A hydraulic bearing includes a support spring made of elastomeric material and a hydraulic volume partitioned into a work chamber and a compensating chamber. A partition wall is disposed between the two chambers and includes a transfer channel. For acoustic decoupling, a membrane-like decoupling element is seated and is displacement limited between two lattice plates. The decoupling element is made of flexible elastic material and is clamped laterally to be pressure tight. The decoupling membrane is radially prestressed for matching the acoustic decoupling to specific disturbing frequencies (hum frequencies). This prestressing takes place preferably because of the shrink process during vulcanization of the decoupling membrane which is made of raw rubber. The decoupling membrane can have a peripheral bead and at least one transverse strut. The strut can have a reinforcement insert.

In their basic configuration, hydraulic bearings of this kind usually comprise a rubber element as a support spring in combination with a hydraulic damper. The hydraulic damper, in turn, comprises a hydraulic volume which is partitioned by a partition wall into a work chamber and a compensating chamber. The partition wall is provided with at least one throttle channel. With the aid of such hydraulic bearings, which are disposed between the vehicle motor and the chassis, it is intended, on the one hand, to prevent that motor vibrations are transmitted to the chassis and, on the other hand, it is intended that the shaking, which results during driving operation, cannot reach the motor from the chassis or reach the motor only dampened.
Furthermore, it is prevented that acoustic vibrations can reach the chassis and especially acoustic vibrations in the form of structure-borne noise. For this purpose, the partition wall, which is disposed between the work chamber and the compensating chamber, includes a further opening which is covered by a flexible to rigid component. This component is usually characterized as a membrane and is axially moveable over a clear path. In addition to functioning as a vibration-damping support construction for motor vehicle engines, such hydraulic bearings function to filter acoustic vibrations.
These acoustic vibrations are of higher frequencies but lower amplitudes. To take up these acoustic vibrations, this membrane-like component is provided with lattice plates on respective sides thereof which function as displacement-limiting end stops. The membrane-like component is also characterized as an acoustic membrane.
Two principally different constructions are used in hydraulic bearings as components for decoupling or damping acoustic vibrations, namely:                (1) loose, axially-moveable plates in the manner of floating pistons with these plates not being laterally clamped; and,        (2) flexible laterally-clamped membranes.
Plates, which are not laterally clamped, present the following disadvantages:    (a) A slit is provided between the edge of the plate and the edge of the partition wall recess holding the edge. Depending upon the position of the plate, the slit can be larger or smaller. This slit defines a bypass which is connected in parallel to the damping channel. Because of its uncontrollable size, the bypass influences the damping characteristics of the bearing in a nonreproducible manner.    (b) The plates act as floating pistons which are effective as structure-borne noise filters only when the plate does not lie on the one or the other of the displacement limits. Lying against the displacement limits is not only present when the acoustic amplitude is greater than or equal to the clear path of the plate but also when a quasi steady state uneven pressure distribution is present on both sides of the plate because of the flow resistance effective in the damping channel. More specifically, the plates are effective as structure-borne noise filters only under the above-mentioned limiting preconditions.
The invention is concerned with the use of membranes according to point (2) above.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,931 discloses an elastic bearing for supporting engines, machine assemblies, et cetera. A specifically configured decoupling membrane, which is reinforced at the periphery, is provided for improving the acoustic characteristics. This decoupling membrane has an edge which is clamped into a partition plate cutout and can move between limiting lattices within a clear path on both sides. Neither a radial prestressing is adjusted or has to be adjusted nor is a matching to a specific natural frequency or resonance frequency required so that it remains unclear, in detail, in which frequency range an acoustic improvement could function and if so, how.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,127 discloses a switchable hydraulic bearing which includes an annularly-shaped acoustic membrane whose reinforced edge is axially clamped at a partition plate cutout (see FIG. 5 of this patent). It is not explained in detail as to whether a matching of the membrane to specific frequencies or frequency ranges takes place.
German patent publication 196 50 230 likewise discloses a hydraulic bearing with an acoustic filter component. This filter component includes an additional compensating chamber which is closed off against the hydraulic chamber by a throttle membrane and is closed off relative to the (first) compensating chamber by an additional (second) compensating chamber membrane. A flow channel connects the second compensating chamber to the work chamber or to the first compensating chamber. With this acoustic filter component, it is intended that the increase of the dynamic spring rate to a second stiffness level is prevented. This increase is construction dependent in simple hydraulic bearings.

Acoustically decoupled hydraulic bearing


A pair of frameless eyeglasses includes a lens and two buckle members respectively and releasably mounted to two sides of the lens. Two hook members extend outward from each side of the lens. Each hook member includes a hook. Ea buckle member includes a compartment for receiving the hook members on an associated one of the sides of the lens. Each buckle member further includes two lateral sides. A slot is defined in each lateral side of each buckle member and in communication with the compartment. Each hook member is received in the compartment of an associated one of the buckle members, and each hook is releasably engaged with an edge defining an associated one of the slots.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buckle device for a pair of eyeglasses. More particularly, the present invention relates to a buckle device for a pair of frameless eyeglasses.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the societies that are changing fast and thus have more and more complicated relationships, eyeglasses not only provide eyesight assistance but also show the personal characteristics of the wearers. FIG. 1 of the drawings illustrates a pair of conventional frameless eyeglasses 1 including two lenses 11, two connecting members 12, and two temples 13. Each connecting member 12 has an end fixed by a screw 111 to an outer side of an associated lens 11. Each temple 13 is pivotally connected to the other end of an associated connecting member 12. Replacement of the lenses 11 is inconvenient and troublesome, as a tool such as a screwdriver is required for tightening/loosening the screws 111.


An electric storage device pressure regulating apparatus includes: a case in an internal portion of which is disposed a regulating chamber that communicates with a space in a vessel by an opening portion; a semipermeable membrane that seals the opening portion; a check valve that stops discharging of the gas out of the vessel from inside the regulating chamber when the internal pressure of the regulating chamber is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and that discharges the gas out of the vessel from inside the regulating chamber when the internal pressure of the regulating chamber exceeds the value; and a communicating pipe that communicates between a space inside the regulating chamber and a space inside the vessel and extends from the case to an electric storage device main body.

Conventionally, capacitors are known that have: a capacitor main body that is impregnated with an electrolytic solution; and a vessel that seals the capacitor main body. In capacitors of this kind, if gas is generated by the capacitor main body by charging and discharging the capacitor main body repeatedly, then there is a risk that internal pressure in the vessel gradually may rise, damaging the vessel.
Conventionally, in order to adjust the internal pressure of the vessel, capacitor pressure regulating apparatuses have been proposed that have: a gas venting valve that releases gas that is inside the vessel out of the vessel if the pressure inside the vessel exceeds a predetermined pressure, while preventing entry of external gas into the vessel; and a semipermeable film that is a porous membrane that covers the gas venting valve from inside the vessel, and that stops penetration of an electrolytic solution that is inside the vessel, while allowing the gas that is inside the vessel to permeate (see Patent Literature 1 and 2, for example).

Electric storage device pressure regulating apparatus and electric storage device


The present invention relates to methods of treating pruritic diseases, including but not limited to Contact dermatitis, Atopic Dermatitis, Drug induced delayed type cutaneous allergic reactions, Toxic epidermal necrolysis, Cutaneous T cell Lymphoma, Bullous pemphigoid, Alopecia wereata, Vitiligo, Acne Rosacea, Prurigo nodularis, Scleroderma, Herpes simplex virus, or combination thereof by administering IL-31 monoclonal antibodies. The invention further provides the hybridomas that generate the monoclonal antibodies.

