A pump to deliver bone-growth factors to a carrier matrix within a patient. Pump can be internal or external. With external pumps, additional amounts of the same growth factor may be added, or the bioactive agent may be changed during the course of treatment. An external pump permits the use of cells to promote bone growth. The pump can have several reservoirs and the pump can itself be received in the carrier matrix with an outlet tube or other structure to defuse the growth factors into the carrier matrix. The pump protocol can be used for slow-to-heal fractures, such as closed fractures, and can be used for slow-to-heal patients.

The use of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) or other osteoinductive factors in combination with a suitable carrier matrix to promote bone growth and healing at a site in a patient is well known. Reference may be drawn, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,995 to Oppermann et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, and to U.S. Pat. No. 6,949,251 to Dalal et al., also incorporated herein by reference.
Briefly, a highly porous, biodegradable carrier matrix is provided, which serves as a scaffolding for the formation of host bone tissue. This matrix is ideally impregnated with one or more osteoinductive factors and/or other bioactive agents. These bioactive agents may include, but are not limited to, antimicrobials, antibiotics, antimyobacterial, antifungals, antivirals, antineoplastic agents, antitumor agents, agents affecting the immune response, blood calcium regulators, agents useful in glucose regulation, anticoagulants, antithrombotics, antihyperlipidemic agents, cardiac drugs, thyromimetic and antithyroid drugs, adrenergics, antihypertensive agents, cholnergics, anticholinergics, antispasmodics, antiulcer agents, skeletal and smooth muscle relaxants, prostaglandins, general inhibitors of the allergic response, antihistamines, local anesthetics, analgesics, narcotic antagonists, antitussives, sedative-hypnotic agents, anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, anti-anxiety agents, antidepressant agents, anorexigenics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, antioxidants, vaso-active agents, bone-active agents, osteogenic factors, osteoinductive factors, antiarthritics, and diagnostic agents. A preferred embodiment would include recombinant human BMPs (rhBMPs). The biodegradable matrix is then surgically placed at a target site where bone formation is desired, such as a fracture site or a spinal fusion site. The osteoinductive factors act much like a catalyst, encouraging the necessary cells (including, but not limited to, mesenchymal stem cells, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts) to more rapidly migrate into the matrix, which is eventually resorbed via a cell-mediated process and newly formed bone is deposited at the target site. In this manner severe fractures may be healed, and vertebrae successfully fused.
A singular problem is that the osteoinductive factors are often proteins, and hence subject to degradation from acids, enzymes and other compounds that leach both from tissue surrounding the target site and from the bone tissue growing into the carrier matrix. As a result, it is believed that the therapeutic efficacy of the carrier matrix and factors diminishes with time, and also as it is replaced with host tissue and as the osteoinductive factors leach from the carrier matrix. Although this may not be a problem for target sites where relatively fast bone growth is expected, this can become a problem when the bone growth is slow; such slow growth may be exhibited, for example, in closed fractures, and with patients with known co-morbidities, such as smokers, diabetics, and those on steroids.
It is therefore desirable to provide methods and related systems that insure that carrier matrices retain their full efficacy over time to maximally promote bone growth at a target site.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Release of BMP, bioactive agents and/or cells via a pump into a carrier matrix


A method, apparatus, and system are directed towards employing machine representations of phonemes to generate and manage domain names, and/or messaging addresses. A user of a computing device may provide an audio input signal such as obtained from human language sounds. The audio input signal is received at a phoneme encoder that converts the sounds into machine representations of the sounds using a phoneme representation viewable as a sequence of alpha-numeric values. The sequence of alpha-numeric values may then be combined with a host name, or the like to generate a URI, a message address, or the like. The generated URI, message address, or the like, may then be used to communication over a network.

The use of mobile technologies is steadily on the increase, for both business and personal uses. Mobile phones are a common sight today and many people own personal information management (PIM) devices, palmtop computers, and so forth, to manage their schedules, contacts, and to stay connected with friends, family, and work. Employees on the move often appreciate the value of staying connected with their business through their mobile devices.
While a user of a mobile device may communicate with others using voice, email, or the like, communications with and/or through various application services on the internet may more commonly be performed using text messages, such as Short Message Service (SMS), Instant Messaging (IM), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Enhanced Message Service (EMS), or the like. However, entering of text within a mobile device is often cumbersome and time consuming. Therefore, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.

Platform for enabling voice commands to resolve phoneme based domain name registrations


In order to ensure riding comfort and driving stability in an automotive suspension system, the nature of the effect of the damping force generated by the suspension system is observed. When the damping characteristics of the suspension system are too hard, resulting in amplification of vibrations in the suspension system, the damping characteristics are softened to ensure satisfactory riding comfort. Therefore, according to the present invention, an automotive suspension system has variable damping characteristics which depend on the nature of the damping force produced in response to bounding and/or rebounding motion of the vehicle so as to optimize damping characteristics to achieve both riding comfort and driving stability. In the preferred embodiment, a suspension control system uses the vibration frequency of a sprung mass and the relative speed between the sprung mass and an unsprung mass as control parameters representing the nature of damping force.

The present invention relates generally to an automotive suspension system with variable damping characteristics providing both driving stability and riding comfort. More specifically, the invention relates to a system controlling the variable damping characteristics of an automotive suspension system such that the damping forces against bounding and/or rebounding will not serve to amplify vibrations at least of the sprung mass.
Japanese Patent First Publication No. (Tokkai Sho.) 50-83922, published on Jul. 7, 1980, discloses an electronically controlled automotive suspension system. In the disclosed system, the relative displacement between the sprung mass and the unsprung mass and the acceleration of the sprung mass are detected. Based on the detected relative displacement, a reference value for the sprung mass acceleration is derived for comparison with the detected acceleration value. Control is performed to minimize the difference between the detected acceleration value and the reference value so as to improve riding comfort.
In such conventional suspension control system, the reference value derived on the basis of the relative displacement of the sprung mass and unsprung mass has to be small enough as to ensure good riding comfort. This, on the other hand, results in an excessively soft suspension, which degrades shock absorbing ability and thus results in reduced driving stability.
Consequently, although the prior proposed suspension control system may improve riding comfort to a certain extent, it does not satisfy the requirement for the better riding comfort while ensuring good driving stability.

