A method for realizing flexible QinQ, including: after receiving a message, searching for a Media Access Control (MAC) address entry corresponding to the message in a MAC address table, if the corresponding MAC address entry is searched out, performing flexible QinQ for the received message according to the flexible QinQ information included in the MAC address entry, and forwarding the message after completing the flexible QinQ transformation. The present invention also provides a device for realizing flexible QinQ and a QinQ transformation board. The present invention gets rid of a high-cost network processor, enables storage of the flexible QinQ information and fast forwarding of the messages just on a simple interface board, it overcomes the problem in the prior art that the speed of massively searching the QinQ entry is slow and enlarges the profits of operators and network product users at the same time.

The QinQ technology is a visualized name of a tunneling protocol based on a two-layer 802.1Q encapsulation, its core idea is to encapsulate the Virtual Local Area Network Tag (VLAN tag) of the user network to the VLAN tag of the backbone network such as the operator network or the Internet Service Provider (ISP) network, and the message is passing through the backbone network with two layers of VLAN Tag.
The port in the Backbone for the user access is called as the user port. When the source user network interconnects with the destination user network through the backbone network, after a user message (the message is in the common format) is received at the user port, a new layer of VLAN Tag (the backbone network VLAN Tag) is encapsulated on the basis of the message's original VLAN Tag (user network VLAN Tag), that is, "Add QinQ" encapsulation to the message. Thereafter, the QinQ encapsulated message is transmitted. Before the message is sent to the destination user network by another user port in the backbone network, the encapsulation of the added backbone network VLAN Tag is removed to restore the message to be in the common format, that is "remove the QinQ" encapsulation. At this point, the message received by the destination user network is consistent with the message sent by the source user network.
Since the backbone network might encounter the link switching during the transmission process, it needs to transform the VLAN Tag in order to continue to transmit messages in the link after the switching. Moreover, when it needs to make different processing on the message, it also needs to transform the VLAN Tag, that is, transform the QinQ encapsulation to adapt to the new link.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the QinQ encapsulation format, and the QinQ encapsulation format comprises: the destination Media Access Control (MAC) address (DA), the source MAC address (SA), the outer VLAN Tag (Stag, Service tag), the inner VLAN Tag (Ctag, Customer tag), Type/Length, payload and cyclic redundancy check (CRC). Wherein, both the Stag and the Ctag comprise: Tag Protocol Identification (TPID) and tag control information (TCI).
The TPID is a tag used to identify the received messages between different network devices in the network interconnection, in a mature protocol, the TPID might be a standard protocol number, for example, the TPID in the inner VLAN Tag of the QinQ protocol has the standard protocol number 8100, the TPID in the outer VLAN Tag of the QinQ protocol currently has no fixed standard protocol number so far. The TCI generally comprises three aspects of content: priority, VLAN identification (VLAN ID) and canonical format indicator (CFI). Wherein, the priority is used to specify the priority level of the current message frame, generally there are eight priority levels; the VLAN ID is used to specify the VLAN that the current message belongs to.
Typically, the QinQ only supports simple configuration strategy based on the outer VLAN Tag or a combination of the outer VLAN Tag and the user port, that is, the outer VLAN Tag of the received message or a combination of the outer VLAN Tag and the user port is taken as the identification to add an encapsulation to the message, remove the encapsulation of the message or transform the encapsulation of the message. However, in practical applications, it might need to implement more configuration strategies on the QinQ, for example, perform operations such as adding encapsulation, removing the encapsulation or transforming the encapsulation, and so on according to the outer VLAN Tag and the priority of the message, or according to the outer VLAN Tag and the customer VLAN tag, or according to the service VLAN tag, the inner VLAN Tag and the priority, and so on, therefore, the concept of flexible QinQ appears, and the flexible QinQ supports enriched configuration strategies.
Currently, the flexible QinQ has no fixed service TPID standard protocol number, therefore, when implementing the flexible QinQ in the prior art, different manufacturers usually have different values set for the service TPID, therefore, in practical applications, there will have situations that the service TPIDs are not compatible with each other. Moreover, in order to achieve the flexible QinQ technology, generally a network processor (NP) is used in the prior art to deploy the QinQ configuration strategy and store a variety of required data. The NP uses a special memory to place the required data information in a table, supports to search for the address based on the content, and can retrieve information with relatively long length, but the price of the NP itself is relatively high, thus the cost of this implementation is relatively high, which is not conducive to market competition.
The specification of the Chinese patent application whose application number is 200610138023.4 disclosed a method and device for implementing flexible QinQ, and this method comprising: presetting a QinQ table in a chip, storing the data required by the flexible QinQ configuration strategy, receiving messages, query in the data needed by the flexible QinQ configuration strategy according to the customer VLAN ID, the service VLAN ID and the priority of a received message; obtain the required data from the flexible QinQ configuration strategy data through the query, and use the obtained data to execute the QinQ operation on the message.
The defects of the aforementioned method are: for each received message, a linear combination or a HASH operation result of the customer VLAN ID, the service VLAN ID and the priority should be used as an index to search for the data required by the flexible QinQ configuration strategy, the method of linear combination increases the amount of memory usage, this is because of that the two VLAN IDs and the priorities occupy 27 bits, while the linear index table also takes up to 134 M bytes of memory space. The mode of Hash operation is more feasible, but the data in the QinQ table have been stored in the chip before processing the messages. Regardless of using the table entries or not, they can be polled when looking up the table, therefore, query of the QinQ table is a massive query in practical applications, and if each received message needs a massive query in the QinQ table, it will significantly consume the processor and memory resources, and is very inefficient, moreover, no matter what method is used to query the QinQ table, the purpose of forwarding messages with high flow wire-speed is hard to be achieved.

Method and device for realizing flexible QinQ


An embedded device (1) having a memory (2) that is organized to store both data objects (DO1-DOx) and meta data (MD) which describes the locations at which the data objects are stored in the memory (2), the embedded device (1) which is connectable to a remote defragmentation device (3) is disclosed. The embedded device (1) is adapted to transmit, at the request of the defragmentation device (3), the meta data (MD) and optionally the data objects (DO1-DOx) stored in the memory (2) to the defragmentation device (3) and, in accordance with instructions and data received from the defragmentation device (3), to update in its memory (2) the meta data (MD) and to store the data objects (DO1-DOx) at locations as defined in the updated meta data (MD).

Fragmentation is a term which is used in the context of file systems. Fragmentation occurs when objects (e.g. files) of different sizes are repeatedly created and deleted. If, for example, an object in a file system has been deleted and afterwards a new object is created, this object does not necessarily fit into the gap which emerged by the previous deletion. Typically, an Operating System (OS) will then split up the new object and fill up smaller gaps. Hence the file is fragmented. Fragmentation forces the Operating System to store meta data which maintains the link between the fragmented data and the memory locations. This leads to drawbacks like slow-down of file access due to handling of the meta data and file fragments by the OS, and loss of memory capacity due to stored meta data. The more meta data have to be maintained, the fewer payload data can be stored.
As a result, defragmentation tools have been developed for rich file systems such as FAT (File Allocation Table) or NTFS (New Technology File System) which take account of this problem. Defragmentation tools of this kind have direct access to hardware components such as like hard disks or other non-volatile data storage devices. Defragmentation applications sort data by shuffling the objects and storing them in one continuous memory chunk. However, this process needs many read/write processes, an effective sorting mechanism and also a significant amount of time.
Defragmentation tools of this kind are widely used in the PC world for storage devices, such as hard disks being incorporated into the computer device. However, such defragmentation applications are not commonly employed in smart card technology due to the fact that defragmentation algorithms are complex and therefore demand significant space on non-volatile memory of the smart card. However, it should be mentioned that there are some smart cards that are able to carry out defragmentation, e.g. so called "JavaCards". Besides, a smart card is usually only powered when it has to perform some service but not for maintenance operations. Thus, there is no time scheduled to perform such operations. Furthermore, the non-volatile memory of the card is irreversibly damaged when a certain number of write cycles is exceeded, since the number of cycles is limited to a few 100,000 operations.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,885,395 B1 a method for selectively adjusting resolution levels or quality levels of digital images stored in a digital camera memory is known. As quality levels are reduced from previously stored images, the available memory becomes fragmented. To minimize the time required to store new images and to access these newly stored images, the memory card is defragmented by using defragmentation algorithms known from the art. If the memory card uses Flash EPROM memory, which is organized in memory sectors, those can be erased and rewritten in order to defragment the Flash EPROM card.
EP 1 046 996 B1, DE 100 40 241 A1 and WO 2004/066153 A1 disclose methods for on-card defragmentation of memory on a smart card.

Device for remote defragmentation of an embedded device


A high-speed communications network (10) provides singlecast, multicast, or broadcast image data capability and is implemented utilizing the High-Performance Parallel Interface (HPPI) as a physical channel. A server (12) includes both a HPPI receiver and transmitter. Workstations (18) support a HPPI-compatible receiver (14b), but require only a simplified HPPI output port (20). The workstations are connected such the receiver port of each is driven by data and control signals from an upstream server HPPI transmitter port. Handshaking signals, generated by the receiver ports, ripple upstream to the server or to an upstream workstation output port. A packet of data bursts corresponds to either a complete image frame, or to a rectangular subsection thereof, referred to as a window. A first burst is defined to be a Header burst and contains an Image Header that specifies addresses of addressed workstations. Following the Header burst are image data bursts containing pixel data organized in raster format.