The immune system hosts a wide range of specific cell types including lymphocytes. Lymphocytes determine the specificity of immune reaction in a host and include two classes, the B lymphocytes, which are precursors of antibody producing cells and the T lymphocytes, which are required for certain regulatory functions such as the development of specific immune responses.
Mature T cells may be activated, i.e., by an antigen or other stimulus, to produce, for example, cytokines, biochemical signaling molecules, or receptors that further influence the fate of the T cell population.
B cells can be activated via receptors on their cell surface including B cell receptor and other accessory molecules to perform accessory cell functions, such as production of cytokines.
Monocytes/macrophages and T-cells can be activated by receptors on their cell surface and play a central role in the immune response by presenting antigen to lymphocytes and also act as accessory cells to lymphocytes by secreting numerous cytokines.
Natural killer (NK) cells have a common progenitor cell with T cells and B cells, and play a role in immune surveillance. NK cells, which comprise up to 15% of blood lymphocytes, do not express antigen receptors, and therefore do not use MHC recognition as requirement for binding to a target cell. NK cells are involved in the recognition and killing of certain tumor cells and virally infected cells. In vivo, NK cells are believed to require activation, however, in vitro, NK cells have been shown to kill some types of tumor cells without activation.
The interleukins are a family of cytokines that mediate immunological responses, including inflammation. The interleukins mediate a variety of inflammatory pathologies. Central to an immune response are T cells, which produce many cytokines and adaptive immunity to antigens. Cytokines produced by T cells have been classified as type 1 and type 2 (Kelso, A. Immun. Cell Biol. 76:300-317, 1998). Type 1 cytokines include IL-2, IFN-γ, LT-α, and are involved in inflammatory responses, viral immunity, intracellular parasite immunity and allograft rejection. Type 2 cytokines include IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-13, and are involved in humoral responses, helminth immunity and allergic response. Shared cytokines between Type 1 and 2 include IL-3, GM-CSF and TNF-α. There is some evidence to suggest that Type 1 and Type 2 producing T cell populations preferentially migrate into different types of inflamed tissue.
The skin plays an important role in the immune system and consists of layers. The epidermis is a surface layer. Underneath the epidermis is the dermis, a layer of connective tissue. Underneath the dermis, is the hypodermis, a layer of large amounts of adipose tissue. Circulating T lymphocytes migrate to the skin under normal and inflammatory conditions. The cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA) is considered a homing receptor for T cells with tropism for the skin. Santamaria-Babi, L., Eur. J. Dermatol. 14:13-18, 2004.
Several diseases of the skin are known to express high levels of CLA+ T cells, including atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, drug-induced allergic reactions, skin-tropic viruses and viral associated pruritis, vitiligo, cutaneous T cell lymphoma, alopecia aerata, acne rosacea, acne vulgaris, prurigo nodularis, and bullous pemphigoid. There is a need to treat such skin T cell mediated diseases.
The demonstrated in vivo activities of the cytokine family illustrate the enormous clinical potential of, and need for, other cytokines, cytokine agonists, and cytokine antagonists. IL-31, a newly identified cytokine. IL-31, when over-expressed in mice, results in dermatitis-like symptoms. Both skin-homing T cells and epidermal kerationcytes have been implicated in the pathology of skin diseases in humans. The present invention addresses these needs by providing antagonists to pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-31. Such antagonists of the present invention, which may block, inhibit, reduce, antagonize or neutralize the activity of IL-31, include soluble IL-31RA receptors and neutralizing anti-IL-31 antibodies. The invention further provides uses therefor in inflammatory disease, as well as related compositions and methods.

Polynucleotides encoding IL-31 monoclonal antibodies


Disclosed here is a pulse welding control method and a pulse arc welding device capable of improving arc stability, and decreasing the amount of spatters. The structure contains arc short-circuit judging section (13) for judging a welding state; setting section (21) for defining parameters used for a short-circuit period and an arc period; secondary control section (25); and driving section (18). Secondary control section (25) sharply decreases welding current on detecting a moment when the tip of a wire has a neck just before recovery from the short circuit, according to at least any one of outputs from a welding current value detector, a welding voltage value detector, and the setting section. Driving section (18) selects from outputs of a pulse-waveform circuit section and a dip-waveform circuit section according to the signal from the setting section and the output from the arc short-circuit section, and outputs the selected data to a switching element.

In the welding industry, the need for accelerating welding speed and reducing the amount of spatters has intensified in recent years. The accelerated welding speed leads to increase in the volume of production in a fixed time. Similarly, the suppressed spatters eliminate the post-welding process for removing spatters from a work, thereby increasing productivity of welding.
Pulse welding output control has conventionally begun with the start of the output of pulse current. When an arc is properly provided with no short-circuit between a wire and a base metal after a predetermined second period that is shorter than a first period as a basic pulse interval, a pulse welding output controller feeds a successive pulse current according to the basic pulse interval.
On the other hand, when a short circuit occurs between the wire and the base material after the second period, the controller feeds a current having a speed lower than a pulse-rising speed of pulse current. When the short circuit between the wire and the base material is recovered, the controller feeds a current so as to be smaller than a pulse current and to be larger than a base current for a predetermined period. After that, the controller feeds the next pulse current. Suggestions on reducing spatters in welding have been made, and one of which is introduced in, for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. H01-266966.
Hereinafter will be described a pulse welding control in a conventional pulse arc welding device with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows a current waveform in a conventional output control in a conventional pulse arc welding device. FIG. 4 shows time in the horizontal direction and shows welding current in the vertical direction. FIG. 4 also shows first pulse intervals 101-1 and 101-2; short-circuit period 102 during which a short-circuited condition is maintained between a wire and a base material; and arc initial time (period) 103 for preparing a melted nugget for forming droplets after the short circuit is recovered.
At time 106—the end of basic pulse interval 101-2, the wire and the base material maintain a short-circuited condition. During short-circuit period 102 including time 106, a welding current controller maintains a short-circuit control. After the short circuit is recovered, the controller feeds arc current 105L—lower than peak current 105, and arc current 104H—higher than base current 104—in arc initial period 103 to prepare a melted nugget for forming droplets for next welding. After a lapse of arc initial period 103, the controller applies pulse current. Through the control above, spatters have been decreased.
To be more specific, according to a conventional pulse arc welding device, when a short circuit occurs, the output controller of the device carries out with a higher priority the short-circuit control by a dip-waveform circuit section (not shown), meanwhile the pulse control by a pulse-waveform circuit section is put into a standby mode. In this way, spatters have been reduced.
Such an output control of a conventional pulse arc welding device, however, has pending problems. For example, seeking for more accelerated welding speed (e.g., higher than 1.5 m/min.), with a high welding current (e.g., 250-350 A) maintained, causes undercut and humping. To avoid these inconveniencies, lower welding voltage is required. The lower setting of welding voltage not only prolongs the short-circuit period (from the occurrence of a short circuit until the short circuit is recovered), but also increases the amount of current supplied when the short circuit is recovered. The higher the welding current (for example, set at 300 amperes), the shorter the base period. Such a prolonged short-circuit period in the high current region of the basic pulse interval causes delay in pulse-starting time for the next pulse. This prevents a wire fed according to a defined welding current from having a proper melt, resulting in unstable arc condition.

Pulse arc welding control method and pulse arc welding device


The present disclosure relates to a computer-implemented method for processing video data. The method comprises receiving a user input corresponding to a first picture of the video data, generating, based on the user input, prediction information of the first picture with respect a reference picture of the video data, and encoding the first picture using the prediction information.

The video game industry, particularly, online video game industry has rapidly grown in recent years. As the current technology can support transmission of a large volume of data over a network in real time, e.g., video streaming service, network capacity is no longer a critical bottleneck in providing online game service in a cloud platform. Rather, encoding (e.g., compressing) processes to video content may be mainly responsible for latency in playing online video games. Therefore, efficient encoding of video data is important in providing online game service in a cloud platform.

Video encoding technique utilizing user guided information in cloud environment


The carriage has a main frame supported by caster wheels. A vertical mast is connected to a mounting stud on the main frame. A tubular sleeve is slideably mounted on the vertical mast and held in fixed positions by a pin. A winch fixed to the tubular sleeve has a winch cable that extends over a roller on top of the mast and has a hook that engages the sleeve to raise and lower the sleeve. A mounting stud on the sleeve receives an accessory base or cable guide pulley accessory. The accessory base receives adjustable attachments for supporting vehicle components such as doors, hoods, bumpers and trunk lids. The cable guide pulley guides the winch cable to pull dented sheet metal vertically or horizontally. The carriage is anchored in place, when pulling dented sheet metal, by a retainer.

