Pluggable connector including a connector housing having a leading end. The connector housing includes interior sidewalls that define a receiving space and an opening to the receiving space at the leading end. The pluggable connector also includes a contact array of electrical contacts disposed in the receiving space. The contact array is configured to engage corresponding electrical contacts of a mating connector. The pluggable connector also includes an inner electromagnetic interference (EMI) gasket that is coupled to the interior sidewalls and surrounds a portion of the interior space about the central axis. The connector housing is configured to receive the mating connector through the opening and into the receiving space when the connector housing is moved in a mating direction along the central axis. The inner EMI gasket engages the mating connector in the receiving space to electrically couple the mating connector to the connector housing.

The subject matter herein relates generally to a pluggable connector and a communication system that are configured to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) leakage.
Pluggable I/O assemblies are used to transfer data between different communication systems or devices. Pluggable I/O assemblies include a pluggable connector and a receptacle assembly that receives and communicatively engages the pluggable connector. The pluggable connectors may be configured to transfer electrical signals or optical signals and may be configured to achieve predetermined data rates. By way of example only, known communication or industry standards for pluggable I/O assemblies include small-form factor pluggable (SFP), enhanced SFP (SFP+), quad SFP (QSFP), C form-factor pluggable (CFP), and 10 Gigabit SFP, which is often referred to as XFP.
The pluggable connector typically has a leading end where an array of electrical contacts is located. Conventional receptacle assemblies typically include a receptacle cage that has a receiving cavity and a mating connector that is positioned within the receiving cavity. The mating connector also has an array of electrical contacts and is mounted to a circuit board of the communication system. Communication systems often include a panel (or bezel) having a passage that aligns with an opening of the receiving cavity. During a mating operation, the leading end of the pluggable connector is inserted through the panel passage into the cavity opening and advanced toward the mating connector.
There has been a general demand to increase data throughput in communication systems that utilize pluggable I/O assemblies. To meet this demand, industry suppliers have increased the density of receptacle assemblies in the communication system or have increased the data rate of the pluggable I/O assemblies. In either case, it may be more difficult to contain EMI emissions. Presently, EMI emissions are contained by the receptacle cage and an EMI gasket that electrically grounds the receptacle cage to the communication system. The EMI gasket is secured to the receptacle cage near the panel passage. Although such configurations may be effective in reducing EMI leakage, the receptacle cage and the EMI gasket may increase the cost and/or the complexity of the receptacle assembly.
Accordingly, there is a need for a pluggable I/O assembly that provides a sufficient level of EMI containment while reducing at least one of the cost or complexity of the pluggable I/O assembly.

Pluggable connector and communication system configured to reduce electromagnetic interference leakage


A masonry tool is provided for a concrete block wall which consists of a mechanism for positioning a side end of a first concrete block, with mortar applied thereto, next to a side end of a second concrete block on the wall when being built, so as to form front and rear mortar joints therebetween. A structure on the positioning mechanism is for preventing the mortar from entering into a vertical open space in a third concrete block located below the front and rear mortar joints.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to masonry equipment and more specifically it relates to a masonry tool for a concrete block wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art the task of joining concrete blocks with conventional materials by a person involved in the construction process is unaware that the work is being carried out in practical and uncomfortable way. The reasons listed are as follows:
1. The person must put the concrete block in an upright position to apply mortar to each end. PA1 2. The person has to carry the concrete block to a wall that's being made with great caution, until such time as he locates it in a preliminary position. PA1 Once it is situated in the preliminary position the person must hit the concrete block with a hammer to get it to start to move into a correct position. The problem is that because of all this movement trying to find the corresponding alignments, both vertical and horizontal, the mortar would fall. PA1 Carrying a concrete block of eight, ten or twelve inches with applied mortar at its ends and getting that concrete block into its position is very difficult, due to the fact that a wall ascends. A scaffold is generally used, which furnishes very little balance the higher you go. PA1 3. In order for two concrete blocks to be joined one end to the other and remain solid, there must be a process of bonding at the precise moment in which both concrete blocks are being joined. It is only at this moment and during the process of bonding that a compacted joint can be accomplished. The prior art used cannot accomplish this bonding for compactness, because the mortar placed on the two ends of the concrete block will not remain there at the end of the process. In order for the mortar to remain on the ends, it must be prepared correctly. If the mortar is hard there can be no bonding, because the concrete block is itself dry due to its own characteristics. If on the other hand you wet the concrete block, then the mortar will spill and will complicate the required finished work.
Numerous masonry equipment have been provided in prior art that are adapted to be utilized in building concrete block walls, foundations and the like. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


Disclosed is a method, system, and program for managing calibration files in a printing system. Patches are printed using a screening algorithm and incorporating at least one output appearance factor. A calibration file is generated from measured color values of the printed patches mapping a color space for the printed patches to a color space of a printer used to print the patches. Information is associated with the calibration file indicating the printer and at least one output appearance attribute for use in selecting one calibration file to use when printing a print job.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and program for managing calibration files and, in particular, selecting a calibration file matching output-appearance attributes associated with a print job to use to calibrate the print job.
2. Description of the Related Art
To print an image, the image is first scanned by an input device and transformed to a gray scale representation of the image. A gray scale image is comprised of a matrix of thousands of pixels such that each pixel has a color or shade of grey value indicating a color or shade of grey for the pixel. In a 256 color system, each pixel may have one of 256 different color or shade of grey values. After an image is scanned, the gray scale bit map produced by the scanner must be further processed into a bit map format that the printer can process. Because most printers only print a limited number of colors or either black or white, the gray scale image is converted, using a halftone process, into a bi-level or halftone image, where each bit map value indicates either black or white. Thus, a halftoning transformation is applied to the gray scale image to convert the gray scale representation of the image to a bi-level image. The halftoning transformation would use dithering, also referred to as screening, to simulate the shades of grey or colors in the gray scale image by varying the pattern of dots. Thus, the result of dithering is a bi-level bit or halftone map where each value indicates one of two colors—black or white, with the dithering used to simulate shades. Contone printers print a limited number of shades of a color or grey. Thus, a processed bit map for a contone printer may include a limited number of values for each bit map value, such as eight, and also use dithering to simulate additional shades of grey and color.
Many images are stored as variants of red, green, and blue, i.e., RGB system. However, printers use the colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to print, i.e. CMYK. When printing an image in an RGB format, such as an image displayed on the monitor, the RGB image is first transformed to a device dependent CMYK color space that corresponds to the RGB space. However, different printers produce varying output given the same CMYK input color space. The ability of a printer to reproduce an input image may be affected by many printing variables, such as the model of the printer, the age of the printer, the paper, toner, and environmental variables, such as temperature and pressure. All these variables affect how a printer produces an image from the CMYK input color space.
To account for variables, a printer is calibrated. Calibration occurs by having the subject printer print patches of colors having known color values. A device referred to as a densitometer than measures the printed color values. The printed color values are than compared to the actual value of the colors maintained for the patches. Mathematical interpolation is used to generate a calibration curve which relates the actual printer measured output to the input patch of colors. This calibration curve provides a mapping from input color values, in a device independent CMYK space, to printer CMYK values that will produce the desired colors. Thus, the calibration curve maps the target or colors of the actual gray scale image to the printer, device dependent, CMYK color space. After the calibration curve is applied to adjust the input color or grayscale values, a halftone and dithering algorithms are applied to convert the calibrated gray scale image into a bi-level matrix where each pixel has only one of two values, or for a contone printer one of only a few values.
In current printing systems, the printer or server managing printer operations will include some factory provided calibration curves to apply to an input CMYK color space. Printer manufactures typically provide a calibration curve file for a printer model. This factory printer model calibration curve is then used for any output for that model printer, regardless of the presence of additional printing variables that may not have been present when the calibration curve was generated at the factory. In the publishing environment where print quality is essential, the publisher may generate specific calibration curves for a printer operation as the factory provided calibration curves may not account for numerous printing variables under which the publisher is printing, such as the age of the printer, paper, toner, temperature, etc. However, after generating such printer specific calibration curves for use with that printer, the publisher may discard the calibration curve files or save the new calibration curve in place of the factory provided calibration level. Large publishers could generate numerous calibration curves during the course of printing different publications. After using the calibration curves for the specific publishing job, they are then usually discarded or maintained by the publisher to manually select again when submitting a print job.
There is a need in the art for a system for effectively and automatically managing user generated calibration files.

Method, system, and program for managing calibration files in a printing system

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a vapor phase reflow system comprising at least one soldering zone and a process zone, a primary liquid reservoir containing a primary liquid, the vapor phase reflow system further comprising a heating means for converting the primary liquid into the vapor phase. The system is characterized in that primary liquid or the vapor thereof or both can be introduced by means of a primary-liquid fluid line into a soldering-zone heating module in fluid communication with the soldering zone and into a process-zone heating module in fluid communication with the process zone, the heating capacity of the soldering-zone heating module and of the process-zone heating module being adjustable independently of each other to thereby generate superheated vapor based on the zones. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating a vapor phase reflow system.