Automotive suspension system with variable damping characteristics


Methods for preparing bound non-acidic germanium zeolite catalysts are disclosed, where the preparation is reproducible and scalable and where the catalysts have similar or the same activity and selectivities of a standard naphtha aromatization catalyst and methods for aromatizing naphtha.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods for producing cesium (Cs) exchanged, noble metal impregnated, germanium zeolite catalysts, to methods for using the catalysts and to catalysts made by the methods, where the catalysts are used to aromatize light naphtha hydrocarbons. The methods also permit easy scaling-up of Cs exchanged, noble metal impregnated, germanium zeolite catalysts having desired catalytic properties including catalytic activity, catalytic selectivity, stability, and crush strength.
More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate methods for producing Cs exchanged, noble metal impregnated, germanium zeolite catalysts, to methods for using the catalysts and to catalysts made by the methods, where the catalysts are used to aromatize light naphtha hydrocarbons, where the steps of preparing the catalyst are performed under controlled temperature conditions at each step of the process to ensure that the catalysts have desired properties including catalytic activity, catalytic selectivity, stability, and crush strength.
2. Description of the Related Art
Naphtha is mainly a mixture of straight-chain, branched and cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbons. Naphtha is generally divided into light naphtha having from five to nine carbon atoms per molecule and heavy naphtha having from seven to twelve carbons per molecule. Typically, light naphtha contains naphthenes, such as cyclohexane and methylcyclopentane, and linear and branched paraffins, such as hexane and pentane. Light naphtha typically contains 60% to 99% by weight of paraffins and cycloparaffins. Light naphtha can be characterized as a petroleum distillate having a molecular weight range between about 70 g/mol and about 150 g/mol, a specific gravity range between about 0.6 g/cm3 and about 0.9 g/cm3, a boiling point range between about 50° F. and about 320° F. and a vapor pressure between about 5 mm Hg (torr) and about 500 mm Hg (torr) at room temperature. Light naphtha may be obtained from crude oil, natural gas condensate or other hydrocarbons streams by a variety of processes, e.g., distillation.
Zeolite is a crystalline hydrated aluminosilicate that may also contain other elements in the crystalline framework and/or deposited on its surface. The term "zeolite" includes not only aluminosilicates but substances in which the aluminum is replaced by other trivalent elements and substances in which silicon is replaced by other tetravalent elements. Generally, zeolites are structures of TO4 tetrahedra, which form a three dimensional network by sharing oxygen atoms where T represents tetravalent elements, such as silicon, and trivalent elements, such as aluminum.
A zeolite may be prepared by (a) preparing an aqueous mixture of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide and, optionally, oxides of other trivalent or tetravalent elements; and (b) maintaining said aqueous mixture under crystallization conditions until crystals of said zeolite form. The reaction mixture gel is heated and stirred to form zeolite crystals and then cooled. The zeolite crystals are separated from the gel and are washed, dried and calcined. Elements may be deposited on the zeolite by any means known in the art, for example, metals deposited by impregnation or ion-exchange.
Aromatization of alkanes is a multi-step process of dehydrogenation of the alkane, cyclization of the dehydrogenated alkane and aromatization of the cyclized alkane. The catalyst for this process must be multi-functional to have an acceptable conversion and selectivity for the desired products. Zeolites are known catalysts for isomerization, toluene disproportionation, transalkylation, hydrogenation and alkane oligomerization and aromatization. Some zeolite catalysts, especially those containing a Group VIII deposited metal, are susceptible to sulfur poisoning.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,631 discloses a process for catalytic reforming or dehydrocyclization of hydrocarbons using a catalyst of a noble metal on an intermediate pore size crystalline silicate having a high silica to alumina ratio (greater than 200) and a relatively low alkali content (less than 6000 ppm). The patented catalyst has sulfur tolerance up to 2 ppm. Low acidity of the catalyst is attained not by using large amounts of alkali but by low aluminum content with low amounts of alkali and/or use of alkaline earth metal, such as magnesium, in the catalyst. Germanium is disclosed as a promoter metal in a conventional reforming catalyst and is added to the catalyst after zeolite synthesis and the germanium does not become part of the zeolite framework.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,360 discloses a catalyst of zeolite, preferably ZSM-5 or ZSM-22, on which a Group VIII metal, such as platinum, has been deposited and which has been base-exchanged with Group IA metal cations, such as sodium hydroxide, potassium chloride or cesium hydroxide, to lower or essentially eliminate, the base exchangeable acidic content of the catalyst composition. One example illustrates n-hexane dehydrocyclization using Pt/ZSM-5 catalysts with and without Cs base-exchange treatment. There is no disclosure of germanium in the catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,153,801 discloses a method of making a catalyst of a large pore zeolite impregnated with platinum and at least one organic ammonium halide of the formula N(R)4X where X is a halide and R is a substituted or unsubstituted carbon-chain molecule having 1-20 carbon atoms. The ammonium halide may be an acid halide and an ammonium hydride of the formula N(R′)4OH where R′ is hydrogen or a substituted or unsubstituted carbon chain molecule having 12-20 carbon atoms. The catalyst is a bound potassium L-type zeolite (KL zeolite) used to dehydrocyclize aliphatic hydrocarbons (C6-C8 petroleum naphtha) to produce aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene and xylenes).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,864 discloses a dehydrogenation/dehydrocyclization process with a non-acidic catalyst of zeolite beta and a dehydrogenation/hydrogenation metal, such as platinum. C2-C5 paraffins are dehydrogenated and C6-C12 paraffins are dehydrocyclized. The acid content has been reduced by ion-exchange of acid sites with Group IA and/or IIA cations, preferably cesium. Hydrogen must be added during dehydrocyclizaton.
Catalysts of platinum deposited on potassium L-zeolite which has been alkaline earth-exchanged (magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium) were disclosed for aromatization of paraffins, especially hexanes and heptanes, in Aromatization of Hydrocarbons over Platinum Alkaline Earth Zeolites, T. R. Hughes, W. C. Buss, P. W. Tamm and R. L. Jacobson, Proceedings of 7.sup.th International Zeolite Conference, Tokyo, p. 725-732 (1986). This catalyst is extremely sensitive to poisoning by sulfur.
The Aromax® Process selectively converts C6-C7 paraffins to high octane aromatics utilizing a platinum supported L-type zeolite catalyst of low acidity. A relatively high amount of hydrogen co-feed is required. The Pt/KL zeolite catalyst is sulfur-sensitive. The sulfur level in the feed must be controlled to low levels so that the catalyst is not deactivated. Octane Enhancement by Selective Reforming of Light Paraffins, P. W. Tamm, D. H. Mohr, and C. R. Wilson, Catalysis 1987, J. W. Ward (Editor), p. 335-353 (1988). Selective Catalytic Process for Conversion of Light Naphtha to Aromatics, D. V. Law, P. W. Tamm and C. M. Detz, Energy Progress, vol. 7, no. 4, p. 215-222 (December, 1987).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,306 discloses a catalyst for reforming paraffins containing at least 6 carbon atoms into corresponding aromatic hydrocarbons. The catalyst is a type L zeolite, an alkaline earth metal and a Group VIII metal which has been reduced with hydrogen. One essential element of the catalyst was the presence of the alkaline earth metal which must be barium, strontium or calcium, preferably barium since it lessens the acidity of the catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,320 discloses a method of dehydrocyclizing aliphatic hydrocarbons in the presence of hydrogen to form corresponding aromatic hydrocarbons with a catalyst of a type L zeolite which has at least 90% alkali metal (sodium, lithium, potassium, rubidium and cesium) exchangeable cations and contains a group VIII dehydrogenating metal and, optionally tin and/or germanium. Again, these metals are added to the catalyst after zeolite synthesis and do not form part of the zeolite framework. No example containing germanium was prepared.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,083 discloses a process for production of aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum fractions containing paraffins in the presence of hydrogen and a catalyst of noble metals and, optionally, sulfur deposited on a crystalline zeolitic aluminosilicate, such as zeolite L, having a pore size of larger than 6.5 Å and substituted with more than 90% alkali metal cations, such as potassium. It is disclosed that the catalyst can contain rhenium, iridium, tin or germanium in the range of 0-1.5% but no example of a catalyst containing germanium is disclosed. Again, these metals are added to the catalyst after zeolite synthesis and do not form part of the zeolite framework.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,283 discloses a method of dehydrocyclizing alkanes, such as n-hexane, with a catalyst of a large-pore zeolite, such as type L zeolite, a Group VIII metal, such as platinum, and an alkaline earth metal (barium, strontium or calcium). Selectivity for n-hexane dehydrocyclization is greater than 60%. The feedstock is substantially free of sulfur and other known poisons for reforming catalysts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,724 discloses a sulfur-tolerant Pt/KL-zeolite aromatization catalyst. The catalyst has a rare earth ion, such as lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium or lutetium, incorporated with the L-zeolite. Incorporation of the rare earth ion is by ion-exchange, incipient wetness impregnation, chemical vapor deposition or other methods for dispersion of the ions and is after calcination of the L-zeolite.
Deactivation of the Pt/KL-zeolite catalyst in hexane aromatization appears to occur by agglomeration of the platinum and blockage of the zeolite channels. Sulfur accelerates platinum agglomeration and reduces the number of accessible catalytic sites but does not appear to modify activity and selectivity of the catalytic sites. Effect of Sulfur on the Performance and on the Particle Size and Location of Platinum in Pt/K Hexane Aromatization Catalysts, G. B. McVicker, J. L Kao, J. Ziemiak, W. E. Gates, J. L. Robbins, M. M. J. Treacy, S. N. Rice, T. H. Vanderspurt, V. R. Cross and A. K. Ghosh, Journal of Catalysis, vol. 139, p. 46-61 (1993).
These zeolitic aromatization catalysts, while active, are subject to problems in preparing the catalysts and in scaling up the preparations. Thus, there is a clear and real need in the art for new methods for preparing zeolitic aromatization catalysts that are amenable to ready scale-up and produce catalysts having desirable catalyst properties including of stability, activity, selectivity and crush strength and to the catalysts prepared by these new methods.

Catalyst for light naphtha aromatization


Apparatus and methods are presented for compensating for offsets in digital-to-analog converters (DACs). An apparatus may comprise a gain block. The non-inverting input of the gain block may be provided with a bias voltage selected to exceed the worst-case expected positive offset of a DAC. Feedback from the output of the gain block may be provided to a processor. The processor may be connected to drive the DAC.

