor is reduced.
Another problem with BCRs is that because of the flow patterns established, gas is not uniformly distributed in the liquid. Further, in the air-based oxidation of organic chemicals, oxygen-depleted air bubbles dominate large portions of the reactor. Coalescence of both these bubbles and feed air and/or enriched air bubbles leads to the formation of plumes of large bubbles which, due to their size, are very inefficient in transferring oxygen. Thus, even though oxygen may appear in the waste gas stream, the reaction may, in fact, be oxygen-deficient. In practice, due to inefficient mass transfer, only about 80% of the oxygen provided in either air or oxygen enriched air is typically utilized in the oxidations. Unfortunately, the remaining oxygen collects in the head-space of the reactor and may create an explosion hazard.
In some BCR systems, the regions where feed air or enriched air reacts are intentionally kept at an excessive temperature in order to ensure reaction prior to coalescence of the feed bubbles. The reason for such operation is to promote oxidation and keep the oxygen concentration in the waste gas stream below the explosive limit. Unfortunately, operation at such temperatures also may promote the formation of undesirable byproducts, such as carbon oxides in these regions, and the yield of the desired product and/or the productivity of the reactor is reduced. We should note that by the term "explosive limit" we mean the oxygen concentration at which the gas stream could be subject to explosion. Such limits differ depending upon reactant and process conditions, but are known to those skilled in the art.
Other practitioners have attempted to redistribute the gas feed at several stages in the reactor by breaking up coalesced bubbles such that the surface area for oxygen mass transfer is increased. Methods for redistribution include the use of perforated trays and/or packing materials. Each of these options has some disadvantages. For example, in addition to adding complexity to the reactor, they also add metal surface area. In most radical reactions, this is undesirable since undesired radical recombination is promoted at metal surfaces. Also, the presence of hardware in the reactor will substantially alter the circulation pattern and may actually reduce reactor productivity. Thus there is a need in the art to provide a simplified, more efficient method for preventing the formation of byproducts in BCRs.

Direct oxygen injection into bubble column reactors


The object of the instant invention is to provide a cable (or the like) protection and guide device in which inadvertent disengagement during operation can be avoided. Engagement between an opening/closing arm and link plates is accomplished by a dual mechanism locking structure. Easy engagement during use allows for excellent durability. The dual locking structure exhibits adequate strength even in smaller scale versions. The cable protection and guide device contains a plurality of link bodies with each link body comprises one link plate and another (110, 110). The link bodies are flexibly connected to each other. Each link body includes a connecting arm (120), an opening/closing arm (130), a hinge connection mechanism (100A), a main locking mechanism (100B), and an auxiliary locking mechanism (100C). A main locking mechanism (100B) secures the opening/closing arm (130) and the link plates (110, 110). An auxiliary locking mechanism (100C) locks the opening/closing arm (130) and the link plates (110, 110).