The present invention relates to a vapor phase reflow system comprising a soldering zone and a process zone, a primary liquid reservoir containing a primary liquid, the vapor phase reflow system further comprising a heating means for converting the primary liquid into the vapor phase.
As is generally known, in the case of vapor phase reflow upon condensation of a saturated vapor phase, energy is liberated in the form of heat on the surface of a component to be soldered, whereby the solder is molten and the component is thus connected to the conducting track. The saturated vapor phase is produced by a boiling primary liquid, with the process temperature being predetermined by the boiling point of the primary liquid during soldering. Although the reflow or soldering process with saturated vapor is characterized by an exactly defined soldering temperature with uniform heating of the component to be soldered and is thus particularly well suited for processing components having different heating capacities, this method is somewhat limited since the soldering temperature cannot be freely chosen in an easy way as the temperature is actually predetermined by the very boiling point of the primary liquid.
An improvement in this respect is achieved with systems in which the vapor does not directly interact with its liquid phase any more. Small amounts of the primary liquid are here completely evaporated in the soldering space of the system, whereby amounts of vapor that are needed very quickly can continuously be produced and the available amount of heat can thus also be controlled to some extent. Nevertheless, this principle is also based on the measure that the boiling temperature of the primary liquid always forms an upper limit temperature, whereby a possibly desired temperature profile throughout the soldering operation can only be achieved through the residence times of the subassemblies to be soldered in the vapor. As a result, either the throughput of such a system is considerably reduced because of the increased residence time, or it sometimes happens that certain subassemblies which require a special type of temperature profile cannot be processed at all.
Furthermore, the prior art also reports on vapor phase reflow systems which employ superheated vapor so as to control the process temperature. For instance, GB-2 190 687 discloses a method and an apparatus in which superheated vapor is provided in the soldering zone by means of a suitable heating means, with the superheated vapor condensing at a certain level by means of cooling elements and being returned via a filter into a liquid reservoir for the primary liquid. In this known system, however, a complicated temperature profile cannot be adjusted together with a high throughput.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an improved vapor phase reflow system in which a necessary temperature profile can be adjusted for the soldering process together with a high throughput of subassemblies to be soldered.
The present invention is characterized in that in the above-mentioned vapor phase reflow system primary liquid or the vapor thereof or both can be introduced by means of a primary-liquid fluid line into a soldering-zone heating module in fluid communication with the soldering zone and into a process-zone heating module in fluid communication with the process zone, the heating capacities of the soldering-zone heating module and of the process-zone heating module being adjustable independently of each other for generating superheated vapor based on the zones.
According to the present invention the primary liquid is heated by the heating means or converted into the vapor phase, which can take place at an adjustable or fixedly predetermined pressure and can then be passed to the various heating modules by means of the primary-liquid fluid line. In the heating modules the vapor and/or the primary liquid can be superheated to a freely selectable temperature by controlling the heating capacity of the vapor and/or the primary liquid. The superheated vapor can then be passed by means of nozzles or by means of convection onto the subassemblies to be processed into the respective zones. Hence, the process zone, which can e.g. serve as a preheating zone or second soldering zone, as well as the soldering zone can be operated with the vapor of the same primary liquid. This minimizes the operating costs of such a system, with the zone temperatures being freely selectable at the same time and permitting an individual adjustment of the soldering profile, as is standard in common convection systems. Thus the system of the invention makes it possible to achieve an individual temperature profile of the reflow type soldering process without the throughput of the system primarily depending on the residence time of the subassemblies to be processed within a condensation zone.
In a further embodiment of the present invention the primary-liquid fluid line comprises respectively controllable valve elements so that the amount of primary liquid or its vapor or both can be introduced in a controllable manner into the soldering-zone heating module and the process-zone heating module.
It is possible with this embodiment to control the amount of the superheated vapor in addition to the temperature of the superheated vapor generated in the respective heating modules and to thereby meet the demand for superheated vapor individually for different subassemblies in the soldering zone and the process zone, respectively. This results in a further reduction of the residence time because e.g. in the case of subassemblies comprising components of a relatively high heating capacity, it is possible to increase the amount of heat to be transferred per time unit by increasing the supplied amount of superheated vapor.
In a further embodiment the vapor phase reflow system comprises a respective fluid connection for discharging primary liquid and its vapor, respectively, so that the discharged primary liquid or the vapor thereof can be returned into the primary liquid reservoir and/or into the heating element for further vapor generation.
Since the vapor phase reflow system according to the invention can be operated with only one primary liquid, the primary liquid condensed in the process zone or soldering zone can be returned in a common line to the primary liquid reservoir or the heating element acting as a vapor generator. Advantageously, a corresponding filter element is provided in this fluid connection for purifying the returned and condensed primary fluid.
In a further embodiment the heating means for evaporating primary liquid is composed of partial heating elements and at least one partial heating element is provided in the soldering-zone heating module.
Thus, thanks to the modular structure of the heating element, primary liquid can be evaporated in addition and rapidly in the soldering-zone heating module upon demand and can then be superheated. To this end the primary-liquid fluid line suitably comprises a connection to the primary liquid reservoir so that primary liquid is permanently available in the soldering-zone heating module.
In a further development of the present invention a further partial heating element is provided in the process zone heating module.
When a partial heating element for evaporating primary liquid is provided in both the process-zone heating module and the soldering-zone heating module, a joint heating module for evaporating primary liquid can be completely omitted and the primary-liquid fluid line can be designed such that only primary liquid is transported to the process-zone heating module and the soldering-zone heating module. This results in a simple construction of the line system and reduces the overall losses of the system because the losses created during transportation of the vapor are avoided.
In a further embodiment of the present invention at least one second process zone is provided, the process zone serving as a preheating zone and the second process zone as a cooling zone, and the second process zone being in fluid communication with a second process-zone heating module into which primary liquid or vapor or both can be introduced via the primary-liquid fluid line.
Thanks to the provision of at least one second process zone, which is again equipped with an associated heating-zone module, complex heating profiles can be achieved for the soldering process. For instance, an individual temperature profile is possible within a wide range owing to the provision of two process zones with respectively associated process-zone heating modules, which serve as preheating zones, of a soldering zone and of a further process zone, which serves as a cooling zone. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide further process zones in combination with the process zone, the second process zone and the soldering zones, the further process zones being not operable by means of superheated vapor, but comprising conventional convection and/or infrared heating modules.
According to a further aspect the present invention refers to a method for operating a vapor phase reflow system, with a primary liquid being evaporated by means of a heating element, and the method being characterized in that the vapor of the primary liquid is superheated zonewise and in a controllable manner in a soldering-zone heating module in fluid communication with a soldering zone and in a process-zone heating module in fluid communication with a process zone.
In a further embodiment the temperature in the process zone and in the soldering zone is adjusted by controlling the amount of the introduced superheated vapor and/or the temperature of the superheated vapor.
The advantages of the method according to the invention have already been indicated in connection with the embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention.

Vapor phase reflow system with superheated vapor


The invention provides a facial feature verification apparatus capable of synthesizing an image suitable for verification to identify a person subjected to surveillance whom surveillance staff desires to watch. The facial feature verification apparatus includes a plurality of pickup units 1, a pickup controlling unit 2 for controlling the pickup units 1, a displaying unit 3 for displaying images picked up by the pickup units 1, and a verifying unit 4 for detecting a person from the picked up images, extracting a facial image by determining a face area of the person, extracting a facial image from the images picked up by the pickup units 1, synthesizing a plurality of facial features by extracting facial features from the extracted facial images, and verifying the synthesized facial features with the facial features enrolled in advance in a facial image database 5.

Conventionally, in a surveillance system using surveillance cameras, surveillance staff observes a desired site by selecting an optional one of a plurality of installed surveillance cameras using a controller based on images sent from surveillance cameras installed at a plurality of locations. However, where surveillance is carried out for a desired site, it cannot be said that the surveillance camera selected by the surveillance staff picks up the most suitable image.
Therefore, as a method for improving this, for example, a surveillance system described in Patent Document 1 has been known. That is, cameras are installed at a plurality of positions, and the camera nearest to the position instructed by surveillance staff is automatically selected from a plurality of gyratory cameras and is caused to display a picked up image.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2002-77889

Face feature collator, face feature collating method, and program


A marking and counting probe for use with a counter, e.g. a computer, comprises a tubular housing for holding a marking implement, such as a highlighter. One end of the tubular housing has an aperture through which the marking end of the marking implement extends. The other end of the housing is closed and has a switch which is activated by the marking implement when a certain activating pressure is applied to the switch by the marking implement. A resilient means, such as a spring within the switch, keeps the marking implement from activating the switch until the activating pressure is applied to the switch by pressing the marking end of the marking implement against a surface. The switch is connected to a counter whereby, when sufficient pressure is exerted on the switch by the marking implement to activate the switch, a count is recorded. The tubular housing is provided with an open midsection so that a marking implement within the tubular housing can be gripped by the user to mark a surface without actuating the switch to record a count. Thus, the marking and counting probe can be used for both marking and counting.

