A facsimile machine provides file specifying information of a transmission file to an agent software. The agent software runs an appropriate application program in accordance with the file specifying information. By using this function, a prescribed file on a data conversion device is converted directly into an image content via a network from the facsimile machine. Accordingly, a facsimile transmission of the image content to a prescribed destination can be carried out just by an operation from the facsimile machine. As a result, an efficiency of a facsimile transmission process is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data transmission technology, and more particularly to a facsimile machine and a data conversion device which convert data of a prescribed format into data of a format appropriate for data transmission and transmit the converted data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Accompanying a recent development in network technology, information equipment such as a facsimile machine and a Multi Function Peripheral (MFP) is connected to a network. When carrying out a facsimile transmission of an original document generated by a certain application program from such a facsimile machine, for example, the original document is required to be printed out and the printed out sheet is required to be scanned by a scanner device.
In general, in a system which transmits a content not limited to image data, there are cases in which a data format of the content is converted at a client terminal or at a server according to necessity. According to one technology, the server receives a request of a distribution of the content from the client terminal, into an appropriate data format for each client terminal.
In a company or the like, terminal devices such as a Personal Computer (PC) and devices such as a file server and a printer are connected to a network such as a Local Area Network (LAN). The terminal devices and the devices use files of one another via the network. Accordingly, a worker can work efficiently in a paperless environment. With respect to a facsimile machine which can be connected to the network, by installing a facsimile driver software to the PC, a facsimile transmission can be instructed from the PC to the facsimile machine. However, the facsimile driver software is required to be installed to each PC. In addition, according to an ability of the PC, there are cases in which a processing speed of another application program is reduced. Although a facsimile transmission of a shared file can be instructed from the PC, the facsimile transmission of the shared file cannot be carried out from the facsimile machine. Due to such operations, compared with other communication devices on the network, the transmission process cannot be carried out efficiently in the facsimile machine which causes the worker to feel inconvenienced.

Facsimile machine and data conversion device


A tire rotation device includes a mounting member having at least one aperture configured to receive at least one lifting member. The tire rotation device further includes a rotating member configured to receive a tire.

In research and development or testing facilities, tires are tested for wear and other properties, and then inspected after testing. Additionally, tires are inspected at production plants, warehouses, retail facilities, and maintenance facilities. Such inspections may be formal and informal. Tires may be inspected on a floor surface, and rolled along the floor to inspect different parts of the tire. Alternatively, a tire may be lifted by a forklift, crane, or other lifting device to provide more convenient access to the tire. Such lifting devices do not allow for rotation of the tire.

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC


A personal environment appliance is disclosed in which a person in a localized area can individually control the ambient conditions of the person's localized area. The control permits highly localized adjustment to suit individual preferences, thereby, reducing the impact of individual environmental preferences on the individuals. In addition to environment conditions, a variety of accessories may be provided such as beverage heaters and/or coolers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heating and air conditioning and, more particularly, is concerned with providing localized thermal comfort in the workplace. In addition, the invention can also be applied in many circumstances in living areas of homes and apartments. The deployment and use of the invention is similar to that in the workplace, being focused on individual localized comfort.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, where work places or dwelling are climate controlled, the climate control is provided by large compressor-based systems to large zones encompassing many individual work areas. This situation results in high costs of conditioning the spaces not occupied and also forces within a single controlled zone to accept that climate output whether or not it satisfies an individual's preference or sense of comfort. Further, such control over large zones is not uniform, so that some present are exposed to areas that are hot while others are too cold.
Compressor-based systems for individual climate control are impractical because of their size, cost, and noise output. Others have addressed the need for individual climate control using thermoelectric devices. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,347 discloses a helmet with a thermoelectric cooler supplying a cool breeze to the face of the wearer. Such systems are not suitable for most practical work or dwelling situations. Another example is the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,475. In its description, the patent presents a system with airflow directed to the head and neck of the individual, and with only rudimentary control over the air temperature produced. Many workers, particularly those with sedentary jobs, have a need for more individualized climate control using an appliance not so intimately and closely coupled to their person as are present systems.

Thermoelectric personal environment appliance


Devices, systems and methods for occluding the lumens of anatomical passageways and/or for delivering drugs or other substances to the bodies of human or animal subjects.

There exist various situations in which it is desirable to implant embolic or occlusive devices within lumens or anatomical passageways within the bodies of human or animal subjects. In at least some of those situations, it is additionally desirable to deliver a substance (e.g., a drug, a protein, cells, a biological material, a chemical substance, a gene therapy preparations, etc.) for at least an initial period of time following implantation of the embolic or occlusive device.
For example, it has been known to implant occlusive devices into the fallopian tubes of females or the vas deferens of males for contraceptive purposes. Examples of implantable occlusive devices useable for such purposes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,052 (Callister et al.) entitled Occluding Device and Method of Use and U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,116 (Callister et al.) entitled Occluding Device and Method of Use, the entireties of both such United States Patents being expressly incorporated herein by reference. Some of these devices have been constructed and/or implanted in a manner to facilitate tissue ingrowth subsequent to implantation of the device such that, after such tissue ingrowth has occurred, the ingrown tissue alone or in combination with the implanted device will provide complete occlusion of the lumen of the fallopian tube or vas deferens. Thus, during the period between implantation of the device and completion of the lumen-occluding tissue ingrowth, the lumen of the fallopian tube or vas deferens may remain at least partially open. Thus, it may be desirable to provide alternative contraceptive means to prevent unwanted pregnancy during the period between implantation of the device and completion of the lumen-occluding tissue ingrowth.
The above incorporated U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/770,123 (Callister et al.) described various embodiments of lumen occluding devices that may be used to occlude the lumen of a fallopian tube or vas deferens, some of which may deliver a drug, such as a contraceptive agent.
There remains a need in the art for the development of new implantable lumen occluding devices that are capable of delivering a substance (e.g., a drug, a protein, cells, a biological material, a chemical substance, a gene therapy preparations, etc.).

Methods and devices for occluding body lumens and/or for delivering therapeutic agents


A locking mechanism of a child car seat includes a locking member which is capable of being engaged with a pin disposed in an armrest of a stroller body and disengaged therefrom, a stopper which is rotated together with the locking member, and a stopper unlocking member having an engagement portion capable of being engaged with a stopper staged part of the stopper and disengaged therefrom. In order to detach the child car seat from the stroller body, an unlocked state of the locking mechanism is maintained. The engagement portion of the stopper unlocking member has an inclined surface which is inclined away from the stopper staged part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a locking mechanism of a child car seat and a child car seat securing apparatus of a stroller.
2. Background Art
A child car seat is generally used in an automobile for a baby under one year of age. Such a child car seat can be detachably attached on a car seat. A child car seat has been proposed, which can be used, when detached from a car seat, as a carrier for carrying a baby lying thereon, and as a seat for a stroller by attaching the child car seat on a stroller body.
A conventional child car seat is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-205586.
A child car seat attached on a stroller body is detached therefrom by operating a detachment lever. In order to facilitate the attachment and detachment operations of a child car seat by means of a detachment lever, a detachment lever has been proposed that is formed such that an unlocked state thereof can be maintained after a user rotates the detachment lever to an unlocked position and removes his/her hands therefrom. However, after the child car seat is detached from a stroller body, the detachment lever at the unlocked position cannot be returned to the locked position. When the detachment lever is forcibly operated to return the lever to the locked position, the detachment lever might break up. Thus, it has been proposed to separately dispose an unlocking lever. However, the detachment lever might break up when the detachment lever is wrongly operated.

Locking mechanism of child car seat and child car seat securing apparatus of stroller


Disclosed and described herein is a nail extractor adapted for the powered extraction of partially exposed headed-nails from a substrate. The extractor has a housing with a threaded opening for the fitment of a threaded spindle having a hexagonally-shaped proximal end for the attachment of a power tool and a claw assembly attached to the distal end of the spindle so as to permit free rotation of the spindle while the claw assembly is confined and sized to prevent turning within the housing. Additionally, the claw assembly has a cleft for engaging and grasping the partially exposed portion of the headed nail. When activated by the powered tool, the threaded spindle and claw assembly are vertically elevated within the housing and the partially exposed nail is extracted from the substrate.

The invention disclosed and claimed herein relates generally to a nail extraction device and its method of use. More specifically, it relates to a device for the extraction of headed nails that are partially exposed, meaning that the nails have the head and at least a portion of the nail shank exposed for gripping by the claw of the device. Even more specifically, the invention disclosed herein relates to a device having a claw assembly attached to a threaded spindle that can be turned or rotated by a power tool to remove a partially exposed nail from a substrate. The extraction device described herein, when appropriately powered, replaces crowbars, prybars and claw hammers and minimizes the effort and tedium involved in removing large numbers of nails from reusable substrates, typically lumber.


