The present invention relates to compressed gas-operated firearms and more particularly to repeating gas cylinder pistols with conveyer feed of bullets for shooting. The pistol comprises a hollow pistol frame (1) made integral with a grip (3) and a trigger bow (50), a movable barrel (6) with a bullet bore (97), a load (12) and a mainspring (19) disposed on the barrel (6), a valve (57) installed in a gas chamber (110) inside a body (56), a gas cylinder (102) installed inside a rear hollow interior (104) of the grip (3), a magazine (27) installed in a front hollow interior (151) of the grip (3), separated from a rear hollow interior (104) by a partition (150), a striker-and-trigger mechanism installed inside the pistol frame (1) and on the trigger bow (50) and interacting with the movable barrel (6) and the magazine (27) for supplying bullets (246) and portions of gas from the gas cylinder (102) to the bullet bore (97) of the barrel (6), a mechanism for installing the gas cylinder (102), disposed below the gas cylinder (102) in the grip (3). In a hollow interior (4) of the pistol grip (1) a support (5) is installed, which serves as a base for the movable barrel (6) that moves along the support (5) under the action of the striker-and-trigger mechanism.

The present invention relates to compressed gas-operated firearms and more particularly to repeating gas cylinder pistols with conveyer feed of bullets for shooting.
Known in the art are technical solutions of a repeating gas cylinder pistol shooting ball bullets: U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,875, Cl. 124-11, 1963; U.S. Pat. No. 3,207,143, Cl. 124-11, 1965; U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,527, Cl. 124-52, 1969; U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,194, Cl. 124-11, 1970; U.S. Pat. No. 4,147,152, Cl. 124-76, 1979; Patent EP 0,625,689, 1994; Patent RU 2,084,802, Cl. 6F41B Nov. 6, 1997. However, the reliability and shooting rate of these constructions are low.
The prior art most relevant to the present invention is a repeating gas cylinder pistol shooting ball bullets (Patent RU No. 2,118,781, Cl. F41B Nov. 6, 1998), comprising a pistol frame with a grip, a movable barrel with an opening for introducing bullets and with a load and a mainspring located thereon between the load and a slider base disposed in the frame at the end of the frame, a magazine, an insert disposed within the grip and the other end of the frame, with a gas supply passage inside the insert, a gas cylinder disposed with the help of a sleeve, a cover, a loop in a nut in the grip and communicated via a seal through a piercing needle of the gas cylinder with a passage for supplying a portion of gas to a chamber of a valve for supplying a portion of gas, a valve for supplying a portion of gas, disposed inside a body of the valve for supplying a portion of gas, and a body of the valve for supplying a portion of gas disposed inside the insert, a frame attached to the pistol frame and to the grip, a trigger secured by a rotation axle on the frame, a sear arm connected to a return spring secured on the frame, a lock, wherein the magazine with a lifting spring is disposed with the help of a shoe, a compression spring, a latch and a hold-down spring in the grip between the gas cylinder separated by the inner wall of the grip from the magazine, the insert and the frame under the movable barrel, and is tightly pressed to the body of the valve for supplying a portion of gas, the movable barrel is set on the valve for supplying a portion of gas, which has openings for supplying a portion of gas to the movable barrel from the chamber of the valve for supplying a portion of gas, which chamber through openings in the body of the valve for supplying a portion of gas is communicated to the gas supply passage, the spring of the valve for supplying a portion of gas is disposed between the insert and the sleeve of the valve for supplying a portion of gas, disposed on the valve for supplying a portion of gas, the seal of the valve for supplying a portion of gas is disposed between the sleeve of the valve for supplying a portion of gas and the openings for supplying gas to the movable barrel, the sear arm is disposed on an axle of an arm of the trigger, an attachment is disposed on the lower part of the load, the safety lock is disposed in a through opening made in the pistol frame perpendicular to the axis of the movable barrel under the attachment, a blocking element is disposed in a recess made in the frame under the safety lock, a magnet is disposed in the chamber of the valve for supplying a portion of gas on the sleeve of the valve for supplying a portion of gas, an anti-retainer disposed in the form of a projection on the frame inside the pistol frame.
In spite of a number of advantages, such as the possibility of shooting with the movable barrel of the pistol in any position, even in the direction of action of the Earth""s attraction force, and an increased shooting rate by combining the operations of winding the mainspring and introducing the ball bullet into the barrel only on pulling the trigger of the pistol, the above-described construction has a number of disadvantages: limitations to the shape and material of bullets, since the in the above-described construction it is possible to use only ball steel or steel-core bullets; shortened service life of the striker mechanism because of constant mechanical effect of the barrel on the valve at the moment of shooting; a small capacity of the magazine; a low reliability, because the process of feeding bullets to the shooting position is not controllable, the probability of a misfire being thus increased, and because a shot may be taken even in the absence of the magazine in the pistol grip.
The present invention is directed to the provision of a repeating gas cylinder pistol with such structural elements and connections therebetween, that would make it possible to increase substantially the reliability, to improve and broaden the functional potentialities, and to raise the performance characteristics of the pistol.
Said object is accomplished by the provision of a repeating compressed-gas operated pistol, comprising a hollow frame made integral with a grip and a trigger bow, a movable barrel with a bullet bore, a load and a mainspring disposed on the barrel, a valve installed in a gas chamber inside the pistol frame, between the rear inner wall of which and the valve a spring is installed, which insures returning of the valve to the closed state after a portion of gas has come from the gas chamber to the bullet bore of the barrel, a valve body whose lower part is disposed in a depression in the rear part of the pistol frame above a gas cylinder which is installed in a rear hollow interior of the grip and via a sleeve, a nut and an end seal is communicated with the valve body, and via a piercing needle, a filter and a passage in the frame insures coming of a portion of gas to the gas chamber, a magazine, installed in a front hollow interior separated from a rear hollow interior of the grip by a partition, a striker-and-trigger mechanism installed inside the pistol frame and on the trigger bow and interacting with the movable barrel and the magazine for supplying bullets and portions of gas from the gas cylinder to the bullet bore of the barrel, a mechanism for installing a gas cylinder disposed below the gas cylinder in a lower broadened part of the rear hollow interior of the grip, in the rear hollow interior of the pistol frame a support is located, whose rear wall contacts the front wall of the magazine, a part of the support extending above the pistol frame serving to bear the barrel movable along the support under the action of the striker-and-trigger mechanism, the magazine insures conveyer supply of bullets to the shooting line and is equipped with containers, each container accommodating one bullet and being installed so that the upper part of the magazine, extending above the pistol frame, is disposed between the barrel and the valve, and a bullet opening provided in the front wall of the magazine, through which the bullet enters the bullet bore of the barrel under the effect of a portion of gas, is disposed coaxially with the bullet bore, the valve and the container which occupies such position before each shot, a breech mechanism is installed on top of the hollow pistol frame.
The mechanism for installing a gas cylinder comprises a bracket installed with the help of pins in the lower broadened part of the rear hollow interior of the grip, a front wall being disposed under a partition and adjoining the magazine, the surface of the wall lying in one plane with the surface of the partition adjoining the magazine; a lever installed in the rear part of the bracket on an axle of rotation, a frame and a loop mounted on a turning axle in a front part of the bracket more proximate to the magazine, a hold-down member mounted on an axle of rotation on the frame on the side opposite the place of fastening the frame to the bracket, a tightening screw located in the central part of the loop. The tightening screw has a link with which the screw abuts against the bottom part of the gas cylinder when the frame is in the closed position, and which, as the screw is screwed into the loop through an opening, urges the gas cylinder till it is pressed to the piercing needle of the gas cylinder. The bracket has in the central part an opening through which the gas cylinder is installed in the rear hollow interior of the grip, when the frame is in the open position, a groove disposed in a rear wall and combined with the opening, in which groove the lever is disposed, there being provided a horizontal wall above the part of the groove which is nearer to a rear wall of the grip, in which horizontal wall from the side of the groove there is a depression, and side walls which have horizontal platforms disposed from below and lugs disposed from the side of the groove and abutting against supports provided on the inner side walls of the grip. The frame has two shoulders between which the loop is located, the shoulders being interconnected from one side by a member which is provided with a tooth which abuts against a support of the lever when the frame is in the closed position. The lever has an upper arm on the end of which a lug is located from above, which lug trough an opening in a rear wall is disposed on the level of the surface of the grip a lower arm on the end of which a support is located from below and a projection is located from above, onto which projection a return spring is set, the return spring abutting with its other end against a depression in the bracket, the return spring, when extended, retaining, owing to the support which grips the tooth, the frame in the closed position, and, with the return spring (156) contracted, when under the pressure of the shooter""s finger on the lug the lever turns on the axle, releasing the tooth from the support, the frame assumes its open position. The loop has shoulders which are lifted with respect to its central part towards the frame: a shoulder in the form of a horizontal platform and a cylindrical shoulder with an opening which is perpendicular to the axis of the screw and in which the turning axle is disposed. The hold-down member which closes from below the frame with the loop and the screw has a cam which extends above the flat part of the hold-down member, is mounted through the opening on the axle of rotation on the frame between its shoulders, and presses with its profiled side the shoulder of the loop when the hold-down member is in the closed position, a depression on the inner side to receive the link of the screw, angular supports disposed from the side of and symmetrically to the cam and, adjoining the platforms of the lugs, insures stopping the hold-down member in the open position; when an external side of the hold-down member is found at a certain distance from the tooth of the lower arm of the lever and does not affect it; edges disposed behind angular supports along the edges of the inner side of the hold-down member and adjoining the platforms of the bracket when the hold-down member is in the closed position; lugs located in the corners on the external side of the hold-down member, facing the magazine.
The load via a through longitudinal opening provided therein is set onto the barrel and is secured by pins through openings to the barrel owing to depressions disposed on the barrel perpendicular to the axis thereof, in which the pins (are partially received; in front of the longitudinal opening in the load a cylindrical depression is disposed; behind the longitudinal opening there is a rear space, from below along the edges of the load two longitudinal support limiters are disposed, movable along the support as the barrel moves longitudinally; from below on one of the limiters a projection is disposed with a pivot; between the limiters under the longitudinal opening which is separated by a partition there is a groove defined from the front by a projection and from the rear by an inclined wall, on whose end opposite the projection with the pivot there is a cutout; from below in the cylindrical depression in front of the projection a through groove is disposed. In the front part of the through groove perpendicular to the direction of travel of the load a pin is disposed, adapted to interact with an auto-sear and secured on the load through openings disposed in the support limiters.