The present invention is directed to a marking and counting probe and preferably, to a marking and counting probe which can use highlighter pens or similar marking implements to both mark or write on construction plans, prints, papers, documents and other surfaces and count items on such construction plans, prints, papers, documents and other surfaces.
There are many applications where a person desires to both write, highlight or otherwise mark a paper, plan or document and count items on the paper, plan or document. Building construction is one field in which a user frequently desires to mark and/or write on a document and also count items on the document. In building construction, the contractor typically marks and/or writes on a plan or blueprint and counts items, such as electrical outlets, on a plan or blueprint to estimate a job for bidding.
Currently, there are ball point counting pens in use which have a switch that is activated when the counting pen contacts the surface of a plan, blueprint, paper or other document to complete an electrical circuit and send a signal which registers a count on a counter. However, the counting pen activates the switch on every contact so that the counting pen can not be used for marking or writing on a document without activating the switch. Thus, currently, the counting pen is used to count items on a plan or other document and a separate pen or other marking implement is used to mark or write on the document without effecting a count.
My U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,380, issued Aug. 15, 1995, is directed to a marking and counting probe which solved this problem of the prior art by permitting the same marking implement, e.g. a conventional highlighter pen, to be used for marking and writing on a document without effecting a count and for marking and writing on a document while effecting a count. While the marking and counting probe of the '380 patent works very well, there has still been a need to further improve such probes.


A combined telemetry system that can be used while drilling a wellbore consists of a multi-hop telemetry method and a single-hop telemetry method combined in parallel. The multi-hop and single-hop methods can be operated in parallel, for example, so that each telemetry method caries data concurrently from the Measuring-While-Drilling tool located in the Bottom-Hole-Assembly. The multi-hop and single-hop methods can also be operated in series, for example, so that data from the Measuring-While-Drilling tool located in the Bottom-Hole-Assembly are first carried with the single-hop telemetry method and then transferred to the multi-hop telemetry method at one or more node(s) close to the surface. Preferably, the multi-hop telemetry method can also carry data from along-string sensors. Another combined telemetry system that can be used while drilling a wellbore consists of two single-hop telemetry methods combined in parallel.

This disclosure relates generally to apparatus and methods for carrying information along a pipe string in a wellbore. This disclosure relates more particularly to telemetries that are combined on a pipe string, and the use thereof in a wellbore.
There are essentially two physical topologies addressing the carrying of information along a pipe string in a wellbore, multi-hop and single-hop. All methods of carrying data from downhole to the surface (and from the surface to downhole) are affected by signal attenuation. At some distance from its source, the signal power drops below some limit that defines reliable detection. Before it approaches this limit, it must be detected and either boosted or repeated up the pipe string. Boosting means the information-bearing signal is simply re-amplified, while repeating means that the information in the signal is read, corrected, and then rebroadcast onwards to the surface. So any transmission technology may use multi-hop or single-hop topology, depending on the distance of transmission.
The multi-hop topology involves telemetry methods that utilize multiple signal repeaters or signal boosters (also called nodes) along the pipe string to carry data from a Measuring-While-Drilling ("MWD") tool in the Bottom Hole Assembly ("BHA") to the surface. The BHA is located at the distal end of the pipe string, and the lowermost portion of the BHA is the drill bit, which is used to create the wellbore by breaking the rock of the formation. Examples of such telemetry methods include acoustic telemetry in the pipe wall, and telemetry along a wire in the pipe bore (called wired pipe) which uses couplers across tool joints. A reason for utilizing multiple nodes is that the distance between transmitters and receivers is limited due to the attenuation of the telemetry signal in these telemetry methods. One advantage of the multi-hop topology may be that each node can contain sensors that can be used to provide along-string-measurements ("ASM"). These sensors may measure properties related to the wellbore or the formation.
The transmission rate between nodes in a multi-hop topology can be far greater than the transmission rate in a single-hop topology, but the effective rate in a multi-hop topology, that is, the transmission rate achieved between end nodes, may be similar to the transmission rate in a single-hop topology. This difference between inter-node transmission rate and effective transmission rate is usually due to an error correction overhead, and the time-lapse necessary to receive, correct, and send data sequences in each intermediary node. For example, the inter-node transmission rate may be 120 bits-per-second (bps) or higher, and the effective transmission rate may be 3-10 bps.
The single-hop topology involves telemetry methods that have low attenuation between transmitter and receiver, and hence, can achieve long transmitter-receiver distances. These telemetry methods can therefore carry data from a Measuring-While-Drilling ("MWD") tool in the Bottom Hole Assembly ("BHA") to the surface. Examples of such telemetry methods include mud-pulse telemetry ("MPT") in the pipe bore, and Electro-Magnetic ("EM") telemetry in the formation surrounding the wellbore.
The rate at which the transmission signal that is encoding the data is generated may be slower in a single-hop topology than the inter-node transmission rate in a multi-hop topology. For example, the mud pulser in an MPT single-hop method generates the signal conveying the data, and may only be capable of 40 bps. In practice, however, signal reflections at the surface or other phenomena can significantly affect the reliability of the data transmission, and this transmission rate may drop to about 15 to 20 bps for reliable transmission. For example, in the case of MPT, these reflections are primarily caused by surface equipment located proximal to the surface node, such as fluid hoses, valves and abrupt changes in the diameter of the pipe bore. Furthermore, in the case of MPT, the surface mud pumps, which are used when drilling or fracturing, can also constitute a significant noise source that impairs reliable transmission.
Thus, there is a continuing need in the art for apparatus and methods for carrying information along a pipe string in a wellbore at the maximum rate possible by the device generating the telemetry signal.