In an apparatus and a method for communication between sending and/or receiving stations and a transfer station, data that are supplied from the sending stations to the transfer station are intended to be carried to receiving stations. The transfer station takes over the data supplied to it and carries the data directly or indirectly to a particular desired receiving station. A quantity of data taken over and/or to be taken over into the transfer station is determined, and the takeover of data from one or more sending stations to the transfer station can be interrupted selectively as a function of the result of determination.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for communication between sending and/or receiving stations and a transfer station, wherein the sending stations supply the transfer station with data intended to be carried further to the receiving stations, and the transfer station takes over the data supplied to it and carries the data directly or indirectly to the particular desired receiving station.
Such known apparatuses and methods will be described briefly below by taking the ATM method as an example.
As early as May 1990, the CCITT (Consultative Committee for International Telephony and Telegraphy) made the ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) the standard for so-called data packet transfer in the B-ISDN. ATM was defined as follows: "A transfer method in which the information is bundled in cells; the method is asynchronous in the sense that the cells need not necessarily be exchanged periodically between the sender and the receiver. "
According to one possible embodiment for performing the ATM method which is shown in FIG. 2 and described below, a transfer station in the form of a so-called ATM layer circuit, and a plurality of sending stations in the form of so-called PHY layer circuits, are provided. The plurality of sending stations are connected to the one transfer station and transmit asynchronous data packets (cells) to it, which are intended for further conduction or transfer to receiving stations.
The transfer station has a maximum data throughput that cannot be exceeded. Consequently, the sending stations must in principle be constructed in such a way that, or only so many sending stations can be connected to a transfer station so that, the sum of data quantities transmitted per unit of time to the transfer station does not exceed the maximum throughput of the transfer station. However, in some sending stations, the quantity of data to be transmitted per unit of time to the transfer station can vary sharply, for instance if the sending station is a terminal or the like, or if the sending station is connected to such a device.
If in such a case the basis for the layout and/or adjustment of the system is made to be the maximum possible quantity of data that can be transmitted in an extreme case from the particular sending station to the transfer station, then as a rule only extremely seldom is the transfer station appropriately utilized. In most cases, it is instead operated far below its performance limit. The procurement and operation of such a system would therefore be relatively expensive.
On the other hand, if the basis for the layout and/or adjustment of the system, to increase economy, is not the maximum amount of data transmissible from the particular sending station to the transfer station but rather only a lesser quantity of data, such as the average amount of data to be transmitted, then it can happen that the transfer station is supplied with more data per unit of time than it can pass on. As a consequence, data sent to the transfer station can be lost. Under some circumstances, operating a system constructed in that way would thus involve a not inconsiderable risk to security or safety.
None of the aforementioned options is satisfactory.

Apparatus and method for communication between sending and/or receiving stations and a transfer station


For use in amplifying an input signal having an input electric power in response to an amplification control signal to produce an output signal having an amplified electric power and a desired waveform, a power amplifying circuit comprises a reference signal generator (22) for generating a reference signal with a predetermined waveform which defines the desired waveform. A multiplier (23) multiplies the reference signal and a power control signal produced by a power control signal generator (21) to produce a level control signal. A comparator (17) compares the level control signal and a detection signal produced by a detector (14) to produce an error signal. A driver (18) drives a power amplifier (11) based on the error signal.

This invention relates to a power amplifying circuit, such as a final stage amplifier of a radio transmitter, for amplifying an input signal having an electric power in response to an amplification control signal to produce an output signal having an amplified electric power.
The power amplifying circuit is particularly useful in a base station of a mobile radio communication network.
In the mobile radio communication network, a mobile station usually moves in a service area of the base station. A distance between the base station and the mobile station is therefore variable. If the base station transmits a radio signal produced by a usual power amplifying circuit to have a fixed or predetermined electric power, the mobile station receives the radio signal with a variable electric power depending on the distance.
In the manner which will later be described a little more in detail, a conventional power amplifying circuit amplifies the input signal having the electric power in response to an amplification control signal to produce an output signal having an amplified electric power. The control signal controls the amplified electric power so as to keep an electric power of the received radio signal fixed. The conventional power amplifying circuit is defective in that it is impossible to produce the output signal having a desired waveform in a wide range.

Power amplifying circuit capable of producing an output signal having a desired waveform


Methods for directed analysis of content for storage and recall are performed by systems and apparatuses. The methods optimize search operations for content using a user-driven knowledge bank. A user selects content that is relevant or important to the user for addition to the knowledge bank, and content information about the content is determined based on user importance and context, and is also stored in the knowledge bank. Subsequent searches for the content by the user are optimized based on the content information improving accuracy of search results for the content based on more general queries and searches by the user, including natural language queries and searches. Searches and queries are performed via search engines, as well as digital assistants and search applications of user systems. The content can be added by a user from different applications, and recall of the content from different applications is performed using an API.

The amount of data and information a user of electronic devices comes across in a given day continues to increase. While users have adapted to the vast and increasing amounts of data and information they encounter by using storage tools such as OneNote® from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., or Evernote® from Evernote Corporation of Redwood City, Calif., for copying data and information, or by using favorites or subject-specific folders, the retrieval and recall of data and information still results in long search times, poor results, and fallback to using search engines.
Many standard searches for information and data lack contextual information to provide requisite search specificity desired by users. Additionally, overhead for maintaining folders and emails marked by users is costly, and such maintenance still provides inefficient searches for specific information that results in false positive search hits, e.g., based on keyword searches.

System and method for directed analysis of content using artifical intelligence for storage and recall


A system for controlling access to one or more enclosed areas comprises at least one access card reader and controller powered via a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) interface, each access card reader and controller being capable of controlling access through a particular entrance to a particular enclosed area and an access control server in communication with the at least one access card reader and controller, the access control server being capable of controlling the operation of the at least one access card reader and controller, and a signal converter disposed between the access card reader and the access control server. In a network mode of operation, the access control server is configured to perform authentication of a card identifier (ID) received from the at least one access card reader and controller and to signal the at least one access card reader and controller to unlock a door at the particular entrance to the particular enclosed area when the access control server has successfully authenticated the received card ID. In a standalone mode of operation, the at least one access card reader and controller is configured to perform local authentication of a received card ID independently of the access control server and to unlock a door at the particular entrance to the particular enclosed area when the at least one access card reader and controller has successfully authenticated the received card ID.

Access control systems are commonly used to limit access to enclosed areas such as buildings, rooms within buildings, or fenced-in regions to only those people who have permission to enter. Conventional access control systems include access card readers at doors of the secured building. People who have permission to enter the building are provided an access control card that can be read by the access card readers. The card reader reads information from the card, and communicates the information to a control panel, which determines whether the door should be unlocked. If the door should be unlocked (i.e., the card is associated with a person who has permission to enter), the control panel then sends a signal to the locking mechanism of the door causing it to unlock. Conventional access control systems have several drawbacks and fail to take advantage of available modern technologies.
For example, in most conventional systems, radio frequency identification (RFID) is used for identification of the card to the access control system. The access card reader includes an RFID transceiver, and the access card includes an RFID tag or transponder. The RFID transceiver transmits a radio frequency query to the card as the card passes over it. The transponder includes a silicon chip and an antenna that enables the card to receive and respond to the RF query. The response is typically an RF signal that includes a pre-programmed identification (ID) number. The card reader receives the signal and transmits the ID number to the control panel via a wire connection. Conventional card readers are not very sophisticated. These card readers may perform some basic formatting of the identification data prior to sending it to the control panel, but are generally unable to perform higher level functions.
The control panel is typically mounted on a wall somewhere in the building. The control panel conventionally includes a bank of relays that are each controlled by a controller device. The controller device accesses memory to determine whether the identification number received from the card reader is recognized and valid. If so, the controller causes the associated relay to open (or close) to thereby send a signal to the door lock, which causes the lock to enter the unlocked state. The lock typically remains unlocked for a specified amount of time.
Conventional control panels have several drawbacks. For one, control panels consume a relatively large amount of space in relation to the number of doors they control. A control panel typically includes a specified number of relay banks, with each bank uniquely associated with the door it controls. For example, a control panel may have eight relay banks to control eight doors. Such a control panel could easily take up a 2 square foot area when mounted on a wall. If more than eight doors need to be controlled, then an additional control panel must be installed.
In addition, the "closed" architecture of conventional control panels make them inflexible, costly to maintain, and not user friendly. The closed architecture of the conventional control panels means that their design, functionality, specifications are not disclosed by the manufacturers or owners. In addition, control panel design is typically very complex, and specialized to a particular purpose, which renders them inaccessible by a typical building owner who has no specialized knowledge. As a result, when a control panel fails or needs to be upgraded, the building owner has no choice but to call a specialized technician to come onsite to perform maintenance or upgrading. The monetary cost of such a technician's services can be very high. In addition, a great deal of time could be wasted waiting for the technician to travel to the site. To solve the above mentioned problems and drawbacks, the inventions disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,775,429 were developed. The details of U.S. Pat. No. 7,775,429 are incorporated into the present disclosure by reference in their entirety and for all proper purposes. It is upon these inventions that the present disclosure capitalizes and provides further improvement to existing systems.

