A system is disclosed for performing ultrasonic color Doppler imaging to produce absolute velocity and flow direction information for complex media. Ultrasonic color Doppler beams are steered at two different angles and samples are taken at the points of intersection between the steered beams. The duplex color Doppler sample volumes are two overlapping sample volumes interrogated from different angles. Frequency-shift information provided by the color Doppler sample volumes are used to compute the absolute mean velocity and direction of motion of acoustic reflectors within the sample volumes. Velocity and direction data are computed for a two-dimensional array of duplex color Doppler sample volumes and mapped into a color scale to provide a spatial distribution of the velocity or direction of flow or motion of acoustic reflectors.

Ultrasonic imaging technology has become a vital tool for examining the internal structure of living organisms. For the diagnosis of various medical conditions, ultrasonic imaging is often useful to examine soft tissues within the body to show the structural detail of internal tissues and fluid flow.
To examine internal body structures, ultrasonic images are formed by producing very short pulses of ultrasound using a transducer, sending the pulses through the body, and measuring the properties (e.g., amplitude and phase) of the echoes from tissues within the body. Focused ultrasound pulses, referred to as "ultrasound beams", are targeted to specific tissue regions of interest in the body. Typically, an ultrasound beam is focused at various steps within the body to improve resolution or image quality. Echoes are received by the transducer and processed to generate an image of the tissue or object in a region of interest. The resulting image is usually referred to as a B-scan image.
Measuring and imaging blood (and other bodily fluid) flow within a living subject is typically done using the Doppler principle, in which a transmitted burst of ultrasound at a specific frequency is reflected from moving blood cells, thereby changing the frequency of the reflected ultrasound in accordance with the velocity in the direction of the flow. The frequency shift (Doppler shift) of reflected signals with respect to the transmitted signals is proportional to the velocity of the fluid flow. This frequency may be detected and displayed on a video display device to provide graphic images of moving tissue structure and fluid flow within a living patient.
Present ultrasound techniques include frequency-shift color Doppler and power color Doppler imaging of tissue motion, as well as cross-correlation ultrasound estimation of displacements and mean velocities for color mapping tissue motion (referred to as CVI and developed by Philips Corp.). These present known methods of ultrasound imaging provide relatively limited information regarding the velocity and direction of flow in complex media. For example, present color Doppler flow imaging techniques (CDI) provide only frequency-shift data that is dependent on both the velocity of fluid flow or tissue motion and the Doppler angle between the ultrasound beam and the direction of flow or motion. This method provides neither the absolute velocity of the flow or motion, nor the direction of flow or motion.
The cross-correlation technique (CVI) produces and displays a limited range of velocities of flow or motion. Although CVI systems can be calibrated to produce absolute velocities and flow direction, the algorithms involved are complex and computationally intensive, thus requiring increased processing time and computer resources. Furthermore, because the uncertainty in cross-correlation estimates of velocity and direction tend to be large, the signal-to-noise ratio of this method is likely to be poor.

Ultrasonic color doppler velocity and direction imaging


A new and distinct Oriental Lily Hybrid having numerous, medium large, upright, pink flowers and forming a striking inflorescence with tall, strong stems for cut flower production.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Lilium hybrid referred to commercially as an upright Oriental lily hybrid and named `Le Chic`.
This invention was found in a greenhouse production bed of `Le Reve` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,189) and is thought to be a somaclonal mutation. It is an improvement with its larger flowers, increased stem strength, and taller stems; a definite advantage in cut flower production. It also shows no leaf scorch, another improvement.
This invention has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and day length, without, however, any variation in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the basic characteristics of this invention which in combination distinguish this lily as a new and distinct cultivar: (1) floriferous habit; (2) medium large, upright, pink flowers; (3) vigorous growth habit; (4) large buds; (5) strong stems; (6) virus tolerance; (7) desirable forcing time. Bulbs of this plant may be precooled and forced out of season for very uniform cut flower production.
The primary distinguishing features of the invention are its large numerous light pink flowers. Compared to Lilium `Le Reve` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,189), this invention has larger flowers, deeper pink color, taller, stronger stems, larger, wider leaves, and blooms two weeks later. Otherwise, they are very similar.
Asexual reproduction of this new variety has been accomplished at Cebeco Lilies, Inc., Aurora, Oreg. by scaling and tissue culture. The resulting plants have shown that the above-mentioned unique features are stable and reproduce true to type in each successive propagation.


A charging member having a support, a conductive elastic layer formed on the support and a surface layer formed on the conductive elastic layer, wherein the surface layer contains a polysiloxane having an acrylic group and an oxyalkylene group. This provides a charging member to the surface of which toners and external additives used in the toners can not easily cling even because of repeated use over a long period of time and which therefore enables charging and image reproduction which are stable over a long period of time, even when used in the DC contact charging method; and further provides a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus which have such a charging member.

At present, a contact charging method has been put into practical use as one of methods for charging the surface of an electrophotographic photosensitive member electrostatically.
The contact charging method is a method in which a voltage is applied to a charging member disposed in contact with the electrophotographic photosensitive member, to cause micro-discharge at the part of contact between the charging member and the electrophotographic photosensitive member and the vicinity thereof to charge the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member electrostatically.
As the charging member for charging the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member electrostatically, from the viewpoint of sufficiently securing a contact nip between the electrophotographic photosensitive member and the charging member, what is common is one having a support and an elastic layer (conductive elastic layer) provided on the support.
The elastic layer (conductive elastic layer) often contains low-molecular weight components in a relatively large quantity, and hence such low-molecular weight components may bleed out to contaminate the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. In order to control this contamination due to bleed-out, it is also prevalent to provide on the conductive elastic layer a surface layer different therefrom and having a lower modulus of elasticity than the conductive elastic layer.
As the shape of the charging member, what is common is the shape of a roller. Hereinafter, the roller-shaped charging member is also called "charging roller").
Of the contact charging method, a method having come into wide use is a method in which a voltage formed by superimposing an alternating-current voltage on a direct-current voltage is applied to the charging member (hereinafter also "AC+DC contact charging method"). In the case of the AC+DC contact charging method, a voltage having a peak-to-peak voltage that is twice or more the voltage at which the charging is started is used as the alternating-current voltage.
The AC+DC contact charging method is a method by which stable charging in a high charging uniformity can be performed because of the use of the alternating-current voltage. However, insofar as an alternating-current voltage source is used, this method brings about a charging assembly and an electrophotographic apparatus which are large in size and a rise in cost, compared with a method in which a voltage of direct-current voltage only is applied to the charging member (hereinafter also "DC contact charging method").
That is, the DC contact charging method is superior to the AC+DC contact charging method in respect of making the charging assembly and electrophotographic apparatus small-sized and achievement of cost reduction.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-210857 (Patent Document 1) discloses production of an elastic material having superior surface properties and releasability and having a low hardness and a heat resistance. More specifically, a solution of an organosilicon compound having at one terminal or both terminals a functional group or groups capable of reacting with a metal alkoxide is heat-treated to remove its water content and low-molecular weight components, the metal alkoxide is added to the organosilicon compound solution thus heat-treated, to prepare an organic-inorganic hybrid sol, then the sol is heated into a gel, and a substrate is, e.g., coated with the resultant organic-inorganic hybrid material to produce the elastic material having superior surface properties and releasability and having a low hardness and a heat resistance. This elastic material is useful as a material for roll members and belt members of copying machines and printers of electrophotographic systems, as so disclosed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-267394 (Patent Document 2) discloses a charging member which is brought into contact with a charging object and with which the charging object is electrostatically charged by applying a voltage across the charging member and the charging object. In this charging member, at least its member surface coming into contact with the charging object is formed of a surface layer having a binder and an additive added thereto which has a fluorine block copolymer or silicon block copolymer having a first block of a fluorine type or silicon type and a second block containing neither fluorine nor silicon. This charging member further has low friction properties and superior toner adhesion properties and besides exhibit a superior running performance, as so disclosed.

Charging member, process cartridge, and electrophotographic apparatus


An expansion joint system which is provided to accommodate forces applied to highway construction during normal changes in ambient conditions, and which is also designed to withstand seismic forces and vehicular forces, which may be applied in transverse and longitudinal directions. The system includes spaced-apart transverse vehicle load bearing members which are placed in a gap defined between adjacent sections of highway construction, longitudinally extending support members positioned beneath the load bearing members, means embedded within the adjacent roadway sections that control longitudinal, transverse and vertical movement, and a mechanism for controlling the spacing between the transverse load bearing beams. Preferably, this mechanism maintains a substantially equal distance between the transverse load bearing beam members.