Telemetry system combining two telemetry methods


A modular planter assembly having plural U-shaped planting containers including plural male open ends, drain holes in a bottom portion thereof and an underneath male drain channel, plural connectors having U-shaped cavities at each end and an underneath drain cavity with seal means disposed therein. The male open ends are secured within the U-shaped cavities and the drain channels are secured within the drain cavity of the connectors. Plural U-shaped end caps having U-shaped cavities with an underneath drain cavity with seal members disposed therein. Opposite male ends are secured within the end cap cavities and the male drain channel is secured within the drain cavity of the end caps forming a single planter assembly with a continuous drain channel to a drain adapter in the end caps to release excess water there from. Plural U-shaped brackets disposed about the containers to support and attach to an elevated wall structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a modular planter or flower box assembly with a drainage means for relieving or evacuating excess water there from. The modular planter or flower box assembly consists of a plurality of longitudinal and angular modular sections that are joined together and supported by U-shaped support brackets to form a single unit. Each extreme end of the single unit includes an end cap for closing and sealing each end with drain means disposed therein for releasing excess water from the single unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
At the present time, there are many different types of modular planters or flower boxes with water drainage means that are made from material consisting of polypropylene (PP), Ethylene Propylene (EP) or Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) that uses sealing adhesives and/or screws. These modular planters or flower boxes are used in gardens, on balconies, roof-tops, for residential dwellings, residential landscaped areas and in decorative and landscaped areas of commercial buildings and shopping facilities.
Many of these modular planter or flower box assemblies provide support brackets for connecting longitudinal and angular modular sections together are secured by screws or adhesive to hold the modular sections together to form a single continuous modular planter or flower box assembly unit that is adaptable to various or different types of areas to be gardened. The modular planter or flower box assemblies can be elevated by support posts with a drainage opening there through to drain excess water through a plurality of apertures in each end of the modular sections and other modular sections can have inner side double walls near the base of the modular sections with a plurality of ventilating holes near the top of the inner side double walls for evacuating excess water from the modular sections.
In light of the present invention, the best prior art patents that was found, teaches longitudinal and angular modular sections interconnected with one another by support brackets to from a single and continuous planter or flower box assembly unit with drainage means to be positioned in an area to be gardened. Also, a cover is secured to each end of the single and continuous planter or flower box assembly unit for closing and sealing each end modular sections thereof. These prior art patents are now described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,119 A describes a continuous modular sectional flower box unit with longitudinal trough-like receptacles that are connected together by an angular elbow coupler receptacle with open flanged ends dimensioned to fit snugly within and against inside surfaces proximate an open end of the longitudinal trough-like receptacles and rigidly secured together by glue or screws.
The other ends of the longitudinal trough-like receptacles is covered by an end cap with a wall-like member having a flange projecting outward from its bottom and side edges. This end cap is dimensioned to ensure that the flange will fit snugly across the width of and against an inside surface of an open end the longitudinal trough-like receptacles, for rigid attachment thereto by suitable means, such as glue or screws. Also, a splicer and stiffener plate with a flange are dimensioned to fit across the width of and snugly against inside surfaces proximate the open ends of two of the longitudinal trough-like receptacles that are abutted together and rigidly secured thereto by attachment means such as, glue or screws.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,367 A describes an artistic flower planting box that is hangable on a building terrace or patio having a flower planting box and a hanging plate. The hanging plate is channel shaped and placed on an upper surface of a terrace wall of a building. The flower planting box is elongated in shape with an upper open side, forming and interior for soil and flowers. The flower planter box is assembled with the hanging plate by bolts screwing into a plurality of threaded holes in a rear side of the flower planter box and a front side of the hanging plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,895 A describes a raised planter box assembly having a plurality of U-shaped modular planter boxes connected to one another with an open top end portion to allow easy access for planting purposes. The top open end allows a plurality of sliding plates or dividers to be releasably secured therein to form separate planting compartments within the raised planter box assembly. A plurality of drain holes is disposed at each end of each modular planter boxes.
Also, a spaced apart support structure having one end attached to a bottom surface of each of the U-shaped modular planter boxes for elevating the planter box assembly above the ground or floor surfaces. These spaced apart support structures include spaced apart height adjusting elevating posts with a through opening therein for communicating with the plurality drain holes to relieve excess water or fluid from the planter box assembly. The other end of the support structure height adjusting elevating posts being in the form of a spike that is disposed in the ground or a platform end portion that is supported by a floor surface, if desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,002 B2 describes a plurality of modular tray sections for hydroponic and aeroponic cultivation, in which a nutritive solution is carried to the roots of plants grown in the tray sections by a tube with a plurality of holes for built-in drips, which is situated in a longitudinal slot disposed in the bottom surface of the tray sections. The trays consist of at least one plastic casing made by extrusion. A pair of closing end flange plates being fixed to the ends of the tray sections.
At least one middle flange plate is disposed between the tray sections to connect them together as a continuous unit with a watertight seal. Note that this least one middle flange plate includes a plurality of holes disposed therein, a middle hole being utilized for receiving the tube there through and the other holes being disposed on opposite sides of the middle hole, which are utilized to intercommunicate the tray sections to allow the smooth flowing of the nutritive solution into the modular tray sections.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0246956 A1 describes a plurality of U-shaped modular double walled flower boxes having a pair of sides and a bottom base connecting surface that are joined to one another to form a continuous flower box assembly with releasably secured end caps. A plurality of support coupling brackets for joining the plurality of modular double walled flower boxes together by a fastening or screw means to form a leak proof structure in which self watering systems can be installed. These support coupling brackets can take on different angular configurations, such as angles of 90° or 135°.
The modular double walled flower boxes having interior double wall drain channels on both sides of the modular double walled flower boxes at a bottom end thereof adjacent the bottom base connecting surface to allow each drain channels to abut one another to form a connecting relationship through out the continuous flower box assembly. The drain channels include a number of drain holes disposed at a top end thereof, where excess water is evacuated from and allows the roots of the flowers or vegetation and the earth or soil to be ventilated.
A bracket member being coupled onto the top end of the aforementioned support coupling brackets for the attachment of a lighting element thereto.
WO 1998/049886 A1, an International Patent Application Publication, published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), is cited as being the same as U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,895 A as described above. A description of this International Patent Application Publication (PCT) will not be described in detail, since it is the same as the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,895 A.
Note that none of the above mentioned prior patents teaches singly or in combination the unique present invention, which will be discussed in greater detail in the "Summary of the Invention" recited below.


A bird launcher for hunt training with a door through which a bird is placed in a guide belt in an interior of a housing substantially eliminates injury to the bird. An elastic spring mounted at one end of an operating rod substantially eliminates inadvertent movement of an operating rod thereby preventing a premature launch, thus improving the safety of the operator and the bird. A fixing member is centered on the bird launcher's longitudinal center line and extends to at least one-half of a length of guide rods. The fixing member places pressure in the approximate center of the guide rods thereby preventing the guide rods from opening at the ends and additionally creating a balanced release point when the bird launcher is activated. The balance release point ensures a more stabilized launch so that the bird is released in a desired direction.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bird launcher for training hunting dogs.
2. Description of Related Art
Hunting is actively pursued by millions of Americans every year. Recent government data shows that more than 14 million people actively hunt a variety of game animals and spend more than 20 billion dollars. There are over three million migratory bird (duck, geese, dove, quail) hunters who collectively spend approximately 1.3 billion dollars on equipment, ammunition, decoys, and other hunting-related expenses. Part of the hunting-related expenses include more than 120 million dollars that is spent for hunting dogs and associated expenses.
Migratory bird hunters are often assigned a daily quota. The quota is designed, in part, to ensure a species is not over hunted, thus helping to maintain future populations. A hunter, therefore, is interested in retrieving all downed birds. Consequently, many migratory bird hunters use dogs to retrieve downed birds on both land and water. Before dogs can be used to retrieve the bird, they must be trained to locate and return the bird when so commanded. The dog must be conditioned to ignore the explosive report of the muzzle blast and to wait for the hunter's command to retrieve the game. The large caliber shotguns normally used in hunting waterfowl have loud muzzle blasts which would, without training, distract the dog. The dog could be trained during actual hunting but this creates a potentially dangerous environment for the dog when other hunters are in the area. The safest way to train the dog is through simulated hunting wherein a device is used to launch birds in a manner that simulates a bird flushed from the ground. The hunter then shoots the bird and commands the dog to retrieve the bird. This method conditions the dog to the muzzle blast and trains the dog to retrieve the bird. Additionally, the hunter is able to practice his/her hunting skills on live game thus enhancing the hunt training. Conventional training is, however, problematic in that the bird's launch speed is substantially lower than the speed of the bird flushed in the wild. In this respect, the hunter fails to achieve a desired level of training.
Additionally, prior art launchers are difficult to load and expose the bird to injuries such as broken legs, wings, or neck when the hunter is trying to load the bird single-handed.
FIGS. 1 through 2e illustrate a prior art bird launcher for hunt training. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the prior art bird launcher. As shown in FIG. 1, a bird launcher 10 includes a housing 11, a controller 12, an operation assembly 13, and a discharging assembly 14. Housing 11 has a generally square box-type of a body 111 opened at its top with support bars 112 extended widthwise from the upper corners of the sidewalls of the body 111. Controller 12 mounted at one side of the housing 11 receives signals transmitted from a remote controller (not shown). Operation assembly 13 includes a moving shaft 131, an operating rod 132, an auxiliary locking member 133, and an electromagnet 135. Moving shaft 131 is pulled by a magnetic force generated by electromagnet 135 in response to the signal received by controller 12. Operating rod 132, connected to one end of moving shaft 131, rotates by a predetermined angle when pulled by moving shaft 131.
Discharging assembly 14 includes a fixing rod 141, a pair of springs 142, a pair of guide rods 143, and a guide belt 144. Each guide rod of the pair of guide rods 143, inserted into apertures formed into ends of support bars 112, rotate toward the outside of housing 11 by the restoring force of the pair of springs 142 when fixing rod 141 is released from the locked state by the rotation of operating rod 132. Guide belt 144, attached at opposite side ends of the pair of guide rods 143, is discharged vertically as the pair of guide rods 143 are rotated toward the outside of housing 11.
As shown in the prior art of FIG. 2a, a bird, such as a pigeon, is placed on guide belt 144 while the pair of guide rods 143 of discharging assembly 14 are rotated toward the inside of housing 11 around the end portions of support bars 112 to thereby form a space in the interior of housing 11. As the pair of guide rods 143 are rotated towards the inside of housing 11, the pair of springs 142 start to obtain their restoring force, and the pair of guide rods 143 come in close contact with fixing rod 141. The bird is positioned on guide belt 144 as the pair of guide rods 143 rotate towards the inside of housing 11 creating the space in the interior of housing 11. The pair of guide rods 143 come in close contact with the top surface of housing 11 such that guide belt 144 surrounding the bird is located in the interior of housing 11, as can be seen in FIG. 2b.
Referring now to FIG. 2c, after the pair of guide rods 143 are rotated in close contact with housing 11, fixing rod 141 is rotated onto the end portion of one side of the pair of guide rods 143 such that the contact relationship between the pair of guide rods 143 and fixing rod 141 is maintained. Operating rod 132 is rotated by a predetermined angle to place fixing rod 141 in a locked state. So as to prevent accidental movement of operating rod 132, auxiliary locking member 133 is inserted through an aperture in operating rod 132 and through an aperture in one side of housing 11. The bird launcher 10 is locked and ready for launching.
When the bird launcher 10 is placed at the training site, auxiliary locking member 133 is removed from operating rod 132 and housing 11.
Referring now to FIG. 2d, a signal is transmitted by a remote controller (not shown) to the bird launcher 10. At that time, controller 12 receives the transmitted signal and generates a control signal in response to the received signal. Electromagnet 135 generates the magnetic force that pulls moving shaft 131 toward controller 12. At the same time, operating rod 132 connected to moving shaft 131 rotates by the predetermined angle, as shown by 15, thereby releasing fixing rod 141 from the locked state.
As can be seen in FIG. 2e, when fixing rod 141 is released from the locked state, the pair of guide rods 143 rotate toward the outside of housing 11 by the restoring force of the pair of springs 142 and at the same time completely rotate one side of fixing rod 141 to the outside of housing 11, as illustrated by 17. The restoring force of the pair of springs 142 is such that guide belt 144, and the bird surrounded by guide belt 144, are discharged in a vertical direction by the sudden release of the restoring force of the pair of springs 142 and the sudden stretching of guide belt 144. At this moment, the bird is launched from the bird launcher.
As described above, however, the placement of the bird on guide belt 144 is problematic in that the bird must be placed on guide belt 144 and held in that position while the pair of guide rods 143 are rotated over housing 11 and placed in the locked state. It is difficult and inconvenient to simultaneously place the bird in the interior of housing 11 while rotating the plurality of guide rods 143 against the restoring force of the pair of springs 142. This can lead to injury to the bird such as broken legs, wings, or neck. There is a need, therefore, for a humane method of placing the bird in the launcher.
Another problem is that since fixing rod 141 places pressure only at the end portions of one side of the pair of guide rods 143 to maintain the restoring force of the pair of springs 142, the end portions on the other sides of the pair of guide rods 143 are not as fully depressed by fixing rod 141 and may partially open, due to the restoring force of the pair of springs 142, such that when the bird is discharged by discharging assembly 14, the bird is discharged at an angle and flies in a different direction from that intended by the hunter, making it difficult to achieve the desired hunting effect.
A method and apparatus are needed to ensure the bird is launched substantially in a vertical direction. Moreover, the process of coupling or decoupling the auxiliary locking member 133 to operating rod 132 and housing 11 may cause movement of operating rod 132, thereby causing the accidental release of the bird, exactly the function it was intended to prevent. A need exists, therefore, for a simple yet reliable method for preventing accidental release of the bird.