An electrical load may be controlled by supplying control signals to a current-control device. The control signals may originate as digital signals and be converted to analog control signals by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
Offsets can interfere with the ideal operation of such drive circuits. For example, some DACs may provide a non-zero analog output signal even when the digital signal being converted specifies a zero output (positive offset). Some DACs may provide a zero output even when the digital signal being converted specifies a non-zero output (negative offset).
Such offsets can arise as a result of process variations in the manufacture of DACs. Consequently, two DACs of the identical type may exhibit different offsets. Other components in the signal path to the current-control device may also introduce offsets.
Even offsets that are small relative to the full range of the analog control signal can be problematic where fine control is required. For example, such offsets can make it impossible to determine the digital control signal necessary to effect the lowest possible non-zero current through an electrical load.
Offsets can be addressed by making circuits with high quality DACs and other components that have been selected to have very low or at least known offsets. However, high quality components are often much more expensive than standard components.
Another approach is to individually adjust circuits to compensate for offset in circuit components. Individual tuning of circuits significantly increases manufacturing cost and complicates manufacturing.
There is a need for cost-effective ways to compensate for offsets in DACs and other components of circuits used to drive electrical loads.


An application execution system enables stable system operation without being affected by server performance or line quality, and without quitting the application. The application execution system 1 has an application server 2 and an application execution device 4 connected by a first network 6, and has the application execution device 4 and a client terminal 5 connected by a second network 7. The application execution device 4 detects the status of the acquired application 11a, runs the application 11a if the application is normal and has the application server 2 run the application if an error or problem is detected. Based on the execution request from the application execution device 4, the application server 2 runs a substitute application 11b.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an application execution system for running a software application over a communication network such as a LAN or the Internet, to an application execution device, and to a control method and program for the application execution system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network systems that use a server to provide an application execution service to terminals connected to the Internet are known from the literature. With the network system taught in Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2003-186380, for example, the user accesses a server over the Internet from a local client terminal to run the application stored on the server and get the output data resulting from running the program.
Network systems of this type are available from different vendors, and individual users select and use the needed services. A problem with such network systems is that communication can be interrupted and a sufficiently fast response cannot be achieved when the Internet connection is unstable. Another problem is that when the server goes down or the connection is interrupted, the user cannot access the service until the system recovers. One solution for this problem is to install an application server for executing programs on the user LAN so that the client terminal accesses the application from a local server instead of accessing the server over the Internet. This arrangement enables the client terminal to get the result of executing the program by accessing the application server connected to the LAN, and eliminates the need to access the server over the Internet.
Even if the client terminal accesses a local application server, however, the client terminal cannot get the result of executing the application from the application server if there is a problem with the application running on the application server. The client terminal can get the result of executing the application by accessing the server that provides the application from the client terminal in this case, but the application must be quit and the access settings must be changed every time the application crashes, and this complicates operation.

Application execution system, computer, application execution device, and control method and program for an application execution system


A computing device is configured with a single memory device having multiple firmware images stored therein. At a boot time of the computing device, one of the firmware images is selected for use in booting the computing device. The selection of the firmware image to use for booting the computing device might be based upon the state of a hardware jumper, a board revision identifier, a silicon revision identifier, the results of a checksum operation, the presence or absence of one or more peripheral devices, user-specified settings, and/or one or more other factors. Firmware images might be stored in the single memory device in various combinations that include, but are not limited to, a fast-boot firmware, a full functionality firmware, a recovery firmware, a diagnostic firmware, a motherboard-specific firmware, an operating system-specific firmware, a pre-operating system operating environment firmware, an application-specific firmware, and/or a pre-operating system application firmware.

Most computing devices utilize a firmware to control their low-level operation. The firmware is typically tied closely to the particular hardware components of the computing device. The firmware is generally stored in a non-volatile memory device, such as a read only memory ("ROM"), erasable programmable read only memory ("EPROM"), or a flash memory device. The firmware might be periodically updated in order to fix bugs or introduce new functionality.
In many types of computing devices, the firmware provides functionality for performing a power-on self-test ("POST") of the computing device, for booting the computing device (which might also be referred to as performing an initial program load ("IPL")), for providing interfaces to the low-level operation of the hardware of the computing device to an operating system executing on the computing device, and for performing other types of functions.
Many desktop, laptop, and server computers utilize a firmware known as a Basic Input and Output System ("BIOS"). The BIOS includes low-level instruction code that is used as an intermediary between the hardware components of the computing system and the operating system and other high-level software executing on the computing system. For example, the BIOS might provide a set of software routines that allow high-level software to interact with the hardware components of the computing device using standard calls.
Other desktop, laptop, and server computers might utilize a firmware that is compatible with the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface ("UEFI") Specification from INTEL CORPORATION or the OPEN FIRMWARE specification from SUN MICROSYSTEMS. Smartphone, tablet, e-reader, and set-top box computing devices might utilize other types of open and proprietary firmware to control various aspects of their operation.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

Multiple firmware image support in a single memory device


An instrument for use with resilient tubing such as wound drainage tubing, catheters, chest tubing, common duct T tubing, I.V. tubing and other deformable tubing comprising in combination a U-shaped body having a pair of cylindrical rollers mounted for rotation on each end of the opened end of the U-shaped body, said rollers being oriented parallel to each other and to the sides of the U-shaped body, spaced apart and in relationship for movement into and out of engagement with opposite sides of the tubing whereby the user's hand can grasp the U-shaped body for moving the rollers at right angles to and against the tubing while also moving the rollers along the length of the tubing and where the U-shaped body has sufficient spring force to retain the device on the tubing when not in use and where the rollers are secured by a pair of slotted tabs affixed to each side of the open end of the U-shaped body and allow the rollers to be removed and inter-changed with rollers of various sizes to accommodate correspondingly sized tubing and the rollers and tabs are kept in allignment by an end retainer and a guide retainer disposed at the ends of the cylindrical rollers, respectively.