The vehicle body repair tool is a multi-function tool for use while removing dents as well as removing and replacing vehicle body components.
Large frames are available which secure a vehicle body and pull on the body in various locations to substantially return the body to its original dimensions. Such frames are expensive, require substantial floor space in a building and have limited use.
Numerous tools for holding individual body parts are available. There are for example vehicle door jacks and transporters which hold and support a vehicle door while it is removed from a vehicle or reattached to a vehicle. There are also bumper jacks that hold a bumper while it is removed from or attached to a vehicle. These jacks for doors and bumpers are often employed due to the weight of doors and bumpers. Doors tend to be heavy due to side impact protective beams, glass, power window openers, and rear view mirrors. Bumpers tend to be heavy due to energy absorption devices and government regulations relating to bumper damage. Without the jacks mounted on wheels, three people may be required to reattach a door or a bumper to a vehicle.
Hoods and trunk lids are generally lighter than doors. However their size can make them difficult to handle. Three people should be used to mount a hood or a trunk lid on a vehicle to reduce the danger of damage to the vehicle as well as to the hood or trunk lid.
The use of dedicated tools for mounting doors, bumpers, hoods and trunk lids requires a large tool storage area. Each of the tools requires a dedicated jack or other lifting and supporting device thereby adding substantial cost when two or more tools are required.
The vehicle body repair tool includes a carriage having a main frame. A plurality of wheels are attached to and support the main frame. A mast mounting structure is provided on the main frame. A mast is connected to the mast mounting structure and extends generally vertically upward from the carriage. A first tubular sleeve is slideably mounted on the mast and is vertically movable relative to the mast. A winch assembly is fixed to the first tubular sleeve. An accessory mount is provided on the first tubular sleeve. A mast roller is mounted on top of the mast. A winch cable extends upward over the mast roller and has an end hook that is connectable to the first tubular sleeve. The winch assembly is operable to move the first tubular sleeve vertically along the mast. A first sleeve retainer holds the first tubular sleeve in a selected vertical position on the mast and frees the winch cable and end hook. An accessory is attached to the accessory mount on the first tubular sleeve.
The accessory attached to the accessory mount can be a vehicle hood support and holder, a vehicle bumper holder or a vehicle door holder. All of these holders have a vertically adjustable member and a horizontally adjustable member connected to the first tubular sleeve.
The accessory attached to the accessory mount can also be a cable guide pulley holder. The cable guide pulley holder can position the free end of the winch cable to exert a generally horizontal force on a vehicle body. The cable guide pulley holder may also position the free end of the winch cable to exert a generally vertical force on a vehicle body. When exerting a vertical or horizontal force on a vehicle body, the carriage is anchored in place by a retainer with an outside tubular member that is anchored by the weight of the vehicle.


There is provided a stamp-making method and apparatus therefor for making a square or circular stamp which can be accurately imprinted with reference to a top-indicating mark provided thereon, without discriminating the orientation of the stamp image engraved on the stamp surface thereof. There is formed first direction-oriented image data having each of a plurality of component elements of plate-making image data oriented in a first direction. When it is detected that it is difficult to discriminate orientation of the stamp body having the mark without reference to the mark, an instruction is given for arranging the image data in a manner oriented in a second direction. According to the instruction, the first direction-oriented image data is converted to a second direction-oriented image data in which the component elements of the plating-making image data are oriented in the second direction. A stamp body is engraved by the use of the second direction-oriented image data to thereby make a stamp.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of making a stamp by engraving a stamp image oriented in a different direction from an ordinary one on a stamp body orientation of which is difficult to discriminate, such as one of a square stamp and one of a circular stamp, and an apparatus therefor.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, a stamp-making apparatus engraves a stamp image on a stamp body loaded in a pocket formed in a body of the apparatus. The stamp body is set in the pocket with a longer side of a stamp surface thereof on the bottom of the pocket due to limitations of the shape of the pocket, and accordingly, images to be engraved in the stamp body, such as letters, figures, and symbols, are also mainly written or formed laterally, i.e. in lateral lines. Further, the stamp body is printed with a mark indicative of a top side of the stamp surface, and this mark is utilized in imprinting a stamp on an object. On the other hand, when a stamp body is to be engraved with vertical lines of images to obtain a vertically-written stamp, it is also set with a longer side of a stamp surface thereof on the bottom of the pocket due to the above limitations. Then, images of the stamp to be engraved in the stamp body, such as images of letters, formed in lateral lines, are each rotated anticlockwise through 90 degrees and arranged in order from left to right, whereby lines of characters which should be stamped vertically for being read from top to bottom of each line are realized. It should be noted that throughout the specification including claims appended hereto, the term "vertically-written" means that characters including letters and symbols (or their images) are arranged in a line or lines which should be read from top to bottom (or head to tail) of each line after they are set vertically for reading, as found in Japanese or Chinese writing.
When the vertically-written stamp has a larger vertical dimension, it is easy to discriminate the orientation of the stamp, so that the above-mentioned mark need not be utilized to avoid an erroneous lateral orientation of the stamp before imprinting a stamp. On the other hand, in the case of a vertically-written square stamp, it is difficult to discriminate the proper orientation of the stamp from its shape, and hence the above mark is necessary. Conventional vertically-written square stamps are, however, orientated sideways with respect to a direction indicated by the mark as can be understood from the above. That is, the mark is positioned at a side of the vertical lines of stamp image. Therefore, if such a conventional vertically-written square stamp is used to imprint a stamp on an object with reference to the mark in the same manner as a laterally-written square stamp, the stamp formed is oriented sideways. Therefore, users are required to carefully discriminate between vertically-written square stamps and laterally-written square stamps before applying them onto an object, and they are troublesome and not easy to use. Further, in the case of a circular stamp, there is not only a possibility of an imprinted stamp image being oriented laterally, but also a high possibility of the imprinted stamp image being orientated in a different angle from a proper one, so that it is still more necessary to provide a mark on a stamp, which serves an accurate indication of the top side of a stamp surface of the stamp.


A decision feedback equalizer is configured to equalize an input signal to generate a recovered output signal. Linear feed-forward filter circuitry is configured to provide a linearly filtered output signal based on the input signal. Composite trellis decoder circuitry configured to process a combined signal that is based on a combination of at least the linearly feed-forward filtered output signal and on output of linear or non-linear feedback filter circuitry, in accordance with state metrics generated by processing a composite trellis diagram relative to the combined signal, to provide a trellis-decoded output signal as input to the linear or non-linear feedback filter circuitry. The composite trellis decoder circuitry is further configured to provide a particular phase output of the combined signal, based on the state metrics, as the decoded output signal.

A conventional decision feedback equalizer system 100 is shown as FIG. 1. An input digital signal r(n) 102 is a trellis-encoded communication signal, such as a signal that is trellis-encoded according to an ATSC standard. The input digital signal r(n) 102 of equalizer system 100 is typically multipath contaminated. The multipath contamination is caused by multiple signal propagation paths. Multipath contamination is typically a primary contributor to intersymbol interference in information carried within a communication signal.
The input digital signal 102 is provided to a feed-forward linear filter (FFE) 104. After passing the FFE 104, the thus-filtered input signal 106 can be represented as Y(n) by the formula shown in Equation (1):Y(n)=dn+nn+isin  (1)In Equation (1), dn is the data to be recovered from the input digital signal 102, nn is white noise in the input digital signal 102, and isin is the inter-symbol-interference component of the input digital signal 102. The inter-symbol-interference component is nominally cancelled out by the decision feedback filter (DFE) 108. In FIG. 1, the DFE input 110 comes from a simple slicer 112. However, phase jitter in the output of the FFE 104 reduces the effectiveness of the DFE output in canceling out the inter-symbol-interference in the FFE 104 output.

Decision feedback equalization with composite trellis slicer


The present invention is directed to a enhanced Precomputed Radiance Transfer (PRT) system employing an algorithm to compute a PRT signal over a surface mesh and subdividing facets of the mesh to increase the number of surface vertices such that the spatial variation of the transfer signal is resolved sufficiently everywhere on the surface. The method of this system ensures that radiance transfer shading produces colors of sufficient accuracy all over the surface. In certain embodiments, transfer is computed only at surface vertices, although this does result in a certain amount of acceptable aliasing and blurring of surface lighting detail in regions where the tessellation is too coarse. Furthermore, the method comprises a spatial and density sampling techniques that measures the transfer signal to a desirable appropriate resolution while minimizing aliasing. Once computed, the signal is represented as compactly as possible to minimize storage and runtime computation requirements.