A method to manage flushing of a catheter assembly may include providing a clamp for a fluid tube configured to be coupled to the catheter assembly. The clamp may include a sensor configured to detect the clamp is closed. The method may include starting a timer in response to the sensor detecting the clamp is closed. The method may include providing an alert in response to the timer reaching a predetermined duration of time. The alert may indicate to a clinician that the catheter assembly should be opened and flushed, which may prevent occlusion of the catheter assembly.

Catheters are commonly used for a variety of infusion therapies. For example, catheters may be used for infusing fluids, such as normal saline solution, various medicaments, and total parenteral nutrition, into a patient. Catheters may also be used for withdrawing blood from the patient.
A common type of catheter is an over-the-needle peripheral IV catheter ("PIVC"). As its name implies, the over-the-needle PIVC may be mounted over an introducer needle having a sharp distal tip. The sharp distal tip may be used to pierce skin and the vasculature of the patient. Insertion of the PIVC into the vasculature may follow the piercing of the vasculature by the needle. The needle and the PIVC are generally inserted at a shallow angle through the skin into the vasculature of the patient with a bevel of the needle facing away from the skin of the patient. Once placement of the needle within the vasculature has been confirmed, the clinician may temporarily occlude flow in the vasculature and withdraw the needle, leaving the PIVC in place for future blood withdrawal and/or fluid infusion.
In some instances, the PIVC may become unusable or compromised be due to occlusion of the PIVC over time. In response to the PIVC becoming occluded, the PIVC may need to be removed and replaced with a new catheter. Catheter occlusions may be thrombotic, resulting from formation of a thrombus within or surrounding a distal tip of the catheter. Catheter occlusions may also be non-thrombotic, resulting from precipitates, mechanical obstructions, and other factors. Further, catheter occlusions can lead to catheter infection, pulmonary embolism, post-thrombotic syndrome, and other negative health outcomes. Clinicians are instructed to regularly flush the PIVC to prevent occlusion and extend an indwelling period of the PIVC but some may fail to follow flushing protocols.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some implementations described herein may be practiced.

Catheter system clamp, systems, and methods


Disclosed is a NOR type mask ROM device with a hierarchical bit line architecture in which metal oxide semiconductor FETs constituting memory cells are connected in parallel to one another. The mask ROM device is implemented with an address transition detection (ATD) circuit, and comprises first and second bit lines arranged in the ratio of 2:1, ground lines corresponding to the second bit lines, respectively, first switches each connected between an end of a corresponding odd-numbered bit line of the first bit lines and an end of a corresponding bit line of the second bit lines, second switches each connected between an end of a corresponding even-numbered bit line of the second bit lines and an end of a corresponding ground line of the ground lines, and a charging circuit for charging at least one adjacent non-selected bit line of the first bit lines at both sides of at least one selected bit line of the first bit lines to a predetermined voltage level, when a precharging operation is carried out to sense data through at least one selected bit line of the second bit lines.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical ROM device in which ATD technology is implemented. As shown in this figure, input buffers 12, 14, 16 and 18 receive a chip enable signal, row address signals, column address signals and an output enable signal which are applied externally, and output internal signals such as a chip enable signal CEPi, a row address signal RAPi, a column address signal CAPi and an output enable signal OEi. These signals RAPi and CAPi from the row and column address buffers 14 and 16 are applied to the row predecoder 26 and column predecoder 28, respectively. The predecoders 26 and 28 are provided to select specific memory cells of the cell array 10 in response to the signals RAPi and CAPi. The signals CEPi, RAPi and CAPi from the buffers 12, 14 and 16 are applied to the short pulse generation circuits 34,36 and 38 of the ATM circuit 30. The short pulse generation circuit 34 generates a short pulse signal every time transition of the chip enable signal CEPi occurs. Each of the other circuits 36 and 38 also generates a short pulse signal every time transition of at least one input address occurs. All of the short pulse signals generated thus are applied to the summator 40, which generates a pulse signal SMO having a preset width by adding widths of the applied short pulse signals. The read control circuit 42 generates a precharge control signal PRE and a sense amp control signal SACS in response to the pulse signal SMO provided from the summator 40. Then, the precharging operation of the bit lines is carried out while the precharge control signal PRE is maintained at a predetermined voltage level.
Sense amplifier circuit 22 amplifies data signals which are stored in memory cells selected by the predecoders 26 and 28, and provides them to the data latch circuit 24. Output signals of the data latch circuit 24 are provided to external circuits (not shown) via the data output buffer 32 in response to the output enable signal OEi.
As shown in FIG. 2 which shows a prior art NOR type mask ROM with hierarchical bit line architecture, each cell array block of the mask ROM is formed in a such manner that bit lines are arranged in hierarchical form. As an example, bit lines are constituted with extended main bit lines MBL1, MBL2, . . . , and sub-bit lines SBL1, SBL2, . . . along corresponding columns defined on a substrate. Each main bit line is a metal bit line which is composed of aluminum, and each sum-bit line is a diffusion bit line which is composed of a diffusion layer. Two sub-bit lines are arranged corresponding to one main bit line. In each cell array block, the sub-bit lines are classified into two groups. Of the two groups, one group is formed by odd-numbered sub-bit lines SBL1, SBL3, . . . , etc. and the other group is formed by even-numbered sub-bit lines SBL2, SBL4, . . . etc. Two even-numbered sub-bit lines correspond to one ground line GL. Two odd-numbered and two even-numbered sub-bit lines are interdigitated to one another.
In each cell array block of FIG. 2, the memory cells Mmn (where m=1, 2, . . . , I; and n=1, 2, . . . , j) composed of MOSFETs are connected in parallel with a plurality of sub-bit lines SBL1, SBL2, . . . , etc. which are intersected with word lines WL1.about.WLi. As an example, each memory cell Mmn is arranged in each cell region which is defined by intersecting each pair of sub-bit lines SBL1 and SBL2, SBL3 and SBL4, . . . etc. extending in column direction with the word lines WL1.about.WLi extending in row direction. Gates of the memory cells which are arranged in the row direction are connected to corresponding word lines. As well-known in this art, each memory cell composed of MOSFETs is programmed to either an on-cell state or an off-cell state. Herein, the on-cell state means that the memory cell is at a low threshold voltage (e.g., 0.5 V), and the off-cell state means that the memory cell is at a high threshold voltage (e.g., 5 V).
Memory cells M1k, M2k, . . . , Mik (where k is an integer which is 1 or more) in respective columns between two adjacent sub-bit lines SBL1 and SBL2, SBL2 and SBL3, SBL3 and SBL4, . . . , etc. constitute a single string or a bank. Between two adjacent odd-numbered sub-bit lines SBL2k-1 and SBL2k+1, for example, SBL1 and SBL3, SBL3 and SBL5, . . . , etc. and between two adjacent even-numbered sub-bit lines SBL2k and SBL2k+2, for example, SBL2 and SBL4, SBL4 and SBL6, . . . , etc. two cell strings are assigned. Sources of memory cells in two adjacent strings are commonly connected to corresponding even-numbered sub-bit lines SBL2k, and drains thereof are connected to two odd-numbered sub-bit lines SBL2k-1 and SBL2k+1 at both sides of each strings, respectively. For example, the sources of the cells M13 and M14 are commonly connected to the sub-bit line SBL4, and the drains thereof are connected to the sub-bit lines SBL3 and SBL5, respectively. Odd-numbered sub-bit lines SBL1, SBL3, . . . , etc. are electrically connected to the main bit lines MBL1, MBL2, . . . , etc. via a first string selection circuit which is constituted with string selecting nMOSFETs STI, ST2, . . . , etc., respectively. Similarly, even-numbered sub-bit lines SBL2, SBL4, . . . , etc. are electrically connected to the ground lines GL1, GL2, . . . , etc. via a second string selection circuit which is constituted with ground selecting MOSFETs GT1, GT2, . . . , etc., respectively. The main bit lines MBL1, MBL2, . . . , etc. are electrically connected to the sense amplifiers SA1, SA2, . . . , etc. via a group of first column selecting MOSFETs GBT1, GBT2, . . . , etc., respectively, and the ground lines GL1, GL2, . . . , etc. are connected to the ground Vss via a group of second column selecting MOSFETs GBT1, GBT, . . . , etc.
The typical ROM device of FIG. 1 can be reduced in parasitic capacitance of the bit lines, as compared with the prior art NOR type ROM device of FIG. 2. Particularly, when the bit lines are composed of diffusion layers, a wiring resistance thereof is considerably reduced.
However, during the bit line precharge operation for reading data stored in memory cells, the bit line precharge state may be greatly varied in accordance with programing states of both the memory cell to be selected and the adjacent memory cell thereof. As an example, in case memory cells adjacent to the memory cell to be selected are programmed as off-cells, the main bit line related to the selected memory cell is normally precharged, so that the cell reading operation can be normally carried out. If all the memory cells M11.about.M14 of FIG. 2 are programmed as on-cells and the memory cell M15 as off-cell, after the main bit line MBL2 starts to be precharged, the precharge level of the main bit line MBL1 is not maintained to a specific level and is dropt down, by allowing the word line WL1 to be activated and the string selecting MOSFET ST3 to be turned on, between the selection of the memory cell 15 and the data sensing thereof. This is because, when the word line WL1 is activated, all the memory cells M11.about.M14 are turned on and thereby leakage current flows to the sub-bit lines SBL4, SBL3, SBL2 and SBL1, passing through the main bit line MBL2, the sub-bit line SBL5, the cells M14, M13, M12 and M11 sequentially. As a result, the sub-bit lines SBL4, SBL3, SBL2 and SBL1 are functioned as loads of the selected main bit line MBL2. Precharge level drop of the main bit line leads to reduction in data sensing margin, and acts as a factor of limiting high-speed read operation of mask ROM devices. Also, the mask ROM devices having the above described construction is not possible to operate with a low power supply Vcc.