The present invention relates generally to a tube unclogging device such as for clearing and dislodging the contents of wound drainage tubes, catheters, chest tubing, common duct T tubing, I.V. tubing and other deformable tubing. The device includes generally a U-shaped body having a pair of rollers disposed at the opened end of the U-shaped body and a drainage tube is placed between the rollers and the spring force of the body retains the device on the tube. The rollers are periodically squeezed together by the operator and rolled along the drainage tube to keep the tube clear and unclogged. The rollers may be removed from the device and replaced with rollers of other sizes according to the size of the tubing.
The invention provides exceptional advantages when employed particularly in the medical field in that the present invention is simple and inexpensive in construction, can be fabricated from synthetic plastic materials, and can be made disposable. In addition, the present invention may be used by the patient without the assistance of another party in unclogging a tube inserted into the patient, particularly following surgery. In addition, the present invention may be left in tact on the tubing when not in use and readily available in the event of sudden clogging or other emergency situations.
The present invention comprises a U-shaped body so that the user's hand can easily grasp the device and compress the tubing with the rollers disposed at the opened end of the device while simultaneously moving the instrument along the tubing creating a squeeze effect for moving or propelling contents within the tubing along the tubing.
A further advantage of the present invention is the inter-changability of the rollers in the device to correspond with the size of tubing required to be cleaned. The user of the present device may insert rollers of varying sizes corresponding to tubing of like size and thus it is unnecessary to have a separate device for each size of tubing in use.
Heretofore, the prior art has disclosed patents for the cleaning of tubing through use of plungers, brushes, and other items but the prior art does not disclose any patents teaching of the unique characteristics of the present invention. Some of the patents of the prior art are listed as follows:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,278 Condon et al. March 22, 1994 U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,503 Sewell, Jr. Aug. 25, 1992 U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,213 Rumberger et al. July 9, 1991 U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,472 Nash Oct. 7, 1986 U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,440 Tchervenkov et al. April 29, 1986 U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,702 Jackson May 21, 1995 U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,223 Munib Aug. 14, 1979 U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,370 Engelsher Nov. 12, 1974 U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,701 Botts March 14, 1972 U.S. Pat. No. 3,194,452 Sanderford July 13, 1965 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,278 issued to Duane R. Condon on Mar. 22, 1994, pertains to a cleaning tool for preparing the surfaces of pipes and fittings for soldering and other functions. The invention teaches of a generally U-shaped hand-held device but does not provide for rollers for compressing the tubing or pipe and does not provide for a means for positively retaining the device on the tubing or pipe when not in use as is provided in the present invention. In addition, the invention of Condon is primarily for pipes and the cleaning of the exterior surface of pipes not related to the medical field.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,503 issued to Frank K. Sewell, Jr. on Aug. 25, 1992, pertains to a wound drainage system having a wound drainage catheter with an apertured distal end and a closed reservoir system. The invention provides for a plug and thread for pulling the plug through the tubing or lumen to clear the catheter of occluded material. The invention pertains to a device for internally cleaning the tubing. The present invention is distinguishable and provides for an exterior cleaning device to be hand-held by the user and for compressing of the tubing exteriorly and does not require the use of a suction device, reservoir or otherwise.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,213 issued to William R. Rumberger et al. on Jul. 9, 1991, pertains to a catheter router assembly for clearing salt blockages in a catheter which has been previously inserted into a person. The device discloses a cable with a cutter which is routed through the interior portion of the tubing to clear the tubing of debris. The present invention is distinguishable in that the present invention provides for a device used for the exterior of the tubing which compresses the tubing and squeezes the tubing to move any clog or debris along the interior of the tubing to the designated area of disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,472 issued to John Nash on Oct. 7, 1986, pertains to a device for the placement or location of catheters internally within a patient and provides for a device which exteriorly urges the tubing longitudinally into a patient for the appropriate location. The invention does not teach of any cleaning device for cleaning or clearing the tubing as is provided in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,440 issued to Jean Tchervenkov et al. on Apr. 29, 1986, relates to an invention for clearing a catheter tube by a plunger means internal to the tubing when the catheter is not in use. The present invention teaches of an external method of cleaning or clearing tubing by a hand-held instrument not requiring the use of a plunger internal to the tubing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,702 issued to Frank W. Jackson on May 21, 1985, teaches of a self-contained cleaning device for endoscopic instruments of the type inserted into a human or animal body which does not provide for the cleaning of the interior portion of the tubing but only provides for the scrubbing of the exterior of the tubing through a sponge body for the removal of undesirable materials and for the sterilization of the tubing for a later use. The patent issued to Jackson, while providing for a slight squeezing of the external portion of the tubing does not provide rollers for squeezing and moving of any substance within the tubing and does not provide for the interchangeability of rollers to accommodate tubings of various sizes as is provided in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,223 issued to Hamza I. Munib on Aug. 14, 1979, while providing for a pair of rollers mounted on shafts which are hinged together at one end and a handle for grasping by the user and for moving the rollers along the exterior of tubing, the invention however does not provide for means for positively retaining the device on the tube when not in use and does not provide for the interchangeability of rollers to accommodate various sizes of tubing as is provided in the present invention. In addition, the patent to Munib is of complicated construction and expensive to manufacture and is not readily manufactured for disposable use as is provided in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,370 issued to Harvey J. Engelsher on Nov. 12, 1974, provides for a tube servicing device having a pair of rollers pushed together to pinch a tube between them which expels materials within the tube as the frame of the device is drawn along the tube, however, the device requires threading onto the tubing rather than being able to access the tube at any point along its length as is provided in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,701 issued to Marion Botts on Mar. 14, 1972, pertains to a forceplike instrument having rollers for clearing the contents of flexible tubing. The invention requires the threading of the tubing through a retaining link and requires the operator to squeeze the scissorlike grip of the device and manipulate the device along the tubing. The invention does not provide for the interchangeability of rollers to accommodate tubing of different sizes nor does it provide for any means of retaining the device on the tube when not in use as is provided in the present invention. In addition, the patent to Botts is of complicated construction and is expensive to manufacture and not readily disposable after use as is provided in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,194,452 issued to E.C. Sanderford on Jul. 13, 1965, relates to a tube stripper and comprises a hand-held instrument pivotally connected at one end with rollers adapted at the other end to squeeze tubing between the rollers to clean the interior portion of the tubing. The device of Sanderford does not provide for the interchangeability of rollers to accommodate tubing of various sizes and does not provide for any means for positively retaining the device on the tube when not in use as is provided in the present invention.


An elongated composite tape structure including an elongated carrier, and a plurality of sinterable, thermally fusible tape strips of different characteristics disposed on the elongated carrier. Also disclosed is a reel-to-reel process wherein the composite tape structure as stored on a reel is incrementally processed by longitudinally feeding the tape structure through one or more processing stations at each of which the tape is driven in an indexed manner so that predetermined portions of the tape are processed at each station for substantially the length of the tape structure.

The subject invention is directed generally to sinterable tapes utilized in the fabrication of unitized multilayer circuit structures, and is directed more particularly to a multiple sinterable tape array that is useful for high rate production of unitized multilayer circuit structures.
Hybrid multilayer circuit structures, also known as hybrid microcircuits, implement the interconnection and packaging of discrete circuit devices, and generally include a unitized multilayer circuit structure formed from a plurality of integrally fused insulating layers (e.g., ceramic layers) having electrical circuit patterns disposed there-between. The electrical circuit patterns comprise, for example, metallizations and passive components such as resistors and capacitors, and can be formed by thick film screen printing processes. Electrical interconnection of the electrical circuit patterns between the different layers is achieved with vias or holes appropriately located and formed in the insulating layers and filled with appropriate via fill material, for example by thick film screen printing, whereby the via fill material is in contact with predetermined metallization traces between the layers that extend over or under the vias. The discrete circuit devices (e.g., integrated circuits) are commonly mounted on the top insulating layer so as not to be covered by another insulating layer or on an insulating layer having die cutouts formed thereon to provide cavities for the discrete devices. Passive components such as capacitors and resistors can be formed on the same layer that supports the discrete devices, for example, by thick film processes.
Unitized multilayer circuit structures are commonly made pursuant to co-fired technology wherein a unitized multilayer circuit module is made from layers of sinterable insulating material (comprising for example a ceramic material) known in the art as "green tape". Generally, each of the green tape layers of a particular module is cut to size (i.e., "blanked") from a larger sheet or strip of unfired green tape, punched and screen printed to include a predetermined pattern of vias, interconnecting conductive traces, and electrical components such as resistors and capacitors. The individual screen printed green tape layers for a module are then stacked in the required order, and laminated together using a chosen temperature and pressure. The laminated structure is then fired at an elevated temperature. Such co-fired technology has been implemented with low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) as well as with high temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC).
Examples of low temperature co-fired processing can be found in "Development of a Low Temperature Co-fired Multilayer Ceramic Technology," by William A. Vitriol et al., 1983 ISHM Proceedings, pages 593-598; "Processing and Reliability of Resistors Incorporated Within Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic Structures," by Ramona G. Pond et al., 1986 ISHM Proceedings, pages 461-472; and "Low Temperature Co-Fireable Ceramics with Co-Fired Resistors," by H. T. Sawhill et al., 1986 ISHM Proceedings, pages 268-271.
Known techniques for blanking and collating have included the use of hand pick and place equipment and robotic equipment. Such equipment is slow and costly, and moreover can process only one hybrid module at a time.

HTCC/LTCC use of multiple ceramic tapes in high rate production


Methods and systems for triggerless screening of WMS messages for delivery with differential quality of service (QoS) are disclosed. Signaling messages are screened to determine whether they contain WMS content. In response to determining that a message contains WMS content, origination and/or destination party information is extracted from the WMS message to determine the QoS associated with the WMS message. The WMS message is then modified to include routing information for delivering the SMS messages to their intended destinations with different qualities of service.

