The invention relates to a system and method for operating a billing system associated with a mobile radio network for billing for tariff based use of data provided by a network-external data store, where the data are used by virtue of their being retrieved using a mobile terminal belonging to a user of the mobile radio network, and to a data transmission network. The mobile terminal transmits a user address identifying the user to an intermediate node connected to the mobile radio network, the intermediate node generates an anonymous user identifier from the user address using an encryption method and transmits it to the data store. The data store transmits a cost variable, associated with the retrieved data, and the anonymous user identifier to the billing system, and the billing system recovers the user address and debits a cost account which is associated with the user.

In modern mobile communication networks, such as second or third generation mobile radio networks, the users will in future be provided to an increased extent with additional services, "value added services", besides the setting-up and maintenance of simple voice or data links. One important type of these value added services involves providing a user of the mobile radio network with the opportunity to retrieve data which are of interest to him from data stores and to download them to his mobile telephone, for example. The data can be text information, image information, audio data or film data, for example. Such data can also be provided by institutions which are independent of the operators of the mobile radio networks. Use of these value added services will often incur a cost for the mobile radio subscriber.

Method for operating a billing system associated with a mobile radio network for billing for tariffable use of data, and data transmission network


A laser welding apparatus having a laser source outputting a laser beam and a light transmitting device being positioned downstream from the laser source. The light transmitting device transmits the laser beam therethrough. The laser beam exiting the light transmitting device has at least a zero order light lobe and a first order light lobe, wherein the zero order light lobe and the first order light lobe together defining an initial beam width. An optical device positioned downstream from the light transmitting device converges the first order light lobe with the zero order light lobe to define a final beam width that is narrower than the initial beam width.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Laser welding is commonly used to join plastic or resinous parts, such as thermoplastic parts, at a welding zone. An example of such use of lasers can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,609, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
As is well known, lasers provide a semi-focused beam of electromagnetic radiation at a specified frequency (i.e., coherent monochromatic radiation. There are a number of types of radiant sources available; however, infrared lasers or non-coherent sources provide a relatively economical source of radiative energy for use in heating a welding zone. One particular example of infrared welding is known as Through-Transmission Infrared (TTIr) Welding. TTIr welding employs an infrared laser capable of producing infrared radiation that is directed by lenses, diffractive optics, fiber optics, waveguides, lightpipes or lightguides through a first plastic part and into a second plastic part. This first plastic part is often referred to as the transmissive piece, since it generally permits the laser beam from the laser to pass therethrough. However, the second plastic part is often referred to as absorptive piece, since this piece generally absorbs the radiative energy of the laser beam to produce heat in the welding zone. This heat in the welding zone causes the transmissive piece and the absorptive piece to be melted and, with intimate contact, welded together.
However, in the case of those TTIr welding systems that employ a lightguide or lightpipe, the infrared laser light that exits the lightguide or lightpipe is often outwardly dispersed in a fan or cone shape as it passes through the transmissive piece. This dispersion of light may lead to oversized welding zones. That is, as the light exits the lightpipe or lightguide, the light fans outwardly and impacts a larger area of the absorptive piece and transmissive piece interface. This larger area is consequently heated causing a larger welding zone.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the relevant art to provide an apparatus for use with a lightpipe or lightguide that is capable of minimizing the size of a weld zone. Furthermore, there exists a need in the relevant art to provide an apparatus for use with a lightpipe or lightguide that is capable of focusing the laser light to a narrower area that could not otherwise be obtained simply with a conventional lightpipe or lightguide. Lastly, there exists a need in the relevant art to provide a lightpipe or lightguide with an optical horn capable of overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art.


A high volume pressure valve accurately adjustable to within 0.25 PSIG for attachment to a pipe outlet. A flanged valve body and a cap are connected by a compression spring to permit the opening of the valve when the predetermined outlet pressure setting of the valve is exceeded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to adjustable pressure valves. More specifically, the invention is a high volume pressure valve accurately adjustable to within 0.25 pounds per square inch gauge (PSIG).
2. Description of Related Art
The relevant art of interest describes various fluid pressure valve devices, but none discloses the present invention. There is a need for an extra sensitive high pressure fluid valve adjustable to within 0.25 PSIG. The relevant art will be discussed in the order of perceived relevance to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,334 issued on Jul. 3, 1984, to Henry Becker et al. describes a pressure sensitive valve actuator comprising a pressure sensor having an integral atmospheric pressure reference for releasing a plunger to shut off flow through the valve. A manually operated eccentric pin and slot arrangement is provided for resetting the plunger to the open position. The valve actuator is distinguishable for its limitation to stoppage of flow, dependence on atmospheric pressure and a plunger.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,219 issued on May 25, 1999, to Kieron J. Lavery describes a pressure sensitive valve comprising a reverse buckling member attached to an end of a cylindrical piston blocking the outlet port at a right angle in a capped housing. The reverse buckling member is the pressure sensitive member. The valve is distinguishable for its reliance on the buckling member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,690 issued on Oct. 29, 1991, to Timothy H. Sparrow describes a pre-set regulator assembly device for attaching buttons to clothing comprising the pre-setting of a minimum pressure and an adjustable higher pressure in the device. A shield member prevents blockage of a venting port while assuring continued communication between the venting port and an area of reduced pressure such as atmospheric pressure. The device is distinguishable for its application to pneumatic pressure use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,092 issued on Aug. 22, 1995, to John T. Farnsworth et al. describes a fluid flow valve device for restricting fluid flow in a check valve comprising a device having a segregated piston seat from a second conduit. A piston with peripheral apertures is held in a multiple apertured seat of a housing by a rod and an external compression spring. The device is distinguishable for its apertured piston.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,328 issued on Dec. 31, 1991, to David L. Lyon describes a pressure relief valve assembly in an end cap for a pneumatic pipeline comprising a valve body with a conical head having a screen and a through bore holding a compression spring having a preset cracking pressure value of 35-60 PSIG held between a valve head and valve base. The relief valve is distinguishable for its limited use with a conical head and a pneumatic test plug for insertion into pneumatic pipelines.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,022 issued on Aug. 18, 1987, to Jacob E. Iverson describes a pressure relief valve and regulator device comprising a valve chamber having a side port for connecting to the pressure line to be monitored. The valve seat opens to an exhaust and has a diameter slightly larger than the chamber diameter. The valve incorporates a double ended piston, spring and cam, whereby the cam offsets the normal compression gradient of the spring by rotating as the piston moves in and out. The device is distinguishable for its requirement for a double-ended piston and cam structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,294 issued on Mar. 21, 1972, to Kichiro Satoh describes a pressure retaining valve device adapted to correctly retain any predetermined pressure of any fluid and serve as a safety valve which discharges the fluid to a second side for counterbalance when the fluid pressure at a first side exceeds the predetermined pressure. The valve comprises a valve casing having an inlet and an outlet for fluid, a vertically disposed axial bore having stepped portions, a shaped valve body fitted in the vertical bore, and an adjustable spring loaded cylindrical member installed beneath the casing and connected to the vertical bore. The device is distinguishable for its inlet and outlet conduit configuration being perpendicular to the axial bore and the valve body.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,850 issued on Aug. 17, 1976, to Karl B. Pierson describes a high volume fluid pressure relief valve designed for the top of a vent opening in a fluid storage tank comprising a valve member which is reciprocal to and from a valve seat disposed in alignment with the vent opening. Constant spring means coact with the valve member for normally retaining the valve member in a closed condition, whereby the fluid pressure force required to move the valve member remains constant throughout the travel of the valve member. A large venting capacity and an xe2x80x9cin-breathingxe2x80x9d capacity are provided in the valve. The valve is distinguishable for its gas venting capability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,904 issued on Dec. 27, 1977, to Julius L. Tolnai describes a washer less cartridge valve for faucets comprising a hollow and highly flexible sealing member. The valve is distinguishable for being limited to the structure of a faucet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,688 issued on Nov. 8, 1983, to Joe M. Seabourn describes a diverter valve for preventing blow-outs in oil wells comprising a cylindrical housing having an inclined exhaust port connected by bolts to the down pipe. The housing includes a guide shaft centered within a coil spring and attached to a gasket on top and a cup at the opposite end. The valve is distinguishable for its exhaust port, guide shaft and cup structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,934 issued on Aug. 19, 1980, to Clifford M. Peters describes a pilot valve mechanism for high or low pressure cut-off control comprising a piston responsive to pressure variations by an adjustable spring which acts through an actuator stem on a shuttle valve interposed between the actuator stem and the piston. The valve is distinguishable for its piston structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,738,403 issued on Dec. 3, 1929, to Edwin H. Steedman describes a valve structure for compressors comprising a hub having ribs held by a vertical bolt and including discharge valves and inlet ports is positioned above a head of a compressor cylinder with intake and discharge chambers. The valve is distinguishable for being limited to air compressors.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The invention is a high volume pressure valve accurately adjustable to within 0.25 pounds per square inch gauge (PSIG).
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a high volume pressure valve device.
It is another object of the invention to provide a high volume pressure valve having a property of being adjustable in pressure to within 0.25 PSIG.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a high volume pressure valve having a property of achieving full flow of its feed line.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a high volume pressure valve having a property of having a capturing effect on a seal retained on a grooved ring to prevent its dislodging during full flow operation of the valve.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

Super sensitive, full flow, adjustable pressure valve


Presented herein is a multichannel imaging system capable of detecting and distinguishing multiple fluorescent light sources simultaneously. Also described herein are methods of using the system to image disease or cellular abnormalities, e.g., for diagnostic and/or intraoperative purposes.

The pharmaceutical industry faces increasing pressure to provide accurate and effective information and therapy. New imaging technologies are central to the response to this pressure, and significant strides have been made, for example, in the development of detectable moieties and systems that image them. Particular effort is directed toward imaging technologies that can support cancer therapy, for example, in hopes of improving the mapping of surgical margins, identifying metastatic lymph nodes, and sparing normal vital tissues and neurovascular structures. Effort is also directed toward stratifying or monitoring patient populations, identifying those who are responding particularly well or poorly to a given therapeutic regimen. With the developments of imaging technologies including new systems and probes, there is a growing need to detect numerous signals and input simultaneously for the most accurate and conclusive diagnoses.
Malignant melanoma is one of the fastest rising cancers in the US, and is estimated to rise by 1% every year. The incidence rate of melanoma has risen 3-fold in the US over the past 3 decades, with similar rates reported in Europe. The highest incidence rates have been reported from Australia and New Zealand (40 to 60 cases per 100 000 inhabitants and year). The American Cancer Society estimated that there were will be 76250 new melanoma cases diagnosed in 2012, resulting in 12 190 deaths (ACS Cancer Facts & Figs., Atlanta Ga., 2012); in the United States, it now ranks the fifth most common cancer in males and sixth most common in females. Prognosis is largely determined by thickness and ulceration of primary tumor. However, the presence of lymph node metastases is the most important prognostic predictor (Balch, J. Clin. Oncol., (2001)) and considerable effort goes into examining the regional lymph nodes for the presence of lymphatic metastasis.
Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to minimizing morbidity and mortality. Definitive treatment for primary cutaneous melanoma is surgical resection in the form of a wide local excision. Adjuvant radiation is added for specific indications including locally invasive tumors and/or spread to multiple regional lymph nodes. There are no currently accepted standard-of-care systemic treatment options available. However, systemic treatment of melanoma is available in the clinical trials setting and is only offered to patients based on regional node risk stratification (i.e., SLN mapping). It is therefore essential to accurately stage melanoma in its earlier phases by carefully examining regional nodes for metastatic disease spread. The use of molecular imaging tools (Weissleder, Science, (2006)), may aid in this process, improving disease visualization and staging during SLN biopsy procedures, while reducing the risk of lymphedema and other side effects of more extensive node dissection by harvesting only disease-bearing nodes. The presence of lymph node metastases is a vital prognostic predictor, and accurate identification by imaging has important implications for disease staging, prognosis, and clinical outcome. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping procedures are limited by a lack of intraoperative visualization tools that can aid accurate determination of disease spread and delineate nodes from adjacent critical neural and vascular structures.
In addition to sentinel lymph node mapping, other disease areas or biological abnormalities would greatly benefit from improved in vivo imaging technologies. There is a critical need for better intraoperative visualization of peripheral nerves and nodal disease in prostate cancer. The ability to evaluate residual disease in prostate cancer intraoperatively is also another unmet need that would benefit from new in vivo imaging techniques.
Presented herein are systems and methods that circumvent limitations of previous imaging technologies by employing biocompatible particle-based platforms coupled with a portable device capable of multichannel imaging with improved signal-to-noise ratio. In addition to diagnostic imaging, the technologies can be used with image-guided surgical and interventional procedures.

Systems, methods, and apparatus for multichannel imaging of fluorescent sources in real time


Typical known methods for producing large quantities of concentrated extracts from solid raw materials such as ground, roasted coffee are not ideally suited to producing high quality coffee extracts that are rich in flavor and fragrance, and which maintain the varietal characteristics of the roasted coffee from which they are produced. The current invention provides filtration methods for producing such high quality concentrated extracts from more dilute extracts via solvent removal. The invention provides methods that have sufficient flexibility and scalability to be used for a wide variety of applications, including for producing industrial-scale quantities of extracts for the food and beverage industry. The invention provides methods and apparatus that can produce highly concentrated, “gourmet quality” extracts for use as flavoring agents, beverage concentrates, and fragrances.

A variety of solid raw materials are commonly extracted with aqueous solvents, such as hot water, to form consumable aqueous extracts for use in foods, fragrances, or beverages. Common materials include roasted ground coffee, tea, and cocoa just to name a few. Typical and representative of currently employed methods and systems for performing such extractions are those used for brewing and extracting roasted coffee. Generally the prior art systems fall into two broad categories: small-scale home or commercial brewing equipment for producing beverages; and large-scale industrial extractors for producing concentrated extracts for use as flavorings or as raw materials for the production of instant coffee products. When used for the production of instant coffee products, the aqueous solvent is typically removed from the dissolved coffee solids by processes such as freeze drying or spray drying.
Typical prior art large-scale coffee extractors and associated extraction methods, especially when used to produce coffee extracts for the subsequent production of instant coffee, are designed to exhaustively extract a given quantity of ground roasted coffee and hydrolyze the cellulose of the roasted coffee. This is done for economic reasons: the more soluble coffee solids extracted from a given quantity of roasted coffee raw material, the greater the quantity of final instant coffee product derived upon removal of the water by drying. To this end, typical prior art large-scale coffee extractors are designed for the exhaustive extraction and hydrolysis of typically low-grade ground coffee and not for production of a high quality, flavorful, fragrant extract or for the production of various grades of extract from a given quantity of ground, roasted coffee. Many typical prior art extractor systems of this type employ one or more columns having fixed beds of ground roasted coffee. Representative of such a system is the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,940 to Sivetz. While such systems and methods are useful for exhaustive extraction with hydrolysis, they are not ideally suited for producing high quality coffee extracts with desirable sweetness and flavor characteristics or for production of various grades of extracts from a given choice of ground, roasted coffee. The relatively long extraction times (for example greater than 1 hour), high water temperatures, and levels of dilution used in certain prior art extraction processes can result in extracts having poor flavor or fragrance characteristics, which are often passed on to the dried instant coffee products produced from such extracts. Furthermore, the process of de-watering the extracts by typical prior art methods, such as spray drying or freeze drying, in forming the instant coffee products can result in the loss or degradation of desirable varietal flavor and fragrance components of the ground, roasted coffee. Many of the concentrated coffee extracts commonly employed as flavor components in the food industry (e.g. as flavorings for coffee ice cream, iced coffee beverages, and coffee syrups) are produced by reconstituting such poor quality instant coffee products with water or other materials.
It is understood that sweeter and more flavorful coffee extract can be produced near the beginning of an extraction cycle, when the fresh ground coffee has been in contact for a relatively short period of time with only a relatively small quantity of water, than can be produced later in the extraction process after the coffee has been exposed to additional quantities of water and more exhaustive extraction. Attempts have been made to improve upon the quality and flavor of coffee extracts and instant coffee products produced by large scale extraction processes. One such method described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,985 to Gasau ('985) discloses an industrial scale continuous extraction process and apparatus for the extraction of coffee or tea. The apparatus involves a complex system using a number of extractant beds and extraction zones, where the beds are movable between zones by rotation of the apparatus. The process reduces the total time of the extraction process when compared to more conventional prior art extraction methods. The '985 patent also discloses the use of compressed air or an inert gas in a "recovery station" of the apparatus to maximize recovery of the residual liquid present in the spent grounds after extraction.
Various smaller scale brewing/extraction methods for home or commercial use are known in the prior art for producing beverages from solid raw materials such as coffee, tea and cocoa. Common methods include steeping or infusion in a static volume of hot water (i.e. steeping a tea bag in a cup of hot water), steam-driven percolation, and extraction via a continuous flow of hot water under the force of gravity through a bed of solid extractable material, typically coffee. The latter method described is the one typically employed in home "drip method" coffee makers. All of these methods typically produce a relatively dilute beverage-strength extract (typically, 1 lb of ground, roasted coffee will yield about 320 oz. of beverage-strength extract). In addition, because of the continuous addition of water used to drive the flow of extract through the bed, the beverages produced can contain flavor and/or fragrance undesirable quantities of certain bitter components, which may be undesirable for certain applications. Also, because these prior art methods brew in the presence of oxygen, the flavor and fragrance of the resulting extract can be degraded by undesirable oxidation.
An improvement to most of the above described methods for applications where it is desired to produce a more concentrated coffee beverage having a sweeter flavor and fragrance, is the espresso method of coffee extraction. The espresso method of extraction typically employs a small-scale home or commercial brewing apparatus utilizing a less exhaustive extraction method to produce a relatively sweet, more concentrated beverage. Typically, a higher ratio of ground coffee to hot water is employed, for example about 1 lb. of ground roasted coffee may typically yield about 64-128 oz of coffee beverage. In order to allow sufficient contact time between water and the ground coffee, the method typically utilizes a finely ground coffee (e.g. 14 gram weight) with hot water being forced through the bed of grounds contained in the brew chamber by additional pressurized hot water. Most typical currently employed espresso type extraction devices are capable of producing only relatively small quantities of extract during each extraction cycle. In addition the quality of the beverage can be very dependant on the grind and packing of the coffee, which dictates the back pressure developed by the flowing water during the extraction, and the extraction time for a given total volume of beverage. A lack of control over these variables can lead to a poor or inconsistent quality of extract. Also, since hot water is typically used to force extract from the bed of ground coffee during the entire extraction process, a level of extraction that is undesirable for certain applications may still occur, yielding an extract which may be too dilute for certain applications, and may not be ideally suited for use as a food or flavor additive.
A variety of small-scale espresso style coffee brewers have been described which attempt to improve upon the performance of conventional espresso brewers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,318 to Selby ('318) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,973 to Cortese('973) both disclose an apparatus and process for extracting espresso type coffee in which the pressure within the extraction region is regulated by a biased valving arrangement on the outlet line downstream of the coffee bed. The valves are designed to remain closed during the initial pressurization of the extraction chamber by hot water until a preset pressure is reached that can overcome the bias of the regulating valve. When such pressure is reached, the valve opens for flow and maintains a relatively constant pressure in the extraction chamber during the remainder of the extraction process relatively independent of the grind or packing of the coffee. In the disclosed systems, the pressure constantly rises until a predetermined pressure is reached, at which point, flow immediately commences.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,506 to Cai ('506) discloses an apparatus for automatically brewing espresso coffee and includes one embodiment where pressurized steam generated by a heating unit is passed through the coffee grounds to purge liquid so that the grounds will not drip when the brew chamber is removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,652 to Fischer et al. ('652) discloses an espresso machine and method utilizing a biased pressure relief valve down stream of the brewing chamber similar to U.S. Pat. 5,127,318 ('318) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,973 ('973) described above. The biased valve prevents flow from leaving the discharge line until the pressure within the chamber rises to a fixed predetermined level; immediately thereafter, the valve opens and maintains a relatively constant pressure within the brew chamber during the remainder of the extraction. The '652 system also includes an air pump with an outlet line in fluid communication with the water heating chamber. The air pump is used at the end of the brewing cycle to pump air through the coffee grounds in order to dry the coffee and produce a foamy head. The air from the pump is directed to the brewing chamber from the hot water compartment via a relatively complex automated valving/switching mechanism on a flow control manifold located within the water heating chamber. The air supplied to the brewing chamber in the '652 system passes through the water heating chamber before entering the brewing chamber thus adding heat and moisture to the gas. While some of the above cited systems and methods for producing consumable extracts from solid raw materials represent, in some cases, useful contributions to the art of producing consumable extracts, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for producing variable quantities, including large volumes, of consumable extracts, including highly concentrated extracts, from solid raw materials, the extracts having a desirable combination of sweetness, flavor, and fragrance characteristics.

Methods and systems for forming concentrated consumable extracts


An x-ray source assembly includes an anode having a spot upon which electrons impinge based on power level supplied to the assembly, and an optic coupled to receive divergent x-rays generated at the spot and transmit output x-rays from the assembly. A control system is provided for maintaining intensity of the output x-rays dynamically during operation of the x-ray source assembly, notwithstanding a change in at least one operating condition of the x-ray source assembly, by changing the power level supplied to the assembly. The control system may include at least one actuator for effecting the change in the power level supplied to the assembly, by, e.g., controlling a power supply associated with the assembly. The control system may also change the temperature and/or the position of the anode to maintain the output intensity.

Small, compact x-ray tubes have experienced widespread adoption in instruments for x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD) for a wide range of industrial, medical and dental applications. X-ray tubes conventionally emit radiation in a divergent manner. Obtaining an illumination spot size of sufficient intensity typically necessitated expensive, high-powered sources. The recent ability to focus x-ray radiation has enabled reductions in the size and cost of x-ray sources, and hence x-ray systems have been adopted in a variety of applications. X-ray beam production and transmission is exemplified by the polycapillary focusing and collimating optics and the in optic/source combinations such as those disclosed in commonly assigned, X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,192,869; 5,175,755; 5,497,008; 5,745,547; 5,570,408; and 5,604,353; and the above-identified U.S. patent applications—all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
While progress in x-ray focusing has recently been achieved, further enhancements to x-ray source assemblies are still required. For example, improving the output stability of an x-ray beam under a variety of operating conditions, and calibration of their operation under known conditions. The present invention is directed to these requirements.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

X-ray source assembly having enhanced output stability using tube power adjustments and remote calibration


Adhesive compositions useful for adhering barrier resins are provided. The adhesives are a blend of ethylene-a-olefin copolymer base resin having hard and soft phases which form a network structure and a functionally modified ethylene-α-olefin copolymer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to adhesive compositions useful as tie-layers for coextruded barrier films. The adhesive compositions which provide improved clarity are blends of an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer base resin having hard and soft phases that form a network structure and an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer grafted with an ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid or carboxylic acid derivative. The invention also relates to multi-layer barrier film constructions having improved clarity obtained using the improved adhesive blends.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Multi-layer films are widely used in the packaging industry. Depending on the intended end-use application of the film, the number and arrangement of the various layers as well as the types of polymer resins employed will vary. Polymer resins used include a wide variety of polar and non-polar polymers selected for their ability to provide essential properties such as structural integrity, puncture resistance, abrasion resistance, etc. Resins having barrier properties are generally included as a barrier layer to prevent the passage of oxygen and moisture in multi-layer constructions used for food packaging. Commonly used resins for these applications include polyethylenes, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers, ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymers, nylons and the like.
To facilitate adhesion of layers of dissimilar polymer resins, adhesive layers referred to as tie-layers, are employed. The tie-layers are generally mixtures of functionalized polyolefins, i.e., having polar functionality grafted onto the polymer backbone, and non-functionalized polyolefins. While various tie-resin compositions are known to effectively adhere polyethylene to EVOH or nylon this is often accompanied by an undesirable decrease in film clarity generally believed to be the result of interfacial distortion caused by the reaction of the functionality of the tie resin with the functional groups of the EVOH or nylon barrier resin. While the adhesive bond strength is directly proportional to the number of bonds formed at the tie-EVOH (or nylon) interface, this same bonding effectively amplifies shear stresses caused by viscosity differences between the tie resin and barrier resin. The phenomena can be observed by coextruding linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and EVOH film and adding increasing amounts of grafted maleic anhydride (MAH) to the LLDPE. As the amount of the grafted MAH increases, there is a corresponding increase in adhesion and interfacial distortion, i.e., reduction in film, clarity. This occurs even though the viscosity of the LLDPE does not significantly change as the grafted MAH is added. The degree of interfacial distortion is determined using Narrow Angle Light Scattering techniques (ASTM D1746-03).
Ethylene copolymers having a network structure are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,993. U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,516 discloses adhesive blends containing 35 to 95 weight percent ethylene copolymer having a network structure and 5 to 65 weight percent modified polyolefin containing acid or acid derivative functionality. The adhesive blends, which preferably additionally contain 7 to 35 weight percent of an elastomeric homopolymer or copolymer, are primarily utilized as tie-layers to adhere multi-layer constructions subjected to high stress/high demand conditions where it is observed the compositions retain their adhesive strength and resist delamination for extended periods.
It would be highly advantageous if adhesive compositions suitable for use as tie-layers to bond barrier polymers, such as nylon and EVOH, and which provide improved clarity were available. It would be even more advantageous if the adhesive compositions exhibited improved clarity in coextruded barrier films while maintaining acceptable adhesion. These and other advantages are obtained with the compositions of the invention which are described in more detail to follow.

Adhesive composition having improved clarity for coextruded barrier films


A hydraulic actuator for a gate valve incorporates an eddy current proximity sensor to detect a displaceable stem cap made of ferromagnetic material. The stem cap is mounted on one end of an actuating stem. The other end of the stem is coupled to a plunger having a cammed tip which meets a cam attached to the piston. The camming action moves the stem cap from a position out of proximity to a position in proximity to the eddy current proximity sensor when the piston is at the end of its stroke. The proximity sensor is mechanically coupled to the stem housing by means of a housing cap, a barrel and a sensor cap, all made of non-magnetic material. The barrel is threaded at both ends with opposing threads so the barrel can be screwed onto the housing and sensor caps at the same time, thereby drawing the housing and end caps toward each other without sensor rotation. This feature allows the proximity sensor to be positioned at the correct distance from the stem cap without damage to the sensor connector wires. Lock nuts are employed to lock the barrel in position on the housing cap and sensor cap.

Linear hydraulic actuators for opening or closing a gate valve are known. One known embodiment of a hydraulic actuator is used to operate a bottom gate valve in an inclined fuel transfer system of a particular type of boiling water reactor. The known hydraulic actuator has a pair of pin-actuated limit switches which indicate the ends of the stroke of the piston inside the hydraulic actuator.
In accordance with the foregoing system, each pin-actuated limit switch is encased in a respective sealed canister mounted to the cylinder of the actuator at respective axial positions. For each limit switch, a plunger is deflected by a cam which is rigidly fixed relative to the piston. One cam extends in front of the piston and leads the piston during its forward stroke. The other cam extends to the rear of the piston and leads the piston during its return stroke. The first limit switch is triggered, at the end of the forward stroke of the piston, when its plunger is deflected by the front cam; the second limit switch is triggered, at the end of the return stroke of the piston, when its plunger is deflected by the rear cam.
The aforementioned limit switches operate electrically. Although housed in a sealed canister, the limit switches are prone to failure in the submerged location of the inclined fuel transfer system of a boiling water reactor. Switch failure is due to the intrusion of water vapor and water into the canister. Thus, there is a need for a position detector which will operate reliably even when exposed to water vapor and water.

Apparatus for detecting position of piston in hydraulic actuator coupled to gate valve


Provided is a projection system capable of obtaining a sharp contrast without being influenced by an ambient light, the projection system including a projection screen, containing a substrate and a polarized light selective-reflection layer formed on the substrate that diffuse-reflects right-handed circularly polarized light or left-handed circularly polarized light. An image is displayed by reflecting an image light irradiated from a projector on the projection screen. An external light screen is installed at an external light entrance and disposed in a sequence of a linearly polarizing plate and a retardation plate from an external side, and the external light screen circularly polarizes a light in reverse direction to the circularly polarized light diffuse-reflected by the polarized light-selective reflection layer. A transmission axis of the linearly polarizing plate is in a horizontal direction.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to a projection system comprising a projection screen, a projector, and an external light screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional projection system is generally designed to display an incident image light, from a projector, on a projection screen, and an observer observes its reflected light as an image.
Recently, along with downsizing, price-reduction, etc. of the projector main body, demand for use at home, such as home theater system, is increasing, and the projection systems are widely used in general household. In such projection system, image contrast of an image is brought forth by intensity difference of the incident light (image light), from the projector, incident on the projection screen. For example, when displaying a white picture on a black background, the portion of the projection screen lighten by the incident light will be white and the other portion will be black, thereby the image contrast is brought forth by such difference in brightness between black and white. Therefore, to realize a favorable image display, it is required to emphasize the contrast difference by making the white display portion brighter and the black display portion darker.
However, when such projection system is used at home, for example, it is often placed in a living room, and such place is usually designed to get ambient light such as external light. Accordingly, the projection system reflects ambient light, such as external light, as well as the image light, and both white display portion and black display portion become brighter so that the difference of brightness between black and white becomes smaller. As a result, in such conventional projection screen, it is difficult to realize a favorable image display unless influence by the ambient light such as external light is suppressed by using a means to darken the room or other environmental means.
To solve such problem, it has been studied to develop a projection screen capable of realizing favorable image display even in the presence of high levels of ambient light. For example, those using hologram are proposed. The projection screen using hologram has advantages that it can make the white display portion brighter by controlling the scattering effect, it realizes a relatively favorable image display in presence of high levels of ambient light, and it has wavelength selectivity. However, it does not have polarized light selectivity, and there is a problem that it can only display an image with sharpness of limited degree. Further, there is a problem that, in the projection screen using hologram, it is difficult to obtain a wide screen because of manufacturing problem.
On the other hand, as a projection screen capable of realizing favorable image display even in the presence of high levels of ambient light, a projection screen using a polarized light selective-separation layer is proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-107660 and 2002-540445). The projection screen using polarized light selective-separation layer is capable of making the black display portion darker while keeping the white display portion bright, and as compared with ones using hologram, a sharp image can be displayed in the presence of high levels of ambient light. Specifically, a cholesteric liquid crystal, which reflects right-handed circularly polarized light or left-handed circularly polarized light contained in image light, can be listed. For example, when a cholesteric liquid crystal, which reflects right-handed circularly polarized light, is used, the left-handed circularly polarized light is not reflected by the circularly polarized light separation function of the cholesteric liquid crystal, and influence of the ambient light can be reduced.
However, for example, even when the cholesteric liquid crystal, which reflects right-handed circularly polarized light, is used, the right-handed circularly polarized light of the ambient light is reflected, so that sufficient improvement of the contrast cannot be realized in some cases. Also, there is a demand for projection system capable of taking more ambient light in, within a range not adversely influenced by the ambient light.


A non-contact linear absolute position sensor includes a first magnetic encoder having n+1 pole pairs, a second magnetic encoder having n pole pairs and located and aligned with the first magnetic encoder so as to cover a linear distance. The magnetic encoders are affixed to a traveling body. Two pairs of Hall Effect sensors are located near each of the first and second magnetic encoders and are configured to generate linear position signals. A processor is provided to process the linear position signals to generate an output signal indicative of a linear absolute position of the traveling body.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to position sensors, and, more particularly, to a non-contact linear absolute position sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Angular and linear position sensors are widely used in automatic control systems as feedback-sensing devices in one or more control loops of the system. In the automotive industry, such position information may be used in substitution of more traditional, conventional control feedback provided by mechanical linkages, such as cables, rods, and the like.
For example, in the automotive field, it may be desirable to know the linear absolute position of a long travel mechanism, such as a rack and pinion mechanism (i.e., that moves when a driver of an automotive vehicle turns the steering wheel), or the position of a sliding door on a minivan. In the first example, a linear absolute position sensor can provide information as to the absolute linear position of the rack and pinion mechanism, which corresponds to the orientation of the front wheels (i.e., the steering wheels) of the automotive vehicle. In the second example, it may be desirable to know exactly where the sliding door is positioned within the long travel between a completely closed position and a completely open position. There are many other examples in and outside of the automotive industry. Non-contact linear absolute position sensing has conventionally been accomplished using a variety of technologies including inductive, optical, capacitive, and Hall Effect (i.e., magnetic flux intensity).
For example, inductive sensors are mechanically sturdy, but can be influenced by stray or externally-generated electromagnetic fields. Optical-based sensors are generally very accurate but require a relatively high degree of tolerancing on the parts, and are subject to strict sealing requirements in order to prevent or minimize dust from entering into the assembly, which can adversely influence an otherwise accurate measurement. Capacitive-based sensing technology generally provides satisfactory results but for conventional sized sensors the capacitance is generally relatively small and accordingly humidity and/or electromagnetic fields can also greatly influence an otherwise accurate measurement.
It is also known to use Hall Effect sensing technology for measuring absolute linear position, but such conventional approaches generally require very good material properties on the magnet and require flux concentrators made of a low hysteresis material. Additionally, these concentrators often require very accurate dimensioning and positioning. It is also very hard to achieve good temperature compensation using Hall Effect sensors alone. This problem is increased when you have to compensate for a component's position variation due to temperature.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0164727 A1 entitled "SINGLE MAGNET LINEAR POSITION SENSOR" discloses a sensor assembly for measuring linear position that includes a ferromagnetic flux concentrator, a magnet, and a galvanomagnetic sensing element such as a Hall Effect or magnetoresistive sensor.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need to provide a non-contact linear absolute position sensor that minimizes or eliminates one or more of the shortcomings referred to above.

Non-contact linear absolute position sensor


A recording head includes an ejection portion configured to eject ink, a first flow path forming member and a second flow path forming member joined to each other between which a flow path for supplying ink to the ejection portion, a buffer chamber for keeping gas, and a communication passage between the flow path and the buffer chamber are formed, a through-hole formed on the second flow path forming member configured to penetrate the second flow path forming member to open onto a surface on an opposite side of a joint surface facing the first flow path forming member, and a communication port formed at a position facing an interior of the buffer chamber, configured to communicate with the through-hole, wherein the communication port is arranged at a position higher than a wall of a top surface that constitutes a communication passage in a usage state of the recording head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording head that has a buffer chamber, and ejects ink.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, has a recording head provided with an ejection port that ejects ink. In recent years, images with a high quality and a high definition have been increasingly demanded, and in order to realize such images, the ejection ports of the recording heads are highly-miniaturized and have higher density. In addition, a refill frequency representing a cycle from ink ejection to the next ink ejection is set at a high level. However, if the ejection port of the recording head is highly-miniaturized, and the refill frequency is set at a high level, a great meniscus oscillation of the ink is likely to be generated at the ejection port. The great meniscus oscillation causes poor printing of images to be formed on a recording medium.
A recording head including a chip unit (recording head unit) where an ejection portion is formed, a tank holder unit that holds an ink tank, a liquid flow path forming member including a flow path, and an elastic material for sealing a liquid supply port is discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-122463. The tank holder unit and the flow path forming member are joined together, and a main flow path (communication passage) and a buffer chamber provided on one end portion of the main flow path are formed on a joint surface. Specifically, the buffer chamber is constructed mainly by a recessed portion of the flow path forming member which is formed on the joint surface between the tank holder unit and the flow path. Then, the buffer chamber is integrated with a through-hole that penetrates the flow path forming member. By having a gas encapsulated in advance within the buffer chamber, a pressure oscillation generated by ejection of the ink from the ejection port of the recording head, is absorbed by contraction of the gas within the buffer chamber. As a result, a meniscus oscillation is hardly generated.
At the time of the manufacture of the recording head, by running a cleaning water from the buffer chamber through the through-hole integrated with it prior to joining the recording head and the chip unit, the buffer chamber can be easily and surely cleaned. In other words, it is possible to wash out foreign matters that happen to be mixed into the buffer chamber in the course of manufacturing process of the recording head. Accordingly, a frequency of clogging the ejection port and defective ejection of the inks can be suppressed, even when foreign matters are mixed into the liquid supply path through the main flow path from the buffer chamber and carried to the ejection port after the completion of the recording head. Because the through-hole integrated with the buffer chamber is blocked when the chip unit and the flow path forming member are joined, there is no need to add a step for blocking the through-hole. Specifically, since the through-hole is blocked by the elastic material sealing a liquid supply port arranged between the flow path forming member and the chip unit, leakage of the ink from the through-hole is suppressed.
However, as illustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C, when the recording head ejects the ink onto the recording medium, ink within a liquid supply path may flow into the buffer chamber after ejection of the ink and is pushed back by the gas within the buffer chamber. At that time, air bubbles may be added to the ink. If the gas within the buffer chamber expands to push back against the air bubbles together with the ink, gas-liquid exchange may be caused and the air bubbles enter into the liquid supply path from the main flow path. In such a case, pressure generated for ejecting the ink may be possibly absorbed by the air bubbles. In addition, the air bubbles instead of the ink may be discharged from the ejection port, thereby ink omission may possibly occur in images to be formed.
In the configuration of the recording head discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-122463, when the recording head ejects ink onto a recording medium, a port communicating with the through-hole of the buffer chamber is located at a bottom surface (lower side in a vertical direction) of the buffer chamber. In such a configuration, in a state where the ink is flowing into the buffer chamber, the ink enters into the through-hole through the communication port located at the bottom surface of the buffer chamber, so that the gas within the through-hole forms air bubbles in the vicinity of the communication port within the buffer chamber. By the oscillation of the recording medium during image formation, the air bubbles may possibly enter into the main flow path from the buffer, and remain within the main flow path. If the air bubbles remain within the main flow path, the air bubbles may move to the liquid supply path, while flowing into and discharging from the buffer chamber of the ink by the meniscus oscillation are repeated. Thus, the air bubbles enter into the liquid supply path and ink omission occurs in images to be formed.


A hygienic cleaner for cleaning a dental appliance. The hygienic cleaner includes a housing, a cleaning chamber, and a blower. The housing includes a base and a lid. The lid is positionable about an inlet to the base. An outlet is defined between the lid and the base. The cleaning chamber shaped to receive the dental appliance therein. The cleaning chamber is in fluid communication with the outlet. The blower includes a fan to blow air and a stator with curved blades to swirl the air through the cleaning chamber and out the outlet whereby moisture on the dental appliance is blown out of the housing. A mister may also be provided and includes a sprayer and a reservoir positionable about the cleaning chamber to emit a cleaning fluid onto the dental appliance in the cleaning chamber whereby contaminants on the dental appliance are destroyed.

The present disclosure relates generally to cleaning technology. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to techniques for cleaning dental appliances.
Various dental appliances are used to perform oral functions. For example, toothbrushes, toothpicks, and water picks are used to clean teeth and gums. In another example, dentures, bridges, retainers, aligners, and mouth guards may be placed in the mouth to support, align, or replace teeth. Such dental appliances are exposed to germs before, during, and after placement in the mouth. For example, such dental devices are often used at sinks in bathroom facilities in areas that may be exposed to contaminants, such as spray emanating from toilets in the bathroom. After use, part or all of the dental appliances may be left out, or stored in open containers, in closed containers, or in cleaning devices.
Various techniques have been used to clean the dental appliances. For example, users may rinse the items in tap water prior to re-use. Some devices have been developed to clean the dental appliances. Examples of cleaning devices are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,845,859, 6,171,559, 8,548,922, US2008/0060671, JP2011-189039A, CN203075254U, CN203177600U, and CN204273620U, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure.
Despite advancements in the dental technology, there remains a need for providing devices capable of effectively cleaning dental appliances. The present disclosure is intended to provide a solution for such a need.

Hygienic dental appliance cleaner and method of using same


A method and safety control are provided for a free standing kitchen range which reduces the likelihood that the range will tip due to a child climbing onto the oven door. The safety control is configured to cause the oven door to be heated whenever a cooktop burner or element is on or is hot. The oven door heating can be achieved by turning on the oven burner or by energizing a door heating element that can be provided for that purpose. If the oven is in use or otherwise hot, any additional heating by the safety control is disabled. The safety control can be disabled manually for energy conservation when there are no children to protect. Electric and gas ranges can be provided with the feature.

The kitchen range industry has been aware of range tipping problems for decades. To date, methods used by nearly all range manufacturers to prevent range tips include: providing anti-tip or stability brackets to be installed at the rear legs of the range to attach the range to the floor or wall, providing installation instructions for installing the brackets, placing on-product warnings to the installer warning the installer with regard to the range tip hazard and the importance of installing the stability bracket, attaching on-product warnings for the end user regarding the hazard of range tipping and ways to avoid instability, and providing instructions in the owners' manual on how to avoid range tip situations. When installed, stability brackets are effective in preventing range tipping. However, to be effective, the brackets must be properly installed, but the proper installation of brackets, or the use of such brackets does not always occur.
In spite of the industry efforts, range manufacturers are still seeing a number of range tip incidents. Past cases have typically included small children opening and climbing on the range door. In such cases, ranges tip and children are very badly burned when hot water, grease or food cooking on the cooktop spills onto the children. The resulting injuries to these children can be quite severe. Claims against range manufacturers and the costs to defend against those claims can be substantial. Such claims have been based on the failure to provide ways to adequately prevent injuries from range instability incidents.
Engineers have testified to the difficulty of solving this problem beyond the methods used to date. They have indicated that the current state of the art provides the greatest reduction in the risk of range instability, and that other concepts are not currently feasible or are less effective in the range manufacturing environment. Such other concepts that have been suggested include: tethering the range at the rear, using microchip tip detection sensors, providing extension legs, moving range legs forward, providing counterweights, using break away hinges or lowering devices, providing interlock switches or door latches, or combinations of these features. Other concepts have been advanced as potentially viable but have been determined to be infeasible. A range manufacturer that develops an effective solution to range tipping can gain competitive advantage in the market place. As a result, there is value in developing a solution to preventing ranges from tipping and the injuries associated with tips.


A shoe garment may have a generally tubular body and include a heel slot generally configured to receive heel, a bottom support slot configured to encircle a portion of the shoe and/or foot, and a top support slot configured to encircle approximately at or above the user's ankle. The shoe garment may be used to secure the shoe to the foot, improve fit, provide an alternate style option, and/or provided added support and/or warmth to the user.

The embodiments herein relate generally to devices and methods for improving shoe wear. Particular embodiments may relate to such devices and methods for heeled shoes.
Certain shoe styles, and particularly high heeled shoes may often not fit a user properly and/or fail to provide proper foot support in a shoe. This may cause the shoe to slip or twist off of a user's foot causing discomfort and even injury. As such, there is a need for an improved shoe fitting system.


Apparatuses and methods of touch discrimination are described. One method receives data from an occupant classification system and sets a touch detection threshold of a touch-sensing device based on the received data. The method may be used to discriminate between an adult touch and a child touch and to selectively allow access to control functionality to adults and not to children.

Capacitance sensing systems can sense electrical signals generated on electrodes that reflect changes in capacitance. Such changes in capacitance can indicate a touch event (i.e., the proximity of an object to particular electrodes). Capacitive sense elements may be used to replace mechanical buttons, knobs and other similar mechanical user interface controls. The use of a capacitive sense element allows for the elimination of complicated mechanical switches and buttons, providing reliable operation under harsh conditions. In addition, capacitive sense elements are widely used in modern customer applications, providing new user interface options in existing products. Capacitive sense elements can range from a single button to a large number arranged in the form of a capacitive sense array for a touch-sensing surface.


A vehicle console having a cargo holder that can be moved between a stowed position and a deployed position. The cargo holder is mounted to a top of the vehicle console and includes a rigid frame and a pliable web spanning at least a portion of the frame. In its deployed position, the cargo holder extends forward of the top of the console and can be used as a flexible tray. In its stowed position, the cargo holder can rest upon the top of the console and be used as a map pocket.

Vehicles are generally equipped with multiple cargo storage areas and/or cargo holders. Some examples of these include trunks, glove compartments, map pockets, cup holders, coin holders, and various general purpose trays and/or drawers. Some of the traditional types of storage areas may not be conveniently located for a driver to access while traveling; for example, glove compartments and pockets on the back of the front seats. And others, such as open trays are useful for temporarily holding items that the driver intends to take with him or her when leaving the vehicle, but may not be configured to prevent the item or items being held there from moving or rolling around within the area during vehicle acceleration, deceleration, and/or turning.

Multi-position cargo holder for use in vehicles


Sidelobe levels of bipolar and unipolar waveforms are suppressed. Bipolar and unipolar transmit waveforms are generated with a coded excitation, such as a chirp coding, and pulse width modulation. For harmonic, such as second harmonic, imaging, the fundamental transmit frequency of the transmit waveform is centered at a lower end of the bandwidth of the transducer. The transducer filters higher frequency components of the transmit waveform differently than lower frequency components. To generate the desired acoustic waveform, the transmit waveform generated for application to the transducer is adjusted to account for the frequency response of the transducer. For example, higher frequency parts of a chirp waveform has more pulse width modulation or narrower pulse widths to account for lesser magnitude reductions. Multiple transmit waveforms may be combined to reduce sidelobes for fundamental or second harmonic imaging. Two coded excitation waveforms are generated. One waveform is delayed relative to the other waveform, such as applying a 90° phase difference or   π  2delay of one waveform relative to the other waveform. The coded excitation waveforms are then combined. For example, the two waveforms are summed for application to a transducer element. As an alternative example, the waveforms are transmitted from different elements of the transducer array and sum in the acoustic domain.

The present invention relates to ultrasound transmitters and methods for transmission that suppress sidelobe levels in coded excitation ultrasound imaging. Sidelobes cause imaging artifacts. The sidelobes are spatially offset energy away from the desired location. This would create artifacts around the desired imaging targets.
Coded excitations have been used to reduce or cancel sidelobes. High bandwith transmitters capable for long time transmissions are used for coded excitation waveforms, such as chirp, Baker, Golay etc. coded waveforms. A combination of one or more of phasing, amplitude and frequency changes are coded into a transmit pulse. On receive, a filter applies a more or less modified inverse of the coding to isolate desired information, canceling or reducing sidelobe information. For example, in Golay coding, two sequential transmissions have orthogonal phases after receive processing. The responsive receive sets of data are auto-correlated or convolved. The addition of convolved sequences cancels or reduces the oppositely phased sidelobe levels. However, the Golay coding uses two transmissions for sidelobe suppression, resulting in halving the frame rate. As another example, linear or sinusoidal waveforms with chirp coding are generated. A single transmit chirp coded excitation provides axial sidelobe suppression with an improved frame rate as compared to the Golay coding example. However, the transmitters or waveform generators used to form linear chirp signals are complex and expensive.
Another method of sidelobe suppression is transmission of rectangular waveforms. Unipolar and bipolar ultrasound transmitters generate energy at harmonic frequencies of the desired fundamental transmit frequency. Harmonic energy may result in increased sidelobe levels on the receive side. U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,614 discloses using pulse width modulation to suppress the harmonic content of transmitted bipolar and unipolar waveforms. The width of the unipolar and bipolar pulses within a transmit waveform are varied as a function of a desired window.

Coded excitation imaging for use with bipolar, unipolar and other waveforms


Methods and systems are described for predicting the likely causes of service outages using only time information, and for predicting and the likely costs of service outages. The likely causes are found by defining a narrow likely cause window around an outage based on service quality and/or service usage data, and correlating service events to the likely cause window in the time domain to find a probability distribution for the events. The likely costs are found by measuring usage loss and duration for a given point during an outage and using cost component functions of the time and usage to extrapolate over the outage. These cause and cost predictions supply service administrators with tools for making more informed decisions about allocation of resources in preventing and correcting service outages.

The invention disclosed herein relates to the field of fault event correlation and assessment in computerized services such as telecommunications networks or application programs. More particularly, the invention relates to methods, systems, and software for determining likely causes of service outages and assessing the costs of the service outages. The invention described herein is useful in correcting service outages, preventing future occurrences of similar service outages, and determining the appropriate level of resources which should be allocated to correct and prevent such outages.
Maintaining the proper operation of various types of computerized services is usually an important but difficult task. Service administrators are often called upon to react to a service failure by identifying the problem which caused the failure and then taking steps to correct the problem. To avoid wasting resources investigating the wrong problems, administrators must make accurate assessments as to the causes of failures. Because substantial time and resources are often required, administrators must also make accurate decisions as to when to allocate resources to the tasks of identifying problems and fixing them.
A number of tools are available to assist administrators in completing these tasks. One example is the NETCOOL® suite of applications available from Micromuse Inc., assignee of the present application, which allows network administrators to monitor activity on networks such as wired and wireless voice communication networks, intranets, wide areas networks, or the Internet. The NETCOOL suite logs and collects network events, including network occurrences such as alerts, alarms, or other faults, and then reports them to network administrators in graphical and text based formats. Administrators are thus able to observe network events on a real-time basis and respond to them more quickly. The NETCOOL suite also includes network service monitors of various types which measure performance of a network so that, among other things, network resources can be shifted as needed to cover outages.
Even knowing that events are occurring in real time, however, administrators must still make judgments as to which events are responsible for causing service failures or outages and which service outages are worth the expenditure of resources to fix. Although experienced administrators can usually make reasonably accurate judgments, it is desirable to provide additional application tools which improve the chances that these judgments are accurate.
A number of existing systems attempt to correlate events with service failures. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,872,911 to Berg describes a system that monitors a telecommunications network for faults and assesses fault data to determine the likely cause of the fault. The system accomplishes this by filtering and reducing the full set of fault data based on a correlation of various faults or alarms. The correlation is performed using a rules-based engine or knowledge base which determines or defines relationships among types of faults. The system then uses the filtered and reduced fault data to determine actual service impact on the network by determining whether a network outage occurred as a result of the fault. The system further determines which customers or equipment are affected by the network outage using conventional mechanisms which track network traffic.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,098 to Grace describes a system which uses stored historical data concerning alarms and when they occur to determine the probability of a relationship between events occurring within a window of time. The window of time is either fixed or determined with reference to the nature of the network or the stored historical data. Additional patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,864 to Whitney, U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,668 to Yemini, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,792 to Hart, describe still further schemes for attempting to correlate and relate network faults or alarms using expert systems, logic models, or complex causality matrices.
These patents, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, describe systems which monitor and attempt to correlate faults in a network. However, among other things, these systems fail to take full advantage of available performance or usage data in correlating events. That is, the inventors have found that a more careful analysis of the level of usage of a service improves the correlation of events to service outages. There is therefore a need for methods and systems for accounting for service usage information among other data to improve correlation between events and service failures.
Furthermore, there is a need for improved methods and systems for helping administrators make decisions about how to prioritize outages and allocate resources in the correction or prevention of service failures. Commonly assigned application Ser. No. 09/476,846, now pending and U.S. Pat. No. 5,872,911, discussed above, describe different systems for determining the impact of a service failure on customers or users. However, these systems do not quantify the impact in a way to provide the administrator with the ability to compare the effects of outages in different, unrelated services in order to prioritize the allocation of resources, or to perform a strict cost/benefit analysis for the allocation of the resources. Improved methods and systems are thus needed to quantify the cost of a service outage in such a way as to allow the cost to be compared to costs of other service outages in services or systems which may differ in type or use.

Method and system for predicting causes of network service outages using time domain correlation

International Business Machines Corporation


A heart CT image processing method and apparatus and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium are provided in this application. The heart CT image processing method comprises reconstructing a heart CT image of a detected object based on projection data of a heart region of the detected object; processing voxel points having voxel values within a first threshold range in the heart CT image and obtaining a first image, wherein the first threshold range is defined by a CT value of a metal object; performing lung region segmentation on the first image to obtain a second image; performing initial heart region segmentation on the second image to obtain a third image; and performing rib removal on the third image to obtain a heart image.

Heart disease, especially coronary heart disease, is one of the major diseases that seriously impacts human health. Early detection of atherosclerotic plaques, aneurysms, and abnormal structures in the coronary arteries is an important factor in diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease. The detection of coronary heart disease mainly depends on a three-dimensional image of the heart of a detected object (for example, a patient), and therefore, one critical issue is how to accurately obtain a three-dimensional image of the heart of the detected.
The heart is located in the chest and between the two lungs. In the process of obtaining a three-dimensional image of the heart, adjacent tissues around the heart, such as the lungs and the ribs, must be removed. In the process of removing the adjacent tissues, if a metal object such as a pacemaker is present in the heart, or the detected object has undergone a thoracotomy such as a heart bypass surgery, when segmentation is performed on a CT image of the heart of the detected object, the metal object and its artifact will have a serious impact on the segmentation and generate inaccuracies in three-dimensional images of the heart For example, the three-dimensional images that only include part of the ribs or lung region, or the heart region obtained by the segmentation is incomplete. These inaccuracies will then impact the subsequent diagnosis of coronary arteries.

Heart CT image processing method and apparatus, and non-transitory computer readable storage medium


an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) output signal produced by a device in response to an OFDM input signal is accessed. The OFDM input signal includes OFDM input symbols in the time domain and the OFDM output signal includes OFDM output symbols in the time domain. The OFDM output symbols are time-aligned to the OFDM input symbols and a phase of the OFDM output signal is de-rotated with respect to the OFDM input signal. A complex equalization filter is applied to the OFDM output symbols in the time domain to obtain an estimate of the OFDM input symbols A distortion signal of the OFDM output signal is determined by subtracting the estimate of the OFDM input symbols. An error vector magnitude (EVM) is determined by dividing a root mean square of the distortion, by a root mean square of the OFDM input signal.

Devices and systems which transmit radio frequency (RF) signals ("RF devices"), such as mobile telephones, wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers, etc. are typically subject to a variety of requirements or specifications regarding the RF signals which they emit, for example governing out of channel emissions and out of band emissions, including spurious signals and harmonics, distortion, noise, etc.
One important parameter used to quantify the performance of such RF devices, and in particular devices which transmit digitally-modulated RF signals, is the error vector magnitude (EVM) of a transmitted signal. A digitally-modulated signal transmitted by an ideal RF transmitter would have all constellation points of the transmitted signal precisely at their ideal locations. However, with real RF devices and systems, various factors in the implementation (such as modulation distortion, phase noise, carrier leakage, low image rejection ratio, etc.) can cause the actual constellation points to deviate from their ideal locations. Informally, EVM can be considered to be a measure of how far the actual constellation points are deviating from their ideal locations.
Distortion, noise, spurious signals, etc. can all degrade EVM performance, and therefore EVM provides a comprehensive measure of the quality of a signal transmitted by an RF device for use in digital communications. EVM can be measured by specialized equipment, which receives an RF signal from an RF device, and demodulates the received signal in a similar way to how a real radio demodulator does it.
Often an RF signal analyzer may be employed to measure EVM for an RF device. When testing an RF device, an output of a device under test ("DUT") may be connected to an input of the RF signal analyzer (for example, through a direct connection or via an antenna), and an RF signal transmitted from the transmitter of the RF device may be captured using the RF signal analyzer. Typically, the RF signal analyzer produces a baseband signal corresponding to the captured RF signal. The EVM of the RF signal transmitted from the DUT may be determined by comparing the baseband signal to a reference signal. Where the transmitted signal is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) signal, conventional methods for measuring the EVM involve transforming the baseband signal and the reference signal to the frequency domain, and comparing the two transformed signals in the frequency domain.
In other situations, the device under test (DUT) may be an RF power outputting and/or translating device such as a power amplifier (PA). In these situations, an input of the DUT may be connected to an output of a RF signal generator and an output of the DUT may be connected to an input of an RF signal analyzer. The RF signal generator supplies an RF signal (e.g., that carries an OFDM signal) to the RF power outputting and/or translating device. The RF power outputting and/or translating device processes the supplied RF signal to produce an RF output signal. The RF signal analyzer captures the RF output signal and produces a baseband signal. Again, conventional methods for computing error vector magnitude dictate transforming the baseband signal and a corresponding reference signal to the frequency domain, and comparing the two transformed signals. Here the EVM characterizes the quality of the RF output signal from the power translating device.
As noted above, the EVM measurement typically employs a reference signal. In some cases, the reference signal may be determined from the baseband signal produced by the RF signal analyzer. In other cases, the EVM measurement may rely on a previously stored reference signal. For example, prior to the EVM measurement of a DUT, the signal analyzer may receive the reference signal from the DUT, or from the signal generator in a case where an RF power outputting and/or translating device is being tested, and store the reference signal in memory for use in the EVM measurement.
There are some issues which arise with conventional EVM measurement techniques which operate in the frequency domain. For one thing, frequency domain EVM measurement arrangements require a demodulator. Also, it is desired to make the implementation loss of an EVM measurement setup to be as low as possible, but the implementation losses for frequency domain EVM measurement techniques are sometimes higher than desired. Furthermore, in some cases, a DUT may be subjected to a plurality of test iterations, and the EVM may be determined for each of the iterations so that the average EVM for the RF signals transmitted from the DUT may be determined. The total time required to test the DUT thus depends on the efficiency of the EVM measurement technique. Any improvement in this efficiency would decrease testing time and increase the number of DUTs that can be evaluated per unit time.
Accordingly, it would also be desirable to provide a system and method for determining the EVM of a DUT which may provide some advantages over existing systems and methods which operate in the frequency domain. In particular, it may be beneficial to provide a system and method of determining the EVM of a DUT, which operate in the time domain.

System and method of measuring error vector magnitude in the time domain


A semiconductor memory card includes a lead frame having external connection terminals, a controller chip mounted on the lead frame and a memory chip mounted on the lead frame. The lead frame, the controller chip, and the memory chip are sealed with a sealing resin layer that has a surface at which the external connection terminals are exposed and a recess surrounding the external connection terminals.

A memory card (semiconductor memory card) having built-in NAND flash memory have been getting smaller while storage capacity has been increasing. In order to achieve higher capacity, increasing the storage density of the memory chips themselves and including more memory chips on the card are being developed in parallel. In general, a memory card is composed of semiconductor chips such as a memory chip and a controller chip on an interconnection substrate (e.g., a circuit board) having external connection terminals, as well as semiconductor chips sealed in a resin layer formed on the interconnection substrate. In addition, attempts have been made to incorporate semiconductor chips such as memory chip and controller chip, and chip component such as a capacitor and a fuse, on a lead frame having external connection terminals to realize the reduction in cost of the memory card.
In a manufacturing process of a memory card using a lead frame, the semiconductor chips and the other chip components are mounted on the lead frame, and then a sealing resin layer that seals the semiconductor chips and the chip components as well as the lead frame are formed. One requirement of the step of forming the sealing resin layer is to have the surface of external connection terminals to be exposed. As a result, the sealing resin layer is formed through application of transfer molding or the like using a molding that can expose the surface of external connection terminals. However, it is difficult to prevent or control the generation of resin burrs during molding since the external connection terminals of memory card is configured on one side of surface of the sealing resin layer. Usually, a part of the external connection terminals is covered by resin, as a result of which connectivity of the external connection terminals with the external device becomes diminished.


Described is a system and method for assigning, controlling and triggering playback of multiple media streams in a manner so that the media streams perform in sync, as defined by parameters specified by the user. The system allows users to generate and acquire new content for playback with an original program. Further, the system allows users to upload the new content to an internet accessible database for download and use by other users.

Over recent years, digital versatile disc (DVD) commentaries have become increasingly common. Directors, writers and actors often record audio commentaries for movies they work on. These commentaries reside on the DVD and can be listened to as the viewer watches the DVD.
Some inventive movie fans have begun recording their own "alternative commentaries" and releasing them over the internet. However, there is currently no program that allows these alternate commentaries to be played back in sync with the DVD. Currently, users must use two different programs (a DVD player and a separate audio player). In using the two separate programs, the user must manually begin one program then manually begin the other. Using this method, alternate commentaries cannot be precisely synced up with the DVD. In addition, once both devices are playing, the user cannot fast-forward, stop, rewind, or pause the DVD without losing sync with the alternate commentary.
In addition, movie fans have also begun re-editing scenes from movies and television shows, and distributing them over the internet. The re-edited scenes are typically called a "mashup." These mashups can vary greatly. For example, some users take scenes from a movie and re-edit them together in order to make a comedic/alternate version of a trailer for the movie. An example is "The Shining" re-cut, found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmkVWuP_sO0&feature=PlayList&p=4786AAD39DC176EB&index=1, taken on Jun. 12, 2007. In this case, the user edited together scenes from "The Shining," along with additional voice over and graphics in order to create a parody trailer for "The Shining" that made the film appear to be a romantic comedy.
As another example of a "mashup," users combine multiple movies or television shows in order to create new, unique and humorous video clips. An example of this is "Jack Bauer interrogates Chunk," which can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhXRSf5yays, taken on Jun. 12, 2007. In this mashup, a user has edited together clips from the movie "Goonies" and the television show "24" in order to give the impression that characters from both movies are interacting together.
As yet another example of a mashup, some users have created extremely complex re-edits, which include inserting new material directly into scenes of a movie or television show. Instead of merely editing clips together, these users utilize complex editing and compositing techniques to digitally insert new images into a scene from a movie or television show. An example of this is "Stromberg meets Hollywood," which can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t-7K9EUcdo, taken on Jun. 17, 2007. In this mashup, a user has inserted a new character into existing scenes from several movies.
It should be noted that distributing mashups is often illegal because the material involved is copyrighted. Thus, existing systems potentially expose the users and service provides to copyright lawsuits in that they enable the download of copyrighted material. Therefore, it is desirable to have a system that allows for the generation and distribution of mashups without violating existing copyrights or digital rights management (DRM).
Additionally, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/040,741 (hereinafter referred to as the '741 application), entitled, "Systems and methods for creating an annotated media presentation," describes a system for adding commentary elements onto a DVD. However, the '741 application provides a complicated and undesirable solution. More specifically, the '741 application describes an authoring program that is designed to create custom made DVD's, which can only be properly viewed by using specialized DVD players able to read the additional code.
Another fallback to the prior art is that it does not address the issue of playing separate media streams in sync, because the process of recording the information onto the DVD binds all media streams together. In effect, the DVD becomes one media stream and "sync" is no longer an issue. Thus, the additional elements cannot be adjusted or removed.
As technology has advanced, so have the media platforms and providers. For example, in the past few years, downloading movies and television shows from the Internet has become increasingly popular. Many existing businesses have websites that offer a variety of downloadable content, ranging from television (TV) shows to feature films. Other services, such as TiVo and Apple TV, use digital video recorders (DVR's) that allow users to download similar content to a set-top box. TiVo is produced by Tivo, Inc., located at 2160 Gold Street, P.O. Box 2160, Alviso, Calif. 95002-2160. Alternatively, Apple TV is produced by Apple, Inc., located at One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, Calif. 95014.
Thus, digital media downloading is now commonplace. However, as was the case with the DVD format, no existing system allows a user to download the media and sync an independent commentary with the original program or media. Therefore, a continuing need exists for a system that allows users to download and play alternative content in sync with a DVD and/or other form of media, such as downloaded media. In addition, no existing system allows a user to create and distribute mashups without violating DRM or copyright laws. Therefore, a continuing need exists for a system that allows users to create, distribute, download, and play mashups in a manner that does not violate DRM or copyright laws.


A method for constructing a secure Internet transaction, the method includes: receiving a user identification (userid) and user password on a client device for filling out a form generated by a secure web site; concatenating the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address with a separate password that is maintained on the secure web site that the user is authenticating to; encrypting the concatenated user IP and separate password to form an Internet Protocol password (IPPW); wherein the encrypting is carried out with a client device linear feedback shift register (LFSR) with a defined cycle count; building a transaction consisting of the IPPW, defined cycle count, and userid; transmitting the transaction and form via a network towards the secure web site; wherein in response the secure website performs the following: decrypts the IPPW, and determines if the IP portion of the decrypted IPPW is equal to the user's IP address.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer network security, and more particularly, to a method, article, and system for defeating the 'man in the middle' computer hacking technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
The growth of Internet commerce, and the widespread use of the Web to carryout financial transactions have lead to the introduction of Internet crime and computer network hacking. Hacking refers to attempts to defeat or exploit the security capabilities of a computer system.
One of the most difficult computer security problems to deal with involves hackers using a 'man in the middle' scheme. In the 'man in the middle' scheme, a hacker is able to convince an unsuspecting user that the hacker's web site is a legitimate web site for carrying out a transaction, such as an online banking web site, etc. The hacker's illegitimate web site logs on to a real transaction web site (bank web site, etc.) and relays all of the information requested by the transaction web site that is used to authenticate the user to the site, back to the user that is being deceived. For example, in the event a bank requests a userid and password, the request is forwarded to the unsuspecting user, by the 'man in the middle', and when the information is supplied, the hacker uses the information to gain access to the bank web site in place of the legitimate user.
The hacker sends intercepted transactions that are requested by the legitimate user to the bank's web site, and the bank's transaction responses are also intercepted by the hacker and sent back to the user. The intercepted transactions are transparent to both the legitimate user and the authorized web site, resulting in a transaction that the user believes was carried out while directly being logged onto the bank's web site. In general, the intercepted transaction will be successful from the standpoint of the legitimate user; however, the hacker has now also gained access to the userid and password of the legitimate user. The hacker is now free to logon to the bank web site as the legitimate user and withdraw money from the user's account.
There are several methods employed by hackers to place themselves between (man in the middle) legitimate users and their intended web sites. One method, widely known as pfishing, involves the sending of emails to a user and convincing the user to select a uniform resource locator (URL) contained in the email. The URL contained in the phishing email subsequently sends the user to the hacker's web site, which appears as an exact duplicate of the intended web site. Additional methods utilized by hackers include a phony web site URL on a pop-up window, corrupting a user host file so that it changes a bank URL to the URL of the hacker's phony web site, and setting up a rogue WiFi access point, which collects and retains input of sensitive account information. Related to methods for the man in the middle hacker scheme, but much more destructive, is the situation in which a hacker gains access to a Domain Name Server (DNS). DNSs exist to translate a URL, which is an alphanumeric alias for an Internet Protocol (IP) address, to the actual numeric IP address, so that a communication connection to the IP address may be enabled.
Finally, another known method employed by hackers is Keylogging. Keylogging is a technological process of monitoring computer activity by recording, transmitting, and examining the characters typed on a computer keyboard. Employers monitoring employee productivity, typically involving clerical tasks sometimes use the keylogging technique. Other, more nefarious implementations of keylogging programs involve espionage, such as those embodied in spyware programs. These programs attempt to gather confidential information, such as a text string including an account name and password, and particularly a text string of keyboard strokes following input of a particular web site address. For example, a mouse click on a web browser icon displays the configured home page. A keyboard is used to enter a secure banking web site universal resource locator (URL) in the address input box. Following that, an account number and password are keyed in to the respective input fields. A malicious spyware program records the keystrokes entered on the keyboard, and that sequence of keystrokes is sent to an unknown third party for possible fraudulent use.
Keylogging programs, once installed and activated on a computer system, are extremely difficult to detect. Commercial and freeware spyware detection programs are available, but they are only useful against identified threats listed in the anti-spyware definitions file. However, standard anti-spyware detection programs may not identify new and more recent variations of spyware keylogger programs.
Keylogging programs generally work on the principle of detecting basic input/output system (BIOS) signals sent from what is assumed to be a standard keyboard layout (e.g., "QWERTY", "DVORAK", or other standard international keyboard layouts). Windows Vista and other popular operating systems and application software enable "re-mapping" of a computer keyboard. While this technique will thwart keyloggers, it is largely unused by the majority of computer users because the remapped keyboard departs from what is traditionally coordinated with the "muscle memory" of touch typists familiar with standard keyboard layouts. Other solutions to thwart keylogging involve displaying a keyboard on a monitor, from which input letters are selected with the mouse to enter the alphabetic and numeric characters in the input fields into the web form area that is used to contain the password. A variation of this method is to copy and paste the confidential information from a file. However, such approaches carry the risk of being defeated by hackers through the use of capturing and transmitting screen shots of completed forms, which are then analyzed for the confidential information.


A modified-asphalt composition prepared by introducing a diene end-capped block copolymer with a molten asphalt composition, where the block copolymer is defined by the formulaα-(D-V-d)X where each D is independently a polydiene block, each V is independently a vinyl aromatic block, each d is a polydiene end cap, α is a coupling moiety, and x is an integer from 2 to 10.

Asphalt paving compositions, which include a mixture of asphalt binder and aggregate, have long been employed in the manufacture of pavements. The asphalt binder compositions often included polymeric additives and are therefore often referred to as modified or polymer-modified asphalt binder compositions. The presence of polymeric materials is believed to improve the behavior of the pavements, particularly at extreme temperatures.
While elastomeric polymers having low crystallinity are often advantageously employed, the presence of high Tg polymers also produces benefit. Therefore, particularly useful polymers include block copolymers including low Tg amorphous segments or blocks and high Tg amorphous segments or blocks. For example, block copolymers including a block of styrene and a block of butadiene may be used including polymers such as block styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS).
In manufacturing the modified asphalt binder compositions, polymer is introduced with molten asphalt. Under sufficient conditions of mixing and/or shear, the polymer is dissolved and/or dispersed into the molten-asphalt composition. It is desirable to uniformly disperse the polymer throughout the composition.
It has been discovered that certain polymers, such as styrene-butadiene-styrene block polymers do not disperse as efficiently into the molten asphalt. This is especially true with high molecular weight polymers. As a result, greater energy requirements and time are required to achieve a desirable dispersion of the polymer within the asphalt.
Conventional approaches to improving the dispersibility of the polymers into the molten asphalt includes the use of lower molecular weight polymers, which generally disperse more readily into the asphalt composition. Unfortunately, by using lower molecular weight polymers, the advantages sought by the use of a higher molecular weight polymers cannot be fully achieved. For example, certain binder and/or pavement performance ratings cannot be achieved with low molecular weight polymers.
Thus, there is a need to improve the dispersibility of polymers, particularly polymers including high Tg blocks, without deleteriously sacrificing performance attributes that are advantageously achieved with higher molecular weight polymers.