The cable or the like protection and guide device comprises link bodies flexibly connected to adjacent link bodies. The front end of each link body is flexibly connected to the respective rear end of an adjacent link body. One end of the cable or the like protection and guide device is attached to a movable machine and the other end thereof is attached to a fixed frame or a floor surface. Each link body has a hollow space inside the link body. Further, a flexible body such as a cable, a hose, or the like is accommodated in the hollow space of the continuous link bodies. Energy is supplied to the movable machine from the floor surface.
One example of the cable or the like protection and guide device comprises a plurality of flexibly connected link bodies. Each link body has a pair of right and left link plates, a connecting arm, and an opening/closing arm. Sometimes herein the right link plate is referred to as one link plate and the left link plate is referred to as the other link plate or "another link plate". The connecting arm connects the respective lower edges of the link plates. The upper portion of one of the link plates of each link body includes a hinge pivotably connected to a first end of the opening/closing arm.
An engagement pin is provided in an upper portion of the other link plate. The engagement pin is engageable with an engagement piece on the second end of the connecting arm. The engagement pin extends in the longitudinal direction of the chain. The chain is located in the hollow space inside of the connected link bodies. An engagement piece inserts into and is slidably movable along the opening/closing arm. One end of the engagement piece slidably interconnects with the second end of the opening/closing arm. The other end of the engagement piece has an engagement pin insertion groove which extends in the longitudinal direction of the link plate. The first end of the opening/closing arm is pivoted about an end of the hinge which resides in the upper portion of the link plate. The engagement piece is movable along the opening/closing arm so that the engagement pin may be engaged with the engagement pin insertion groove. See for example Patent Reference 1. Patent Reference 1 is Japanese Patent Publication No. 3356699.
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In a conventional cable or the like protection and guide device, an upper end portion of a link plate and the end of an opening/closing arm are fixed to each other by an engagement structure. The engagement structure consists of an engagement pin insertion groove in an engagement piece movable along the opening/closing arm. As a result when both elements are not reliably fixed to a required engagement position due to insufficient positioning there are problems. One serious problem that may occur is the easy disengagement by vibration or the like during operation. This can lead to a serious failure in engagement. Further, when members forming the engagement structure break, the other end of the opening/closing arm cannot be fixed to the upper end portion of the other link plate and the opening/closing arm is separated. Additionally, when the engagement piece that is movable along the opening/closing arm is lost, the opening/closing arm is not used.
Further, when an upper end portion of the other link plate and the other end of an opening/closing arm are fixed to each other by only one engagement structure such as an engagement pin insertion groove in an engagement piece other problems may occur. For example, when the cable (or the like) is heavy, the large load applied to the engagement structure can result in significant loss of endurance throughout the entire structure. Further, there is a problem that the size of the engagement structure has limitations due to strength requirements. As a result, miniaturization of the entire device with sufficient strength cannot be achieved.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a cable or the like protection and guide device in which inadvertent disengagement during operation can be avoided by making the engagement between an opening/closing arm and link plates reliable and strong. It is an additional object of the invention to provide a structure with a dual locking mechanism. Easy engagement operation and excellent endurance are achieved.

Cable or the like protection and guide device


A network apparatus of a communication system classifies traffic flows containing packets based on packet features. The network apparatus provides a copy of a packet contained in a traffic flow to a cluster node, and controls the cluster node to select at least one detector node based on the features of the packet and to forward said copy to the selected detector node to find out based on said copy whether the packet is malicious or not. In response to receiving from the detector node a flow indication on the traffic flow, the network apparatus controls a switch node to perform at least one flow control action on the traffic flow, the action including one or more of flow removal, flow modification and flow installation.

New network technologies such as cloud computing bring new security challenges. In a cloud computing infrastructure, security threats and their detection and prevention mechanisms are almost similar to those of conventional networks. However, applying these mechanisms to new elements such as software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) is a challenge. While different solutions such as security zones and grouping, isolating applications by virtual machines (VM) and licensing may be used for these elements, intrusion detection system (IDS) are still required in the network as a defence solution. IDS monitors network traffic in real time and compares received packet patterns with known patterns to detect anomalies in the network traffic.

Anomaly detection in software defined networking


The present invention relates to a gutter assembly for use with a longitudinally extending trough or gutter having an opening extending therethrough. The gutter assembly includes an outlet having a flange adjacent its upper end. The outlet extends through the opening with the flange adjacent the trough. A locking ring surrounds the outlet and is positioned adjacent the trough in opposed relationship to the outlet flange.

The present invention is directed to a rain gutter assembly. Rain troughs and rain gutters are well known in the art. Normally, the longitudinally extending trough or gutter includes an opening in the bottom through which water or another liquid runs. The opening is often connected to a downspout which carries the water downwardly to the ground or to a connecting sewer system.
In other prior art devices, an outlet extends from the opening. The outlet can either be a part of the overall downspout or in the alternative, is a short connector piece which then connects to the downspout.
U.S. Pat. No. 617,658 which was issued to Schwone and Lamper shows a downspout having an angular flange at its upper end. The downspout extends through the opening and the flange bears against the bottom of the eaves trough.
Giordano, U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,194 discloses a resilient tube or outlet which includes a flange which rests on the surface of a gutter. The resilient tube is disclosed as being either circular or rectangular.
Beaumont, U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,694 and Walker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,559 disclose outlet tubes which have flanges and are rectangular in cross-section.
The present invention is directed to an improved rain gutter assembly which may be securely connected to a gutter or trough.