In regard to computer-generated three-dimensional graphics objects existing in natural lighting environments, properly representing lighting from area sources, soft shadows, and interreflections are important effects in realistic image synthesis. Unfortunately, general methods in the art for integrating over large-scale lighting environments, including Monte Carlo ray tracing, radiosity, and multi-pass rendering that sums over multiple point light sources, are all impractical for real-time rendering. Real-time, realistic global illumination encounters three difficulties: (a) it must model the complex, spatially-varying Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDFs) of real materials (that is, the BRDF complexity); (b) it requires integration over the hemisphere of lighting directions at each point (light integration); and (c) it must account for bouncing/occlusion effects, like shadows, due to intervening matter along light paths from sources to receivers (light transport complexity). As known and appreciated by those of skill in the art, existing developments in the art have largely focused on extending BRDF complexity (e.g., glossy and anisotropic reflections) and solving the light integration problem by representing incident lighting as a sum of directions or points. Light integration thus tractably reduces to sampling an analytic or tabulated BRDF at a few points, but becomes intractable for large light sources. Other existing methods samples radiance and preconvolves it with kernels of various sizes to solves the light integration problem, but these methods ignore light transport complexities like shadows since the convolution assumes the incident radiance is unoccluded and unscattered. Finally, a handful of additional methods exist to simulate more complex light transport, especially shadows, but light integration is as problem and these techniques are impractical for very large light sources.
An improved method that has recently emerged for solving many of these problems in preexisting methods is Precomputed Radiance Transfer (PRT), which is a method for real-time rendering of diffuse and glossy objects in low-frequency lighting environments that captures soft shadows, interreflections, and caustics. As a preprocess, a global transport simulator creates functions over the object's surface representing transfer of arbitrary, low-frequency incident lighting into transferred radiance which includes global effects like shadows and interreflections from the object onto itself. At run-time, these transfer functions are applied to actual incident lighting. Dynamic, local lighting is handled by sampling it close to the object every frame, and the object can also be rigidly rotated with respect to the lighting (and vice versa). Lighting and transfer functions are represented using low-order spherical harmonics, which avoids aliasing, and evaluates efficiently on graphics hardware by reducing the shading integral to a dot product of, say, nine (9) to twenty-five (25) element vectors for diffuse receivers. Glossy objects are handled using matrices rather than vectors. The method also implements functions for radiance transfer from a dynamic lighting environment through a preprocessed object to neighboring points in space. These allow soft shadows and caustics from rigidly moving objects to be cast onto arbitrary, dynamic receivers in order to provide real-time global lighting effects.
PRT better accounts for light integration and light transport complexity in real-time, particularly in low frequency lighting environments by using this low-order, spherical harmonic (SH) basis to represent environments efficiently. The foundational approach of the PRT method is to represent how an object scatters this light onto itself or its neighboring space. In general, the technique of the PRT method assumes initially to have a convex, diffuse object lit by an infinitely distant environment map. The object's shaded "response" to its environment can be viewed as a transfer function, mapping incoming to outgoing radiance, which in this case simply performs a cosine-weighted integral. A more complex integral captures how a concave object shadows itself, where the integrand is multiplied by an additional transport factor representing visibility along each direction. The PRT approach is to precompute for a given object the expensive transport simulation required by complex transfer functions like shadowing. The resulting transfer functions are represented as a dense set of vectors or matrices over its surface. Meanwhile, incident radiance need not be precomputed as the graphics hardware can dynamically sample incident radiance at a number of points—analytic models, such as skylight models or simple geometries like circles, can also be used. By representing both incident radiance and transfer functions in a linear basis (in this case, SH), the method exploit the linearity of light transport to reduce the light integral to a simple dot product between their coefficient vectors (diffuse receivers) or a simple linear transform of the lighting coefficient vector through a small transfer matrix (glossy receivers). Low-frequency lighting environments require few coefficients—again, ranging from nine (9) to twenty-five (25) coefficients—to enable graphics hardware to compute the result in a single pass. Thus, unlike the Monte-Carlo ray tracing technique and multi-pass light integration methods, the run-time computation of the PRT method stays constant no matter how many or how big the light sources may be, and in fact the method actually benefits from large-scale, smooth lighting to limit the number of SH coefficients necessary.
The PRT method represents complex transport effects like interreflections and caustics in the transfer function. Since these are simulated as a preprocess, only the transfer function's basis coefficients are affected, not the run-time computation. This approach handles both surface and volume-based geometry. In addition to transfer from a rigid object to itself, called self-transfer, the technique can be generalized to neighborhood-transfer from a rigid object to its neighboring space, allowing cast soft shadows, glossy reflections, and caustics on dynamic receivers.
As a preprocess, a global illumination simulator is run over the model that captures how it shadows and scatters light onto itself. The result is recorded as a dense set of vectors (diffuse case) or matrices (glossy case) over the model. At run-time, incident radiance is first projected to the SH basis. The model's field of transfer vectors or matrices is then applied to the lighting's coefficient vector. If the object is diffuse, a transfer vector at each point on the object is dotted with the lighting's coefficients to produce correctly self-scattered shading. If the object is glossy, a transfer matrix is applied to the lighting coefficients to produce the coefficients of a spherical function representing self-scattered incident radiance at each point. This function is convolved with the object's BRDF and then evaluated at the view-dependent reflection direction to produce the final shading.
To supplement this brief description of the PRT approach, more information on PRT can be found in "Precomputed Radiance Transfer for Real-Time Rendering in Dynamic, Low-Frequency Lighting Environments" by Peter-Pike Sloan, Jan Kautz, and John Snyder (SIGGRAPH, July 2002), a copy of which is included as Appendix A hereto and the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Despite the benefits of the existing PRT method, however, convex unshadowed regions will exhibit less spatial variation—and hence require fewer samples—than areas near blockers casting sharp shadows, and heretofore PRT has not accounted for the benefits of spatial sampling density. Also, while a true transfer may have very high frequency content—such as a sharp visibility horizon caused by blockers, or a bright point caused by caustic focusing effects—there is typically greater interest in the lowest frequency components of the signal. What is needed in the art is an enhanced PRT method that better accounts for both spatial and density characteristics.

Systems and methods for robust sampling for real-time relighting of objects in natural lighting environments


The present invention is directed to a process for the preparation of an aqueous dispersion containing both a blocked polyisocyanate and a polyhydroxyl compound by reacting an aqueously dispersed polyisocyanate having an isocyanate content of at least 12% by weight, based on the weight of the polyisocyanate, with a monofunctional blocking agent which is more reactive with isocyanate groups than water at an equivalent ratio of monofunctional blocking groups to isocyanate groups of 0.5:1 to 2:1 in the presence of a polyhydroxyl compound which is either water soluble or water dispersible, wherein the polyhydroxyl compound is present in an amount which is sufficient to provide an equivalent ratio of hydroxyl groups to blocked isocyanate groups of 0.6:1 to 1.25:1.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an improved process for the preparation of aqueous dispersions containing both blocked polyisocyanates and polyhydroxyl compounds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,522,851, 4,098,933 and 4,284,544 are directed to the preparation of blocked polyisocyanates which are subsequently dispersed in water and used as crosslinkers for isocyanate-reactive compounds. The disadvantage of blocking the polyisocyanate before it is dispersed in water is that the blocked polyisocyanate is generally a solid or a high viscosity liquid which is very difficult or impossible to disperse in water without first diluting the blocked polyisocyanate in an organic solvent or heating the blocked polyisocyanate to an elevated temperature to reduce its viscosity.
Because one of the primary reasons for dispersing polyurethanes and polyisocyanates in water is to avoid the unnecessary use of organic solvents, it is certainly not desirable to have to dilute the blocked polyisocyanate with an organic solvent in order to reduce its viscosity sufficiently to disperse it in water. In addition, the extra energy costs and time which are necessary to heat the blocked polyisocyanate to an elevated temperature to reduce its viscosity are also undesirable.
It is possible to overcome these difficulties in accordance with copending application, Ser. No. 07/734,708, which discloses dispersing the polyisocyanate in water prior to reacting the polyisocyanate with a blocking agent which is more reactive with isocyanate groups than water, most preferably an oxime. The copending application also discloses the addition of isocyanate-reactive compounds for reaction with the isocyanate groups of the blocked polyisocyanate after release of the blocking agent, provided that they are added after the blocking reaction is complete. It is disclosed that these isocyanate-reactive compounds should be added after the blocking reaction. Otherwise, their presence could interfere with the reaction between the isocyanate groups and the blocking agent.
Therefore, one of the disadvantages of the process disclosed in the copending application is the need for an additional mixing step to blend the isocyanate-reactive compounds with the blocked polyisocyanate.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to is provide a process for preparing an aqueous dispersion of a blocked polyisocyanate in combination with a co-reactant which does not require an additional mixing step.
Surprisingly, this object may be achieved in accordance with the present invention as described hereinafter.

Process for the preparation of aqueous dispersions containing both blocked polyisocyanates and polyhydroxyl compounds


A method and apparatus for cleaning a cavity of a vacuum insulated glass window assembly is provided in which a cleaning gas mixture of or including ozone is introduced into the cavity of the vacuum insulated glass assembly and allowed to react with residual materials, such as, for example, hydrocarbons and/or polymers. Reacted hydrocarbons and/or polymers are then removed from the vacuum cavity along with any residual cleaning gas mixture. The cleaning method is preferably performed at substantially ambient temperatures or at least temperatures below about 250° C. The ozone cleaning cycle may be repeated multiple times and followed by additional purges with other gases, such as for example nitrogen. Additional energy may be provided by heating, RF plasma; corona discharge, UV lamp, and/or the like.