The magazine made in the form of a prism has a flat cover which is rigidly secured to the magazine and at the same time is a rear wall of the magazine, which adjoins a partition in the grip; the magazine is closed from above by a horizontal shelf disposed in the upper part of the cover perpendicular to the surface thereof; the magazine is limited from below by a base; the magazine is provided with an oval passage to accommodate the containers with the bullets.
Onto the base of the magazine a shoe is set, on whose inner side facing the base there are two platforms disposed symmetrically at the edges thereof, which platforms lie down onto the lugs of the hold-down member and serve as a stop for the magazine after installing thereof in the grip. The shoe has an opening whereinto a head of a button is received under the pressure of a spring installed in a depression from below of the base of the magazine. The oval passage along which the containers move comprises two vertical, straight, parallel passages separated by a partition, a passage for supplying the loaded container for shooting and a passage for removing the empty container after shooting, interconnected from above and from below by semi-round passages. The width of the oval passage is equal to the outer diameter of the cylindrical part of the container and the length is such that the clearance between two containers standing one next to another is always smaller than the width of the platform of the finger, for the containers to move freely along the oval passage. In the upper part of the magazine under the horizontal shelf there is an opening in which a block is disposed, whose two lateral projections rest on the side shelves disposed inside an opening. From above in the block depressions are provided for springs which bias the block away from the horizontal shelf of the cover. From the side of the oval passage a wall of the block is concave, its radius of rounding being equal to the outer radius of the cylindrical part of the container for stable location of the container before the shot opposite the bullet opening in the front wall of the magazine coaxially with the valve and with the bullet bore. On an inner side of the upper part of the cover in a depression a part of a flat leaf spring is disposed, which through openings therein is secured by pins installed in the end face part of the partition and in depressions of the cover, the other part of the leaf spring being located in a cutout disposed in the cover under the depression, the upper end of the leaf spring lying on a bearing side of the horizontal shelf. On the inner side of the upper part of the cover above the place of junction of the passage for removing the empty container with the upper semi-round passage, there is disposed a semi-round depression which eliminates jamming of the containers. The container is a hollow cylinder having a barrel side disposed from the side of the barrel after locating the container in the magazine, and a valve side adjoining the inner side of the cover of the magazine, and face sides; on the inner side of the container longitudinal recesses are disposed and tail projections, located nearer to the valve side, which insure retention of the bullet inside the container after loading thereof. The bullets used for loading into the container are spherical or cylindrical or spindle-shaped and are made from iron or have an iron tip, or are made from a softer metal or plastic. Above the oval passage in the cover of the magazine for loading the containers with the bullets an opening is provided, whose width is smaller than the external diameter of the cylindrical part of the container, but larger than the diameter of the bullet. On the right side wall of the magazine there is a step which supports a bend of a rocker arm. On the left side wall of the magazine there is an oblong opening, whose width is smaller than the longitudinal size of the container, for moving the containers by the shooter""s finger when loading the magazine. On the front wall of the magazine a horizontal projection is disposed, with which the magazine abuts against a lower end face of the rear wall of the support; under the projection there is a depression for locating a head of a lock of the magazine; above the projection in the front wall there is a large opening for the finger above the passage for supplying the container to the shooting position and a small opening for the limiter above the passage for removing the empty container from the shooting position; above the bullet opening a cutout is provided to receive a lug, disposed above the opening in the rear wall of the upper rear projection of the support. The size and shape of the large opening and of the small opening coincide, respectively, with the opening for the finger and with the opening for the limiter, provided in the rear wall of the support, and are also disposed, respectively, one opposite the other after installing the magazine in the grip.
In the upper part of the body of the valve opposite the magazine a ring-shaped saddle is provided, inside which a hollow cylinder of the valve is located, the end face part of the cylinder enters the cutout in the upper part of the cover of the magazine and abuts against the flat leaf spring which limits from the front the travel of the valve with the cylinder, the valve installed coaxially with the bullet bore of the barrel and with a throttle opening in the leaf spring being in the closed state, when the spring is extended and the valve is pressed to the saddle or makes up a clearance with the saddle, when after a short-time action of the leaf spring on the cylinder of the valve the spring is compressed, for a portion of gas to come from the gas chamber to the cylinder of the valve. Between the saddle and the valve an annular cup is disposed, which precludes coming of a portion of gas to the cylinder when the valve is closed. Between the body of the valve and the saddle in an annular groove provided on the side of the saddle which adjoins the body a seal is disposed, which precludes gas leakage from the gas chamber.
The support has a base arranged in the hollow interior (of the pistol frame; from above the base, above the pistol frame there are disposed a rear projection next to the magazine and a front projection with a hollow cylinder disposed ahead of it; in the middle part of the base of the support a through vertical passage is located for accommodating a sear; in front in the base there is a depression for a rod; from above the base, between the depression for the rod and the through passage, there is a groove for an auto-sear; on the other side of the through passage in the base there is a through longitudinal groove for a trigger, the through longitudinal grove being combined with a depression disposed under the rear projection and in which a larger arm of the trigger, the finger and the limiter are located, disposed on different sides relative to the larger arm of the trigger; in the rear wall of the support there are a large opening for the finger and a small opening for the limiter. In the groove for the auto-sear, a lowering member made as a pin secured in the side walls of the base of the support is disposed perpendicular to the direction of movement of the barrel. The end face part of the hollow cylinder extends above a front wall of the breech block through an opening. In the front projection with the cylinder and in the rear projection openings are disposed, through which the barrel is installed in the support so that the load secured on the barrel is disposed behind the front projection, and in a rear space of the load the rear projection of the support is disposed, the openings in the projections serving as pilot holes when the barrel moves relative to the support. In the lower part of the rear projection from the side of the load there is a step for cutouts provided on support limiters of the load, the step fixing the rearmost position of the barrel when it moves toward the magazine. From the outside on the right side wall of the through groove for the trigger there is a cutout for the projection of the load. Along the left side wall of the through groove for the trigger there is a guiding projection which rises above the base and is adjacent to the inner side of the support limiter of the load, excluding transverse displacement of the load relative to the support and fixing the axle of the auto-sear against dropping out from the trigger. On a rear wall of the rear projection above the opening a lug is disposed.
The pistol has a buffer spring set onto the barrel and located between the inner wall of the rear space of the load and the front wall of the upper rear projection of the support and a mainspring set onto the barrel and installed between an inner wall in a cylindrical depression of the load and a wall of a depression provided in the rear part of the upper front projection of the support.
On inner side walls in the rear part of the breech block, cutouts are made from below, into which projections are installed, disposed on side walls of the body of the valve, when the breech block is set from above onto the pistol frame; the cutouts are connected with horizontal grooves disposed along inner side walls, in which horizontal grooves the projections are disposed, when the breech block, moving along the pistol frame, occupies the rearmost position and proves to be fit tightly onto the pistol frame; in the front wall of the breech block an opening is disposed for the cylinder of the support, and under it an opening for a rod is disposed; in the rear wall of the breech block a groove is disposed for accommodating a head of a hammer, this groove being defined from the front by a strap and abutting by its edge against a partition. The length of the horizontal grooves is greater than the distance between a front wall of the upper front projection of the support and an inner side of the front wall of the breech block.
The pistol has a rod which with its one end, having a cylindrical head whose diameter is greater than the cross-section of the rod, is installed in a depression provided in the base of the support under the upper front projection parallel to the axis of the cylinder, a return spring being located on the rod between the head and the inner side of the front wall of the breech block, the return spring being compressed when the breech block is installed on the pistol frame, the other end of the rod being disposed in a lower opening on the front wall of the breech block, ruling out casual jumping of the breech block off the pistol frame.
The pistol has two stops and two buttons with blocks, disposed on different sides of the base of the support, ruling out casual jumping of the breech block off the pistol frame. Each stop which comprises a plate with a projection in its middle part is disposed in a horizontal groove located under the lowering member in the front part of the base of the support parallel to the direction of movement of the barrel. The projection of the stop is disposed in a deep groove which limits the displacement of the stop in the horizontal groove under the action of a spring installed in the deep grove between its rear wall and the projection. A part of the stop is made with a longitudinal oval groove to limit dropping out of the spring from the deep groove. Each button is disposed inside the pistol frame, and a pilot projection on an outer side of the button through an opening in the pistol frame extends above its lateral side and can move vertically along this opening, the button with its side opposite the projection being able to move along a vertical groove disposed on the lateral side of the base of the support, as well as to move above a part of the horizontal groove, in front of the through passage for the sear. Each block is located on a spring in a depression disposed in a vertical groove in the side wall of the base under the horizontal groove; when a conical head of the block sinks in a lower depression provided on the inner side of the button, the button assumes its upper position, a depression provided in the upper part on the inner side of the button becomes disposed above the horizontal groove, blocking the movement of the stop, whereby stable position of the breech block on the pistol frame is fixed; when the conical head of the block sinks in an upper depression of the button, the button assumes its lower position, the depression becomes disposed opposite the horizontal groove and releases the stop for free movement.