Wireless message services (WMS) include short message service, enhanced message service, and multimedia message service. Short message service is a service provided by mobile telecommunications network providers that allows end users to send short text messages, referred to as "short messages" or "SMS messages," to each other using their mobile handsets. The volume of SMS message traffic is expected to greatly increase due to an increase in the number of mobile subscribers and an increase in the number of existing mobile subscribers that use short message service. This increase in SMS message traffic can result in network congestion at the nodes responsible for delivering or routing this traffic. For example, in most mobile communications networks, the nodes responsible for delivering SMS messages are referred to as short message service centers or SMSCs. SMSCs store short messages until a mobile subscriber becomes available, upon which time they deliver the short messages to the mobile subscribers via the mobile switching center associated with the mobile subscriber. The links connected to SMSCs and/or the nodes themselves are expected to become increasingly congested as the volume of SMS message traffic increases.
Enhanced message service or EMS allows users to attach icons or personalized pictures, as well as dynamic ring tones to SMS text messages. Multimedia service or MMS messages will allow users to attach audio and video files to text messages. Like SMS, the volume of EMS and MMS message is also expected to increase, especially as the capabilities of mobile handsets and mobile communications networks continue to expand.
One problem associated with conventional mobile communications networks is that there is currently no efficient mechanism for guaranteeing a particular quality of service for WMS message delivery or for selecting among different qualities of service. For example, it may be desirable to deliver emergency SMS messages to a mobile subscriber or center with enhanced priority. However, the wireless message center and/or the links connected to the message center associated with delivering the SMS message to the subscriber may be congested. This will result in the SMS message being dropped or delayed. Another example in which it may be desirable to send wireless messages with enhanced quality of service is when a subscriber is willing to pay for enhanced delivery. However, current mobile communications networks offer only a single, non-guaranteed quality of service.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties associated with conventional wireless message delivery mechanisms, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for delivering WMS messages with enhanced or differential quality of service.

Methods and systems for triggerless screening of wireless message service messages for delivery with differential quality of service


An active start judgment circuit is electrically connected to an AC/DC transforming power supply which has at least one standby power unit to transform AC to DC in regular conditions and a main power unit to transform the AC to the DC in an ON condition for operation of an electronic equipment. The start judgment circuit bridges the standby power unit and the main power unit, and generates a reference potential based on a voltage output from the standby power unit, and gets a power signal from the standby power unit to be compared with the reference potential to output a start signal to the main power unit to transform the AC to the DC. Thus the standby power unit can actively drive the main power unit to supply DC power to activate the electronic equipment.

Some personal computers or special computers such as large industrial computers do not have a start/stop button or have the start/stop switch located at a position difficult to access by users. Hence providing an automatic start function is required. Take the personal computer as an example. The motherboard adopted ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended) specification is widely used that has a power supply including at least one main power system and one standby power system. The main power system mainly aims to transform AC of an external power source to DC in an ON condition to supply the motherboard. The standby power provides standby power to maintain continuous operation of the motherboard whether in the ON or OFF condition as long as the power supply is electrically connected. It usually is +5V. Namely while the power supply is connected to the external power source, the motherboard has a small loading current to provide basic power required to start the computer. In general, as the motherboard always has this loading current the computer can be started by depressing a pushbutton like a conventional power supply. Moreover, it also can be started through a network, peripheral devices (such as mouse, keyboard) or a timer. All these start operations require a trigger action from users. This has to be done through a medium to provide an active start signal to activate the computer.
Although most motherboards at present provide automatic start function, namely a direct start takes place after being connected to electric power. However, power supply system management still has to be set in advance in the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) so that the host can be driven and started after the power supply system of the computer is electrically energized. Such an automatic start method relies on a battery power on the motherboard rather than the standby power. Hence trying to do automatic start by setting the BIOS could fail due to insufficient battery power of the motherboard.


A miter saw including a base having a support surface for supporting thereon a workpiece and a turntable mounted on the base for rotation about a generally vertical axis. A support is mounted on the turntable for movement therewith and a saw arm is mounted on the support for pivotal movement about a horizontal bevel angle axis such that the saw arm is adjustable to cut the workpiece at a selected bevel angle, and the saw arm being mounted on the support for pivotal movement about a second horizontal axis perpendicular to the bevel angle axis to allow movement of the saw arm between cutting and non-cutting positions. A reversible fence is removably connected to the base to support the workpiece on the base. The fence has opposite ends such that one end has a vertical edge portion for supporting the workpiece during conventional miter cutting of the workpiece and the other end has an angled edge portion for supporting the workpiece during compound miter cutting of the workpiece.

The invention relates to miter saws and in particular to a miter saw and a fence assembly for supporting a workpiece during cutting of the workpiece.
Compound miter saws, typically include a base having a support surface for supporting a workpiece and a turntable mounted on the base for pivotal movement about a vertical axis. A saw arm is supported by the turntable for movement therewith, and a fence is supported by the base to provide support for a workpiece on the support surface during cutting of the workpiece. The saw arm has a saw blade and is pivotable about a horizontal axis between non-cutting and cutting positions. If it is desired to engage in compound miter cutting of the workpiece, the saw arm is pivoted about a horizontal bevel angle axis to allow the user to make the angular cuts in the workpiece. In some prior art miter saws, to provide sufficient clearance for the blade of the saw arm and yet provide adequate vertical support to the workpiece during the cutting of the workpiece, the end of the fence adjacent the saw blade has an angular edge portion. The angular edge portion is intended to provide support for the workpiece while also providing clearance for the saw blade during compound miter cutting of the workpiece. It is known in the art to adjust the position of the fence toward and away from the saw blade to allow cutting at extreme bevel angles and yet provide support to the workpiece.

Adjustable workpiece support apparatus for a compound miter saw


A roofing system and article for installation on a roof deck. The roofing article includes a body having an upper portion and an underside. A first channel is defined within the upper portion. The first channel includes an inlet. A second channel is defined intermediate the underside of the body and the roof deck. The second channel is operably connected to the first channel through an orifice, such that the outside air can enter the second channel through the orifice.

It can be desirable to use construction articles that provide energy conservation advantages for buildings and housing structures. Absorbed solar energy increases cooling energy costs in buildings, particularly in warm southern climates, which can receive a high incidence of solar radiation. An absorber of solar energy is building roofs. It is not uncommon for the air temperature within an attic or unconditioned space that is adjacent to or under a roof, to exceed the ambient air temperature by 40° F. (about 22.2° C.) or more, due in part to absorption of solar energy by the roof or conduction of the solar energy through the roof. This can lead to significant energy costs for cooling the interior spaces of a building to a comfortable living temperature.


Sample carrier includes a thermal-control block having an active surface and an outer surface that face in opposite directions. The active surface has a series of mounting areas that are distributed along a length of the thermal-control block. The sample carrier also includes chamber cells that are configured to be disposed over respective mounting areas of the series of mounting areas. The sample carrier also includes a removable cover body that is configured to be coupled to the thermal-control block with the chamber cells therebetween. The thermal-control block and the chamber cells are shaped to form corresponding reaction chambers therebetween. The cover body and the thermal-control block are in fixed positions with respect to each other to form a unitary structure. The reaction chambers have corresponding inlets that open in a common direction to an exterior of the sample carrier.