The present invention relates to an expansion joint system that can be utilized in highway construction where gaps are formed between adjacent concrete sections. The expansion joints of the present invention find particular applicability in bridge constructions, roadway construction and other structures where large movements in multiple directions must be accommodated.
A gap is purposely provided between adjacent concrete structures for accommodating dimensional changes within the gap occurring as expansion and contraction due to temperature changes, shortening and creep caused by prestressing, seismic cycling and vibration, deflections caused by live loads, and longitudinal forces caused by vehicular traffic. An expansion joint is conventionally utilized to accommodate these movements in the vicinity of the gap.
Bridge constructions are also subject to relative movement in response to the occurrence of seismic events. This raises particular problems, because the movements occurring during such events are not predictable either with respect to the magnitude of the movements or with respect to the direction of the movements. In many instances bridges have become unusable for significant periods of time, due to the fact that traffic cannot travel across damaged expansion joints.
The difficulty in designing such expansion joints is that when a movement component of large magnitude is applied transverse to the roadway direction, the joints are typically unable to accommodate these movements. Attempts have been made to avoid this problem, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,912. This expansion joint system, which is sold by Maurer Sohne, GmbH, attempts to deal with the problem by using sliding and swiveling movements of the joint components to accommodate the non-longitudinal movements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,066 to Leroux discloses an expansion joint for adjacent roadway sections to accommodate expansion or contraction of the distance between the adjacent concrete roadway sections, which utilizes a lazy tongs device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,308 to Walter also discloses an expansion joint system for accommodating movement with an expansion joint.
The "Steelflex" system offered by D.S. Brown Company utilizes a center beam, which is individually attached to its own support bar. The support bars move parallel to the direction of movement of the structure.
The "Robek System" offered by Tech Star, Inc. includes a modular joint system designed to accommodate longitudinal movement. As with the other prior art systems, this design has not been proven effective to prevent significant damage under substantial seismic event conditions.
Therefore, a need still exists in the art for an improved expansion joint system that can accommodate large movements that occur separately or simultaneously in multiple directions in the vicinity of a gap having an expansion joint between two adjacent roadway sections, for example, movements occurring in longitudinal and transverse directions relative to the flow of traffic, which may be caused by thermal changes, prestressing, seismic events, and vehicular deflections.

Expansion joint system for accommodation of large movement in multiple directions


Techniques to operate circuitry in an integrated circuit are provided. The circuitry may include rate detection circuitry, receiver circuitry, and configuration circuitry. The receiver circuitry may receive a data stream with an arbitrary data rate. The rate detection circuitry may receive a reference clock signal that is associated with the received data stream. The rate detection circuitry determines the frequency of the reference clock signal such that an appropriate clock signal may be generated for the receiver circuitry. The receiver clock signal may be generated by clock generation circuitry that is coupled to the rate detection circuitry. The configuration circuitry may accordingly configure the receiver circuitry based at least on the determined frequency of the reference clock signal so that the receiver circuitry may operate at the arbitrary data rate.

Integrated circuit devices, such as field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), may be used to transmit and receive high-speed signals using a contiguous multi-rate communications protocol. There are a variety of applications or input-output interfaces that require a contiguous multi-rate communications protocol. An example of such an interface includes a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standard.
Generally, transceiver circuitry is adapted to operate at predetermined or specific data rates. A contiguous multi-rate protocol, such as the HDMI standard, on the other hand, allows any arbitrary clock rate. For example, in the HDMI standard, the pixel clock rate can range from 25 megahertz (MHz) to 600 MHz with associated line rates ranging from 250 megabits per second (Mbps) to 6 gigabits per second (Gbps). The predetermined operating rates of conventional transceiver circuitry typically limit the transceiver's ability to cover the entire operating range of the HDMI standard. Therefore, transceiver circuitry that operates at predetermined data rates can only support those HDMI standards having similar data rates to the transceiver circuitry.
In some instances, transceiver circuitry in an ASIC device leverages a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit that has a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with a wide tuning range to support HDMI Interfaces at different data rates (or other input-output standards with arbitrary data rates). This allows the ASIC, device to meet the requirements of different HDMI applications. However, such a solution is generally undesirably costly.
As performance requirements increase and higher resolutions are introduced, transceiver circuitry may need to be adapted to support different input-output interfaces with different data rates. It is within this context that the embodiments described herein arise.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A communication technique for energy efficient Ethernet (EEE) employs a systematic block forward error correcting code (FEC). The technique aligns a low power idle (LPI) refresh signal with the FEC frame. The refresh signal includes a known reference sequence, FEC systematic symbols, and FEC parity symbols. The technique may apply shortened FEC encoding and decoding on the partial data symbols and the parity symbols.

High speed data networks form part of the backbone of what has become indispensable worldwide data connectivity. Within the data networks, network devices, such as switches and routers, direct data packets according to a given communication protocol. Improvements in communication techniques will further enhance the performance and capabilities of data networks.

Robust low rate data channel in LPI mode for energy-efficient ethernet applications


A simulation toy includes an electromagnet received in a slot on the body of the toy and attached with a permanent magnet mounted flush with the toy, a control circuit controlled by a snap switch reciprocates a reciprocating rod through the electromagnet in pushing the permanent magnet out of the slot for showing a red colored area simulating a wound and simultaneously activate a speaker for making a sound simulating the crying of a child.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a simulation toy which shows a red colored area simulating a wound and makes a sound simulating the crying of a child who has fallen.
2. Description of Prior Art
Various audible sound producing toys are known and widely accepted by children of all ages. These audible sound producing toys commonly use a sound reproducing device to reproduce a pre-recorded sound in simulating the crying or laughing of a child. One disadvantage of these audible sound producing toys is that the sound reproducing device requires a large installation space. Another disadvantage of these audible sound producing toys is that the sound reproducing device is triggered to make a sound only when the head of the respective toy is hit by force. It is not suitable to teach a child how to hit a toy to make it cry.

Toy with electromagnet simulating injury


A condenser (10) and method for separating a fluid flow is provided. The condenser (10) maybe used for separating a cathode exhaust flow (60) into a condensed liquid (86) and a non-condensed gas (70). The condenser (10) includes a vertical inlet (14), a vertical outlet (16), a gas flow path (20), a liquid flow path (22), a non-condensed gas outlet (24) and a condensed liquid outlet (26).

Condensers are used in a variety of situations for at least partially condensing a liquid from a fluid mixture. Many condensers, such as those found in automobiles, condense an entirely vapor flow into an entirely liquid flow. Typically, in such condensers, the fluid is a vapor at the inlet and a condensed liquid at the outlet. However, there are also condensers that only partially condense a fluid or condense only one constituent of gas mixture whereby the outlet contains both liquid and gas.
Condensers are also useful in a variety of other applications for recovering a liquid from an exhaust stream. One specific example of where such a condenser may be employed is in combination with a fuel cell system for recovering water from the cathode exhaust of the fuel cell. Specifically, the cathode exhaust from a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell contains water that was input into the system for humidification as well as water that was produced by the electrochemical reactions within the fuel cell itself.
Most PEM fuel cells combine hydrogen gas on the anode side with oxygen on the cathode side to create water while harnessing electrons to create electricity. The reaction on the anode side of the fuel cell is [H2→2H++2e−]. The hydrogen ions permeate across the separating membrane while the electrons pass through an electronic circuit over to the cathode side. At the cathode side of the fuel cell the reaction is [2H++2e−+½O2→H2O] whereby the hydrogen ions, electrons and oxygen combine to create water. Therefore, the overall reaction theoretically produces one molecule of water per molecule of hydrogen.
Furthermore, fuel cells generally require water, in the form of humidification, for optimal performance of the membrane used in each fuel cell. Typically, one or both sides of the fuel cell, the anode and the cathode, are humidified via the respective inlet flows to maintain the hydrogen ion permeation from the anode to the cathode. Generally, air is utilized as the source of oxygen for the electrochemical reaction on the cathode side of the fuel cell, and for that reason a significant amount of water must also be used to maintain the appropriate level of humidification. A significant amount of water is required because the flow rate of air required is generally large compared to a pure oxygen flow to achieve the reaction required amount of oxygen, and/or because water overspray may be required and collected at cathode exhaust. Therefore, the fuel cell itself requires a significant amount of humidification to operate.
As alluded to previously, the fuel cell creates water as a product of the electrochemical reaction. Therefore, not only does the cathode exhaust have water from the inlet humidification, but the fuel cell produces water as well. To maximize the efficiency of the fuel cell system, it is desirable to recover the water from the cathode exhaust to use for humidification and/or for cooling in other parts of the fuel cell system.
In this regard, condensers are frequently employed to recover water from the cathode exhaust. Because the temperature of the condensed and entrained water may be higher than the desired temperature, others have chosen to combine a condenser in series with a liquid cooler.
However, using a condenser in series with a liquid cooler contributes to pressure drops through the multiple units. Additionally, even with an upstream water separator, the pressure drop can be too great, possibly requiring additional pumps. These additional pumps add to overall parasitic losses and decrease overall system efficiency. Additionally, multiple units require additional space. As fuel cell systems attempt to become smaller and smaller for automobile applications and the like, it is desirable to provide a smaller condensing unit. Therefore, there exists the need for a cathode exhaust condenser, a liquid/gas separator and liquid cooler that minimize gas pressure losses and/or minimize overall space requirements


Disclosed is a disposable self-prepping electrode which utilizes an array or mat of flexile tines which serve to part the high impedance outer layers of skin to expose the low impedance, blood enriched layers without scratching or abrading. The tines are preferably imbedded in a conductive gel layer. In an alternate embodiment, a self prepping layer of flexile tines embedded in gel may be a single disposable self-prepping layer that is mounted over a permanent electrode.

