In an approach for derivation of progressively variant dark data utility for legacy system candidate microservices, a processor analyzes a variability of data stored in a legacy system for a plurality of data metrics. A processor measures, for each data metric, a utility of the data using an intra-analysis and a meta-analysis. A processor correlates the plurality of data metrics to candidate microservices. A processor generates insights for the candidate microservices based on the utility of the data.

The present invention relates generally to the field of data processing, and more particularly to derivation of progressively variant dark data utility for legacy system candidate microservices.
About 90% of data generated by most sensors never gets utilized and 60% of that data loses its true value within milliseconds. This type of data is known as dark data, where data is acquired by a computing system but not used in a timely manner to derive decision making insights from the data. Dark data has also been defined as the information assets organizations collect, process, and store during regular business activities but generally fail to use for other purposes (e.g., analytics, business relationships, and direct monetizing).
Legacy system modernization focuses on exposure of information stored on mainframes, where approximately 70% of the world's data still resides. Increasingly this data is exposed through microservices. These microservices offer a common interface to legacy system functionality and provide highly specific instructions to a legacy system to deliver definitive information to a requesting application. A typical legacy system comprises thousands of candidate microservices. That is information, services, and functionality that could potentially be exposed as a microservice. The cost of conversion, re-writing, or re-platforming data is prohibitively expensive; therefore, an organization must prioritize which candidate microservices should actually be developed.

Derivation of progressively variant dark data utility


Applying a stopping rule for Turbo decoding for both good and bad code blocks. Terminating decoding, if the iteration either converges or diverges. Generating H-ARQ acknowledgement, using the result of the stopping rule testing. Generating an ACK, if the iteration converges, and generating a NACK, if the iteration diverges. Optionally, dynamically selecting the maximum number of decoding iterations based on MCS levels.

Turbo codes are used for data communication systems [such as a High Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH) in High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) in wireless communication systems] as a forward error connection (FEC) scheme. Decoding of Turbo codes is iterative in nature. That is, each Turbo code block is decoded several times. In general, there is a tradeoff between the Turbo code performance, which improves with the number of decoding iterations, and the decoding delay and computational complexity. Conventionally, the number of decoding iterations is fixed (for example, at 4 or 8 iterations). However, some Turbo code blocks may need only a few decoding iterations to successfully decode the code blocks, (i.e. to converge), before reaching the last decoding iteration and further iterations are not necessary. In such a case, if the Turbo decoder stops the redundant decoding iterations for the good blocks, it reduces the decoding delay and power consumption without degrading performance.
To prevent an endless loop when the stopping rule is never satisfied, the decoder stops after a maximum number of iterations. Several stopping rules for Turbo decoding have been addressed in the prior art. However, prior art stopping rules are focused on the case where decoding iterations converge (e.g., for good Turbo coded blocks).

Fast H-ARQ acknowledgement generation method using a stopping rule for turbo decoding


When a computer system including a data storage apparatus having a data storage area storing encrypted data is modified to have plural encryption/decryption units, a computer cannot appropriately use the encrypted data storage area if a path including the encryption/decryption means is not adequately determined.

The present invention relates to an encryption/decryption management method for an encrypted data storage area in a computer system having a data storage apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an encryption/decryption management method for an encrypted data storage area in a computer system having plural data storage apparatuses arranged hierarchically and plural kinds of encryption/decryption means existing on a path between a computer and the data storage area.
To improve the confidentiality of data saved by a computer in a data storage apparatus, it is contemplated to encrypt the data to be saved. If data is saved in an encrypted state, the confidentiality can be improved. However, data saved for a long time has to be always correctly decrypted when referring to the data. That is, correct data cannot be referred to if the same encryption/decryption algorithm or key as that used in encryption or an encryption/decryption algorithm or key that has an interoperability with that used in encryption is not used. As an encryption technique, there has been provided a technique that assigns different encryption keys to different zones so that one encryption key can permit only reference to the data in one zone (see Patent Document 1, for example).
On the other hand, an arrangement is becoming popular in which a data storage apparatus and a computer that used the data storage apparatus are connected to each other via a storage-dedicated network (this is referred to as Storage Area Network, SAN). In the network thus arranged, when the computer requires a data storage area, a data storage area in the data storage apparatus is appropriately allocated to the computer, and a management computer determines a path between the computer and the data storage area to enable the computer to adequately use the data storage area (see Patent Document 2, for example).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-351747
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-142648
Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for preparing a new data storage area and determining a path to enable the computer to use the data storage area. In addition, as described in Patent Document 1, it is well known that correct data cannot be obtained if the algorithm or key used in encryption is not the same as that used in decryption.
However, Patent Document 2 does not disclose any technique for determining a path to enable the computer to adequately use an encrypted data storage area when the computer system that has the encrypted data storage area in the data storage apparatus is modified to have plural encryption/decryption means.

Encryption/decryption management method in computer system having storage hierarchy

Abstract: In a computer system having a computer 10, two or more data storage apparatuses 100 and 200 arranged hierarchically, plural encryption/decryption modules 199 and 299 on a path between the computer 10 and a data storage area 101, and a management computer 500 for managing the data storage apparatuses and the like, if there is an interoperability between the encryption/decryption modules 199 and 299 and the data storage area 101 is encrypted by the first encryption/decryption module 199, the computer 10 accesses the data storage area 101 using the second encryption/decryption module 299 (or an n-th encryption/decryption module closer to the computer than the second encryption/decryption module), rather than the first encryption/decryption module.


The present disclosure provides the use of vacuum to enhance the transdermal transport of fluids in sampling methods for the detection of analytes in a patient's blood.

The ability to accurately measure analytes in the blood, particularly glucose, is important in the management of diseases such as diabetes. Blood glucose levels must be maintained within a narrow range (about 3.5-6.5 mM). Glucose levels lower than this range (hypoglycemia) may lead to mental confusion, coma, or death. High glucose levels (hyperglycemia) cause excessive thirst and frequent urination. Sustained hyperglycemia has been linked to several of the complications of diabetes, such as kidney damage, neural damage, and blindness.
Blood glucose levels are maintained in many diabetics with routine injections of insulin. Unlike the normal functioning of the body's glucose control systems, injections of insulin incorporate no feedback mechanisms. Controlling glucose levels therefore requires continuous or frequent measurements of blood glucose concentration in order to determine the proper amount and frequency of insulin injections.
Conventional glucose measurement techniques require lancing of a convenient part of the body (normally a fingertip) with a lancet, milking the finger to produce a drop of blood at the impalement site, and depositing the drop of blood on a measurement device (such as an analysis strip). This lancing of the finger, at typical measurement frequencies of two to four times a day, is both painful and messy for the patient. The pain and inconvenience has additional and more serious implications of noncompliance, in that many patients will not maintain the recommended regimen of blood glucose measurement and thereby run the risk of improper glucose levels and consequent harmful effects.
In short, the inherent limitations of conventional blood glucose measurement techniques mean that patients either suffer this pain and inconvenience or neglect glucose monitoring and suffer the adverse physiological effects of improper glucose control. There is a clear need for a glucose measurement technique that minimizes or eliminates pain and inconvenience to the patient.
Devices have been described which use a pump to draw body fluid from the patient to a glucose detector or other analytical instrument. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,532 uses a pump to draw interstitial fluid from the skin to an integral glucose sensor. This system requires a pump capable of creating, suction at a level of about 200-400 mmHg. EP Publication 0 595 237 discloses an analytical device for measuring blood constituents such as glucose, which also requires a suction pump capable of creating, suction at a level of about 400 mmHg. Body fluid is also sampled through the skin with a suction pump in EP Publication 0 513 789.
In addition, devices have been described which use the local application of ultrasound to increase the permeability of the skin. Ultrasound is believed to disrupt the lipid layers between the keratinocytes in the stratum corneum, thereby increasing the permeability of the skin (Mitragotri et al, J. Pharm Sci 84:697-706, 1995). U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,767,402, 4,780,212, 5,115,805, and 5,421,816 discuss the application of frequency and/or modulation of ultrasound to increase the permeability of skin for the purposes of drug, delivery.
There remains a need for improved devices and methods for the application of a static pressure gradient to increase the effectiveness of ultrasound enhanced permeability, particularly with the objective of enabling, speed of extraction while minimizing tissue damage, better control of rates of extraction, and rapid and minimally invasive sampling of body analytes such as glucose.

Enhanced transdermal transport of fluid using vacuum


Methods and devices determine an eye strain indicator. In one aspect, an augmented reality (AR) device wearable by a user includes an image sensor and a processor coupled to the image sensor. The processor receives image data from the image sensor, determine that a display is within a field of view (FOV) of the AR device, determine an eye strain indicator based on the determination that the display is within the FOV of the AR device, and provide the eye strain indicator to the user.

As more and more digital content is created, users are spending more time viewing and interacting with electronic devices. Such devices include smart phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, televisions, tablets, etc. Electronic devices typically emit light from one or more displays, such as LCD, LED, OLED, and other display types.
Light emitted from electronic device displays often includes so-called "blue light". Blue light is light that is characterized by wavelengths between about 380-500 nm.
Research has shown that excessive exposure to blue light can have harmful or undesirable effects on a user's health. For example, excessive exposure to blue light is believed to cause eye strain and can lead to macular degeneration among other effects. In addition, exposure to blue light can also lead to difficulty sleeping. However, many users are not aware of the amount of blue light they are being exposed to over time.