The striker-and-trigger mechanism comprises a trigger mounted on an axle which through openings provided in a lower middle part of side walls of a groove of the support is secured on the pistol frame; an auto-sear disposed between the lowering member and the trigger under the barrel in the support; a sear installed in a through vertical passage of the support; a trigger bar located inside the pistol frame between the pistol frame and the support and interconnecting the load and the hammer which is installed in a depression provided in the rear part of the pistol frame in front of a partition separating the body of the valve from the depression, the hammer being mounted through openings in the hammer on an axle of rotation installed in openings provided in a lug and in a rounded lug, each of them being disposed on its respective internal partition which rule out transverse displacement of the hammer; a finger and a limiter disposed in a depression in the rear part of the support opposite each other on different sides of the trigger, opposite a large opening and a small opening respectively, disposed in a rear wall of the support. The hammer has a head for the shooter""s thumb, a lateral shoulder with a pivot at the end thereof, the lateral shoulder being located inside a groove defined by the internal partition and by the side wall of the pilot frame; a lower projection for interacting with a safety lock, a groove disposed below between the lateral shoulder and the lower projection for accommodating the rounded lug. The trigger bar through an opening is set with its one end onto the pivot of the hammer and through an opening it is set with its other end onto the pivot of the load, insuring the backward travel of the load with the barrel when the hammer is cocked or ruling out the travel of the load with the barrel when the hammer is blocked by the safety lock. The trigger has a triggering arm in the lower part thereof and two smaller arms in the form of a fork in the upper part thereof, the smaller arms terminating with a radius part interacting with an inclined wall of the groove of the load; a decoupling projection in front for interacting with the sear, and a larger L-shaped arm in the rear, which interacts with the finger and with the limiter. At the end of the larger arm in an opening an axle of rotation is located, on which lower parts of the finger and of the limiter are mounted. The auto-sear has a short arm which is disposed between the smaller arms of the trigger on an axle secured in the smaller arms and smoothly passes into a longer arm which terminates with a bevel which interacts with a lowering member and is disposed at an angle to a bearing side of a bolt camming lug which interacts with a pin of the load and is disposed from above of the longer arm, the auto-sear having a horizontal bearing platform between the bevel and the bearing side. The end part of the short arm of the auto-sear is connected by a pressing spring to the upper part of the larger arm of the trigger. The sear is made as a rectangular parallelepiped having a depression below, in which a spring is disposed, which abuts against the trigger bow inside the pistol frame; in the lower part on the side facing the trigger a projection is provided, whose end part through a lower slit in a separating partition which defines a through passage in the support, is located in a groove for the trigger; the projection adjoins with its upper inclined edge the decoupling projection of the trigger, the guide of the projection coinciding with the guide of the groove which is located in the upper part of the sear between two shoulders and in which a part of the longer arm of the auto-sear is disposed. With the trigger in normal position, when its cocking arm is not pressed by the shooter""s finger and the inclined edge of the projection does not adjoin the decoupling projection, the sear under the action of the spring is found in the uppermost position, presses on the load from below, the bearing platform of the auto-sear abuts against the pin of the load and blocks the movement of the barrel with the load, thus ruling out the possibility of a casual shot. The sear can move down along the through passage in the support under the pressure exerted by the decoupling projection of the trigger on the projection of the sear, when the cocking arm of the trigger is pressed by the shooter""s finger, the auto-sear under the action of the smaller arms of the trigger moving forward along the groove in the support, the mainspring becomes compressed, and the buffer spring becomes extended, since the barrel moves forward under the pressure exerted by the bearing side of the auto-sear on the pin of the load till the bearing side of the bolt camming lug gets loose from the pin of the load, whereafter a shot takes place, the sear assumes the lower-most position, the auto-sear is found below the pin and does not interfere with the load and the barrel moving backward. The finger has an inclined edge adjoining a lower edge of a large opening in a rear wall of the support, which hinders the turn of the finger relative to the trigger; on a lateral side of the finger, facing the trigger, there is a lateral projection, this lateral projection lying down on an inner side of the wall of the support, when the inclined edge ceases to adjoin the lower edge of the opening after the trigger is pulled; in the middle part of the inclined edge there is a step, next to which an opening is provided to receive a bent end of the return spring; the place of junction of an upper edge with the inclined edge terminates with a projection rounded from above and having a vertically arranged platform in the front part thereof. The return spring of the finger is secured with its other bent end on a pin installed in side walls in openings in the rear part of the support. The finger is able to turn relative to the trigger, when, as the trigger is pulled, the bearing side of the bolt camming lug of the auto-sear ceases to adjoin the pin of the load under the action of the lowering member on the bevel of the auto-sear; the rounded projection of the finger, abutting against the upper edge of the large opening in the rear wall of the support, comes out above the surface of the rear wall of the support and through the large opening in the front wall of the magazine enters a container with a bullet for supplying this container to the shooting position. The limiter has an inclined edge adjoining the lower edge of the small opening in the rear wall of the support, which hinders the turn of the finger relative to the trigger; on a lateral side of the finger, facing the trigger, there is a lateral projection, this lateral projection lying down on an inner side of the rear wall of the support, when the inclined edge ceases to adjoin the lower edge of the small opening after the trigger is pulled; in the middle part near the inclined edge an opening is provided to receive a bent end of the return spring; the place of junction of an upper edge with the inclined edge terminates with a projection rounded from above. The return spring of the limiter is secured with its other bent end on the same pin as the return spring of the finger. The limiter is able to turn with respect to the trigger through the same angle as the finger, when, as the trigger is pulled, the bearing side of the bolt camming lug of the auto-sear ceases to adjoin the pin of the load under the action of the lowering member on the bevel of the auto-sear, the rounded projection of the finger, abutting against the upper edge of the small opening in the rear wall of the support, comes out above the surface of the rear wall of the support and through the small opening in the front wall of the magazine enters an empty container for removing it from the shooting position after the shot.
The pistol has a safety lock, a lock and a detent for blocking the hammer to rule out a casual shot. The safety lock has a thumb piece with a ledge, which adjoins from the outside the surface of the pistol frame, a cylinder with a flat, disposed perpendicular to the surface of the thumb piece, a projection disposed between the ledge and the cylinder and having a groove made on the side opposite the place where depressions are located, perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the cylinder, and a pivot disposed on an end face side of the cylinder, the projection and the cylinder being located in an opening in the pistol frame. The pivot is located in an opening disposed under a rounded lug in a partition separating a depression adapted to receive the hammer from a groove in which a lateral shoulder of the hammer is located. On the ledge opposite a detent two depressions are provided, a head of the detent being disposed in an upper depression, when the thumb piece is in the uppermost position, and the flat of the cylinder assumes a horizontal position and releases the projection of the hammer for it to be cocked or is disposed in the lower depression, when the thumb piece is in the lowermost position and the flat assumes an inclined position and blocks the hammer, ruling out a shot. The lock has an L-shaped projection in whose upper part there is an opening through which the lock is mounted on an axle of rotation of the hammer, when a lower part of the lock is disposed in a groove which is found between the partition that separates the depression adapted to receive the hammer and the wall of the pistol frame, a leg of the L-shaped projection being inserted into the groove and fixing the position of the safety lock in the pistol frame. The detent is installed in an opening of the pistol frame, and its conical head under the pressure of a spring located in an opening between a side wall of the body of the valve and the detent sinks in one of depressions on the ledge of the safety lock, fixing the position of the safety lock relative to the hammer.
The pistol has a latch and a lock for retaining the magazine in the grip. The latch has two flat cheeks, each of these cheeks having a configured front projection, a lower projection and a cross member which interconnects the upper parts of the cheeks and has a cutout from below for a spring of the latch; through openings in the cheeks the latch is mounted on an axle disposed in an opening in a narrowing of the trigger bow, the configured projections of the cheeks through openings in the body of the grip, disposed symmetrically relative to the trigger bow, are found on different sides of the narrowing of the trigger bow. Between the cross member of the latch and the inner wall of the body of the grip a spring is installed. The lock which is located between the cheeks of the latch and adjoins the cross member from the side opposite the front configured projections of the latch is made as a lever, whose lower part is made as an unlocking fork having two arms which through openings provided therein are mounted on an axle installed in an opening of a lug disposed between the arms of the lock on a projection disposed inside the body of the grip on the trigger bow; on the end of each arm from the outside there is a projection, arranged perpendicular to the lateral edge of the arm of the lock and adjoining a rear inclined edge of a lower projection of the lock; in the middle of the lock, on the side facing the latch, a depression is provided to receive a spring of the lock; in the upper part of the lock from the side of the magazine a head is disposed, which sinks in a depression on the front wall of the magazine (27), fixing the position of the magazine in the grip, when the front configured projections of the latch occupy the uppermost position and the cross member exerts pressure on the upper part of the lock or leaves the depression in the front wall of the magazine, releasing the magazine to move in the grip, when the front configured projections of the latch under the action of the shooter""s finger take the lower-most position and the rear inclined edges of the projections of the latch exert pressure on the projections of the lock. In the depression of the lock a spring is disposed, which abuts with its other end against a projection on the trigger bow.
The pistol has a rocker arm and a slide stop for retaining the breech block on the pistol frame. The slide stop through an opening disposed in the lower part thereof is mounted on an axle of the trigger inside the pistol frame and has in front an inflexion disposed in a cutout on the end face of the side wall of the pistol frame, with a bent away button disposed from the external lateral side of the pistol frame; under the inflexion an opening is provided for accommodating a carrier of the rocker arm; from below in the middle of the slide stop there is a projection, onto which a spring is set, whose other end is installed in a depression disposed inside the pistol frame so that it presses the slide stop to the breech block. The rocker arm has a short shoulder, wherein there is an opening through which the rocker arm is mounted on an axle in a groove of the pistol frame, and a long shoulder, whose end part is disposed in a groove in the pistol frame, and a bend disposed in the middle part thereof adjoins a step on the side wall of the magazine; on the end of the short shoulder of the rocker arm there is a carrier bent away in the same direction as the bend, the carrier entering an opening in the slide stop, the rocker arm being able to rotate on an axle within the opening till it abuts against the lower wall of the groove.