Embodiments of the present application relate generally to systems and method for preparing and/or analyzing substrates with biological or chemical samples thereon, and, more particularly, to systems and methods in which fluids are directed over the substrates to prepare and/or analyze the samples.
Various assay protocols used for biological or chemical research are concerned with performing a large number of controlled reactions. In some cases, the controlled reactions are performed on multiple discrete substrates, such as chips or slides. The designated reactions may then be observed and analyzed to help identify properties or characteristics of the chemicals involved in the designated reaction. For example, in some protocols, a sample is immobilized to a substrate and exposed to a number of solutions, such as reagent solutions, wash solutions, and staining solutions. After several steps in which a solution flows across the sample, the sample may have, among other things, one or more fluorescent labels selectively bound to chemical moieties (e.g., nucleic acids, antigens, etc.) of the sample. The sample may then be analyzed by exciting the fluorescent labels with radiation and detecting light emissions from the fluorescent labels. Examples of the above protocol include in-situ hybridization (ISH), fluorescent ISH (FISH), and immuno-histochemistry (IHC).
Protocols like the one above may be carried out tens, hundreds, or thousands of times by automated systems. For example, one known system uses a robotic arm to provide solutions to flow-thru devices that include substrates having samples thereon. The flow-thru devices, however, must be separately assembled. More specifically, each of the flow-thru devices includes a chamber cell, a spacer, and a holder. The cell spacer and substrate are positioned within the holder and the chamber cell is positioned over the cell spacer and substrate. When coupled to one another, a microfluidic gap is formed between an interior surface of the chamber cell and a surface of the substrate. The microfluidic gap has an inlet at one end of the flow-thru device and an outlet at an opposite end of the flow-thru device. The flow-thru device also includes a clamp assembly that secures the separate components together.
After each of the flow-thru devices is assembled, the flow-thru devices are positioned along a heating block. In particular, an outer surface of each of the holders is positioned against the heating block. The heating block is positioned within water. The temperature of the water is controlled, which consequently controls the temperature of the heating block. In this manner, a temperature within the microfluidic gap may be controlled in accordance with the predetermined protocol.
In the above system, the flow-thru devices must be assembled individually which may consume a substantial period of time. Moreover, each assembly requires placing small components at certain positions. This process can be frustrating and cause strain for the user. For instance, users may develop conditions that are similar to carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis. In addition to the above, it can be challenging and/or time-consuming to control the heating block. For example, it may take a substantial amount of time to increase the temperature of the heating block and/or decrease the temperature of the heating block. Accordingly, a need exists for systems that decrease the amount of time to conduct a designated protocol and/or are more user-friendly than known systems.
Another known protocol uses a robotic arm to provide genomic samples to a flow-thru device that is mounted onto a substrate. The substrate has multiple discrete microarrays that each includes a population of different probe molecules that are immobilized to the substrate surface. The different probe molecules can be differentiated from each other according to relative location. The flow-thru device has ports for receiving corresponding pipette tips from a multi-pipetting loading system. Each port is in flow communication with a channel that extends across the substrate or, more specifically, across a corresponding microarray. When a sample solution is loaded into the corresponding port, the sample solution flows through the channel by capillary force (e.g., wicking) at which point the nucleic acids may react with the probe molecules.
Although protocols such as the one above may be effective in delivering fluids to designated reaction sites (e.g., microarrays) along a substrate, it may have certain limitations or drawbacks. For example, the protocol may have a limited throughput that is caused by the density of the reaction sites. The density of the reaction sites may be determined by (a) the locations of the pipette tips relative to one another, (b) dimensions of the ports and channels, or (c) configurations of the paths of the ports and channels to impede cross-contamination. Even if it were possible to increase the density of the reaction sites, it would be challenging to deliver the fluids to the reaction sites in a robust and reliable manner.

Sample carrier and assay system for conducting designated reactions


A captured shim head set for a bicycle has a bearing set for mounting on the head tube of a bicycle; a member for axially loading the bearing set and radially affixing the bearing set to a steerer tube of a bicycle front fork; a top cap for covering the bearing set and with which an axial load is applied to the member; and at least one washer-shaped shim for adjusting the spacing between the top cap and member. A lost motion mechanism is formed between the member and top cap and at least one washer-shaped shim is selectively capturable in the lost motion mechanism for limiting the degree of movement between the member and top cap in a manner limiting the distance that the top cap is movable towards the member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to headsets for bicycles as are used for rotationally mounting the steerer tube of the bicycle front fork in the head tube of the bicycle frame.
2. Description of Related Art
Head sets of the so-called threadless type are well known, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,095,770 and 6,651,525 being examples of such head sets. Typical of this type of headset is the fact that a compression member having a part with a wedge-shaped cross-section is inserted between the bearing race and the steerer tube with an axial load being applied so as to take up the clearance between the steerer tube and the bearing race so as to secure the bearing race to the steerer tube, as well as to axially preload the bearings. However, while bicycle front forks are manufactured with steerer tubes of standard outer diameter sizes (O.D.), the steerer tube is not a precision manufactured product so that significant tolerance variations can and do occur. If the O.D. variation is on the plus side, the fact that it is somewhat too large poses no problem since it simply means that the wedge-shaped portion of the compression ring merely has to be pressed into the bearing race clearance to a lesser extent in order to obtain the necessary fixation and preload. On the other hand, should the O.D. be too small, such does pose a problem since it may not be possible for the wedge-shaped portion to be inserted far enough into the clearance gap to produce the necessary holding forces and bearing preload before the top cap of the head set engages the top of the bearing cup and/or bearing.
The use of shims is generally known for taking up slack in parts of various types. In the headset field, cylindrical shims, sometimes referred to as reducers are known, e.g., for adapting a head set intended for a 1-⅛″ to a 1″ steerer tube or 1-¼″ head set to a 1-⅛″ steerer tube. These shims are inserted over the steerer tube and must be held between the bearing race and the steerer tube during installation. Such an operation is difficult for one person and such shims are based on the assumption that the steerer tube O.D. is correct.
It has also been suggested to place a washer-like shim between the top cap of the head set and bearing race to prevent drag on the bearing cup during turning of the steerer tube. However, it can be difficult to properly position such a shim during installation and to maintain such a shim in its proper position during use if the shim has an inner diameter (I.D.) that is larger than the O.D. of the steerer tube, and thus, can slide radially. Furthermore, when it becomes necessary or desirable to disassemble the steering assembly, e.g., to lubricate or replace the bearings, or to change the fork or during traveling, the shims can become lost or misplaced, and thus, the height setting achieved is lost.


Dynamic redirection of streaming media between computing devices is described. In an implementation, a method listening at an application programming interface for a notification indicating that a change is to be made in a topology of streaming media software components. When the notification is received, a media engine that is capable of reconfiguring the topology in accordance with the indicated change is notified. At least one of the topology or the reconfigured topology have one of the streaming media software components located on a comprising device and another one of the streaming media software components located on another computing device.

Users of computing devices, such as desktop personal computers (PCs), set-top boxes, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and so on, have access to an ever increasing amount of media from an ever increasing variety of sources. For example, a user may interact with a desktop PC that executes a plurality of applications to provide media for output, such as home videos, songs, slideshow presentations, and so on. The user may also utilize a set-top box to receive traditional television programming that is broadcast to the set-top box over a broadcast network. Additionally, the set-top box may be configured as a digital video recorder (DVR) such that the user may store the broadcast media in memory on the set-top box for later playback. Further, the user may interact with a wireless phone that executes a plurality of applications such that the user may read and send email, play video games, view spreadsheets, and so forth.
Streaming media provides increased functionality to a user such that the user may quickly receive the media. Without streaming, if the entire amount of the media was needed to be received from a source device before it was output by a client device, the user may experience a delay in rendering the media at the client device. By streaming the media, the delay encountered by the user may be lessened. Thus, media streaming may be used to provide "real-time" rendering of data.
To stream media, media is transmitted from a source device in a streaming or continuous fashion, generally using data packets, for rendering at a client device as the data arrives, as opposed to media that is not rendered until an entire file which includes the media is available at the client device. Streaming may be used for a variety of types of media, such as video media, audio media, multimedia, and the like. A stream of video media provides a sequence of "moving images" that are transmitted and displayed when the images arrive. Likewise, a stream of audio provides sound data that is played as the audio media arrives. A stream of multimedia may include both audio and video media.
Because the user may have access to a wide variety of computing devices on which to experience rendered streaming media, the user may wish to change from interacting with streaming media on one computing device to another computing device. For instance, the user may watch a television program that is stored on a digital video recorder (DVR) in a living room. The television program is output by the DVR for rendering by a display device in the living room such that the user may view and listen to the television program. During the output of the television program, however, the user may wish to view and listen to the television program utilizing another television located in the user's kitchen. Traditional methods utilized to accomplish this task required the user to select hardware and software components for transferring the television program and required the user to manually navigate to the point in interest in the output of the television program. Thus, the user could not dynamically redirect the streaming media from one computing device to another computing device.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for dynamic redirection of streaming media between computing devices.


A method and system that include an imaging device configured to capture image data of the vehicle. The vehicle includes one or more components of interest. The method and system include a memory device configured to store an image detection algorithm based on one or more image templates corresponding to the one or more components of interest. The method and system also includes an image processing unit operably coupled to the imaging device in the memory device. The image processing unit is configured to determine one or more shapes of interest of the image data using the image detection algorithm that correspond to the one or more components of interest, and determine one or more locations of the one or more shapes of interest respective to the vehicle.

A transportation network for vehicle systems can include several interconnected main routes on which separate vehicles travel between locations to deliver or receive payloads. The transportation network may include one or more vehicle yards or route hubs, such as a rail yard or a distribution warehouse that includes a relatively dense grouping of routes or locations where several vehicles can congregate, deliver payloads, receive new payloads, refuel, or the like.
While in the vehicle yard, various components of one or more vehicles may be inspected and/or receive maintenance, such as, components of the braking system (e.g., brake lever, brake pad), coupling/decoupling mechanism configured to group vehicles into vehicle systems, wheels, or the like. In order to automate the inspections and/or maintenance tasks (e.g., performed by automated robots), a method and system is needed to detect and localize the intended component for the vehicle.