Determining eye strain indicator based on multiple devices


A bill handling machine includes a take-out roller whose entire circumferential surface is formed with a high friction material and which is adapted to engage with leading edge portions of stacked bills and can take out the bills, a separation roller for cooperating with the take-out roller and preventing two or more bills from being simultaneously taken out, a bill sensor provided downstream of the take-out roller and the separation roller for detecting whether or not any bill is present, transporting rollers provided downstream of the bill sensor and rotated at higher speed than the take-out roller, and a controller for temporarily stopping the take-out roller when detection signals have been continuously input from the bill sensor for a time period longer than a predetermined time period. According to the thus constituted bill handling machine, it is possible to reliably and efficiently separate and handle bills whose lengths in the bill transporting direction differ greatly.

The present invention relates to a bill handling machine such as a bill receiving machine, a bill receiving and dispensing machine or the like, and, in particular, to a bill handling machine which can receive bills whose lengths in the bill transporting direction differ greatly and reliably separate them one by one.


A pair of brassiere wings having ends meeting on a longitudinal centerline are interconnected by a closure having a flexible first patch fixed to on of the wing ends and provided with a plurality of fastener members and a flexible second patch fixed to the other of the wing ends and provided with a fastener member engageable with the members of the first patch. A stiff bar extending transversely of the centerline is fixed to the second patch and concave toward a wearer of a brassiere having the wings. One of the patches is of a shape that is longest parallel to the centerline than transversely offset therefrom so that it reduces longitudinal elastic deformation of the respective wing end at the centerline more than offset therefrom.

In a typical brassiere a pair of brassiere wings are attached to a cup structure and can form the back of the brassiere. The wings are normally at least somewhat elastic and are provided with fastener elements which allow them to be detachably engaged with one another to form a closed back and to be opened to permit the garment to be put on or taken off.
In the above-mentioned applications, we have described the formation of brassiere wings with a closure that is attached as a premade units to a cup structure to form the back of a brassiere. The shoulder straps may be connected between that cup structure and these wings and the fastener elements on the wings are preferably combined press button and hook fasteners which can be engaged by the insertion of a head of the male member into the recess formed by a notch in the female member. The fasteners described as injection molded synthetic-resin snap-type hook and eye connectors and are of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,232 were injection molded directly onto the laminated wings. The fasteners have the advantage that they can be engaged via an action similar to that used to engage standard hook and eye connectors, but can be separated by being pulled apart perpendicular to the wings like a snap fastener.
A problem with these closures is that they can open on their own. Furthermore the tension in the back wings can cause the closure to form an unattractive bump in the middle of the wearer's back.


Calcium-fortified acidic beverages that are stable against calcium precipitation when stored for prolonged period at room temperature and elevated temperatures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to formulations of calcium fortified acidic beverages that are stable against calcium precipitation when stored for prolonged period at room temperature and elevated temperatures.
2. Description of Related Art
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and is a major constituent of bone and teeth. Calcium is also involved in several physiological systems such as blood clotting, increasing cell membrane permeability, activating a number of enzymes, and acting as component in neural transmission and muscular contraction. Calcium deficiency may be a factor in the development of osteoporosis in elderly people.
Since the body does not produce calcium, it is totally dependent on external supply of calcium, which is nutritional or supplementary. Calcium may be obtained from various dietary sources, of which the primary sources are dairy products, in particular milk. Milk, however, is not generally consumed in sufficient quantities by the general population to obtain needed levels of calcium. One reason is that milk may be unattractive as a drink for social occasions. Also, a significant number of individuals are lactose intolerant, resulting in gastrointestinal problems if milk is consumed.
To increase the consumption of calcium, a more appealing alternative to milk is apparently needed. Beverages, which are consumed often by the general public, have been used as a vehicle for achieving greater calcium intake. Calcium supplementation in beverages, however, has been generally limited to liquid beverages of short shelf lives requiring refrigeration. For example, Sunny Delight® Orange with Calcium of Procter and Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, contains calcium citrate malate and is labeled as being protected by U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,375. Tropicana® Orange with Calcium of Tropicana Products, Inc., Bradenton, USA, also contains calcium citrate malate and is labeled as being protected by U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,847. Minute Maid® Orange with Calcium of the Coca-Cola Company, Houston, Tex., USA, contains calcium lactate and tricalcium phosphate according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,554.
Short shelf-life natural fruit beverages requiring refrigeration are normally pasteurized at about 75° C. to preserve the flavor. Aseptic pasteurization at higher temperature, normally 95° C., allows natural fruit beverages to be stored longer and without refrigeration, but with consequent loss in flavor quality. Aseptic pasteurization is performed on other acidic beverages such as tea, cola, and those containing artificial or nature-identical flavors. These long shelf-life acidic beverages are packed in bottles and aseptic cartons, and normally have shelf lives of 5–10 months without refrigeration.
It is extremely difficult to fortify long shelf-life acidic beverages with calcium because of their organic acids, in particular citric and/or malic acid, which are naturally present in most fruits or added in artificially flavored beverages for sourness. When a soluble salt of calcium is added to get a clear beverage, the calcium eventually forms calcium citrate or calcium malate, which because of their poor solubility precipitate out of solution. The formation of the precipitate is generally faster at higher temperature, making it more difficult to fortify acidic beverages that do not require refrigeration.
Further, when highly soluble salts of calcium are used, undesirable taste becomes a problem. For example, calcium acetate tastes vinegary, calcium chloride salty. Insoluble calcium salts cannot be used since they sediment rapidly out of solution making the product aesthetically unpleasant, and which may lead to incomplete intake of the added calcium. Emulsification of insoluble calcium salts by surfactants can lead to off-taste and opacity that is aesthetically undesirable for acidic beverages.
It has been found that organic salts of calcium are generally more bioavailable than the inorganic salts. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,772,467 and 5,128,374 teach the use of calcium citrate and calcium citrate malate, respectively, to treat osteoporosis. Calcium citrate and calcium malate are fairly insoluble and their direct use in liquid beverages can lead to problems previously described with insoluble calcium salts. However, calcium citrate can be formed in-situ by reacting a fairly insoluble calcium base selected from calcium carbonate, calcium oxide, and calcium hydroxide with citric acid as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,221. The calcium citrate thus formed is in a metastable state, which eventually precipitates to the low equilibrium solubility of calcium citrate. As mentioned previously, precipitation generally occurs faster at higher temperature making it difficult or almost impossible to incorporate in-situ formed calcium citrate, calcium malate, and calcium citrate malate that is resistant to precipitation for at least five months at room temperature, and at least two months at 50° C. to ensure the product survives spikes of high temperature during transport and warehouse storage. In tropical countries, it is not unusual for a warehouse with ambient cooling to reach temperatures of up to 40° C.
In-situ formed calcium citrate, calcium malate, and calcium citrate malate are good calcium sources for acidic beverages since they blend very well with fruit flavors and iced tea, without the chalky aftertaste of calcium. The prior art does not teach how these calcium sources can be stabilized against precipitation in long shelf-life acidic beverages not requiring refrigeration.


A method of creating a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device includes applying a layer of photoresist to a lower layer to create a multilayer MEMS device. The method includes transferring the layer of photoresist to the lower layer. The method can also include spincoating the photoresist onto a release layer, softbaking the spincoated photoresist to at least partially dry it, transferring the photoresist to form a layer of the multilayer MEMS device, and exposing the photoresist to light to crosslink it. The multilayer MEMS device includes a plurality of layers of photoresist.

The present invention relates generally to the field of micro stereo lithography and more particularly to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
MEMS structures are very small machines and devices that are used for a wide variety of technical applications, including, but not limited to electrical, mechanical, and biological technologies. MEMS devices have become more common recently as the technology to build small multilayer devices has advanced.
Current processes for forming these devices include micro stereo lithography during which a layer of photoresist is applied to a substrate. Portions of the photoresist are then masked and the unmasked portions are exposed to light to crosslink them. The masked portions of the photoresist, which were not crosslinked, are then removed to create three dimensional structures in the single layer of photoresist. Multiple layers have not been applied to a substrate once the photoresist has been crosslinked. For example, applying another layer onto lower layers presents problems such as the photoresist filling spaces in the lower layers.
Using only a single layer significantly reduces the complexity of the MEMS device that can be fabricated in this manner. It is desirable to increase the complexity of MEMS devices.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved process for developing MEMS structures which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and meet the above stated needs while providing better and more advantageous results.

Multilayer MEMS device and method of making same


A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk having a plurality of tracks, a head, and a voice coil motor (VCM) and a microactuator for actuating the head over the disk in response to a feed-forward compensation value. A sinusoidal disturbance is applied to the microactuator, and the resulting feed-forward compensation value is processed to characterize the microactuator.