System and method for integrating and adapting security control systems


A method and system for integrating a power plant and a post combustion carbon capture plant such as a solvent based absorption-regeneration process plant. Electricity is produced by a boiler feeding steam to one or more turbines. The flue gas from the boiler is fed to a waste heat recovery unit which captures heat and provides it to the post combustion capture plant where it can be used in a stripper interstage heater as a supplemental heat for solvent regeneration. Additionally recovered heat can be also integrated with the power generation plant by transferring it to the boiler feed water heating system. Part of the electricity that is generated is also fed to the post combustion capture plant where it will be used to power unit operations therein.

The invention relates to carbon dioxide recovery from fossil fuel based power generation plants using aqueous solutions of amine-based solvents such as mono-ethanol amine (MEA), methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), OASE®-blue from BASF and KS-1 solvents from MHI.
To recover carbon dioxide, it is first absorbed from a gas mixture by contacting the gas with a water solution of amine-based solvent inside an absorber, followed by desorbing the carbon dioxide in a regenerator or stripper and recirculating the regenerated solvent back to the absorber. It is known that the absorption process is enhanced by increased pressure and reduced temperature while the regeneration process is favored by reduced pressure and increased solvent temperature. Increased temperature required for the regeneration within the stripper requires significant amount of thermal energy which is typically proved by a condensation of low pressure saturated steam to heat up a reboiler used for boiling a mixture of carbon dioxide and solvent at the bottom of the stripper.
Significant efforts have been made in discovering new solvents which would require less energy for carbon dioxide absorption and would exhibit higher resistance to oxidative and thermal degradation while allowing for more favorable operating conditions resulting in more energy efficient carbon dioxide recovery processes. In order to enhance carbon dioxide absorption, process improvements such as using an absorber intercooler to control the temperature rise of the solvent due to the exothermicity of the carbon dioxide absorption process have been proposed and implemented in commercial plants.
Additionally, few recent post combustion capture process configurations such as positioning a flue gas blower downstream from the absorber are aimed to reduce post combustion capture parasitic load and to consequently increase net power generation efficiency.

Waste heat utilization for energy efficient carbon capture


An ion beam profiling system include a beam profiling element, an ion sensitive element electrically isolated from the beam profiling element, an ion source configured to emit an ion beam at the beam profiling element and the ion sensitive element, and a current measuring device coupled to the ion sensitive element. The beam profiling element includes a plate of material having two parallel major surfaces, a first slit aperture extending through the plate of material and having a first longitudinal length extending in a direction parallel to the two parallel major surfaces, and a second slit aperture extending through the plate of material and having a second longitudinal length extending in a direction parallel to the two parallel major surfaces, wherein the first longitudinal length of the first slit aperture is perpendicular to the second longitudinal length of the second slit aperture.

Ion beams are used in research as well as production to modify materials. Precise characterization of the ion beam size and intensity is significant in relating ion beam damage to material response. Methods currently exist for measuring and characterizing ion beams; however, conventional methods are typically overly complicated, require a large physical footprint, and require costly manipulators with multiple degrees of motion to function.

Ion beam profiling system and related methods


A drill bit includes a cutter element having a tapered and faceted side surface extending to a peak, and a polygonal wear face that slopes from the peak toward the cutter element base. The cutter element is mounted in a cone cutter of a rolling cone drill bit and, in certain embodiments, is positioned such that, when the cutter element is in a position farthest from the bit axis, the wear face generally faces and is parallel to the borehole sidewall and the peak engages the borehole bottom.

The invention relates generally to earth-boring bits used to drill a borehole for the ultimate recovery of oil, gas or minerals. More particularly, the invention relates to rolling cone rock bits and to an improved cutting structure for such bits.
An earth-boring drill bit is typically mounted on the lower end of a drill string and is rotated by rotating the drill string at the surface or by actuation of downhole motors or turbines, or by both methods. With weight applied to the drill string, the rotating drill bit engages the earthen formation and proceeds to form a borehole along a predetermined path toward a target zone. The borehole formed in the drilling process will have a diameter generally equal to the diameter or "gage" of the drill bit.
A typical earth-boring bit includes one or more rotatable cutters that perform their cutting function due to the rolling movement of the cutters acting against the formation material. The cutters roll and slide upon the bottom of the borehole as the bit is rotated, the cutters thereby engaging and disintegrating the formation material in its path. The rotatable cutters may be described as generally conical in shape and are therefore sometimes referred to as rolling cones or rolling cone cutters. The borehole is formed as the gouging and scraping or crushing and chipping action of the rotary cones remove chips of formation material which are carried upward and out of the borehole by drilling fluid which is pumped downwardly through the drill pipe and out of the bit.
The earth disintegrating action of the rolling cone cutters is enhanced by providing the cutters with a plurality of cutter elements. Cutter elements are generally of two types: inserts formed of a very hard material, such as tungsten carbide, that are press fit into undersized apertures in the cone surface; or teeth that are milled, cast or otherwise integrally formed from the material of the rolling cone. Bits having tungsten carbide inserts are typically referred to as "TCI" bits or "insert" bits, while those having teeth formed from the cone material are known as "steel tooth bits." In each instance, the cutter elements on the rotating cutters break up the formation to form a new borehole by a combination of gouging and scraping or chipping and crushing.
In oil and gas drilling, the cost of drilling a borehole is proportional to the length of time it takes to drill to the desired depth and location. The time required to drill the well, in turn, is greatly affected by the number of times the drill bit must be changed in order to reach the targeted formation. This is the case because each time the bit is changed, the entire string of drill pipe, which may be miles long, must be retrieved from the borehole, section by section. Once the drill string has been retrieved and the new bit installed, the bit must be lowered to the bottom of the borehole on the drill string, which again must be constructed section by section. As is thus obvious, this process, known as a "trip" of the drill string, requires considerable time, effort and expense. Accordingly, it is always desirable to employ drill bits which will drill faster and longer and which are usable over a wider range of formation hardness.
The length of time that a drill bit may be employed before it must be changed depends upon its rate of penetration ("ROP"), as well as its durability. The form and positioning of the cutter elements upon the cone cutters greatly impact bit durability and ROP, and thus are critical to the success of a particular bit design.
Bit durability is, in part, measured by a bit's ability to "hold gage," meaning its ability to maintain a full gage borehole diameter over the entire length of the borehole. Gage holding ability is particularly vital in directional drilling applications which have become increasingly important. If gage is not maintained at a relatively constant dimension, it becomes more difficult, and thus more costly, to insert drilling apparatus into the borehole than if the borehole had a constant diameter. For example, when a new, unworn bit is inserted into an undergage borehole, the new bit will be required to ream the undergage hole as it progresses toward the bottom of the borehole. Thus, by the time it reaches the bottom, the bit may have experienced a substantial amount of wear that it would not have experienced had the prior bit been able to maintain full gage. Such wear will shorten the life of the newly-inserted bit, thus prematurely requiring the time consuming and expensive process of removing the drill string, replacing the worn bit, and reinstalling another new bit downhole.
To assist in maintaining the gage of a borehole, conventional rolling cone bits typically employ a heel row of hard metal inserts on the heel surface of the rolling cone cutters. The heel surface is a generally frustoconical surface and is configured and positioned so as to generally align with and ream the sidewall of the borehole as the bit rotates. The inserts in the heel surface contact the borehole wall with a sliding motion and thus generally may be described as scraping or reaming the borehole sidewall. The heel inserts function primarily to maintain a constant gage and secondarily to prevent the erosion and abrasion of the heel surface of the rolling cone. Excessive wear of the heel inserts leads to an undergage borehole, decreased ROP, increased loading on the other cutter elements on the bit, and may accelerate wear of the cutter bearing, and ultimately lead to bit failure.
Conventional bits also typically include one or more rows of gage cutter elements. Gage row elements are mounted adjacent to the heel surface but orientated and sized in such a manner so as to cut the corner of the borehole. In this orientation, the gage cutter elements generally are required to cut both the borehole bottom and sidewall. The lower surface of the gage row cutter elements engage the borehole bottom while the radially outermost surface (the surface most distant from the bit axis) scrapes the sidewall of the borehole. Gage row cutter elements have taken a number of forms, including cutter elements having relatively sharp and aggressive cutting portions. For examples, FIGS. 1, 3A in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,768 disclose the use of sharp, chisel-shaped inserts 51 in the position referred to herein as the "gage row." However, in at least certain hard or abrasive formations, cutter elements having sharp and/or relatively long cutting portions may tend to break or wear prematurely.
Conventional bits also include a number of additional rows of cutter elements that are located on the cones in rows disposed radially inward from the gage row. These cutter elements are sized and configured for cutting the bottom of the borehole and are typically described as inner row cutter elements. In many applications, inner row cutter elements are relatively long and sharper than those typically employed in the gage row or the heel row where the inserts ream the sidewall of the borehole and cut formation via a scraping or shearing action. By contrast, the inner row cutters are intended to penetrate and remove formation material by gouging and fracturing formation material. Consequently, particularly in softer formations, it is desirable that the inner row inserts have a relatively large extension height above the cone steel to facilitate rapid removal of formation material from the bottom of the borehole. However, in hard formations, such longer extensions make the inserts more susceptible to failure due to breakage. Thus, in hard formations, inner row cutter elements commonly have shorter extensions than where employed in soft formation. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to employ relatively sharp geometry on the inserts in the hard rock formations in order to better penetrate the formation material.
Common cutter shapes for inner row and gage row inserts for hard formations are traditional chisel and conical shapes. Although such inserts with shorter extensions have generally avoided breakage problems associated with longer and more aggressive inserts, and although the relativity sharp chisel and conical shapes provide reasonable rates of penetration and bit life, they tend wear at a fast rate in hard abrasive formations because of the sharp tip geometry which reduces the footage drilled. Increasing ROP while maintaining good cutter and bit life to increase the footage drilled is still an important goal so as to decrease drilling time and the enormous costs associated with drilling, and to thereby recover valuable oil and gas more economically.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a drill bit and cutting structure that, in relatively hard and/or highly abrasive formations, will provide an increase in ROP and footage drilled, while maintaining a full gage borehole.