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According to the embodiments, a first storage area and a second storage area specified by a trim request is managed by a first management unit, and the second storage area specified by the trim request is managed by a second management unit. A block in which data of the first management unit are all specified by the trim request from the first or second storage areas and a block in which data of the second management unit are all specified by the trim request from the second storage area are released.

For example, when an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) as a storage device used in a host device is replaced by a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory, data stored in the HDD is considered to be copied to the flash memory. When there is a bad sector in this HDD, data read out from a sector address indicating a storage position of the bad sector is read out as erroneous data that cannot be restored.


A microprocessor instruction translator translates a macroinstruction into three microinstructions to perform a read/modify/write operation on a memory operand. A first microinstruction instructs the microprocessor to calculate a source address and to load the memory operand into the microprocessor from memory at the source address and to calculate a destination address. The second microinstruction instructs the microprocessor to perform an arithmetic or logical operation on the loaded memory operand to generate a result. The third microinstruction instructs the microprocessor to write the result to memory at the destination address calculated by the first microinstruction. A first execution unit receives the first microinstruction and responsively calculates the source address and loads the memory operand into the microprocessor from memory at the source address. A second execution unit also receives the first microinstruction and calculates the destination address. The first and second execution units are distinct execution units within the microprocessor.

Data processing operations in a computer are typically carried out in a microprocessor. Generally, the microprocessor, which supervises and implements various data processing tasks for the computer, contains hardware components for processing instructions and data. Instructions together with data are typically stored in a computer memory subsystem, which may include Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), hard disk drives, or other devices. The memory subsystem is typically physically separate from the microprocessor, although copies of instructions and data are temporarily stored on the microprocessor during program execution.
An instruction is a group of bits that tell the microprocessor to perform a specific operation. A part of an instruction is an operation code, or opcode. The opcode is a group of bits that specify an operation to be performed by the microprocessor. For example, operations such as adding, or subtracting, or branching program execution, or storing a value to memory may be specified in the opcode. The remainder of the instruction typically provides data sources for the operation, called operands. Operands may be specified within the instruction itself, in a register of the microprocessor, or in a memory location.
The architecture of a microprocessor includes the instruction set of the microprocessor as well as the set of resources, such as registers and memory address space, usable by the various instructions of the instruction set. Many modern microprocessors have both a macroarchitecture and a microarchitecture. In particular, many microprocessors that execute instructions specified by the Intel Architecture, which is also commonly referred to as the IA-32 or x86 architecture, have both a macroarchitecture and microarchitecture. The macroarchitecture is the user-visible architecture, i.e., the instruction set and resources that programmers may use. A macroinstruction is an instruction in the macroarchitecture instruction set. The macroarchitectures of some older popular processors, such as the x86 architecture, include very complex instructions. In contrast, the microarchitecture includes a microinstruction set and the set of resources usable by the various instructions of the microinstruction set. The microinstruction set typically includes much simpler instructions than the macroinstruction set and is typically not user-visible, although some microprocessors may make the microinstruction set as well as the macroinstruction set visible to the user. The execution units of the microprocessor actually execute microinstructions rather than macroinstructions.
The microprocessor includes an instruction translator that translates each macroinstruction into one or more microinstructions that are executed by the execution units, depending on the macroinstruction opcode and operands. The width of the instruction translator, i.e., the number of microinstructions the translator can generate per clock cycle, is a design decision that has competing interests. On the one hand, the narrower the instruction translator is, the smaller and potentially less complex it can be, which is beneficial in terms of cost, silicon real estate, speed, and thermal requirements. On the other hand, the wider the instruction translator the greater its ability to provide a sufficient rate of microinstructions to keep the execution units utilized, which is a concern in superscalar, out-of-order execution microprocessor designs.
Many modern microprocessors that have separate macroarchitectures and microarchitectures also include a microinstruction ROM in addition to the instruction translator. The microinstruction ROM is typically used to handle more complex and infrequently used macroinstructions that require a relatively large number of microinstructions to perform the operation specified by the associated macroinstruction. The microinstruction ROM includes sequences of microinstructions associated with individual macroinstructions. When the instruction translator encounters certain macroinstructions it transfers control to a microinstruction sequence in the microinstruction ROM rather than, or in addition to, generating microinstructions, and when the microinstruction sequence completes it transfers control back to the instruction translator. However, there may be a performance penalty associated with transferring control to a microcode ROM sequence relative to the instruction translator simply generating the microinstructions required to perform the associated macroinstruction operation, for example, bubbles may be introduced into the execution pipeline because the fetch unit is not supplying microinstructions at a sufficient rate to keep the execution units utilized. On the other hand, the width of the instruction translator limits the number of microinstructions it can generate each clock cycle, and the microinstruction ROM can be expanded economically to handle macroinstructions requiring more microinstructions than the instruction translator is designed to generate in a given clock cycle.
An example of a macroinstruction that requires a relatively large number of microinstructions is a macroinstruction that performs read/modify/write operations on an operand in memory. Macroinstructions that perform read/modify/write operations on an operand in memory are referred to herein as LdAluSt macroinstructions because they include a memory load operation to get the operand from memory into the microprocessor, an ALU operation to modify the memory operand, and a memory store operation to write the modified result back to its original location in memory. Each of the constituent load, ALU, and store operations may require one or more microinstructions to perform the respective operation. An example of a LdAluSt macroinstruction is an x86 ADD [mem], EAX instruction. This instruction loads the operand from the memory location specified by the [mem] address into the microprocessor, adds the memory operand to the value in the EAX register, and stores the resultant sum of the addition operation in the memory location specified by the [mem] address.
Each of the constituent load, ALU, and store operations of a LdAluSt macroinstruction may require one or more microinstructions to perform the respective operation. If the number of microinstructions that must be generated to perform the LdAluSt macroinstruction is greater than the width of the instruction translator, then the microinstruction ROM must be employed, or the instruction translator would have to generate the microinstructions over multiple clock cycles, which would likely significantly increase the complexity of the instruction translator. However, because LdAluSt macroinstructions are frequently used in many programs, it is desirable to avoid branching to a microinstruction ROM sequence to execute all or a portion of a LdAluSt macroinstruction.
Therefore, what is needed is a microprocessor that executes LdAluSt macroinstructions in a high performance manner and which includes a relatively fast, small, and low power consumption instruction translator.