This invention relates to an electrode for use in monitoring electrical body signals and more particularly to a disposable, pre-gelled, self-prepping electrode.
Disposable electrodes applied to the skin are used extensively in the monitoring of electrical activity of body functions. The most widely used electrodes require that the skin be prepared before applying the electrode in order to get good electrical contact. This is usually accomplished by first wiping the skin with alcohol to remove dirt and oils. The skin is then further prepared by abrading the electrode sites with a grit-impregnated solution on a cotton swab or with some other abrasive means to remove the outer layers of skin which generally cause poor electrical contact. The electrodes are then applied to the prepared sites in contact with blood-enriched skin layers, thereby giving a relatively low electrical contact impedance.
Many of the pre-gelled electrodes that are widely used in medical monitoring of electrical body signals are disposable, pre-gelled electrodes. Examples of such electrodes are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,769 issued to Sessions; U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,766 issued to Krasnow; U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,086 issued to Corasanti; U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,289 issued to Craighead; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,911 issued to Cohen. These electrodes, however, all require multiple, separate and time consuming steps of skin preparation, to reduce the contact impedance with the skin before they are applied to the body.
To reduce the number of steps required to prepare the skin, several self-preparing electrodes have been developed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,664 issued to Heavner describes an electrode having a cover with an abrasive surface to give the applicator of the electrode a ready means to abrade and prepare the skin before application of the electrode. The abrasive means is discarded after application. U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,392 issued to Sherwin utilizes a removable, non-conductive brush through the center of a reusable electrode to perform the skin preparation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,592 issued to Lahr utilizes an electrode with an absorbent pad placed against the skin through which a separate stiff-bristled brush is dabbed to micropuncture the skin to prepare it.
Each of the techniques described above also require multiple, separate components or steps to perform the skin preparation even though they are "self-preparing". In many situations in patient monitoring, keeping physical track of multiple, separate components is inconvenient because of the clutter or haste typical, for example, of an operating room or intensive care unit. Requiring separate steps to perform skin preparation makes it difficult to improve contact impedance once the electrode has been applied to the patient or after a medical procedure is underway. If the preparation was inadequate, once the electrode has been applied it must be removed, the skin reabraded, and most likely a new electrode would have to be reapplied, adding additional expense to the additional preparation time. Too much abrasion can cause a skin injury or bleeding, leaving the patient with a lasting wound. Also, when an abrading means incorporated as part of an electrode cover or another separate mechanical abrader is used, it is likely that the results will be varied from patient to patient since the results are dependent upon the type of skin of the patient and the abrading technique used by the person applying the electrode.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,419 issued to Tam utilizes a separate hand-held mechanical rotating apparatus to rotate a center abrasive disk which is part of an electrode that spins against the skin and continuously measures skin contact impedance. This technique may give more consistent impedance results, but the need for a rotating apparatus (or separate brushes as described above) to perform skin preparation is also a recurring expense in the case of the brushes which generally cannot be reused, and a very high one-time expense in the case of the rotating apparatus. Such a mechanical abrading device is also prone to cause abrasion skin injuries.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,679 issued to Schmidt utilizes a metallic brush similar in function to the one used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,392 but that remains in contact with the patient during use. Metal in direct contact with the patient's skin causes chemical half-cell reactions that generate offset voltages at the points of contact, interfering with the sensitive measurement of the low signal voltages of the body.
The application of several electrodes, which is typical for medical monitoring, is very time consuming using known methods because of the steps required and the uncertainty of the skin preparation results. Also, all of the known preparation devices, because of the need to physically handle the multiple, separate items required to prepare the skin, cause risk to the applicator by potential contact with blood and by possible disease transmittal during preparation.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a self-prepping electrode which easily and reliably prepares the skin to assume a relatively low electrical contact impedance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-prepping electrode which can prepare the skin without requiring the use of more than one component to be handled by the person applying the electrode.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a self-prepping electrode which minimizes the chances of the occurrence of any skin abrasion injuries.

Disposable, pre-gelled, self-prepping electrode


A heat exchanger is provided for transferring heat between a first fluid flow and a second fluid flow. The heat exchanger includes a first fluid flow path having a major dimension and a minor dimension and a second fluid flow including at least two flat tubes each having a major dimension and a minor dimension. Each of the flat tubes have at least two passes. Each tube has a transition region joining adjacent passes. Each transition region extends beyond the first fluid flow path major dimension.

Flat tube heat exchangers are employed in a wide variety of situations for transferring heat between a first fluid flow and a second fluid flow. One specific example of where flat tube heat exchangers can be employed is in fuel cell systems for transferring heat between fluid flows to improve overall system efficiency. Specifically, heat exchangers may be utilized in fuel processing subsystems of fuel cell systems to transfer heat between a reformate flow and a coolant flow to cool the reformate flow prior to entry into a carbon monoxide removal unit.
In many PEM fuel cell systems, a fuel such as methane or a similar hydrocarbon fuel is converted into a hydrogen-rich stream for the anode side of the fuel cell. In many systems, humidified natural gas (methane) and air are chemically converted to a hydrogen-rich stream known as reformate by a fuel processing subsystem of the fuel cell system. This conversion takes place in a reformer where the hydrogen is catalytically released from the hydrocarbon fuel. A common type of reformer is an Auto-Thermal Reactor (ATR), which uses air and steam as oxidizing reactants. As the hydrogen is liberated, a substantial amount of carbon monoxide (CO) is created which must be reduced to a low level (typically less than 10 ppm) to prevent poisoning of the PEM membrane.
The catalytic reforming process consists of an oxygenolysis reaction with an associated water-gas shift [CH4+H2O→CO+3H2, CO+H2O→CO2+H2] and/or a partial oxidation reaction [CH4+½ O2→CO+2H2]. While the water-gas shift reaction removes some of the CO from the reformate flow stream, the overall reformate stream will always contain some level of CO, the amount being dependent upon the temperature at which the reforming process occurs. After the initial reactions, the CO level of the reformate flow is well above the acceptable level for the PEM fuel cell. To reduce the CO concentration to within acceptable levels, several catalytic reactions will generally be used in the fuel processing subsystem to remove CO in the reformate flow. Typical reactions for reduction of CO in the reformate flow include the aforementioned water-gas shift, as well as a selective oxidation reaction over a precious metal catalyst (with a small amount of air added to the reformate stream to provide oxygen). Generally, several stages of CO cleanup are required to obtain a reformate stream with an acceptable CO level. Each of the stages of CO cleanup requires the reformate temperature be reduced to precise temperature ranges so that the desired catalytic reactions will occur and the loading amount of precious metal catalyst can be minimized.
In this regard, liquid-cooled heat exchangers are frequently employed to control the reformate temperature at each stage because of their compact size when compared to gas-cooled heat exchangers. Because liquid water entering the fuel processing subsystem must be heated so that it can be converted to steam for the reforming reactions, it is thermally efficient to use process water as the liquid coolant for the heat exchangers to cool the reformate flow prior to CO removal.
However, utilizing liquid-cooled heat exchangers to cool the reformate flow prior to entering CO removal units have a few conditions that should be considered. For example, the temperature of the reformate flow exiting the heat exchanger needs to be relatively precisely controlled so the CO removal processes can be optimized. Another factor to consider is the difference in flow rates between the reformate flow and the coolant flow.