Disk drives comprise a disk and a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm which is rotated about a pivot by a voice coil motor (VCM) to position the head radially over the disk. The disk comprises a plurality of radially spaced, concentric tracks for recording user data sectors and servo sectors. The servo sectors comprise head positioning information (e.g., a track address) which is read by the head and processed by a servo control system to control the velocity of the actuator arm as it seeks from track to track.
FIG. 1 sows a prior art disk format 2 comprising a plurality of data tracks 4 defined by a number of servo sectors 60-6N recorded around the circumference of each data track. Each servo sector 6, comprises a preamble 8 for storing a periodic pattern, which allows proper gain adjustment and timing synchronization of the read signal, and a sync mark 10 for storing a special pattern used to symbol synchronize to a servo data field 12. The servo data field 12 stores coarse head positioning information, such as a track address, used to position the head over a target data track during a seek operation. Each servo sector 6, further comprises groups of servo bursts 14 (e.g., A, B, C and D bursts), which comprise a number of consecutive transitions recorded at precise intervals and offsets with respect to a data track centerline. The groups of servo bursts 14 provide fine head position information used for centerline tracking while accessing a data track during write/read operations.
As the density of the data tracks increases, a microactuator may be employed in combination with the VCM to improve the tracking performance of the servo system. Any suitable microactuator may be employed such as a suitable piezoelectric (PZT) actuator. It may be desirable to characterize the microactuator in order to calibrate a gain for the compensator, or disable the microactuator altogether if it is found defective.

Disk drive characterizing microactuator by injecting sinusoidal disturbance and evaluating feed-forward compensation values


A thermal spreader comprises: a casing having a first side contacted with a heat source and a second side secured with a heat sink, and having a vapor chamber defined in an interior in the casing; and a crosslinking capillary lattice retained in the casing and occupying the vapor chamber in the casing, whereby upon evacuation to form vacuum in the vapor chamber and filling of a vaporizable working fluid in the vapor chamber, the working fluid will be repeatedly vaporized and condensed through the crosslinking capillary lattice to absorb and remove heat from the first side of the casing and to dissipate heat outwardly from the second side of the casing.

Thermal management plays an important role for electronic products. Poor transfer of heat away from an electronic or computer product may result in deterioration of performance and reliability of the product if a high operating temperature is caused unacceptably.
There are many conventional ways provided for solving the thermal management solutions, such as: heat sinks, fans, thermal spreaders, and heat pipes, adapted for dissipating heat outwardly from the electronic, semiconductor or computer products.
A prior art of vapor chamber V as shown in FIG. 1 was disclosed for cooling a heat source C (such as a CPU, semiconductor or other electronic products). A heat sink H is secured to an upper portion of the vapor chamber V for heat dissipation. The vapor chamber V is evacuated to be a vacuum chamber having vaporizable working fluid filled into the chamber and having a wick lining formed on an inside wall of the chamber V. The heat as transferred from the heat source C may vaporize the working fluid. When the vapor contacts with the cooler wall surface, it condenses by releasing the latent heat, which will be outwardly dissipated by the heat sink H. The condensed fluid then returns to the chamber bottom ready to be vaporized for repeating another cycle, thereby dissipating the heat.
However, such a prior art as shown in FIG. 1 has the following drawbacks:    1. Besides the side walls disposed in the vapor chamber V, it is lacking of supporting structure within the vapor chamber V to thereby weaken its structural stability.    2. Partial vapor condensate drops will gravitationally descend to collide with the uprising vaporized working fluid within such a big void chamber, thereby obstructing the operation for repeating the vaporization and condensation cycles and reducing the heat dissipation efficiency.    3. Even the structural strength may be enhanced by thickening the side walls of the vapor chamber, it however may increase the total weight or volume of the electronic product, thereby possibly limiting the manufacture of a compact or sophisticated electronic device.
The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the prior art and invented the present heat spreader with enhanced capillary effect and structural strength.

Thermal spreader for simultaneously enhancing capillary effect and structural strength


A sidewall integrated armrest includes a plurality of armrest segments upon which an arm may rest. Each of the plurality of armrest segments are supported by a structure proximate a sidewall and adjacent to but not supported by a seat. Each of the seats is disposed in a line along the sidewall and spaced apart at a seating pitch. The armrest further includes at least one armrest spacer disposed between the plurality of armrest segments. The at least one armrest spacer has a combined length between the plurality of armrest segments to establish a pitch between the plurality of armrest segments substantially equal to the seating pitch.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to armrests for aircraft seating. More specifically, embodiments relate to a sidewall integrated armrest for an aircraft interior.
2. Related Art
Conventional armrests for use in aircraft typically are attached to and supported by an associated seating structure. This leaves unutilized dead space between the seating structure and the sidewall of the aircraft. Efficient utilization of space is an important goal of aircraft interior designs. In commercial aircraft in particular, maximizing space available for revenue generating uses is an important consideration.

Sidewall integrated armrest for aircraft interiors


The present invention relates to a process for providing an abraded look with a reduced strength loss in dyed fabric comprising (a) contacting, in an aqueous medium, a dyed fabric with a cellulase in a concentration corresponding to 0.01-250 .mu.g of enzyme protein per g of fabric; and (b) simultaneously or subsequently treating the fabric with a phenol oxidizing enzyme and an enhancing agent.

The past several years have seen the emergence of a new industry, the so called "jeans stonewashing" segment, generated by the fashion demands of a generation desirous of stylish, but informal and comfortable clothing.
Originally, all of the indigo jeans on the market were stiff and uncomfortable when first purchased, due to the finishing system used for denim fabrics.
The first step in the processing evolution was to sell jeans that had been laundered by the manufacturer. These "pre-washed" jeans had a slightly faded appearance and a softer hand that felt comfortable, as though they had been laundered several times. This trend became fashionable as well, and consumers were willing to pay the extra cost involved for this additional processing.
Not long after the introduction of pre-washed jeans, the idea of using abrasive stones to accelerate the aging process was developed, and "stone washing" became the second step in the evolution. Volcanic stones were included in the wash, or tumbled with the damp garments to wear down the stiffest portions such as belt areas, cuffs, and pockets.
However, the use of stones to abrade jeans is very destructive to equipment and fabric, so today the stones are often substituted with a cellulase treatment, or a combination of stones and cellulase is used to achieve the abraded (worn) look; for reference see "AATCC: Garment Wet Processing Technical Manual", 1994, published by American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, pp. 19-21.
The fabric looses strength by using the stone-process described above, and the stone-free cellulase treatment does not alone give the desired worn look, so there is a need in industry for a more gentle process.

Fabric treated with cellulase and oxidoreductase


A technique is provided which is effective in preventing chips generated during cutting operation on a workpiece from being accumulated in a region ahead in a cutting direction. A representative cutting machine includes a motor, a blade, a body housing having a first region that houses the motor and a second region that covers the blade and projects forward of a front surface of the first region, a base, an angular plate, an outlet formed in the body housing, an opening and a blocking part. The blocking part prevents the air discharged from the outlet from flowing out laterally with respect to the moving direction of the base through a clearance between a front end of the second region and the one end of the angular plate and thereby helps the air discharged from the outlet flow into the opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutting machine such as a hand-held circular saw and more particularly, to a technique of disposing of chips generated during cutting operation on a workpiece.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chips generated by operation of cutting a workpiece (particularly wood) using a hand-held circular saw are carried by air flow which is caused by rotation of a blade (saw blade) cutting the workpiece and passes through the inside of a blade case that covers substantially an upper half region of the blade and are then discharged from the rear of the blade case. Part of the chips, however, fly out forward and accumulate on the upper surface of the base or the upper surface of the workpiece ahead of the base, resulting in hiding a cutting line guide on the upper surface of the base or a cutting line marked on the workpiece under the chips. In order to solve such a problem, a technique is provided for blowing away the chips by utilizing cooling air used to cool a motor. For example, Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2007-517702 discloses a chip disposal technique in which an outlet is formed in a front region of the motor housing in the vicinity of a connection between the motor housing and the blade case, and in which air used to cool the motor is blown obliquely from above onto a cutting region (in the vicinity of a cutting point between the saw blade and the workpiece) ahead of the base.
In the circular saw, an angular plate for bevel angle adjustment in bevel cutting operation is disposed on the upper surface of the base in front of the motor housing or forward of the motor housing in the cutting direction. Therefore, in the above-described known technique, a slit for air flow is formed in the angular plate, so that cooling air discharged from the outlet passes through the slit and blows onto a cutting region ahead of the base. However, for structural reasons, a clearance exists between the front end of the blade case and the end of the angular plate, so that cooling air discharged from the outlet flows out obliquely laterally through the clearance. As a result, the amount of air which is blown through the slit toward the cutting region decreases, so that the effect of blowing away chips by cooling air is lessened. Therefore, in this point, further improvement is required.


A method for establishing wireless communication between a transmitter and a receiver in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The receiver includes an adaptive array that has at least two antennas. Each antenna receives a signal and produces a received signal. The transmitter includes at least two transmission channels for communicating the signal from the transmitter to the receiver. The wireless communication system suppresses interference at the receiver by applying an interference suppression technique when combining the received signals. The selection of a channel at the transmitter is based on the channel performance at the receiver for each transmission channel. The channel performance is based on a combining technique different from the interference suppression technique.