A single computer generated image of medium resolution, for example 1024 horizontal by 1024 vertical picture elements (pixels), each having eight bits per red, green and blue color, requires approximately three million bytes (3 MB) of data to express. Transferring such a large data file between data processors, such as workstations, places a significant burden on conventional high-speed serial networks.
Furthermore, performing animated display sequences, which may require realtime display update rates of 30 frames/second or more, is impossible to accomplish with presently available serial interface technologies.
As such, it is desirable to employ a parallel data interface technology so as to increase the bandwidth of the communications bus. One parallel interface technology is described in a specification entitled "High-Performance Parallel Interface Mechanical, Electrical, and Signalling Protocol Specification (HPPI-PH)" preliminary draft proposed, American National Standard for Information Systems, Nov. 1, 1989, X3T9/88-127, X3T9.3/88-032, REV 6.9, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The HPPI interface specifications provides for transfers of 100M bytes/second using a 32-bit port, or 200M bytes/second if a 64-bit port is used. This particular interface technology is thus particularly attractive for use in transferring, by example, digital image animations between workstations.
However, the HPPI interface is intended as a point-to-point, simplex interface between mainframe computers, or between a mainframe and a high-speed disk storage system. The distance between nodes is limited to 25 meters and connections between multiple nodes, so as to provide broadcast or multicast transmissions, is not intended.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a high speed, high bandwidth parallel communications bus for simultaneously transferring image data from an image server to a plurality of workstations.
It is another object of the invention to provide method and apparatus for use by a plurality of workstations in receiving image data from an image data server and for propagating communication bus control signals to the server.

Communication apparatus and method for transferring image data from a source to one or more receivers

International Business Machines Corporation


Generally discussed herein are systems and apparatuses that are configured to and techniques for tracking an object in video data. According to an example, a technique can include (1) obtaining first and second video frames, the first video frame captured at a time before the second video frame was captured and the first and second video frame including a first and second image of a common geo-location, respectively, (2) projecting, using a computer processor, the first video frame and the second video to their respective ground planes, or (3) projecting the first and second ground projected video frames to a space in a center video frame captured at a time between the first and second video frames, the center video frame including a third image of the common geo-location.

Video tracking is a process of locating a position of an object in video data over time. Video tracking can be used in security, surveillance, augmented reality, traffic control, or video editing applications, among others. Video tracking can include object recognition. A goal of video tracking can be to correlate objects in different video frames.

Video tracking with jitter, slewing, or zoom


A sponge for cleaning a vehicular grille has a multilayered polyester polyol-based polyurethane wherein the upper and lower layers are each a flexible polyester polyurethane foam and the central or medial layer is a reticulated polyurethane foam. The layers are bonded together. The sponge has a first serrated side edge and an opposed semicircular side edge enabling at least one edges to be inserted into the interstices of an automotive grille.

The present invention pertains to sponges. More particularly, the present invention pertains to sponges having foraminous upper and lower layers with a reticulated medial central portion. Even more particularly, the present invention concerns sponges of the type herein indicated which are particularly adapted for cleaning the grille of a vehicle.


A process for making monomenthyl esters of dicarboxylic acids is disclosed. Menthol reacts with a saturated, cyclic anhydride in the presence of a base catalyst under conditions effective to produce a mixture of mono- and bis-menthyl esters in which the molar ratio of mono- to bis-menthyl esters is enhanced compared with the ratio of esters produced in a similar uncatalyzed process.

Monomenthyl esters of dicarboxylic acids such as monomenthyl succinate (MMS), monomenthyl glutarate (MMG), and monomenthyl adipate (MMA) are physiological cooling agents used in flavors, oral care and cosmetics. When prepared using l-menthol as a starting material, these half acid esters have the structures indicated below:
The use of these compounds as flavoring or physiological cooling agents is discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,725,865 (MMS) and 6,884,906 (MMA), and Smith et al., Food Tech. 55 (2001) 53 (MMG). Additionally, MMS and MMG have achieved FEMA GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status.
Despite the unquestionable value of the monomenthyl esters, relatively little is known about how to make them efficiently. In one approach (see Rule et al., J. Chem. Soc. (1928) 1347 and Hilditch et al., J. Chem. Soc. (1909) 1570), the corresponding dicarboxylic acid (e.g., succinic acid) is first reacted with an excess of thionyl chloride. Reaction of the chlorinated intermediate with excess menthol (100° C., 5-6 hours) provides a bis-menthyl ester. Finally, the bis-menthyl ester is partially hydrolyzed using sodium dissolved in 95% ethanol, and the desired monomenthyl ester is isolated in a tedious extractive workup.
The monomenthyl esters can also be made by reacting menthol with the corresponding saturated anhydride as follows:
A few publications teach to simply heat equimolar amounts of menthol and the anhydride together in the absence of a solvent or catalyst at 110-120° C. for about one day (see, e.g., Jabloner et al., J. Polym. Sci. A., 18 (1980) 2933), but none provides information about yields or selectivities to the monomenthyl ester.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,111,127 teaches a preparation of MMS from the reaction of menthol and succinic acid either uncatalyzed in refluxing chloroform, or catalyzed by p-toluenesulfonic acid in refluxing toluene. It is unclear whether the monomenthyl ester can be made efficiently by these methods, and solvents are preferably avoided for making compounds to be used in flavor or fragrance applications.
More recently, Shimizu et al. (Synlett (1995) 650) published a process for selectively making monomenthyl esters by using a large excess of the anhydride. Reaction of three moles of succinic anhydride with one mole of menthol in pyridine solvent in the presence of one equivalent of dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) gave MMS in 90-97% yield. Unfortunately, the method is impractical because it requires a large excess of the anhydride, pyridine solvent, and the highly toxic DMAP.
In sum, an efficient, practical way to make monomenthyl esters of dicarboxylic acids is needed. In particular, a process that provides high selectivity to the monomenthyl ester is essential. Ideally, the process would avoid solvents or other toxic reagents and would be simple to practice.


A process for forming a plastic casing having reinforcing elements to resist tensile forces by simultaneously extruding the plastic casing and the reinforcing elements which are in a molten form and then twisting the extruded casing and elements to impart a helical configuration to the elements.

The invention relates to a process for producing a plastic casing reinforced against tensile forces by, elements for resisting extension in the plastic casing. The process includes the elements being extruded in molten form at the same time as the plastic casing serving to receive these elements is extruded.
In many cases in which plastic is used as a casing or walling material, the strength value of most plastics does not satisfy the demands made on the casing. Therefore, it is known, for example for plastic insulations for electrical and/or optical cables or lines, to incorporate in the insulation or to bond in a suitable form with the insulation elements for resisting extension (German Patent 2,740,162, German Patent 2,818,297). In such cases, the elements for resisting extension have been placed on or under the insulation and, for example, are adhesively bonded with the insulation, jacket or casing. Processes are also known in which the elements for resisting extension have been fed to the insulation during extrusion.
JP-A-62,130,821 discloses a process in which a tubular body is extruded, reinforcing filaments which may consist, for example, of LCPs and are also embedded in the tube walling being extruded in coextrusion by means of tubular dies. These reinforcing filaments run in straight lines, which may be disadvantageous for some applications, for example in the case of strong bending stresses, in the case of stranding operations, etc.
Also to be cited in this connection as prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,553,815 and 4,767,183, in which although the use of LCPs reinforcing against tensile forces is already described in the case of optical cables, their simultaneous extrusion is not.

Process for producing a plastic casing reinforced against tensile force


A rear-side reinforcement structure for a motor vehicle body includes at least one side member extending in vehicle longitudinal direction, a shock absorber reinforcement profile and an outer rear end reinforcement profile. The shock absorber reinforcement profile is connected to the side member with a lower front profile section located in travelling direction at the front. The shock absorber reinforcement profile is connected to the rear end reinforcement profile with a rear profile section that is spaced from the side member and facing a rear end of the body. The outer rear end reinforcement profile extends from the rear profile section of the shock absorber reinforcement profile to the side member and with a lower connection section is connected to the side member.

Motor vehicles with a sloping rear body typically have a rear end reinforcement structure in order to structurally reinforce the region of a rear opening that can be closed with a trunk lid.
For example, DE 10 2010 018 470 A1 discloses a rear section for a motor vehicle body with two rear side members, a rear floor extending between the rear side members and with a rear cross member including a profile section connecting the rear side members. Here, the profile section is arranged above the rear side members crossing the same. Because of an offset in height between rear side members and rear cross member, the rear cross member can reach out beyond the side members in lateral direction. As a consequence of this, a side wall and/or a wheel housing of the rear section can be directly fastened to the cross member.

Rear end reinforcement structure for a motor vehicle body


There is disclosed a pressure gauge construction in which a diaphragm assembly responsive to changing values of fluid pressure being supplied to the gauge is secured against an internal support surface of the casing by a combination of sealant and thermal staking.

