A touch panel device including a touch panel unit having transparent electrodes arranged in an X and Y direction; an electrical potential detection unit configured to scan the electrodes and detect electrostatic capacitance values in the X and Y direction; an object type detection unit configured to detect a type of object that has come within proximity to the surface of the touch panel unit on the basis of a distribution shape of the electrostatic capacitance values detected by the electrical potential detection unit; and an operation position detection unit configured to, based on the detected type of object, change a data extraction threshold value used to calculate a touch position of the object, and detect coordinates of a position at which the object has come within proximity to or come into contact with the surface of the touch panel unit based on the changed data extraction threshold value.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a touch panel device capable of detecting a touch or an approach of a user's finger or the like by detecting, for example, a change in electrostatic capacitance, a mobile terminal including the touch panel device, a detection method therefor, and a recording medium and, more particularly, relates to a technology for improving the detection accuracy of operation input.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, touch panels that display an image on the screen thereof and that can be operated by an operator by directly touching the screen are known. Such touch panels are often used in mobile terminals, such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), portable telephone terminals, or smartphones, in various household appliances, and the like. Types of touch panels include those having a resistance film method that detects a change in the resistance value of a touched portion, an electrostatic capacitance method that detects a change in the capacitance of a touched portion, and an electromagnetic induction method that detects the position of an indicator by using the electromagnetic energy of a dedicated indicator that generates a magnetic field. In particular, in the market of portable telephone terminals and smartphones, in recent years, the use of an electrostatic-capacitance-type touch panel has been increasing.
For example, PTL 1 discloses an electrostatic-capacitance-type touch panel. An electrostatic-capacitance-type touch panel sensor disclosed in this patent document includes a transparent base material, many transparent electrode units, and outer peripheral wiring positioned in the peripheral edge of the many transparent electrode units. The many transparent electrode units are arranged so as to be lined up in x and y directions on the top side surface of a transparent base material, and are formed of x-direction transparent electrode units that are connected through x-direction connection units in the x direction, and y-direction transparent electrode units that are positioned between x-direction transparent electrode units. The outer peripheral wiring is positioned in the peripheral edge of the many transparent electrode units, and is connected to the x-direction transparent electrode units and y-direction transparent electrode units. Adjacent y-direction electrode units themselves are connected through y-direction connection units that are arranged with an insulating layer in between above x-direction connection units. Then, the y-direction connection unit is formed together with the outer peripheral wiring by using the same material as the material of the outer peripheral wiring.


Using a natural language processing (NLP) engine executing in conjunction with a machine that is engaged in first natural language interaction, an analytics intent comprising an analysis type to be performed on a dataset is extracted from the first natural language interaction. Within the dataset, a subset of the dataset comprising data having above a threshold relevance measure with respect to the analytics intent is identified. From the subset, a knowledge graph modeling a set of relationships between data in the subset is constructed. Using the analytics intent and the knowledge graph, a conversational template is customized, augmenting the conversational template with a set of entities corresponding to the analytics intent. To obtain a result, the subset is analyzed using the knowledge graph. A second natural language interaction is presented via the machine, the presenting comprising transforming by the NLP engine the result to fit the customized conversational template.

A natural language is a scripted (written) or a vocalized (spoken) language having a form that is employed by humans for primarily communicating with other humans or with systems having a natural language interface. Natural language processing (NLP) is a technique that facilitates exchange of information between humans and data processing systems. For example, one branch of NLP pertains to transforming human readable or human understandable content into machine usable data. For example, NLP engines are presently usable to accept input content such as a newspaper article or human speech, and produce structured data, such as an outline of the input content, most significant and least significant parts, a subject, a reference, dependencies within the content, and the like, from the given content. Another branch of NLP pertains to cognitive analytics, the process of analyzing available information or knowledge to create, infer, deduce, or derive new information.
A chatbot is software that conducts a natural language conversation, or chat, with a human user. A user's input to the conversation is often in text form, but can also be converted from another modality, such as speech, into text for further processing by the chatbot software. The software's output is also often in text form, but can be converted back into speech a human can hear or another human-usable modality.
A message is a unit of conversation. A message is a portion of narrative text, or another form of narrative communication converted into narrative text, communicated from a user to a chatbot or vice versa. A message need not conform to a grammar, but may also be any natural language word or phrase. An interaction is a group of messages.
Chatbots are often structured around a pre-defined set of objectives, or intents, and entities. An objective or intent is the user's goal for the interaction with the chatbot. For example, "I'm hungry", "order pizza", and "buy a new pair of shoes" are all examples of an objective of ordering. An entity is a term that represents a real-world object, such as a person, place, or organization. For example, in the phrase "order pizza", "pizza" is an entity. Intents and entities need not be single words. For example, in a chatbot configured to process pizza orders, "mushrooms" and "green peppers" might be two entities.
To respond to a user's input, a chatbot relies on a dialog tree that specifies responses for specific combinations of objectives and intents. For example, if the chatbot recognizes that the user is asking about ordering the entity pizza, it might respond with a question about the type of crust he wants, prompt the user to specify a delivery address, and recognize a predefined set of entities corresponding to common pizza toppings. Together, an intent, set of entities, and a dialog tree constitute a conversation structure.
Data analytics, or analytics, is the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data, as well as applying data patterns in decision making. For example, businesses use analytics to plan and analyze marketing campaigns, understand the value and risk of components of an investment portfolio, analyze sensor data to determine how and where additional sensors should be deployed, and in many other tasks and subject areas.

Natural language interaction based data analytics

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A hanging pocket for point-of-sale display is provided. The hanging pocket comprises a front panel, an upper rear panel connected to a top edge of the front panel long an upper fold line, and a lower rear panel connected to a bottom edge of the front panel along a lower fold line. The upper and lower rear panels are configured to fold towards the front panel to form a pocket with open sides. First and second side flaps connected to lateral edges of front panel fold inwardly and join with both the upper and lower rear panels to enclose open sides of the pocket.

Folding pockets for trading cards are known in the art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 9,701,455 and U.S. Publication 2001/0022318. The folding pocket typically comprises two panels, denoted herein as the front and rear panels, that are joined along a fold line. One of the panels typically includes side flaps extending along the lateral edges of the panel. The panels are folded towards one another and the side flaps are folded inwardly to form a pocket for the trading cards, which are typically inside a foil package. The front and rear panels are secured together by adhesive. Additionally, the side flaps on the front or rear panel are secured to the opposing panel by an adhesive. The front and rear panels typically include an aperture for suspending the package on a hanger for display.
A problem with the hanging pockets as described above is that a malicious party can use a knife or thin blade to separate the side flap from the front or rear panel to gain access to the foil pack inside the hanging pocket, remove one or two high value trading cards from the foil package, and replace the tampered foil package back into the hanging pocket. The tampering can be concealed by tucking the side flap back underneath the front or rear panel. An unsuspecting customer may then purchase the trading cards only to discover that one or two trading cards are missing from the package. While the customer may return the package to the point of purchase, the card manufacturer or retailer typically feels obliged to replace the missing cards at far greater overall cost than the loss from the initial theft itself. The losses to the manufacturer or retailer include the cost of the replacement cards plus related expenses such as employee time, postage, materials, etc.
Accordingly, there continues to be a need for a hanging pocket for trading cards having features that make tampering more evident without compromising the visual appeal of the packaging.


Radiopaque catheter and method of manufacture thereof having a first layer and a second layer in a coaxial arrangement wherein each of the layers has a radiopaque filler material intermixed therewith. The radiopaque filler materials and/or the concentrations thereof may be the same or different for each of the layers. Further, the plastic binder material used for each of the layers may be the same or different. By selecting a high concentration of a highly radiopaque filler material for an inner layer and a lower concentration of a radiopaque filler that is selected to provide a relatively smooth surface, the X-ray visibility of the catheter may be maximized while still maintaining a relative smooth outer surface.