Drill bit with cutter element having multifaceted, slanted top cutting surface


An uninterruptable power supply, operating normally under power supplied by a utility, has a main motor, a smaller induction motor, and a mechanical load such as a generator coaxially coupled together. A battery is connected to the smaller induction motor through an inverter. The induction motor is normally idled at a frequency lower than that of the utility, and therefore operates as an induction generator which is used to charge the battery through the inverter. Upon utility failure, the utility line is disconnected and the induction motor is powered by the battery through the inverter. The frequency of the inverter may be increased to maintain the rotational speed of the system at a nearly constant level.

The present invention relates generally to uninterruptable power supplies. Specifically it relates to a hybrid rotary-static uninterruptable power supply.
Machinery, computers, and the like used in all areas of business and personal use require reliable power in order to operate effectively under all conditions. When machinery or computers are used to perform tasks that are critical to ongoing work, the public utility power source may not be sufficient. If the utility power source fails, important operations may not be performed, or important or sensitive computer data may be lost. To cope with such power source failure, uninterruptable power systems (also known as UPS systems) are used to provide power. These systems vary widely in structure and operation.
One type of known UPS system is a rotary UPS system having an AC motor generator set and an auxiliary DC motor mechanically coupled to the shaft of the motor generator set. This auxiliary DC motor may be used as a DC generator to charge the backup battery bank during the normal utility powered operation. When a power outage is detected, DC power from the battery bank is connected to the auxiliary DC motor to turn the shaft of the AC motor generator set. Such UPS systems require frequent maintenance. For example, the commutator on the auxiliary DC motor has a limited lifetime. Carbon dust from the brushes of the auxiliary motor can cause shorting problems for sensitive electronic equipment located in the area of the UPS system. Further, when the UPS system switches from utility powered operation to battery powered operation, speed regulation is poor due to the slow response time of the auxiliary DC motor. If the load is changed, the slow response results in significant frequency shifts. The auxiliary DC motor is heavy, and a firm base and extra space is required for coupling it to the motor generator set. Accordingly, the rotary UPS system will be dimensionally longer and heavier than other motor generator sets.
A second type of UPS system is a hybrid UPS system. Three variations of hybrid UPS systems are available.
An off-line hybrid UPS system powers the AC motor of a standard motor generator set from the utility power during normal operation. When a utility power failure is detected, an inverter powers the AC motor of the motor generator set. The inverter is normally inactive, and is switched on at or near the moment of utility failure. During normal utility powered operation, off-line systems have low stress on their semiconductor components. However, when the utility fails, maximum semiconductor stress is incurred. This moment of utility failure is the most critical instant for a UPS system, and if the inverter fails, it is most likely to fail at this time. The probability of failure is increased since the conditions immediately prior to a utility power outage are often unusual and unpredictable and may include power surges, asymmetrical transients, or reverse power flow. Because of line conditions at switchover after utility failure, a large transient often occurs. Such a transient can overload or disable the inverter. Since the inverter is normally off-line and inactive until absolutely needed, there is no way to be certain in advance whether the inverter will be able to be successfully activated and ready to assume the load upon utility failure. Further, from the time of detection of utility failure to the response of switching on the inverter, output frequency to the load is continuously declining.
A second hybrid UPS system is known as an on-line system. An on-line system has a utility powered inverter assembly which is active continuously even during normal utility powered operation. The inverter continuously drives the AC motor of a standard motor generator set. At the time of utility failure, no additional stress is placed on the on-line system, since the inverter's power may be drawn from a battery instead of from the utility, and the inverter is already running. Problems with this on-line hybrid UPS system are that inverter losses are incurred in addition to losses from the motor generator set, degrading system efficiency. Also, the rectifier portion of the inverter assembly, which charges the batteries, is continuously exposed to line transients, and contributes to line current distortion. The inverter must handle all line conditions when it runs continuously in this fashion. Line transients and line current distortion can cause overloads of the inverter as well as affect the quality of the power supplied. Also, when the inverter is run continuously from the utility, the inverter generates undesirable harmonics back into the line.
A third type of hybrid UPS system is a parallel processing system. In this system, an inverter is idled in parallel with the utility. When a utility failure occurs, the utility is disconnected and the AC motor of the motor generator set is run from the inverter. This system has efficiency comparable to a solitary motor generator set. However, this system must use pulse width modulation in order to avoid excessive current harmonics. As in an online system, the inverter is continuously exposed to line transients. In order to protect the inverter, especially during faults and failures, additional protection and filtering are required.
It would be desirable to provide a UPS system which has the advantages of being isolated from line transients, having a quick response time between utility failure and switchover, and having frequency maintenance upon utility failure, efficiency of operation, and reliability at the critical time of utility failure. It would also be desirable to provide such a system without adding excessive costs or space requirements.


A method of rendering 3-D graphical image data suitable for use in interactive 3-D applications is provided, which reduces the amount of time required to perform the rendering. This is achieved by dynamically adjusting the resolution of the image depending upon the type of operation being performed. 3-D operations are performed at a reduced resolution, while 2-D operations (including display) are performed at full resolution. A method of dynamically enhancing/reducing resolution for image depth information (z-buffer data) is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for performing three-dimensional (3-D) graphics on a computer and, in particular, to a method of accelerating rendering of 3-D images on a display device of a computer system with no incremental graphics memory requirements.
2. Description of Related Art
Multimedia computer systems often perform operations requiring the integration of rendered 3-D graphic image data and two-dimensional (2-D) graphics image data. A typical example of these operations is a flight simulator, where a 2-D image of the control panel of a simulated cockpit is displayed on one part of the screen and a 3-D rendered image simulating the landscape which would be seen by the pilot sitting in the cockpit is displayed on a separate part of the screen, partially hidden by the 2-D image of the control panel.
As the majority of multimedia computers include windowing systems, these images are displayed either in a window appearing on the screen or covering the entire screen. This scheme is illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, a window 110 on display 120 of computer 130 shows an integrated picture 140 including a 2-D portion 150 and a rendered 3-D portion 160.
Since rendering the 3-D portion 160 of the image requires substantially more time than a single CRT frame scan of the display 120, the rendering is performed offline on a separate framebuffer (not shown). A framebuffer is a 2-D memory region whose locations map directly to pixel locations on display 120.
As rendering is a very time consuming operation, there is a need for a method of rendering which reduces the amount of time required to render 3-D image data in interactive applications.

Dynamic enhancement/reduction of graphical image data resolution


A display type rack for mounting a number of baseball or sport-type caps in such a manner to display any frontal ornamentation appearing on the cap while supporting the cap in a conventional position effectively at right angles to a supporting wall or similar structure. The rack is expandable and may consist of two or more horizontal bases each equipped with cap body supporting pairs of vertical members and horizontal visor support members perpendicular to the vertical members. A number of base units equipped with horizontal and vertical support members may be assembled together and held in place by associated vertical supports.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display racks, and more particularly to a rack adapted for storing and displaying caps.
2. Background Art
Current mania exists for the sale, distribution, wearing and collection of baseball or sport-type caps of a well-known type, including a dome-shaped body portion and a forward projecting visor or bill. Such caps displaying logos of sports teams, companies, organizations, etc., are readily available either through retail stores or distributed gratis for promotional, commemorative or similar reasons.
As a result of the foregoing, many individuals have accumulated numerous such caps. For anyone with a desire to display such caps, the availability of appropriate hat racks appears to be extremely limited.
A few racks are available commercially which display a limited number of caps in vertical orientation which display the caps in a slightly level obscuring mode and also cause some crushing of the cap itself, limiting the visibility of the cap. Such a unit is disclosed in U.S. design Pat. No. 324,960.
A search of the records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office discovered certain other patents which have been considered in connection with the filing of this patent application. These include:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,213,677 PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,646 PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,190 PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,941 PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,157 PA0 U.S. Pat. Des. No. 251,223 PA0 U.S. Pat. Des. No. 326,366
Most of the designs covered by the aforementioned patents suffer from the lack of ability to display a substantial number of caps as might be found in a typical collection, as well as obscuring or detracting from the position and shape of the caps and the designs included thereon. Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a new and improved display type hat rack for displaying sport or baseball type caps while overcoming the disadvantages found in the prior art.


An electric terminal housing includes a terminal cavity. The terminal cavity extends along a cavity axis from an insertion end to a mate end. The terminal cavity is adapted to hold an electric terminal. The terminal housing includes a terminal lock. The terminal lock includes a resilient arm that extends from the housing into the terminal cavity. The terminal lock includes a rib that extends from the arm toward the cavity axis.

This invention relates to a housing for an electric terminal. More specifically, this invention relates to a housing for an electric terminal including a terminal lock for retaining the electric terminal.
Electric terminals are used in a variety of applications where it is desirable to create an electric connection between various components of a circuit. Wires are connected to electric terminals, and pairs of terminals may be mated to establish an electric circuit. Electric terminals are typically installed in a housing for ease of use. The electric terminals are located in cavities in the housing, and each of the electric terminals is held in a desired position and orientation to allow a user to easily connect multiple electric terminals to respective mating terminals.
The housing includes terminal locks that respectively retain the electric terminals in their installed positions. Typically, each terminal lock includes a resilient member that deflects as the electric terminal is inserted into the housing and rebounds when the electric terminal has been moved to the installed position in order to retain the electric terminal in the housing. The terminal lock resists the electric terminal being pulled out of the housing, such as when a force is applied to the wire connected to the electric terminal. The amount of the force that the terminal lock is designed to resist may vary with the intended use of the electric terminal. Typically, the strength of the terminal lock can be increased by making the lock physically larger.
Conventional vehicles, such as passenger cars, include an increasing number and variety of electric components. As a result, there is a desire to fit a larger number of electric terminals in the limited space available, and it is desirable to position electric terminals as close to each other as possible. Thus, it is desirable that the cavities be small and close to each other, which limits the amount of space available for a physically large terminal lock. It would be advantageous to have a terminal lock that provides increased resistance to the electric terminal being pulled out of the housing without increasing the size of the terminal cavity.

Electric terminal housing with a terminal lock


There is described a wearable respiration sensor generally having a stretchable substrate to be worn around a user's torso; and a dipole antenna having two flexible conductive elements extending in opposite directions from a center, relative to a dipole axis, and being secured to the stretchable substrate, each of the two flexible conductive elements having a proximate end near the center, a distal end away from the center, and a curved portion curving away from and back towards the dipole axis between the proximate end and the distal end, the two flexible conductive elements being in a point reflection symmetry relative to one another relative to said center in a manner that, when the stretchable substrate is stretched along the dipole axis, the curved portions of the two flexible conductive elements are flattened and the distal ends are moved away from one another.

The respiration rate of a person is defined as the number of respirations or breaths the person takes per minute, i.e. bpm. Changes in the respiration rate can be considered to be an important indicator of major physiological and/or pathological conditions, such as cardiopulmonary disease, among others. For instance, in the case of adults at rest, a normal respiration rate can be about 14 bpm. However, categories of abnormal respiration rates for adults at rest can include hyperventilation when the respiration rate is sensed to be about 25 bpm, hypoventilation when the respiration rate is sensed to be about 10 bpm, and apnea when temporary cessation of respiration is sensed. Accordingly, many types of respiration sensors have been developed to monitor the respiration rate of a person.
Although existing respiration sensors are satisfactory to a certain degree, there remains room for improvement.

Wearable respiration sensor and respiration monitoring system


An additional information signal is recorded at a predetermined position in a series of sectors in which image data coded by an intra-frame or intra-field coding method are recorded. The additional information signal is extracted and a pickup driving circuit is controlled. Thus, only the intra-frame or intra-field coded image data sets can be reproduced. A transfer rate is recorded as the additional information, so that the image data can be stably reproduced. It is possible to predict the position of the first sector to be the next reproduced of the series of sectors in which the intra-frame coded image data are recorded, on the basis of the position of the first one of the series of sectors in which intra-frame coded image data are recorded and the position of the first one of a previous series of sectors in which the intra-frame coded image data are recorded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical information recording and reproducing apparatus, and a recording and reproducing method used in the apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical information recording and reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing a compressed and encoded video signal, and a recording and reproducing method used in the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
The image data for a moving picture includes an enormous amount of information as compared with the data for a still picture, so that it is very difficult to record or reproduce the image data for a moving picture by a real-time processing. Accordingly, digitized image data is coded and compressed to a degree at which the deterioration of information is negligible with respect to the original image, and then recorded on a recording medium. Due to the data compression and coding, image data can be recorded onto the recording medium for a longer time period and image data can be reproduced from the recording medium for a longer time period.
As the coding methods for As image date, there are intra-frame (or intra-field) coding and inter-frame (or inter-field) coding. In the intra-frame (or intra-field) coding, the coding is performed within a frame (or a field). In the inter-frame (or inter-field) coding, the coding is performed between frames (or between fields). Hereinafter, the description is made for the case of frames, but it is appreciated that the same description can be made for the case of fields.
In general, some frames are included in one group. In the group, data of at least one frame is processed by intra-frame coding which has relatively low compressibility. In each group, a frame compressed by the intra-frame coding is referred to as an I frame. For the remaining frames in the group, the inter-frame coding which has relatively high compressibility is performed. By combining the intra-frame coding with the inter-frame coding, it is possible to comparatively suppress the deterioration of information, and to improve the compressibility.
The coded and compressed data is recorded onto the recording medium in the following manner. First, the data compressed by intra-frame coding (I-frame data) and the data compressed by inter-frame forward predictive coding (P) or inter-frame bidirectional predictive coding (B) are arranged along a time axis, and various codes are added, so as to constitute a unit of data. Then, the unit of data is divided into sectors each having a fixed data capacity. The sectors are provided with respective addresses, and the data is recorded onto the recording medium. When the image data which has been thus recorded onto the recording medium is to be reproduced, the reproduction is performed while recognizing the address of the sector.
However, in the case where only the intraframe coded and compressed data is to be reproduced in a trick play such as a high-speed reproduction, the above-described recording and reproducing method requires a table indicating the relationship between a sector address and data recorded in the sector. The table must be recorded in an area of the recording medium other than the area in which the coded data is recorded. For example, when image data is to be recorded onto an optical disk, sector addresses of I-frame data are recorded in a management area provided on the inner side of the optical disk (FIG. 11). The sector address cannot be written during the recording of the coded data so that it must be recorded after the recording of the coded data. This may result in a problem in that, if for some reason the table indicating the relationship cannot be written, a trick play cannot be performed.
In the cases where the image data is recorded after being coded and compressed, it is necessary to expand and decode the data for reproducing it. Therefore, it has been proposed that programing data for decoding used in the reproduction be recorded in header portions of respective data (grouped data) coded by different coding methods (for example, described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-123883). However, in such a conventional method, the information amount of the image data is not known until the compressed image data is expanded/decoded by a decoder and the codes are analyzed. Therefore, in the cases where data of different transfer rates are mixedly recorded in one recording medium, there arises a problem in that the buffer memory may cause overflow or underflow during the reproduction, or the data processing in the decoder may be delayed.

Optical recording device which calculates distances between I-frames and records I-frame addresses in a sector

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A circuit and method for the input of a start signal, a controller being transferred from a first state into a second state as a function of the start signal, the energy consumption of the controller in the second state being greater than in the first state, the circuit having a clocked energy source which emits a timed energy signal, and the start signal is formed as a function of the energy signal.

German Patent Application No. DE 196 45 944 A1 shows a control unit for a vehicle electrical system having at least two batteries, which are able to be loaded by a generator, and which are used for supplying various users. Information is fed to the control unit and consequently also to the microcontroller contained in it via various connections. The control unit and the microcontroller contained in it are able to output control signals via other connections. As a function of specifiable data, the vehicle electrical system control unit opens or closes the connection between the two batteries, and goes into a sleep mode after switching off. In this context, for the wake-up from the sleep mode, a field effect transistor is patched through for putting into operation the control unit by supplying a signal.
Control units like the vehicle electrical system control unit just described are, generally, sent into a standby mode or a sleep mode based on the no-signal current requirements, or rather their no-signal current consumption, when it happens not to be needed, or rather, is not being used. This applies to all control units, just as, for instance, to the vehicle electrical system control unit or comfort control units or peripheral control units in particular in a vehicle, which do not have to execute an uninterrupted processing of tasks with respect to their function. This also applies, for instance, to control units in locking systems, control units which drive servomotors such as, for example, for window lifters or a sunroof, or even an outer mirror adjustment.
All these control units which are intermittently able to be put into standby mode or sleep mode, independent of whether they are being used in the vehicle or elsewhere, are cyclically activated in a sort of polling operation. This applies to the controller, as well as parts of the periphery. It thereby becomes possible, during these active phases, to record time-critical and other external events and signals, such as switching positions. Depending on that, the entire control unit is then activated anew or remains in sleep mode or standy mode. This method leads to a high current consumption of the control unit.
If, for example, several control units are simultaneously activated in this way, then for each control unit only a certain part of the overall available energy or current is usable. In this manner, either not many control units are able to be operated simultaneously like this, or attempts are made to solve the problem, in that very large scanning times, that is, cycle times, are selected between two activity phases.
Thus, the related art has not been able to yield optimum results in all regards.

Circuit and method for the input of a start signal for a controller


The present invention provides systems, methods and computer program-product of obtaining information from machine-readable indicia with a mobile device having an indicia reader incorporated therein. The mobile device uses one or more light sources that may illuminate the indicia under consideration, assist in the orientation and position of the indicia reading device, and provide indication to the user that information has been obtained from the indicia under consideration, by use of the one or more light sources. Control of the one or more light sources occurs through an application operating on a controller within the mobile device.

Where mobile telephones were perhaps viewed by many as a luxury when first introduced into the marketplace, they are today viewed by our society as very important, convenient, and useful tools. A great number of people now carry their mobile devices with them wherever they go. This popularity of wireless communication has spawned a multitude of new wireless systems, devices, protocols, etc. Consumer demand for advanced wireless functions and capabilities has also fueled a wide range of technological advances in the utility and capabilities of wireless devices. Wireless/mobile devices not only allow voice communication, but also facilitate messaging, multimedia communications, e-mail, Internet browsing, and access to a wide range of wireless applications and services, and include devices capable of capturing digital images and reading/decoding machine-readable indicia.
Barcodes are well known in the art and have been in use for several recent decades. Though there have been some changes in barcodes since their inception (e.g., one-dimensional versus two-dimensional, etc.), there have been noticeable advancements in the way barcodes are read and processed. Generally, there are three types of barcode readers in use: scanner or laser based, light-emitting diode (LED) based and camera based. With the proliferation of mobile phones that are equipped with digital cameras, several mobile phone-based barcode reader concepts have emerged. Furthermore, machine-readable indicia other than barcodes are gaining acceptance and growing in popularity. Radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder tags are one such machine-readable indicia seeing increased use because, at least in part, of their ability to contain and transfer more information than a barcode. In addition to or instead of barcode readers, mobile phones or other portable devices may be equipped with RFID readers.
One such example of a mobile phone equipped with a barcode reader can be found in European Patent Application EP 1387560, "Portable terminal device, in particular a mobile phone, for barcode reading and for taking photographs," having as an applicant, Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, with a priority date of Jul. 24, 2002 and having a named inventor of Takeharu Muramatsu (the "Muramatsu application"). The Muramatsu application discloses a portable telephone (10) that has a camera (12) for inputting information of an image of interest, a small light (13), which emits light through the operation of ON/OFF button (21) while reading a barcode, an LCD display part (15) for displaying information, and a control part (31) including a CPU for controlling the whole device. The control part (31) switches photography modes depending on the existence of objects such as natural images or barcodes. The control part (31) recognizes a barcode when the device switches to a mode for barcode photography. Then, the device notifies a user of the results of the recognition and then performs a predetermined process based on the content of the recognition.
The Muramatsu application discloses a mobile phone equipped with a digital camera capable of reading barcodes. The phone is further equipped with a small light source that is operated manually by the user in connection with the operation of reading barcodes. The light source provides lighting for performing the reading operation. In addition, the terminal is capable of notifying the user whether the barcode reading results in a success or a failure by way of providing a sound, voice or displaying a message on a display of the mobile phone.
While camera based barcode readers generally work fine in good lighting conditions, if lighting conditions are not ideal, barcode recognition may fail. Also, when a user is using a mobile phone with a camera capable of reading barcodes, the user may not be aware whether the device has successfully read the barcode. In addition, the user might also experience difficulties when pointing and adjusting the device to the barcode in order to read the codes. The Muramatsu application describes means for overcoming some of these challenges, however, it does not satisfactorily resolve issues regarding initial alignment of the camera with the barcode and power limitations inherent in portable devices. Therefore, other means are provided by this present invention to overcome the challenges presented and improve on the means provided in the Muramatsu application.

Indicia reader with synchronized light source and associated methods and computer program product


The present invention discloses a system and a method for controlling multiple computerized mobile devices in a mass spectator event, such as a music show, sporting event, political event and the like where the usage of traditional networks such Wi-Fi or Cellular is not feasible economically or technically due to the limited bandwidth. The present invention discloses a method whereby a network of beacons, and, optionally, the GPS location is used to synchronize, coordinate, and control the selection and execution of a sequence of actions on the mobile devices such as playing video, playing vibrations, playing camera flash patterns, illuminating screen patterns, illuminating screen colors, displaying images, displaying texts, playing sounds, or playing music.

Generally, spectacle events are limited to utilizing the audio and visual effects provided by the artists and/or operator of a venue holding the event. Traditionally, venue speakers, scoreboards, and screens are used to supplement a performer's and/or athlete's performance. Currently, there is a lack of additional multimedia interaction for spectators, and their personal mobile devices, to supplement the traditional audio/visual elements at the venue.
The current solutions to augment the user experience in spectacle events using the users' mobile devices rely on traditional networks such as Wi-Fi or Cellular where each device is both a transmitter and receiver the network and, as such, needs to share the overall network bandwidth to send and receive data, including the network protocol data that is required to facilitate communications. These networks tend of work well in environments where radio noise between devices is relatively low and the network bandwidth is sufficiently large to enable the required data to arrive at each device reliably.
There is a need for providing enhanced experiences for the spectators attending spectacles, such as events having a range of attendees or audience members numbering from a few in a small performance room to stadium-filling crowds. There is also a need for providing a mechanism where mobile devices in mass spectator events can be commanded reliably without a traditional network such as Wi-Fi or Cellular.

Method of controlling mobile devices in concert during a mass spectators event


A single chip display system processor in a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) based display is disclosed, including a display system controller, a horizontal processor, a vertical processor, and optionally, the on screen display (OSD) processor. The horizontal processor, a vertical processor, and the on screen display (OSD) processor are under control by the display system controller. This single chip display system processor also controls some elements of the CRT based display, such as power horizontal deflection circuit, power vertical deflection circuit, video processor, the power video circuit, power supply for the electronics and CRT, and the user front panel. The display system processor encompasses a phase lock loop (PLL) circuit within the horizontal processor that compares incoming horizontal signal with the feedback signal from power horizontal deflection circuit for the purpose of synchronizing incoming video signals to display stable image in the CRT based display system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) based display system and more particularly to a CRT based display system with a display system processor integrated in a single chip. Inclusion of analog functions in this IC (Integrated Circuit) significantly lower system cost and enhance display capability.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In present day design, Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) based display systems are controlled primarily by analog circuit. Horizontal deflection control circuit and vertical deflection control circuit are constructed via analog components or analog integrated circuit. On the other hand, digital display system controller is used for managing all aspect of the display attributes and control of deflection circuit for digital controlled monitor. The digital display system controller typically consists of a microprocessor, associated memory, and control software that is processed via a conventional low cost digital semiconductor processor. This controller typically interfaces with deflection analog circuit via two methods. The first method is to provide an analog interface to the deflection analog circuit. The second method is to provide a digital interface to the digital section of such analog circuit. Thereof, deflection related parameters such as horizontal size, horizontal centering, vertical size and vertical centering can be changed.
For on screen display (OSD) application, a separate integrated circuit controller is used to generate the necessary video information. Digital display system controller must communicate video content and video position information to the OSD chip.
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of conventional display control system. A digital display system controller 101 controls display front panel 107, power supply 108, video processor 106, power video circuit 111, on screen display (OSD) processor 105, vertical processor 104, and horizontal processor 103. Each block mentioned above consists of individual electric circuit. Power horizontal deflection circuit 109 controls horizontal deflection through horizontal yoke (H. yoke), and generates a flyback pulse 102 to the horizontal processor 103. Power vertical deflection circuit 110 couples with the vertical processor 104 and controls vertical deflection through vertical yoke (V. yoke).
Current technology requires individual integrated circuit (IC) for deflection control, on screen display (OSD) generation, and digital display system controller. Due to different process technology used in these ICs, there is no single IC that integrates digital display system controller with deflection control, and no single IC that integrates digital display system controller with an OSD processor.

Single chip display system processor for CRT based display systems


A common interface (API) is provided which permits a single diagnostic probe manager to communicate with and to control a plurality of diagnostic probes. Through this interface the diagnostic probes are enabled to pass information concerning dependencies between software levels present in a hierarchical stack. This information is particularly useful in that it permits the probe manager to direct diagnostic efforts at the lowest desirable level so as to avoid the problems that occur when problems are indicated at a high level but which are actually caused by lower level software components.

The present invention is generally directed to diagnosing software problems in data processing systems. More particularly, the present invention is particularly directed to a system and method for consistent and extendable management of diagnostic probes. Even more particularly the present invention is directed to a system of independently constructable diagnostic probes. And even more particularly, the present invention is directed to the construction and utilization of diagnostic software probes which are capable of diagnosing problems within a plurality of system software levels. Moreover, the present invention is particularly useful in clustered data processing systems which generally possess more complex software in a distributed hierarchical arrangement.
In the context of the present invention, a diagnostic probe is a relatively small, stand-alone program that provides direct diagnostic functionality for a specific software or hardware component in a data processing system. Each probe is capable of codifying a specific part of an expert's debugging knowledge.
In cluster systems management software, many components and daemons run on many machines (nodes) and these components are designed so that normally they are communicating properly and using correct data in order for the cluster to run properly. However, it is difficult to guarantee that all of these various components can automatically recover from communication and data integrity problems. Thus, there may be times when some portion of the cluster stops functioning properly. Making the problem worse, it is usually very difficult for the customer to diagnose the root cause of these problems because of the complexity of the components and the various interactions which are designed into the system to insure that the components work together efficiently, consistently and harmoniously. This complexity is enhanced by the fact that software is often configured in a hierarchy of levels and dependencies. A problem at a low level may manifest itself at a higher level but diagnosis at the higher level may not provide any clues as to the nature of the dysfunction.
The diagnostic probe manager system of the present invention assists customers in diagnosing software problems in the cluster. The invention includes a probe manager and a plurality of probes. Each probe preferably checks only one system component to verify that it is functioning properly and that it has appropriate data. In addition, each probe returns an indication of the other probes it is dependent on. This indication usually identifies the probes of other, possibly related components that should be working properly in order for this probe's component to work. The probe manager queries all the probes that are registered for their specific dependencies. The probes use this information to build a dependency graph so that it can run the probes in order from the lowest software layer to the highest layer. This increases the chances of finding the root cause of the problem, instead of merely finding downstream effects. When a probe finds a problem, it displays the problem (and usually a corrective action) to the user, and the default action of the probe manager is to stop. It is noted that the operation of the diagnostic probes herein does not necessarily have to take place because of or be driven by the occurrence of a problem or fault. The probe manager is capable of initiating probe activity on its own, based on a number of criteria including scheduled maintenance intervals. Furthermore, the probe manager is aware of the fact that certain portions of the data processing system and its related software are more important than others. Accordingly, probes are supplied that examine many of the critical aspects of the operating system as well as many components of cluster systems management software, particularly those that are known to have greater significance in maintaining system operations.
The real value of this diagnostic probe manager subsystem is that the software vendor (in this case International Business Machines, Inc., the assignee of the present invention) is better able to codify its expertise in diagnosing the software, thus contributing to an accumulation of knowledge relevant to how all the components fit together, what things typically go wrong, and the order in which things should be examined. It is like having the smartest developer of the software come to your site and sit down and start looking at the pieces of the software in the most logical order, checking for all the things the software developer has seen go wrong until the problem is found.
Most currently available software diagnostic tools are either structured as a single program or they include a set of hard-coded tools that try to diagnose system problems. These diagnostic tools typically diagnose the operating system of only a single personal computer or workstation. In a data processing system which includes a plurality of independent nodes operating and intercommunicating in a clustered environment, the situation is much more complex. Not only can things go wrong at the operating system level, but the whole cluster software stack can have problems, and multiple machines are involved. As used herein the phrase "software stack" refers to a collection of programs which run below the level of application programs and which exist in a hierarchical arrangement of operational and data dependencies. To tackle diagnosing a system as complex as this, a flexible, extensible, easy to develop solution provides the most highly desired solution.
The architecture of the probe system allows each probe to be developed individually, by separate people. In the typical situation, an expert on a particular component develops the probe for that component. Several utilities are provided for implementing probes so that the probe developer can concentrate on just the things that can go wrong with that component. Because dependent probes are executed first, the scope of what can go wrong with a component is limited to things specific to that component. In contrast, a monolithic diagnostic program responsible for checking the whole software stack quickly becomes so complicated that component experts usually can't develop it. Instead, it usually requires developers that are dedicated to working on the diagnostic tool. However, the probe architecture of the present invention allows development of probes in a decentralized fashion.
Another issue with diagnostic tools is coverage. A diagnostic tool is most useful if it catches a high percentage of users' problems. In the present invention the dependency processing feature and separation of probes allows additional probes to be added over time; in this manner, the coverage is increased and newly added software components are provided with diagnostic coverage. Additionally, newly discovered problems are easily be added to the diagnostic probes.
Another important feature of the architecture of the present probe subsystem is that it can be extended by customers. The probe utilities and the Application Program Interface (API) between the probe manager and the probes permits customers to add their own probes. This allows customers to diagnose applications that they run on top of the clustering software and also allows them to check for errors that they have encountered that supplied probes don't yet catch.

Diagnostic probe management in data processing systems

International Business Machines Corporation


A cold plate assembly for cooling heat-generating electrical component on a circuit board is disclosed. The cold plate assembly includes a cold plate with a bottom contact surface to thermally contact the heat-generating electrical component. The cold plate has an inlet coupler on an opposite top surface to receive coolant; an internal conduit to circulate the received coolant; and an outlet coupler on the opposite top surface to return the coolant. A flexible metal inlet tube is fluidly connected to the inlet coupler to supply coolant. A flexible metal outlet tube is fluidly connected to the outlet coupler to return coolant.

Computer devices, such as servers, include numerous electronic components that are powered by a common power supply. Servers generate an enormous amount of heat due to the operation of internal heat-generating electrical devices such as controllers, processors, and memory. Overheating from the inefficient removal of such heat has the potential to shut down or impede the operation of such devices. Thus, current servers are designed to rely on air flow through the interior of the server to carry away heat generated from heat-generating electrical components. Servers often include various heat sinks that are attached to the electronic components such as processing units. Heat sinks absorb the heat from the electronic components, thus transferring the heat away from the components. The heat from heat sinks must be vented away from the server by a fan system.
Due to the improvement of high-performance systems, the amount of heat that needs to be removed becomes higher with each new generation of electronic components. With the advent of more powerful components, traditional air cooling in combination with fan systems is inadequate to sufficiently remove heat generated by newer generation components. The development of liquid cooling has been spurred by the need for increased cooling. Liquid cooling is the currently accepted solution for rapid heat removal due to the superior thermal performance from liquid cooling. At room temperature, the heat transfer coefficient of air is only 0.024 W/mK while a coolant, such as water, has a heat transfer coefficient of 0.58 W/mK, which is 24 times than that of air. Thus, liquid cooling is more effective in transporting heat away from a heat source to a radiator, and allows heat removal from critical parts without noise pollution.
In rack level liquid cooling system designs, the cooling liquid source includes a closed loop cooling system and an open loop cooling system to facilitate heat exchange from devices such as servers in the rack. Closed loop liquid cooling systems use heat exchange to cool hot water which is heated from the servers. Heat is then removed from the hot water via an open loop system such as a fan wall. An inlet tube carries coolant liquid to a cold plate over a heat-generating electrical component, such as a processor chip, in the server. The cold plate has a network of internal conduits that circulate the coolant internally in the cold plate. Each processor in a server may have a dedicated cold plate or share a cold plate with another processor. Heat generated by the processor is transferred to the cold plate and is in turn transferred to the coolant liquid circulating through the cold plate. An outlet tube carries heated liquid away from the cold plate. A heat exchanger transfers heat from the heated liquid by being cooled by a fan wall. The now cooled coolant is then recirculated to the inlet tube back to the cold plate.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a prior art server 10 having cold plates installed on components. The server 10 includes a chassis 12 that has a circuit board 14 mounting components such as memory cards 16 and processors 18. In this example, four cold plates 22, 24, 26, and 28 are mounted over heat-generating electrical components such as the processors 18 to transfer heat away from the processors 18. A series of tubes 30 are provided to circulate coolant to the cold plates 22, 24, 26, and 28 and collect heated coolant. Generally, the chassis 12 includes fluid connectors that may be fluidly connected to a rack mounted heat exchanger.
FIG. 1B is a top view of the prior art cold plates 22 and 26 in FIG. 1A with two plastic tubes 40 and 42 providing coolant. The tube 40 is an inlet tube that provides coolant to the cooling plates 22 and 26. The tube 40 is a plastic hose that is coupled to the cold plate 26 via a coupler 44. The coupler 44 is a metal component of the cold plate 26 and therefore requires an O-ring to create a seal with the plastic tube 40. Another coupler 46 is connected to one end of another plastic hose 48 that has an opposite end connected to a coupler 50 of the cold plate 22. Coolant is thus provided by the plastic hose 48 to the cold plate 22.
The coolant is circulated internally in both cold plates 22 and 26 to carry away heat generated from the processors 18 under the cold plates 22 and 26. The heated coolant is removed from the cold plate 22 through a coupler 52 that is attached to the end of a plastic hose 54. The other end of the plastic hose 54 is attached to a coupler 56 on the cold plate 26. The coolant received by the coupler 56 is directed internally by a manifold to the cold plate 22, which has another coupler 58 that is attached to the tube 42. The tube 42 carries away the heated coolant from the cold plates 22 and 26 to the heat exchanger.
The benefit of the plastic hoses 40 and 42 is that such hoses may be easily bent to accommodate the internal structure of the server chassis 12. Because the internal space of the chassis 12 is generally very crowded with other components, the cold plates may be still installed by bending the hoses around intervening components, without having to relocate other components in the chassis layout. However, plastic hoses require an O-ring on couplers to prevent coolant from leaking in the couplers. The O-rings eventually degrade resulting in coolant leaks after a few years of use.
The alternative is the use of metal tubes to provide coolant to the cold plate. However rigid metal tubes do not allow for simple routing around intervening components, requiring specially designed metal tubes for the particular circuit board configuration. Further, in order to replace one of the underlying processors, all of the attached cold plates must be removed at the same time, and the metal tubes must be removed since the tubes are rigid.
Thus, there is a need to eliminate the need for degradable sealing mechanisms, such as O-rings, that are used to attach tubes to fluid connectors to supply coolant to a cold plate. There is another need to allow flexible tubes to route coolant to a cold plate without leaking coolants in supplying the cold plate. There is another need to provide tubes fluidly connecting the cold plate that allow ease in replacing or servicing devices under the cold plate.

Cold plate with metal tube connection and flexible metal tube


A magnet holder accessory for releasable solely magnetic mounting to a metal oil filter cartridge has a magnet housing wherein the magnet housing consists essentially of an upper surface member an opposite lower surface member and side surface members extending around so as to enclose a magnet retaining cavity within the magnet housing, the side surface members contiguous to the perimeter of the lower surface member and the upper surface member, the magnet retaining cavity sized to snugly retain a magnet within the cavity a first distance from a lower surface of the lower surface member and a second distance from an upper surface of the upper surface member, wherein the first distance is a relatively small distance for minimizing attenuation of magnetic force of a magnet within the magnet retaining cavity, and the second distance is a distance significantly larger than the first distance so as to attenuate the magnetic force from the magnet retained within the magnet retaining cavity. The lower surface member us a generally planar thin resilient membrane mounted around its circumference to the side surface members and covering the magnet when within the cavity whereby the magnet holder is adapted to be releasably solely magnetically mounted to an exterior surface of the metal oil cartridge when the magnet is retained within the magnet retaining cavity.

Applicant is aware of several attempts in the prior art to attach magnets to the exterior of oil filters. In particular, Applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,312 which issued to King for Strainer Magnets on Oct. 4, 1977, Canadian Patent Application No. 2,061,376 filed Feb. 17, 1992 and laid open Aug. 18, 1993, which application was filed by Perritt for his Magnetic Filter Strap Device, and Applicant is also aware of a device sold under the trade-mark "The Metal Arrester" by Metal Arrester Products of Hurst, Tex., U.S.A.
King teaches a magnetic oil filter strap which is pliable to be wrapped around the circumference of cylindrical oil filters, the ends of the strap resiliently fastened to each other by means of a spring. Perritt similarly discloses a pliable strap for encompassing the circumference of a cylindrical oil filter, the strap acting as a matrix to hold in radially spaced apart relation discrete magnets against the exterior casing of the oil filter. It is taught that the ends of the strap may be releasably fastened using conventional hook-and-loop type fasteners or that the flexible strap is made of resiliently stretchable material and is provided with a non-adjustable joining device at the strap ends whereby the strap may be stretched to fit around the exterior casing of the oil filter. The metal arrester device is a large magnet in a plastic housing that slides onto the end of the oil filter. The metal arrester device is a large magnet in a plastic housing that slides onto the end of an existing oil filter.
The various prior art devices address means for securing magnetic elements to the exterior casing of an oil filter and also to means for securing such magnetic elements for oil filters of various sizes. The problem that has arisen with such prior art devices is that in some instances it is difficult is to fit an annular band, sleeve or the like around the exterior casing of an installed automotive oil filter due to small clearance between the casing of the oil filter and other obstructing structure within the engine compartment. This also occurs when replacement oil filters are used in an automobile and the replacement oil filter diameter is slightly larger than that of the filter being replaced.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide individual non-magnetic housings for housing discrete magnetic elements, which housings and magnetic elements do not rely on an annular band, strap or sleeve, or on any band or strap at all in order to be secured to the exterior of a metal oil casing on a piece of machinery such as a metal oil filter casing or transmission, differential, gearbox or like oil bathed machinery enclosed in a metal casing. The individual magnetic element housings of the present invention allow for the distribution of magnetic elements around an oil casing, and in particular the casing of an installed oil filter, without the requirement of forcing a band or strap or annular sleeve into an insufficient clearance space between the oil casing or filter casing and other structures. Thus, the magnetic elements may be placed around, or longtidunally along, the casing or filter wall or even placed on the bottom of casing or filter, to minimize damage to the magnetic element housing and magnetic element when removing or repairing the oil casing or oil filter or when installing a new oil casing or filter.
A further object of the invention is to provide a magnetic element housing which will only minimally attenuate, with respect to metal particles in the oil, the effects of a magnetic element placed against the exterior of an oil filter housing, and which will in respect of an opposed side of such a magnetic element significantly attenuate the effects of the magnetic element acting upon metal hand tools inadvertently brought into close proximity with the magnetic element housing.

White Lightning Preventative Maintenance Inc.