A method and apparatus for providing short arc welding-type power is disclosed. The system includes a power supply, a wire feeder, and a controller. The output current is decreased at dive rate when the arc forms. The dive rate is maintained until the currents drops to a threshold, preferably a function of the peak short current in that cycle. Then the current is held steady for a length of time that is a percentage of the short time for that cycle. Then the current is decreased at the normal rate until the short reforms, and the current begins increasing at the normal rate. The holding steady portion can be omitted.

Many applications exist for welding and cutting systems used to join two or more workpieces to one another, or to cut workpieces. These applications exist throughout industry, but also for construction, ship building, maintenance, and so forth. In arc welding systems, electrical power is converted to a form useful for a welding process, and the power provides voltage and current necessary to establish and maintain arcs between an electrode and a workpiece. Plasma cutting and similar operations also require conditioned power adapted for the specific process. In gas metal arc welding (GMAW), the arc is established between an electrode that is advanced towards the workpiece and the workpiece itself. The electrode is often provided by a wire feeder, that is part of the welding-type system. The electrode is consumed insomuch as it is added to the weld as the weld puddle advances during the operation.
Some prior art GMAW systems with wire feeders allow the user to set the wire feed speed and the output voltage. Wire feed speed is often referred to by the user as "heat" and voltage as "spread". Higher wire feed speeds require more current for the higher burn-off rate to maintain the same arc voltage. Prior art welding-type systems can be voltage-controlled (CV) or current-controlled (CC).
In welding and cutting power supplies, power electronic circuitry is commonly switched on and off to control the desired power output used for the process. The switching is commonly performed by pulse width modulation (PWM) signals applied to the gates of power electronic switches of converter circuits within the supplies. Conventional systems utilize a single inverter in this converter circuitry, along with an inductor to smooth the output waveform. However, inductors in such systems can be quite large, adding additional cost and weight. Improvements in these systems have included the use of two or more inverters or converters which are switched to provide the desired output. The ripple amplitude of the output current is thereby reduced, consequently reducing the size of the output inductor, or in some cases eliminating the output inductor. One improved prior art system is described in US Patent publication 2014-0376268 (hereby incorporated by reference).
One welding process is a short arc (or short circuit) welding process. In short arc welding the output alternates between a short state and an arc state. A cycle of short arc welding is one short state and one arc state. The prior art Millermatic 211 Auto-Set w/MVP® welding system can be used for short arc welding when in a CV mode. The wire advances and shorts to the work. Because the output is a CV output and the current increases when the short occurs, the rate of increase is set by the system inductance (or the apparent inductance set by the wave shape). As the current increases the wire melts faster, and eventually the short clears when the drop at the end of the wire separates from the wire. The voltage across the arc is higher than the short voltage, so the current decreases (again at the normal machine inductance rate) for a CV output. The clearing of the short can be a violent action and create undesired spatter.
The prior art has attempted to reduce spatter by reducing the current during, or just before, the transition from short to arc. Early attempts included changing the resistance using a switch in the current path. (See. e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,326). These attempts were largely unsuccessful because they still were not fast enough to reduce the current before the arc formed. A significant improvement was predicting when the arc would form, based on the rate of change of output power (dp/dt). This prediction provided enough advance time to overcome the lag time in the current command, thus the current was reduced before the arc formed. This greatly reduced spatter. The predictive technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,626 (hereby incorporated by reference). While the predictive control works well, it is a sophisticated control scheme, and not necessarily consistent with low cost welders.
Another improvement was using mechanical control of the wire to create the arc. The arc is formed when the wire is retracted (or the advance is slowed). Thus, the transition to the arc occurs at a known time and the current is lowered prior to that time. Alternatively, the current is lowered, and then the wire is retracted. Because the current is low when the arc is formed, spatter is reduced. This sort of system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,984,806 (hereby incorporated by reference). While this system performs well it requires a wire feed motor close to the arc, which can also add cost and complexity to the welding-type system.
Accordingly, a welding-type system that provides an output for short arc welding with reduced spatter is desired.


Technologies for network packet processing include a computing device that receives incoming network packets. The computing device adds the incoming network packets to an input lockless shared ring, and then classifies the network packets. After classification, the computing device adds the network packets to multiple lockless shared traffic class rings, with each ring associated with a traffic class and output port. The computing device may allocate bandwidth between network packets active during a scheduling quantum in the traffic class rings associated with an output port, schedule the network packets in the traffic class rings for transmission, and then transmit the network packets in response to scheduling. The computing device may perform traffic class separation in parallel with bandwidth allocation and traffic scheduling. In some embodiments, the computing device may perform bandwidth allocation and/or traffic scheduling on each traffic class ring in parallel. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Increasingly, network functions traditionally performed by dedicated hardware devices are being performed using general-purpose computers, such as server computers that include one or more Intel® Xeon® processors. For example, network functions such as routing, packet filtering, caching, and other network functions may be executed by a virtualization platform, which may include any combination of network function virtualization (NFV), software-defined networking (SDN), and/or software-defined infrastructure (SDI).
Carriers may use hierarchical quality of service (HQoS) to consolidate different services on the same physical device running on the same physical infrastructure. Using HQoS, a carrier may implement a service level agreement and prioritize traffic per server per Ethernet port. Typical HQoS scheduling includes multiple instances of scheduling and traffic shaping and may include processing packet data through multiple intermediate queues or other buffers (e.g., removing packet data from a queue, adding the packet data to an intermediate queue, and so on).
One technique for establishing lockless shared ring buffers (or rings) are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/199,110, filed on Jun. 30, 2016. A shared ring includes multiple ring slots that include ring slot metadata. Multiple processing stages may access such a shared ring concurrently, without the use of locks or other concurrency control techniques, because each stage owns and may write particular metadata fields that are not writable by the other stages. Each stage also maintains its own internal sequence number that is used to determine whether particular ring slots have been processed by that stage. Ring-full and ring-empty conditions may be determined by comparing the sequence numbers of input and output stages.

Technologies for scalable network packet processing with lock-free rings


A radiation-sensitive resin composition for forming optical waveguides, which comprises (A) a novolac type epoxy resin and (B) a photo-acid generator. The composition is used as materials for a core portion 5 of an optical waveguide 1, and the like. In the composition, component (A) is represented by the following general formula (1).

As we enter the multimedia age, due to demands to increase the capacity and speed of data processing in optical communication systems and computers, transmission systems using optical transmission mediums have come to be used in public telecommunication networks, LANs (i.e. local area networks), FAs (i.e. factory automations), interconnects between computers, household wirings, and the like.
Among components constituting the transmission system, an optical waveguide is a basic constituent of optical devices for realizing optical computers or high-capacity communications such as movies, moving images, and the like; optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEIC); optical integrated circuits (Optical IC); and the like. Since there is a very large market for the optical waveguide, diligent study on the optical waveguide has been conducted, and especially, a product with higher performance and lower cost is needed.
Conventionally, silica optical waveguides and polymer optical waveguides have been known as the optical waveguide.
Of these, silica optical waveguides have the advantage of having low transmission loss, but many steps such as a vitrification step at high temperature (at least 120 degree C.) and an etching process are required, resulting in a difficulty in improving manufacturing efficiency.
On the other hand, polymer optical waveguides seem to be promising in the future since the polymer optical waveguides have the advantages of the easiness of processing and the freedom of choice in selecting materials, and the like. Therefore, in addition to commodity materials such as poly(methyl methacrylate) and the like, there have been developed various materials having more excellent properties.
For example, there has been recently proposed a technique in which a radiation-sensitive composition containing an epoxy resin is used to manufacture an optical waveguide which has excellent aligning accuracy and the like.
Specifically, there has been proposed an optical waveguide comprising at least a core portion and a clad layer which covers the core portion and has a lower refractive index than the core portion, in which the core portion is a photo-cured product or a heat-cured product of a mixture of a monomer or a oligomer having an epoxy ring (e.g. an epoxy UV monomer having a specific chemical structure) and a polymerization initiator (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication H8-271746).
This optical waveguide is especially for single-mode, and can be optically coupled with other optical components with easiness, low loss and an aligning accuracy of less than 10 micrometers.
Also, there has been proposed a material for forming an optical waveguide capable of transmitting an optical signal therein, which comprises the first compound having an oxetane ring, the second compound for initiating polymerization by chain reaction (specifically, a cationic polymerization initiator), and the third compound having an oxirane ring (for example, a glycidyl epoxy resin such as bisphenol A epoxy resin and the like), and which can be cured by an energy beam (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2000-356720).
By using the above material for an optical waveguide, the chain reaction can proceed rapidly, and it is possible to obtain a highly cross-linked polymer having excellent solvent resistance.
Generally, epoxy resin is also used as a sealant for an optical module.
For example, there has been proposed a method for manufacturing an optical module, which comprises: a step in which a light path between several optical components such as a light emitting element etc, mounted on a base substrate is precoated by an light-transmitting resin; a step in which the light path is covered with a photocurable resin which comprises an epoxy resin having an epoxy equivalent of from 160 to 250 g/eq selected from among novolac type epoxy resins etc, an inorganic filler, and a photo-acid generator as essential components; and the like (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication H9-243870).