Microprocessor with microarchitecture for efficiently executing read/modify/write memory operand instructions


A vehicle light can include a projector type unit and an ellipse-parabola combined unit that surrounds a light source. Part of the light from the light source is directed toward a projector lens by part of an ellipse group reflecting portion of the projector type unit. The remainder of the light is directed toward a parabolic group reflecting portion of the ellipse-parabola combined unit by the ellipse group reflecting portion of the ellipse-parabola combined unit via openings. This parabolic group reflecting portion then directs the light to its illumination direction. This can improve light utilization efficiency, and the entire front face of the vehicle light can be lit without deteriorating from the vehicle light's light distribution.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle light for illumination, such as a headlight, indication light, tail light, fog light, etc. In particular, the invention relates to a vehicle light suitable for a vehicle headlight in which a basic projector type headlight is provided with additional ellipse group reflecting portions and additional parabolic group reflecting portions to effectively utilize light which has not been used by the conventional projector type headlight. This configuration can provide a high luminous flux capture rate (or light utilization efficiency) for a vehicle headlight which can result in a high level of luminance.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary configuration of a conventional projector type headlight 90 with additional reflectors 81 to 84 provided in order to increase the light amount emitted therefrom (for example, see the headlight disclosed in both Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-151319 and family patent member U.S. application No. 2003/008277, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference). The projector type headlight 90 has a main reflector 92 that comprises an ellipse group reflecting portion such as a revolved ellipsoid. The main reflector 92 has a first focus f1 and a second focus f2. A light source 91 such as a metal halide discharge light is provided approximately at the position of the first focus f1. The main reflector 92 is arranged such that the second focus f2 is located in front of the first focus f1 on the illumination axis X.
A projection lens 93 is arranged in front of the second focus f2 of the main reflector 92 on the illumination axis X and has a focus located approximately at the position of the second focus f2. A movable shielding plate 94 is arranged in the vicinity of the second focus f2 such that the lower half of the reflected light from the main reflector 92 can be appropriately shielded. The shielding plate 94 can move between the low-beam position and the high-beam position. When the shielding plate 94 is at the low-beam position, upward light can be shielded thereby to obtain a low-beam distribution. When the shielding plate 94 is at the high-beam position, upward light is not shielded in order to obtain a high-beam distribution.
In addition to the basic configuration of the projector type headlight 90 described above, the additional reflectors 81 to 84 are provided, which will be described later, to increase the light amount. In this description related to the conventional art, the right and left directions are defined based on the illumination direction seen from the light source 91 side.
One of the additional reflectors, or a first right additional reflector 81, is arranged at the position between the main reflector 92 and the projection lens 93 where there is no obstacle such as a shielding plate 94 or the like, and at the upper portion where only direct light from the light source 91 reaches. The reflector 81 has a first focus f1 and a second focus f3R. The reflector 81 is arranged such that the first focus f1 is positioned approximately at the light source 91 and the second focus f3R is positioned leftward and below the illumination axis X.
A second left additional reflector 82 is provided at the position near the lower left portion of the projector type headlight 90. The reflector 82 has a focus positioned approximately at the second focus f3R of the reflector 81 with its reflection direction being generally parallel to the illumination axis X.
In addition, a first left additional reflector 83 and a second right reflector 84 are provided symmetrically with respect to the first right additional reflector 81 and the second left additional reflector 82.
Incidentally, in the conventional example, auxiliary shielding plates are provided between the first right additional reflector 81 and the second left additional reflector 82 and between the first left additional reflector 83 and the second right additional reflector 84, respectively. They are opened and closed in cooperation with the movable shielding plate 94.
When the movable shielding plate 94 takes the high-beam position, or in the high-beam distribution state in the conventional headlight 90, the light amount can be increased by the amount captured by the first right additional reflector 81 and the first left additional reflector 83.
However, the vehicle light with the conventional configuration has the following problems. First, the first right and left additional reflectors 81 and 83 can capture only a part of light which is not captured by the main reflector, namely they reflect only a part of the light which is not effectively used. This is because the positional interference should be avoided when arranging the second reflectors 82 and 84. Thus, the light amount increased by the afore-mentioned configuration of the vehicle light is not sufficient with respect to the complexity of the configuration of the vehicle headlight. Thus, the cost performance is not satisfactory.
Another problem is that the reflecting surfaces of the first right and left additional reflectors 81 and 83 are inevitably directed toward the light source because the reflectors 81 and 83 must directly capture the light from the light source. Namely, when the vehicle light is seen from the front, the rear sides of the reflectors 81 and 83 are directly observed. These areas are not lit when the light source is turned on, resulting in a strange or uneven light that might be bothersome for viewers. In addition, the lit portion corresponding to the projection lens is separated from those corresponding to the second right and left additional reflectors. This also results in a possibly strange or uneven light that may not meet aesthetic desires.


A rechargeable battery assembly for an electric vehicle is disclosed in the present invention. It includes at least one rechargeable battery module which has a number of rechargeable battery cells linked in series or in parallel for providing power to the electric vehicle, and a management unit, installed with a first program, for managing the rechargeable battery cells; and a charging module for providing power to the rechargeable battery module, including an updating unit connected to the charging module for automatically detecting version of the first program and updating the first program while a newer version is available while electrically connected to the rechargeable battery module. Battery management system of the rechargeable battery assembly can be updated by the updating unit. Therefore, the rechargeable battery module can be applied to different requirements with its best performance.

An electric vehicle, also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, is a moving vehicle using one or more electric motors as driving system. Unlike petroleum-based transportations which are moved by the energy from gasoline, the electric vehicles use electric power as their propulsion. They won't generate waste gas. Noise is also less. During the last few decades, increased concern over the environmental impact of the petroleum-based transportation, along with the spectre of peak oil, has led to renewed interest in electric transportation. Electric power for electric vehicles can be generated from a wide range of sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewable sources such as tidal power, solar power, and wind or any combination of those.
In the past, an electric vehicle consumes huge electric power due to their power system. The electric power can only be transmitted to the car through overhead lines. This infrastructure makes the electric vehicles impossible to be popular. Only some of public transportations have access to it. Routes of the public transportation are strictly limited by the lined arrangement. With the development in power systems of electric vehicles, especially in batteries, the electric vehicles become a future star and more and more sources are devoted in this field.
Although electric vehicle batteries are more and more efficient and can support an electric vehicle to run over 150 Km without charge, battery management still has room to improve. Like other electric devices, such as notebook, rechargeable battery cells of electric vehicle are also composed of many small rechargeable battery units (cells) linked to one another in series or parallel. Team work of the cells is the performance of the rechargeable battery. Battery management is more complex for an electric vehicle. This is because cells in a rechargeable battery often up to several thousands.
It is obvious that electric vehicle battery management requests more advanced technique to run the cells and prevent each cell from over-heat, over-voltage and over-current. Meanwhile, when one or more cells are out of order, a battery management system (BMS) must know how to work the rest cells to maximize the efficiency. No matter what kinds of electric devices are used, battery management system is often software or firmware, such as one time programmable (OTP) memory. The battery management system can be updated for new management processes. However, since the BMS is software or firmware, the BMS is not able to be separated from the rechargeable battery. It causes problems to use the rechargeable battery cells. For example, if a rechargeable battery used for car A needs to be changed to car B, due to different performances of the cars, different battery management systems must be applied for different cars.
There are some methods to improve battery management system for electric vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 7,233,127 discloses a battery management system. Please refer to FIG. 1. The battery management system for managing a number of subsystem circuits and functions of a mobile communication device powered by a battery is disclosed. The battery management system includes a battery monitoring circuit, a user interface, and a battery management module. The battery monitoring circuit is operable to monitor a present battery capacity and generate a battery capacity signal based on the present battery capacity. The user interface is operable to receive a user-input allocation of battery capacity among the subsystem circuits and functions. The battery management module is operable to receive the user-input allocation and the battery capacity signal, and to selectively disable each subsystem circuit or function when each subsystem circuit or function has depleted its allocation of battery capacity. Although users can selectively disable each subsystem circuit or function to achieve the goal of updating current battery management system, it is not applied to any new systematic update, especially to any update during charging of battery. Furthermore, this method is only applied to mobile communication devices.
Another prior art is shown in FIG. 2. U.S. Pat. No. 7,768,235 discloses another battery management system. The battery management system manages a battery of a hybrid vehicle including a motor, a battery, and a main switch connecting the motor and the battery. The battery management system includes a sensing unit and a micro center unit (MCU). The sensing unit measures the current, the voltage and the temperature of the battery. The MCU integrates the battery current to produce an integrated current value, and determines whether the battery is overcharged or over discharged using the integrated current value. It is a typical battery management system for a hybrid vehicle, not for an electric vehicle. Meanwhile, the battery management system can not be updated.
Thus, a charging module and a rechargeable battery for electric vehicles having a battery management system which can be updated for different requirements are still desired. Preferably, the battery management system can be updated when the vehicle or rechargeable battery is being charged.