Vacuum insulating glass (VIG) units typically include at least two spaced apart glass substrates that enclose an evacuated or low-pressure space/cavity therebetween. The substrates are interconnected by a peripheral edge seal and typically include spacers between the glass substrates to maintain spacing between the glass substrates and to avoid collapse of the glass substrates that may be caused due to the low pressure environment that exists between the substrates. Some example VIG configurations are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,664,395, 5,657,607 and 5,902,652, the disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a typical VIG unit 1 and elements that form the VIG unit 1. For example, VIG unit 1 may include two spaced apart glass substrates 2, 3, which enclose an evacuated low-pressure space/cavity 6 therebetween. Glass sheets or substrates 2,3 are interconnected by a peripheral edge seal 4 which may be made of fused solder glass, for example. An array of support pillars/spacers 5 may be included between the glass substrates 2, 3 to maintain the spacing of substrates 2, 3 of the VIG unit 1 in view of the low-pressure space/gap present between the substrates 2, 3.
A pump-out tube 8 may be hermetically sealed by, for example, solder glass 9 to an aperture/hole 10 that passes from an interior surface of one of the glass substrates 2 to the bottom of a recess 11 in the exterior surface of the glass substrate 2. A vacuum is attached to pump-out tube 8 to evacuate the interior cavity 6 to a low pressure, for example, using a sequential pump down operation. After evacuation of the cavity 6, the tube 8 is melted to seal the vacuum. Recess 11 retains the sealed pump-out tube 8. Optionally, a chemical getter 12 may he included within a recess 13 that is disposed in an interior face of one of the glass substrates, e.g., glass substrate 2. The chemical getter 12 may be used to absorb or hind with certain residual impurities that may remain after the cavity 6 is evacuated and sealed.
VIG units with fused solder glass peripheral edge seals 4 are typically manufactured by depositing glass frit, in a solution (e.g., frit paste), around the periphery of substrate 2. This glass frit paste ultimately forms the glass solder edge seal 4. A second substrate 3 is brought down on substrate 2 so as to sandwich spacers/pillars 5 and the glass frit solution between the two substrates 2, 3. The entire assembly including the glass substrates 2, 3, the spacers or pillars 5 and the seal material (e.g., glass fit in solution or paste), is then heated to a temperature of at least about 500° C., at which point the glass frit melts, wets the surfaces of the glass substrates 2, 3, and ultimately forms a hermetic peripheral or edge seal 4.
After formation of the edge seal 4, a vacuum is drawn via the pump-out tube 8 to form low pressure space/cavity 6 between the substrates 2, 3, The pressure in space 6 may be produced by way of an evacuation process to a level below atmospheric pressure, e.g., below about 10−2 Torr. To maintain the low pressure in the space/cavity 6, substrates 2, 3 are hermetically sealed. Small high strength spacers/pillars 5 are provided between the substrates to maintain separation of the approximately parallel substrates against atmospheric pressure. As noted above, once the space 6 between substrates 2, 3 is evacuated, the pump-out tube 8 may be sealed, for example, by melting using a laser or the like.
As a result of the process used to manufacture the VIG, including those used to form the seal 4 discussed above, residual hydrocarbons and/or polymers, such as, for example, solvents and binders used for making the frit paste that ultimately forms the seal between the transparent glass substrates of the VIG unit, may remain in the vacuum cavity. It is desirable to remove these residuals, as they have a potentially damaging effect on the VIG unit over time. For example, residual hydrocarbons and/or polymers may contaminate the vacuum cavity after the VIG is sealed (e.g., by producing volatile COX gases that degrade vacuum levels), and thereby continuously degrade the insulating value (e.g., R-value) of the VIG unit. The residual hydrocarbons may also react with coatings, such as, for example, a low-E coating that may be present on an interior surface of one of the glass substrates that form the vacuum cavity, further damaging performance of the VIG unit.
As mentioned above, VIG units with fused solder glass edge seals 4 are typically manufactured by depositing glass frit, in a solution (e.g., frit paste), around the periphery of substrate 2. This glass frit ultimately forms the glass solder seal 4. A second substrate 3 is brought down on substrate 2 so as to sandwich spacers/pillars 5 and the glass frit solution between the two substrates 2, 3. The entire assembly including the glass substrates 2, 3, the spacers/pillars 5 and the seal material (e.g., glass frit in solution), is then heated to a temperature of at least about 500° C., at which point the glass frit melts, wets the surfaces of the glass substrates 2, 3, and ultimately forms a hermetic seal 4. An advantage of providing this high-temperature processing is that much of the residual hydrocarbon and/or polymer compounds, such as, for example, the binders and solvents used to make the frit paste for the solder glass seal 4, are oxidized or burned off during this process and are then removed from the vacuum cavity prior to sealing.
However, a new class of materials are being developed for use in forming hermetic edge seals for VIG units. For example, a vanadium inclusive seal composition is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/354,963, entitled, "Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Filler for Vanadium-Based Frit Materials and/or Methods of Making and/or Using the Same," filed Jan. 20, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. These new seal compositions may sometimes be referred to as VBZ (e.g., vanadium, barium, zinc) based compositions. These vanadium inclusive and/or VBZ type seal compositions provide certain advantages over other known seal compositions. However, when using VBZ type seal compositions, a lower temperature sealing thermal profile is used to maintain the desired temper of the glass of the VIG unit because VBZ compositions have a lower firing temperature (e.g., <250° C.) than certain other conventional glass frit compositions used to form seals in VIG units. One example reason for using lower firing temperatures to make VIG units using, for example, a VBZ seal, is that VBZ seal compositions may begin to soften at the higher temperatures (e.g., 300° C.-350° C.). As a result of this softening, gases being evolved during the burning of residual carbon compounds become entrapped in the VBZ material. This causes expansion of the softened VBZ material and results in a porous glass having insufficient strength and which cannot hold a vacuum. The lower thermal profile used to form a VBZ type seal is such that the normal high-temperature burn out procedure described above regarding fused solder glass seals 4 to oxidize and burn off residual hydrocarbons and polymers cannot be used. The lower seal curing temperature(s) used to cure/form the edge seal, when the seal is made of a vanadium inclusive and/or VBZ material, are insufficient to provide acceptable burn off of residual hydrocarbons and polymers.
Therefore, what is needed is a lower temperature method to rapidly decompose the residual hydrocarbons and/or polymers in the cavity of the VIG unit in at least situations that use lower temperature profile edge seal compositions, such as, for example, and without limitation, vanadium based and/or VBZ, type seal compositions. As discussed above, with the development of newer seal compositions, such as, for example, and without limitation, vanadium based and/or VBZ type seal compositions, a new lower temperature sealing thermal profile is generally used to maintain desired temper strength of the glass substrates of the VIG unit and/or to maintain the structural stability and vacuum maintaining properties of the resulting seal. As further noted above, the lower temperature cycle is not typically sufficient to sufficiently remove and/or burn off a sufficient amount of residual hydrocarbons and polymers, such as, for example, and without limitation, from the solvent and binder materials used for making the edge seal paste. The hydrocarbon and/or polymer residue in the interior of the VIG vacuum cavity may contaminate the vacuum once the VIG unit is sealed, and may further degrade various coatings that may be present on interior surfaces of the glass substrates used in the VIG units. For example, in certain instances residual carbon that coats the internal surface of the glass substrate(s) may remain, such as, for example, with a thin monolayer of hydrocarbons and binder polymer. This carbon residue may detach from the interior surface of the glass over time and decompose under ultraviolet radiation of sunlight and produce volatile, for example, COX gases which degrade the vacuum levels and adversely decrease the insulating value (e.g., R-value) of the VIG unit. Additionally, the residual carbons may, over time, react with coatings on the interior glass surface, such as, for example, low-E coatings, further degrading performance of the VIG unit.
To solve these and/or other drawbacks, a new cleaning process to remove residual hydrocarbon compounds is disclosed and described herein with reference to certain example embodiments. For example, according to certain example embodiments, including ozone (O3) as a component of a purge gas used during initial pump down has been found to oxidize carbon compounds and convert them to more volatile CO and/or CO2 that may then be easily removed through sequential pump down operations and may be even further diluted by optional sequential N2 purging and a final deep vacuum pull down. The removal of these residual carbon compounds enhances the overall performance of VIG units by, for example, and without limitation, enhancing the overall insulating value (e.g., R-value), imimproving the useful life of the VIG unit and/or reducing degradation of optional coatings that may be used on an interior surface of the glass substrates of the VIG unit.
According to certain example embodiments, an example method of decomposing residual carbon for removal from the vacuum cavity of a VIG window unit is provided, wherein at least an ozone (O3) and oxygen (O2) gas mixture is introduced into the VIG vacuum cavity during and/or before an initial stage of a vacuum pump down process. According to certain example embodiments, a small percentage of O3, such as, for example, and without limitation, in a range of about from 5-10 wt. % ozone, is generated using, for example, an ozone generator using air and/or pure oxygen. The resulting O3/O2 mixture is then introduced into the vacuum cavity of the VIG under reduced pressure, allowed to react with the residual hydrocarbons and/or polymers, and then removed from the cavity by, for example, a vacuum pump. A cycle of O3/O2 purges may be repeated as necessary to reduce the contaminants to suitable or acceptable levels. Example acceptable contaminant levels may be, for example, and without limitation, from about 10E-12 or lower. It will he understood that acceptable contaminant levels may be determined or selected by the manufacturer.
It is also noted that the ozonization of the vacuum cavity of the VIG unit described above may performed at substantially ambient temperatures thereby avoiding the disadvantages and problems associated with high-temperature processing, especially for example when using newer seal compositions, such as, for example, vanadium inclusive and/or VBZ type seal compositions. It may sometimes be the case that additional energy may be used to facilitate and/or improve the carbon removal achieved by the ozonization process described above. Thus, it is contemplated that additional energy in the form of, for example, and without limitation, elevated temperatures (remaining below levels that might adversely affect the seal composition; e.g., remaining below about 250 degrees C.), radio frequency (RF) plasma, corona discharge (electric fields), UV lamp, and/or the like, may be used to increase reaction rates of the residual hydrocarbons and/or polymers and the ozone.
According to certain further example embodiments, the resulting trace amounts of volatile carbons that may remain, even after an ozonization process such as, for example, may be further diluted by sequential N2 purging and/or a final deep vacuum pull down. Using an ozonization process along the lines described by way of example above, facilitates removal of residual carbon compounds, improves the overall lifetime of a VIG window unit, provides a more stable and predictable R-value and helps maintain coatings that may be present on the surface of the glass substrate in the vacuum cavity.
These and other advantages are provided by a method for cleaning a vacuum cavity of a VIG window unit comprising: providing a vacuum insulated glass window unit including a vacuum cavity; generating a cleaning gas mixture comprising ozone; pumping the cleaning gas mixture comprising ozone into the vacuum cavity of the vacuum insulated glass window unit; maintaining the cleaning gas mixture comprising ozone in the vacuum cavity of the vacuum insulate glass window unit for a dwell time; and removing compounds created by a reaction of the cleaning gas mixture, and residual cleaning gas from the vacuum cavity.
According to certain example embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising: an ozone generator; a bi-directional pump operatively coupled to said ozone generator and operatively coupled to a pump-out tube, said pump-out tube providing access to a cavity between first and second substrates; and a gas source providing a gas including oxygen to the ozone generator, wherein said bi-directional pump pumping the cleaning gas mixture comprising ozone generated by the ozone generator into the cavity, maintaining the cleaning gas mixture comprising ozone in the cavity for a predetermined dwell time, and removing compounds created by reaction of the cleaning gas mixture and residual cleaning gas from the cavity
These and other embodiments and advantages are described herein with respect to certain example embodiments and with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

Method and apparatus for making vacuum insulated glass (VIG) window unit including cleaning cavity thereof


A medical diagnostic device includes a wirelessly transmitted time data receiver and processor. Associated devices, methods and functionality are also described.

In this specification where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.
Currently, glucose monitors typically include a clock function that allows the device to mark each individual glucose measurement with a timestamp. As the user tests with the device over a period of time, the time data collected and the associated glucose values are used by the patient and their care givers to create charts of glucose measurements. This set of data can be used to adjust patient medication or as a tool to gauge effectiveness of current treatments.
A flaw in current systems is that they are dependent on the users to correctly set the time. Setting the time on a glucose meter is not always a straight forward task and many of the users of glucose meters are older and/or not technologically savvy. It is also very likely that many users of glucose meters are not even aware that they should be setting the time on their devices. The difficulty in correctly setting the time results in many glucose meters collecting inaccurate data that is not useable by patient or caregiver.
A problem with episodic glucose monitoring is that patients only get a snapshot of their current blood glucose. They must make treatment decisions using that snapshot, rather than using dynamic information that more accurately reflects their condition.
For example, if a patient tests and finds that their blood glucose is low, they may decide to take in some carbohydrates to raise their blood sugar. However, it may be that their glucose is already rising, in which case they may not need as much, or any carbohydrates.
Conversely, a patient may test and find that their blood glucose is at a desirable level, not realizing that their glucose is actually rapidly dropping. In this case they will probably decide not to intake any carbohydrates, when in reality they may face a hypoglycemic event soon if they don't act.
It would be desirable for the glucose meter to be able to forecast what direction and how quickly glucose levels are changing. This would allow the user to more accurately treat themselves, thus reducing the likelihood of hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic events.
In order to do such forecasting, at least two things are required: enough historical data in order to predict future trends; and accurate time-stamping information associated with those historical glucose results.


A helmet stabilization system and apparatus for reducing the incidence of whiplash and neck injuries while wearing a helmet, such as in contact sports. The invention includes a helmet mount; a base mount configured for attachment to a shoulder harness; and a flex rod interconnectable between the helmet mount and the base mount. The flex rod, when interconnected between the helmet mount and the base mount provides a resistance to an extension or a compression sequence responsive to a contact imparted on the helmet. An oobleck may be provided in a coupling between the flex rod and the base mount to permit voluntary head movements of the user and to provide a resistance responsive to an impact force.

The present invention relates to protective equipment for contact sports and, more particularly, for helmets in contact and helmeted sports.
In many contact sports, such as football, lacrosse, and hockey, players typically wear a protective helmet and shoulder pad assembly. While a helmet provides the athletes significant protection from impact injury, the increased weight of the helmet carried on the players can also contribute to the incidence of neck injuries with whiplash effects. Moreover, the increased circumferential dimensions of the helmet about the athlete's head provides an extended fulcrum upon which forces encountered during play of the contact sport may contribute to the incidence of neck injuries. These injuries can be exacerbated where the helmet is only retained to the athlete's head by a chinstrap with out stabilization.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved helmet stabilization apparatus to reduce the incidence of injury in contact sports.


Embodiments of the invention include methods and apparatus to reduce or prevent bridging in an ice storage bin. In one embodiment, a storage bin for ice with an apparatus to reduce or prevent bridging within the ice storage bin is provided. The apparatus can include a probe hole positioned above an access door and opening, and also above an internal baffle. The probe hole can be sized to receive a probe used to break up bridges or clumps of ice within the ice storage bin.

Ice has long been used for various commercial and domestic demands. In the domestic context, ice making machines and storage bins are typically located in a freezer portion of a refrigerator or in a free-standing freezer. These domestic ice machines and storage bins are typically designed to hold only a relatively small amount of ice.
In the commercial context, there is typically a need for greater quantities of ice than in the domestic context. Some examples of commercial uses of ice include beverage and ice machines at restaurants, convenience stores, or hotels, but there are many other examples that require relatively large quantities of ice. In the commercial context ice can be stored in generous quantities within a relatively large bin, such as the bins described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,887,758 and 4,903,866. Relatively large quantities of ice can be stored in the bin and there is typically an access opening to provide a user access to the ice. Also, bins typically have a baffle or other means to prevent the ice from spilling out of the bin.
Several types of access openings are known in the art. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-238917 has a hinged door that swings outward from the storage bin and away from the ice stored inside the bin. On the other hand, some ice storage bins have hinged doors that swing inward towards the ice.
Also, there are several types of baffles known in the art. A baffle is a device as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-238917 that protrudes into the storage bin and baffles ice away from or otherwise directs ice to particular portions of the bin. When ice is subsequently removed from the storage bin, ice that was previously located behind or on top of the baffle can flow towards the baffle, and such ice can be baffled away from or otherwise directed to particular portions of the bin.
A difficulty in holding large quantities of ice in a storage bin is the propensity of the ice to "bridge" over time, making it difficult to dispense the ice from the storage bin. That is, when ice is stored in a large bin, some of the ice might melt slightly and then re-freeze in clumps, also called bridges. For example, ice might melt if some inner surfaces of the bin are at a relatively higher temperature than other inner surfaces of the bin. When the ice melts, liquid can form on the surface of the ice. In some instances, the liquid can re-freeze, causing the ice to become stuck together in clumps, thereby bridging. When ice bridges, the ice becomes more difficult to dispense from the storage bin.
Typically ice bridges can be broken up by stabbing or poking the bridge with a blunt object, such as an ice scoop or the user's hand. This solution can cause sanitary problems, however, if the blunt object is dirty and contaminates the ice. Ice bridging can be problematic when the ice bridges or otherwise forms on top of an internal baffle within the storage bin. In this situation, the bridge cannot be broken up because the baffle may prevent the user from reaching or otherwise contacting the ice bridge, for example, with a blunt object. In these instances, the ice bridge can prevent or otherwise inhibit ice from being dispensed or accessed from within the storage bin. In other instances, ice bridges could cause structural damage to the baffle or other internal storage bin components.

Methods and apparatus to reduce or prevent bridging in an ice storage bin


A semiconductor device includes a plurality of switching elements electrically connected in parallel with each other, a control unit that outputs a control signal for controlling a current supplied to each of the switching elements, and a temperature estimation unit that estimates a temperature difference between the switching elements. When an estimated temperature difference becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold temperature, the control unit shifts an operation mode to a stop mode for stopping driving of a switching element having a temperature higher than the other.

In a semiconductor device that allows a relatively large current, which cannot be driven by one power switching element, a technique of driving power switching elements connected in parallel to each other has been employed. However, in the power switching elements connected in parallel to each other, even if the element types are different or the element types are the same, a larger current may flow into one of the power switching elements than the other power switching element due to a difference in threshold voltage or on-resistance.


A laminated fibrous structure comprising at least two fibrous sheets and a method for manufacturing same are provided. At least one, and preferably two, of the fibrous sheets may be embossed. The sheets are movably joined together in a face-to-face relationship to form a laminated structure such that the sheets are able to move relative each other during the use of the laminated structure by a consumer, without tearing or separation of any one of the sheets comprising the laminated structure. The sheets comprising the laminated structure may be movably joined by using a bonding material, by mechanically engaging upstanding fibers created on the interfacing surfaces of the sheets, or by a combination of the bonding material and engaging the upstanding fibers.

Laminated fibrous structures and methods for their manufacturing are well known in the papermaking art. Laminated fibrous structures are created by a variety of ways, including embossing two or more individual fibrous sheets (also called plies or laminae) and adhesively joining them together. The resulting laminates have been employed for a variety of products ranging from packaging and construction materials to household paper products, such as paper tissues, table napkins, place mats, paper towels, and the like.
To perform their intended tasks and to find wide acceptance, the household laminated paper products must exhibit certain physical characteristics. A typical consumer desires the household paper product to have a high quality cloth-like appearance, a relatively thick caliper, and an aesthetically pleasing pattern. All of these physical characteristics must be provided without sacrificing the other desired qualities of strength, softness, and absorbency of the paper product.
Strength is the ability of a paper web to retain its physical integrity during use.
Softness is the pleasing tactile sensation customers perceive when they crumple the paper in their hands and while using the paper for its intended purposes.
Absorbency is the characteristic of the paper which allows it to take up and retain fluids, particularly--water and aqueous solutions and suspensions. In evaluating the absorbency of paper, not only is the absolute quantity of fluid a given amount of paper will hold significant, but the rate at which the paper will absorb the fluid is also important. In addition, when the paper is formed into a product such as a towel or wipe, the ability of the paper to cause a fluid to be taken up into the paper and thereby leave a dry wiped surface is also important.
It is well known in the papermaking art that embossing generally increases absorbency, softness and bulk of the household paper products, such as toilet tissue, paper towel, napkins and the like. There are several common patterns of embossed laminated paper structure intended for the household products: nested (also known as "mated" or "male-female") pattern, knob-to-knob pattern, continuous pattern, and dual ply lamination. All these patterns are associated with the use of a pair of patterned, and axially parallel embossing rolls. During the process, the embossed sheets of paper are fed through a nip formed between two juxtaposed embossing rolls. Discrete protuberances or raised continuous surfaces on the embossing rolls compress regions of each sheet into engagement and contacting relationship with the opposing sheet according to a preselected pattern. The compressed regions of the sheets provide for joining of and maintaining the sheets in a face-to-face contacting relationship.
Specifically, in a knob-to-knob pattern, the discrete protuberances (or "knobs") on one embossing roll are registered with the protuberances on the opposing embossing roll. In a nested pattern, the protuberances of one embossing roll mesh between the protuberances of the other embossing roll. In the continuous pattern, the raised continuous surfaces (as opposed to the discrete protuberances of the knob-to-knob pattern) of one of the embossing rolls are registered with the raised continuous surfaces of the other roll. The knob-to-knob pattern is described in the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,459 issued to E. R. Wells on Dec. 3, 1968, which patent discloses the compressible paper structures formed by embossing identical raised patterns of discrete protuberances on two extensible paper sheets. The mated distal surfaces of the embossed protuberances are adhesively joined, and the resulting laminated paper structure is calendered. This patent is incorporated by reference herein. The dual ply lamination type is disclosed in the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,294,475, issued on Mar. 15, 1994 to McNeil and 5,468,323 issued on Nov. 21, 1995 to McNeil, which patents are incorporated by reference herein. The McNeil patents disclose a dual ply laminate having two laminae which are embossed such that each embossed site of one lamina is adhesively joined to the non-embossed region of the other lamina.
The examples of various patterns are illustrated in the prior art by U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,723, issued Dec. 15, 1970 to Gresham; U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,907 issued on Jan. 19, 1971 to Nystrand; U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,366, issued Jan. 2, 1973 to Donnelly; U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,905, issued Jan. 12, 1973 to Thomas; U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,225 issued Feb. 18, 1975 to Nystrand; U.S. Pat No. 4,483,728 issued Nov. 20, 1984 to Bauernfeind; U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,034 issued May 1, 1990 to Burgess; U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,983 issued Dec. 14, 1993 to Schulz; U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,364, issued Oct. 18, 1995 to Veith et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,896 issued Apr. 2, 1996 to Veith et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,563 issued Jun. 25, 1996 to Veith et al. The commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Des. No. 239,137 issued Mar. 9, 1976 to Appleman illustrates an embossing pattern found on commercially successful paper toweling.
Different attempts have been made in the art to improve upon the embossments caused by the embossing process. For example, attempts have been made to provide embossed patterns having different depths, and asymmetric embossments. Other attempts have been made in the art to provide embossments having a certain size and representing a particular surface area of the embossed sheet. Yet other attempts in the art teach a particular angle, relative to the machine direction of manufacture, for the embossments. Still another attempts have been made in the art to provide embossments having particular configuration. Other attempts teach particular sizes of the protuberances and the corresponding recesses on the juxtaposed embossing rolls. Examples of the attempts to improve upon the embossments are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,162, issued Mar. 16, 1982 to Schulz, et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,608, issued Apr. 21, 1988 to Schulz; U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,034 issued May 1, 1990 to Burgess et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,529, issued Feb. 24, 1976 to Hepford, et. al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,773, issued Apr. 20, 1982 to Schulz; U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,796, issued Dec. 11, 1984 to Lloyd et. al; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,119, issued Jun. 1, 1976 to Thomas.
Regardless of the particular type of embossing and pattern of lamination, paper laminates of the prior art are formed by rigidly binding two or more sheets of paper together to create a laminated structure. The individual sheets of a laminated structure of the prior art are joined in a number of ways, including both adhesive bonding and mechanical bonding. Lamination/embossing is known to be helpful to increase caliper of the laminated structure and compressibility normal to the plane of the laminated structure, and therefore--to increase the softness associated with the increased compressibility of the structure. An increase in caliper also generally improves the absorbency of the laminated product. At the same time, lamination/embossing of the prior art tends to reduce flexibility of the resulting laminated structure--because the adhesive or mechanical joining utilized by the prior art to bind two or more laminae together forms a rigid connection between the two or more laminae. The increase in caliper, while providing a higher compressibility and associated softness, decreases flexibility of the laminated structure of the prior art. In other words, a trade-off exists between the caliper and compressibility/softness of a laminated structure achieved by lamination and the flexibility of the laminated structure.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to decouple the caliper and softness of a laminated structure from the flexibility of the laminated structure.
It is another object of the present invention to produce a strong, soft and flexible laminated structure comprising two or more sheets which are movable relative to each other without separation or tearing of either one of these sheets.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a process for producing such a laminated structure.

Laminated fibrous structure and method for manufacturing same


In a photoprinter having a bar code reader, a method is provided of automatically assigning a reference frame number to the last bar code on a film order. The reference number is the highest frame number associated with the detected film order length. The method includes a determination that the last bar code read is within specified distance from the end of the film order to ensure that it is, in fact, the last bar code on the order so that the position of the reference frame number is correctly determined. Once the reference frame number and its position is determined, a known frame number assignment algorithm is employed to map out the remaining frame numbers to the image frame notch locations on the film order.

Latent image bar codes are exposed onto most currently produced 35 mm film. A DX bar code, in use for many years, is repetitively exposed at a fixed pitch corresponding to half frame intervals along one edge of the film and contains encoded information pertaining to what are referred to as product and gen (generation) codes that uniquely identify the film type and its production source. In the late 1980's, Fuji Photo Film, Ltd., introduced a film that incorporated a dedicated frame number bar code on the opposite edge of the film from the DX coded edge. This machine readable code allowed photofinishers to automatically determine frame numbers for each image frame that could then be printed on the processed photographic prints. At about the same time, an improved version of the DX code was developed by Eastman Kodak Company, assignee of the present invention, which, as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,628, embeds a frame number code within an extended version of the standard DX code. This new code is generally referred to as a DXN code. It has the advantage that, in addition to providing frame numbers for automatic printing of frame numbers on photoprints, it allows reading the frame number with existing bar code readers, thereby avoiding the need for a separate reader at the opposite edge of the film. Such an arrangement leaves the opposite edge of the film free for exposure of human readable information in alpha or alpha-numeric form.
It is known practice in commercially employed photoprinter equipment, such as represented by the CLAS35 high speed printer made and sold by Eastman Kodak Company, to assign frame numbers to image frame notch locations on a film order. The phrases "film order" and "film strip" are synonymous and are used interchangeably herein. The process employed is based on determining a frame number from the DXN code for one notch location on the film order and then using this as a reference position from which frame numbers can be calculated for the remaining notch locations on the order. The algorithm for this is as follows: ##EQU1## In this process, with reference to FIG. 2, when a bar coded frame number 35 is validly read, e.g. bar code 35a corresponding to half frame number 01A, the frame number and position of the bar code is captured. This becomes the reference bar code frame number. The frame number for each notch 16 is then determined by subtracting the position of the notch in question from the position of the reference bar code, dividing by the pitch 37 between adjacent bar codes and then adding (or subtracting) the resultant member, rounded to the nearest integer number, to the reference bar code frame number. The result is the assignment of the frame number (01) nearest to the notch 16a as the number for the corresponding image frame 17. Because, by convention, there are two alpha-numeric, half-frame numbers 40,41 for each full frame position, e.g. 22 and 22A, the processor, for algorithm purposes, assigns sequential decimal equivalent numbers to the half-frame numbers such that half-frame 22 becomes decimal frame number 44, half-frame 22A becomes decimal frame number 45, etc. Prior to actual printing of the frame numbers on resultant photographic prints, the decimal frame numbers are converted back to human readable alpha-numeric numbers. It will be appreciated from this description that this process is dependent on being able to read a frame number in the bar code to establish the reference bar code frame number.
The capability of automatically associating bar coded frame numbers with photoprints is a highly desirable feature offering for photofinishers. There remains, however, a substantial usage of DX coded film which does not allow this feature to be employed using existing bar code reader equipment. There is the possibility that an additional alpha numeric optical character reader may employed by the photoprinter, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,163, to directly read the alpha numeric frame numbers that are also optically exposed at the edges of the film. The added cost and complexity of this added mechanism makes this approach very undesirable for the highly competitive and cost conscious photofinishing industry. Accordingly, there is a need for provision of the capability for existing photofinishing equipment employing bar code readers to perform automatic identification of image frame numbers on DX coded film so as to provide for automated printing of frame numbers on resulting photoprints.

Method of printing frame numbers from DX-coded photographic film


An LED drive circuit includes a plurality of LEDs, a power supply circuit for outputting a variable output voltage to supply electricity to the LEDs, a plurality of drive transistors for driving the respective LEDs, a bias voltage setting circuit for generating and outputting a reference gate voltage for causing the drive transistors to have drain currents having a predetermined constant value, and a minimum drain voltage for causing the drive transistors to have the predetermined constant drain currents when the reference gate voltage is input to the drive transistors, and a voltage detection circuit for sequentially comparing drain voltages of the drive transistors with the minimum drain voltage to output one of the drain voltages smaller than the minimum drain voltage, wherein the power supply circuit controls the output voltage so that the drain voltage output from the voltage detection circuit becomes greater than or equal to the minimum drain voltage.

A plurality of white light-emitting diodes are used for a backlight of a liquid crystal display apparatus included in a mobile electronic apparatus such as a cellular phone. A conventional method using a constant-current drive is generally used to cause the plurality of white light-emitting diodes to emit light with even luminance.
FIG. 1 illustrates a light-emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as an LED) drive circuit using the conventional constant-current drive method. As shown in FIG. 1, the LED drive circuit includes an LED LED101 and a resistor R101 having a resistance value r101. When iL (not shown) and Vc represent a drive current and a reference voltage of the LED LED101, respectively, iL is equal to Vc divided by r101 (i.e., iL=Vc/r101).
In the LED drive circuit, the drive current iL of the LED LED101 is controlled so that a voltage drop by the resistor R101 becomes equal to the reference voltage Vc. Therefore, a battery voltage Vbat needs to be larger than a forward voltage VF of the LED LED101 added to the reference voltage Vc. Further, by taking into account the fact that the battery voltage Vbat decreases in the course of use, the battery voltage Vbat needs to be much larger than the forward voltage VF of the LED LED101 added to the reference voltage Vc. As a result, the amount of electricity consumed by components other than the LED LED101 increases, thereby impairing efficiency in power supply.
FIG. 2 illustrates another conventional LED drive circuit. As shown in FIG. 2, the LED drive circuit includes an LED LED111, a resistor R11, a charge pump circuit 111, an LED inactive state detection circuit 112, and a switching control circuit 113.
The charge pump circuit 111 is used as a power source for the LED LED111 so as to attempt to eliminate an influence of fluctuations in the battery voltage Vbat on the LED LED111. The switching control circuit 113 controls switching of the LED LED111 between an active state and an inactive state. The LED inactive state detection circuit 112 detects a state of the LED LED111. When the inactive state of the LED LED111 is detected, an enable signal is turned off to stop operation of the charge pump circuit 111 to attempt to improve efficiency in power supply.

Circuit and method of effectively enhancing drive control of light-emitting diodes


There are provided a device and method that correct a false color occurring in a locally highlighted region in an image. A false color pixel is detected in data conversion processing of generating an RGB array image from an RGBW array image, low-band signals corresponding to respective RGBW colors that are different according to whether a pixel is a false color pixel, and the RGBW array is converted by interpolation processing to which the calculated low-band signals are applied to generate the RGB array image. The interpolation processing is performed using the low-band signals on an assumption that a W low-band signal mW, and RGB respective low-band signals mR, mG, and mB have a proportional relation in a local region. When a pixel of interest is a false color pixel, the low-band signal is calculated by an application of a low-pass filter having a coefficient in which a contribute rate of pixel values in the vicinity of the pixel of interest is made relatively lower than that of separated pixels.

For example, when sunshine filtering through leaves is captured by a camera as illustrated in FIG. 1, a phenomenon in which highlighted regions h1 to h5 surrounded by the dotted line circles are colored with green or magenta is seen.
FIG. 2(a) illustrates a Bayer array made of RGB pixels and used in many conventional cameras.
FIG. 2(b) illustrates a RGBW array which has been increasingly used in recent cameras. Each of RGB pixels is a pixel including a filter selectively transmitting light of a wavelength region of R, G or B, and a W pixel is a pixel including a filter that transmits almost all the visible light of the RGB wavelength light.
When the image illustrated in FIG. 1, that is, the image having a high brightness region of a small area of about several pixels like the sunshine filtering through leaves is captured with the camera including an imaging device of the RGBW array including the W pixels as illustrated in FIG. 2(b), a false color such as green or magenta is generated in the highlighted regions h1 to h5 which are small high brightness regions.
Hereinafter, the false color, which occurs in the highlighted region of a small area of about several pixels, is called brightness false color.
A principle of occurrence of the brightness false color will be described with reference to FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b).
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3(a), when the area of the highlighted region is small and the pixels of the highlighted region are configured from almost only the W and G pixels, pixel values of the G pixels are relatively larger than peripheral R and B pixels. As a result, color balance is lost, and the region is colored to green.
Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3(b), when the area of the highlighted region is small and the pixels of the highlighted region are configured from almost the W, R, and B pixels, the pixel values of the R and B pixels are relatively larger than the pixel values of the peripheral G pixels. As a result, the color balance is lost, and the region is colored to magenta.
As described above, various patterns of false colors, that is, the brightness false colors are generated, depending on the configuration of the pixels included in the highlighted region that is a high brightness portion.
To decrease such a brightness false color, processing of correcting the false color occurring region using an optical low-pass filter is effective. That is, the processing is to decrease a high-frequency component of light incident on the imaging device, and to correct extreme change of the pixel value into gentle change. However, this method causes a decrease in resolution, resulting in deterioration of image quality, and thus it cannot be said that the method is an appropriate method.
Note that, a technology to decrease the false color typically called purple fringing is described in, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-124598) and Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-14261).
The purple fringing is caused mainly by an aberration of a lens included in the camera, and is a false color occurring around a high contrast edge of blown-out highlight.
However, the brightness false color described above is caused in a pixel region that does not have blown-out highlights. Therefore, there are some cases which cannot be handled by the conventional processing of decreasing the purple fringing.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Image processing device, method of processing image, and image processing program including false color correction