Pressure gauges are widely utilized in a myriad of different environments for commercial and industrial applications where measuring an indication of fluid pressure values is required. Values of pressure are usually displayed by a displaceable pointer opposite a dial plate containing graduations of pressure indicia. The gauge typically utilizes a pressure-sensitive element and incurs a predictable displacement in response to pressure changes to which it is exposed. The displacement is then translated via a movement or amplifier leading directly to the pointer that is displaced opposite the dial plate.
In a typical diaphragm-type pressure gauge, two diaphragms are joined spaced apart to create a pressure cavity. The assembly is then mounted in an enclosure using hardware such as screws, rivets, welding, etc. Other forms of diaphragm constructions are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,572,970; 3,844,025; 4,488,341; and 5,181,422. The latter patent is incorporated herein by reference.
While such prior gauge assemblies have functioned well, they have long been regarded as being two labor intensive and incurring costs beyond what would appear to be merited.
Despite recognition of the foregoing, a much simpler and more economically feasible construction of a diaphragm-type pressure gauge has heretofore been unknown.

Pressure gauge having a diaphragm secured staked within the enclosure


Film-forming materials include resins having a covalently bonded phosphorous atom, the phosphorous atom having at least one covalently bonded oxygen atom. Film-forming resins containing phosphorous can include epoxy, acrylic, polyurethane, polycarbonate, polysiloxane, polyvinyl, polyether, aminoplast, and polyester resins. A process to produce a film-forming resin includes reacting various polymers to incorporate a pendent group comprising a covalently bonded phosphorous atom.

Coating compositions are used in a variety of applications to coat a variety of substrates, often for protection of the substrate or to improve adhesion of subsequent coating layers. Typical coatings include electrodeposition coatings, primers, sealers, basecoats, clearcoats, and one-coat topcoats. Coating compositions include film-forming materials containing one or more resins, which may be polymeric, oligomeric, and/or monomeric materials, that are applied to a substrate by various methods, including electrodeposition (or electrocoating), spray coating, dip coating, roll coating, knife coating, and curtain coating. As used herein, a "resin" refers to one or more polymeric, oligomeric, and/or monomeric materials; a polymer includes repeating monomer units; an oligomer is a polymer including a few repeating monomer units, typically ten or fewer. Various types of film-forming materials are known and include epoxy, acrylic, polyurethane, polycarbonate, polysiloxane, aminoplast, and polyester resins.
Coating compositions can include a pigment dispersing or grind resin and a principal resin that generally constitutes the major polymeric part of the coating film. A grind resin usually includes a film-forming material, with which a pigment paste is made by wetting out pigment, filler, and catalyst, such as a metal catalyst, where the grind resin is blended or mixed with the other materials by milling in, e.g. a sandmill, ball mill, attritor, or other equipment. The pigment paste is combined with the principal resin and, typically, a curing agent. The grind resin and the principal resin can include the same, different, or mixtures of various film-forming materials.
The relatively soft film of an applied coating composition can be hardened by curing or crosslinking the film through incorporation of a crosslinker or curing agent in the coating composition. The crosslinker can be chemically reactive toward the polymers, oligomers, and/or monomeric compounds of the resin in the coating composition, thereby covalently joining the film-forming units together into a crosslinked film. Typical crosslinkers are activated (e.g., unblocked) using heat during a curing step and/or by exposure to actinic radiation. Catalysts, such as metal catalysts, can be used to facilitate thermal activation of the crosslinker and the reaction of the crosslinker with the resin. For example, inclusion of a catalyst such as a metal catalyst can reduce the requisite cure temperature and/or provide for a more complete cure.
Coating compositions can be powder, organic solvent based, or aqueous based. However, it is often desirable to use aqueous based coatings in order to reduce organic emissions. Such aqueous coating compositions include emulsions and dispersions of cationic, anionic, or nonionic resins, which may be formed via the dispersive properties of the resins themselves or with aid of external surfactants.
Epoxy-based coatings include polymers, oligomers, and/or monomers prepared by reacting materials with epoxide groups with materials having functional groups such as carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amine groups. Epoxies can be cured or crosslinked to form hardened coatings by using various crosslinkers depending on the functional groups present. For example, hydroxy-functional resin can be cured using isocyanate compounds. Such coating compositions are known in the art; e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,852,824; 5,817,733; and 4,761,337.
The electrodeposition process can be anodic or cathodic; typically the article to be coated serves as the cathode. Electrodeposition processes are advantageous both economically and environmentally due to the high transfer efficiency of coating resin to the substrate and the low levels of organic solvent, if any, that are employed. Another advantage of electrocoat compositions and processes is that the applied coating composition forms a uniform and contiguous layer over a variety of metallic substrates regardless of shape or configuration. This is especially advantageous when the coating is applied as an anticorrosive coating onto a substrate having an irregular surface, such as a motor vehicle body. The even and continuous coating layer formed over all portions of the metallic substrate provides maximum anticorrosion effectiveness.
Electrocoat baths can comprise an aqueous dispersion or emulsion of a film-forming material, such as an epoxy resin, having ionic stabilization. A dispersion is typically a two-phase system of one or more finely divided solids, liquids, or combinations thereof in a continuous liquid medium such as water or a mixture of water and organic cosolvent. An emulsion is a dispersion of liquid droplets in a liquid medium, preferably water or a mixture of water and various cosolvents. Accordingly, an emulsion is a type of dispersion.
For automotive or industrial applications, the electrocoat compositions are formulated to be curable compositions by including a crosslinker. During electrodeposition, a coating composition containing an ionically-charged resin is deposited onto a conductive substrate by submerging the substrate in an electrocoat bath having dispersed therein the charged resin and then applying an electrical potential between the substrate and a pole of opposite charge, for example, a stainless steel electrode. The charged coating particles are plated or deposited onto the conductive substrate. The coated substrate is then heated to cure the coating.
Typical substrates to be coated include metallic substrates, such as steel, galvanized and electrogalvanized metals, zinc alloys, and aluminum substrates. The substrate is often treated in a multi-step process in order to prepare the surface prior to application of the coating composition. Substrate preparation can include treatments with cleaners and conditioning rinses followed by phosphating (also known as phosphatizing or parkerizing) the substrate. For example, a steel substrate can be cleaned and conditioned to remove any metal working fluids or oils by spraying with or immersion in cleaners and conditioning rinses. The cleaned substrate is then treated with a zinc, manganese, and/or iron phosphate conversion coating by immersion. The phosphate coating serves to improve adhesion between the substrate and subsequent organic coatings, such as an epoxy-based electrocoating composition.
A significant amount of time and energy is involved in preparation of the coating composition, preparation of the substrate surface, and the application of the coating composition to the substrate. Elimination of one or more steps or combination of multiple steps in the coating process would be advantageous. Such changes could reduce the amount of equipment necessary in addition to saving time and energy.
A need, therefore, exists for film-forming materials and processes using film-forming materials that improve and simplify the coating process, for example, by reducing the number of steps involved and/or by combining steps.

Film-forming material containing phosphorous


One embodiment provides a system, including: at least two water analyzers, wherein at least one of the at least two water analyzers is positioned upstream of a purification apparatus and wherein at least another of the at least two water analyzers is positioned downstream of the purification apparatus; at least one processor; and a memory device that stores instructions executable by the processor to: receive water analysis data from the at least two water analyzers, wherein the water analysis data comprises information related to membrane integrity; identify an algorithm for calculating membrane integrity based upon received data corresponding to system attributes; and calculate, using the identified algorithm, the membrane integrity based upon the received water analysis data. Other aspects are described and claimed.

Clean water is an important issue for communities and governments around the world. Facilities to clean water range in size from very small and rudimentary to large and complex. We are witnessing a trend of increased utilization of natural resources, society's increased usage of water, and rising levels of pollutants in water. While the demand for water is rising, the availability of clean sources of water is diminishing. Advances in water treatment can alleviate these issues.
One method for cleaning water is to use membranes (e.g., filters, etc.) to remove unwanted contaminants (e.g., particles, pathogens, heavy metals, etc.) in water. A current method of monitoring the effectiveness of membranes used for water treatment involves using a nephelometer to continuously measure turbidity, or other properties, of the water downstream from a filtering system. This form of measurement identifies the amount of undesired particles or pathogens that remain in the water after filtering through a group of filters on a filter rack. Thus, the measurement essentially measures whether the combined group of filters of the filter rack are performing as required, for example, as set by a regulatory agency.