System and method for component detection


A golf ball having a dimpled surface is coated with a paint layer having a constant film thickness even at the edges of the dimples wherein the paint layer comprises a polyurethane and/or epoxy resin, and 0.1 to 3% by weight based on the paint resin solids content of silica, clay, calcium carbonate or a mixture thereof optionally surface-treated with a silane coupling agent, silicone oil, fatty acid, organic acid salt or ammonium salt.

In order to maintain appearance clean and to prevent adhesion of stain, a coating of enamel and clear paints or only clear paint is formed on the surface of the golf ball.
Further, concave parts, referred to as "dimple", are formed on the surface of the golf ball and, therefore, constant flying performances and flying distance can be obtained by the dimples.
However, in order to get flying performances of the dimple stably, the coating on the surface of the golf ball must be uniform. On the other hand, since an edge of the dimple on the surface of the golf ball is considerably sharp and, in case of a normal paint, the paint at the edge part flows immediately after coating, thereby reducing the film thickness at the edge part.
In order to improve the above drawback, a trial of increasing the viscosity of the paint has been made. However, when the viscosity of the paint is increased, it becomes difficult to coat the paint. Particularly, the sprayed state where the paint is sprayed from a coating machine is inferior and the smoothness of the surface of the golf ball can not be obtained, which results in inferior appearance.

Golf ball coated with polyurethane and/or epoxy resin paint


An apparatus and method for blow molding and sealing an aseptic container. A pair of mold halves, including inner surfaces that when closed define a mold cavity, clamp about an extruded parison. The parison is inflated by high pressure blow air into conformity with the shape of the mold cavity. An evacuation device applies a force to an exterior portion of the blow molded container causing the portion to deform or flex inwardly, thereby reducing the internal volume and evacuating air from the blow molded container. A sealing tool thereafter causes the blow molded container to be sealed while the container is in the reduced volume condition. Upon removal from the mold assembly and cooling, the container returns to the desired shape.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to sealed, blow molded aseptic containers and to a method and apparatus for forming such containers.
2. Description of Known Technology
The production of aseptic containers requires that parisons be blown with high pressure sterile blow air, vented and, when the containers will not be immediately filled (as is typically the case), sealed to preserve the sterility of the empty container's interior. One problem with blow molding such containers is that, after sealing, the plastic of the bottle cools and shrinks. This may also result in a warming of the air within the container. As container shrinks, the volume of trapped air within the container does not. This can cause deformation in the shape of the container, particularly its side walls. If the air within the container warms and thus expands, the deformation in the shape of the container can be further exacerbated.
To prevent the causes of deformation, the volume or pressure of the air remaining in the container at the time of sealing must be reduced. Known systems have evacuated the blow air out of the container prior to sealing by using a vacuum. The vacuum can be obtained by using a vacuum pump connected to the interior of the container or by using a venturi, with its low pressure inlet port connected to the interior of the container.
As seen from the above, there exists a need for a simplified method and apparatus to evacuate the blow air from the containers prior to sealing, which would eliminate the need to use a vacuum and/or venturi.

Apparatus for blow molding aseptic containers


Transmission line impedance matching is described for matching an impedance discontinuity on a transmission signal trace. The apparatus includes a transmission signal trace and a non-transmission trace. The transmission signal trace has an impedance discontinuity, a first length, and a predetermined first width. The non-transmission trace is disposed near the transmission signal trace at a region corresponding to the impedance discontinuity. The non-transmission trace has a second length that is substantially less than the first length of the transmission signal trace. Additionally, the non-transmission trace is configured to be electromagnetically coupled to the transmission signal trace in the presence of a current on the transmission signal trace to provide a matched impedance on the transmission signal trace.

As the operating frequencies used to transmit digital signals across circuits increases, the signal integrity of the transmission signal becomes more important. In particular, transmission signal integrity issues become more important at operating frequencies in the gigahertz frequencies and higher.
Referring to FIG. 1, transmission signals may be propagated on a transmission signal trace 105 within a circuit having a reference plane 110. An electric field 130 and a magnetic field 135 are created when current passes through the transmission signal trace 105. The illustrated electric field 130 and magnetic field 135 are representative of electromagnetic fields that may exist around the transmission signal trace 105. Specifically, the electric field 130 exists within a dielectric layer (not shown) between the transmission signal trace 105 and the reference ground plane 110. The magnetic field 135 exists around the transmission signal trace 105.
Transmitting signals on a transmission signal trace at higher frequencies is complicated by the relative ease with which noise and other interference may distort the transmission signal. Impedance discontinuities are one source of distortion that may degrade the quality of a transmission signal on a transmission signal trace. An impedance discontinuity, as used herein, is a variation in impedance (resistance and reactance) along a transmission signal trace that results in a distortion of the transmission signal at the location of the impedance discontinuity. An impedance discontinuity also may result in a loss of transmission power of the transmission signal.
The impedance of a transmission signal trace may depend on a variety of factors, including trace length, trace thickness, trace width, dielectric layer material properties, and so forth. An impedance discontinuity may occur where the transmission signal trace properties vary. For example, as shown in FIG. 2a, an impedance discontinuity may occur at a geometric, or physical, discontinuity (e.g., bend or taper) on the transmission signal trace 205. A fringing electric field 215 may result at the impedance discontinuity when a current is applied to the transmission signal trace 205.
FIG. 2b depicts a cross-sectional view of the electric field 230, including the fringing electric field 215, that exists between the transmission signal trace 205 and the reference plane 210. The fringing electric field 215 exists outside of the region directly between the transmission signal trace 205 and the reference plane 210. In particular, the fringing electric field 215 is more widely distributed than the representative electric field 130 shown in FIG. 1. It should be noted that even if there is perfect impedance matching in the transmission signal trace 105 of FIG. 1, some fringing fields might still be present. However, there may be more fringing fields in the presence of an impedance discontinuity, as illustrated in FIG. 2a. As stated above, this fringing electric field 215 results from the impedance discontinuity in the transmission signal trace 205 and acts to distort the transmission signal and reduce the transmission power of the transmission signal on the transmission signal trace 205. Furthermore, this fringing electric field 215 and a corresponding distorted magnetic field (not shown) may cause interference in the form of cross-talk on other nearby transmission signal traces (not shown).
Conventionally, impedance matching on a transmission signal trace may be accomplished through one or more techniques that employ empirical adjustment of the transmission signal trace parameters. For example, the transmission signal trace may incorporate design variations of width, thickness, and so forth, which are calculated to compensate for other impedance discontinuities. However, many of the physical attributes of a transmission signal trace may be predetermined in designing the overall circuit. For example, the routing and bends of the transmission signal trace may be predetermined according to overriding circuit design considerations.
As mentioned above, cross-talk interference may occur between two transmission signal traces. For example, a transmission signal on one of the transmission signal traces may cause noise on an adjacent transmission signal trace through electromagnetic coupling. One method of preventing such cross-talk is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,531,932, to Govind et al. (hereinafter "Govind"), which provides noise shielding between signal traces by alternately interspersing guard traces between adjacent signal traces. Because the presence of the guard traces along the length of the signal traces affects the impedance of the signal traces, Govind addresses adjusting the widths of the signal traces to provide impedance matching.
One problem with the method discussed in Govind is that it does not address the possibility of various types of impedance discontinuities, such as bends that cause fringing electric fields, which are not affected by the disclosed guard traces. Furthermore, the noise shielding techniques in Govind fail to solve the problems presented when the physical attributes of the signal traces have already been established. Another problem with the method of Govind is that it places guard traces along substantially the entire length of the signal traces and adjusts the widths of the signal traces. Such a design method may negatively impact other parameters, including trace routing, overall circuit size, and production cost.