Semiconductor read only memory and a method for reading data stored in the same


An electronic still camera having a photographing system, a photographing element located at a surface of the photographing optical system on which an image is formed and a finder optical unit disposed separately from the photographing optical system. An optical path of the finder optical unit includes a forward optical path disposed parallel to and close to the photographing optical system, a rearward optical path disposed at a position away form an optical axis of the photographing optical system farther than the forward optical path and a deflected optical path for connecting the forward optical path to the rearward optical path and disposed at a position forward of the photographing element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic still camera and, more particularly, to an electronic still camera with a photographing optical system and a finder optical system disposed separately from each other.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that electronic still cameras are designed to record image data electrically by viewing an image of an object on a photographing element (photoelectric converting element), such as CCD or the like, in place of silver salt film. The electronic still camera can be of a single-lens reflex type or of a lens shutter type. Particularly of interest is a type in which the photographing optical system is separately disposed from the finder optical system, but cameras of these two types are being commercialized. The lens shutter type camera with the photographing optical system disposed separately from the finder optical system cannot avoid a parallax. As the magnitude of the parallax depends upon the distance between the optical axis of the photographing optical system and the optical axis of the finder optical system, the parallax gets smaller as the optical axis of the photographing optical system approaches closer to that of the finder optical system. For the electronic still camera, however, a board with photographing elements such as a CCD, etc., mounted thereon (hereinafter referred to as photographing element board) is too large. Thus the size of the photographing element board of a conventional electronic camera structure places restrictions upon the distance by which the photographing optical system can approach the finder optical system, thus setting limits to making the parallax smaller.


The wind turbine assembly system of the present invention comprises a lifting structure comprising at least first structural support elements configured to transmit stresses to the wind turbine tower during the hoisting of a wind turbine component and a crane configured to displace the wind turbine component towards the tower axis, the system further comprising a displaceable climbing element with respect to the lifting structure by means of guiding mechanisms, the displaceable climbing element incorporating second structural support elements dimensioned to at least partly support the weight of the lifting structure, where the first structural support elements are displaceable so that their relative position can vary with respect to the lifting structure.

The increase in the rated power of wind turbines entails the increase in weights and dimensions of all the turbine components in general, but are of special relevance for the assembly costs of the following aspects:                The height of the tower;        Diameter of the rotor and weight of the blade-axle housing unit;        Weight of the nacelle and subcomponents;        Weight of the tower sections.
Of the above, the most relevant is the height of the tower, of which there are already designs of 120 m and more, especially for the assembly of relatively voluminous and heavy components such as the aforementioned: the large overturning moments associated to the increase in height make it necessary to have a high capacity crane (much greater than that simply associated to the weight of the components).
The use of these cranes is expensive, firstly due to the problems of availability that make the daily rental cost expensive: there is not a large amount of this type of cranes; and second, the high costs associated to transport due to the large number of trucks that are needed to move them. According to data shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,011,098 B2, the rental costs of the crane for tower assembly, can come to $80000 per week, together with the almost $100000 of transport costs (using forty or more trucks).
These high costs justify the search for alternative means to build wind turbines, including the tower.
References are known in the state of the art related to two types of solution:                Self-climbing systems (understanding as such structures that are supported and raised throughout the tower);        Bridge-crane type solutions supported on lattices on the ground.
Among the climbing solutions, patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,646 B2 is known regarding a method and means for erecting a wind turbine tower.
Said means incorporate two structures: a lower one, whereto a hoist cable is fastened in a point close to the lower part, and an upper one, which supports the bridge crane-type structure. The hoist cable passes through a pulley fastened to a suitable fastening point in the tower close to the upper part of each section and it is collected in a winch located on the ground.
The system goes up and down the tower every time a section is assembled. Then, once assembled above the lower sections of the tower, the system descends, another section is again fastened and it is again hoisted. The lower structure incorporates a wheel/roller system adapted to cooperate with guides situated in the tower.
International application WO 2011/031577 A2 relates to a method and apparatus for wind turbine erection incorporating a caterpillar type system secured to the hoisting structure which makes it possible to move the hoisting structure along the tower by the effect of friction force between the tower and the caterpillar type system. Later, once the hoisting structure is in position, it is fastened to the tower and a new section is assembled. Therefore, the invention discloses caterpillar type systems which adapt to the conical shape of the tower. This system may be expensive due to its complexity, especially in conical solutions.
In terms of bridge crane-types structures, patent U.S. Pat. No. 8,011,098 B2 is known which discloses a crane-type structure supported by a self-supporting lattice incorporating actuators capable of lifting the lattice structure and the crane above them for inserting sections of additional lattice and therefore, gain height to be able to assemble more sections of the tower as it grows in height, and lastly the nacelle and the rotor. With the current tower perimeter dimensions, the sections of lattice must be assembled in situ, since they would exceed the transport dimensions. In said structure the tower sections are horizontally fed by means of carriages to also avoid the need of dispensing the sections by means of auxiliary cranes that position them close to the tower base.
The self-climbing structures can be light and of reduced dimensions, as they use the tower as support of the weight of the components assembled (or as much as it is assembled therefrom).
However, the self-climbing structures by pulleys, jacks or similar require a type of structure guide on the tower to guarantee that there is no interference with the tower during the lifting of the structure. In the case of a conical tower, a typical design if concrete is used, the guiding system becomes complicated, as it requires a spring-type element which guarantees the compression of wheels or rollers on the tower surface and which avoids said interference. Alternatively, the climbing is performed by friction between a mechanism disposed on the structure and the tower. In this case, it again requires that the mechanism is capable of adapting to the tower's conical nature.
Furthermore, the lattice-based structures, such as that shown, are large structures that will require a large number of trucks for their transport. They have the advantages, compared with climbing solutions, in that they can be used with any type of tower without the need to vary their design, since it is not necessary to provide them with additional fastening points or supports to fasten the climbing structure.