Cellular radio services have been extremely successful in providing untethered voice communications. With the advent of new personal communications services, wireless access is expected to become even more popular. At the same time, personal computers and Internet services are experiencing explosive growth due to low cost, high performance computer technologies and attractive network applications. The popularity of the World Wide Web is further accelerating the explosive growth of personal computers and Internet services. Advanced Cellular Internet Services (ACIS) are targeted for applications, such as web browsing, which have a peak downlink data rate on the order of 1-2 Mb/s using a wide-area cellular infrastructure.
A major obstacle for wireless data services is the capability of cellular networks for providing a transporting bandwidth sufficiently high for meeting the needs of web browsing and information exchange applications. For example, the bandwidth requirements for two-way Internet radio links are expected to be highly asymmetric. That is, a peak downlink data rate of about 2 Mb/s is expected, with an uplink peak data rate of about one to two orders of magnitude less. Further, since there is a need for providing both voice and data services using a limited frequency spectrum, the algorithm used for channel assignment must aggressively reuse frequency to within a fraction of the total available bandwidth.
Further, ACIS poses several technical challenges in the area of medium access control (MAC) methodology. A suitable MAC method for ACIS must address not only packet server allocation (base station, antenna sector, radio transceiver and time slot), but also channel assignment for a given server. That is, a suitable MAC protocol must consist of two parts, an access protocol, and a channel assignment algorithm that handles the asymmetric uplink/downlink bandwidth expectations and the aggressive frequency reuse issues, respectively. The access protocol part of the MAC protocol is similar to a conventional wireline-based access protocol in that it must avoid "hard" collisions in the same cell, while the channel assignment part must avoid "soft" collisions among different cells caused by co-channel interference.
Further still, a suitable ACIS MAC protocol must also handle diverse types of multimedia traffic having different Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. For example, delay-sensitive traffic, such as packet voice traffic, and error-sensitive traffic, such as packet data traffic ranging from signaling a simple command to downloading a large image file, must be assigned radio resources that meet specific requirements. Accordingly, when packet access techniques are used, radio resources, that is, channels, are assigned only when there are packets to be delivered. The price of the advantages obtained by this statistical multiplexing is a rapidly changing interference environment. Thus, a circuit-access channel assignment method that is based on continuous interference measurement and averaging may not achieve desirable results in a packet switched system because the interference environment measured may be significantly changed when actual transmissions occur, such as that disclosed by M. Frullone et al., "PRMA Performance In Cellular Environments with Self-Adaptive Channel Allocation Strategies," IEEE Trans. Veh. Tech., November 1996, pp. 657-665. The time delay occurring between measurement and transmission, known as "setup latency", has detrimental effects on system performance unless some "inertia" is introduced for reducing interference variations.
Existing wireless data rates of up to several tens of kb/s may be more than an order of magnitude short of what is required to make popular web browsing and information exchange applications user-friendly when used with wireless access. For example, see J. F. DeRose, "The Wireless Data Handbook," Quantum Publishing, Inc., 1994. Although there are approaches that propose providing up to about 100 kb/s peak rates using second-generation digital cellular technologies, such as the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) for the GSM system, such approaches usually aggregate several traffic servers (e.g., multiple time slots in TDMA systems) as a single high-rate data server using conventional frequency reuse strategies. See, for example, R. Ludwig, "Downlink Performance of the General Packet Radio Service for GSM," Proceedings, 3rd International Workshop on Mobile Multimedia Communications (MoMuC3), Paper # A.2.2.3, September 1996. Approaches that use multiple time slots for providing a single high-rate data server consume significant portions of system capacity and would seriously compromise traditional voice services when high-speed wireless data services become popular.
Presently, there are wireless Ethernet modems that provide several Mb/s or higher peak data rates for local environments. For example, see A. R. Nix, "Hiperlan Compatible Modulation and Equalisation Techniques—What are the real choices," ETSI RES-10 standard contribution RES-10TTG/93/78, December 1993. The feasibility of even higher data rates has been demonstrated by some wireless ATM hardware prototypes. Nevertheless, peak data rates of several Mb/s have not been demonstrated in wide-area cellular networks due to significant path loss and delay spread encountered in a cellular network environment. Furthermore, a high bandwidth requirement makes frequency reuse much more challenging in a cellular environment because the limited available spectrum cannot be easily divided into a large number of reuse channel sets.
Recently, simulations of a modulation method employing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), antenna diversity and channel coding have shown promise for providing 1-2 Mb/s peak downlink rates in an ACIS environment. For example, see L. J. Cimini and N. R. Sollenberger, "OFDM with Diversity and Coding for High-Bit-Rate Mobile Data Applications," Proceedings, 3rd International Workshop on Mobile Multimedia Communications, Princeton, September 1996, paper # A.3.1.1. While a number of challenges remain and a hardware implementation of a low cost, robust modem is difficult, the transmission technique appears to be feasible.
Among the useful attributes of existing approaches, interference sensing used by a measurement-based DCA approach and knowledge of preferred channels used by a channel segregation (CS) technique are advantageous for packet channel assignment. Interference sensing enables base and/or mobile stations to determine potential interference before choosing a given channel and avoiding inter-cell collisions of packets that are delivered using the same radio channel. For an example an interference measurement-based DCA approach, see J. Chuang, "Performance Issues and Algorithms for Dynamic Channel Assignment," IEEE J. Select. Areas Comm., August 1993, pp. 955-963. Channel segregation divides a radio spectrum into different groups of preferred channels through a learning process, thus preventing adjacent radio transceivers from simultaneously using the same channels. Channel assignments are made robust even when interference sensing is too slow for detecting rapid variations in packet time scale. For details regarding the original channel segregation technique, see F. Furuya et al., "Channel Segregation, A Distributed Adaptive Channel Allocation Scheme for Mobile Communications Systems," Proceedings, 2nd Nordic Seminar on Digital Land Mobile Radio Communications, October 1986, also appearing in IEICE Trans., Vol. E74, June 1991, pp. 1531-1537.
The original CS algorithm increments a priority value of a channel if the channel is successfully assigned for use and does not experience interference after communications begin. After a period of initial trial-and-error, an entire system using the original CS algorithm autonomously forms a reasonable reuse plan. The original CS algorithm is a simple algorithm, but would be more effective if failures could be reduced during the learning phase.
Without introducing memory, measurement-based DCA using two-way interference sensing is effective for circuit access even with significant setup latency. For example, see J. C.-I. Chuang and N. Sollenberger, "Performance of Autonomous Dynamic Channel Assignment and Power Control for TDMA/FDMA Wireless Access," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, special issue on Wireless and Mobile High Speed Communication Networks, October 1994, pp. 1314-1323. A small performance degradation experienced by such an approach is the result of a non-zero probability of "soft collisions" that occur because more than one packet from nearby base stations are delivered on the same channel. As latency rises, the collision probability increases as more newly selected links are "blind" until communications begin. For packet access, duty cycle of channel usage is shortened due to resource sharing among multiple mobiles. This results in higher interference fluctuation and more frequent channel assignment. Therefore, good averaging during measurement is more difficult to achieve and the latency effect is expected to be more pronounced. However, strong non-blind interferers should still be detectable (and thus be avoidable) with a fast measurement. For measurement-based DCA to be effective in packet access, it is thus important to either reduce measurement time and avoid undue setup latency and/or make the assignment robust to setup latency. To this end, selecting channels according to a priority order reduces the impact of soft collisions even though measurements are blind during setup latency. This is because priority orders for the neighboring base stations are likely to be different if a proper ranking/updating algorithm is employed for "segregating" channels during a learning process.
Examples of existing wide-area wireless packet data services include Advanced Radio Data Information Service (ARDIS), RAM Mobile Data, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) and second-generation digital cellular networks. These conventional services generally offer raw data rates lower than 28.8 kb/s and do not reuse spectrum efficiently for packet data. Typically, wireline-based data MAC protocols are enhanced by separate radio resource management functions that perform channel assignment.
CDPD provides packet access by using cellular infrastructure. For example, see Cellular Digital Packet Data, System Specification & Implementor Guidelines, CD-ROM, Release 1.1, Jan. 19, 1995, CDPD Forum. A channel sniffing and hopping process is used for selecting idle voice channels for access. A Digital Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (DSMA/CD) protocol is then used for sending digital busy signals for intra-cell contention management. The basic concept is similar to the Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol used in wireline-based LANs and the Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol used in wireless LANs. No additional frequency reuse method is employed for managing inter-cell contention except for conventional frequency planning, such as is typically performed for voice services using fixed channel assignment (FCA) methods. Thus, the CDPD approach is not sufficient for ACIS applications because a large bandwidth for individual packet channels is used.
Similar to CDPD, both RAM and ARDIS use protocols that are similar to CSMA for packet access contention. Unlike CDPD, though, RAM and ARDIS both have dedicated spectra and dedicated networks for packet data communications. For example, see RAM Mobile Data System Overview, July 1996, RAM Mobile Data. The frequency reuse aspect of the RAM MAC protocol is conventional FCA and, consequently, not efficient for the ACIS environment. The ARDIS approach is similar to RAM Mobile DATA in the services offered, but the ARDIS frequency reuse scheme focuses more on providing coverage by trading off capacity. At times, more than one base station is allowed to use the same channel for reducing coverage holes. Thus, the ARDIS approach is not efficient enough for the ACIS environment.