Angiographic and guide catheters are well known in the field of medicine for use in conjunction with other catheters for the treatment of cardiovascular disease through such procedures as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures. Guide catheters aid in treatment of arterial lesions by providing a conduit for positioning dilatation balloon systems across an arterial stenosis. Angiographic catheters aid in delivering radiopaque dyes and the like into selected blood vessels to allow angiographic examination and the like of the blood vessels. The need for a greater variety of catheters to treat different types of circumstances has grown tremendously as the techniques for the use of such devices has grown.
During the treatment of cardiovascular disease, guide catheters and diagnostic catheters must be able to traverse tortuous pathways through blood vessels in a manner that minimizes trauma. In order for the physician to place the catheter at the correct location in the vessel, the physician must apply longitudinal and rotational forces thereto. Catheters must typically be stiff enough to transmit the required forces, while at the same time flexible enough to maneuver through the vascular system. For optimum performance and control, a catheter must achieve a balance between these often competing factors.
In many applications the catheter is guided through the aorta, over the aortic arch, and down to the ostium of the vessel which is to be treated or diagnosed. To reach such sites, the proximal section of the catheter is typically relatively rigid for transmitting the forces applied, and the distal section is more flexible to allow for better tracking and placement of the catheter within the vessels. One approach to increase the strength of the proximal section is to include a metal braid or coil therein. Another approach is to merely use a stiffer polymer in the proximal portion than in the distal portion.
In many surgical procedures, it is important to determine the location or position of the catheter within the body. This is often accomplished by incorporating a radiopaque material in the catheter. X-ray observation techniques can then be used to view the position of the catheter within the body.
It is known to mix a radiopaque material, typically in a powder or granular form with the plastic material of the catheter. One potential limitation of this approach is that the inner and outer surfaces of the catheter may become rough or course. This may be particularly problematic when the concentration of the radiopaque filler material is high, especially near the surface. For some radiopaque filler materials, high concentrations may be required to achieve the desired X-ray visibility. Another limitation may be that the radiopaque filler material may cause the plastic binder materials to lose their original and desired thermoplastic properties. Hard granular radiopaque materials in particular may detract from the desired flexibility ductility and maneuverability of the resulting tubing in direct proportion to the amount of radiopacity that they impart.
One approach for overcoming some of these limitations is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,024 of Coneys. Coneys suggests completely embedding and surrounding a radiopaque layer with a non-radiopaque plastic material. Presumably, since the plastic material that surrounds the radiopaque layer does not include any radiopaque filler materials the inner and outer surfaces of the medical-surgical tube can be made smooth.
Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,614 of Flynn. Flynn suggests providing one layer that is transparent to X-rays adjacent to another layer that is radiopaque. Flynn also suggests adding at least one material having plasticising properties or, in the alternative, providing a polymeric material which imparts greater flexibility and softness to the plastic material of the radiopaque layer so that the plastic material of the blend retains its desired properties of plasticity, softness and flexibility.
In both Coneys and Flynn, at least one layer is free from radiopaque filler material. Since it is often desirable to minimize the wall thickness of many catheters and maximize the radiopacity thereof, it would be beneficial to provide a multi-layer catheter tubing that includes at least some radiopaque material in at least two of the layers thereof. This may increase the X-ray visibility of the resulting catheter within the body.


A technique for programming operating parameters in an electronic device, such as programmable configuration settings, uses an interactive response configuration server accessible through the telephone network. The configuration server provides voice prompts to an electronic device operator over a telephone connection. The voice prompts concern a desired manner of operation achievable with particular operating parameter settings. Desired operating parameter settings are determined based on the operator's responses. A programming signal including representations of the desired operating parameter settings is then generated and transmitted to the electronic device. The electronic device then sets the values of its programmable operating parameters in accordance with the received programming signal.

Many communication devices, such as facsimile (fax) machines, private branch exchange (PBX) equipment, radio telephones including cellular and PCS telephones, require users to enter initial configuration information, such as telephone numbers, names, passwords, account numbers and other programmable settings before the device can operate in a desired manner. Typically, consumer-oriented communication devices employ keypads and displays to enable the entering of configuration information by a user. For many consumers, entering configuration information using a keypad and display can be confusing and, more often, undesirably burdensome. Also, the configuration keypad and display may provide little or no use during operation of a communication device beyond the initial and/or infrequent configuration programming. As a consequence, the inclusion of such components in cost-sensitive consumer-oriented devices is considered relatively costly in view of the one-time or infrequent use.
Alternative methods for entering configuration information include attaching a personal computer (PC) to the electronic device and executing configuration software in the PC provided by the device manufacturer. Such configuration programming is often used for telephone network devices including, for example, particular types of network routers. Configuration programming using an attached PC is often less burdensome to use relative to configuration keypad and display. Moreover, configuration programming using a PC advantageously enables reduced manufacturing costs for the device due to the omission of the configuration keypad and display. However, such a programming method is undesirable for users who do not own or have access to personal computers such as, for example, a large number of purchasers of consumer-oriented electronic devices.
Accordingly, a recognized need exists for a relatively low cost and easy to use programming technique that does not require special programming equipment.

Electronic devices and programming methods therefor


A control system includes a plurality of pressure sensors, each to detect a pressure in a respective dynamic gas lock (DGL) nozzle control region of a plurality of DGL nozzle control regions. Each DGL nozzle control region includes one or more DGL nozzles. The control system includes a plurality of mass flow controllers (MFCs). Each MFC of the plurality of MFCs is to control a flow velocity in a respective DGL nozzle control region of the plurality of DGL nozzle control regions. The control system includes a controller to selectively cause one or more MFCs of the plurality of MFCs to adjust flow velocities in one or more DGL nozzle control regions of the plurality of DGL nozzle control regions based on pressures detected by the plurality of pressure sensors in DGL nozzle control regions of the plurality of DGL nozzle control regions.

An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source can generate EUV light using a laser to excite particles, such as tin (Sn) particles. In operation, the laser excites the particles to generate a tin-based plasma that emits light in the desired EUV radiation wavelength range. A dynamic gas lock (DGL) of an intermediate focus (IF) cap is a particle collector that is used to prevent particles from escaping a vessel of the EUV source and entering an EUV scanner (which could otherwise result in damage to a reticle/photomask in the EUV scanner).

Control of dynamic gas lock flow inlets of an intermediate focus cap

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


The present invention relates to sulphur reduction catalyst additive composition comprising an inorganic porous support incorporated with metals; an alumino silicate or zeolite component; an alumina component and clay. More particularly the present invention relates to sulphur reduction catalyst additive composition comprising refinery spent catalyst as support. The primary sulphur reduction catalyst additive component of the catalyst composition contains metals of Period III or IV of the Periodic Table, preferably Zinc or Magnesium or combination thereof or one of the transition metals along with other metals.

Euro-IV specifications have been introduced in different countries imposing the use of gasoline sulphur to less than 50 ppm. Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit contributes about 80-90% of the total pool of gasoline in refinery, therefore sulphur levels in this need to be decreased significantly. Refiners adopt different strategies to meet Euro IV regulations. Excess sulphur compounds in gasoline increase SOx emissions in combustion gases, reduce the activity of catalytic converter, attached to transportation vehicles and also promote corrosion of engine parts. It has been claimed that reducing sulphur content in gasoline to 50 ppm or less can improve the effectiveness of catalytic converters in reducing NOx, CO, and unburned hydrocarbons. Various methods for gasoline sulphur reduction are practiced such as
Hydro treatment of FCC feed or full-range FCC gasoline.
Undercutting FCC gasoline
Adjusting reactor and regenerator conditions
Selection of low-sulphur feeds
Increasing catalyst-to-oil ratios
Use of catalysts with higher hydrogen transfer activity (rare earth exchanged)
Use of gasoline sulphur reduction additives.
Refiners have to choose between capital investment route of hydrotreating FCC feed or gasoline or lower the gasoline end-point and incur yield loss. However, in this process high octane gasoline is converted into poor quality diesel. Technological advances in catalysts provide better solution to reduce sulphur and emission levels. Use of additives provides less expensive flexible solution to significantly reduce gasoline sulphur without affecting yield or operational constraints. In the catalytic cracking high boiling hydrocarbon fractions are converted into lighter products during the cracking reactions coke is deposited onto the catalyst which is regenerated and reused for cracking.
FCC feed stocks normally contain sulphur in the form of organic sulphur compounds such as mercaptans, sulfides and thiophenes/substituted thiophenes. The products of the cracking process correspondingly tend to contain unconverted sulphur compounds even though about half of the sulphur compounds are converted to hydrogen sulfide during the cracking process. Sulphur distribution in the cracked products depends on number of factors including feed quality, catalyst type, additives used, conversion and other operating conditions. But, in any case a certain proportion of the sulphur ends up in the light or heavy gasoline fractions and passes over to the product pool. FCC gasoline is the main contributor of refinery gasoline pool and needs special attention. Various attempts have been made in this regard which have been either published or patented.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,763,164 B1 discloses a catalyst or additive for reducing FCC gasoline and diesel blend stock sulphur content. This invention describes the use of transition metal oxides of cobalt and molybdenum for minimizing sulphur compound formation in the FCC riser.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,507,686 B2 teaches use of a sulphur reduction catalyst composition which contains a metal mainly Vanadium and Cerium stabilized USY zeolite.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,476,638 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 7,347,929 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 6,852,214 B1 disclose formulation wherein addition to USY molecular sieve; ZSM-5 is used with different metal combinations.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,431,825 B2 discloses a method for gasoline sulphur reduction using hydrotalcite and mixed metal oxide catalysts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,635 B2 discloses a process for the production of gasoline with low sulphur content that comprises a hydrogenation stage of the unsaturated sulphur containing compounds and a decomposition stage of saturated sulphur containing compounds; and optionally a preliminary stage for pre-treatment of the feedstock such as selective hydrogenation of dienes. This patent does not disclose the use of catalyst additive for catalytic cracking process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,427 discloses a process for hydro treatment of gasoline that consists of in fractionating the gasoline, desulphurizing the fractions and then reacting with ZSM-5 for compensating the octane loss. This patent does not disclose the use of catalyst additive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,168 B2 teaches gasoline sulphur reduction (GSR) compositions containing Y zeolite and lewis acid impregnated alumina mixtures. Lewis acid is preferably Zn and preferably around 50% of the additive mixture of Y zeolite used as GSR. This patent does not disclose the reuse of refinery discarded catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,315 B1 discloses gasoline sulphur reduction compositions comprising alumina with Vanadium metal. The sulphur reduction catalyst is used in the form of a separate particle additive in combination with the active catalytic cracking catalyst to process hydrocarbon feed stocks in the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit to produce low-sulphur gasoline and other liquid products.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,105 discloses process for the reduction of sulphur content in a FCC gasoline which includes fractionation of the FCC gasoline into different fractions wherein heavier fractions are hydro treated separately and the mixture is again treated and finally reaches the required sulphur level.
Not withstanding the amount of material available in the prior art, there is a continuous need to reuse waste products and provide useful and better products in FCC. There is a need in the prior art of a sulphur reduction catalyst composition comprising better physical properties superior performance without affecting the main FCC catalyst performance.