Photosensitive resin composition for optical waveguide formation and optical waveguide

Abstract: (In the formula, R1 is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, or an aralkyl group; and n is an integer from 0 to 10.) The composition is excellent in patterning properties and the like in curing process, and is also excellent in heat resistance, transmission characteristics, and long-term reliability after the optical waveguide has been formed.


An exhaust gas purifying system for an internal combustion engine is arranged to determine a recovery execution timing for recovery processing of recovering an exhaust gas purifying device such as a particulate filter and a NOx trap catalyst from a specific content stacked state, to determine a target air/fuel ratio for executing the recovery processing, to determine a first engine controlled variable relating to an air/fuel ratio on the basis of the target air/fuel ratio, and to determine a second engine controlled variable relating to a combustion period at a value different from a value employed during normal processing when the recovery processing is executed.

The present invention relates to an exhaust gas purifying system of an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a technique for preventing a particulate filter and a NOx trap catalyst from receiving excessive heat load during the recovery processing of these filter and catalyst.
Particulate filters and NOx trap catalysts are common known as traps for removing specific contents from exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine. Each particulate filter has built in a filter element produced by molding ceramic into a honeycomb monolith. The filter element filters out particulates from exhaust gas. Each NOx trap catalyst changes its property according to the air/fuel ratio such as to remove NOx in exhaust gas by trapping NOx in the catalyst when the air/fuel ratio is lean. Such a NOx trap catalyst also traps sulfur content in exhaust gas in addition to NOx. These particulate filter and NOx trap catalyst are required to execute a recovery processing for recovering their performances when the accumulated quantity of eliminated objects such as particulates reaches a predetermine. If the engine is operated without executing the recovery processing of these filter and catalyst, there will cause an undesired increase of an engine back pressure and an undesired discharge of exhaust gas including NOx into atmosphere. Further, the NOx trap catalyst is required to execute recovery processing (desulfurization recovery processing) for desulfurizing sulfur content trapped by NOx trap catalyst in addition to NOx.
Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-155793 discloses typical recovery processing of a particulate filter and a NOx trap catalyst wherein particulates trapped by the particulate filter are burnt by raising an exhaust gas temperature at a higher temperature than that during a normal operation, and NOx and sulfur content trapped by the NOx trap catalyst are discharged by temporally changing the air/fuel ratio.
Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2000-179326 discloses a method of increasing an exhaust gas temperature by retarding a main injection timing, by executing a post injection, and by increasing a quantity of exhaust gas recirculation, for the recovery processing of a particulate filter and a NOx trap catalyst.

Exhaust gas purifying system for internal combustion engine


A light fitting and method for illuminating the exterior of spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like, the light fitting having a base component mounted through a spa wall; a lens or light diffuser on an exterior end of the base component; a light source on, in, or proximal to an interior end of the base component; a light clip for retaining the light source on, in, or proximal to the base component; a light shade located on or proximal to the exterior end of the base component; and an attachment plate for attaching the light shade onto the base component via a mounting support; the base component having a cylindrical hollow body having a hollow interior, a first end located within the spa wall, and a second end located proximal to the spa wall, with the mounting support being attached to the cylindrical hollow body.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally is in the field of lighting devices and methods for spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like. The present invention more particularly is in the field of lighting devices and methods for illuminating the exterior of and/or the area surrounding spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like. The present invention more particularly also is in the field of lighting devices and methods for generating aesthetically pleasing light on and around spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like. The present invention more particularly also is in the field of lighting devices and lighting methods having a permanent or semi-permanent lighting base with removable and replaceable covers and shades having different aesthetic designs and shapes.
2. Prior Art
Few applications derive more benefit from the addition of aesthetically pleasing and/or safety lighting than artificial bodies of water such as spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like. The popularity of lighting features and methods of lighting and/or illuminating the interior, exterior, and features of such structures is probably associated with the numerous aesthetic and practical applications that make lighting desirable. For example, the addition of a lighting feature or the illumination of already present on or features added to such structures can provide a substantial decorative effect to, or can provide a relaxing background visual experience for, or can provide for increased safety when using, such structures. As such, users and owners of such structures, which include all such artificial bodies of water as well as many natural bodies of water, often desire the addition of lighting features to and methods of lighting or illuminating such structures.
Many existing spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like include some type of lighting feature to add to the aesthetics of the device. In some existing spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like, the lighting feature is located on a feature of the device, such as on a waterfall or waterjet, for providing an aesthetically pleasing water flow. In other existing spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like, the lighting feature is located on the decking or the exterior of such structures or as separate lighting devices, such as lamps, for providing ambient lighting or safety lighting. In yet other existing spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like, the lighting feature is located within the tub of water, also for providing ambient lighting and safety lighting. As the market for spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like grows, users desire more, different, better, more interesting, and more aesthetically pleasing lighting devices and methods of lighting to make, for example, their bathing experience more relaxing, more convenient, and safer.
Accordingly, there is a need for new and different lighting devices and methods for illuminating the exterior of and/or the area surrounding spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like, and for lighting devices and methods for generating aesthetically pleasing light on and around spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like. There also is a need for new and different lighting devices and methods for illuminating the exterior of and/or the area surrounding spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like, and for lighting devices and methods for generating aesthetically pleasing light on and around spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like having a permanent or semi-permanent lighting base with removable and replaceable covers and shades having different aesthetic designs and shapes. There is a further need for new and different lighting devices and methods for illuminating the exterior of and/or the area surrounding spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like, and for lighting devices and methods for generating aesthetically pleasing light on and around spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, garden baths, and the like having a permanent or semi-permanent lighting base with removable and replaceable covers and shades whereby the spa, swimming pool, hot tub, garden bath, or the like can be customized by the owner. It is to these needs and others that the present invention is directed.

Bulkhead light fitting and lighting method


A system for graft fixation including ACL graft reconstruction and fixation is presented. The system may comprise a loop fixation device for retaining a tissue graft. The loop fixation device may comprise a graft retention portion and a cortical fixation portion to allow the loop fixation device to rest on the cortical portion of a bone. A tissue graft may pass through a bone tunnel and engage the loop fixation device preventing withdraw of the tissue graft back through the bone tunnel. The system may also include graft fixation within a bone tunnel using a sleeve, or tube construct, with a fixation member, or screw, to engage a tissue graft within the sleeve.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to graft fixation including Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) graft reconstruction and fixation. More specifically this disclosure relates to (1) ACL graft strand fixation within a bone tunnel and (2) extra-cortical fixation of a graft with an extra-cortical fixation loop fixation device, or button. The present disclosure also relates to methods for using the devices. It is also contemplated that the systems and methods provided herein, or any adaptations, may be useful outside of and beyond ACL graft construction and fixation and beyond any sports medicine knee repair.
2. The Relevant Technology
One attribute of ACL repair surgery is the fixation of the ACL graft through a bone tunnel providing intra-cortical and extra-cortical fixation. Adequate fixation to maintain the graft and appropriate tension is the common challenge. Therefore, there is a need to have adequate graft fixation either through intra-cortical or extra-cortical fixation as necessary for the specific patient's needs while maintaining a minimal extra-cortical profile regardless of the type of fixation, either an extra-cortical fixation loop fixation device or a bone tunnel and sleeve construct.
The implants described herein are designed to be utilized with bone tunnels that are drilled or reamed from the outside surfaces of the bone towards the central notch where the ACL resides. This methodology provides access for implantation through individual incisions through the skin.
The implants described herein are designed to work within shortened all-epiphyseal tunnels in comparison to more traditional reconstruction methods. The loop fixation construct was designed specifically with the intent to maximize graft to tunnel contact area so as to promote healing. The screw and sleeve construct was developed as a means of obtaining comparable fixation strengths within shorter tunnel lengths.


A low breakout power transfer unit for transferring power between first and second hydraulic systems includes first and second pump/motor units to allow fluid flow between the first and second pump/motor units and the first and second hydraulic systems, respectively. The transfer unit includes a detection device for sensing fluid flow demand in the hydraulic systems and values for automatically isolating the pump/motor units from the hydraulic systems when the detection means senses substantially no fluid flow demands in a hydraulic system. The transfer unit includes a bypass device for each pump/motor unit for recirculating pumped fluid in excess of fluid flow demand.

1. Field
The invention is in the field of hydraulic motors and pumps. More particularly, the invention relates to hydraulic power transfer units which utilize pressure-sensing, fluid flow-limiting and fluid flow bypassing techniques and mechanisms and their operation.
2. State of the Art
Hydraulic power transfer units are commonly used to provide emergency or assistive power from one aircraft hydraulic system to another aircraft hydraulic system. A power transfer unit typically consists of two back-to-back pump/motor units with a common drive shaft, which are connected to different hydraulic systems which may or may not have equivalent working pressures. Each pump/motor unit operates exclusively with hydraulic fluid from the system to which it is connected such that there is no intermixing of hydraulic fluid between systems. Typically, each pump/motor unit contains a hydraulic axial piston pump/motor, or "rotating group" as it is commonly referred to by those skilled in the art.
For convenience, the following discussion is based on systems with equivalent working pressures. If there is a system pressure drop in one system, a differential pressure develops across the power transfer unit and the rotating groups commence rotating or "breakout" to supply power to the lower pressure system. The rotating group which accesses the higher pressure system will act as a motor to rotate the common shaft which drives the rotating group which accesses the lower pressure system as a pump. The power transfer unit will continue to supply power to the lower pressure system until the flow demand to the lower pressure system ceases, the system pressure returns to the rated working pressure and there is no longer an unbalancing differential pressure across the power transfer unit.
Non-bypassing and non-flow-limiting power transfer units are the simplest of power transfer units in that the rotating group which acts as a pump is in direct communication with the hydraulic system with no intermediate valving, such as check or flow limiter valves. Typically, rated or working pressure applied to each side of the power transfer unit will cause the rotating groups to remain in a stalled, or non-rotating state.
When the pressure drops in one system due to a fluid flow demand, the differential pressure between the motor inlet in the high pressure system and the pump outlet in the lower pressure system creates a torque which must exceed the breakout threshold torque of the power transfer unit before the rotating groups will commence rotating. At the breakout threshold, the torque due to differential pressure across the power transfer unit equals the resistive torque due to the static friction of the power transfer unit. Once running, the torque efficiency increases quickly, allowing the rotating groups to accelerate to speed.
With most conventional power transfer units, the high breakout torque characteristics cause the pressure in one system to fall to unacceptably low levels until the power transfer unit breakout threshold is exceeded and the rotating groups begin rotating. Once running, the power transfer unit will provide pressure and fluid flow to the low pressure system until the flow demand falls, and the running torque due to differential pressure across the unit is less than the stall torque threshold, at which point the rotating groups stall and cease rotating. At some low average fluid flow demand rate greater than zero, the power transfer unit will be unable to deliver fluid flow smoothly, and the rotating groups will alternate between stalling and restarting.
One method used in the prior art to avoid the undesirable system pressure fall-off prior to breakout and the undesirable alternative stalling and restarting of the rotating groups with decreasing fluid flow demand and to provide the ability to run smoothly down to zero flow, is the use of internal flow bypassing. Internal flow bypassing avoids power transfer unit stalling under low fluid flow demand by internally diverting a portion of the pump outlet fluid flow into the case or return system, maintaining a fluid flow demand on the rotating group greater than that at which stall occurs. When fluid flow is demanded, the power transfer unit need not overcome the breakout torque since the rotating groups are already rotating. Smooth fluid flow delivery can begin with very little drop in system pressure.
The disadvantage of internal flow bypassing is the consumption of hydraulic power to maintain rotation of the rotating groups at the zero fluid flow condition where no useful work is produced and overall efficiency is zero. This loss is realized as a wasted power draw from the main hydraulic pump, which in aircraft applications is driven by the aircraft engine, and results in undesirable heat rejection into the hydraulic system. When an aircraft is in flight, a power transfer unit typically delivers fluid flow only in the event of an emergency drop in hydraulic pressure or intermittently to provide extra fluid flow during peak system usage. Therefore, unless externally isolated, the rotating groups spend the majority of in-flight operation rotating in the zero fluid flow standby condition due to internal flow bypassing. Over time, the energy and aircraft fuel required for internal flow bypassing can be considerable.
Since the rotating groups of a power transfer unit are not rotationally restrained, the potential for damage to the power transfer unit from overspeed of the rotating groups exists. Overspeed of the rotating groups may occur as a result of a loss of hydraulic load on the pump side of the power transfer unit due to breech-type structural failures in the high-pressure system allowing loss of fluid, or if the power transfer unit drive shaft shears. In addition to possible damage to the power transfer unit, overspeed of the rotating groups could result in a relatively huge consumption of fluid flow by the motor side of the power transfer unit that could exceed the fluid flow capability of the main hydraulic pump, resulting in an unacceptable loss of pressure in that system.
In the prior art, flow limiting valves have been incorporated at the motor inlet side of the power transfer unit to limit the fluid flow consumption of the power transfer unit. The flow limiting valve acts to restrict fluid flow into the motor inlet once the fluid flow has attained a specified value. Fluid flow rate through the flow limiting valve is sensed as a function of differential pressure across an entrance orifice into the flow limiting valve. If the fluid flow increases beyond a specified value, a piston in the flow limiting valve overcomes a spring having a pre-set tension and closes a metering orifice downstream of the entrance orifice. The differential pressure developed across the closing metering orifice lowers the pressure acting across the motor and limits the rotating group speed to an acceptable value.

Low breakout hydraulic power transfer unit and method of operation thereof


The door of an oven comprises a shell (1) of parallelepipedal shape whose front wall (2) has a large opening having the shape of a parallelogram enclosed by a transparent plate (3). The securement of the transparent plate (3) on the shell (1) is effected by fixation members which are formed by holding tongues (P.sub.1 to P.sub.8) arranged respectively on two opposite sides (9 and 10) of the edge (4) of the opening of the shell, while the transparent plate (3) has two opposite sides (24 and 25) bearing projections (S.sub.1 to S.sub.8) adapted to come into securement, by sliding, respectively beneath the holding tongues (P.sub.1 to P.sub.8). For use in all the doors of household electric ovens.

The securement of said transparent plate on said shell is generally effected by securement members independent of the two elements to be assembled. The securement elements used are generally devices comprising securement screws and nuts requiring supplemental accessories during assembly or tongues welded with the interposition of joints.
Moreover, the securement members are difficult to emplace and require long mounting times.
The object of the invention is to overcome the recited drawbacks by providing a new concept of a door for a household electric oven and by practicing a simple procedure for mounting the transparent plate on the opening of the parallelepipedal shell.


A connecting-fixing structure, used for detachably connecting a main body of an electrical appliance with a power cord, includes a connection end, a locking member, and a rotating sleeve. The locking member includes a supporting shaft and a locking portion which rotates by the supporting shaft as a fulcrum. A locking fitting portion is disposed on the tail end of the power cord and adapted to the locking portion. Furthermore, a rotating sleeve is rotatably sleeved on the connection end, an inner wall of the rotating sleeve has a driving part, and the rotating sleeve rotates to drive the driving part to further drive the locking portion to rotate, thereby locking the locking portion or unlocking the locking portion from the locking fitting portion. The power cord can be disassembled and assembled only by rotating the rotating sleeve, and the operation is convenient, and the structure is simple.

Many electrical appliances, such as curling irons, hair straighteners, hair straightening combs, and electric air combs, are generally equipped with pluggable power cords. After the power cords are inserted into the electrical appliances, the power cords are fixed with the main body of the electrical appliances through a detachable fixing structure to facilitate use and replacement. At present, the power cords on electrical appliances are fixed by buckles, or fixed by screws and fixtures, although these fixing structures can detachably fix the power cords, which are inconvenient to operate and time-consuming to disassemble and assemble the power cords to the electrical appliances.

Connecting-fixing structure for a power cord and hair treatment appliance

DONGGUAN FUMEIKANG ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A bearing includes a first bearing portion, a second bearing portion, and a connection portion. The first bearing portion assumes a generally C-like shape and opens in a first direction perpendicular to the rotational center axis. The second bearing portion assumes a generally C-like shape and opens in a second direction opposite the first direction. A gap is formed between the first and second bearing portions along the rotational center axis. The connection portion connects the first and second bearing portions at a position opposite the gap with respect to the rotational center axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bearing configured to support a shaft for rotation about a predetermined rotational center axis and to be attachable to a member to which the bearing is to be mounted (hereinafter referred to as a "mount member").
2. Description of the Related Art
Bearings are used in various portions of various apparatuses. With resent downsizing of various apparatuses and enhancement of their performances, demand has arisen for improvement of bearings, such as downsizing and strengthening of shaft-holding force.
For example, an image forming apparatus, such as a laser printer, uses a large number of relatively long rollers (longer than 210 mm, which is the width of an A4 sheet). When bearings which rotatably support such rollers cannot provide proper shaft-holding forces, malfunction may occur in an image forming operation. Meanwhile, increasing the sizes of bearings for strengthening their shaft-holding forces runs contrary to the recent demand for downsizing of image forming apparatuses.
Further, when a bearing is designed such that assembly or attachment of a shaft to the bearing becomes easier, in many cases, the shaft-holding force of the bearing decreases. Meanwhile, when an attempt is made to strengthen the bearing-holding force, in many cases, assembly of the shaft into the bearing becomes difficult.
Incidentally, various bearing structures are known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. H7-310735, the microfilm of Japanese Utility Model Application No. S62-111226 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. S64-17024), the microfilm of Japanese Utility Model Application No. S55-29016 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. S56-131019), and the microfilm of Japanese Utility Model Application No. S52-163277 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. S54-88450).


Under the present invention, a set (e.g., one or more) of requests (e.g., from a single bidder or multiple bidders) for an elemental bidding resource (EBR) is received. Market conditions for the EBR are evaluated from historical data. It is then determined whether a demand for the desired EBR exceeds a supply of the EBR. Based on the market conditions, the supply, and the demand, a brokering strategy (e.g., auction versus non-auction) and associated method are selected to allocate the EBR. A resource unit broker (RUB) will then determine an outcome of the brokering method to fulfill at least one of the set of requests. The outcome and associated metrics can then be logged, it can be determined whether a sales contract was created, the EBR can be allocated, and reports/data can be updated accordingly.

Businesses are experiencing an ever-increasing trend to achieve higher utilization of computing resources. Companies that provide their own IT computing services are being driven to find ways to decrease costs by increasing utilization. Moreover, companies that provide these services are being driven to reduce overhead and become more competitive by increasing utilization of these resources. Numerous studies over the past decade have shown that typical utilization levels of computing resources within service delivery centers, raised floors, and data centers fall between 20% and 80%. This leaves a tremendous amount of white space with which to improve utilization and drive costs down.
These issues are compounded by the fact that, in many instances, multiple parties compete for common resources. Such competition can occur both on an inter-organization level as well as on an intra-organization level (e.g., between business units). Existing approaches fail to provide for adequate resolution of such competition. For example, none of the existing approaches appreciate factors such as market conditions, supply versus demand of desired resources, etc. In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a solution that solves at least one of the deficiencies of the related art.

Method, system, and program product for selecting a brokering method for obtaining desired service level characteristics

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for measuring surface property parameters of a material comprises: performing saturation processing on a surface of a material; mixing the material which has been processed by saturation with an indicating electrolyte solution; after the mixture solution achieves an balance by ion exchange, measuring the balanced concentration values of positive ions of the indicating electrolyte and H+ in the mixture solution; according to the balanced concentration values of positive ions of the indicating electrolyte, calculating surface potential of the material; and according to the surface potential of the material, calculating specific surface area and surface charge density of the material; according to surface charge density of the material, calculating surface electric field intensity; according to surface charge density and specific surface area of the material, calculating total surface charge of the material. A system for measuring surface property parameters of a material can be based on the method.

Surface properties, such as surface potential, surface charge quantity, surface charge density, surface electric field strength and specific surface area of a substance not only are widely used in the scientific research in fields such as colloid and interface science, material science, life science, soil science, ecology and environment science, but also have extensive use in chemical engineering fields such as paper making, cement, ceramics, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), coal slurry, coating, cosmetics, food industry, mixed dispersion system. Thus, it is important to measure such substance surface property parameters.
In the existing technologies, typically indicator ion adsorption and potential titration are adopted for measurement of substance surface charge quantity. With respect to the indicator ion adsorption, one must first know the percentage of the total adsorption of H+ or OH− that involve electrostatic adsorption. However, since H+ and OH− also participate in adsorption of chemical bond, it is impossible to tell the percentage that involves the electrostatic adsorption. Thus, this method cannot measure the surface charge quantity of a system that contains variable charge under any pH values, any electrolyte concentration and any temperatures. The potential titration not only is not suitable for measuring the charge quantity of a system that contains permanent charge, but also its reliability is questionable even for variable charge system. Thus, there is no common measurement method of substance surface charge quantity that suits for various conditions and different systems. Further, no analysis apparatus is available that can conduct such measurement.
In the existing technologies, one method for determining substance surface charge density is based on the following formula:
      σ    0    =            T      C        S
wherein, σ0 is surface charge density, Tc is surface charge quantity, and S is specific surface area.
Since this method requires the parameter of surface charge quantity, the issue faced in measuring the surface charge quantity must exist in determining the surface charge density. In addition, in the above formula of determining surface charge density, a measured data of specific surface area is also required. However, different specific surface area measurement methods may result in wide difference in their measurements. Thus, the reliability of the measurement is hard to control for a surface charge density measurement method that relies on the parameter of specific surface area.
The second method for determining surface charge density is to indirectly obtain a surface charge density value by using relevant formula of Gouy-Chapman upon obtaining a surface potential value of the substance. However, since currently there is no accurate measurement method of surface potential available that can be widely used, there is still difficulties to apply this surface charge density measurement method.
In the existing technologies, the electric field strength is determined based on the following formula:
      E    0    =                    4                π            ɛ                  σ      0
wherein, E0 is surface electric field strength, ∈ is medium dielectric constant, in which ∈ of water is ∈=8.9×10−10 C2/Jdm. Due to the dependence to surface charge density, the same issue faced in determining surface charge density also exists in determining surface electric field strength.
In the existing technologies, there are various measurement methods, e.g., normally adopted inert gas adsorption, ion negative adsorption, glycol ethyl adsorption, or glycerine adsorption and the like, to determine substance specific surface area. However, same substance using the various measurement methods results in great difference in the measurement. Even though specific surface area analyzer has been developed based on inert gas adsorption, the analyzer does not suit for measuring specific surface area of expandable substance.
Substance surface potential in the present application refers to potential on the initial surface of diffuse layer or OHP (outer Helmholtz surface). The existing measurement methods for substance surface potential include charge density method, negative adsorption method, positive adsorption method, secondary resonance generation method, pH indicator molecular method, fluorescence generation method, atomic force microscopy, and Zeta potential method, etc. All of the above methods have their own limitations. Charge density method, negative adsorption method, positive adsorption method and secondary resonance generation method are all only suitable for measuring surface potential value of constant charge sample of single electrolyte system under neutral condition. pH indicator molecular method, fluorescence determination method and atomic force microscopy will damage the status of the substance surface per se, and thus the reliability of the measurements is hard to control. Zeta potential method does not measure the surface potential; rather, it measures the potential on the shear surface during electrophoresis. The shear surface is away from the surface defined in the present invention. Zeta potential can be measured under different pHs, electrolytes and temperatures. Thus, in view that currently there is no surface potential measurement method that can be widely used under various conditions and is accurate, Zeta potential is the only choice as a surrogate of surface potential. However, extensive studies in recent years have found that, using Zeta potential method to determine the surface potential only has qualitative meaning. In additional, Zeta potential method has very rigorous requirements to the substance to be measured, i.e., it requires that the particle density of suspension colloid cannot be too high, and the particle size cannot be too large. Even the Zetaprobe-model Zeta potentiometer newly launched by Colloidal Dynamics, LLC (US) can only allow the highest particle density of 60% (volume density). Thus, it is impossible to achieve "original state" measurement for a system having higher density or solid particulate substance.
In view of above, currently there is no reliable and widely applicable method and apparatus that can measure substance surface charge quantity, specific surface area and substance surface potential. Thus, the measurement of substance surface electric field strength and surface charge density that relies on the measurements of substance surface charge quantity and specific surface area respectively also have same defects. Further, there is no method and apparatus in the existing technology that can be used to simultaneously measure the above five (5) parameters from a single experiment.

Substance surface property parameter measurement method and substance surface property parameter analysis system thereof


A method of fabricating a thin film transistor includes preparing an insulating substrate; forming a first amorphous silicon layer on the substrate; forming a diffusion barrier layer pattern on the first amorphous silicon layer; forming a second amorphous silicon layer over the whole surface of the substrate; forming a metal silicide layer on the second amorphous silicide layer; and heat-treating the substrate to form first and second polysilicon layers.

In making a thin film transistor ("TFT") used in a display device, a semiconductor layer is formed such that an amorphous silicon layer is deposited on a transparent substrate made of glass or quartz and the amorphous silicon layer is subjected to a dehydrogenation treatment and is crystallized.
At this time, the semiconductor layer which constitutes a source, a drain and a channel area is formed by depositing an amorphous silicon layer on a transparent substrate made of a material such as glass using a chemical vapor deposition ("CVD") technique. The silicon layer deposited directly on the substrate using a CVD technique is an amorphous silicon layer which contains about 12% of hydrogen and thus has a low electron mobility, and when the amorphous silicon layer having such a low electron mobility is heat-treated and crystallized into a silicon layer of crystalloid structure having a high electron mobility, the silicon layer may be damaged since the hydrogen contained therein may explode. In order to prevent such a hydrogen explosion from occurring during crystallization, a dehydrogenation process is carried out. The dehydrogenation process is performed such that a heat-treatment step is performed in the furnace at a temperature of more than about 400° C. for tens of minutes to tens of hours. Then, the dehydrogenated amorphous silicon layer is subjected to a crystallization process.
The crystallization technique which crystallizes an amorphous silicon layer to form a polysilicon layer includes a solid phase crystallization technique and an excimer laser crystallization technique. The solid phase crystallization technique is one which heat-treats and crystallizes an amorphous silicon layer for several hours to tens of hours at a temperature less than about 700° C. which is a temperature that may transform the glass which forms the substrate of a display device on which the TFT is formed. The excimer laser crystallization process is one which scans an excimer laser to an amorphous silicon layer to be heated and crystallized at a high temperature for a very short time.
However, the solid phase crystallization technique has disadvantages in that a relatively lengthy processing time is required and the substrate is exposed to a high temperature for a long time and thus, the glass of the substrate may transform. The excimer laser crystallization technique also has disadvantages in that a high-priced laser device is needed and also, an extrusion may occur on a crystallized surface forming an undesirable interface characteristic between a semiconductor layer and a gate insulating layer.

Method of fabricating thin film transistor


A management system and method for a wireless communication network and an associated interface is provided. The management system provides a structure of data layers and a visualization design to upgrade the efficiency of network management. The management system includes a data generation module and a display module. The data module generates a plurality of data layers, which comprise at least a map layer, a network configuration layer, and an operation index layer. The network configuration layer comprises a configuration of the wireless communication network on the map layer. The operation index layer includes statistic values of an operation index of the wireless communication network under the configuration. The display module performs an overlap display of a plurality of selected layers from the data layers to show operation status of the wireless communication network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication network, and more particularly, to a management system and method for the wireless communication network and an associated user interface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a wireless communication network such as a mobile network, in order to maintain service quality, an efficient network management is needed besides the erection of base stations. When performing the network management, a network administrator is required to monitor complicated network configurations and various operation indexes. However, in a conventional network management system, network operation status is not displayed in an integrated and flexible manner, such that the administrator cannot perform the network management and diagnosis efficiently.

Management system and method for wireless communication network and associated user interface


A method of selectively metallizing a thermoplastic substrate using a hot foil embossing technique, a patterned metal layer being transferred to the substrate from a metal foil by a cutting and pressing procedure including steps (a) and (b). In step (a) the patterned metal layer is first cut from the foil using a punch-press at a selected pressure p.sub.a. In step (b) the cut patterned metal layer is then attached to the substrate using a press at a pressure p.sub.b which is .ltoreq.10 N/mm.sup.2 and also <p.sub.a, and a temperature T.sub.b .gtoreq.100.degree. C. This avoids concurrent application of high pressure and high temperature, which could cause formation of upset edges at the surface of the substrate.

The invention relates to a method of selectively metallizing a thermoplastic substrate using a hot foil embossing technique, whereby a patterned metal layer is transferred to the substrate from a metal foil with the aid of a cutting and pressing procedure.
Such a method can, for example, be employed in the manufacture of printed circuit boards or molded interconnection devices, in which case the patterned metal layer represents the component lands and interconnecting tracks of (part of) an electrical circuit. In particular, the method can, for example, be employed in the production of SmartCards.
The term "thermoplastic" is intended to refer to any polymeric material which softens under the influence of relatively gentle heating (to a temperature of the order of about 300.degree. C., at most), and subsequently solidifies upon cooling; this mechanism can therefore be exploited in adhering the metal layer to the substrate, whereby the metal layer sinks into and sticks to the temporarily softened substrate at an elevated temperature.
A method as set forth in the opening paragraph is known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,776,235. In the procedure therein described, a heated punch-press (transfer tool) with a given surfacial form is used in a single-step procedure to punch a patterned layer of metal from a uniformly-metallized carrier foil and to simultaneously adhere that layer to the substrate.
A process of this type is described in more detail in the commercial brochure "IVONDING.RTM.: A process for manufacturing MID" supplied by Bolta-Werke GmbH, Leinburg, Germany, which makes reference to the IVONDING.RTM. embossing foil described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,232. In particular, the table on page 3 of this brochure specifies an embossing pressure of 70-90 N/mm.sup.2 and an embossing temperature of 130-280.degree. C. for use in the known method.
A disadvantage of the known method is that it often results in so-called "upset edges" on the substrate, whereby small upright walls appear on the substrate surface near to the edges of the patterned metal layer. These upset edges are typically of the order of about 50-100 .mu.m high, and can be a severe hindrance to proper electrical contact between the patterned metal layer and an overlying metal contact, since they force an air space between the former and the latter. This is particularly the case when an integrated circuit (IC) is mounted on the substrate using the so-called "flip chip" technique, whereby tiny solder bumps on the surface of the IC are intended to press against the patterned metal layer at certain locations; because such solder bumps are generally of the order of about 50 .mu.m high, the presence of upset edges on the substrate can completely prevent the bumps from contacting the patterned metal layer. The result is either no electrical contact at all, or a very poor electrical contact.

Method of selectively metallizing a substrate using a hot foil embossing technique


A microphone test fixture. The test fixture includes a test chamber, an acoustic source, a reference microphone, and an acoustic resistor. The acoustic source is configured to produce sound waves in the test chamber. The reference microphone is positioned to receive the sound waves in the test chamber. The acoustic resistor forms a contiguous space with the test chamber, and is sized to prevent resonances and echoes of the sound waves for a fixed high frequency limit.

The present invention relates to a microphone test fixture. Specifically, the present invention relates to a microphone test fixture that removes and eliminates resonant and echoed acoustic waves from a test chamber such that the acoustic pressures are consistent throughout the test chamber.
Acoustic test chambers only work when the device under test and the reference microphone are exposed to the same acoustic pressure. Acoustic resonances due to standing waves in the cavity prevent uniform pressures in the chamber, the frequency at which these non-uniform pressure fields form are dependent on the dimensions and design of the test fixture. These non-uniform pressure fields prevent accurate and repeatable measurements of the acoustic environment.
A typical microphone test chamber has an acoustic source, a test chamber (with all boundaries possessing infinite impedances), and a reference microphone (to determine the pressure that the device under test is experiencing). At least one dimension of the test site, and usually all of the dimensions, is/are longer than the wavelength of sound being measured.
At low frequencies, the cavity size is generally very small compared to the wavelength of the acoustic pressure being tested. The wave travels and reflects the off the walls, but the wavelength prevents the perfect cancelation of the reflected wave.
This is illustrated in FIG. 1. A test chamber 100 includes an acoustic source 105 (e.g., a speaker), a device under test (DUT) 110 (i.e., a microphone), and a reference microphone 115. The consistent shading inside the chamber 100 indicates the acoustic pressure is equal throughout the chamber 100.
However, at higher frequencies, where the wavelength of the acoustic pressure is smaller than the cavity size, the acoustic pressure throughout the cavity is no longer equal. As shown in FIG. 2, acoustic energy leaves the speaker 105 and reflects off the rigid cavity walls, and resonances in the cavity 100 occur. The result is the pressure at the microphone 110 opening is not equal to the source pressure from the speaker 105 or to the pressure at the reference microphone 115. This is indicated by the inconsistent shading throughout the chamber 100.
In the scenario shown in FIG. 2, there is a standing wave mode where there is near zero pressure in the middle of the test chamber 100, and a maximum pressure at the acoustic source 105 and the reference microphone 115. At even higher frequencies, additional resonances occur.