Membrane integrity monitoring in water treatment


A gas sensor is equipped with a built-in ceramic heater. The gas sensor detects the concentration of a predetermined gas component contained in the exhaust gas. The ceramic heater has a heater base member made of ceramic, a heating element formed in the inside of the heater base material, and a pair of external electrode pads that is electrically connected to the output terminals for the outer leads. The external electrode pads, the heating element, and the heater leads are made of base metal. The outer surface of each external electrode pad is covered only with a dense protective film made of noble metal such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), platinum (Pt), rhodium (Rh), and palladium (Pd).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceramic heater which is built into a gas sensor capable of detecting the concentration of a specific gas component contained in a target gas to be measured, for example, the exhaust gas which is emitted from the internal combustion engine mounted to motor vehicles. The present invention further relates to a gas sensor equipped with the above ceramic heater, and to a method of producing the above ceramic heater.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 10 is the sectional diagram of the conventional gas sensor 8 equipped with the built-in ceramic heater 9 in its axial direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the gas sensor 8 is capable of detecting the concentration of the specific gas (such as the oxygen concentration) contained in the exhaust gas emitted from the internal combustion engine mounted to the motor vehicle. The gas sensor 8 has the built-in the ceramic heater 9 and the gas sensor element 80. The ceramic heater 9 heats the gas sensor element 80.
The ceramic heater 9 has the heater base member 910 made of ceramic. The heater base member 910 has the heater element (omitted from FIG. 10) therein.
FIG. 11 is the cross section of the contact area between the external electrode pad 912 and the output terminal in the conventional ceramic heater 9 built in the gas sensor 8 shown in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 11, the external electrode pad 912 is formed on an outer surface of the heater base member 910. The external electrode pad 912 is electrically connected to the heater element in the gas sensor 8.
The external electrode pad 912 is made of tungsten (W). The outer surface of the external electrode pad 912 is covered with the protective film 914 formed by a nickel plating film, for example. Japanese patent laid open publication No. 2005-158471 has disclosed a gas sensor having such a construction.
As shown in FIG. 11, the protective film 914 is electrically connected to the external lead 92 by the brazing member 915 made of Au—Cu alloy, for example. This structure allows the external electrode pad 912 to have thermal resistance properties and to resist oxidation.
As shown in FIG. 10, the gas sensor element 80 is of a cylindrical shape, in the bottom part of the diagram. The gas sensor 8 further has the housing in which the cylindrical gas sensor element 80 is disposed, and the ceramic heater 9 is disposed in the gas sensor element 80.
The gas sensor 8 has the target gas measurement chamber 82 and the atmosphere gas chamber 83. In actual use, the front end outer peripheral surface of the gas sensor element 80 is directly exposed to the target gas introduced into the target measurement gas chamber 82. The inner periphery surface of the gas sensor element 80 is exposed to atmosphere air introduced into the atmosphere chamber 83. The external electrode pad 912 is exposed to the atmosphere air in the atmosphere chamber 83.
The target gas measurement chamber 82 and the atmosphere chamber 83 are sealed with the seal member 84 placed between the gas sensor element 80 and the housing 81. This structure protects the atmosphere chamber 83 from entry of the exhaust gas.
However, because the exhaust gas temperature increases according to recently strict automobile emissions control, there is a possibility of applying thermal load to the seal member 82, and as a result, the air-tightness capability between the target gas measurement chamber 82 and the atmosphere chamber 83 decreases. This could allow entry of the exhaust gas into the atmosphere chamber 83, and as a result, there is a possibility that corrosive components (such as nitrogen oxide) contained in the exhaust gas reaches the protective film 914.
As described above, because the protective film 914 is made of a nickel (Ni) plating film and the like, nickel (Ni) easily reacts with such a corrosive component, nitric acid that is generated from nitrogen oxide contained in the exhaust gas. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the nickel (Ni) component in the protective film 914 is corroded by nitrogen oxide.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, there is another technique to cover the outer peripheral surface of the protective film 914 and the brazing member 915 with a chromium (Cr) plating film. However, thermal stress can cause cracks in the Cr plating film that is applied to the brazing member 915. Corrosive components enter cracks generated in the Cr plating film, and finally reach the protective film 914 that is made of nickel (Ni). This corrodes the protective film 914.
FIG. 12 shows a cross section of the contact area of another construction between the external electrode pad 912 and an output terminal 920 in the conventional ceramic heater shown in FIG. 10.
As shown in FIG. 12, Japanese patent laid open publication No. JP 2006-91009 has proposed a structure to connect the external lead to the external electrode pad 912 with the output terminal 920, not to fix them through a brazing member. The output terminal 920 is a part capable of supporting the base end part of the ceramic heater 9 in its thickness direction. In the ceramic heater having the construction shown in FIG. 12, the external electrode pad 912 is covered with the primary protective film 916 made of a Ni plating film and further covered with the secondary protective film 917 made of a gold (Au) plating film in order to keep its corrosion resistance.
However, one or more pin holes are often formed in the secondary protective film 917 made of the Au plating film. The presence of the pin holes in the secondary protective film 917 causes a possibility that the corrosive components enter and finally reach the primary protective film 916 through the pin holes. This often causes corrosion of the primary protective film 916 made of a nickel (Ni) film.
For this reason, there is strong demand of obtaining a ceramic heater equipped with an external electrode pad with superior anti-corrosion and thermal resistance.

Ceramic heater, gas sensor, and method of producing ceramic heater


A applied diffusor structure for lightguides fabricated out of a flexible transparent film substrate. The substrate having high resolution complex patterns printed on the surface of the substrate using any high resolution printing process. The substrate affixed to the lightguide using a transparent adhesive or alternatively the substrate is molded to the lightguide.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains in general to lightguides for backlighting of keypads and liquid crystal displays, and more particularly, to diffusor structures which are incorporated into lightguides.
2. Description of Related Art
Keypads and liquid crystal displays commonly utilize a lightguide to transmit light across the liquid crystal display or keypad from a light source. In order to diffuse the light evenly, defusing structures are incorporated into the lightguide. The most common method for incorporating diffusing structures into the lightguide is to print diffusor dots or diffusor patterns onto a rear surface of the light guide. Typically, a screen printing process or pad printing process is used to print the diffusor dots or patterns directly onto the rear surface of the lightguide. The pad printing and screen printing processes have limitations as to the resolution of the diffusor patterns which can be printed and also limit the surface topography of the lightguide on which the patterns can be printed. For example, feature sizes must be at least 0.004 to 0.006 inches in size using the screen printing process and even larger for the pad printing process. Furthermore, these processes may not be used on surface topographies having confined areas, such as recesses, or on areas with adjacent features such as pins. Moreover, these processes can not be used on lightguides having significantly contoured non-planar surfaces.
The resolution limitations imposed by the pad printing and screen printing processes create another problem for backlighting of liquid crystal displays and keypads. In order to achieve uniform and efficient illumination across the entire length of the lightguide, diffusor patterns need to be small in size and low in density near the light source where light is abundant and increasingly larger in size and more dense the further the distance from the light source. In certain circumstances, the screen printing and pad printing processes cannot achieve the resolutions required for uniform backlighting. The result is the creation of localized bright spots. To address this problem, additional diffusers constructed out of textured or frosted Mylar are located between the lightguide and the display.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to create a lightguide incorporating a diffusor structure which overcomes the resolution and typography limitations associated with the pad printing and screen printing processes.

Discretely applied diffusor structures on lightguides


The invention relates to thrust reversers comprising at least one mobile element (3), at least one locking device (7) comprising a hook (8) cooperating with a hookable part (6) in order to keep the mobile element (3) in the closed position, and a double detection system (10) detecting closure and locking comprising a sensor (15) for indicating, in particular by a signal, if the mobile element (3) is in the closed position and if the device (7) is in a locked position.

The present invention relates to the field of aircraft turbojet thrust reversers and more particularly to the locking devices and closure and locking detection systems of such thrust reversers.
The invention applies equally to pivoting door thrust reversers, such as those fitted to the bypass turbojet shown in FIG. 1, and to thrust reversers with cascades protected by retractable shells (not illustrated) and to pivoting shell thrust reversers (not illustrated) fitted downstream of the fuselage.
In general, as can be seen in FIG. 1, turbojet 2 thrust reversers 1 comprise elements 3 that are mobile between a closed position 4 and an open position 5. The closed position 4 makes it possible to allow the flow of air or of ejected hot gases to flow freely towards the rear in order to confer, by reaction, a forward thrust to the turbojet 2 and to the aircraft. The open position 5 makes it possible to divert all or part of the flow laterally, and forwards, in order to obtain a reversal of the thrust of the turbojet 2 intended to brake the aircraft during a landing.
It is of prime importance that the mobile elements 3 of the thrust reversers 1 remain closed for the whole of the takeoff and flight time of the aircraft.

Closure and locking detection system for turbojet thrust reverser

Abstract: According to the invention, the double detection system detecting closure and locking of a mobile element of a turbojet thrust reverser comprises a means (16) of detection of the hookable part (6) and of activation of a second means (17) of detection of the crooked end (13) of the hook (8).


A column lock assembly for a vehicle including a steering shaft rotatable about a longitudinal axis is disclosed. A first abutment defining a plurality of recesses and a second abutment are mounted to the steering shaft. A sleeve is disposed between the abutments with a locking member movable between a locked position preventing rotation of the sleeve and an unlocked position allowing rotation of the sleeve. The sleeve includes a body portion and a first protrusion engaging one of the recesses to couple the sleeve to the steering shaft for concurrent rotation about the longitudinal axis with the body portion being deformable along the longitudinal axis to move the first protrusion from one of the recesses to an other one of the recesses for allowing rotation of the steering shaft relative to the sleeve when the locking member is in the locked position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a column lock assembly for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically vehicles are equipped with column lock assemblies for preventing rotation of a steering shaft about a longitudinal axis when an ignition is turned off. A sleeve is disposed about the steering shaft with a locking member engaging the sleeve when the ignition in turned off for preventing rotation of both the sleeve and the steering shaft. Some of these column lock assemblies are also designed to allow the steering shaft to slip relative to the sleeve when a predetermined torque is applied to the steering shaft for preventing damage to the column lock assembly. A first abutment and a second abutment are mounted to the steering shaft with the sleeve disposed therebetween. The sleeve engages one of the first and second abutments for allowing the sleeve to rotate with the steering shaft when the locking member is disengaged from the sleeve. A spring is disposed proximal to the sleeve and biases to move the sleeve along the longitudinal axis when the locking member engages the sleeve thus allowing the steering shaft to rotate or slip relative to the sleeve.
Therefore there remains a need to develop a column lock assembly having a sleeve for preventing rotation of a steering shaft when a locking member engages the sleeve with a body portion of the sleeve deformable along a longitudinal axis for allowing the steering shaft to rotate relative to the sleeve.


A system for air conditioning at least one partial region of an aircraft comprises an air providing device for providing air to be supplied to a region of the aircraft to be ventilated at a desired temperature and pressure. A supply air duct is connected at a first end to the air providing device. A second end of the supply air duct is connected to an air inlet which opens near the floor into the aircraft region to be ventilated. A control device is set up to ensure that the air provided by the air providing device enters the aircraft region to be ventilated via the air inlet at such a speed that the air is distributed near the floor in the aircraft region to be ventilated and rises at heat sources present in the aircraft region to be ventilated, and that the air provided by the air providing device enters the aircraft region to be ventilated via the air inlet at such a temperature that a desired ambient temperature is set in the aircraft region to be ventilated.

At present, air conditioning systems used in aircraft for ventilating and pressurising the aircraft passenger cabin and/or the cargo compartment work on the principle of mixing ventilation. In the case of mixing ventilation, which is also called dilution ventilation or jet ventilation, air, which is optionally temperature-controlled as required, is blown into the part of the aircraft to be ventilated, with a high impulse and at a high speed (approximately 0.7 to 3 m/s), through air inlets usually arranged in the ceiling region of a part of the aircraft to be ventilated. Owing to the high impulse and the high speed of the air blown in, tumble air movements form in the part of the aircraft to be ventilated which ensure a virtually homogeneous intermixing of the air with the ambient air, free convection induced by heat sources and cold or hot surfaces being dominated by the forced flow of the tumble air movements. The air jets of the tumble air movements may reach air speeds which are beyond the comfort limit for the passengers and crew. The exhaust air is usually removed from the part of the aircraft to be ventilated through air outlets provided in the floor region of the part of the aircraft to be ventilated. Exhaust air removed through the air outlets is generally at least partly filtered, mixed with fresh outside air in a mixer and finally returned to the part of the aircraft to be ventilated. For setting a desired cabin pressure, as required, excess exhaust air can be removed to the environment through pressure regulating valves (outflow valves) which connect a pressurised region of the aircraft to the outside atmosphere.
The formation of tumble air movements necessarily results in regions in which free convection and forced flow complement one another or are added to one another and regions in which the free convection opposes the forced flow. The resulting ambient flow thus has regions at a high flow speed and regions at a low flow speed. The differences in flow speed increase with increasing heat load. Moreover, the relatively concentrated introduction of the cool air, the jet formation and the inhomogeneous speed and cooling-load introduction in the part of the aircraft to be ventilated may result in an uneven temperature distribution. Furthermore, the supply of very cool air into the passenger cabin leads to marked reductions in the comfort of the passengers and crew members. Consequently, the difference between the temperature of the air supplied via the air inlets and the temperature of the ambient air in the part of the aircraft to be ventilated must not be too great. High heat loads can then, however, only be removed by means of correspondingly high air volume flows which require an air supply at very high speed and/or an enlargement of the air outlets. This may lead to unpleasant draughts and disturbing noises.
The short distance between the air inlets and the seat positions of the passengers in passenger aircraft limits the available jet length and the speed of the air blown in through the air inlets. In certain circumstances, however, air speeds which are at least locally above the comfortable range may result, while at the same time other regions of the cabin are not sufficiently ventilated. Moreover, special regions provided in the aircraft passenger cabin, such as, for example, galleys, rest zones for crew members or bar areas and also curtains used for zoning the aircraft passenger cabin, may disturb the formation of the tumble air movements characteristic of mixing ventilation, which may likewise result in reductions in the comfort of the passengers and the crew members, at least in locally defined regions of the cabin. Furthermore, the partly turbulent air flow conditions arising in mixing ventilation increase the drying-out of the skin, eyes and mucous membranes caused by the low atmospheric humidity in the passenger cabin of only 5 to 15% relative humidity.
A further disadvantage of the mixing ventilation principle is that, due to the tumble air movements which form, harmful substances are rapidly distributed in the entire flow cross-section of the aircraft and, moreover, longitudinal flows are promoted. This is problematical, particularly in the event of a fire with smoke formation, since the smoke is distributed so quickly due to the air flow conditions which arise in mixing ventilation that no uncontaminated escape areas remain.
Finally, an aircraft cabin which is ventilated by an air conditioning system working on the principle of mixing ventilation can be subdivided into individual climatic zones only in the longitudinal direction. This leads to severe restriction of the flexibility in the design of the aircraft cabin which is increasingly demanded by the market.
In the past, the heat load to be removed from an aircraft cabin has continually increased due to the installation of entertainment electronics systems for the passengers, lighting systems and the like. If this trend were to continue, it could become increasingly difficult in future to find a reasonable compromise between comfortable air temperature and speed and proper heat removal in the operation of an aircraft air conditioning system working on the principle of mixing ventilation.
The present invention is directed at the object of specifying a system and a method for air conditioning at least one partial region of an aircraft which enable proper removal even of high heat loads from a part of the aircraft to be ventilated and at the same time the creation of comfortable ambient conditions for the passengers and crew members situated in the part of the aircraft to be ventilated.

System and method for air conditioning at least one partial region of an airplane


A tufting machine with an improved pattern yarn feed and distribution device for use in tufting a graphic pattern into the face of a tufted article. An improved pattern yarn feed drive is provided with at least two separate yarn drive control sections which together provide an increased number of controls such that any one control is adapted to drive a predetermined number of tufting yarns selectively passed thereabout for minimizing the length between any one of the tufting yarns and its respective tufting needle. An improved tube bank configuration is used with the pattern yarn drive assembly, and comprises at least two tube bank sections, each of which is also constructed and arranged to minimize the length of the yarns passed therethrough from a respective one of the yarn drive controls to a respective one of the tufting needles. This improved construction minimizes the problems of yarn elasticity and yarn lag when feeding the yarns to the needles of the tufting machine, thus greatly reducing the likelihood of a loss of pattern definition occurring in the graphic pattern being tufted in the face of the tufted article on the tufting machine.

The use of tufting machines to create tufted articles, for example tufted carpet, is well known in the art. Conventional tufting machines use a reciprocating needle bar carrying a plurality of aligned needles of a predetermined gauge, the needles being constructed and arranged to reciprocably penetrate a backing material passing beneath the needle bar and over a bedrail. As the needles penetrate the backing materials they each carry a separate yarn which yarn is caught either by a looper to create a looped pile article, or by a hook moving, in timed relationship with a knife to create a loop of tufted material which is then cut to create a cut pile article. It is by these well known processes, that loop pile and cut pile carpeting is made.
In order to create patterned tufted articles, the amount of yarn fed to certain needles of the tufting machine is varied so that either high or low piles, respectively, are formed in a patterned series defined in the face of the carpet in the desired shape, design, and/or configuration. Although other methods and devices exist for creating patterns in carpet, to create the pattern within a tufted article, by this method it is necessary therefore to control the amount of yarn fed to the individual tufting machine needles in order to produce the desired pattern. This has been accomplished by using a pattern yarn feed drive assembly, also known as a scroll attachment, which is constructed to control the feed rate of the yarns to the needles of the tufting machine.
One example of such a pattern yarn drive assembly is the YARNTRONICS pattern assembly manufactured by Card-Monroe Corp. of Chattanooga, Tenn., disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,497 (the "'497 patent"). The '497 patent discloses a tufting machine a yarn feed mechanism having a plurality of yarn feed rollers, known as controls, disposed in spaced series and operably engaged with either one of a high speed or a low speed drive shaft, respectively, each of the drive shafts being driven in synchronization with the rotation of the tufting machine main drive shaft, and thus in synchronization with the reciprocation of the needles through the backing material. As the yarn is fed to the needles of the tufting machine, predetermined yarn feed rollers are rotated at either a relatively high rate of speed or a relatively low rate of speed with respect to one another such that a sufficient amount of yarn is supplied to associated needles to form either a full height or "high" pile, or a looped "low" pile. If the yarn is fed more slowly to the needles, a low pile is created by "back-robbing" the yarn, in which the yarn is drawn back toward the backing material on the upstitch portion of the tufting cycle to tuft a low pile. In some instances certain yarns may be drawn back snugly against the backing material so that the yarn is masked by the high piles of the carpet until such time as that particular yarn color is desired in the pattern being created in the face of the tufted article.
As known to those skilled in the art, each separate needle which receives a yarn from a given feed roller, or control, will tend to produce a pile having the same relative height as that of the other needles receiving yarn from the same feed roller. To produce patterns, the needles are provided with yarns in a recurring series of a predetermined number of yarns, known as a repeat. The repeats are duplicated in series across the width of the tufting machine. For example, assuming a tufting machine is provided with 72 control pairs, or controls which may comprise a low speed and a high speed yarn drive roller supported on a frame extending the width of the tufting machine, and the gauge or distance between each needle with respect to the adjacent needles in series is one-quarter of an inch, then one spaced series of 72 needles will extend approximately 18 inches, or approximately 45 cm in width. This spaced series of needles will need to be "repeated", therefore, forming a series of "repeats" 18 inches, or approximately 45 cm, wide across the desired width of the tufted article. Thus, if it is desired to produce a tufted article of approximately 13 & 1/2 feet, or approximately 4 meters, in width, nine such repeats of 72 needles per repeat are required. Accordingly, each of yarn feed drive rollers would have nine separate tufting yarns passed thereover with each one of those yarns being passed on to the corresponding needles of each repeat, for example the first needle in the repeat. Thereafter, the next control pair of yarn feed drive rollers would have nine yarns passed thereover and to the second needle of each repeat, and so on. The repeat width is determined by multiplying the number of controls by the gauge of the needles. The repeat width is then multiplied by the appropriate number to arrive at the appropriate or desired width of the tufted article to be produced.
As a practical limitation, the number of controls provided as a part of the pattern yarn drive assembly is oftentimes determined by the physical limitations of providing sufficient numbers of controls as a part of the pattern yarn drive assembly. As discussed above, if a fourth guage tufting machine is provided with an 18-inch repeat width, 72 control pairs of yarn feed drive rollers are provided. Although it is desirable to feed each needle with yarn separately of the others, it is difficult to provide a separate control pair for each needle as the total number of needles for nine repeats of 72 needles comprising the width of the tufted article equals 648 needles, which would require 648 control pairs if a control pair were to be provided for each needle and yarn. Accordingly, the necessity of using "repeats" to tuft patterned tufted articles has arisen.
Where a tufting machine constructed to tuft patterned articles is provided with a pattern yarn drive assembly, a means must be provided for passing the yarns from each control to the appropriate needles of the repeats across the width of the tufting machine. This can be accomplished by using a tube bank as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,862,465 to Card (the '465 patent"). In the '465 patent, a tube bank was created from a plurality of guide tubes, one guide tube being provided for each yarn passing to each respective one of the needles of the tufting machine. Thus, for a machine having 72 control pairs of drive rollers feeding 72 yarns to nine different repeats, the tube bank of the '465 patent would be comprised of 648 yarn tubes extending from a point adjacent the respective controls to a point at or close to the appropriate needle mounted on the needle bar of the tufting machine. By fashioning the tube bank in this manner, the appropriate yarns would be guided to the appropriate needles without allowing the yarns to become tangled which would otherwise necessitate machine shut down in order to re-thread the machine.
One problem that has arisen with the use of tube banks, however, is that typically certain of the tubes will be longer than others for corresponding yarns/needles within a repeat as the repeats extend across the width of the tufting machine. For example, and as illustrated in FIG. 1C, the yarn extending from the first control of a pattern yarn drive assembly to the first needle of each of the nine repeats will have nine different lengths, with the length of the yarn closest to repeats 1, 2, and 3 being less than the length of the yarn extending from the first control to the first needle of repeats 7, 8, and 9, respectively. As a result, given the inherent elasticity of the yarn or yarns being used to create the tufted article, it sometimes occurs that when yarn is being back-robbed or fed more slowly to tuft a "low" pile, there tends to be a delay in the time between the slowing of the yarn respective control to the time that the yarn is actually slowed at the appropriate needle of the tufting machine, such that two or three stitches may pass before the yarn is withdrawn, or back-robbed, toward the backing material to create the a low or buried tuft. The reverse effect can also happen such that when the yarn feed rate is increased, for example when changing from a low pile to a high pile, it may take two or three stitches before the yarn is at its full pile height. In both instances, this can result in a lack of pattern definition in the face of the carpet, particularly along the lines adjoining adjacent repeats across the width of the tufted article. This effect is typically more pronounced at the outer margins of the tufted article, and is known generally as pattern fade or tube bank streaks. This effect is illustrated schematically in FIG. 1E, which illustrates the pattern yarn drive assembly of FIG. 1C in which the yarns are fed to nine repeats spaced across the width of the machine, and in which the relative pile height is illustrated, not to scale, below the respective repeats to illustrate how problems in pattern definition or "chop" can occur between repeats across the width of the carpet.
In the effort to combat this loss of pattern definition in the face of the tufted articles include the use of scrambled tube banks with a pair of opposed and counter-rotating puller rolls. A scrambled tube bank is illustrated schematically in FIG. 2A, in which the control pairs, i.e. the high speed and low speed drive rollers, respectively, of the pattern yarn drive assembly are positioned out of a strict ascending or numbered order, as shown in FIG. 1A, for example, across the width of the pattern yarn drive assembly for the purpose of trying to "blend" or more uniformly guide the yarns being used in each of the repeats, nine such repeats in FIGS. 1C and 1E for example, such that a more uniform or blended appearance occurs, which is illustrated schematically in FIG. 2C. However, this may still result in some pattern definition loss in the face of the carpet, which is generally shifted more toward the center of each repeat and away from the adjoining lines of each repeat such that a distinct pattern fade or chop at the adjoining side edges of each repeat is minimized to provide a more uniform finished look across the face of the tufted article. As with the tube bank of the '465 patent to Card, the use of scrambled tube banks has become commonplace in the tufting industry.
However, even with the use of scrambled tube banks the problem persists that a single control is provided for a yarn, or the yarns being fed to respective needles of each repeat across the width of the tufting machine, such that some of the needles within the repeat patterns will ultimately be subject to the problems of yarn elasticity and yarn feed lag during the tufting of the article, with resulting pattern definition loss in the face of the tufted article. What is needed, therefore, is an improved tufting machine pattern yarn feed and distribution device constructed for the purpose of minimizing the lengths of the yarns from the respective control pairs to the needles of the repeats of the tufting machine such that the problems of yarn elasticity and feed lag are minimized. Moreover, there is a need for such an improved tufting machine pattern yarn feed and distribution device which may use existing components to the greatest extent possible in order to minimize manufacturing and operating costs of the device.

Tufting machine with pattern yarn feed and distribution device


A system and method provides access to antennas of an electronic article surveillance system via WiFi and the Internet. Each antenna of the EAS system has a WiFi chip associated with its controls and the WiFi chip relays the antennas operating parameters as well as its reading of electromagnetic noise in its environment to the Internet. A remote technician can review the information provided by the antennas of the EAS system and optimize their operation with each other and their environments. In some embodiments, remote software can optimize the operation of the EAS system antennas. In some embodiments, the WiFi chip is an aftermarket addition.

Theft is frequently a problem in retail stores as well as in other environments. In other environments, it is desirable to track objects. To address these issues, electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems are installed. Generally, in EAS systems, electronic tags, labels, or similarly titled electronic devices are placed on objects to be protected, or monitored. These EAS tags, or devices, are capable of reflecting a signal back to the broader system. The broader EAS system creates interrogation fields which energized the EAS tags to produce the signals that the tag and the object to which it is attached are in the interrogation fields.
These interrogation fields are frequently set up at exits or entries to an area that is being monitored or protected. Frequently, the antennas that are used to generate the interrogation fields and to monitor for tag signals are housed within pedestals that are placed to each side of an exit. However, these antennas and their controlling electronics can be positioned overhead or within the floor in the area close to the exit.
The controlling electronics for these antennas generate a signal which is transmitted by the antennas and creates the interrogation field. This field energizes or stimulates tags that are passing through the interrogation field, or zone. The tags then produce a signal in response to the interrogation field. This signal from the tags may be created by energy of the field itself, or the tags may have on board power supplies and electronics that reply to the interrogation field. The interrogation field is cycled for periods of transmission and monitoring. The interrogation field initially cycles and broadcast out into the zone being monitored and then the interrogation field is stopped. The antennas of the EAS system then monitor for a tag signal. If a tag signal is detected, it assumed that the tag is improperly in the zone being monitored by the interrogation field, and the EAS system determines that an alarm condition is in effect. The EAS system can then generate an alarm, either an optical alarm such as flashing lights, an audible alarm such as bells, etc., or a system alarm that is broadcast to operator stations.
The signals from the electronic EAS tags are relatively week and it is common to have electro-magnetic noise within the area being monitored by the EAS system. This electro-magnetic noise may the result of other EAS systems in proximity to the system monitoring a given area, or the noise may be a product of other systems such as lighting, motors, etc. When the noise is sufficiently loud, it can mask the presence of an EAS tag during the monitor phase of the EAS cycle, or alternatively, it may produce a false positive when a tag is not actually there. In many cases, a false positive is considered to be worse than missing a tag that is present as it may indicate, falsely, that somebody is attempting to remove an article.
If the noise is the product of another EAS system, then it will have a cyclic profile, similar to the one monitoring a given area. Such a case may occur for retail locations that are located within a mall, for example. In the case of a mall, there are several EAS systems operating in relatively close proximity to each other, each of which will be transmitting interrogation fields and then monitoring for responses.
A given retail outlet will have no control over the EAS system of a neighboring retail outlets electronic article surveillance system. If a neighboring system is cycling at similar rates but at different times, then it will be transmitting an interrogation field while the "home" EAS system is monitoring for tags within its interrogation field or zone. Since the signal of the EAS tags are relatively week, the transmission of a neighboring EAS system may very well appear to be a tag and cause an alarm condition for the home EAS system. Even if the noise source is not another EAS system, it will most typically still have a cyclic profile. Which is to say, the noise source will have periods where it is stronger, and periods where it is weaker.
To combat the effects of noise in an environment, the profile of the noise in an environment can be captured, or recorded, and analyzed. The EAS system experiencing the noise problem can then be tuned to decrease the effect of the noise in the environment. In cases where the noise is the result of neighboring EAS systems, the home EAS system can be tuned to the neighboring EAS system. In this case, the home EAS system is tuned to transmit its interrogation field in synch with the neighboring system so that they are transmitting their interrogation fields at the same times and monitoring for tags at the same times. This gives the home EAS system a quieter time to monitor for tags, since the neighboring system is also at rest and listening for tags. In other cases, rather than tuning the home EAS system to transmit during the peak of environmental electromagnetic noise, such as when a neighboring EAS system is transmitting, the home EAS system is tuned to time its cycle to be in the lull of a noise profile so that it transmits it interrogation field and also monitors for a response at a minimum point in the noise profile in that environment.
Additionally, electronic article surveillance systems use digital signal processors DSPs and other components in their controls. These components are programmable at various levels and upgrades to their programming and firmware are sometimes required. In older, relevant art systems, this upgrade to the programming and firmware is performed by a technician actually going to the site of the EAS system to upgrade the firmware and sometimes to change out components and circuit boards.

Cloud EAS synchronization and firmware update


Water-soluble polymers including functionalization from the group of amino groups, carboxylic acid groups, phosphonic acid groups, phosphonic ester groups, acylpyrazolone groups, hydroxamic acid groups, aza crown ether groups, oxy crown ethers groups, guanidinium groups, amide groups, ester groups, aminodicarboxylic groups, permethylated polyvinylpyridine groups, permethylated amine groups, mercaptosuccinic acid groups, alkyl thiol groups, and N-alkylthiourea groups are disclosed.

Water-soluble polymers are well known for the retention or recovery of certain metal ions from solutions under certain conditions, e.g., certain pH conditions (see, e.g., Pure and Applied Chemistry. Vol. 52, pp. 1883-1905 (1980), Talanta, vol. 36, No. 8, pp. 861-863 (1989), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,831). Additionally, higher molecular weight varieties of the water-soluble polymers such as polyethyleneimine have been used as coatings on, e.g. silica gel, for separation and recovery of metal ions. However, the selectivity of the polymer for target metals due to competition from competing or interfering ions within solutions can present unique challenges.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel water-soluble polymers.
It is a further object of the invention to provide compositions of water-soluble polymers having defined molecular weight ranges.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide compositions of water-soluble polymers including at least two different water-soluble polymers, the different water-soluble polymers differing in functionality, molecular weight range or both.

Water-soluble polymers and compositions thereof

The Regents of the University of California, Office of Technology Transfer


Systems and methods have been developed for treating the waste water contaminated with methanol and boron in addition to other contaminants. The systems and methods allow specifically for the removal of the methanol and boron without the addition of significant chemicals to raise the pH. The water is treated by removing the methanol via biological digestion in a bioreactor, separating a majority of the contaminants from the water by reverse osmosis and removing the boron that passes through the reverse osmosis system with a boron-removing ion exchange resin.

Water, especially in the western United States and other arid regions, is a valuable resource. Many oil and natural gas production operations generate, in addition to the desired hydrocarbon products, large quantities of waste water, referred to as "produced water". Produced water is typically contaminated with significant concentrations of chemicals and substances requiring that it be disposed of or treated before it can be reused or discharged to the environment. Produced water includes natural contaminants that come from the subsurface environment, such as hydrocarbons from the oil- or gas-bearing strata and inorganic salts. Produced water may also include man-made contaminants, such as drilling mud, "frac flow back water" that includes spent fracturing fluids including polymers and inorganic cross-linking agents, polymer breaking agents, friction reduction chemicals, and artificial lubricants. These contaminants are injected into the wells as part of the drilling and production processes and recovered as contaminants in the produced water.
Commonly encountered non-natural contaminants in produced water, and their sources, are discussed below.
From high-viscosity fracturing operations—gellants in the form of polymers with hydroxyl groups, such as guar gum or modified guar-based polymers; cross-linking agents including borate-based cross-linkers; non-emulsifiers; and sulfate-based gel breakers in the form of oxidizing agents such as ammonium persulfate.
From drilling fluid treatments—acids and caustics such as soda ash, calcium carbonate, sodium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide; bactericides; defoamers; emulsifiers; filtrate reducers; shale control inhibitors; deicers including methanol and thinners and dispersants.
From slickwater fracturing operations—viscosity reducing agents such as polymers of acrylamide.
Because of the very wide range of contaminant species as well as the different quality of produced water from different sources, efforts to create a cost effective treatment system that can treat or recycle the spectrum of possible produced water streams have little success. For example, while reverse osmosis is effective in treating many of the expected contaminants in produced water, it is not very effective in removing methanol and it may be fouled by even trace amounts of arcylamide.
As another example, there have been many attempts to reclaim produced water and reuse it as fracturing feed water, commonly referred to as "frac water." Frac water is a term that refers to water suitable for use in the creation of fracturing (frac) gels which are used in hydraulic fracturing operations. Frac gels are created by combining frac water with a polymer, such as guar gum, and in some applications a cross-linker, typically borate-based, to form a fluid that gels upon hydration of the polymer. Several chemical additives generally will be added to the frac gel to form a treatment fluid specifically designed for the anticipated wellbore, reservoir and operating conditions.
However, some waste water streams are unsuitable for use as frac water in that they require excessive amounts of polymer or more to generate the high-viscosity frac gel. For example, trace amounts of spent friction reducers in the stream inhibit the added polymer from gelling. Because it can be difficult to prevent produced water streams from different sources from being co-mingled, this typically results in all produced water from a well field being made unsuitable for recycling as frac water.
An additional problem occurs when the produced water is also contaminated with methanol and it is desirable to discharge the water to the environment. One way to treat produced water to the extent necessary to discharge the water to the environment, is through filtration techniques such as ultra filtration and reverse osmosis. However, methanol will pass through nearly any available membrane filtration technology.
Yet another problem occurs when the produced water is also contaminated with boron, such as from the use of borate-based cross-linking agents, and it is desirable to discharge the water to the environment. One way to treat produced water with boron is referred to as the HERO process in which the pH is raised up to at least about 11 prior to treatment with reverse osmosis, resulting in the boron being rejected with the reverse osmosis reject brine. However raising the pH has several undesirable attributes. First, there is increased scaling within the reverse osmosis system increasing the maintenance costs of the system. Second, the pH must then be reduced before the treated water may be discharged to the environment. Third, the cost of the chemicals to raise the pH coupled with the cost of immediately thereafter lowering the pH and the cost of disposal of the precipitated salts resulting from the lowering of the pH make the HERO process very expensive.


Aspects of this disclosure are directed to establishing a telephonic communication between a first computing device and a second device and receiving, with the first computing device, a command that defines a function to be performed. When the command comprises a voice command, the function defined in the voice command may be performed. When the command does not comprise the voice command, it may be determined that the command comprises an instruction to perform the function after an occurrence of a future condition. The function defined by the command may be performed after the occurrence of the future condition.

Devices such as mobile devices perform various functions. For example, such devices may initiate and receive telephonic communications, display image content such as documents, e-mails, and pictures on a screen, and download information and applications from the Internet. In some examples, a device may be configured to accept a voice command and perform a function in response to the voice command. For example, the device may be configured to allow a user to speak the voice command "call Bob," and, in response to the voice command, initiate a telephonic communication link by dialing a telephone number of a device associated with the name "Bob."

Performing functions based on commands in context of telephonic communication


An aspect includes dynamically adapting a maximum transmission unit (MTU) size in a computer network. A packet is received at a first link of a switch of the computer network. An MTU size of the received packet is determined based on an application programming interface (API) crossing value associated with the first link of the switch. An associated destination MTU size of a second link of the switch is determined as a target destination of the received packet. The associated destination MTU size of the second link is adjusted based on a difference between the MTU size of the received packet and the associated destination MTU size of the second link.

The present invention relates to computer networks and, more specifically, to dynamically adapting a maximum transmission unit size in a computer network.
Ethernet networks are typically employed in local area networks (LANs) that include a plurality of network switches. A number of communication protocols have been developed and continue to evolve to enhance Ethernet network performance for various environments. For example, an enhancement to Ethernet, called data center bridging (DCB), converged enhanced Ethernet (CEE) or data center Ethernet (DCE), supports the convergence of LANs with storage area networks (SANs). Other protocols that can be used in a data center environment in conjunction with Ethernet include, for instance, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), Internet Wide Area Remote direct memory access Protocol (iWARP), Remote direct memory access over Converged Ethernet (RoCE). Various applications can employ different protocols for different purposes.
Various Ethernet protocols used in a network typically encapsulate data using a common Ethernet frame size. A maximum transmission unit (MTU) size is defined as the largest data unit that the network can transmit. A larger MTU brings greater efficiency because each packet carries more user data while protocol overhead, such as headers or underlying per-packet delays, remain fixed. This results in a higher efficiency, creating an improvement in bulk protocol throughput. A larger MTU also results in processing of fewer packets for the same amount of data. In some systems, such as hybrid architectures, per-packet-processing can be a critical performance limitation. However, using the largest possible MTU can also be problematic. For instance, large packets can occupy a slow link for a longer time period, causing greater delays to following packets while increasing lag and minimum latency. As an example, a 1500-byte packet, the largest allowed by Ethernet at the network layer, ties up a typical 14 kbps modem link for about one second. Large packets are also problematic in the presence of communication errors. Corruption of a single bit in a packet requires that the entire packet be retransmitted. At a given bit-error rate larger packets are more likely to be corrupted. Retransmissions of larger packets take longer, which can reduce overall system throughput.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dynamic maximum transmission unit size adaption

International Business Machines Corporation


Assays for detecting and determining the presence of prostate cancer is provided. The assays are capable of detecting prostate cancer in the population of men with a significantly higher ratio of free PSA to total PSA. The assays are also capable of detecting prostate cancer in the population of men with a low amount of total PSA, i.e., in the range of 2 to 4 ng/ml. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the assay includes the steps of (a) determining the amount of total PSA contained in a biological sample from the patient, (b) determining the amount of free PSA in the sample; and calculating the ratio of the free PSA to the total PSA, (c) determining the amount of pPSA in the sample, (d) determining the amount of BPSA in the sample, (e) determining the amount of inPSA in the sample, and (f) correlating the amount of inPSA contained in the sample to the presence of prostate cancer in the patient by comparing the amount of inPSA to a predetermined value established with control samples of known cancer and benign disease diagnosis, based on both the level of total PSA and the % free PSA.

1. Area of the Art
The present invention relates generally to the detection and identification of proteins, as well as various forms and subunits of proteins, which have the potential utility as diagnostic markers. In particular, the present invention relates to the detection or determination of inactive forms of prostate specific antigens in the biological fluid of humans, and methods for the improved detection of prostate cancer.
2. Description of the Related Art
The measurement of serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) is widely used for the screening and early detection of prostate cancer [1–3]. Serum PSA that is measurable by current clinical immunoassays exists primarily as either the free "non-complexed" form (free PSA), or as a complex with □-1antichymotrypsin (ACT) [1–5]. The ratio of free to total PSA in serum has been demonstrated to significantly improve the discrimination of PCa from BPH, with higher ratios correlating with a lower risk of prostate cancer [1–7].
The biological mechanism for the variable levels of free PSA in serum is unknown. The serum PSA that has become complexed is likely to be relatively homogeneous since this represents enzymatically active, intact PSA. The PSA released from the PSA-ACT complex in prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) serum was found to be indistinguishable from seminal plasma PSA, which confirms this assumption [8]. It follows that free PSA may offer better biochemical insight, and that a characterization of the molecular forms of free PSA could help elucidate their prostatic origin and mechanism of release into the serum.
Various mixtures of PSA containing inactive forms of PSA have been isolated from prostate tissues and seminal plasma. The PSA from BPH tissue has been characterized in a more general way as being more highly internally clipped [9], though no single form or forms of PSA were isolated from the mixture of clipped and unclipped PSA forms studied in this work. PSA in seminal plasma has been separated by chromatographic methods into fractions shown to contain various mixtures of clipped and non-clipped PSA [10]. However, in none of these studies have antibodies been developed to any single form of inactive PSA or have these PSA forms been demonstrated in serum.
In serum, the free (uncomplexed) PSA is now known to be comprised of at least two specific forms of inactive PSA. One form has been identified as the proenzyme, or precursor form of PSA (pPSA), which includes truncated forms of PPSA that are more associated with cancer [11–13]. A second specific form of PSA, called BPSA, is an internally cleaved or degraded form of PSA that is more highly associated with BPH [14;15]. BPSA was isolated and extensively characterized as a homogeneous species of PSA. A detailed review of BPSA and pPSA has been recently published [16].
Another method of describing and measuring sub-populations of free forms of PSA in serum has also been reported by Nurmikko [17]. In this case, intact PSA (PSA-I) is defined as free PSA that is not clipped at Lys145. This assay recognizes free PSA forms that are not internally clipped at Lysine145, the site of the most common form of degraded PSA in seminal plasma. The nature of the PSA measured by this method is not well-defined except that it is not clipped at Lys145. As such, this assay would measure mixtures of pPSA forms in combination with other uncharacterized inactive forms of PSA not clipped at Lys145.
Because the clinically useful concentrations of PSA are present in the serum at less than 10 ng/ml, it is necessary to develop immunoassays or other very sensitive methods to measure the PSA. The current commercial free PSA immunoassays measure the combined sum of all forms of free PSA, levels typically below 2 ng/ml. Antibodies and immunoassays for pPSA, BPSA and PSA-I remain the only reported research immunoassays for measuring sub-forms of free PSA in serum. Therefore, a need exists to develop novel methods for measuring different forms of free PSA, and further study their associations with different prostate disease status.

Method of analyzing non-complexed forms of prostate specific antigen in a sample to improve prostate cancer detection


An electronic apartment station intercom unit, housed in a vandal proof enclosure, providing a means for a tenant to communicate with apartment building main entrance door panel and means to unlock said door. This unit has a power storage unit that enables this unit to be compatible with existing apartment building switching units. This power storage unit can be in the form of capacitors. In addition, this unit also contains a timer to shut the intercom unit off after a preset period of time.

This invention relates to a vandal proof system for installation in public/low cost housing where existing intercom units are typically telephone handsets.
In such installations, landlords find intercoms costly, lacking durability, and require routine maintenance. One of the more significant problems encountered with telephone apartment stations of the foregoing type has arisen from vandalism. With increasing frequency, the handsets have been ripped off, the cords cut, and the dials or buttons rendered inoperative such as by inserting various instruments or a strong adhesive between the moving parts of the apparatus. In some cases, the cover has been pried loose and the interior components damaged or removed. These problems have necessitated frequent monitoring and maintenance of the individual stations which landlords are not able to address.
The following references relating to intercom systems are known in the art: U.S. Pat. No. 353,282 to Holm; U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,116 to Holstrom; U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,317 to Bartelink U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,953 to Chern; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,432 to Buckler.
In the past, some apartment switching units were installed where apartment intercoms were furnished and maintained by the Bell telephone company. Thus, many elements of apartment station intercom units and apartment switching units functionally correlate to telephone sets and a telephone network. Since the break-up of Bell Telephone in 1983 into regional operating companies, (RBOCs), responsibility for intercom maintenance has gradually fallen to landlords. Now, landlords would prefer to replace these telephone units with stand alone intercoms requiring minimal or no maintenance, as well as being durable enough to withstand tenant abuses and vandalism.
The interface between the system apartment station intercom unit and the apartment building central intercom switch is similar to a POTS system, wherein POTS is an acronym for a "plain old telephone" system. This POTS system is essentially a twisted pair with a 48 Volt open loop potential. In a phone system, when the receiver is lifted (off hook), the local telephone set is engaged or turned on, thus drawing power from the twisted pair. This off hook condition signals the telephone central office, which then, in turn supplies a dial tone. This process and system is called a loop start system, and has been the basis of telephony for nearly a century. Since the apartment station intercom unit interfaces with a similar system, it is required to perform many of the same functions as a telephone.
The apartment station intercom unit has a ring signal detector and an electronic ringer. This ring signal detector alerts a tenant that someone in the entrance has dialed his or her apartment. To establish communication with the call, the tenant presses the Push-To-Talk(PTT) button on the Apartment Station Intercom Unit. This action does three things, first it signals the apartment building central switch that the system or an apartment station intercom unit is "off hook". In addition, it also enables the transmit circuit and starts a timer.
When the tenant releases the PTT switch, he or she can hear the caller. Once the tenant decides that the caller may enter the building, the door release button is pressed, signaling the apartment building central switch to release the door lock. This is a the Bell Standard Dual Tone Multi-Frequency(DTMF) signal.
The timer that was initiated when the tenant first pressed the PTT button, and prevents the tenant from engaging the caller in a prolonged conversation, which is considered an abuse of the system.

Vandal proof intercom system for apartment buildings