Recently, there are research and standardization efforts for the second- and third-generation digital cellular systems for providing packet data access. As previously mentioned, the second-generation system approaches usually aggregate several traffic servers for achieving high data rates and are not suitable for the ACIS environment. On the other hand, the third-generation systems and associated research activities, e.g., the European activities on Advanced Communications Technologies and Services (ACTS) are beginning to address high-rate packet access. For example, see IEEE Personal Communications Magazine, "Special Issue on The European Path Towards UMTS," February 1995. Among initiatives of ACTS, the Advanced TDMA (ATDMA) system is of particular interest to the ACIS environment. A relatively mature proposal of the ATDMA MAC protocol is the PRMA++ protocol in which specific slots for reservation, fast paging and acknowledgement are included in every frame for performing reservation and release of packet traffic servers. Details are disclosed by J. Dunlop et al., "Performance of a Statistically Multiplexed Access Mechanism for a TDMA Radio Interface," IEEE Personal Communications Magazine, June 1995, pp. 56-64. The PRMA++ protocol enhances the original Packet Reservation Multiple Access (PRMA) disclosed by D. Goodman et al., "Packet Reservation Multiple Access for Local Wireless Communications," IEEE Trans. on Commun., August 1989, pp. 885-890, by reducing or eliminating intra-cell traffic packet collisions and accelerating the setup process.
F. Borgonovo et al. disclose a similar approach by using slots with different functionalities. A hybrid polling and reservation scheme is introduced that further reduces contention of uplink traffic by allowing a base station to poll its active mobiles. See F. Borgonovo et al., "Capture-Division Packet Access for Wireless Personal Communications," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, May 1996, pp. 609-622, and F. Borgonovo et al., "Capture-Division Packet Access: A New Cellular Access Architecture for Future PCNs," IEEE Communications Magazines, September 1996, pp. 154-162. Frequency reuse is achieved by capture effects and a flexible frame structure is adaptively formed based on the varying rates of polled users with different QoS requirements. The approach does not use a conventional TDMA frame structure and, consequently, was termed "Capture Division Packet Access (CDPA)." However, both PRMA++ and CDPA do not specify a detailed channel assignment algorithm and methods for effective frequency reuse in packet access remains an area of active research worldwide. For example, see M. Frullone et al., supra; A. Baiocchi et al., "The Geometric Dynamic Channel Allocation as a Practical Strategy in Mobile Networks with Bursty User Mobility," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, February 1995, pp. 14-23; A. Srivastava and J. Chuang, "Access Algorithms for Packetized Transmission in the presence of Co-channel Interference," IEEE VTC '96, Atlanta, Ga., April 1996, pp. 121-125; A Srivastava and J. Chuang, "Packetized Wireless Access for Data Traffic in Frequency Reuse Environments," Seventh International Symposium on Personal Indoor Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC), Taipei, Taiwan, October 1996, pp. 1150-1154; and T. Benker, "Dynamic Slot Allocation for TDMA-Systems with Packet Access," Multiaccess, Mobility and Teletraffic for Personal Communications," B. Jabbari, P. Godlewski and X. Lagrange (Editors), Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996, pp. 103-116.
The Frullone et al. publication, supra, and both Srivastava et al. publications, supra, consider the effects of co-channel interference using the PRMA protocol and propose methods for trading signal quality for traffic throughput. Both groups of researchers considered choosing only a subset of available channels at a base station for contention, with a larger subset of available channels resulting in a better throughput with possible quality degradation than with a smaller subset of available channels. Frullone et al. employed channel segregation, initially proposed by Furuya et al., supra, for prioritizing all available channels through a learning process that is based on the probability of access success, that is, no hard collisions caused by intra-cell contention and no soft collisions caused by co-channel interference during a talkspurt. After a certain period of training time, adjacent base stations tend to have different sets of preferred channels, thus achieving adaptive frequency reuse. The Frullone et al. approach improves frequency reuse even under the rapidly changing interference of the packet access environments. Nevertheless, the disadvantage of this approach is that it is not easy to avoid interference during the learning process, i.e., bad channels are avoided only after failure occurs.
Srivastava et al., supra, propose that a base station broadcasts a subset of channels having the lowest interference for all associated mobile stations for contending access based on continuously sensing uplink interference. This is realized by associating with each channel a "permission probability." Highly interfered-with channels are given zero permission probability, thus preventing such channels from been used. Fuzzy logic is used for determining the permission probability based on the prevailing interference conditions and the number of idle slots at the base station. An access request is sent by a mobile station only when a locally generated random number is lower than the permission probability. This approach achieves good delay and throughput characteristics for both packet voice and data applications using a simple set of intuitive control rules. However, only the uplink access issue is addressed, which is less challenging in ACIS applications because of the asymmetrical uplink/downlink bandwidth requirements. Additionally, downlink transmission is assumed to be continuous for facilitating rapid access, possibly requiring more spectrum than that available in an ACIS environment because continuous downlinks represent 100% downlink spectral usage and results in high interference levels.
To improve signal quality on both links, J. Chuang, "Performance Issues and Algorithms for Dynamic Channel Assignment," IEEE J. Select. Areas Comm., August 1993, pp. 955-963, discloses a two-way dynamic channel assignment algorithm for circuit-access environments. A pilot-based scheme and its frame structure were proposed for implementing this approach with low latency and no blind slots. Also see J.C.-I. Chuang et al., "A Pilot Based Dynamic Channel Assignment Scheme for Wireless Access TDMA/FDMA Systems," The International Journal of Wireless Information Networks, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1944, pp. 37-48. Similar to the approach disclosed by Srivastiva et al., "Access Algorithms for Packetized Transmission in the presence of Co-channel Interference," IEEE VTC '96, Atlanta, Ga., April 1996, pp. 121-125, the J.C.-I. Chuang et al. approach requires base stations to continuously monitor the uplink and broadcast lists of good idle channels on a control frequency, thereby avoiding continuous downlink transmission on the traffic channels. Upon receiving the good idle channel list, a mobile station measures interference on the candidate channels and selects a channel with sufficiently low interference, thus achieving good quality in both directions. This requires significant measurement and feedback transmission by the mobiles, but the advantages are significant. For the ACIS environment, however, it is not clear whether the required functionalities can be performed fast enough for taking full advantage of this approach. Furthermore, a control scheme must be devised for providing a mechanism for logical pairing or feedback for both directions, and which must be performed for typically asymmetric two-way traffic.
An adaptive array beamformer is a device that separates signals collocated in the frequency band but separated in the spatial domain. This provides a means for separating a desired signal from interfering signals. The adaptive array beamformer automatically optimizes the array pattern by adjusting the elemental control weights until a prescribed objective function is satisfied. A specially designed algorithm provides the means for achieving the optimization. An adaptive array is beneficial for a modern wireless communication system because it has the advantage of increasing the power available to the desired receiver. This is particularly beneficial for a code division multiple access (CDMA) system because the interference received by another receiver in an adjacent area is significantly reduced relative to conventional omni-directional or sectored transmissions.
An adaptive array includes a collection of transmitters and receivers coupled to a corresponding element of the antenna array. The received beamform is determined by measuring the power and relative phase of a desired signal received on each antenna element and its corresponding receiver. The transmit beam is formed by varying the relative phase and power of each signal transmitted by the multitude of transmitters and corresponding antenna elements.
An adaptive array includes a collection of antenna elements. A weighting algorithm processes the signal received by each antenna element to produce a weighted signal. The weighted signals from the antenna elements are synthesized to form a synthesized pattern. The weighting algorithm is chosen to achieve a specific purpose or amount of weighting. For example:                1. Least-Mean-Squared (LMS)—A method in which the weighting is determined so as to minimize the root error component of a received signal with reference to a known reference signal;        2. Maximum Signal-to-Noise Ratio (MSN)—A method in which the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is maximized with a known direction of a desired wave;
3. Power Inversion (PI)—A method in which a strong jamming wave signal is suppressed by the minimization of received power in, for example, reception of a frequency diffusion modulation signal; and                4. Constant Modulus Algorithm (CMA)—A method in which an interference wave is suppressed by utilizing the constant envelope property of an amplitude component of a frequency-modulated or a phase-modulated signal, are proposed.
The adaptive array beamforming process is simplified in a time division duplex (TDD) system because the communications to and from an adaptive array occur on a common frequency but during a different time slot. This enables the adaptive array to create a transmit beam pattern substantially equal to a beam pattern received by the adaptive array. In a frequency division duplex (FDD) system, however, transmissions and receptions occur on different frequencies, having different propagation paths. The beamform of a TDD system is more accurately formed because the transmit and receive propagation characteristics are substantially the same.
What is needed is a wireless communication system that includes an adaptive array in the receiver, the transmitter, or both. By taking advantage of the benefits of an adaptive array, a wireless communication system will improve the performance in the channel selected. With the prior art, channel selection is based on the interference level of each channel after adaptive array combining, and since adaptive arrays suppress interference, the wireless communication system with adaptive arrays using the prior art optimizes the performance of a given link by selecting the channel with the lowest interference. However, an adaptive array can substantially suppress interferers, but only when the number of interferers is less than the number of antennas. Thus, with the adaptive array the channel selection process of the prior art can place interferers close together. If this results in too many interferers on another link, the performance of that link may be seriously degraded. As a result, the above channel selection process can result in overall system performance that is worse than without an adaptive array.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for selecting a transmission channel in a wireless communication system that includes an adaptive array


A core for photographic light-sensitive material use made of wooden source material which can be recycled or decomposed in natural environment is disclosed. The core center is made of paper covered with a buffer layer made of 100% wooden pulp having a density of not more than 0.1 g/cm.sup.3. The buffer layer is covered with a reinforcing sheet made of paper with a tensile strength of 0.3 kg/15 mm width or more.

In production of photographic light-sensitive materials, it is normal that a photographic light-sensitive material is slit to a predetermined width, wound around a core for a specified length to form a roll which is covered with a light-shielding material.
It is ideal that this photographic light-sensitive material in a roll shape is wound evenly and tightly from the start of winding up to the end of winding as far as possible from the viewpoint of storage conditions, distribution conditions and easy handling.
However, this photographic light-sensitive material in a roll shape has a step whose height corresponds to the thickness of the photographic light-sensitive material near the core. The step causes high concentrated pressure when trying to wind up tightly, resulting in a protruded deformation (press mark) and sensitivity abnormality on the photographic light-sensitive material near the core.
Due to the abnormality mentioned above, it has been impossible to use about 20% of photographic light-sensitive materials which are expensive.
Therefore, the proposals described below have been made.
For example, Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection Nos. 165861/1984 and 164275/1987 (hereinafter referred to as Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication), Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 24116/1990, Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication Nos. 142941/1989 and 116882/1990 disclose technology wherein a conventional core has been improved in a way that a buffer layer is provided for preventing an influence of a step on the end of a photographic light-sensitive material. Elastic adhesives, resin foaming substances and paper or synthetic paper having low density are used as a material of the buffer layer. Further, for example, technology, wherein the same effect as in the above is achieved by providing a cutout on the external surface of the core without providing a buffer layer, is disclosed in Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication Nos. 14072/1988, 8689/1991 and 8690/1991.
It has been effective, as a core around which a photographic light-sensitive material is wound, to provide a buffer layer for preventing deformation (press mark) and abnormality of sensitivity caused by pressure caused on a photographic light-sensitive material near the core. However, resin materials, various rubber or elastic adhesives glued on the core have deteriorated the core, after the core becomes waste, on the points of disposability and reusability.
Namely, substances used as these buffer materials do not decompose spontaneously when disposed as waste, for example, and even when they are subjected to incineration, they produce a toxic gas which damages an incinerator together with high temperature therein.
When recycled, the abovementioned buffer layer needs to be removed, which is time-consuming. Actually, however, some of the buffer layers are glued firmly and can not be removed.
With regard to disposal of waste, each country has its own law, and in Europe, in particular, it is required that a single kind of material is used. Therefore these cores do not comply with the law.
Even when a nonwoven fabric is used as a material having a buffer effect, the unwoven fabric is usually made of various synthetic fibers such as nylon, rayon and polyester or the like for the purpose of an improvement of its strength, or these synthetic fibers are generally mixed with pulp at a rate of about 20%-60%.
These synthetic fibers are problematic from the viewpoints of disposability and adaptability for recycling. When they are of a single material without reinforcement, which is ideal for improvement in disposability and adaptability for recycling, the strength thereof becomes too low to be processed as a core.
For the processing of a core, for example, a material of a core is required to have tensile strength of 0.3 kg/15 mm or more. A dry unwoven fabric made of a single material of pulp has tensile strength of 0.3-0.6 kg/15 mm when dry, while 15 times foamed polystyrene known in the conventional example has that of about 6 kg/15 mm. When adhesives are coated on the unwoven fabric for pasting it on the core, however, tensile strength of the unwoven fabric falls sharply to 0.1-0.3 kg/15 mm due to its wet state, preventing it from being wound round the core.
In the method of providing a cutout on the external surface of a core, on the other hand, an end of a light-sensitive material needs to be positioned accurately to engage with the cutout in a dark room. Therefore, complicated equipment and reduction of efficiency caused by increased working hours can not be avoided.
On the other hand, a slitter wherein the core is used has recently been highly automated and complicated and productivity has been steeply enhanced. However, a core to be used therein has actually been required to have higher dimensional accuracy.
Heretofore, however, attention has been paid only to an influence of moisture and oxidation-reduction substances contained in the core on a photographic light-sensitive material. Therefore, the core, after being cut to the predetermined dimensions, has been stored in a cardboard box packaging, and immediately before it is used, it has been subjected to a drying process under predetermined conditions of temperature and time, for example, 50.degree. C. and 24 hours to be adjusted to 8% or less in terms of moisture content.
In the above occasion, the core has been cut to dimensions wherein a constant percentage of shrinkage of the core is considered so that the core may have predetermined dimensions after drying, because the width of the core shrinks after the drying process. However, it has been impossible to satisfy the required dimensional accuracy, due to dimensional dispersion in the process for cutting a core and dispersion in the progress of drying caused by the difference of taken-in moisture such as, for example, the difference between positions in cardboard box packaging such as upper, middle or lower position or the difference between seasons.
For further improvement of dimensional accuracy, there have been taken various methods such as control of moisture content in a core material, change of cutting dimensions for each season and calculation of design value for each time based on a shrinkage factor by moisture content. However, all of them have required extremely complicated moisture content control and calculation, inventory control and work. Therefore, they proved to be difficult to carry out and failed to be a basic solution, resulting in equipment problems and complaints from customers.

Core for photographic light-sensitive material


According to various aspects of the present invention, a superabrasive element includes a plurality of superabrasive grains (e.g., as diamond grains and/or cubic boron nitride grains). The superabrasive element further includes a binder constituent that bonds at least a portion of the superabrasive grains together. The binder constituent includes predominantly one or more inorganic-compound phases, such as boron or silicon compounds. Applications utilizing such superabrasive elements and methods of fabricating such superabrasive elements are also disclosed.

Wear-resistant, superabrasive compacts are utilized for a variety of mechanical applications. For example, PCD superabrasive compacts are used in drilling tools (e.g., compacts, cutting elements, gage trimmers, etc.), machining equipment, bearing apparatuses, wire-drawing machinery, and in other mechanical systems.
In one particular application, polycrystalline-diamond compacts ("PDCs") have found particular utility as superabrasive cutting elements in rotary drill bits, such as roller cone drill bits and fixed cutter drill bits. A PDC cutting element or cutter typically includes a superabrasive diamond layer or table. The diamond table is formed and bonded to a substrate using an ultra-high pressure, ultra-high temperature ("HPHT") process. The substrate is often brazed or otherwise joined to an attachment member such as a stud or a cylindrical backing A stud carrying the PDC may be used as a PDC cutting element when mounted to a rotary drill bit by press-fitting, brazing, or otherwise securing the stud into a receptacle formed in the rotary drill bit. The PDC cutting element may also be brazed directly into a preformed pocket, socket, or other receptacle formed in the rotary drill bit. Generally, a rotary drill bit may include a number of PCD cutting elements affixed to the drill bit body.
Conventional PDCs are normally fabricated by placing a cemented-carbide substrate into a container or cartridge with a volume of diamond particles or crystals positioned on a surface of the cemented-carbide substrate. A number of such cartridges may be typically loaded into an HPHT press. The substrates and volume of diamond particles are then processed under HPHT conditions in the presence of a catalyst material that causes the diamond particles to bond to one another to form a matrix of bonded diamond grains defining a diamond table. The catalyst material is often a solvent catalyst, such as cobalt, nickel, or iron that is used for facilitating intergrowth between the diamond particles.
In one conventional approach, a constituent of the cemented-carbide substrate, such as cobalt from a cobalt-cemented tungsten carbide substrate, liquefies and sweeps from the region adjacent to the volume of diamond particles into interstitial regions between the diamond particles during the HPHT process. The cobalt acts as a catalyst to facilitate intergrowth between the diamond particles, which results in bonds between adjacent diamond particles. Often, a solvent catalyst may be mixed with the diamond particles prior to subjecting the diamond grains and substrate to the HPHT process.
The solvent catalyst dissolves carbon from the diamond particles or portions of the diamond particles that graphitize due to the high temperature being used in the HPHT process. The solubility of the stable diamond phase in the solvent catalyst is lower than that of the metastable graphite under HPHT conditions. As a result of this solubility difference, the undersaturated graphite tends to dissolve into solvent catalyst and the supersaturated diamond tends to deposit onto existing diamond particles to form diamond-to-diamond bonds. Accordingly, diamond particles become mutually bonded to form a matrix of PCD with interstitial regions between the bonded diamond grains being occupied by the solvent catalyst.
The presence of the solvent catalyst in the diamond table is believed to reduce the thermal stability of the diamond table at elevated temperatures. For example, the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the diamond grains and the solvent catalyst is believed to lead to chipping or cracking in the PDC during drilling or cutting operations, which consequently can degrade the mechanical properties of the PDC or cause failure. Additionally, some of the diamond grains can undergo a chemical breakdown or back-conversion to graphite via interaction with the solvent catalyst. At extremely high temperatures, portions of diamond grains may transform to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, graphite, or combinations thereof, thus, degrading the mechanical properties of the PDC.
One conventional approach for improving the thermal stability of PDCs is to at least partially remove the solvent catalyst from the PDC by acid leaching. However, removing the solvent catalyst from the PDC can be relatively time consuming for high-volume manufacturing. Therefore, manufacturers and users of superabrasive materials continue to seek improved thermally stable superabrasive materials and processing techniques.

Superabrasive element, and superabrasive compact and drill bit including same


The present invention relates to a fan guard which utilizes an associated electric motor body for increased support and rigidity. The fan guard includes an inner housing member which mounts to an electric motor body. A plurality of circumferentially spaced reinforcing ribs is each connected at an inner end to the inner housing member. Each reinforcing rib extends radially outward therefrom. A plurality of spaced fan guard ribs is connected at an inner end to the inner housing member and extends radially outward therefrom. A rim extends circumferentially around the plurality of fan guard ribs and is connected to an outer end of each of the fan guard ribs.

The present invention relates to fans. More particularly it pertains to a fan guard which utilizes an associated electric motor body for increased support and rigidity.
Many types of electric fans are known. One particular type of fan used in a vehicle is alternatively known as a dash fan, defroster fan or universal fan. In the prior art, it is well known that such fans commonly mount the fan guard and fan blades to the electric motor. The weight of these components is typically transferred to a spring loaded pivoting ball by way of a bracket (commonly known as a yoke) thereby allowing an operator to rotate the fan relative to a base or pedestal in order to control the direction of the air stream. The pivoting ball is housed in a mating slot and socket and the pivoting feature of the electric fan is limited to the travel within the slotted pathway. Generally, the force required to rotate the electric fan relative to this pivoting arrangement exceeds the vibrational force exerted on the electric fan by the movement of a vehicle. The fan guard is generally secured to the electric motor by motor assembly bolts (commonly referred to as case bolts) which also secure the motor assembly to the base or pedestal.
One problem with conventional electric fans as described above is the failure of the fan blades. Such failure generally occurs when the fan is mounted in such a way that it is prevented from traveling in the slotted pathway. In these instances, in order to obtain the desired travel, an operator will either grasp the top of the fan guard and force the pedestal on which the electric fan is mounted against the top of the slot thereby effectively creating a fulcrum or grasp the top and bottom of the fan guard simultaneously thereby creating a secondary rotational force through a plane not defined by the fan guard motor assembly bolts. Prior to the present invention, pressing of the fan guard at any location other than the plane defined by the motor assembly bolts would deflect the fan guard. As a result of this deflection, the fan guard may contact the fan blades causing the fan blades to fail. In these instances, the fan assembly needs to be replaced, and an operator is exposed to a potentially unsafe condition.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a fan guard which would overcome the foregoing failure. The resulting new design improves the durability, rigidity and strength of the fan guard such that an operator can press on the fan guard at any location and not deflect the fan guard without excessive force.


The present invention relates to a metallurgical ladle and more particularly to the bottom of the ladle having an outlet through which the molten metal can drain. An object of the present invention is to increase the efficiency of a ladle draining operation, including reducing the amount of discarded metal, avoiding the premature flow of slag through the outlet, and reducing the contamination of slag in the molten metal effluent. The ladle bottom comprises a plurality of terraces and flow channels, ultimately directing the stream of molten metal to an outlet of the ladle. The terraces are described as capturing slag and the channels permit molten metal to flow preferentially through the outlet.

A ladle is a vessel that is used to hold or transport a batch of liquid metal during metallurgical operations. A layer of slag frequently covers the top surface of the liquid metal, such as in the production of steel. When desired, the liquid metal may be drained from the ladle though an outlet located in the ladle bottom. While draining, the metal will, desirably and advantageously, completely empty from the ladle without contamination of the metal by slag. Contamination is undesirable and may cause difficulties in casting or refining operations as well as defects in the intermediate or final metal products.
Slag contamination can occur from both floating and entrained slag. Slag is typically less dense than liquid metal and generally floats in a separated layer on the surface of a quiescent batch of liquid metal. During the pouring of the liquid metal, slag can become entrained within the flowing stream. Entrainment is the presence of slag particles in the molten steel. Entrainment often occurs when turbulence disturbs the interface between molten metal and slag. Such turbulence can cause molten metal and slag to mix. Under quiescent conditions, entrained slag would eventually float to the surface; however, the turbulence of casting can maintain a substantial amount of entrained slag in the molten metal. Ideally, any solution to the problem of slag contamination would address both floating and entrained slag.
As the metal drains from the ladle, the floating slag approaches the outlet and the likelihood of contamination of the metal stream by slag increases. An operator will stop the pour when he detects slag in the molten metal stream exiting the ladle. The operator may even stop the pour prematurely to avoid slag in the ladle outflow. The slag and metal remaining in the ladle are discarded. Discarding metal decreases yield, which is costly and inefficient but, at the same time, is necessary to reduce slag contamination.
Various methods and articles exist to detect slag in the ladle or the ladle outflow. Frequently, these methods require action by the operator and include electronic and sonic detection devices that are placed inside and outside the ladle. For example, a detector placed in the ladle can detect a drop in the level of molten metal by measuring a change in electrical resistivity when floating slag intersects the submerged detector. Similarly, sonic pulses can identify the presence of slag in the ladle outflow. Both techniques only detect the presence of slag and do not actively decrease the presence of slag in the outflow.
Prior art includes article designed to reduce the outflow of slag from the ladle. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,746,102 and 5,879,616 teach ladle bottoms having a small well immediately above the ladle outlet. Both patents describe the well as preferentially collecting molten metal instead of slag, thereby improving yield as the ladle empties. Unfortunately, the patents only prevent floating slag from exiting the ladle. Entrained slag is free to exit the ladle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,051 describes a ladle bottom for reducing entrained slag. The ladle bottom comprises means for entrapping slag before the slag reaches the ladle outlet. The means extend upwards from the ladle bottom and include elongated castellations that approach the outlet. One embodiment shows castellations radiating symmetrically from the outlet. The symmetrical castellations are described as reducing vortexing, which leads to slag entrainment. Notably, the castellations are not described as promoting a reduction of entrained slag already present in the molten metal.
Prior art does not teach a ladle bottom that simultaneously reduces the outflow of both entrained slag and floating slag. A need remains for an article capable of capturing entrained slag and allowing molten metal to flow from a ladle before floating slag.


An ultrasonic motor is provided with an ultrasonic transducer having a piezoelectric element, a holding member fixed to the ultrasonic transducer and holding the ultrasonic transducer, a pressing member pressing the holding member, and a member to be driven which is driven by frictional force between the member to be driven and the ultrasonic transducer. The pressing member has a hole portion and the holding member has a protruding portion engaged with the hole portion in a direction of pressing conducted by the pressing member. The hole portion and the protruding portion abut on each other so that the pressing member presses the member to be driven via the holding member and the ultrasonic transducer, thereby driving the member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, ultrasonic motors with a reduced size, a higher torque, a longer stroke, and a higher resolution as compared with those of an electromagnetic motor are widely used.
Presently, the ultrasonic motor is a motor for driving a member to be driven by frictional force generated between an ultrasonic transducer and the member to be driven by pressing the ultrasonic transducer on the member to be driven. As a pressing mechanism for pressing the ultrasonic transducer on the member to be driven, such a pressing mechanism as shown in FIG. 12 has been disclosed, for example, in JP-A-10-327589.
That is, in JP-A-10-327589, the pressing mechanism is provided with a transducer 114, protrusions 113 fixed on a lower portion of the transducer 114, a rail 118 serving as a movable member abutting on the protrusions 113, rotary members 112 contacting with a lower face of the rail 118 and guiding the rail 118, a spring member 117 caused to abut on an upper face of the transducer 114, a rubber sheet 115 disposed between the spring member 117 and the transducer 114, a columnar retainer 121 extending through the spring member 117 and the rubber sheet 115 to be fixed to the transducer 114, and a fixing member 119 pressing the spring member 117.
More specifically, the spring member 117 is provided with a flat face portion 117a contacting with the rubber sheet 115 and flat face portions 117b and 117c formed to extend from both ends of the flat face portion 117a symmetrically regarding the flat face portion 117a. Distal end portions of the flat face portion 117b and the flat face portion 117c are pressed down by the fixing member 119 so that portions of the spring member 117 in the vicinities of boundary lines between the flat face portion 117a, and the flat face portions 117b and 117c are deformed. Thereby, the flat face portion 117a is pressed downwardly (in a direction of the transducer 114).
In the pressing mechanism disclosed in JP-A-10-327589, a pressing force for pressing the transducer 114 (the protrusions 113) on the rail 118, which is the member to be driven, is generated according to such a structure as described above.
A rectangular through-hole portion (not shown) is provided in the flat face portion 117a of the spring member 117. Further, a similar rectangular through-hole portion (not shown) is provided in the rubber sheet 115 provided so as to be sandwiched between the spring member 117 and the transducer 114. The columnar retainer 121 extends through the rectangular through-holes (not shown) provided on both the spring member 117 and the rubber sheet 115 to be fixed to the transducer 114.
The columnar retainer 121 is provided such that side face portions thereof are surrounded by sections of the through-hole portions (not shown) of the spring member 117 and the rubber sheet 115. The position of the transducer 114 within a plane thereof contacting with the rubber sheet 115 is restricted by the structure.


A collapsible drying apparatus and method for forming and collapsing such apparatus, said apparatus comprising a frame having an expanded state and a collapsed state, a web substantially stretched over the frame, at least one support member coupled to the frame, and a strap having its ends coupled to the web, including a releasable fastener located a predetermined distance from one of the ends of the strap, and having adjustable length to apply a corresponding tension to the frame and the web, biasing the apparatus into a convexly arcuate condition.

The present invention relates generally to household products and specifically to a collapsible drying apparatus for convenient drying, storage, and transportation. The need for this invention arises in typical households. It is particularly difficult to dry certain garments used in the house hold, especially those made out of heavy fabrics such as wool. Such garments must be laid on a smooth surface and air-dried over a period of time.
Several prior art devises have attempted to provide solutions to this problem. However, none provide the convenient, economical, and easy to use features of the present invention. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,14 to Zheng discloses a method and apparatus for folding and collapsing an object incorporating a flexible loop. The need for a cable having its ends passing through an opening and then tied to second and third points along the loop restricts the use of the object in the drying process. Furthermore, the invention does not allow both sides of the garment to be freely exposed to air movement. U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,602 to Krill teaches a collapsible drying rack including a series of horizontal tubular plastic frame elements connected together by corner elements and a mesh sheet mounted on the frame. However, taking apart such a device appears to be a laborious process and storing it is a challenge in relatively narrow places, such as a traveler's bag. Reliability may be a problem also, because plastic elements tend to break easily. U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,357 to Van Vliet discloses a clothes-drying platform composed of a net stretched between frame members knitted through the margins of the net. The platform can be supported alternatively by swingable, retractable legs, by suction cups, or by a suspension sling. The platform is not foldable and, therefore, is harder to transport or to store.
It is an object of this invention to provide a collapsible drying apparatus that is easy to set up, easy to fold into a compact configuration, and to be conveniently stored and transported. It is a further object of this invention to provide such an apparatus that can be sturdily supported in a convexly arcuate position so that air can freely circulate above and below the object or garment to be dried. Another object of this invention is to provide a method for forming and collapsing a drying apparatus that is effortless and involves a minimal number of steps.

Collapsible drying apparatus and method for forming and collapsing said apparatus


Systems and methods for managing communication of a plurality of devices in a computer network having a plurality of access points, including identifying, by a second access point of the computer network, a communication request from at least one device of the plurality of devices; sending, by a first access point of the computer network, at least one communication rule to the second access point, the at least one communication rule including conditions for communication corresponding to the identified communication request; and blocking, by the second access point, communication to the second access point when the received communication request is inadmissible according to the at least one communication rule.

Communication in many computer networks such as in a household with several computers, is usually carried out via wireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.). Some wireless networks can be deployed with multiple access points, that publish the same network details (e.g., the same network name). A (wireless) access point, may be a networking hardware device that allows other wireless devices to connect wirelessly to a wired network. The access point usually connects to a router (via a wired network) as a standalone device, but it can also be an integral component of the router itself. For example, each access point in the network may publish multiple basic service set identifiers ("BSSIDs") with the same service set identifier ("SSID"). Basic service sets are identified by "BSSIDs", which are typically 48-bit labels that conform to MAC-48 conventions. Logical networks (including extended service sets) are typically identified by "SSIDs", which may serve as "network names" and are typically natural language labels, for instance, a natural language network label, such as "home" or "coffee-shop".
In recent years, it is becoming more common to install multiple access points for home networks in order to increase signal coverage, via products, such as wireless extenders, repeaters, and Wi-Fi mesh access points. A device (e.g., an internet of things ("IOT") device) connected to such a wireless network, which utilizes multiple access points, may choose to be associated with either of the multiple access points, for example based on signal strength. Securing a network utilizing multiple access points via a centralized security software on the main gateway is no longer enough because, for example, when one of the access points is the main gateway, communication between local devices may bypass the main gateway altogether by utilizing other access points in the network.

System and method for securing communication between devices on a network with multiple access points


The invention relates to free-flowing, powder fertilizer compositions characterized by having enhanced aqueous dissolution rates and being able to produce drift reduced aqueous agricultural spray medium.. Specifically, the compositions are water-soluble, nitrogen-containing fertilizers physically blended with a guar gum drift reduction agent and a silicone defoaming agent either encapsulated or absorbed in an agricultural carrier.

It is well recognized by the agricultural industry that it is advantageous to the end-users to be able to formulate dry agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, and/or adjuvants so that they can be easily mixed with water and applied by means of a spraying apparatus to a target area.
Mist, or the fine particles end of the droplet-size spectra in these agricultural sprays, i.e., those less than about 150 microns in diameter, often reduce the effectiveness of the chemical delivery process.
When the agricultural sprays are to be directed onto a specific target, the aerial spray or discharge delivery systems are typically mounted on airplanes, tractors, or ground rigs. However, as a result of spray drift, much of the active chemical ingredients in a spray can be rendered ineffective or lost because of the inability of the small diameter spray or mist particles to reach and impact upon the intended target, i.e., the crop or field locus. While small droplets provide better coverage of a target, they are more susceptible to drift than larger droplets. Spray drift represents a loss of agricultural chemical from intended targets and thus results in dangers inherent in air, ground, and water pollution. Since off-target agricultural chemicals are wasted product and can have a negative environmental and economic impact, especially if the agricultural spray medium contains fertilizer and most especially if the medium contains pesticide, it behooves sprayers to reduce this drift induced problem.
In many farming areas, soil is deficient in one or more of the natural nutrients required for satisfactory growth of certain crops. As a result, such crops do not give their optimum yield. When such conditions exist, it is a common procedure to apply a fertilizer rich in the required nutrients(s). The most common fertilizers in use today are the water-soluble, nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Solutions of the fertilizers are usually applied to the crop locus via aqueous spraying techniques; and, as described above, this spraying process usually results in the attendant production of fine mist and droplet drift.
One solution proposed in the art to reduce mist and chemical drift in aqueous agricultural sprays, such as those containing fertilizers, is to incorporate into the aqueous medium a viscosity-increasing amount of a guar gum or derivative of guar gum, specifically non-derivatized guar gum, non-cationic derivatized guar gum, cationic guar gum, or mixtures thereof
Although guar gum is often referred to as a cold water swelling polymer, guar gum hydrates in either cold or hot water give high viscosity solutions. The viscosity development depends, to a certain extent, on particle size, pH, and temperature. Guar gum solutions are stable over the pH range of 4.0-10.5. Aqueous solutions of non-derivatized guar gum are often somewhat cloudy because of the small amount of insoluble fiber and cellulosic material present.
All of the commercially important derivatives of guar gum are formed by etherification reactions. The hydroxy alkyl as well as carboxy methyl derivatives tend to be much clearer and more stable than the non-derivatized guar gum. Improved clarity results from the derivatizations and solubilizations of insoluble seed impurities.
However, the aqueous hydration of dry, water-soluble polymers such as guar gum and/or its derivatives in an aqueous agricultural spray medium in order to realize drift reduction properties can often be an arduous and frustrating task for the end-user.
Insufficient dispersion of powdered guar gum caused most often by the too rapid addition of the powder to the aqueous medium or insufficient agitation of the medium during the guar gum addition process of times results in agglomeration or lumps of guar gel. The lumps of guar gel, "fish-eyes", or other inhomogeneity of the mixture can result in difficulty in spraying and loss of drift control. These gel lumps not only cause a lowering of the overall concentrations of dissolved guar gum in the spray medium, and, thus, a reduced drift control of the medium, but also result in medium that will not flow or be readily pumpable and a plugging of the spray nozzle holes. The agglomeration or gellation can be reduced in many cases by adding the guar gum to the aqueous system very slowly with vigorous agitation. Slow addition, however, substantially reduces the efficiency and speed of the end-users processes. For the above reasons, agricultural end-users, such as farmers, continue to desire a fast, effective and simple way of incorporating guar gum and/or its derivatives into their aqueous systems.
By physically pre-blending water-soluble nitrogen-containing fertilizer such as diammonium sulfate with any of the above-described guar gum or guar gum derivatives such as hydroxy propyl guar, formulators can present to the agricultural end-user a dry system that can be easily handled in that, for example, bulky liquid containers do not have to be stored, recycled, etc. and the end-user need not be concerned about ensuring that the weight ratios of fertilizer to drift reduction agent are correct.
Applicants have discovered that, serendipitously, the pre-blended composition of water-soluble nitrogen-containing fertilizer and the guar gum drift reduction agent has the added advantages of enhancing the uniform dispersion and hydration of the guar agent by significantly reducing the agglomeration and gellation problems inherent in the aqueous hydration of powdered guar and its derivatives. Although not wishing to limit the scope of this discovery, the inventive scope to be set forth and determined solely by the claims, it is believed that the water-soluble, nitrogen-containing fertilizers, such as diammonium sulfate which tend to be crystalline, and, thus, are of a higher density than the drift reduction agents, at the outset, initially provide a solid barrier which physically separates the guar gum agent particles, i.e., provides a dilution effect. Secondly, by being of a relatively higher density, the fertilizer crystals tend to quickly pull the guar gum agent particles toward the bottom, i.e., down through the aqueous agricultural medium. The above two effects apparently ensure that a maximum surface area of the guar gum agents remains exposed to the aqueous medium and, thus, the overall hydration rate is enhanced.
Although the pre-blends of water-soluble, nitrogen-containing fertilizer and guar gum drift reduction agent are a decided improvement in the art and provide significant and unexpected advantages to the end-users as described above, problems still occur in actual field use of these blends when end-users, such as farmers, attempt to add the dry blend to a medium which may already contain an agricultural chemical or adjuvant formulation. This is because pesticides and/or adjuvants routinely contain surfactants which generate foam under agitation conditions prevalent in typical spray application equipment. With the presence of foam during the addition of the dry blends, the dispersion of the fertilizer blends is reduced and gelling and agglomeration problems often return.
Accordingly, users of water-soluble, nitrogen-containing fertilizers continue to desire a dry blend containing these fertilizers that can be incorporated into aqueous spray mixtures rapidly and completely to achieve drift reduced, sprayable agricultural media without the formation of agglomerates, gels, or clumps and which can be readily and safely handled in dry form.