Sulphur reduction catalyst additive composition in fluid catalytic cracking and method of preparation thereof


A tool for removing a wheel cover from a wheel of a vehicle. The tool comprises an elongated metal rod having a hook at one end of the rod and a handle portion at the other end of the rod for grasping the tool. The hook end of the rod is adapted to engage a metal retention ring that secures the wheel cover to the wheel. By pulling the tool crosswise of the wheel, the retention ring is pulled away from a rim of the wheel and toward the center of the wheel to release the wheel cover from the wheel.

Generally, removable wheel covers on passenger and other vehicles are held in place by a circular, continuous retention ring made of hard, durable wire rod stock that seats inside a plurality of peripherally spaced retention teeth or fingers generally formed in an integral manner with the wheel covers, particularly plastic wheel covers. The teeth engage an inwardly facing, continuous, circular surface of the wheel's rim under substantial force provided by the retention ring, i.e., the ring has a diameter that is sized to force the integral teeth outwardly such that they firmly engage the inwardly facing surface of the wheel's rim.
Car manufacturers usually provide a flat edge tool for insertion between the edge of a wheel cover and the wheel rim to pry the cover from the wheel. Such devices can nick, bend and even break the covers in an effort to remove the covers from the wheel rim, as the force on the integral teeth of the cover in engaging the inner surface of the rim, as provided by the retention ring, makes the cover removal process difficult. It can be appreciated that such a retention ring has to exert a substantial force on the wheel cover in order to sustain retention of the cover in the wheel under hazardous and rough road conditions. Otherwise, wheel covers would easily come loose and often be lost to the owners of the motor vehicles.
A further concern with the use of prying devices is the possibility of personal injury, i.e., in endeavoring to force a flat edge tool between a wheel cover and wheel, the tool can slip and injure the hand of the user of the tool.
Another concern involves the wear of the plastic retention teeth that can occur with repeated removal from and insertion of the wheel cover into a wheel rim. Over time, such wear reduces the ability of the retention teeth to retain the cover in the wheel.


A method for point-to-point traffic prediction comprises: obtaining, from a plurality of computing devices, time-series locations of a plurality of vehicles respectively associated with the computing devices, wherein: the time-series locations form first trajectory data comprising corresponding trajectories at least passing from a first point O to a second point D within a first time interval; obtaining a traffic volume between O and D for a second time interval that is temporally after the first time interval; training one or more weights of a neural network model by inputting the first trajectory data and the traffic volume to the neural network model and using the obtained traffic volume as ground truth to obtain a trained neural network model; and inputting second trajectory data between O and D to the trained neural network model to predict a future traffic volume between O and D for the a future time interval.

Point-to-point traffic flow data is an important instrument for traffic pattern understanding, traffic flow management, and transportation infrastructure decision making. So far, traditional methods for studying traffic pattern such as through survey or the installation of detectors at certain locations are costly and are limited by the availability of detectors.

System and method for point-to-point traffic prediction

Beijing DIDI Infinity Technology and Development Co., Ltd.


A retainer clip (1) for holding mementos and keep-sakes, such as greeting cards (7), invitations, ticket stubs, and the like, particularly multi-page ones, within a multi-ringed binder scrapbook (11) so as to typically not damage the memento in any way, while allowing the complete viewing of the memento, including the front and back pages of a multi-page item. The clip has an item clip retainer portion (3), which can be substantially similar to a conventional paper clip, with a binder ring retainer portion (5) attached to the item clip retainer portion, which binder retainer portion secures the clip to at least two of the rings (9) of the multi-ring binder scrapbook. The clip preferably has two, parallel, extended, oval-shaped portions, one longer than the other, with the shorter, ring attachment portion being shorter but having a length to extend across at least two, spaced rings of a multi-ring binder.

Various attempts have been made over the last many years at providing an organized means for arranging keepsakes and mementos, such as, for example, greeting cards, pictures, invitations, etc., but all have been unsatisfactory.
Some of these methods include providing a bound volume with blank pages upon which the user attaches the keepsakes with whatever means are available. This results in the keepsakes being taped, glued, or stapled to the pages which inhibit their further viewing, particularly in the case of greeting cards which need to be opened or turned over to be fully enjoyed or reviewed in their entirety, including the front and back pages of each item, including multiple-page items.
Another method includes providing adhesive corners which are glued to a blank page and hold the memento in place at its corners. Or the memento can simply be taped or glued to a blank page. Both of these methods are fairly invasive to the memento, and they do not last since the adhesives tend to dry out after several years and no longer stick to the page or memento. This is unsatisfactory since scrapbooks are typically meant to be kept a lifetime and even passed down through future generations.
A further known method of compiling scrapbooks is to utilize pages with clear plastic sheeting. The plastic sheeting may act either as an adhesive in combination with the page holding the memento in place or may form a pocket into which the memento may be inserted. The first of these methods is unsatisfactory for the same reasons that the above mentioned adhesive methods were unsatisfactory. Further, both methods require removal or dissembling of the scrapbook in order to fully view a multiple-page memento such as a greeting card. Still further, with respect to the plastic pocket method, the pockets are generally of a small uniform size which accordingly do not allow for the variety of sizes and shapes likely to occur amongst most collections of keepsakes.
The present invention satisfies this long-standing need without any of these problems of the prior art and does so in a cost effective, reliable manner, making a significant contribution to the useful arts.


A cup holder device capable of reducing the size of a cup holder body and enabling a tray to be drawn in and out from the body in a narrow space by folding the tray into two parts. The device includes a body having an opening formed on a front portion of the body, an inner tray for being drawn in and out of the body through the opening, an outer tray installed on a front portion of the inner tray so that both the inner tray and the outer tray provide at least one cup seat, and a hinge section for folding the outer tray over the inner tray so that the inner and outer trays in a folded state are received in the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cup holder device, and more particularly to a cup holder device which can reduce the space occupied by the cup holder by collapsing a tray for supporting a cup into two parts when the tray is received in a body for safekeeping.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a cup holder device, as shown in FIG. 1, is installed in an automobile near a driver's seat, along with a cassette tape recorder, a radio, etc. The cup holder device is provided with a tray 1 which slides in and out of a body in the same manner as a drawer and which has a pair of cup seats 2 formed thereon, rail means for guiding the sliding movement of the tray 1, and locking means for locking/unlocking the rail means and the tray 1. In use, the tray 1 slides out from the body in an extended position as shown in FIG. 1, and cups or cans are put on the cup seats 2 formed on the upper portion of the tray 1.
However, one drawback of the conventional cup holder device is that its size is relatively large. Specifically, when the tray 1 is moved into the body in a retracted position for safekeeping, the body must be sufficiently deep to receive the full length of the tray in the extended position. Moreover, due to limited space in automobiles, the tray 1 may only have limited movement making it more difficult to use.


A system, method, and computer readable medium are disclosed. In one embodiment the system includes a remote computer system. The remote computer system has a remote host embedded controller interface (HECI) driver and a HECI simulator. The HECI simulator intercepts commands directed to the HECI driver from software running on the remote computer system and routes the commands as HECI messages to a local computer system also included in the system. The local computer system includes a HECI bridge that is capable of receiving the HECI messages sent from the remote computer system and then can pass the received HECI messages to a local HECI driver to be operated upon.

The host embedded controller interface (HECI) allows an operating system running on a computer system to communicate directly with a Manageability Engine (ME), management device, management firmware, or other management logic within the computer system. For example, in many Intel® Corporation platforms, the HECI is used to communicate between a host system and a ME. System management information and events are communicated across the HECI interface. The HECI may also be referred to as the management engine interface (MEI). The HECI and MEI may be thought of as equivalent and they can be used interchangeably.

Host embedded controller interface bridge


A tractor has hydraulically driven wheels at a cab end and castor wheels at an engine end. It can be driven cab forward in a working mode with a header on the forward end. It is rotated to engine forward in the transport position for more stable higher speed travel. The driven wheels are driven by hydraulic motors each having their own drive pump the output of which is controlled by a cam plate. There is provided an automatic steering system having a guidance controller arranged to receive GPS position information and feed back signals and to generate output for controlling a hydraulic control valve for controlling flow in hydraulic fluid for a double acting hydraulic control cylinder arranged to actuate pivotal movement of the steering link member independently of the steering shaft.

Hydrostatically steered vehicles have been available for many years and their application to windrowers has been significant. There has been a limit to the transport speed of these windrowers due to instability at high speed with the drive wheels ahead of the castor wheels (cab forward). Higher speeds on the road allow the user to cover large distances without the use of trailers and tow vehicles.
In co-pending application filed Apr. 28, 2005, Ser. No. 11/116,418 published as 2006/0201732 and Canadian application filed Apr. 27, 2005, Ser. No. 2,513,614 and assigned to the present assignee is shown a machine in which the machine travels in transport mode with the castor wheels leading the drive wheels (engine forward), and in this position the machine is much more stable and higher speeds are possible.
In co-pending application filed Jul. 25, 2005, Ser. No. 11/188,293 published as 2007/0017712 and Canadian application filed Jul. 21, 2005, Ser. No. 2,505,458 and assigned to the present assignee is shown a steering and speed control arrangement for the above machine.
To vary the speed of the machine, both pump displacements are changed simultaneously. To steer the machine, the displacement of each pump is varied relative to each other so that the flow to each wheel is different which causes the machine to turn.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,635 (Johnston) issued Feb. 25, 2003 and assigned to Deere discloses a steering and speed control arrangement for a hydraulically driven tractor which includes a quadrant shaped steering rack and a four bar linkage which transmits the pivotal motion of the steering rack to the pump controllers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,051 (Pangels) issued Jan. 1, 2002 and assigned to Carnegie Mellon University U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,015 (Lange) issued Mar. 6, 2007 and assigned to Trimble and U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,303 (McClure) issued Mar. 25, 2003 disclose typical GPS controlled steering systems for providing an automatic output capable of steering a tractor. The disclosures of these patents provide suitable control systems which can be used in the present arrangement and the disclosures of these prior patents are incorporated herein by reference.
In PCT Published Application WO 2006/133546 of Accutrak Systems Limited published Dec. 21, 2006 is disclosed a control system for providing automatic steering of a hydraulically driven tractor where fluid supplied to the drive motors of the driven wheels is by-passed by a control valve to effect the steering action. This arrangement has been found to have a serious problem in that the arrangement loses control in a situation where there is no flow to the motors for example in a slight downhill situation so that the tractor can move uncontrolled to any location.

Tractor with automatic steering arrangement


An ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed is provided that is designed to be used in the fashion of a standing one-man wet screed having a double barred, floating strike plate oriented in a planar fashion with which to strike and consolidate a concrete slab surface. The vibratory concrete leveling device according to the invention includes a bracket assembly having an upper surface and a lower surface. The lower surface of the bracket assembly includes a plurality of spaced apart slots, each spaced apart slot extending across a width of the bracket assembly. A corresponding plurality of screed bars are removably positioned in the plurality of spaced apart slots. Each of the plurality of screed bars are loosely fitted into each corresponding slot to promote vibratory action during use. An elongated handle is provided having a first end attached to the bracket assembly and a second end for grasping by a user.

When a concrete contractor is asked to pour a sidewalk, concrete pad, or floor, once the plastic concrete has been poured into its forms and raked level, the contractor must produce a flat, uniform surface that is structurally sound and satisfactory to the customer.
Concrete "flatwork" is a universal process where, first, the concrete contractor pours plastic concrete into forms, then levels the plastic concrete using hand labor. Hand labor is used to place and roughly level the plastic concrete using tools called come-alongs or rakes. The next step is called "striking" the concrete. Concrete is "struck" using a screed; it is given a flat, level surface using a horizontally-aligned bar of some type to pull and level the freshly poured plastic concrete surface into a plane.
Traditionally, striking can be achieved using two different approaches dictated by availability of tools, labor, and the individual preference of the concrete contractor. Screed bars and motorized vibratory screeds are the two choices for striking concrete.                1. Screed bars: 2×4 s aligned horizontally and used in planar fashion with the 2″ surface contacting the concrete and worker(s) gripping the 4″surface vertically.                    a. A 2×4 screed bar of wood or metal and sized to the specific job is typically used by a team of 2 workers who grip the 2×4 and drag the plastic concrete into a level surface within forms. A screed bar can also be used by a single individual, but productivity is decreased as compared to that of a two-person team due to the increased physical effort required. The screed bar is used to screed and strike, using multiple lifting and dragging motions to smooth and level the plastic concrete within the forms. In this non-motorized process, individuals hold directly onto the screed bar 2×4 in a stooped posture, manually moving the screed bar. Using screed bars in this fashion is a common source of back and or arm strain or injury. There are tools which have been created which aid the operator of the 2×4 screed bar in holding onto it either in stooped postures or standing postures.            b. Vice-like attachments with handles allow the strikers using the stoop and drag method to hold onto the bar with less difficulty.            c. Long-handled attachments can be employed to allow the individuals to stand upright and drag the 2×4 screed bar across the concrete in the striking process. This piece of equipment is called a "standing screed".                        2. Vibratory, motorized, manual standing screeds have been invented to introduce vibration into the screed bar to increase the standing screed's effectiveness. It vibrates the concrete to strike it quickly into a flat surface. Motorized vibratory screeds employ an attached motor to induce vibration to smooth and level the plastic concrete and increase the strength of the finished concrete with the increased consolidation of the aggregate obtained by vibration; (lasers are sometimes utilized on motorized screeds to aid the operator in obtaining a level surface). Some motorized vibratory screeds exist that require forms, some, only a wet bench (floating screeds), and some, which utilize lasers, require no "bench" to rest upon to produce the desired product. Motorized vibratory screeds of any type are highly technical pieces of equipment, which are costly, heavy, and require working technical knowledge of the specific tool used.
The present invention revolutionizes the non-motorized screeding and striking process in a simple harmonization of physics and ergonomics. Before describing the present invention, the disadvantages of the above-described concrete screeding and striking processes will be discussed.
The traditional manual screeding technique described above is laborious, and frustrating at times, as well. The hand-held 2×4 is cheap and easy to transport, requires little maintenance or repair, but requires a skilled worker or workers working in tandem with each other with an almost mind-reading quality to work in a rhythm in order to obtain an acceptable concrete surface. These concrete workers must also have exceedingly high abilities to protect their necks, arms and backs from injury due to the awkward positioning and repetitive movements required to strike the concrete in this way.
Standing improves the operator's ergonomics but the device can only screed the concrete without the ability to introduce vibration into the concrete without the addition of a motor strapped to the device.
The motorized floating vibratory screed is expensive, often highly technical, and heavy.
Transportation of large screeds for larger pours becomes an issue for a small-business contractor who often operates with a skeleton crew. The expense of moving a heavy, unwieldy piece of equipment like a motorized screed must be considered. Larger vehicles with winch capabilities increase cost. The process of loading the equipment is a safety concern, as well. Electronic equipment requires expensive repairs and oftentimes, extensive down time. Motors require fuel, oil and maintenance. The time and monetary cost of training employees to learn the proper operation of the instrument also must be considered. All of these factors can greatly increase frustration and decrease productivity if any one fails at any given time.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed that can be wielded by a single person in order to achieve a superior concrete surface with the least amount of stress to the body and the highest amount of satisfaction to the customer.
The present invention is a small, disassemble-able device that can be built inexpensively, transported easily, used by one man to provide excellent results in projects ranging from sidewalks to driveways to basement floors and patios. Basically, the present invention is designed primarily for residential to small commercial concrete work. By changing attachments it can be modified into a two-person-operated device for larger pours, if desired.
The present invention differs from the previously discussed screeding and striking devices in that its screeding surface is not a single bar, but a floating double bar screeding-striking "plate". Its screeding-striking plate is not a single vertically aligned bar as used in the manual screeding described above, but double bars oriented in a planar fashion. It is this screeding-striking plate with double 4″ surfaces which is in contact with the concrete, not a 2″ wide screed bar surface as described in the previous standing screed devices. This design allows the screeding-striking plate surface to physically modify concrete by screeding and also introduces vibration accomplished by intermittent pulls on the handle which rock and slide the planar bars over the wet concrete.
As the leading screed bar of the floating strike plate contacts the plastic concrete surface and begins the leveling process (the operator proceeds to make repetitive short, sharp pulls while walking slowly backward) the second plate catches the surface and "finishes" the leveling process. Working as a unit, double screed bar plate of the present invention allows 2 bars to act in tandem, producing vibration similar to a motorized vibrating screeding device. The plastic concrete is vibrated and, therefore, its mass is consolidated while its surface is leveled.
The operator of the present invention is subjected to a very manageable amount of physical exertion as the operator's position is standing, and the action is one of pulling on handles extending from the screed plate assembly at waist level. The base plates of the screed plate assembly have adjustable 45° angle connections. This allows the operator to hold a U-shaped handle at a comfortable waist-level height while making short, repetitive pulling motions generated with minimal effort. By using multiple major muscle groups, legs, abdominals, thoracic, back and arm muscles, no one single group of muscles is overtaxed. A superior surface and concrete strength is achieved with a satisfactory ease of tool use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic that is easily assembled, transported and stored and is light-weight.
A further object of the invention is to provide an ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed that may be easily modified to suit the size of any concrete pour.
Yet another object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed that is economical, due to simple and easily interchangeable parts without need for power tools to do so.
A further object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed that can be used in combination with screed equipment possibly already owned by the contractor.
A still further object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed that is ergonomic, not fatiguing a single muscle group in isolation.
Another further object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic that lays very flat, uniform concrete due to the total area of floating strike-plates on contact with the plastic concrete during use and vibration.
A further object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed that does not require a motor and is low maintenance.
A further object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed that floats on a "wet bench" requiring less form work.

Ergonomic non-motorized vibratory concrete screed


The present invention aims at providing a phone terminal over which the user who is attending the PoC talking can talk at a desired timing, a server, and a talking system having the phone terminals and the server. A talking system of the present invention is constructed such that a cellular phone A 10a transmits voice data to a server 20 while a floor is not granted by the server 20, and the server 20 has a storing portion for storing the voice data from a cellular phone to which the floor is not granted and transmits voice data read from the storing portion to a cellular phone B 10b after the cellular phone B 10b released the floor.

Like the transceiver or the radio set for business use, a terminal having a function (PTT: Push-to-talk) of exchanging a voice alternately between a plurality of speakers in such a manner that the speaker can talk while pushing a talking button provided to the terminal and can listen the talking contents of other speaker output by a voice while releasing the talking button is widely used nowadays. Unlike the terminal utilizing the telephone line that allows basically the talking between two persons, the terminal utilizing this PTT function is often employed in a situation that the user has simultaneously a communication with plural persons since such terminal permits easily three persons or more to talk together.
It is the technology called PoC (Push-to-Talk over Cellular) that implements this PTT function by the cellular phone. The cellular phone utilizing the PoC function can be used to do a PoC talking by selecting a person the user talks to on the phone from a phone book and then pushing/releasing a particular button provided to the cellular phone like the transceiver or the radio set for business use, for example. Since the cellular phone utilizing the PoC function does not need a dialing process executed when the terminal utilizing the telephone line starts the talking, it can shorten a time required until the talking is started. Processes in the cellular phone utilizing the PoC function (referred simply to as the "cellular phone" hereinafter) and the server utilized in this PoC talking (referred simply to as the "server" hereinafter) will be explained concretely hereunder.
An example of a sequence in a system constructed by cellular phones and a server in the prior art is shown in FIG. 16. In FIG. 16, the situation that the PoC talking is done between a cellular phone A owned by a user A and a cellular phone B owned by a user B is supposed.
The most important scheme in the PoC talking process between the cellular phones and the server is that the server can manage the right that grants a particular cellular phone to talk (called the floor) and the cellular phone to which the floor is granted can do the talking. This scheme is explained with reference to FIG. 16 hereunder. First, when the user B executes the operations (e.g., selects the user A as the person on the other end from the phone book and pushes the particular button) to start the PoC talking with the user A by the cellular phone B, the cellular phone B requests the server to grant the floor (step S1601). Then, when the server is informed from the cellular phone B that the PoC talking is started between the cellular phone A and the cellular phone B, such server transmits a signal to grant the floor to the cellular phone B (step S1602). Then, the server stores a status of the floor indicating the "Floor Grant". When the cellular phone B gets the floor from the server, the user B can start the talking and can continue to talk while the particular button is pushed (a period of time encircled by a dotted line after step S1602).
In contrast, when the cellular phone A that received the start of the PoC talking from the cellular phone B accepts the operation (pushing the particular button) from the user A to talk with the user B, such cellular phone A requests the server to grant the floor (steps S1603, S1605). At this time, when the server is requested from the cellular phone A to grant the floor during a period of time a status of the floor is the "Floor Grant", such server transmits a signal informing that "the floor cannot be granted" to the cellular phone A (steps S1604, S1606). As a result, even when the user A pushes the particular button, such user A cannot talk while the cellular phone A fails to get the floor from the server (a period of time the floor is granted to the cellular phone B). Then, the cellular phone B releases the floor (step S1607), and then the cellular phone A requests the server to grant the floor (step S1608). Then, the server grants the floor to the cellular phone A (step S1609).
Also, another example of the sequence in the system constructed by cellular phones and a server in the prior art is shown in FIG. 17. In FIG. 17, the situation that the PoC talking is done between cellular phones A, B, C owned by three persons of users A, B, C respectively is supposed.
First, the user B executes the operation (e.g., selects the users A, C as the person on the other end from the phone book and pushes the particular button) by the cellular phone B to start the PoC talking with the users A, C. The subsequent processes of the cellular phone B and the server required until the user B starts the talking are identical to the processes of the cellular phone B and the server in the explanation in FIG. 16.
When the user B executes the operation (releases the particular button) by the cellular phone B to end the PoC talking after the user B ended the talking, the cellular phone B informs the server that the floor is released (step S1701). When the server is informed from the cellular phone B that the floor is released, such server updates the "Floor Grant" to a status of the floor indicating the "Floor Idle".
Then, the user C executes the operation (push the particular button) by the cellular phone C to start the PoC talking with the users A, B, and the cellular phone C requests the server to grant the floor (step S1702). Then, since a current status of the floor is the "Floor Idle", the server transmits a signal to grant the floor to the cellular phone C (step S1703). Then, the server updates a status of the floor to the "Floor Grant".
Subsequently, the server repeats three processes given as following.
(1) When the server is requested by another cellular phone to grant the floor during a period of time a status of the floor is the "Floor Grant", such server transmits the signal to another cellular phone to inform that the floor cannot be granted.
(2) When the server is informed from a particular cellular phone that such phone releases the floor (steps S1701, S1704, S1707), such server updates the "Floor Grant" to a status of the floor indicating the "Floor Idle".
(3) When the server is requested by the cellular phone to grant the floor during a period of time a status of the floor is the "Floor Idle" (steps S1702, S1705), such server transmits the signal to grant the floor to the cellular phone (steps S1703, S1706). Then, the server updates a status of the floor to the "Floor Grant".
Non Patent Literature 1: Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC)-Archtecture-2.0.8, page 6

Phone terminal, server, and talking system having phone terminals and the server


A container production method by liquid blow molding. The method includes a pushing step in which a liquid is collected from a preform at the timing at which the pressure inside of the preform starts rising by pushing of the expanded and deformed preform by a movable mold portion of a blow molding mold so that the rise in the pressure is suppressed or prevented.

Resin containers, typical examples of which are polypropylene (PP) bottles and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, are used to hold a variety of liquids, such as beverages, cosmetic products, pharmaceutical products, detergents, and toiletries including shampoo, as the content liquids. Such a container is generally produced by blow molding a preform formed by a thermoplastic resin material as mentioned above.
As an example of blow molding in which a pressurizing medium is supplied into a resin preform to mold the preform into a container of a shape conforming to an inner surface of a cavity of a blow molding mold, liquid blow molding in which a liquid is used as a pressurizing medium is known.
Further, as a blow molding in which air is used as a pressurizing medium, a technique of using, as a blow molding mold, one that includes a body mold portion that forms a part of an inner surface of a cavity of the mold and a movable mold portion that forms another part of the inner surface of the cavity is used has been known. In the technique, pressurized air is supplied into a preform disposed inside of the body mold portion to expand and deform the preform, and the movable mold portion is moved relative to the body mold portion toward the expanded and deformed preform, thus the preform is pushed by the movable mold portion and is molded into a container (see, for example, PTL1).

Container production method by liquid blow molding


A printing apparatus for printing on a medium to be printed includes an ink ejection section for intermittently ejecting ink while moving, wherein the printing apparatus detects a distance from the ink ejection section to the medium to be printed, and controls a timing of intermittent ejection of the ink from the ink ejection section based on the distance that has been detected. With such a printing apparatus, the timing at which ink is ejected can be controlled taking into account the distance from the ink ejection section to the medium to be printed.

Inkjet printers that perform printing by intermittently ejecting ink are known as printing apparatuses for printing images onto various types of media to be printed, including paper, cloth, and film.
With inkjet printers, ink is ejected as nozzles for ejecting ink are moved. For that reason, due to the law of inertia, the droplets of ink that are ejected travel from the nozzles to the medium to be printed as they move in the moving direction of the nozzles at the moving velocity of the nozzles. Consequently, the ink droplets land on the paper at positions that are shifted in the moving direction of the nozzles from the positions of the nozzles when the ink droplets that are shifted in the moving direction of the nozzles from the positions of the nozzles when the ink droplets are ejected.
Accordingly, with conventional inkjet printers, printing is carried out taking into account the shift in landing positions based on the moving velocity of the nozzle.
(1) The shift in the landing position caused by movement of the nozzles, however, is related not only to the moving velocity of the nozzles but also to the distance from the nozzles to the medium to be printed. For that reason, the amount that the landing position is shifted due to the movement of the nozzles also changes when the distance from the nozzles to the medium to be printed changes due to the thickness of the paper or curvature in the paper, for example.
Accordingly, to make the ink droplets land in correct positions, it is an object of a first invention to control the timing at which ink droplets are ejected, taking into account the distance from the nozzles to the medium to be printed.
(2) Also, if the timing of ink ejection were to be set at an earlier timing or a delayed timing with respect to a reference timing for ink ejection in accordance with the velocity at which the nozzles are moved, then calculations would become complicated. Furthermore, when the timing of ink ejection is at a fast timing that exceeds the performance of the head, printing can no longer be carried out accurately.
Accordingly, to make the ink droplets land correctly, a second invention makes the maximum velocity of the target moving velocity slower than a predetermined reference velocity.
(3) Also, a temporal lag between when the moving velocity of the nozzles is detected and the ink is ejected may result in a difference between the detected moving velocity of the nozzles and the moving velocity of the nozzles when ejecting ink. Consequently, even if variation in the landing positions is taken into account based on the detected moving velocity of the nozzles, ink does not land in correct positions when the moving velocity of the nozzles when ejecting ink is different from the detected moving velocity of the nozzles.
For example, if printing is carried out when the nozzles are accelerating or decelerating, then when there is a temporal lag between when the moving velocity of the nozzles is detected and when the ink is ejected, there would be a difference between the detected moving velocity of the nozzles and the moving velocity of the nozzles when ink is ejected. Thus, the ink will not land at correct positions when the nozzles are accelerating or decelerating simply by controlling the timing at which ink is ejected based on the detected moving velocity of nozzles, as is the case with conventional inkjet printers.
Accordingly, to make the ink land at correct positions, it is an object of a third invention to control the timing at which the ink droplets are ejected in accordance with the degree of acceleration of the nozzles.
(4) Also, when the detected moving velocity of the nozzles includes error, then the ink will land on the medium to be printed at positions shifted from the correct positions if the shift in the position where the ink droplets land is calculated based on that moving velocity including error.
In particular, when the moving velocity of the nozzles is detected based on the output of an encoder, the velocity is detected in a stepwise manner if the encoder has low resolution, and thus there is large error in the detected velocity. Moreover, if consideration to the shift in landing position of the ink droplets is given based on the detected moving velocity including large detection error, the ink will land on the medium to be printed shifted from the correct positions.
Accordingly, to make the ink land in correct positions, it is an object of a fourth invention to control the timing at which the ink droplets are ejected based on the results of a plurality of detections.

Printing apparatus, printing method, program, storage medium, and computer system


A thin film encapsulation manufacturing apparatus includes a first cluster configured to form a first inorganic layer on a first substrate, on which an emission unit is formed, by a sputtering process; a second cluster configured to form a first organic layer on the first inorganic layer on the first substrate conveyed from the first cluster by an organic deposition process; a first connection module configured to connect the first cluster and the second cluster, configured to convey the first substrate on which the first inorganic layer is formed from the first cluster to the second cluster, and configured to cool the first substrate in a non-contact manner; and a third cluster configured to form a second inorganic layer on the first organic layer on the first substrate conveyed from the second cluster by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process or a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process.

1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device manufacturing method using a thin film encapsulation manufacturing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, mobile electronic devices have become widely used. In addition to compact electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablet personal computers (PCs) have also recently become widely used as mobile electronic devices.
In order to provide various functions, the mobile electronic devices include a display apparatus to provide visual information, such as images, to users. Recently, because components for driving a display device have become compact, a proportion of the display device that occupies electronic devices is gradually increasing. A display device which is bendable up to an angle (e.g., up to a predetermined angle) from a planar state has also been developed.
In particular, a light emitting unit of a flexible display device may be encapsulated using multiple thin films to increase the lifetime or lifespan of the display device. In this case, research into encapsulation thin films formed during the encapsulation is currently being conducted.


The present invention is drawn to the inhibition of activation of NF-.kappa.B by caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and two analogues of CAPE. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activation of NF-.kappa.B is completely blocked by CAPE in a dose- and time-dependent manner, as is activation by phorbol ester, ceramide, hydrogen peroxide, and okadaic acid. Additionally, capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-noneamide) and resiniferatoxin inhibit the activation of NF-.kappa.B induced by different agents.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to inhibitors of nuclear transcription factor NF-.kappa.B, and the use of these inhibitors in the treatment of pathological conditions in humans. Specifically, the present invention relates to the inhibition of nuclear transcription factor NF-.kappa.B by Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE); a 5, 6-dihydroxy, bicyclic derivative of CAPE; a 2, 5-dihydroxy derivative of CAPE; capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide); and resiniferatoxin, and methods for using these inhibitors in the treatment of pathological conditions such as toxic shock, acute inflammatory conditions, acute phase response, atherosclerosis and cancer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nuclear Factor NF-.kappa.B is a protein specific to B cells and binds to a specific DNA sequence within the immunoglobin light chain .kappa. locus enhancer region. Members of the transcription factor NF-.kappa.B family have been identified in various organisms, ranging from flies to mammals (see Nolan, et al., Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 2:211-20(1992); Liou, et al., Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 5:477-87(1993); and Baeuerle and Henkel, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 12:141-79(1994)). Members of this transcription factor family are 35 to 61% homologous to each other and have a Rel homology domain of about 300 amino acids.
In mammals, the most widely distributed .kappa.B-binding factor is a heterodimer consisting of p50 and p65 (Rel-A) proteins. This transcription factor plays a central role in various responses, leading to host defense through rapid induction of gene expression. In particular, it controls the expression of various inflammatory cytokines, the major histocompatibility complex genes and adhesion molecules involved in tumor metastasis. Dysregulation of NF-.kappa.B and its dependent genes has been associated with various pathological conditions including toxic/septic shock, graft vs. host reaction, acute inflammatory conditions, acute phase response, viral replication, radiation damage, atherosclerosis, and cancer (see Baeuerle and Henkel, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 12:141-79 (1994); and Siebenlist, et al, Annu. Rev. Cell Biol. 10:405-55(1994)).
Unlike other transcription factors, the NF-.kappa.B proteins are held in the cytoplasm in an inactive state by an inhibitory subunit called I.kappa.Ba. The phosphorylation of I.kappa.B and its subsequent degradation allows translocation of NF-.kappa.B to the nucleus. This activation is induced by many agents, such as inflammatory cytokines (e. g., tumor necrosis factor (TNF), lymphotoxin (LT), and interleukin (IL)-1), mitogens, bacterial products, protein synthesis inhibitors, oxidative stress (H.sub.2 O.sub.2), ultraviolet light, and phorbol esters. Agents that can downmodulate the activation of NF-.kappa.B may be used for therapeutic treatment for these pathological conditions. The present invention is drawn to several such agents.
One agent is caffeic acid (3, 4-dihydroxy cinnamic acid) phenethyl ester (CAPE), a structural relative of flavonoids that is an active component of propolis from honeybee hives. It has antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties, and has been shown to inhibit the growth of different types of transformed cells (see Grunberger, et al., Experientia 44:230-32 (1988); Burke, et al., J. Med. Chem. 38:4171-78(1995); Su, et al., Cancer Res. 54:1865-70 (1994); Su, et al., Mol. Carcinog. 4:231-42 (1991); Hlandon, et al., Arzneim.-Forsch./Drug Res. 30:1847-48 (1980); and Guarini, L., et al., Cell. Mol. Biol. 38:513-27 (1992)). In transformed cells, CAPE alters the redox state and induces apoptosis. Further, it has been reported that CAPE suppresses lipid peroxidation; displays antioxidant activity; and inhibits ornithine decarboxylase, protein tyrosine kinase, and lipoxygenase activities. CAPE can also inhibit phorbol ester-induced H.sub.2 O.sub.2 production and tumor promotion (see Bhimani, et al. , Cancer Res. 53:4528-33 (1993) and Frenkel, et al., Cancer Res. 53:1255-61 (1993)).
Another such downmodulating agent presented in this disclosure is capsaicin. Capsaicin is a homovanillic acid derivative (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamid) with a molecular weight of 305.42. It is an active component of the red pepper of the genus Capsicum, and has been used in humans for topical treatment of cluster headache, herpes zoster, and vasomotor rhinitis (see Holzer, P., Pharmacol. Rev. 43:143 (1994); Sicuteri, et al., Med. Sci. Res. 16:1079 (1988); Watson, et al., Pain 33:333 (1988); Marabini, et al., Regul. Pept. 22:1 (1988)). In vitro capsaicin modulates cellular growth, collagenase synthesis, and prostaglandin secretion from rheumatoid arthritis synoviocytes (see Matucci-Cerinic, et al., Ann. Rheum. Dis. 49:598 (1990)). Capsaicin has also been shown to be simmunomodulatory as indicated by its ability to modulate lymphocyte proliferation, antibody production, and neutrophil chemotaxis (see Nilsson, et al., J. Immunopharmac. 10:747 (1988); Nilsson, et al., J Immunopharmac. 13:21 (1991); and Eglezos, et al, J Neuroimmunol. 26:131 (1990)). These effects play an important role in capsaicin's use for treatment of arthritis. In addition, capsaicin induces mitochondrial swelling, inhibits NADH oxidase, induces apoptosis of transformed cells, stimulates adenylate cyclase, activates protein kinase C, inhibits superoxide anion generation and alters the redox state of the cell.
Various effects of capsaicin are mediated through a specific cellular receptor referred to as vanilloid receptor that is shared by resiniferatoxin. Like capsaicin, resiniferatoxin is an alkaloid derived from plants of the genus Euphorbia. Resiniferatoxin is a structural homologue of capsaicin (see FIG. 1). Resiniferatoxin is also structurally similar to phorbol esters (phorbol myristate acetate), which interacts with distinct binding sites and activates protein kinase C (see Szallasi, et al., Neurosci. 30:515 (1989); and Szallasi and Blumberg, Neurosci. 30:515 (1989)). Unlike resiniferatoxin, capsaicin has no homology to phorbol myristate acetate, but like resiniferatoxin, it too activates protein kinase C, suggesting that the latter activation is not due to the phorbol ester-like moiety on resiniferatoxin. Resiniferatoxin has been shown to mimic many of the actions of capsaicin.
Thus, inhibition of nuclear transcription factor NF-.kappa.B by Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE); a 2,5-hydroxy derivative of CAPE; a 5, 6-dihydroxy, bicyclic derivative of CAPE, Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide), and Resiniferatoxin is unknown in the prior art. The inhibition of NF-.kappa.B is an important step in the treatment of various pathological conditions which result from the activation of NF-.kappa.B by inflammatory cytokines, mitogens, oxidative stress, phorbol esters and other agents. The present invention fulfills a long-standing need and desire in the art to treat such pathological conditions.

Inhibition of nuclear transcription factor NF-.kappa.B by caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), derivatives of CAPE, capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and resiniferatoxin


Disclosed is a hall sensor signal generating device which includes a rotor which has a magnetic property and rotates on the basis of a rotary axis; a hall sensor unit which is disposed to be spaced apart from a stator disposed outside the rotor; and a clock synchronization unit which receives a driving clock, performs synchronization between the driving clock and a hall sensor signal output from the hall sensor unit, and outputs the synchronized driving clock and the synchronized hall sensor signal.

The inventive concepts described herein relate to a home sensor signal generating device.
Measurement of rotating angle and speed of a rotor may be needed to control a speed of a motor, in particular, a brushless motor. The rotating angle and speed of the rotor may be measured by an encoder rotated with the rotor or a hall sensor disposed at a stator.
A hall sensor may be a magnetic sensor the output of which is varied according to an applied magnetic field. A magnetic field applied to the hall sensor may be varied according to rotation of a magnetic pole for location detection disposed at the rotor. The rotating angle and speed of the rotor may be measured by measuring an output signal of the hall sensor disposed at the stator. The hall sensor may be disposed at the stator with a predetermined interval, and may generate a multiplied pulse signal. It may be necessary to reduce a difference between an output signal of the hall sensor and an internal signal of a motor controller for precise control of a motor speed.

ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


Disclosed are an induction current sampling device and method for a bridgeless PFC circuit. The device includes a first sampling unit, a second sampling circuit and a third sampling circuit, wherein the first sampling unit, connected in serial with a first switch transistor of the bridgeless PFC circuit, is configured to sample a current flowing through the first switch transistor to acquire a first sampling signal V1; the the second sampling unit, connected in serial with a second switch transistor of the bridgeless PFC circuit, is configured to sample a current flowing through the second switch transistor to acquire a second sampling signal V2; and the third sampling unit, with one terminal connected with a ground of the bridgeless PFC circuit and the other terminal connected with a negative output of a PFC capacitor of the bridgeless PFC circuit, is configured to sample a current flowing through a boost diode of the bridgeless PFC circuit to acquire a third sampling signal V3.

With rapid development of modern industry, there is an ever-increasing demand for power supply systems, and environment-friendly and energy saving power supplies have already become an application trend. Therefore, power conversion topologies having high efficiency and high power density have become favored in the industry. Due to their features including high efficiency and high power density, bridgeless PFC circuits are gradually applied to power supply modules having high efficiency and high power density.
In a bridgeless PFC circuit, an induction current is desired to be sampled to perform loop control so as to ensure that an AC input current follows an AC input voltage, thereby implementing the functionality of power factor correction. Compared to a traditional PFC circuit, the bridgeless PFC circuit has a boost inductor directly coupled to an AC voltage input, which increases the difficulty for sampling the induction current.
For a bridgeless PFC circuit, an existing induction current sampling method is described as follows.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of bi-resistor sampling mode in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, in switching branches of the bridgeless PFC circuit, there are two serially-connected sampling units Rs1, Rs2 for sampling currents flowing through respective bridgeless PFC switch transistors, i.e., rise edges of induction currents in the bridgeless PFC circuit. Using such a way to sample an induction current of the bridgeless PFC circuit has the following drawbacks: when an AC input voltage is very high, the bridgeless PFC boost circuit has a very small duty cycle, and due to the existence of problems such as sampling delay, the sampling circuit cannot sample the induction current, this then results in loss of control of the control loop and thus threatens reliability of the power supply.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a bi-current-transformer sampling mode in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 2, a first current transformer P1 is connected in serial between an inductor L12 and a switch transistor S12 of the bridgeless PFC circuit; and a second current transformer P2 is connected in serial between an inductor L22 and an anode of a diode D22 of the bridgeless PFC circuit. A current flowing through the bridgeless PFC switch transistor is characterized by calculation of the sum (I1+I2) of a current flowing through the first current transformer and a current flowing through the second current transformer, i.e., rise edges of induction currents in the bridgeless PFC circuit. Similarly, this sampling device has the following drawbacks: when an AC input voltage is very high, the bridgeless PFC boost circuit has a very small duty cycle, and due to the existence of problems such as sampling delay, the sampling circuit cannot sample the induction current, this then results in loss of control of the control loop and thus threatens reliability of the power supply.

Induction current sampling device and method for bridgeless PFC circuit


A method for examining an interior surface of a cavity includes the steps of capturing partial images of an interior surface of a cavity; joining the captured partial images to form a complete image of said interior surface of the cavity; and providing an warning if the joined partial images does not form a complete image of said interior surface of the cavity.

A scope is often used to view and examine the interior of a cavity. An endoscope is a medical device comprising a flexible tube, which is insertable into an internal body cavity through a body orifice to examine the body cavity and tissues for diagnosis. An endoscope may include a camera and a light source mounted on the distal end of its flexible tube to allow visualization of the internal environment of the body cavity. The tube of the endoscope has one or more longitudinal channels, through which an instrument can reach the body cavity to take samples of suspicious tissues or to perform other surgical procedures such as polypectomy.
To insert an endoscope into an internal body cavity, a physician advances the endoscope's flexible tube into the body cavity with the distal end of the flexible tube at the front. The physician may steer the flexible tube to follow the cavity's contour by controlling a bendable distal end portion of the flexible tube. After the endoscope is advanced to the end of the colon, the physician begins to retract the endoscope and visually scans the colon for abnormalities as the endoscope is retracted.
It is important for the physician to examine all areas of the colon where abnormalities may occur. Failure to do so may have grave consequences. However, it is difficult for the physician to simultaneously focus on examining the colon and keep track of the areas that have not been examined (or the areas of the colon that have been examined). Therefore, it is desirable to have a device or method that assists the physician in keeping track of the unexamined areas of the colon (or the examined areas).
Additionally, to ensure a careful examination of the colon, it is desirable to monitor the amount of time the physician spends examining an area of the colon, and to warn the physician if she spends insufficient time examining the area.

Method and device for examining or imaging an interior surface of a cavity


A sieving device includes a sieve having a base, a drum and a main rim. A screen assembly having a mesh screen and a screen frame extending around a periphery of the mesh screen is resiliently mounted within the main rim. A low frequency vibrational drive vibrates the sieve at low frequencies. An ultrasonic vibrational probe rests on the screen frame free of rigid attachment thereto and vibrates the mesh screen around a periphery thereof. The ultrasonic vibrational drive includes an ultrasonic processor which drives the ultrasonic probe. A probe tip of the probe extends through a side wall of the main rim and rests on a top surface of the screen frame vibrating the screen from the periphery of the screen inwardly to sieve a particulate material. An alternative embodiment has a tab which extends outwardly from the screen frame. The probe tip extends through the sidewall of the main rim and through a sidewall of the drum to abut the tab.

1. Technical Field
Generally, the invention relates to a sieving device. Particularly, the inventions relates to a sieving device having a screen and a screen frame extending around a periphery of the screen which uses an ultrasonic drive to vibrate the screen at high frequencies. Specifically, the invention relates to a sieving device in which an ultrasonic probe rests on the screen frame to vibrate the screen at a periphery thereof.
2. Background Information
Traditional sieving devices typically include a base, a frame resiliently mounted on the base and a screen or screens extending across the frame. A low frequency vibratory drive in the speed range of 8 Hz to 30 Hz is mounted to the frame and includes eccentric weights. Specific vibratory motions are established in the frame by the low frequency vibratory drive generating screen accelerations up to a range of 7 g.
These prior sieving devices have been used for screening fine materials and powders. Stainless steel woven mesh screens are usually stretched tightly and attached to the screen frame. The vibration of these sieving devices typically enhances gravity separation of particles presented to the screen. Where fine particles are to be sieved, the vibration also has a negative effect in that the fine particles become suspended above a boundary layer formed above the vibrating screen.
These fine particles can be sieved through the mesh screens by vibrating the screen or screen frame relative to the base at high frequencies using an ultrasonic drive or device. These ultrasonic devices include an electro-mechanical transducer, the body of which is rigidly mounted with respect to the frame and is coupled to the screen by a metal probe. The low frequency vibration of the screen effected by the oscillation of the frame serves for bulk movement of the material on the screen allowing all layers of material to be presented to the screen, while the high frequency vibration of the screen effected by the ultrasonic device serves to prevent blinding of the apertures of the screen otherwise caused by material adhering to the screen or by particles of the material locking together to bridge the apertures of the mesh screen. These ultrasonic vibrating probes are typically mounted to separator frames with a direct mechanical attachment. The separator frames are directly attached to the screens at the centers thereof. Alternatively, ultrasonic devices have been bonded directly to the screen.
One problem with these prior art sieving devices is that the fine mesh screens tend to weaken in structure as the ultrasonic vibration is applied directly thereto. Also, with the vibrational probe attached directly to a center of the screen, the ultrasonic vibrations tend to dissipate and attenuate after traveling only a short distance from the center attachment and fail to adequately vibrate the peripheral outer portion of the mesh screen. As the vibrations travel from the center of the screen outwardly, the radial surface area of the screen increases dispersing and attenuating the vibrational waves. Further, sieving devices having the ultrasonic probe attached to a center of the screen must have supports and wires extending from the periphery to the center of the screen to drive the probe. The material being sieved through the mesh screen accumulates on these supports and wires after it passes through the screen. This accumulation of material must be cleaned from the supports and wires and often is not salvageable for its intended use.
One patent which attempts to address this problem of dissipation and attenuation of vibrational energy caused by the center attachment is U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,548 which discloses a screening system with a resiliently mounted frame having a screen extending there across. The ultrasonic probe of this prior art sieving device is rigidly attached to a separator frame in one embodiment and directly and rigidly attached to the screen frame in a second embodiment.
Although this prior art sieving device is adequate for the purpose for which it is intended, the rigid attachment between the ultrasonic probe and the sieving frame or screen frame may be difficult to replace in the event that the ultrasonic probe breaks or malfunctions. Additionally, the sieving frame or screen frame must be specially manufactured to include the rigid attachment of the ultrasonic probe thereto or the ultrasonic probe must be welded or otherwise secured to the sieving frame or screen frame.
Therefore, the need exists for a sieving device which vibrates the screen frame around the periphery of the mesh screen at high frequencies using an ultrasonic device, in which the probe of the ultrasonic device rests or lays on the screen frame free of rigid attachment thereto and which is easily retrofit to existing sieves.

Sieving device with duel independent frequency input


A method for storing data onto a magnetic tape from one or more sources includes providing a first temporary storage area for temporarily holding data and a second temporary storage area for temporarily holding housekeeping information. The first temporary storage area contains a predetermined number of data holding areas of fixed size. A quantity of data to be stored is read into the first data holding area of the first temporary storage area. Housekeeping information identifying the data held in the first data area and its location therein is formulated and written into the second temporary storage area. The process is repeated until the first storage area is full or there is no more data to store. The contents of the first and second temporary storage areas are then written onto the tape as a single unit. The procedure is repeated as necessary until the tape is full or all of the data to be stored has been written onto the tape.

The present invention relates generally to storing data and more particularly to a new and improved method for storing data onto magnetic tapes. The invention is intended to be used primarily with tapes being made for backup purposes, but, as will hereinafter become apparent, is not necessarily limited to tapes being prepared for that purpose. Also, although the invention is intended to be used in storing onto tapes data which is obtained from disks, it is not exclusively limited to data obtained from that type of source.
The present invention enables more data to be stored on a magnetic tape than previously possible, and in many cases enables a particular piece of data to be located faster than had been achievable in the past.
As will also hereinafter become apparent, the present invention is not limited to use with any one particular type of tape drive.
The conventional way to store data from disks onto a tape for backup purposes is to write the individual records from one file onto the tape, one record at a time. The individual records making up a file, if a file has more than one record, are separated from one another either by blank spaces commonly referred to as inter-record gaps or by tape or file marks, the type of separation being used depending on the nature of the programmatic method involved. After one file is written onto the tape, another file is written onto it in the same manner, and so forth. Successive files are usually separated by a tape mark with the tape mark being between the pair of inter-record gaps.
The basic problem with this arrangement for storing data onto a tape is that a considerable portion of the tape is not actually utilized for the storage of data but rather is taken up by the file gaps, the file marks and the inter record gaps. In some types of tapes, such as the helical scan, the area on the tape not used for storing data can sometimes be even larger than the area that is actually used for storing data, when dealing with large numbers of small files.
Retrieving a particular file on a tape formatted in the conventional way as described above also has disadvantages. First, it is necessary to prepare a list having the name and file number of each file on the tape. The list is usually put on the tape itself as an additional file at the end of a tape, or on a disk as a file or on a separate paper printout. Once the list has been prepared it is relatively simple and quick to locate a particular file; however, preparing the listing itself is very time consuming project and in many instances is not made at the time that data is initially put on the tape, but rather at the time the tape is being used to restore some information.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved method for storing data on a magnetic tape.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method for storing data on a magnetic tape which does not involve the use of the usual number of inter-record gaps or file marks.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for storing data on a magnetic tape which does not require the creation of a separate listing to identify all of the data on the tape.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a method of storing data onto a magnetic tape from one or more magnetic disks.
It is yet still a further object of this invention to provide a method of storing data onto a magnetic tape magnetic for use as a backup tape.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method of storing data onto a magnetic tape wherein the data is not formatted in terms of files and records.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a method of storing data onto a magnetic tape to provide a new and improved method for restoring all or a portion of the data stored on a magnetic tape in the manner as noted hereinabove.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide a Multiple Input Source Organization (MISO) tape format for holding data from multiple input sources, simultaneously interspersed on the tape.

Method of storing data on a magnetic tape

Professional Consulting and Computing Services, Inc.


Example aspects of a nozzle cap adapter, a nozzle cap assembly, and a method for method for mounting a nozzle cap to a fire hydrant nozzle are disclosed. The nozzle cap adapter can comprise an adapter ring defining a first adapter ring end, a second adapter ring end opposite the first adapter ring end, and an interior void extending from the first adapter ring end to the second adapter ring end; a nozzle connector extending from the second end of the adapter ring, the nozzle connector configured to rotatably engage a fire hydrant nozzle; and a latch coupled to the adapter ring and configured to removably lock the nozzle cap adapter onto the fire hydrant nozzle.

Fire hydrants are commonly connected to fluid systems, such as municipal water infrastructure systems and water mains, through standpipes. Nozzle caps can be connected to nozzles of the fire hydrant to seal the nozzles when they are not in use and/or to mount various systems (e.g., a leak detection system) to the nozzles. Fire hydrants can define varying styles of nozzle connections (e.g., threaded nozzle connection, U.S. Storz nozzle connection, Canadian Storz nozzle connection, etc.) to which the nozzle cap can be connected. Nozzle caps configured to connect to a particular style of nozzle connection may be unable to connect to nozzle connections of another style.