Charging module and rechargeable battery assembly for electric vehicle


Polysaccharides are separated in a capillary using pulsed-field electrophoresis.

Early studies leading to the development of high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) were those of Jorgenson and Lukacs. Jorgenson, J. W., et al., Anal. Chem. 53:1298 (1981); Jorgenson, J. W., et al., Clin. Chem. 27:1551 (1981); Jorgenson, J. W., et al., J. Chromatogr. 218:209 (1981). The experiments reported in these studies demonstrated that extremely high efficiencies in the separation of ionic molecules can be achieved in a narrow-bore capillary, i.e., one of less than 100 microns inner diameter, by applying a high, constant voltage between the two ends of the capillary, thereby causing the molecules to migrate toward one of the electrodes in discrete zones according to molecular weight, and permitting detection of the zones by focusing a sufficiently sensitive detector on a point in the migration path. The basic experimental arrangement of Jorgenson, et al. has since been used in the separation of various types of molecules, both small and large, in a highly efficient manner. In some systems, the electrophoretic principle serves as the basis for these separations. In others, the separations are the result of electroosmotic action in micellar or other buffer-modified systems. See, Tsuda, T., et al, J. Chromatogr. 264:385 (1983); Terabe, S. et al., Anal. Chem. 56:111 (1984); Terabe, S., et al., Anal. Chem. 57:834 (1985); and Foley, J. P., Anal. Chem. 62:1302 (1990). Still other systems rely on the electroosmotic action on microemulsions. Watarai, H., Chem. Lett. (Japan) 391 (1991). Application of the method to highly charged polymers, such as oligo- and polynucleotides, was demonstrated by Cohen, A. S., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:9660 (1988), who report the separation of such polymers in chemically immobilized gels such as crosslinked polyacrylamides. Because of these and additional developments, HPCE is now a highly successful and widely commercialized instrumental analytical method.
The choice of separation medium to be used inside a capillary in HPCE is often fundamental to the success of a given separation problem. As a result, many investigators have discovered that by careful selection and modification of the separation medium one can achieve separations of components which are otherwise difficult to separate. This has led, for example, to the use of cyclodextrins, micellar systems and chiral gels for the separations of chiral entities. Fanali, S., J. Chromatogr. 474:441 (1989); Liu, J. et al., J. Chromatogr. 519:189 (1990); Terabe, S., et al. J. Chromatogr. 516:23 (1990); Guttman, A. et al., J. Chromatogr. 448:41 (1988). Other examples are the separations of proteins in surface-coated open tubes. Hjerten, S., J. Chromatogr. 347:1991 (1985); Cobb, K. A., et al., Anal. Chem. 62:2478 (1990); Wiktorowicz, J. E., et al, Electrophoresis 11:769 (1990); Town, J. K., et al., J. Chromatogr. 516:69 (1990). Still further examples are the separation of oligosaccharides in highly concentrated, immobilized gels. Liu, J., et al., J. Chromatogr. 559:223 (1991).
Nevertheless, large biopolymers, such as polysaccharides, certain proteins, or fragments of nucleic acids, do not respond well to attempts at capillary electrophoresis, either in open tubes filled with buffer solution or in tubes containing immobilized gels. In buffer-filled open tubes, large biopolymers tend to migrate together. In gel-filled capillaries, the pore structures of the gels are resistant to penetration by very large molecules, thereby interfering with the successful movement of the molecules past the detector. On the other hand, successful separations have been achieved in some cases by using separation media consisting of viscous solutions of polymers, such as water-soluble derivatives of cellulose, low-melting agarose, galactomannan, linear polyacrylamides, polyethylene glycols, and polyvinyl alcohols. Zhu, M. D., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,111 (Feb. 18, 1992); Grossman, P. D., et al., Biopolymers 31:1221 (1991). The polymeric solutes in these solutions form networks of aggregates which are sufficiently flexible to yield to the large polyionic species sought to be separated as these species migrate under the influence of an electric field.
A property of very large biopolymers such as chromosomal DNA is their tendency to stretch in an electric field, exhibiting what is known in the literature as "reptation." De Gennes, P. G., et al., Scaling Concepts in Polymer Physics, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y. (1979); Lerman, L. S., et al., Biopolymers 21:995 (1982); Lumpkin, O. J., et al., Biopolymers 24:1573 (1985). Reptation causes molecules of vastly different chain lengths to migrate through the separation medium network at very similar speeds, spoiling the attempt at separation. This phenomenon was recognized and turned to advantage by Schwartz, D. C., et al., Cell 37:67 (1984), who designed an experiment in which these large molecules were subjected to alternating fields at an angle relative to each other and to the direction of migration. During the alternating, or "pulsing," of the fields in this manner, the molecular distortions in the form of shape reorientations and the formation of kinks or "hernias" which occur during reptation alternate with molecular relaxation, and the rates at which the distortion and relaxation occur vary with the sizes of the molecules in question. These differing rates of response within each portion of the alternation cycle result in differing rates of the overall or averaged migration for each species, which in turn results in a separation of the species on the basis of their molecular weight.
In the various studies which have since been reported, the alternations in the electric field have been performed by switching between fields oriented at angles relative to each other, as well as between fields which are rotated a full 180.degree. relative to each other, the latter commonly referred to as "field inversion." Like the studies using angled fields, studies involving field inversion have largely been performed in slab-shaped media, and most such studies have involved the separation of molecules of the size of very large DNA chains, i.e., approximately 10.sup.5 to 10.sup.7 bases in size (10.sup.7 to 10.sup.9 daltons). Little or no effect has been observed in attempts to separate smaller molecules by these techniques. The separation medium most widely used has been low-melting agarose. Schwartz, D. C., et al., Cell 37:67 (1984); Carle, G. F., et al., Science 232:65 (1986). Fields strengths most commonly used are within the range of 2 to 10 V/cm, with separations taking hours, and even days.
An attempt at the use of field inversion (or "pulsed fields") in capillaries is reported by Heiger, D. N., et al., J. Chromatogr. 516:33 (1990). The major portion of the experimental results reported by these authors was obtained using continuous (nonalternating) fields rather than pulsed fields, however, and the only attempts at pulsed-field separations involved a mixture of only two double-stranded DNA fragments, each of which had a molecular weight well in excess of 2,000,000, and for which the authors had already exhibited complete resolution in a continuous-field experiment. In two of the pulsed-field experiments, the peak separation was no greater than that achieved in the continuous-field experiment. An increase in peak separation was achieved when the pulsing frequency was varied, but the maximum improvement over a total of eight attempts was only a 25% increase in the separation. Other than this, no successful application of the pulsed-field technique to HPCE has been reported. This may have been due to experimental difficulties involved in pulsing at the high voltages normally used in HPCE (typically 100 to 300 V/cm), the perceived importance of pulsing angles other than 180.degree. C., or difficulties in the selection of such parameters as appropriate column matrices and sample concentrations.
It is for these reasons that the present invention is surprising and unexpected in view of the state of the art.

Pulsed-field separation of polysaccharides in capillaries


Methods, systems, and computer program products for controlling updating of a layer 3 host table based on packet forwarding miss counts are disclosed. According to one method, layer 3 packets are routed using at least one of a layer 3 host table containing entries corresponding to remote hosts and a longest prefix matching table containing prefixes corresponding to remote hosts. For each layer 3 destination address for which a lookup in at least one table fails, a number of packets received within a time period are counted. Remote destination entries in the host table are replaced based on the counts.

Packet forwarding devices, such as layer 3 or IP routers, typically use one or more tables to store packet forwarding information. For example, layer 3 packet forwarding devices may include a hardware-implemented layer 3 host table that typically stores entries corresponding to hosts that are directly connected to the packet forwarding device. Each entry may include an IP address of a locally connected host and corresponding forwarding information for the locally connected host. When a packet arrives at the packet forwarding device, a lookup may be performed in the layer 3 host table based on the destination IP address in the packet. If a matching entry is located, the corresponding packet forwarding information is extracted from the layer 3 host table and used to forward the packet to the destination host. If an entry is not located, a miss occurs, and a slower lookup is performed using software.
Another type of table that may be maintained in a layer 3 packet forwarding device is a longest prefix matching (LPM) table. Each entry in a longest prefix matching table may include a subnet address and a subnet mask to be applied to destination IP addresses of incoming packets. When a packet is received, the subnet mask for each entry in the LPM table is applied to the destination IP address of the packet, and the masked address searched in the table. The entry with the longest prefix that matches the masked address in the received packet is used to extract next hop address information for the packet. Using an LPM table allows remote hosts to be identified by next hops without requiring entries in the LPM table for each individual remote host.
One problem with conventional packet forwarding devices is that space for the LPM and host tables is limited. For example, both tables are typically implemented in hardware to increase the number of hosts covered by hardware forwarding and therefore packet forwarding lookup speed. LPM tables are typically populated based on participation in routing protocols, such as routing information protocol (RIP), border gateway protocol (BGP) or open shortest path first (OSPF). When an LPM table becomes full, entries for remote hosts can be placed in the host table. However, the host table can also become full. When this occurs, packets received for destinations that are not present in the LPM or host tables must be forwarded using software, which results in longer lookup times.
In order to increase the routing efficiency of a layer 3 packet forwarding device, older entries in LPM and host tables may be replaced with newer entries. Conventionally, the replacement criteria for an entry include a least recently used (LRU) algorithm. That is, a host table entry that was used least recently may be replaced with a new entry for which a packet forwarding lookup fails. One problem with using an LRU algorithm to replace host table entries is that it is based on individual packets, which may result in excessive replacement of entries in the host table. For example, each time a miss occurs, an entry in the host table may be replaced. Such excessive replacement is undesired because replacing entries in the host table may be a processor intensive operation that requires a software copy of the host table be copied to hardware.
Another problem associated with using an LRU algorithm to replace entries in the host table is that such an algorithm does not take into account the volume of packets addressed to a destination. For example, an entry that was used 1000 times during a time interval more than one minute ago may be replaced by an entry that was used only once in the last minute. The high-volume entry may be more likely to be utilized in the future with a high volume than the low-volume entry. Thus, if the high-volume entry is replaced by the low-volume entry, multiple misses may occur before the high-volume entry can be re-added to the host table.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties associated with conventional layer 3 packet forwarding devices, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computer program products for controlling updating of a layer 3 host table based on packet forwarding miss counts.

Methods, systems, and computer program products for controlling updating of a layer 3 host table based on packet forwarding lookup miss counts


A composition for inhibiting corrosion and/or removing hydrocarbonaceous deposits in oil and gas applications is provided. The composition comprises an iron sulfide dissolver, an organic solvent, and a corrosion inhibitor.

As oilfields age, the amount of oil produced decreases and the amount of water produced with the oil, increases. This water is usually disposed of or injected back into the formation to maintain reservoir pressure. The separation process is efficient, but not perfect, and a small fraction of oil and other debris can be present after the fluids pass through the separation equipment. That residual fraction of oil in water carryover can cause significant problems as the field ages. Fields can produce as much as 1,000,000 barrels of water each day. The residual oil and other particles such as paraffin, asphaltenes, iron sulfide and biomass can build up in the separation equipment and pipelines. This form of deposit is referred to in the industry as schmoo. If left untreated, this form of deposition can plug lines, which can lead to loss of revenue and/or equipment failure, and further, can result in casualties. Due to lines which cannot be mechanically cleaned, a chemical solution is needed that can be injected into the system to maintain control of the deposition in the lines.
Fluids produced in the oil and gas industry can be quite corrosive to the infrastructure by which it is produced. This internal corrosion of pipelines and production equipment is commonly treated using chemical corrosion inhibitors. Corrosion inhibitors work primarily by forming protective films on the surfaces of the infrastructure. This creates a protective barrier from the corrosive fluids. If the schmoo deposition described above is present on the internal surfaces, it does not allow the dosed corrosion inhibitor to effectively coat and protect the equipment.
Schmoo is a complex mixture of inorganic compounds, such as sand and iron sulfide, and organic compounds, such as asphaltenes and crude petroleum. The control and prevention of schmoo is difficult. Schmoo deposits are sticky and difficult to clean, particularly near welds. Currently, commercially available cleaners for removing schmoo from equipment used in oil and gas applications aid in the removal of the organic deposition but are less effective against the inorganic deposition, especially iron sulfide. Conventional cleaners may disperse iron sulfide, but are relatively ineffective in inhibiting or dissolving iron sulfide, providing only limited cleaning ability. Conventional cleaners may also be acidic and therefore incompatible with the metallurgy of the systems they are designed to treat.
What is needed is a means to chemically remove and keep schmoo from depositing on the internal surfaces of production equipment while inhibiting corrosion to help maintain the integrity of the equipment.

Composition for remediating iron sulfide in oilfield production systems


A bakery tray having a substantially rectangular floor has a retainer wall extending along a periphery of the floor. The retainer wall includes a front wall opposing a rear wall, and a first side wall opposing a second side wall. Two feet are spaced apart horizontally on the first side wall, and two feet are horizontally spaced apart on the second side wall. A first pair of nesting pockets are disposed along the exterior surface of the first side wall above the feet on the same wall; and a second pair of nesting pockets are disposed along an interior surface of the second side wall above the feet on the same wall. When bakery trays of a like configuration are stacked, the feet on the first side wall of a top tray seat within the nesting pockets on the second side wall, and the feet on the second side wall seat within the first nesting pockets on the first side wall of a bottom tray. When trays are stacked, the feet on the first side wall of a top tray stack atop the first side wall of a bottom tray, and the feet on the second side wall of a top tray stack atop the second side wall of a bottom tray to support the top tray on a bottom tray.

Baked goods are stored and transported in plastic trays, which also display the goods on store shelves. Bakery products by their nature are soft products so the trays must be stackable to provide a protected interior space intermediate stacked trays and avoid crushing the bakery products. Many trays are stackable at multiple levels to accommodate baked goods of different heights or shapes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,383,611, 4,759,451, and 5,035,326 each disclose baskets or trays for bakery products that are stackable on like trays at three different levels. In addition, the bakery trays are designed to be stacked with like empty trays to nest at a minimum stacking height in order to save space for transportation and storage.
Generally, these multi-level stacking trays have a floor disposed within an outer rectangular wall including two end walls and two side walls. A plurality of support means in the form of legs, feet or lugs are spaced apart along an exterior surface of the side walls to support the tray on other trays in various stacked and/or nested levels. Recesses are spaced apart along an interior surface of the side walls. The support legs and the recesses are positioned on the side walls so the support legs engage the recesses and support the tray in a stacked position. These recesses and the like have ledges or platforms positioned at multiple levels. The support legs may be stationed over the ledges or platforms on the different levels. Unfortunately, these tray designs are awkward to handle when stacking the trays. The trays may require a precise alignment of the support feet or legs within the corresponding recesses and on the respective stacking ledge or platform.
Other tray designs may provide an easier stacking configuration to avoid the above referenced problem to multi-level stacking trays. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,207, issued to Tabler, discloses a bakery tray that permits blind stacking of the trays. The Tabler bakery tray utilizes different proportioned feet disposed along side walls that correspond to recesses along an interior surface of the side walls. The trays nest when aligned in a first position whereby the feet of a top tray correspond to recesses in a bottom tray. When the upper tray is oriented 180 degrees with respect to the bottom tray, the support feet are vertically misaligned with the recesses, and the trays stack at a high position. In addition, the upper tray is slidable on the bottom tray by means of the support feet engaging a channel extending along the side wall. However, this tray requires some precision by mating the feet with the channel.


Disclosed are bioscaffolds and methods for use in soft tissue repair.

Repair of soft tissue damage resulting from injury or disease presents an important medical challenge. The ability to regenerate organs in whole or part would advance treatment of diseases such as liver disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. Repair or replacement of soft tissue would also be useful in repairing or replacing heart valves, blood vessel valves, and in repairing ligaments and tendons. Reconstructive and cosmetic surgery would also be advanced by the ability to generate soft connective tissues and adipose tissue.
Tissue engineering has long sought to develop replacement tissues for patients suffering from organ failure, often utilizing embryonic or adult stem cells as agents of tissue repair or regeneration. Unfortunately, there have been numerous demonstrations that simply injecting stem cells, even those that have been differentiated in vitro, is insufficient. Successful tissue regeneration requires the ability to promote integration with the host and to direct the tissue growth and cell differentiation, processes that depend largely on the transport characteristics of the graft as demonstrated by Hui et al. (Journal of Biomechanics 1996; 29(1):123-132).
Three dimensional scaffolds such as collagen-based hydrogels or poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA)-based polymer foams, have demonstrated considerable potential, but the long-term outcomes of therapies employing these scaffolds are far from satisfactory. Collagen hydrogels are contracted by resident cells as much as 90%, making it extremely difficult to promote integration with the host tissue and to generate the necessary tissue mass for organ regeneration. In addition, as hydrogels contract, they exhibit a 100-1000 fold decrease in permeability which limits their ability to transport nutrients and waste products through the implant. The primary limitation of PLGA foams is that they degrade through an autocatalytic process into acidic by-products that are technically biocompatible, but substantially lower the pH within the tissue and often lead to cyst formation. Additional challenges posed by various formulations of PLGA include low mechanical strength relative to most tissues and a surprisingly low permeability compared to structures with similar porosities.
There remains a need in the art for compositions and methods for regenerating damaged or diseased soft tissue.

Compositions and methods for repair or regeneration of soft tissue


A flip top table assembly including a table top member having an undersurface, a leg member having a top end, a hinge linking the top member to the top end of the leg member for pivotal movement between a substantially horizontal position and a substantially vertical position, a restrainer forming at least first and second openings and forming an edge, a slider forming at least first and second distal pin ends, the slider supported by one of the table top member and the leg member proximate the restraining member and at least a first spring biasing the slider toward the restraining member where, when the top member is in the horizontal position, the first pin end is aligned with the first opening and is biased by the spring toward a restraining position and, when the top member is in the vertical position, the second pin end is aligned with the second opening and is biased by the spring toward a restraining position received within the second opening and the first pin end is biased by the spring toward a space adjacent the edge of the restraining member outside the first and second openings.

The present invention relates to flip top tables and more specifically to a table assembly that includes a bracket assembly that uses multiple pins to lock a top member in either of at least a vertical or a horizontal position for storage or use, respectively, and/or where the entire bracket assembly moves with the table top when the top is moved between supported positions.
Many flip top type tables have been developed that include table top members that can be moved between vertical and horizontal positions. However, each known flip type table assembly typically has one or more shortcomings. For example, many table assemblies are configured such that when a top member is restrained in a supported position, the top member may wobble or rock on the supporting structure which can be distracting to a table user. Most table users do not want to use a wobbly table.
As another example, in many cases flip top table assemblies that are designed to reduce or minimize wobble/rocking are relatively complex and require bulky components and/or components that are relatively visible below a table top member which appreciably reduces the aesthetic appeal of the assembly configurations. In addition, where assemblies are complex, the assemblies are often relatively expensive to manufacture and maintain.
As still one other example, many flip top table assemblies are difficult to manipulate. In this regard, in many cases, to release a table top from one of a vertical or a horizontal position for movement to the other of the positions, a table user has to crawl under the table top to access one or more release mechanisms. Similarly, in many cases, once a user moves a table top to a new position, to lock the top in the new position, the user has to perform some affirmative action such as, again, in some cases, accessing the release mechanism and relocking the mechanism. Relocking a release mechanism can be a challenge, especially when components have to be aligned properly (i.e., a pin with a locking aperture) prior to performing locking action.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have a flip top table assembly that has a simple configuration, that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain, that is simple and easy to operate and that minimizes wobble/rocking of a table top when the top is in a use position.


A bushing comprises an insulating body having a first body end portion, a second body end portion, and a body center portion connecting the first body end portion and the second body end portion, and a bushing conductor coaxially extending within and mechanically coupled to the insulating body. The bushing conductor includes a first connecting portion having a first end face at the first body end portion, a second connecting portion having a second end face at the second body end portion, and a center portion electrically and mechanically connecting the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion. The first connecting portion is elastically deformable with respect to the first body end portion along a radial direction and/or the second connecting portion is elastically deformable with respect to the second body end portion along the radial direction.

In many technical fields electrical power has to be supplied by or to certain components, such as sophisticated switches, transformers, motors, and the like, which may frequently be positioned, at least partially, in an appropriate housing. On the other hand, outside the housing the required electrical power may be supplied by or to one or more appropriately dimensioned cables connected to a respective power supply or electric component, wherein the electrical power may be provided as AC or DC or both. Depending on the application under consideration the respective electrical power may range from several tens of kilowatts to several hundred of kilowatts and even higher, thereby requiring respective cable configurations in terms of cross-section and insulation characteristics. For example, high electrical power may frequently be provided in the context of medium voltages to high voltages, ranging from several hundred volts to several ten thousand volts, thereby resulting in relatively low currents to be conveyed in the external cables, while in other applications, relatively low voltages may be used, for instance in mobile DC applications, such as electric vehicles, thereby imposing superior requirements with respect on the drive current capability of the respective cables. In any case, the corresponding external cables may require an appropriate configuration with respect to conductor material, conductor cross-section, insulating sheath, and the like, thereby typically resulting in a cable configuration including one or more copper-based or aluminum-based core wires with a cross-section of several centimeters surrounded by an appropriate insulation or cover material that provides for the required insulating behavior and integrity of the entire cable. Since these cables may frequently be exposed to relatively harsh environments, for instance such cables may be exposed to outside conditions including exposure to direct sunlight, extreme temperatures ranging from −50° C. to 70° C., and the like, thereby necessitating the usage of appropriate sheath materials, which may therefore also contribute, in addition to the core material, to additional weight of the respective cables.
Power receiving components or power supplying components, such as switches, transformers, motors, and the like are often encapsulated in an appropriate housing so as to provide for superior integrity of such components or at least of any contact structures thereof. Due to the protected interior of the housing, any requirements for housing internal conductors may be significantly less stringent, thereby even allowing the usage of such housing internal conductors without external insulating material.
One critical interface of a housing internal conductor and an external cable represents a respective bushing, which is to be understood as a component that is appropriately mounted to the housing and provides a passage for the exchange of electrical power between the external cable and the housing. To this end, a corresponding bushing typically comprises a highly conductive metal conductor, typically in the form of a copper bolt, which is surrounded by an insulating material that is formed from an appropriate material, such as epoxy resin. Epoxy resin is known to exhibit high mechanical strength and stiffness and superior insulating characteristics. In order to provide a mechanically and electrically stable bushing, the metal core and the epoxy resin are typically formed into an integral component by, for instance, injection molding, thereby obtaining a robust and stiff product. Consequently, by providing an appropriate mounting flange at any appropriate position, the bushing may be inserted into a corresponding bore provided in the housing and may be fixed thereto by the mounting flange, thereby providing for high mechanical and electrical integrity of the resulting connection between an external cable attached to the bushing at one end thereof and a housing internal conductor connected to the bushing at the other end thereof.
These well-established high-power bushings, however, may suffer from increased failure events when used in applications associated with harsh external conditions. For example, the robust and stiff configuration of the conventional high-power bushing may exhibit an increasing number of device failures upon being exposed to relatively extreme temperatures, for instance ranging from approximately −40° C. to approximately 70° C., as are typically encountered under various environmental conditions in various geographic locations. For instance, power supply in many types of vehicles, such as trains, may result in exposure to harsh conditions, such as the above-referenced temperatures, for instance upon direct exposure to sunlight, while in cold winter days extremely low temperatures may occur. Such extreme temperatures may by itself represent a significant stress for the bushing, as typically epoxy resin and the usually highly conductive copper material may have very different coefficients of thermal expansion, which may result in cracks or any other damage in the insulating epoxy resin, in particular, when certain mechanical forces may additionally act on certain bushing components.
As an example, the external cable, which may have a relatively high weight, is typically connected to the bushing so that an end face of the copper bolt of the bushing is in firm contact with a respective end face of the external cable or a contact assembly connected thereto, which may result in a more or less pronounced bending force exerted on the copper bolt of the bushing. Under extreme temperature conditions, as discussed above, however, these relatively high bending forces may promote the creation of damage in the insulating material, since the difference in the thermal expansion in combination with the additional mechanical forces acting the copper bolt and hence on the epoxy resin may finally result in a breakage of the external sheath, thereby also typically resulting in a failure of the entire high-power connection. Similarly, at moderately high temperatures the mechanical properties of the epoxy resin may also be subjected to degradation, thereby also increasing the probability of resulting in a severe device failure.
The situation described above may even become worse in circumstances, in which the respective forces acting on certain components of the bushing may vary timely and spatially, for instance, when externally or internally induced vibrations are present. The source of such vibrations may be, for instance, in mobile applications the movement along respective railroad rails, wherein the joints between adjacent rails may cause significant vibrations in a more or less regular manner, depending on the overall speed of the respective electric vehicle and the distance of the joints. Similar vibrations, however, with reduced regularity, may be encountered in street-bound vehicles, wherein speed and surface conditions of a respective road may significantly determine the resulting "spectrum" of vibrations acting on the corresponding bushing components.
Moreover, in train applications or similar use cases, sophisticated contactors or switching devices may have to be used, in which moderately high masses are accelerated and moved during a corresponding switching process, thereby typically involving a direct impact of the corresponding contact components and introducing respective mechanical shocks and vibrations into the bushing components. Although rare events of such induced mechanical loads may not necessarily significantly affect the bushing and the electrical and insulating state of the various components, it turns out, however, that over an extended lifetime, which is typically required in many applications, such as 10 to 15 years, the conventional robust and stiff configuration, for instance obtained on the basis of an integrally molded epoxy resin and copper bolt component may result in a significant reliability issue, thereby rendering the conventional configuration less than desirable for a high-power bushing to be used in sophisticated environmental conditions.

High-power bushing for harsh environments