A game system comprises a pointing device for pointing to an arbitrary point in a game screen displayed on a display device and an acceleration sensor provided in the pointing device. A processor of the game system repeatedly identifies a position of the point pointed to by the pointing device to detect a change in the identified position. Also, the processor determines a movement direction of the pointing device based on an acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor. When detecting a position change, the processor executes game processing based on the position change, and when detecting no position change, the processor executes game processing based on the determined movement direction of the pointing device.

There is known this conventional kind of system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 2001-104643. This related art comprises a gun-type controller provided with a light-receiving sensor and an inclination sensor (pointing device) and a display. The light-receiving sensor detects the amount of light by raster-scanning on the display and determines the shooting position based on the result of detection. Additionally, the inclination sensor detects the inclination of the gun-type controller, and switches between offensive mode and defensive mode based on the result of detection.
In the related art, however, the inclination sensor (acceleration sensor) is merely used for mode switching that has nothing to do with a pointing operation. Thus, in such a situation where the light-receiving sensor cannot detect a light source (marker) such as a scanning line, it is impossible to identify the position pointed to by the pointing device, which may interrupt the progress of the game.
Therefore, it is a feature of certain exemplary embodiments to provide a novel game program and game system.
It is another feature of certain exemplary embodiments to provide a game program and game system that make game processing proceed even if it is difficult to identify a position of a point pointed to by a pointing device.
A game program according to the certain exemplary embodiments allows a processor of a game system (10) to execute a position identification step (S35), a position change detection step (S41, S43, S93), a first direction determination step (S97) and a game processing step (S25). The game system comprises a display device (34) for displaying a game screen updated according to progress of game processing, a pointing device (26) for pointing to an arbitrary point in the game screen displayed by the display device, and an acceleration sensor (68) provided in the pointing device.
In the position identification step, a position of the point pointed to by the pointing device is identified at intervals of unit of time. In the position change detection step, a change in the position identified in the position identification step is detected. In the first direction determination step, a movement direction of the pointing device is determined on the basis of the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor. In the game processing step, the game processing is executed on the basis of a position change when the position change is detected in the position change detection step, or executed on the basis of the movement direction determined in the first direction determination step when no position change is detected in the position change detection step.
According certain exemplary embodiments, when a change in the position of a point pointed to by the pointing device, the game processing is carried out on the basis of the position change, and when no position change is detected, the game processing is carried out on the basis of the movement direction determined from the result of detection by the acceleration sensor, which makes it possible to advance the game processing smoothly with the use of the movement direction of the pointing device even if it is impossible to identify the position of the point pointed to by the pointing device. The movement direction includes at least one of the speed direction and the acceleration direction.
A game program according to certain exemplary embodiments allows the processor to further execute an acceleration determination step (S5). In the acceleration determination step, it is determined whether or not the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is equal to or more than a threshold value. In the position identification step, position identification is carried out only for a time period during when it is determined in the acceleration determination step that the acceleration is equal to or more than the threshold value.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, position identification can be performed with a high degree of efficiency. It is also possible to prevent the game processing from being advanced by the player's unintentional moving the pointing device due to hand shake, etc.
A game program according to certain exemplary embodiments allows the processor to further execute a second direction determination step (S95). In the second direction determination step, the movement direction of the pointing device is determined based on, out of a plurality of positions detected within the time period in the position identification step, a first detected position and a last detected position.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, the movement direction can be determined with ease and accuracy.
In a game program according to certain exemplary embodiments, in the first direction determination step, direction determination is carried out only for the time period.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, the determination of the movement direction can be carried out with efficiency. It is also possible to prevent the game processing from being wrongly advanced due to the player's unintentional movement.
The game processing according to certain exemplary embodiments includes a process of deciding a path in the game screen corresponding to the movement of the pointing device. In the game processing step, when a position change is detected in the position change detection step, the path is decided on the basis of a plurality of positions identified in the position identification step, and when no position change is detected in the position change detection step, the path is decided on the basis of the movement direction determined in the first direction determination step and a preset position.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, it is possible to decide a path based on the determined movement direction even if no position change is detected. In addition, if a position change is detected, it is possible to decide the path with accuracy based on the plurality of identified positions, preferably based on the two positions, the first and last ones out of the plurality of identified positions.
A game program according to certain exemplary embodiments allows the processor to further execute a first direction calculation step (S17), a second direction calculation step (S19), and a third direction calculation step (S21). In the first direction calculation step, a speed direction of the pointing device in a local coordinate system moving together with the pointing device is calculated by accumulatively adding a change in acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor. In the second direction calculation step, a gravity direction in the local coordinate system is calculated by accumulatively adding an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor.
In the third direction calculation step, a speed direction in a stationary coordinate system is calculated by subjecting the speed direction calculated in the first direction calculation step to a rotational operation so that the gravity direction calculated in the second direction calculation step matches a gravity direction in the stationary coordinate system. The determination in the first direction determination step is made on the basis of a result of calculation in the third direction calculation step, that is, on the basis of the speed direction in the stationary coordinate system.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, it is possible to carry out the game processing accurately with the use of the speed direction in the stationary coordinate system.
The acceleration sensor according to certain exemplary embodiments detects acceleration components in three directions. In each of the first direction calculation step, the second direction calculation step and the third direction calculation step, calculation is carried out on two acceleration components corresponding to any two of the three directions. In the acceleration determination step, determination is carried out on the remaining one of the three directions.
According to the certain exemplary embodiments, the calculations in the first to third direction calculation steps are performed only on the acceleration components in the two directions, resulting in a decrease in processing load. The determination in the acceleration determination step is carried out on the acceleration component in the remaining one direction, which allows the game to be advanced accurately and efficiently by means of the single three-direction acceleration sensor.
A game program according to certain exemplary embodiments allows the processor to include a correction step (S15). The acceleration sensor has a predetermined detectable range. In the correction step, when the acceleration of the pointing device exceeds the detectable range, the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is corrected.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, when the acceleration of the pointing device exceeds the detectable range of the acceleration sensor, the detected acceleration is corrected in the correction step.
In the correction step of certain exemplary embodiments, correction is made with use of Bazier curve (C) defined by the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor when the acceleration of the pointing device falls within the detectable range.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, the accuracy of direction determination is increased, making it possible to accommodate even a movement exceeding the detectable range of the acceleration sensor.
A game program according to certain exemplary embodiments allows the processor to further execute a gravity direction calculation step (S165 to S177) and an acceleration direction calculation step (S105). In the gravity direction calculation step, an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is accumulatively added, whereby a gravity direction in a local coordinate system moving together with the pointing device is determined. In the acceleration direction calculation step, the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is subjected to a rotational process so that the gravity direction in the stationary coordinate system matches the gravity direction calculated in the gravity direction calculation step, whereby a direction of acceleration in a stationary coordinate system is calculated is determined. The determination in the first direction determination step is made on the basis of a result of calculation in the acceleration direction calculation step, that is, on the basis of the direction of the acceleration in the stationary coordinate system.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, it is possible to carry out the game processing with accuracy by using the acceleration direction in the stationary coordinate system, regardless of the position of the pointing device.
The acceleration sensor according to certain exemplary embodiments detects acceleration components in three directions. In each of the direction calculation step and the acceleration calculation step, calculation is carried out on three acceleration components corresponding to the three directions.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, the calculated acceleration can be reflected on a three-dimensional game screen. It is also possible to make the game using the acceleration progress with accuracy even on a two-dimensional game screen.
A game program according to certain exemplary embodiments further comprises a plurality of light-emitting elements (24a, 24b) provided in proximity to a screen of the display device. The optical pointing device includes an imaging unit (72) for imaging an object scene containing the plurality of light-emitting elements. In the position identification step, the position pointed to by the pointing device is identified on the basis of an image of the object scene imaged by the imaging unit.
A game system according to certain exemplary embodiments comprises a display device (34) for displaying a game screen updated according to progress of game processing, a pointing device (26) for pointing to an arbitrary point in the game screen displayed by the display device, an acceleration sensor (68) provided in the pointing device, a position identification means (S35) for identifying a position of the point pointed to by the pointing device at intervals of unit of time, a position change detection means (S41, S43, S93) for detecting a change in the position identified by the position identification means, a first direction determination means (S97) for determining a movement direction of the pointing device, based on the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor, and a game processing means (S25) for executing the game processing based on a position change when the position change is detected by the position change detection means, or executing the game processing based on the movement direction determined by the first direction determination means when no position change is detected by the position change detection means.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, it is possible to make the game processing advance smoothly using the movement direction of the pointing device even if it is impossible to identify the position of the point pointed to by the pointing device.
According to certain exemplary embodiments, the game processing can be advanced smoothly even if it is impossible to identify the position of the point pointed to by the pointing device.
The above described features, aspects and advantages of the certain exemplary embodiments described herein will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A head 2 has a face 4. The face 4 has a plurality of score line grooves 8 and a plurality of fine grooves 10. A depth of fine groove 10 is less than 0.03 mm. A width of the fine groove 10 is 0.1 mm or greater and 0.3 mm or less. A pitch of the fine groove 10 is 0.3 mm or greater and 0.8 mm or less. The fine groove 10 has a first direction extending part d1 extending in a first direction and a second direction extending part d2 extending in a second direction. The first direction is a direction directed to a top blade side toward a heel side. The second direction is a direction directed to the top blade side toward a toe side. The score line groove 8 and the fine groove 10 do not cross each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club head having a score line groove.
2. Description of the Related Art
A score line groove is formed on many golf club heads. The score line groove can contribute to an increase in a backspin rate.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-253250 discloses a head having a small groove formed on a face surface. The small groove is formed by utilizing a cutting trace when forming the face surface.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-153575 discloses a recessed part formed on a face surface by microfabrication. The depth of the recessed part is 5 to 10 μm, and the width of the recessed part is 5 to 20 μm.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-202633 discloses a head having a small groove formed on a face part. The small groove has an opening width and a depth less than those of a score line.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-132168 (US2008/0125242, US2009/0312116, US2010-0261545) discloses a head including a plurality of score line grooves and a plurality of thin grooves. An angle between the thin groove and the score line groove is set to 40 degrees or greater and 70 degrees or less as viewed clockwise from the toe side of the score line groove.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-88678 (US2010-0087270) discloses a head including a plurality of thin grooves extending to a heel side from a toe side.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-234748 (US2011-0269568) discloses a head having thin groove formed parallel to score line in each region between the adjacent score lines.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-234749 (US2011-0269567) discloses a head having a plurality of score lines, a first thin groove, and a second thin groove formed on a face surface. The first thin groove is parallel to the score line. The second thin groove crosses the score line.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-23178 (US2008/0020859, US2009/0176597, US2011-0081985, US2011-0086725) discloses a face surface having a circular cutting trace formed by mealing processing, and an S-shaped cutting trace.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-272271 discloses many small groove lines which are shallower than a score line groove and have a width narrower than that of the score line groove. The gazette discloses that the small groove lines are curves protruded to a top side.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method, a system and a computer program product including instructions for verification of the integrity of a shared memory using in line coding is provided. It involves an active step wherein multiple bus masters write a corresponding data to a shared memory. After that it also includes a verification step where data entered in the shared memory by multiple bus masters is verified.