Mixed mode security is provided for a mesh network comprising a plurality of open mesh points and at least one secure mesh point that is capable of sending and receiving encrypted traffic. Aspects of the exemplary embodiment include configuring the secure mesh point to forward unencrypted traffic received from one of the plurality of open mesh points; and configuring the secure mesh point to be a source of unencrypted source traffic, and to receive unencrypted traffic that is destined for the secure mesh point to enable routes in the mesh network to terminate at the secure mesh point.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11s is an international wireless LAN (WLAN) standard that describes a mesh network. WLAN devices in a mesh network are referred to as mesh points (MP). The MPs form mesh links with one another, over which mesh paths can be established using a routing protocol. The MPs have relay functions for wirelessly communicating directly with each other, instead of going through centralized control equipment such as a base station.
In a mesh network, data transmitted from one device may arrive at a destination via a sequence of MPs resulting in a multi-hop wireless network configuration. The mesh network of interconnected wireless links between the MPs enables automatic topology learning and dynamic path configuration/reconfiguration around inoperable paths by hopping from MP to MP until the destination is reached.
Communication between different MPs is controlled primarily through a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol that uses IEEE 802.11 MAC/PHY layers to determine routes through the mesh network. In the MAC routing protocol, each MP learns about neighboring MPs and their current security modes using a neighbor discovery protocol based on received beacons or responses (alternatively, neighboring MPs may be discovered using some other external protocol). The neighbor discovery protocol calls for each MP to advertise its security capability and current security mode in mesh beacon and probe response management frames. Neighbors and neighbor's neighbors information is provided within the beacon management frames. Therefore, each MP can rapidly discover mesh points up to two hops away. Upon discovering the neighboring MPs, each MP records the current security modes of its neighboring MPs in an internal neighborhood routing table.
The MPs in a mesh network support two security modes, open and secure. In an open mesh network, no security mechanism is supported by each of the MPs, which are referred to as open MPs (O-MP). Alternatively, an open MP may refer to an MP that does support a security mode, but runs with security mode turned-off. All data frame exchanges between O-MPs are typically unencrypted.
In contrast, a secure mesh network typically only contains secure MPs (S-MPs) that only communicate with other S-MPs. Each S-MP supports a security mode in which all the frames exchanged between the S-MPs are encrypted. However, a requirement that S-MPs can only communicate with other S-MPs limits the use of S-MPs to an all secure network, such that O-MPs can neither talk to S-MPs nor use S-MPs as forwarders.
In general, mesh networks are often deployed in an ad-hoc manner and in a resource constrained environment. There may be some environments, however, where MPs may need to participate in a secure mesh network in the presence of O-MPs that do not support security.


Aspects of a method and system for a Multisystem Polar Transmitter may include a single integrated circuit comprising one or more Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizer (DDFS). The single integrated circuit may generate a plurality of signals compliant with at least a first wireless protocol and a second wireless protocol. At least one of the plurality of signals is polar modulated using the DDFS. The single integrated circuit may comprise a plurality of wireless transmitters. In another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of baseband signals compliant with the first and second protocols may be combined. The first protocol may be Bluetooth® and the second protocol may be Wireless LAN. The combined plurality of baseband signals may be modulated via a single wireless transmitter on the integrated circuit. The phase and frequency for polar modulation may be adjusted using the DDFS, while the amplitude may be adjusted using an amplifier.

A Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizer (DDFS) is a digitally-controlled signal generator that may vary the output signal frequency over a large range of frequencies, based on a single fixed-frequency precision reference clock. In addition, a DDFS is also phase-tunable. In essence, within the DDFS, discrete amplitude levels are fed to a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) at a sampling rate determined by the fixed-frequency reference clock. The output of the DDFS provides a signal whose shape depends on the sequence of discrete amplitude levels that are fed to the DAC at the constant sampling rate. The DDFS is particularly well suited as a frequency generator that outputs a sine or other periodic waveforms over a large range of frequencies, from almost DC to approximately half the fixed-frequency reference clock frequency.
A DDFS offers a larger range of operating frequencies and requires no feedback loop, thereby providing near instantaneous phase- and frequency changes, avoiding over- and undershooting and settling time issues associated with another analog systems. A DDFS may provide precise digitally-controlled frequency and/or phase changes without signal discontinuities.
Polar Modulation is related to inphase (I) and quadrature (Q) modulation in the same way that polar coordinates are related to the Cartesian coordinate system. For polar modulation, the orthogonal I and Q components of an RF signal are converted to a phasor representation comprising an amplitude component and a phase component. In this way, the combined I and Q signal may be generated with one phase change and one amplitude change, whereas separate I and Q modulation may require amplitude and phase modulation for each channel, especially for non-constant envelope modulation modes. In addition, the I and Q modulation approach may require good linearity of the power amplifier, often leading to power inefficient designs that suffer from parameter variability due to factors such as temperature. In contrast, polar modulation may allow the use of very efficient and non-linear amplifier designs for non-constant envelope modulation schemes.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Method and system for a multisystem polar transmitter


A self-adjusting speaker integrated with an alarm system is provided. The self-adjusting speaker may be used to aurally monitor an area (such as monitoring the ambient noise in the vicinity of the speaker) and adjust the speaker accordingly. The circumstances under which to aurally monitor a premises (such as how to monitor, when to monitor, what type of monitoring, etc.) may be varied. For example, there are several ways how to perform the aural monitoring (such as how to sense the ambient noise), including using a separate microphone or the speaker itself. A self-monitoring speaker integrated with an alarm system is also provided. The self-monitoring speaker may monitor the aural output of the speaker using a microphone or similar type of transducer. The aural output monitored by the microphone may be analyzed, and, based on the analysis, the data and/or operation of the speaker may be modified.

Alarm systems typically include a central control panel and one or more speakers located in various rooms of a building. The central control panel communicates with the speakers to generate an auditory output. The auditory output may include a vocal command (such as directions to the nearest exit in the event of a fire) and/or may include a beep, siren, whoop, or other sound. The auditory output may be heard by the occupants in the building in order for the occupants to take the appropriate action (such as exiting the building).
The speakers in the alarm system should be configured so that the occupants in the building can hear the auditory output. For example, there are regulations that dictate the loudness of the auditory output above the ambient noise where the speaker is located (e.g., 15 dB above the ambient noise). In order to configure the loudness of the auditory output, an operator typically travels to the location of the speaker, measures the ambient noise where the speaker is located, and adjusts the speaker's loudness accordingly. However, a need exists to more effectively and/or efficiently adjust the speakers for the ambient noise.

Self-adjusting and self-modifying addressable speaker


A driving state determining system in a vehicle recognizes an obstruction that may collide with the vehicle based on obtained various information. The system executes a plurality of danger determinations that have individual determination conditions, based on a relative distance and a relative speed with the obstruction to thereby comprehensively determine one of danger regions that the vehicle is situated in. The danger regions are classified depending on a danger degree. The system then outputs a determined result to relevant devices. Each of the relevant devices thereby determines operation by obtaining the comprehensively determined result outputted by the system. Consequently, the relevant devices can function more cooperatively and more effectively to lead to increase in safety than another system where each of relevant devices determines operation by individually collecting information.

A safety system called Pre-Crash Safety System starts to come into practical use. This system determines beforehand a subject vehicle's state where a collision is unavoidable to thereby promptly activate safety equipment for decreasing collision damage (refer to Patent Document 1). In detail, a detector such as a millimeter wave radar detects a position, a distance, a speed, or the like of an obstruction ahead of a subject vehicle. When it is determined that collision with this obstruction is unavoidable, a seatbelt for a driver's seat or a driver-assistance's seat is fastened just before the collision so that fixation of an occupant is secured. Further, stepping of a braking pedal is detected to cause an enforced braking force. Avoidance of the collision or protection of occupants at the collision can be thereby achieved.                Patent Document 1: JP-2000-247211 A
A conventional safety system such as the above works after a collision with an obstruction is determined to be unavoidable. Therefore, the system does not function for a purpose that a driver recognizes a danger beforehand to thereby conduct an operation for preventing the accident from occurring. A state where this safety system works is a last stage for collision avoidance or occupant protection. Activating this safety system may give an occupant discomfort or involve a rear-end collision with a following vehicle. It is therefore preferable that a driver conducts a proper operation before the above safety system is activated.
Analysis of causes of recent traffic accidents indicates that head-on collisions at intersections and rear-end collisions in straight roads account for the first and second largest portions, respectively. The above-described safety system detects danger of collision when a millimeter wave radar mounted in the front of a vehicle detects an obstruction. Therefore, the system only responds to an obstruction (a preceding vehicle, an on-road obstruction, or an oncoming vehicle) ahead of the subject vehicle, which is limited to uses in straight roads. In sum, the system does not function against head-on collisions at intersections.