Great Lakes Standard Manufacturing, Inc.


A method for automatic activation of a vehicle turn indicator is disclosed. The method may include determining whether a lane change maneuver is impending in a specified direction. The method may also include determining whether the vehicle turn indicator has been activated through a driver interface. The vehicle turn indicator may be engaged when not activated through the driver interface.

In conventional vehicle turn signal control a manual lever is generally provided through which the human driver indicates an impending turn. The lever may be translated about a pivot in a direction consistent with the planned turn to initiate signal activation. As the vehicle's steering wheel is turned in the intended direction the signal remains on, and following the turn as the steering wheel is returned to steer the vehicle in straight line a mechanical device generally deactivates the signal.
Vehicles with autonomous functions may use computer controllers to assist the human driver in operating various systems. Autonomous functions may operate with human initiation or control. Other systems may engage automatically, and intervene in preprogrammed situations based on sensed conditions and selected parameters. The ability to provide autonomous systems creates a need to reconsider the remaining conventional vehicle operations.

Automatic turn signal activation during a lane change maneuver


A method of sorting cells comprises providing a fluid flow path for cell movement through a series of cell sorters in a first direction with an output of a preceding cell sorter of the series communicating with an input of a successive cell sorter of the series. Within each cell sorter, a first portion of the cells is separated from a second portion of the cells by applying a first non-uniform electric field via a first electrode array to cause movement of the first portion of the cells in a second direction across the fluid flow path, having a component generally transverse to the first direction into the output of a respective cell sorter.

The rapid miniaturization in electronic devices, particularly their manufacture and assembly, has transformed the medical industry. In particular, handling and testing of cells and other components within body fluids has moved beyond the conventional test tube to other devices, such as biochips. A biochip, sometimes called a lab-on-a-chip, refers to the placement of biologic materials on a miniature electronic device that is capable of electrically and/or chemically interacting with the biologic materials for testing or other purposes.
Considerable efforts have been made in the biochip environment to apply electric fields to manipulate cells, including their movement, separation, property determination, etc. Despite numerous attempts at cell manipulation with electric fields, the ability to manipulate cells is still limited by different characteristics of the cells, such as cell size, cell aggregation, cell polarizability, etc. For example, enriching one type of cells from other types of cells is challenged by the great variety of sizes, shapes, polarizability, and relative volumes of cells within a fluid. Impeding the enrichment of certain types of cells on the biochip, in turn, hampers the ability to perform other functions on those cells, such as testing, harvesting, and processing for further analyses.
For these reasons, among others, widespread use of biochip devices has been limited.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A night sight for a missile launcher has an objective lens with a field of view of at least 22 degrees. The output image of the objective lens is intensified by a variable gain light intensifier tube and the output of the intensifier is viewed through an eyepiece. A reticle pattern etched on a glass substrate and filled with titanium dioxide is illuminated by adjustable brightness LED's positioned at points on the periphery of the substrate. The reticle is disposed between the light intensifier and the eyepiece and substantially duplicates the function of reticles used in daysights.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a missile launcher sight, and more particularly to a sight having an image intensifier providing night vision capability for use with hand held missile launchers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The STINGER Man Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) is a shoulder launched anti-aircraft missile which has been produced in large quantities by several manufacturers. The STINGER launcher utilizes an open sight similar to the "iron sights" on a rifle in daylight conditions (day sight) for "acquiring" aircraft targets, i.e., aiming the launcher to enable the missile's guidance system to sense and track ("lock on to") a target. The day sight, like a standard rifle sight, has a rear aperture or "peep sight" and a front aperture. To acquire a target, the front and rear apertures are aligned with the target and the missile's heat seeking guidance system is activated. Once the target is acquired and locked on to, the front sight has further alignment features which the gunner uses to elevate the launch tube and adjust for proper lead angle prior to launching the missile. The lead angle is the angular displacement of the launcher from a position of pointing at the target to a position of pointing forward of the target in its direction of movement. The object of aiming forward of the target is to allow the missile to meet the target using the shortest trajectory possible. The sight assembly described above is also used for estimating the range to an aircraft target to assist in making a launch decision and to avoid launching when the target is out of range.
The STINGER is very effective during daylight hours against both fixed wing and rotary wing targets, and has even been used successfully by third world "freedom fighters" with limited formal training in the operation and use of the system. Presently, the STINGER missile system does not have a night vision optical sight for acquisition and identification of aircraft targets. Utilization of the missile system is therefore severely restricted during the night time because of the need to positively identify targets before launch, particularly when friendly aircraft are also in the area. At night, even when no friendly aircraft are present, the gunner can only use his ears and the missile infrared sensor in a usually futile attempt to "lock-on" to an aircraft, which would typically be moving at a high rate of speed. This results in greatly reduced capability for the STINGER system during hours of darkness.
The U.S. military employs a number of fielded night vision weapon sights, such as, the AN/PVS-4 Individual Served Weaponsight for aiming rifles and other projectile weapons. The problem with the AN/PVS-4 sight is that it has insufficient field of view to implement the STINGER firing sequence with the required elevation and lead angle. The, AN/PVS-4 has a 14 degree circular field of view, whereas a minimum of about 22 degrees is required for a sight designed for the STINGER. The small field of view also inhibits the search for aircraft targets, requiring a longer period of time to search a given search area.

Night sight for a missile launcher comprising an image intensifier tube, a reticle, and an objective lens


A container for a solar heater includes two barrels received in a housing for containing liquid and a sealing material filled between the barrels and the housing so as to seal the barrel. A pair of couplers are oppositely engaged in the upper portion of the barrel, and a connector is connected between the barrels. The barrels are coupled together by clamping rings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container, and more particularly to a container for a solar heater.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical solar heaters comprise a container having an inlet for introducing hot water from the solar heater into the container and an outlet for introducing water from the container to the solar heater. However, normally, the container is not sealed such that heat may be easily radiated from the hot water container within the container.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional containers for solar heaters.


Improved HETP is obtained in the operation of a distillation column containing trays with a packing of a porous container containing a particulate material intimately associated with a resilient component having at least 50 volume % open space, preferably at least 70 volume % positioned on the trays compared to the trays without the packing. The packing may contain a catalytic particulate material and the distillation may involve reaction and distillation of the reaction products. The particulate material may also be inert and the distillation of the conventional type to separate components in the distillation mixture without reaction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for concurrently carrying out distillation or chemical reactions and separating the reactants and products by fractional distillation.
2. Related Art
A method of carrying out catalytic reactions has been developed and widely commercialized, wherein the components of the reaction mixture are concurrently separable by fractional distillation. Several systems have been proposed and one commercially successful system uses the catalyst as the catalytic distillation structure. Such a system is variously described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,215,011; 4,232,177; 4,242,530; 4,250,052; 4,302,356; 4,307,254; 4,336,407; 4,439,350; 4,443,559; and 4,482,775 commonly assigned herewith.
Briefly, the commercial catalytic structure described therein comprises a cloth belt with a plurality of pockets spaced along the belt and containing particulate catalyst material. The cloth belt with catalyst filled pockets is wound into a helix about a spacing material such as knitted stainless steel wire mesh, and these "bales" loaded into a distillation column. Additionally U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,302,356, 4,443,559 and 4,250,052 disclose a variety of catalyst structures for this use.
Placing the particulate catalyst loose on standard distillation trays has also been proposed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,011 and U.K. patents GB 2,096,603 and 2,096,604. U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,350 discloses a clip which holds and supports closed porous containers of catalyst spaced apart from each other on a distillation tray within the liquid on the tray. The placement of the catalyst in the downcomers of standard distillation columns has been proposed as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,534. Fluidization of the catalyst on the trays has also been suggested as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,154. Some deficiencies of such fluidized beds were recognized in Chemiker Zeitung/Chemische Apparatur, vol. 90, no. 13, July 1966 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,011. Quang, et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,430 and Nocca, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,431 disclose loading the particulate catalyst on alternating trays of a distillation column and with a gas bypass about the catalyst loaded trays. The use of solid glass beads to disperse and support a catalyst in a fixed bed has long been used, especially in pilot plants and bench scale reactors. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,244 wherein glass beads were used as a dispersant and support in a bench scale reactor distillation column. So far, one of the most commercially successful arrangements has been to the place the particulate catalyst in closed pockets disposed along a fiber glass cloth belt as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,011.
The main problems sought to be overcome by the improvements have been the reduction of pressure drop through the column and provision of sufficient contact of the reactants with the catalyst while providing for good vapor liquid contact for the fractional distillation. Many useful catalysts are in the form of fine particulate powders which preclude their use directly as distillation components. Even larger extruded pellets do not lend themselves well as distillation structures. Hence the use of cloth belts, cages and support trays is the predominant developmental thrust. While larger catalysts structures have been proposed, the porosity requirements of many catalytic materials limit their structural integrity. Many catalysts which rely on outer surface activity only and which might have the strength for larger structures are useful only for gas phase reactions, such as maleic anhydride production. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,443,559 and 5,266,546 both disclose catalytic distillation structures that may be placed on trays similar to sieve trays for support in a distillation column reactor.
The present invention is related to these structures and catalytic distillation, but it is also related to distillation in general. It is an advantage of the present invention that greater tower efficiency may be obtained for conventional distillation trays by use of the present system. No art is known to suggest the present invention and in fact conventional knowledge would suggest the present invention would be counterproductive. The unexpected benefit of the present invention will be obvious from the disclosures herein.


There is disclosed a projection optical system which is capable of moving a projected image within a predetermined region (effective projection region). The projection optical system, which projects an image of an object surface in the effective projection region of a predetermined image surface comprises two or more optical systems, among which a first optical system on the object surface side comprises a zoom portion which zooms the projected image. The projection optical system further comprises one or more rotatable members which rotate around the position of an exit pupil of the first optical system or its vicinity. In addition, by rotating the one or more rotatable members, the projected image is moved within the effective projection region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projection optical system, and more specifically, it relates to a projection optical system suitable for a projection type image display apparatus which projects images to be displayed on an image display panel, of which a liquid crystal display element or a digital micro-mirror device is representative, onto a screen surface in a magnified scale.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a projection optical system to be used for a projection type image display apparatus (a projection) which projects images onto a predetermined surface (a screen surface), a projection optical system which can project images obliquely onto the screen in order to perform image projection without obstructing the visual field of viewers is known. Generally, since so-called trapezoidal distortion occurs when projecting images obliquely onto the screen, there is known a projection optical system which is made to correct this trapezoidal distortion (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,820,240 and 6,123,425 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-282451). In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-304733, a projection optical system for rotating a projected image surface using coaxial rotationally symmetric f-θ lenses in a state in which there is no trapezoidal distortion of the projected image due to rotationally decentering a lens unit around a stop is disclosed. Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-282451, a projection optical system for correcting the trapezoidal distortion at a fixed projection angle by using a decentered aspherical surface is disclosed.
Meanwhile, in non-coaxial optical systems, a design method or method of calculating paraxial amounts such as the focal length is known (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-005650). Further, it has become clear that it is possible to construct optical systems with sufficient correction of aberrations by introducing the concept of reference axis and using asymmetric aspherical surfaces as the structural surfaces (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,825,560, 5,847,887, 6,021,004, 6,166,866, 6,292,309, 6,366,411, and 6,522,475). Such non-coaxial optical systems are referred to as an off-axial optical system. Generally, such off-axial optical systems are defined as optical systems which, when the path of the light ray passing through the image center and the pupil center is defined as the reference axis, include curved surfaces (off-axial curved surfaces) whose surface normal at the intersection of the structural surface with the reference axis is not on the reference axis. Here, the reference axis takes on a bent shape. In such off-axial optical systems, the structural surfaces are ordinarily non-coaxial, and there is no vignetting at the reflective surfaces. Thus, it is easy to construct an optical system using the reflective surfaces. Moreover, a compact optical system with a broad field angle can be constructed by forming an intermediate image within the optical system. In addition, the light path can be guided relatively freely while using a front-stop optical system, so that a compact optical system can be constructed. Utilizing these characteristics, an optical system in which the trapezoidal distortion at the fixed projection angle is corrected using curved rotationally asymmetric reflective surfaces has been proposed (for example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2002-008853 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-089227).
Further, a recent projection type image display apparatus comprises a projection optical system in which a projected image can be moved in parallel on a predetermined image surface with no trapezoidal distortion, in order to secure the visual field of viewers and improve the degree of freedom for setup positions for the projection type image display apparatus.
The methods for moving the projected image in parallel are broadly divided into two types. One method relates to a digital correction in which images to be displayed on an image display panel is distorted in advance in a trapezoidal shape so as to offset the trapezoidal distortion which is produced on a predetermined image surface (on a projection surface). In this case, in order to produce virtually an inversed trapezoidal distortion on the image display panel, the number of pixels on which images are to be actually displayed is decreased in comparison with the amount of original information, which results in deteriorating images. Further, when image information created in a personal computer or the like is displayed, there are many cases in which characters or figures or the like are displayed on the periphery of the image surface. However, the small-sized characters or figure patterns may be unrecognizable due to pixel faults of the digital correction.
Another method relates to a lens shift. In this case, the central axis of the image display panel and coaxial projection lenses is shifted relatively in parallel, such that the projected image is moved in parallel on the predetermined image surface. Conventionally, in a front projection type projector, this method is used to secure the observer's view. More specifically, in the front projection type projector, the center of the display screen is fixed above the optical axis of coaxial lenses in the projector using approximately a half of an effective field angle of the projection optical system with respect to the optical axis.
Further, in such a projector, the parallel decentering amount of the coaxial lenses on the image display panel is made to be variable, to thereby move the projected image on the predetermined image surface. However, if the amount of the movement of the projected image increases, the size of the projection optical system is magnified. Thus, the amount of the movement is naturally small, and the tilt angle of the projection to the predetermined image surface becomes small. As a result, it is difficult to secure sufficiently the observer's view and to obtain the degree of freedom for setup positions of the projection type image display apparatus.
In addition, the size of a region (an effective projection region) on which the projection can be performed is magnified or demagnified in proportional to a zoom ratio of the projection optical system even though any method is selected. Therefore, the ratio of the image size to the movement amount is constant. As a result, when the size of the image surface is smaller (a telephoto side), the degree of freedom for the setup positions of the apparatus is compromised.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-304733, the projection optical system uses a combination of coaxial rotationally symmetric f-θ optical systems, but it has a rather narrow field angle. Moreover, in conventional projection lenses, the light amount is reduced as the field angle from the optical axis up to the periphery of the image surface becomes large, so that there are greater differences in the brightness on the projected image surface when a broader field angle of the projection lens is used.
For this reason, such projection lenses are not suited for projectors which necessitate a broad field angle and a bright image surface. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-282451, the trapezoidal distortion is corrected with the decentered aspherical surfaces. However, since it is a projection optical system which can correct the trapezoidal distortion only at a fixed projection angle, the shift amount of the image surface is small and it is not telecentric with respect to the liquid crystal panel. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2001-255462 and 2000-089227, the projection optical systems are disclosed in which the correction of the trapezoidal distortion over a broad field angle is accomplished using curved rotationally asymmetric reflective surfaces. However, they are projection optical systems in which the trapezoidal distortion can be corrected only at a fixed projection angle.

Projection optical system and a projection type image display apparatus


A personal marine craft for transporting an individual user across the surface of a body of water. An inflatable buoyancy membrane having independent air chambers, including side buoyancy chambers and a forward bumper chamber is attached to and extends along the sides and about the bow of a central rigid hull. An upper exposed deck of the rigid hull, which is structured and disposed to accommodate the user thereon, hingedly lifts open to provide access to a water-tight engine compartment containing a drive unit, including an engine, fuel tank, battery and air pump for inflating the air chambers. A seat and a steering handle post ar hingedly attached to the rigid hull and are each independently movable between a raised, operable position and a collapsed, stowed position. A lifting handle on the bow and retractable wheels on the transom of the rigid hull facilitate portability on land.

1. Field of the Invention
A personal water craft designed primarily for use by one person and including a rigid hull having buoyancy chambers attached to and extending along the sides and about the bow, the water craft being collapsible to facilitate portability and stowage.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, personal water crafts have become increasingly popular for both sport and recreational use. Generally, these personal water crafts are designed for high performance and run on two stroke motors that power an impeller inside a jet pump, producing a substantial thrust. The engine displacements generally range from 432 cc's to 750 cc's, generating about 50 horse power at approximately 6,000 rpm's. The use of a jet pump to produce thrust eliminates the hazards associated with an exposed propeller as found on most engine driven marine vessels, thus lending to their popularity.
One particular type of personal water craft, commonly referred to as a WET BIKE, is designed for seated operation, with one or two passengers, ridden basically in the same manner as a motorcycle or snowmobile with controls on the handlebars that steer a jet pump nozzle on the stern. For safety, some type of emergency shut off switch that attaches to either the driver's wrist or life jacket is usually provided, such that in the event the driver is thrown off, the engine is interrupted causing the craft to stop.
Another type of personal water craft is what is commonly referred to as a JET SKI which is designed to be operated in a standing or kneeling position requiring substantial skill by the operator for balance and maneuvering, due to the low stability of the craft especially at lower speeds. JET SKIS ar fully intended for use as a recreational vehicle, rather than a means of transportation, wherein the operator can expect to get wet from spray and in most instances, frequent falls. Personal water crafts, including WET BIKES and JET SKIS, are being designed to be increasingly powerful due to a significant youth appeal demanding high performance. The power and speed of personal water crafts have increased to the point of rendering the vessels dangerous to both operators and surrounding swimmers and boaters. As a result of recent fatal accidents, as well as the noise which these high performance water crafts generate, they are susceptible to state legislative threats and in many areas their use has become limited, restricted, or totally banned.
Another type of personal water crafts are known as rigid inflatable boats (RIB) which have rigid hulls in combination with an inflatable chamber for increased stability and safety. In most instances, RIB's are used as dinghies, as service vessels, or as a recreational boat. RIB's range in size from 8 feet to 40 feet in length and are usually powered by outboard engines of at least 3 horsepower. Recently, RIB's have been modified to be impelled by jet drivers similar to those found on JET SKIS and WATER BIKES, making them safer and appealing to older age groups.
A particular problem associated with the above-mentioned personal water crafts, including JET SKIS, WET BIKES, and rigid inflatable boats, result from the overall size and weight of the crafts. While most of these water crafts are designed for use by only one or two individuals, transporting the water craft to and from the location of use is rather difficult, requiring several adults and trailers or dollies for moving on land. Because many of these water crafts weigh over 500 pounds, it is often necessary to use a small crane or davit to launch the craft when ramps or beach access is not available. Also, the size of these water crafts requires a large vehicle, such as a pickup truck or a trailer, to transport the water craft to the water from the storage location.
While the above-mentioned personal water crafts are useful and certainly popular for their intended purpose, there still exists a need for a personal water craft which is specifically adapted to safely transport an individual user in either a standing or seated position gently and stably across the surface of calm, shallow waters at relatively low speeds.


A method is disclosed for use in design of a system, the system to include a plurality of sources contributing to a variable system effect. The method includes determining a plurality of functional units to form the system, obtaining a plurality of constant functional unit source informations, determining at least one variable quantity, associating each functional unit with one of the at least one variable quantity, obtaining variable functional unit source information by combining the constant functional unit source information with the variable quantity associated with the functional unit, and deriving the variable system effect based on combining the variable functional unit source informations. Further a device for use in design of a system is disclosed and also a tangible computer-readable medium storing instruction code thereon, that when executed causes one or more processors to perform steps for design of a system.

System-on-chips, in operation, emit electromagnetic radiation. This electromagnetic emission (EME) can be caused by switching of logic gates. Electromagnetic emissions are typically undesirable. Given a draft design of the system, the draft design may be improved by reducing electromagnetic emission. To this end, an iterative design process can comprise that operation of the draft design is simulated to determine the electromagnetic emission and the draft design is then amended with a view to a reduction of the emission. The simulation requires the draft design to be completed before it can be simulated, even though for improvement of the design, vast amendments may eventually provide for a very different design. The simulation is complex to perform commensurate with the complexity of the draft design.

Method and apparatus for use in design of a system


An isolated microbial consortium is described that includes a first microbial consortium having Thermacetogenium phaeum to metabolize a complex hydrocarbon substrate into metabolic products comprising an acetate compound. The consortium also includes a second microbial consortium having a methanogen to convert the acetate compound into a final product that includes methane. Also, a method of increasing production of materials with enhanced hydrogen content. The method includes isolating Thermacetogenium phaeum from geologic formation water, culturing the isolated Thermacetogenium phaeum to increase the Thermacetogenium phaeum population, and introducing a consortium of the cultured Thermacetogenium phaeum, which may include spores of Thermacetogenium phaeum, into a hydrocarbon formation containing a complex hydrocarbon substrate.

The United States and the rest of world are increasingly relying on natural gas for heating homes and buildings, generating electric power for residential and industrial applications, and as a feedstock for a variety of synthetic organic chemicals. Future demand for natural gas could grow even more dramatically as more new cars and trucks use electric power. Natural gas will likely play a major role in generating the electricity used in charging vehicle batteries, and supplying the methane and hydrogen used in operating vehicle fuel cells. Because the already high demand for natural gas is expected to soar, concerns about supply are growing.
One proposed solution is to build more long haul infrastructure to move natural gas where demand is greatest. Because natural gas is a gas at room temperature, there are more challenges in transporting it than for fuels like oil, coal and gasoline. The current leading proposal is to cool the gas to temperatures where it liquefies and transport the liquid natural gas ("LNG") on refrigerated tankers. At the destination port, the LNG is warmed back into a gas that gets fed into the existing gas pipeline infrastructure. This proposed solution has been criticized for a number or reasons, including the significant cost associated with condensing and transporting LNG. There are also serious safety concerns about accidents and sabotage to the LNG infrastructure. These concerns have lead to strong local opposition to proposed sites for building a LNG port. In addition, some have argued that importing LNG only increases dependence on foreign sources of natural gas from politically unstable regions.
Another proposed solution is to explore and develop more sites for local natural gas production. In the United States, one site believed to contain large, untapped reserves of natural gas is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ("ANWR") in Alaska. But proposals to develop this site, as well as other sites in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, have been strongly opposed by environmental groups. Thus, development of new sources of local natural gas also faces significant limitations.
One way to avoid the problems with importing natural gas and developing new sites is to enhance gas production from existing local sites. One promising technology for doing this is microbially enhanced methane production. This technology uses microorganisms to metabolize complex organic substrates such as oil or coal into simpler compounds like methane and hydrogen. Stimulating the right indigenous microorganisms or introducing the right microorganisms under the right conditions to "retired" oil fields and coal deposits that are too deep to mine could turn these sites into productive new sources of domestic natural gas.
Because only a small fraction of the oil and coal was recovered from these sites while they were operating, the amount of hydrocarbon substrate still available for microbial conversion is enormous. The mature coal mines in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, for example, are still estimated to have 1,300 billion short tons of unmined coal. If just 1% of this coal could be microbially converted into natural gas, it could supply the current annual natural gas need of the United States for four years. This story could be repeated at many other mature coal and oil sites across the country.
But the technology of microbial natural gas generation is still in its infancy. Many of the microorganisms require an anoxic or microoxic environment and are difficult to study in a conventional microbiology laboratory. While metabolic pathways have been postulated for breaking down a complex hydrocarbon substrate into natural gas and hydrogen, few specific microorganisms that are involved in methanogenic hydrocarbon biodegradation have been positively identified. The "first bite" microorganisms, which start the initial breakdown of complex hydrocarbon substrate into smaller molecules, have been particularly elusive.
Thus, there is a need for identifying microorganisms involved in biogenic gas production in underground hydrocarbon formations such as coal mines and oil fields. The identity of these microorganisms will provide valuable insight into how complex hydrocarbons are converted into fuel gases like hydrogen and methane. This insight can lead to methods of isolating, cultivating, and stimulating the microorganisms to make fuel gases at commercially viable production rates. These and other issues are addressed by the present invention.