In computer hardware, shared memory refers to a block of memory that can be accessed by multiple bus masters in a multiple bus master computer system. A shared memory system is relatively easy to program since all bus masters share a single view of data and the communication between the bus masters can be as fast as memory accesses at same locations.
However, in a system where shared memory is being used, there is a problem of inconsistent memory data. This data which may be written by one of the multiple bus masters may or may not be correct when written. Therefore, it is very difficult to rely on the data written and read from the multiple bus master computer system and hence memory integrity needs to be checked.
In a system containing a single master, a simple means to verify memory integrity is through an in-line write modify read. Specifically, every write initiated by the master is immediately read back by that master to check that the data read back is the same as the data written.
In systems containing multiple masters, elaborate methods of verifying memory integrity are utilized because of a need to verify potential overlapping writes from multiple bus masters or from the same bus master. Some of the common methods are monitoring memory transactions, extracting the content of the external memory model and validating them using a reference model or a Post processing memory dump.
One of these involves both the instantiation of complex Verilog models and supporting code whereas, and the other, though simplistic, still require a large amount of code to parse and match all memory transactions.
Therefore, in light of the above discussion there is a need of a method and a system that allows easy verification of the integrity of a shared memory without involving parsing large amounts of code or using complex mathematical models.


Method and system for carrying out heterogeneous chemical or biological reactions are disclosed. The method comprising providing an analytical device having at least one liquid processing unit having at least one reaction chamber and a first inlet channel in fluid communication with the reaction chamber. The method further comprises supplying to the reaction chamber via the first inlet channel or a second inlet channel analyte capturing particles, supplying to the reaction chamber via the first inlet channel or the second inlet channel a liquid sample containing an analyte of interest, and confining by an equilibrium of forces the analyte capturing particles in a particle rearrangement zone within the reaction chamber. The forces comprise a drag force Fd generated by flowing liquids and a counter-oriented force Fg. The method also comprises capturing analytes present in the liquid sample with the particles in the particle rearrangement zone.

The present disclosure generally relates to in-vitro diagnostics and, in particular, to a method for carrying out heterogeneous chemical or biological reactions involving the use of analyte capturing particles.
In the field of in-vitro diagnostics, there is a need for the automated heterogeneous assay of chemical and biological samples. Due to several advantages such as, for example, low sample and reagent requirement, the possibility to integrate several assay steps into a single device, increased reaction kinetics, fast analysis times and hence high throughput, many efforts have been made to develop microfluidic systems in recent years.
Packed bed columns, built up as a pile of beads, have been commonly used, for example, in chromatography in chemical analysis for decades. Also in diagnostic applications, the use of porous frit structures is known in the art. For example, immunoassays on a rotating disc, where liquids flow through a packed bed column driven by centrifugal force, have been disclosed. Different ways of building columns with beads, or particles, in miniaturized systems are also known. A conventional way is to use slurries from which a fixed structure is obtained. Typically, a bead-liquid emulsion, or suspension, is flown through, along or over a chamber in which the beads are trapped. This trap can be either a small passage, such as a shallow slit, a porous material like a fleece or filter, for example, a sintered porous material, or larger beads. Another method is to trap the particles in a magnetic field. Typically, these methods all have the particles trapped in a forward flow direction in common. This means that the flow-resistance is fixed or increased when liquid is flown through. Due to an increased packing grade while trapping the particles, the column flow resistance will increase, possibly leading to clogging. When the column is used to bind molecules flowing through, this clogging effect can be more severe. In the case where the beads are trapped in a field, like for instance magnetic, the drag forces may exceed the trapping forces on the beads, resulting in bead loss. When single particles are packed in a geometrical way via a narrowed passage, the obtained pore-size depends on the bead-size. Because larger particles may not provide sufficient binding capacity, smaller particles are preferred but they will yield smaller pores and thus a higher flow resistance. As a consequence, there is a practical limitation of what bead-size can be used for a given flow pressure range. This can be a problem when, for instance, using centrifugation for driving the flow as the obtainable pressures are small. Once a column is clogged, it may be very difficult to recover it.

Method for carrying out reactions in an analytical device


There is provided with an image processing apparatus. A setting unit sets a parameter indicating a likelihood of being foreground or a likelihood of being background for each pixel of the input image. A selection unit selects a first cluster, wherein the first cluster has color information indicating a color similar to a color which is indicated by color information of any cluster out of the second group of clusters. An adjustment unit configured to adjust the parameter of each of pixels which belong to the selected first cluster. An estimation unit estimates a region corresponding to the foreground part using the parameters associated with respective pixels after adjustment of the parameters by the adjustment unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium and, more particularly, to a technique for extracting an object region from an image including a background region and the object region.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an object extraction technique (to be also referred to as a segmentation technique hereinafter) in an image has been studied, and is applied for the purpose of image composition, refocusing of an object, and the like in video editing processing. An object will also be referred to as a foreground hereinafter, and object extraction will also be referred to as foreground/background separation hereinafter.
As the object extraction technique, a background difference method and chromakey method are well known. In the background difference method, an image including only a background without any object is captured in advance, and an image including an object and the image including only the background and without the object are compared to calculate a difference, thereby extracting the object. The chromakey method is a standard method used in the movie industry field. In this method, a background region of a given color is set, and an object is extracted under the assumption that colors of the object do not include the background color.
However, the background difference method and chromakey method are used in only environments in which easy background control is allowed, and when an object includes a color part close to the background color, an object region is readily erroneously determined as a background region.
In recent years, as an object extraction method which does not require any specific background, a method of manually designating rough information including an object region in an image, and separating an object from an image having an arbitrary background has been proposed (ROTHER et al., Grabcut—Interactive foreground extraction using iterated graph cuts, ACM Trans. Graph., vol. 23, No. 3, 2004, pp. 309-314). The method described in ROTHER et al. (to be referred to as grabcut processing hereinafter) obtains a global maximum likelihood solution based on minimization of an energy function. Also, since manual designation is easy, this method receives a lot of attention in the segmentation study field.
However, when the grabcut processing method described in ROTHER et al. is used, a part of a background may be erroneously extracted as an object (i.e. foreground).

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium