A composition and process for treating sugar solutions that includes one or more sources of ammonium that obtain a pH in water solution above pH 7.0, such as ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3), ammonium phosphate dibasic (NH4)2HPO4, and ammonium sulfite (NH4)2SO3. The composition can also include a particulate sulfur reagent, an amorphous silica, a particulate aluminum reagent, a particulate phosphorous reagent, a particulate filter aid selected from diatomaceous earth and perlite, a particulate activated carbon, a particulate bleaching earth, a polymer decolorant, or combinations thereof. The individual materials can be pre-mixed before addition to the sugar solution, added individually to the sugar solution, or added as a combination of one or more singular ingredients and one or more pre-mixed ingredients. The invention can stabilize the pH of the sugar solution, reduce the calcium, magnesium or related ash constituents of the sugar solution, achieve color reduction of the sugar solution, or some combination of these effects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods of treating sugar liquors, syrups, juices, and related products, offering compositions of matter and processes incorporating the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of activated carbon to decolorize sugar solutions is a well-established technology (Cane Sugar Handbook, 12th Ed., pgs. 463-464). The traditional process incorporates either a granular activated carbon (GAC) or powder activated carbon (PAC). In the granular carbon process, the GAC is packed in a tower, and impure sugar flows through the packed towers. The effluent from the tower is thus more pure, due to the decolorization power of the GAC. To prevent pH drop of the sugar liquor, about 5% magnesite (MgO) can be mixed with the GAC (Cane Sugar Handbook, 12th Ed., pg. 463). In the powder carbon process, the carbon is traditionally used as either a batch-contact followed by filtration to retire the powder carbon, or the powder carbon can be used as a precoat on the filters (Cane Sugar Handbook, 12th Ed., pg 464). In the batch-contact PAC method, a filter aid (usually diatomaceous earth or perlite) is almost always used, at a ratio of approximately 1:1 in weight to the PAC dosage. The filter aid assists with the filtration of impurities in the sugar, as well as assists with the filtration of the powder carbon particles. Generally speaking, the PAC is not buffered with another material (unlike the typical ˜5% MgO buffering of the GAC.)
In the sugar production processes, it is generally desirable to avoid or at least minimize sucrose sugar losses due to inversion of the sucrose into glucose and fructose. Inversion of sucrose occurs under acidic conditions (pH less than 7.0). Some sources advocate maintaining pH of all liquors and syrups (throughout the sugar production process) to be kept over pH 7.0 to avoid/minimize inversion of the sucrose sugars (Cane Sugar Handbook, 12th Ed., pg. 634). Many activated carbons for use in sugar purification are acidic in nature; this is due to the well-known property of acidic activated carbons to possess a greater ability to decolorize sugar juices, liquors, and syrups. Without buffering (with a base such as MgO previously mentioned for use with GAC), there is a risk of inversion losses in the sugar solutions treated with acidic activated carbons.
In other sugar processes, it is desirable to remove certain ash constituents such as calcium and magnesium. Calcium and magnesium can be naturally occurring in the sugar solutions, or added as part of a clarification process; for example, the sugar refinery industry standard clarification methods of carbonatation and phosphatation both utilize lime (Ca(OH)2) addition to the sugar solutions. Other examples of introducing calcium or magnesium into the sugar purification process include adding lime or milk of magnesia (Mg(OH)2) to the juice extracted from cane or beet sugars. In any of these situations, the calcium and magnesium in the sugar can beneficially react to remove a variety of impurities, usually with a mechanism of forming insoluble precipitate complexes between the impurities and calcium and or magnesium. However in most cases there is always residual calcium and magnesium that remains unreacted; the unreacted calcium and magnesium can cause undesirable side effects such as the formation of scale on evaporators. Therefore it is desirable to find methods that reduce the amount of unreacted calcium and magnesium during the sugar purification process.
More recent processes for sugar liquor and syrup clarification include those exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,279 to Gil et al. This patent describes a process for producing refined sugar from raw sugar juices. The process includes adding a flocculant for treating raw sugar juice, wherein the flocculant is selected from the group of lime, a source of phosphate ions, polyelectrolyte, and combinations thereof. The thus treated juice is concentrated by evaporation to form a syrup, with a subsequent treatment by flocculant, then filtered, and then decolorized and de-ashed using ion-exchange resin.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,340, Cartier claims a process for purifying impure sugar solutions, including simultaneous decolorization and clarification, comprising contacting the impure sugar solutions with submicroscopic ion-exchange resin in the forms of approximately spherical beads, said ion-exchange resin having diameters from about 0.01 to 1.5 microns, followed by separation of this ion-exchange resin from the sugar solution. The ion-exchange resin particles may be separated in the form of a floc, wherein the floc may be formed either from impurities in the impure sugar solution, or by adding sufficient flocculating agent in the sugar solution to flocculate all of the resin particles.
Another example of more recently proposed sugar clarification includes that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,328 to Clarke et al, detailing a composition for the clarification of sugar bearing juices and related products. The composition comprises a dry, powdered admixture of aluminum chloride hydroxide, lime, and activated bentonite. The composition may also include a polymer flocculating agent, such as a polyacrylamide.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compositions and processes for sugar treatment


A spot welding apparatus according to is provided that includes an upper and lower moving unit, an upper welding gun, a left and right moving unit and a lower welding gun. In particular, the upper and lower moving unit includes a slide block that is provided at one side of an arm of a robot to move vertically by actuation of an actuator. The upper welding gun is mounted on the slide block and the left and right moving unit is installed at one side of the upper welding gun to horizontally move the upper welding gun by actuation of the actuator. Additionally, the lower welding gun is mounted to correspond to a lower side of the upper welding gun.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spot welding apparatus, and more particularly, to a spot welding apparatus that performs a welding operation by selecting an X-type or a C-type that matches a welding spot of a welding target to be universally applied to multiple vehicle models and enables a rapid welding operation in a limited amount of space within a minimum amount of time.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In general, during a manufacturing process of a vehicle, various structural parts such as a vehicle body panel molded by a press, and the like are bonded by a method such as welding to complete an integrated vehicle body. The completed vehicle body is painted and rust-prevention is applied throughout the surface of each part in a painting process. Thereafter, a design process is performed, such as assembling a part of a power train system and parts such as suspension, steering, and braking systems and subsequently, assembling a door and a trunk lid, a hood, and the like.
Further, in a vehicle body assembling process of the vehicle, spot resistance welding through a spot welding apparatus is frequently used as a method for bonding two vehicle body panels such as a roof, a pillar, a side panel, an opening unit flange of a vehicle body door, and the like.
The spot resistance welding is a process in which contacting metal surfaces are joined by the heat obtained from resistance to electric current. As such, the weld is typically made by holding work-pieces together under pressure exerted by electrodes. via a spot welding apparatus installed at an arm front end of a robot for spot welding.
A welding gun used in spot welding apparatus are divided into three types: an X-type welding gun, a C-type welding gun, and a special-type welding gun adopting a special lower arm according to the position of a welding portion and interference with to the vehicle body.
One spot welding apparatus selectively adopting the X-type welding gun, the C-type welding, and the special-type welding gun is installed through an arm of a robot. As a result, a first robot in which the spot welding apparatus adopting the X-type welding gun is installed, a second robot in which a spot welding apparatus adopting the C-type welding gun is installed, and a third robot in which a spot welding apparatus adopting the special-type welding gun is installed are installed in separately to achieve the appropriate spot welding operations.
However, in the conventional spot welding operation, since one spot welding apparatus is installed in the robot arm for each robot, only one spot is welded whenever the robot arm moves, and as a result, a lot of time is required to perform a predetermined number of welding spot operations, thereby degrading productivity and efficiency.
Further, lower welding guns having different shapes should be adopted according to the position and the shape of the welding spot, and as a result, facility investment costs increase, and in particular, when a plurality of robots mounted with a spot welding apparatus adopting a lower welding gun having a special shape is used, facility and maintenance costs increase and energy is excessively used. Additionally, a space occupancy rate of the robot in a mass production line also increases.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


An electromagnetic interference suppressing (EMI) interconnect for connecting a DC motor to a DC source comprising a pair of copper sheets disposed between insulative sheets, and wrapped around the motor housing. A lead extends from each copper sheet for being connected to one side of the DC source. A connector tab extends from each copper sheet for being connected to one terminal of the DC motor. The copper sheets may be spaced laterally apart and disposed between a single pair of insulative sheets, or may be overlayed and separated by an insulative sheet. EMI suppression provided is greater than that possible with known capacitance devices of similar capacitance values.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppression, and more particularly to an EMI suppressing interconnect to reduce the EMI produced by the commutating action within a direct current (DC) motor.
2. Description of Related Art
Direct current (DC) motors are well-known, and are commonly used in a broad variety of applications. One common application for DC motors is in printers associated with computers and word processors where the printer head is moved transversely along its path across the paper by a DC motor.
The computer industry is known to be very competitive, and is particularly so in the area of computer peripherals such as printers. Accordingly, there is an ongoing effort to reduce the cost of manufacturing printers while maintaining their reliability and compliance with applicable regulations such as those of the FCC and others regarding permissible amounts of electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by printers. One opportunity to reduce the cost of a printer lies in the use of a less expensive DC motor to drive the printer head. However, lower-cost DC motors generate increased levels of EMI which often exceed those allowed by applicable regulations. The EMI referred to is that generated in the current supply leads by the commutating action of the DC motor as electrical contact between the brushes and successive segments of the rotor is repeatedly made and broken. FIG. 2 demonstrates the problem by showing the maximum, minimum and average EMI levels of a sample of fifty printer head drive motors. The maximum EMI value of the sample exceeds the maximum levels of EMI allowed by regulatory agencies at frequencies between 100 and 200 MHz. Therefore if lower cost DC motors are to be used to drive printer heads, their higher levels of EMI must be reduced.
Various methods are known for reducing EMI associated with DC motors. For example, a resistor ring having a resistance of 200-500 ohms may be fitted to the commutator. In the case of the restrictive packaging requirements of printers, this additional resistance results in the generation of additional heat which must be removed from the printer. Also it is difficult to control the resistance, and results in significant changes in the DC motor performance. Alternatively, a capacitor may be connected across the leads supplying current to the motor, but will not normally result in sufficient attenuation of EMI to meet the desired levels, or a ferrite ring may be fitted the leads to the motor. Both these solutions are also costly.
A varistor may be incorporated into the construction of the motor to reduce EMI, and typically will reduce EMI to acceptable levels. In some cases, however, packaging requirements or additional tooling costs involved in the manufacture of the motor render this solution unacceptable. Varistors are also not retrofittable to a motor.
Accordingly, a need remains for a low-cost DC motor which generates a reduced level of EMI, which is economical to manufacture and which, if need be, can be retrofitted to an existing DC motor.

Electromagnetic interference suppressing DC interconnect


A reference buffer circuit is disclosed, providing a reference voltage at an output node and comprising a closed-loop branch comprising an amplifier and first and second MOS transistors and an open-loop branch comprising third and fourth MOS transistors and a tracking circuit. The first MOS transistor has a gate coupled to an output terminal of the amplifier and a source coupled to a negative input terminal of the amplifier. The second MOS transistor is coupled to the source of the first MOS transistor. The third MOS transistor has a gate coupled to the output terminal and a source coupled to the output node. The fourth MOS transistor has a drain coupled to the source of the third MOS transistor. A gate voltage of the fourth MOS transistor tracks a drain voltage of the third MOS transistor through the tracking circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a reference buffer circuit, and more particularly to a reference buffer circuit for providing at least one reference voltage to an analog-to-digital converter, regulator or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reference buffer circuits are required for high-speed and high-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). A reference buffer circuit usually comprises a reference buffer and provides at least one reference voltage to an ADC. There are two types of reference buffer circuits available for ADCs: closed-loop reference buffer circuits and open-loop reference buffer circuits.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional closed-loop reference buffer circuit 1. An amplifier 10 has a negative feedback loop. The amplifier 10 receives an input voltage Vref_in at a positive input terminal and outputs a reference voltage Vref. The output impedance of the reference buffer circuit 1 is equal to ROUT/(1+A), wherein ROUT represents the output impedance of the amplifier 10, and A represents the gain thereof. When the reference buffer circuit 1 operates at a high frequency, the output impedance of the reference buffer circuit 1 is required to be low enough to rapidly stabilize the reference voltage Vref. However, the wide bandwidth causes the power consumption and noise of the reference buffer circuit 1 to be increased. It is difficult to design an internal closed-loop reference buffer circuit for a high-resolution ADC.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional single-ended open-loop reference buffer circuit. A single-ended open-loop reference buffer circuit 2 comprises an amplifier 20, N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistors 21 and 22, and load units 23 and 24. The operation of the NMOS transistor 22 is similar to the NMOS transistor 21. The amplifier 20 and the NMOS transistor 21 form a negative feedback loop, while the NMOS transistor 22 is disposed in an open-loop circuit. In steady state, reference voltage Vref tracks reference voltage Vrefx. Moreover, the output impedance of the open-loop reference buffer circuit 2 is equal to 1/gm, wherein gm represents the transconductance of the NMOS transistor 22, and the bandwidth of the amplifier 20 can be narrower, the power consumption of the open-loop reference buffer circuit 2 is less than that of the closed-loop reference buffer circuit 1 as illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows a conventional differential open-loop reference buffer circuit. A differential open-loop reference buffer circuit 3 comprises amplifiers 30 and 31, NMOS transistors 32 and 33, P-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) transistors 34 and 35, and resistors 36 and 37. Positive input terminals of the amplifiers 30 and 31 respectively receive input voltages Vrefp_in and Vrefn_in. The amplifier 30 and the NMOS transistor 32 form one negative feedback loop, and the amplifier 31 and the PMOS transistor 34 form the other negative feedback loop. The NMOS transistor 33 is disposed in one open-loop circuit, and the PMOS transistor 35 is disposed in the other open-loop circuit. In steady state, reference voltages Vrefp and Vrefn respectively track reference voltages Vrefpx and Vrefnx.
In FIG. 2, there is a voltage difference between the gate and the source of each of the NMOS transistors 21 and 22 which are both operated in saturation region, and the voltage of an output terminal of the amplifier 20 is larger than the reference voltage Vrefx by the voltage difference, so that a required supply voltage of the open-loop reference buffer circuit 2 is large. If the open-loop reference buffer circuit 2 operates under a low supply voltage due to design requirements, the maximum value of the reference voltage Vref is suppressed to be small. Similarly, in FIG. 3, there is a voltage difference between the gate and the source of each of the NMOS transistors 32 and 33 and there is a voltage difference between the gate and the source of each of the PMOS transistors 34 and 35, and the maximum value of the reference voltage Vrefp and the minimum values of the reference voltage Vrefn are limited when the open-loop reference buffer circuit 3 operates under a low supply voltage, so that the swing between the reference voltages Vrefp and Vrefn is hard to meet design requirements.
With the advancement of semiconductor processes, the operation voltage of semiconductors decreases. Thus, a reference buffer circuit, which can operate under low supply voltage, can provide reference voltages with large swing, and has less power consumption and high operation speed, is required.


A non-toxic antimicrobial boundary lubricant comprises a major portion of a base oil composed either separately or in various combinations of animal, vegetable and/or petroleum oils and a minor portion of an extreme pressure additive; an antioxidant; and an antimicrobial compound. The lubricant has a pH of 7.40 (.+-.0.15 pH units) and preferably contains chlorhexidine gluconate as an antimicrobial compound.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to lubricants containing an antimicrobial compound.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Lubricants containing an antimicrobial compound have been generally known. Commonly, such lubricants include an antimicrobial compound for one or more of a number of reasons, including preservation of the lubricant from deterioration or contamination, and protection of those coming in contact with the lubricant from a condition known as contact dermatitis. For these and similar reasons for the use of an antimicrobial compound, the antimicrobial compound must be active in the presence of the lubricant's substituents and strong enough to perform the function for which it is used. In the typical instances of preserving the lubricant or preventing contact dermatitis, the antimicrobial compounds heretofore proposed for use have been toxic to humans if ingested. Consequently, antimicrobial compound--containing lubricants have been limited to certain applications in which human ingestion is unlikely because they are too aggressive for human ingestion.
Moreover, certain applications for lubricants require the use of a special class of lubricants called boundary lubricants. Such applications often pose moderate to severe loading, high speed, or moderate to high temperature conditions that non-boundary lubricants cannot adequately tolerate. Consequently, extreme pressure (EP) additives have been developed that, when added to a base lubricant, produce a boundary lubricant for these severe applications. The presence of EP additives in lubricants is very important if a lubricant is to perform favorably under heavily loaded, high speed, or high temperature conditions. Typical of such an application are dental tools such as dental hand pieces, and some medical devices as well as food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturing, processing or packaging equipment, where boundary lubrication is essential in cage/ball and cage/race bearing contacts, bushings, slides, cams, gears etc. In the absence of a suitable boundary lubricant, such devices wear out much too soon because metal to metal contact and/or metal to ceramic contact, and/or metal to other composite material contact, and/or composite material to composite material contact creates unacceptable wear and surface distress.
Dental tools and some medical devices as well as food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic manufacturing processing or packaging equipment, in which use of a boundary lubricant would be highly desirable, are designed and/or required to come into contact with the human body and/or it's internal parts or have a high probability of incidental contact with the body or food/pharmaceutical products that are ingested. However, extreme pressure additives used in boundary lubricants are so highly toxic that they are unsuitable for use in devices that may come into contact with the human body and/or it's internal parts, including the oral cavity in the case of dental tools or food/pharmaceutical machinery in the case of incidental product contact that may be ingested. Furthermore, known antimicrobial compounds used in lubricants are also too aggressive for such uses.


In a welding electrode protecting machine, welding electrodes are protected against a surface treating agent on strips to be welded by applying a proper amount of electrode protecting agent onto surfaces of welding electrodes prior to or during welding operation. A seam welding machine includes a carriage (6) adapted to move in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which strips (1a, 2a) to be welded are fed, a pair of rotatable disk-like welding electrodes (8a, 8b) disposed on the carriage (6) for welding together the strips (1a, 2a) by pressing the strips (1a, 2a) to each other at surface portions thereof along which the strips are to be welded together as the carriage (6) is moved, electrode protecting agent application roll-like members (21a, 21b) for applying an electrode protecting agent (29) onto rotating surfaces of the welding electrodes (8a, 8b) while being in physical contact with the welding electrodes (8a, 8b) under pressure, the electrode protecting agent (29) which is charged from tanks (30a, 30b) by pumps (31a, 31b), and removing roll-like members (25a, 25b) disposed on the carriage for removing the electrode protecting agent (29) remaining on surface portions along which the strips (1a, 2a) to be welded were welded together at a work side relative to the welding electrodes (8a, 8b).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a seam welding machine and a method of protecting welding electrodes of the same from degradation. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a seam welding machine of a structure which is capable of protecting peripheral surfaces of welding electrodes or surfaces of welded product against deposition of an agent used for surface treatment of sheet-like materials to be welded together, by applying an electrode protecting agent onto peripheral surfaces of the welding electrodes. The invention is also directed to a method of protecting the welding electrodes of such a seam welding machine.
2. Description of Related Art
For having a better understanding of the present invention, description will first be directed to the background techniques thereof. FIGS. 7A to 7C are schematic views for illustrating a conventional welding method carried out by a seam welding machine known heretofore, which is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 258382/1992 (JP-A-4-258382). Referring to the figures, there are mounted on a common base (not shown) of the welding machine a clamping device 4 positioned at an exit side and a clamping device 5 positioned at an entrance side in such disposition that respective tip ends of both the clamping devices 4 and 5 face in opposition to each other. Strips 1a and 2a having respective cut end portions along which the strips 1a and 2a (i.e., materials to be welded) are to be welded together are fixedly held by the clamping devices 4 and 5, respectively, in a sandwiched manner. Upon welding, the clamping device 4 located at the exit side is slightly swung upwardly, while the clamping device 5 of the entrance side is caused to move forwardly in the feeding direction of the strip 2a as indicated by arrows A1 and A2, respectively, in FIG. 7A.
Subsequently, the cut end portions of the strips 1a and 2a are superposed onto each other over a width sufficient for welding, as can be seen from FIG. 7B. The superposed end portions of the strips 1a and 2a are pressed against each other in a vertical direction by means of a pair of upper and lower welding electrodes 8a and 8b each of a rotatable disk type fixedly mounted on a movable carriage (not shown), which is moved in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the strips 1a and 2a during the welding operation are fed, as indicated by an arrow A3 in FIG. 7C. In this state, a welding current is applied across the upper and lower welding electrodes 8a and 8b from a DC power supply apparatus (not shown), as a result of which a welding current flows through the superposed end portions of the strips 1a and 2a. In this manner, the seam welding is carried out.
The conventional seam welding machine briefly described above suffers a problem that when strips such as steel sheets which have previously undergone a surface treatment, such as plating are to be welded together, the plated material tends to be deposited on the electrode surfaces and/or the welded product. Additionally, the materials forming surface portions of the welding electrodes are likely to alloy with the plated material, involving degradation as well as nonuniformity in the quality of welding.
More specifically, because a melting point of a plated material is normally lower than that of the steel sheet, i.e., the material which will undergo the welding, the plated material can easily be melted by the heat of the welding to be alloyed with the surface material of the welding electrodes or deposited as oxides on the electrode surfaces. As a consequence, electrical conductivity as well as thermal conductivity of the surface portions of the welding electrodes is impaired, incurring such unwanted situation that the heat input balance which is one of the most important factors for resistance welding is lost (i.e., the heat input to a combination of the welding electrodes and the materials to be welded increases when compared with the heat input to the materials to be welded), which eventually involves deterioration in the quality of welding.
For coping with the problems mentioned above, there has already been proposed a method of protecting the welding electrodes from the unwanted phenomenon, as is described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 24239/1979 (JP-A-54-24239), according to which an electrode protecting agent is sprayed onto tip or peripheral end portions of the welding electrodes by using nozzles to thereby protect the surface of the welding electrodes from contamination with the plated material. However, in the welding electrode protecting methods known heretofore, no consideration is paid to the post-treatment of the electrode protecting agent as applied to the welding electrodes. Additionally, it is noted that no measures are proposed for controlling appropriately or properly the amount of the electrode protecting agent as applied by the spraying.
Such being the circumstances, when no post-treatment is performed after spraying the electrode protecting agent or when an unnecessarily large amount of the electrode protecting agent is deposited on the electrode surface, the electrode protecting agent is prone to drop onto a surface of strips as welded. In this conjunction, it should be mentioned that when the state in which an oily electrode protecting agent is deposited on the surface of the strip materials as welded is left as it is, finishing treatments such as color coating of the welded strip is likely to suffer a difficulty such as a fault in the coating or the like, causing the outer appearance of the finished surface of a steel sheet manufactured as a final product to be inattractive. For this reason, it is extremely important to prevent the electrode protecting agent from being deposited in an unnecessarily large amount. Of course, situations in which the electrode protecting agent remains as deposited on the surface of the strip or sheet which has undergone welding has to be avoided without fail.

Seam welding machine and method for protecting welding electrodes


A clothes washing machine includes a cabinet defining an interior and having a top wall with a dispenser opening, and a water inlet box located within the interior and having a storage cartridge chamber accessible through the dispenser opening. The storage cartridge can be removably mountable within the storage cartridge chamber through the dispenser opening.

At present, the detergent dispensing system of automatic washing machines mostly adopts the method of dispensing from the front drawer, which is to arrange a drawer in the upper left area of the front panel of a washing machine. Inside the drawer, there are several chambers to load detergents. Washing machines with automatic dispensing functions in the market commonly adopt this kind of design, wherein the drawer or the storage cartridge is removed in a horizontal direction.

Laundry treating appliance detergent dispenser


The present invention relates to a smart terminal fuzzing apparatus and method using a multi-node structure. The smart terminal fuzzing apparatus includes a fuzzing command management unit for managing fuzzing instructions corresponding to performance of fuzzing. An algorithm management unit creates fuzzing commands based on the fuzzing instructions, and distributes the fuzzing commands to a plurality of fuzzing nodes connected to a fuzzing client depending on a distribution algorithm. A fuzzing client management unit performs control such that fuzzing is performed by the plurality of fuzzing nodes in compliance with the fuzzing commands through the fuzzing client. A log management unit receives results of performance of fuzzing from the plurality of fuzzing nodes and manages the fuzzing results.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a smart terminal fuzzing apparatus and method using a multi-node structure and, more particularly, to a smart terminal fuzzing apparatus and method, which can detect the vulnerable points of software at high speed by performing fuzzing using a plurality of smart terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fuzzing is one method for a black box test and is mainly used as a method of detecting errors or vulnerable points when the internal structure of software is not known. Fuzzing enables vulnerable points to be checked using errors occurring during a process for inputting and processing an arbitrarily manipulated file. Actual fuzzing is performed by generating an arbitrarily manipulated file and inputting a manipulated sample file. When fuzzing is performed by a single device, a considerably long time is required, and thus an efficient and fast fuzzing technique is required.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,743,281 relates to a method of fuzzing a file using a computer device, but has limitations in connecting smart terminals and performing fuzzing operations.
In this way, such a fuzzing technique for manipulating and analyzing the input of software is performed by a computer device, wherein a method of manipulating a file on an actual computer device or transmitting a manipulated packet via a network is used. In a normal computer device, a method of processing fuzzing operations in parallel by constructing a virtual environment is present.
However, technology is not yet developed in which fuzzing areas are distributed to a plurality of fuzzing samples to be executed depending on a scheduling algorithm with respect to the software of smart terminals, and in which distributed fuzzing execution commands and data to be fuzzed are automatically distributed to smart terminals and then fuzzing is performed.

Smart terminal fuzzing apparatus and method using multi-node structure

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


There is provided a trailer 10 for hauling tires 200 comprising a base frame 12 having a front end 14 and a rear end 16 and one or more wells 20 between the front end and the rear end configured to support the tires in an upstanding position. Each well comprises a tire stillage 30 against which one or more adjacent upstanding tires are supported.

Transportation of large numbers of tyres is typically achieved by stacking several recumbent tyres on top of one another and securely tethering the stacks to a platform of a flat bed truck or similar low platform trailer. Height and width restrictions on haulage vehicles, however, mean that special permits must be sought for transporting outsize tyres for use on heavy vehicles such as construction and mining vehicles, particularly in instances where the outer diameter dimension (ODD) of the tyre is greater than the width of the haulage vehicle, and the haulage vehicle must consequently be accompanied by an escort, thereby leading to increased overall transportation costs.
The present invention seeks to overcome at least some of the above mentioned disadvantages.


Apparatus and a process is provided for restricting that portion of the flow of water which is directed through a tube to refill the bowl of a toilet after a flush. Typically, the bowl refills before the toilet tank fills so that some water overflows the bowl and is wasted down the sewer. Accordingly, a conduit is connected to the discharge of the bowl refill tube. The conduit has a tapered bore which diminishes continuously from its inlet to its outlet. The diameter of the bore at the conduit's outlet does not permit sufficient water to discharge and refill the bowl after a flush. The conduit is formed of material which is readily cut. An objective bowl water is established. In a process of progressively trimming back the outlet of the conduit, an ever larger and larger diameter bore is exposed, increasing the amount of water discharged. Eventually, enough of the conduit is trimmed so that the operating water level in the bowl is tailored to the toilet's unique characteristics, reaching the objective water level and avoiding waste.

In a conventional domestic toilet, only one valve controls the refilling functions of both the tank and the toilet bowl after flushing. One tube refills the tank, and a second tube refills the toilet bowl. When open, the valve supplies water to both tubes simultaneously. Water only ceases to flow when the tank becomes full of water, lifting a float ball to shut off the valve.
Should the tank become too full, it spills into an overflow tube which directs water to the toilet bowl. The bowl refill tube discharges water into the overflow tube so that, in the normal course of events, water is also directed to the toilet bowl.
The bowl has a water trap at its base, which seals against the escape of sewer gas and establishes a maximum water level in the bowl before overflowing to the sewer. If the bowl refills to its maximum level before the tank is full then the valve continues to supply excess water to the bowl which overflows and is wasted as it is lost down the sewer.
In conventional domestic toilets the bowl refill tube typically fills the bowl before the tank refill tube fills the tank. By ensuring the bowl fills first one can be assured of a water seal and the bowl is maintained in its cleanest state. Unfortunately, this results in wasted water.
Toilets from, different manufacturers and even similar toilets have individual refill characteristics. Use of a flow-restriction device which has one or even several possible flows is inadequate to balance bowl and tank fill rates across a range of different toilets.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,729 to Shaw, one or more flow nozzles or conduits are inserted within the termination of the bore of the bowl refill tube. If the original flow rate of water to the bowl is too great, then a conduit having a smaller diameter bore than that of the refill tube is inserted. If the flow is still too great, then a second smaller conduit is inserted within the bore of the first conduit. Each conduit causes a step reduction in the flow rate. This method is severely limited by the availability of suitably sized conduits. Further, the number of subsequent incremental insertions is limited by the cumulative wall thickness of the conduits. Shaw only contemplates two incremental restrictions to the flow.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,565 to Auman et al., like Shaw, a device is installed at the termination of the bowl refill tube. The device comprises a chamber having a linear array of identically sized discharge tubes. The device is attached to the overflow tube. The discharge tubes divide the bowl refill flow between either the overflow tube or the tank. The bowl refill rate is adjusted by selecting how many of the discharge tubes direct their flow to the overflow tube (and thus the bowl) and by difference, how many direct their flow to the tank. The balance between bowl and tank flow is limited to a finite number of steps, defined by the number of discharge tubes and the space provided by the overflow tube.
Due to the variability of toilet bowl fill rates, even among identical toilet models, the prior art devices are not able to ensure proper balance between tank and bowl refill rates, resulting in continued waste of water in many cases.

Flow-restricting toilet bowl refill tube discharge


An apparatus for controlling a multi-winding rotary machine including an armature formed of a plurality of winding sets. In the apparatus, a command voltage calculator calculates command voltages to be applied to each winding set so as to control currents detected by a current detector to their respectively corresponding command currents. An interfering voltage calculator calculates, for each of the winding sets, interfering voltages proportional to the rotation speed of the rotary machine. An interfering voltage compensator compensates, for each of the winding sets, the command voltages for their respectively corresponding interfering voltages. An operation unit operates a voltage applicator to apply output values of the interfering voltage compensator to each winding set.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling a multi-winding rotary machine including an armature formed of a plurality of winding sets.
2. Related Art
In a three-phase double winding rotary machine, which is a rotary machine having two sets of three-phase windings, an interfering voltage proportional to a derivative of a current flowing through one of the two three-phase winding sets is induced in the other one due to magnetic coupling between the two three-phase winding sets, which may reduce responsiveness of a current control system for an electrical motor. To overcome this drawback, there has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-153585 an apparatus for controlling such a three-phase double winding rotary machine, which is configured to control inverters electrically connected to the respective three-phase winding sets to thereby control the rotary machine. More specifically, command voltages to be applied to the respective three-phase winding sets are corrected by using the interfering voltages proportional to derivatives of currents flowing through the respective three-phase winding sets. Such a technique can prevent reduction of responsiveness of the current control system, thereby reducing ripple components of the currents flowing through the respective three-phase winding sets. This can reduce torque ripple of the electrical motor.
The interfering voltage induced in each three-phase winding set due to magnetic coupling between the two three-phase winding sets includes not only the set forth interfering voltage proportional to the derivative of the current, but also an interfering voltage proportional to a rotation speed of the electrical motor. When the rotation speed of the electrical motor is high or varies with time, the interfering voltage proportional to the rotation speed of the electrical motor may reduce responsiveness of the current control system, which may lead to an increase in torque error, where the torque error is a deviation of an output torque of the electrical motor from its command torque.
In consideration of the foregoing, it would therefore be desirable to have an apparatus for controlling a multi-winding rotary machine, capable of properly increasing responsiveness of the current control system for the multi-winding rotary machine.

Apparatus for controlling a multi-winding rotary machine


A converter for converting circularly polarized waves in a round waveguide into linearly polarized waves in a rectangular waveguide has two probes and a transmission line pattern all of which are formed of metal foil on a thin dielectric film board. The board is flexible and extends across the open ends of the two waveguides. The first probe has a square shape and the transmission line has two conductor arms connected to adjacent sides of the square. The other ends of the conductor arms are connected to the second probe with an impedance matching resistor formed on the film board between the two arms. One conductor arm is one-quarter wavelength longer than the other to convert from circularly polarized waveguide transmission to microstrip transmission.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polarity converter for a parabolic antenna of the kind used in receiving satellite broadcasts or the like.
2. Description of the Background
In order to make it easier to install a parabolic antenna for receiving electromagnetic waves transmitted by a broadcast satellite, that is, in order to allow the receiving parabolic antenna to be installed without taking the polarity of the electromagnetic waves into consideration, such electromagnetic waves are typically transmitted from the satellite with a circular polarization. Thus, it is necessary to convert the electromagnetic waves with a circular polarization into ones with a linear polarization in order to efficiently transform the electromagnetic waves into an electrical signal. For this reason, a polarity converter is required when using a parabolic antenna.
FIG. 6 shows a typical configuration of a conventional polarity converter, in which a waveguide 2 is connected to a feedhorn 1, which has a circular cross section. A dielectric substance 6 is attached across the inside of a portion 3 of the waveguide 2 that is closest to the feedhorn 1. The dielectric substance 6 is fixed at an angle at a point along the length of the waveguide 2 on a diametrical line of the waveguide portion 3, the cross section of which is circular as described above. This dielectric substance 6 is used for converting the circular polarity of the received electromagnetic wave into a linear polarity.
A portion 5 of the waveguide 2 at the stage farthest from the feedhorn 1 is designed so that it is rectangular in cross section to facilitate the transmission of the electromagnetic waves with the linear polarity. A waveguide portion 4 between the portions 3 and 5 is a transition part of the waveguide 2 at which the circular cross section is gradually transformed into a rectangular cross section. Thus, the waveguide portion 4 linking the portions 3 and 5 to each other has a cross section which is a transition between the other two.
The conventional polarity converter is designed as a three-dimensional structure for converting circular-polarity electromagnetic waves into linear-polarity electromagnetic waves. As a result, the conventional polarity converter has several problems, such as large size and high cost to manufacture.

Circular to linear polarization converter


A display apparatus includes: a display displaying images on a display surface; a back chassis arranged in a position opposite to the display surface of the display; and a rear cover arranged in a position opposite to a surface of the back chassis which faces the display, wherein through holes piercing in a thickness direction are formed in the back chassis and reinforcing portions are provided in the back chassis.

There is a display apparatus such as a television receiver and a personal computer, in which a display having a display surface on which images are displayed is provided, a back chassis is arranged on a back surface side of the display and a rear cover is attached on a back surface of the back chassis (for example, see JP-A-2010-243622 (Patent Document 1)).
Recently, a demand for reducing a thickness of the above display apparatus is increased. The thickness reduction is performed by reducing a thickness of the back chassis or the rear cover.


A load balancer is provided that can direct Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) traffic received from a single IPsec tunnel initiator to one of a plurality of endpoints provided Virtual Private Network (VPN) gateways in a network. The load balancer uses IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and SPIs (Security Parameter Identifier) to identify an endpoint responsible for processing particular packets for the VPN. Messages received at the load balancer from the endpoints are utilized to map endpoints responsible for processing packets having a particular IP address and SPI for forwarding IPsec traffic to the correct endpoint.

In corporate, enterprise and data center networking environments servers or processing devices may replicate processing functions across multiple servers or processing devices in order to provide greater processing capabilities. Although the identical functionality may be replicated across multiple servers or processing devices, each device is associated with its own address and as such, requests for the functionality must be sent to a specific one of the multiple servers or computing devices.
As processing requirements increase, a load balancer may be placed in front of the plurality of servers or computing devices to distribute traffic between the servers. The load balancer receives data from a connecting client, selects an appropriate server and forwards the data to the selected server.
The functionality provided by the servers may include Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) services. IPsec tunnels may be established between an initiating computing device and one of the servers either as a destination end point or as a transit point. However, the same server must process all of the traffic associated with an individual IPsec tunnel in order to maintain an IPsec tunnel. IPsec tunnels therefore present challenges enabling load balancing of network traffic.
Therefore there is a need for improved load balancing of IPsec traffic in a network.

Load balancing internet protocol security tunnels


A thermoelectric module includes a thermoelectric element and an electrode. The thermoelectric element has a rectangular end face. The electrode includes a first joint portion joined to a center portion of the end face; and a second joint portion joined to one end and a third joint portion joined to the other end. Each of the second joint portion and the third joint portion is disposed at a distance from each of four corners of the end face. A joint length in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction between the first joint portion and the end face is longer than each of a joint length in the second direction between the second joint portion and the end face, and a joint length in the second direction between the third joint portion and the end face.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermoelectric module, and particularly to a thermoelectric module including a thermoelectric element and an electrode.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, a thermoelectric module is configured such that an electrode is joined to an end face of a thermoelectric element. Such a thermoelectric module is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-101152.
In the thermoelectric module disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document, however, since the electrode is joined to a part of the end face of the thermoelectric element, the area of the electrode joined to the end face of the thermoelectric element becomes relatively small. This poses a problem of decreasing the effect of heat transfer between an object and the thermoelectric element. In order to improve the effect of heat transfer between the object and the thermoelectric element, it is conceivable to join the electrode to the entire end face of the thermoelectric element.
This however also causes the following problem. Specifically, when a current is caused to flow through the thermoelectric module, one end face of the thermoelectric element is cooled while the other end face opposite to one end face is heated. In this case, since a temperature difference occurs in the thermoelectric element between one end face and the other end face, unbalanced deformation tends to occur in one end face and the other end face of the thermoelectric element in accordance with the thermal expansion coefficient thereof. However, since electrodes are joined to one end face and the other end face, respectively, of the thermoelectric element, deformation of the thermoelectric element is prevented by these electrodes. Consequently, thermal stress occurs in the thermoelectric element. Since this thermal stress is noticeably concentrated in four corners of the end face of the thermoelectric element, these four corners of the end face of the thermoelectric element may be destroyed by the thermal stress.


An apparatus for real time monitoring of a patient is provided and includes a memory element for storing data, a processor that executes instructions associated with the data, an interface that receives sensor data from a sensor that takes measurements from the patient and sends the sensor data according to the sensor's measurement latency, a latency calculator that frequently calculates a latency threshold that varies according to at least a health status of the patient, a timer that continuously monitors the sensor's measurement latency, a comparator that frequently compares the sensor's measurement latency with the calculated latency threshold, and a feedback module that automatically changes the sensor's measurement latency to match with the calculated latency threshold.

The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the disclosure, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Real-time monitoring of a patient or potential patient data can be crucial during times of a medical crisis. A difference of a few minutes or even seconds could mean the difference between life and death of the patient, or the difference between a brain-dead patient and a patient that is merely unconscious. As a result, a multitude of real-time monitoring sensors and systems have been developed to ensure that a patient's vitals are reported to appropriate entities in real-time.
For example, certain implantable medical devices periodically test a patient's vital stats to ensure that the current record of the patient's stats are always up to date. The medical device regularly polls the patient's stats at the same time every day. However, the system may over-test and over-report a patient's vital signs within time periods that are too short, wasting log space and possibly shortening the lifespan (i.e., loss of battery life) of the device by performing too many tests within an unnecessarily short period.
In another example, a monitoring sensor is implanted in the toilet of the patient. Whenever the patient urinates, the sensor tests the patient's urine to report the patient's vital information. Such a system, however, depends upon the patient's waste management schedule. If the patient doesn't need to eliminate waste, or uses a different toilet, extended periods of time may occur between testing cycles, making the reporting data unreliable.
In yet another example, a sensor system detects when a sensor is unable to report information, and during that interlude reports an estimated sensor value extrapolated from past sensor trend data. The estimated sensor value, however, may not be entirely accurate and violates the concept of real-time monitoring, since some vital information is not easily predicted using trends, especially during times of a medical emergency.
In yet another example, a sensor is embedded within a probe delivery device, ensuring that sensor data is created virtually as the probes are collected from the patient's body. Not all sensors, however, can be integrated into a patient's body to ensure that data is gathered so rapidly. Some sensors will inevitably have long periods of time in between collection periods.
In yet another example, a system collects sensor data at a rapid rate, ensuring that all data is at most 10 minutes old, and at times ensuring that all data is at most 0.1 seconds old. Again, some sensors may not be able to be configured to collect data at 0.1 second intervals, and there are some vital signs that don't need to be checked so often.
In yet another example, a real-time system monitors a patient in radiation therapy. The system refreshes the data collection in real-time (e.g., a time period that is not humanly discernible). Even if data collection is humanly discernible, however, some data need not be tested so many times in a row. Some vital signs could be tested every 0.1 second, while other vital stats could be checked every day or so.
Thus, there is still a need for systems and methods that ensure real-time data collection, which medical professionals could use to dictate when data is collected rapidly enough to be considered real-time for targeted intents or purposes.
All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.

Real-time monitoring systems and methods in a healthcare environment


A magnetic transducer has air-bearing surface (ABS) and includes a main pole and at least one coil. The coil(s) energize the main pole. The main pole includes a yoke and a pole tip having an ABS-facing surface. The pole tip includes a sidewall having a radius of curvature and a chisel angle. The chisel angle is measured between a yoke direction perpendicular to the ABS and a tangent the sidewall. The chisel angle for the pole tip continuously increases in the yoke direction to a maximum a first distance from the ABS-facing surface in the yoke direction. The radius of curvature for the pole tip has a minimum radius of curvature a second distance from the ABS-facing surface in the yoke direction. The first distance is greater than the second distance.

FIGS. 1A and 1B depict air-bearing surface (ABS) and plan views of a conventional magnetic recording head 10. The magnetic recording transducer 10 may be a perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) head. The conventional magnetic recording transducer 10 may be a part of a merged head including the write transducer 10 and a read transducer (not shown). Alternatively, the magnetic recording head may be a write head including only the write transducer 10. The conventional transducer 10 includes an underlayer 12 that may include a leading shield, side gap 14, side shields 16, top (write) gap 17, optional top shield 18 and main pole 20.
The side shields 16 are separated from the main pole 20 by a side gap 14. The side shields 16 extend a distance back from the ABS. The gap 14 between the side shields 16 and the main pole 20 may have a substantially constant thickness. Thus, the side shields 16 are conformal with the main pole 20.
The main pole 20 resides on an underlayer 12 and includes sidewalls 22 and 24. The underlayer 12 may include a leading shield. The sidewalls 22 and 24 of the conventional main pole 20 form an angle with the down track direction at the ABS. Thus, the top of the main pole 20 is wider than its bottom. In addition, sidewalls of the pole tip forms a chisel angle with the yoke direction (i.e. perpendicular to the ABS) at and near the ABS. Typically, the chisel angle is constant at and near the ABS.
Although the transducer 10 functions, performance of the transducer 10 may suffer at higher recording densities. For example, in the range of close to or above one Tb/in2, the main pole 20 is scaled down in size. In this size range, the reduction in the physical geometry of the main pole 20 may result in a loss in write field. Further, reverse overwrite may also suffer. Thus, performance of the conventional transducer 10 may suffer at higher recording densities.

Magnetic write pole having engineered radius of curvature and chisel angle profiles


A seal member with its base end connected to a metal core has three seal lips. The thickness of the tip end of the intermediate seal lip in the intermediate position is d1, and the thickness of the base end is d2. The thickness of the tip end of the innermost inner seal lip is D1 and that thickness of the base end is D2. In this case, at least part of the base end of the intermediate seal lip and inner seal lip has its thickness regulated to be 0.2·d1≦d2≦0.8·d1, and 0.5·D1≦D2<D1. The tip edge of the inner seal lip is fitted onto the outer peripheral surface of the radially inside cylindrical portion of a slinger with substantially zero interference. Consequently, even if the slinger and metal core are displaced relative to each other, excellent seal performance is secured while increase of torque is inhibited.

The rotatable supporting structures of various types of mechanical devices are assembled with a rolling bearing such as a ball bearing, a cylindrical roller bearing, a tapered roller bearing or the like. This kind of a rolling bearing is provided with a seal assembly for the purpose of preventing the grease applied inside of this rolling bearing from leaking out of the rolling bearing, and also preventing various types of foreign objects such as rain water, mud, dust and the like from entering the inside of the rolling bearing. FIGS. 25 to 27 show three exemplary structures of the seal assembly provided at the opening of the end portion of a rolling bearing for this purpose.
First, the prior art structure as a first example illustrated in FIG. 25 is described in JP Patent Publication No. Tokukai Hei 10-252762 is composed of a metal core 5, a slinger 6 and a sealing member 7. The metal core 5 among these elements is formed as a generally annular ring having an L-shaped cross section, and composed of a radially outer cylindrical portion 9 which can be internally fitted and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the end portion of an outer race 8 and an inner circular ring portion 10 which is bent inwardly in the radial direction at the inner end edge of this radially outer cylindrical portion 9 in the axial direction (the end edge located near the center of the rolling bearing in the axial direction, i.e., the left end edge as illustrated in FIG. 25). Also, the above slinger 6 is formed as an annular ring having an L-shaped cross section, and composed of a radially inner cylindrical portion 12 which can be externally fitted and fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of an inner race 11 and an outer circular ring portion 13 which is bent outwardly in the radial direction at the axially outer end edge of this inner cylindrical portion 12 (the end edge located near the opening of the rolling bearing in the axial direction, i.e., the right end edge as illustrated in FIG. 25). Furthermore, the above sealing member 7 is made of a resilient member, for example, an elastomer such as a rubber, and provided with three seal lips 14 to 16, i.e., an outer, an intermediate and an inner seal lip, whose base end portion is fixedly connected to the above metal core 5. The outer seal lip 14, which is provided in the most outer location, has its tip edge to be in slidable contact with the inner surface of the outer circular ring portion 13 of the slinger 6. On the other hand, the intermediate seal lip 15 and the inner seal lip 16, which are the remaining two seal lips, have their tip edges to be in slidable contact with the outer peripheral surface of the radially inner cylindrical portion 12 of the above slinger 6.
Also, in the first example as illustrated in FIG. 25, the thickness of the outer seal lip 14, which is located in the outermost position among these three seal lips 14 to 16 of the above sealing member 7, is gradually decreasing from the base end portion to the tip edge. Furthermore, the thickness of the inner seal lip 16, which is located in the most inner position, is gradually decreasing from the base end portion to the tip edge in the same manner. This inner seal lip 16 is tilted in the direction such that it goes outwardly in the axial direction of the rolling bearing toward the tip edge thereof. Also, the intermediate seal lip 15 located in the intermediate position has a thin base end portion, a thin tip edge and a thick intermediate portion.
Furthermore, the prior art structure as a second example illustrated in FIG. 26 is approximately similar as that of the above first example illustrated in FIG. 25. Particularly, in the case of this example, an outer seal lip 14a, which is located in the most outer position among these three seal lips 14a, 15a and 16, has the nearly same thickness throughout the entire length from the base end portion to the tip edge thereof. On the other hand, the intermediate seal lip 15a located in the intermediate position is designed to have a base end portion thinner than the tip end portion thereof. In contrast to this, in the case of the prior art structure as a third example illustrated in FIG. 27, the thickness of the outer seal lip 14 is gradually decreasing from the base end portion to the tip edge thereof in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 25 showing the first example. The other structure of the third example is similar as that of the second example as illustrated in FIG. 26.
In any prior art structure of the first to third examples as described above, the opening of the end portion of the rolling bearing is blocked with the slinger 6 slidably contacting the tip edge of the seal lip 14, 14a, 15, 15a or 16 of the sealing member 7. This result in preventing the grease applied inside of this rolling bearing from leaking out of the rolling bearing, and also preventing various types of foreign matters such as rain water, mud, dust and the like from entering the inside of the rolling bearing.
There is desired, in the case of the three exemplary prior art structures as illustrated in FIG. 25 to FIG. 27, the improvement of the following points. That is, for example, in the case where the three exemplary prior art structures are applied to a rolling bearing to be incorporated into the support device for the wheels of an automobile, there may occurs a relative tilt between the inner race 11 with the externally fitted slinger 6 and the outer race 8 with the internally fitted metal core 5 (misalignment between the central axes of the respective members 11 and 8) when the automobile takes a rapid turn. If the inner and outer races 11 and 8 are relatively tilted, the above slinger 6 and the metal core 5 move partially close to each other so that the above respective seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 are excessively compressed. Also, if the inner race 11 is decentered from the outer race 8 for some reason, the above respective seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 may be excessively compressed. When the respective seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 are excessively compressed, the so-called pressing force is increased which is a force urging the tip edge of the seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 against the slinger 6. Because of this, the tip edges of the respective seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 tend to wear, and therefore the sealing performance is degraded at the slidably contacting region between the slinger 6 and the respective seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16. Also, in this case, the rotating torque applied to the rolling bearing increases. Furthermore, if the inner and outer races 11 and 8 are relatively tilted, the peripheral surfaces of both the inner and outer races 11 and 8 move partially apart from each other to decrease pressing force of the seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 and increase the degree of risk that rain water and the like enters the inside of the seal assembly. Taking into consideration this situation, it is thought to increase the initial interference of the above seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 to increase the above pressing force in whole. However, in this case, when the inner and outer races 11 and 8 are relatively tilted, the pressing force of the above seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 can be furthermore increased near the peripheral surfaces thereof close to each other. Because of this, the tip edges of the respective seal lips 14, 14a, 15, 15a and 16 would wear, and therefore the sealing performance would be furthermore degraded. Also, the rotating torque applied to the rolling bearing would increase.
In any prior art structure of the three examples as described above, the interference between the slinger 6 and the tip edges of the intermediate seal lips 15 and 15a and the outer seal lips 14 and 14a is not suitably controlled. On the other hand, if this interference is excessive, the tip edges of the above intermediate and outer seal lips 15, 15a, 14 and 14a tend to wear, and therefore the sealing performance is degraded in the long term use at the slidably contacting region between the slinger 6 and the respective the seal lips 15, 15a, 14 and 14a. Also, in this case, the rotating torque applied to the rolling bearing (rotational resistance) increases. Conversely, if the interference between the slinger 6 and the tip edges of the above intermediate and outer seal lips 15, 15a, 14 and 14a is excessively small, the pressing force of the respective seal lips 15, 15a, 14, 14a against the slinger 6 is excessively decreased. In this manner, also in the case where the pressing force is excessively decreased, the sealing performance is degraded at the respective slidably contacting regions. The inventors of the present invention therefore considered that the above interference needs to be controlled within an appropriate range for the purpose of improving the sealing performance of the respective slidably contacting regions.
Also, in the case of the second exemplary prior art structure as illustrated in FIG. 26, since the outer seal lip 14a has the nearly same thickness throughout the entire length from the base end portion to the tip edge, there are the following shortcomings to be improved. Namely, if the outer seal lip 14a has the nearly same thickness throughout the entire length in this manner, this outer seal lip 14a tends to excessively bend at the base end portion (the root portion) when this outer seal lip 14a is urged against the slinger 6. When the outer seal lip 14a excessively bends at the base end portion (the root portion), a large strain is generated near the base end portion. Because of this, the motion following performance of the outer seal lip 14a responsive to the surface movement of the slinger 6 is degraded by the increasing resistance against the elastic deformation of the sealing member 7 made of a resilient member such as a rubber or the like. Also, in this case, since the stress relaxation occurs in the vicinity of the above base end portion, the pressing force of the above outer seal lip 14a on the above slinger 6 is decreased with the elapse of time. Accordingly, after long term use, the sealing performance tends to be degraded at the slidably contacting region between this outer seal lip 14a and the above slinger 6.
In contrast to this, in the case where the thickness of the outer seal lip 14 is gradually decreasing from the base end portion to the tip edge as illustrated in FIG. 25 and FIG. 27 showing the first and third examples, the strain in the vicinity of the base end portion can be decreased. However, the strain at the tip end portion of the above outer seal lip 14 is large instead. For this reason, in the same manner as the above second example, the motion following performance of the outer seal lip 14 responsive to the surface movement of the slinger 6 is degraded, and the pressing force of this outer seal lip 14 is decreased in the long term use. Also, in this case, as illustrated in FIG. 27 showing the above third example, the tip end portion of the outer seal lip 14 tends to come into surface contact (surface-to-surface contact) with the inner side surface of the outer circular ring portion 13 constituting the slinger 6. Then, when the tip end portion of the outer seal lip 14 comes into surface contact in this manner, the surface pressure is greatly decreased at the contact portion between the tip end portion of this outer seal lip 14 and the inner side surface of the outer circular ring portion 13 such that the sealing performance is easily degraded.
Also, in practical use of the seal assembly for the rolling bearing, the slinger 6 rotates with displacement in the axial and radial directions relative to the sealing member 7 in accordance with the misalignment of the respective components, the elastic deformation thereof and so forth. Because of this, even in the case where the outer seal lip 14a has the nearly same thickness throughout the entire length as illustrated in FIG. 26 showing the above second example, the above outer seal lip 14a can come into surface contact with the inner surface of the outer circular ring portion 13 when the slinger 6 moves toward the sealing member 7. Incidentally, if the entire length of the above outer seal lips 14 and 14a is made small, it is possible to suppress the above surface-to-surface contact. However, in this case, it becomes difficult to secure the sealing performance when the above slinger 6 moves apart from the above sealing member 7. Taking into consideration the above situation, the above outer seal lips 14 and 14a cannot be shortened so much.
On the other hand, in the three exemplary prior art structures as described above, when a hard foreign matter is bitten at the slidably contacting region between the tip edge of the outer seal lips 14 and 14a and the inner side surface of the outer circular ring portion 13, the abrasion at this slidably contacting region excessively progresses. The sealing performance at the above slidably contacting region is therefore largely lowered in a short period of time after the excessive progress of abrasion. In contrast to this, it is thought to prevent the above foreign matter from being bitten by increasing the pressing force of the outer seal lips 14 and 14a onto the slinger 6. However, in this case, the abrasion of the tip edge of the outer seal lips 14 and 14a is even more likely to make it difficult to secure a sufficient sealing performance. Also, it is thought to provide another seal lip, as a part of the sealing member 7, projecting from a position apart from the base end portion of the outer seal lips 14 and 14a for the purpose of preventing foreign matter from being bitten at the slidably contacting region between the tip edge of the outer seal lips 14 and 14a and the inner surface of the outer circular ring portion 13 by means of this another seal lip. However, the provision of such another seal lip may increase the torque of the rolling bearing and substantially raise the cost of the seal assembly for the rolling bearing.
Taking into consideration the above circumstances, the present invention is made for the purpose of improving the sealing performance of a seal assembly.

Seal assembly, and rolling bearing and hub unit assembled therewith


An object tracking system used for monitoring objects as they traverse a controlled space provides for efficient processing and creates a "database output" which includes the direction each object has traveled along with an identification of the specific time at which this object was counted. The system provides for efficient processing through pixel blocking and the use of a crop box to minimize the analysis required.

The present invention relates to a system for monitoring and tracking objects as they traverse a predefined space. More specifically, the invention relates to a system which tracks people as they traverse a controlled space such as the entrance to a retail outlet.
In certain situations, it is extremely beneficial to keep track of objects and people as they traverse a controlled space. For example, in retail sales, it is beneficial to monitor customers as they enter the retail establishment. This information can then be used for purposes of staffing, marketing, etc.
Certain physical apparatus can be used to monitor individuals entering or traversing a controlled space. For example, a turnstile is commonly used to count people as they enter certain areas such as amusement parks, subways, athletic events, etc. Other processes are also used such as the use of infrared beams or motion detectors. In each of these systems, the object must interfere with the device in some way so as to produce a countable event.
Other systems have been used which utilize video cameras and processing devices for tracking objects and individuals. Some example devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,418 entitled "Display Monitoring System for Detecting and Tracking an Intruder in a Monitor Area". This system, however, provides a very complex method of tracking--not counting--in which reference frames are constantly changed and large amounts of processing are required.
Another system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,328 which discloses a system for detecting and monitoring an area. This system uses a combination of blob analysis and motion analysis to determine if customers are present at a predefined location. More specifically, this system is tailored to monitor customer service windows at a bank.
Another system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,115 entitled "Video Traffic Monitor for Retail Establishments and the Like". This system is also for monitoring the flow of traffic through a designated area. In this system, an imaginary row of gates is defined and images filling one or more of these gates are monitored. The gates are used as a turnstile and are much smaller than a person.
All of the above mentioned systems utilize classical video cameras to acquire their images. These video cameras, while being effective, are very large and require significant amounts of space. Furthermore, while video cameras effectively capture images for use by particular systems, these same cameras tend to make customers uneasy. When cameras exist, people clearly know they are being monitored thus creating some level of tension.
Additionally, many of the above mentioned systems are clearly meant for tracking individuals as they move about a predefined space. In this context, methodologies and systems are required to perform this detailed tracking. Consequently, the processes are much different than those aimed simply at "counting" the passage of people. Lastly, these systems all require large amounts of processing, which is not easily placed within an on-board processor. Such processing requirements necessitate large amounts of memory and very expensive high speed processors.
Also, previous systems are not well adapted to bus architectures wherein small discreet count sensors are placed at various locations and are connected to a larger system via bus connections.

Object tracking system for monitoring a controlled space


A fuel injector including a peripheral atomisation system having a plurality of fuel ejection orifices distributed at regular intervals along the circumference and an annular air eddy deflector. The deflector includes air ejection channels such that, for each fuel ejection axis defined by an ejection orifice, there is a corresponding air ejection channel of which at least the radially most internal part has a median substantially intersecting this fuel ejection axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a multimode fuel injector for combustion chambers, particularly the combustion chamber of a jet engine. More particularly it concerns a refinement making it possible to ensure better peripheral atomisation.
2. Description of the Related Art
The fuel is introduced via several fuel injectors into a traditional combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine. The fuel is mixed with air in each fuel injector before being introduced, then burned in the combustion chamber.
A multimode fuel injector is known, wherein the injection of fuel is differentiated according to the operating speed of the engine. For example, European Patent 1 369 644 describes a fuel injector in which two modes of injection are combined thanks to two coaxial fuel atomisation systems, fed respectively by two fuel distribution circuits, a primary circuit, with relatively low permanent flowrate, which makes it possible to introduce the fuel into a combustion zone, optimised for low engine speeds and a secondary circuit, with intermittent flowrate introducing the fuel into a combustion zone optimised for high engine speeds. For this purpose the atomisation system includes an atomisation head comprising a central nozzle fed by said primary circuit and a peripheral distribution chamber fed by the secondary circuit.
In the first system described, the quality of peripheral atomisation governs the amount of polluting emissions at high engine speed. The invention proposes a multimode fuel injector making it possible to limit the polluting emissions at high engine speed, particularly on takeoff.

Multimode fuel injector for combustion chambers, in particular of a jet engine


A bolt for securing timber to any other material, comprises: a bolt head with a series of spiked teeth on its underside; a cylindrical bolt rod extending from the bolt head is threaded and split into two rods at its free end, so as to define a slot therebetween.

Often, those working in the construction industry, such as builders and carpenters, need to construct prefabricated items or structures from wood or timber. Pieces of wood or timber forming such items or structures were often secured one to another using fixings such as nails, screws or bolts.
Whilst screws and nails were useful for attaching small pieces of wood, one to another, the usual manner of securing larger pieces of timber together or securing timber to third party materials, for example of the sort used in frames and larger structures, involves drilling a hole through each material where they should be joined. There are then two traditional methods of securing the materials together:
Option 1—A metal bolt, usually made of steel, is passed through the hole, a nut and washer is then tighten onto the threaded end, so effectively clamping the pieces of timber or timber to a third party material together.
Option 2—A threaded rod is cut to the correct length to fit through the hole created, with a small excess on either side. A washer and a nut are tightened onto each end, holding the pieces of timber together, so effectively clamping the pieces of timber or third party material together.
These bolts/threaded rods were typically of a diameter between 8 mm and 20 mm.
Although this method was widely used, it suffered from several disadvantages.
The use of a 'coach bolt' in securing timber members has many drawbacks and limitations, namely:                1. It relies on the user to drill the correctly sized hole through the timber members. Due to the small head size in relation to the diameter size of the bolt, there is little tolerance for drilling an over-sized hole.        2. Due to the small surface area of the head to the bolt, it is usual for Building Control Officers to request the use of a 50 mm×50 mm washer.        3. It is a common occurrence for the bolt to turn within the timber before it is completely tight or has reached the correct torque.        4. It is also a common occurrence for the small head of the bolt to be pulled into the timber member, deforming the timber face, thereby reducing the effective structural depth of the timber as designed.        5. In the case of domed headed bolts the bolt makes it difficult to subsequently attach or fix finishing materials, such a plywood and plasterboard, as it is not possible to achieve a true level surface without remedial works being required.        6. There are instances which require the contractor to pass the bolt through the first member and then offer up the second member over the bolt. The second member pushes the bolt out of the first member adding to the frustration.        7. Due to the small surface area of the head to the bolt, it is difficult to achieve the correct torque to the nut without deforming the surface of the timber member. This is a particular issue when the head of the bolt is visible. It leads to an unsightly finish.        8. There is no facility to restrain the bolt in position.
The use of threaded rod in securing timber members also has many drawbacks and limitations, namely:                1. Wastage is excessive and common due to the bars being supplied in set lengths. It is exceptionally unusual to use the entire rod.        2. When the rod has been cut, the thread becomes deformed making it difficult to thread the nuts.        3. In order to fix the rod in position, it requires two sets of nuts and two sets 50 mm×50 mm washers, which adds expense and is often awkward.        4. It is a common occurrence that when tightening one nut, the shaft or bar has a tendency to turn within the opposing nut, thereby winding the rod through the timber members.        5. There is no facility to restrain the nut or threaded rod in position.        6. It is an awkward and time-consuming activity for those working in construction, as they must tighten one washer and nut onto one side of the threaded rod, then hold it in place with a spanner whilst tightening a washer and nut on the other side resulting in continuous access being required to both ends of the bolt, using two separate spanners, in order to secure the fixing. Space constraints commonly experienced on construction sites often restrict the possibility of achieving this.        7. The nuts can become loose and may be lost, decreasing the likelihood of the fabrication staying together and potentially putting people at risk.
Means of securing pieces of timber and other construction materials that require fewer parts are known in the art. For example, DE-A-3 133 638 (Bergner Richard GmbH) discloses a screw device with a head comprising a series of spiked teeth, which latch into the wooden material. However, the matter of the head of the bolt gouging into a work piece was not addressed.
Although the bolt described in DE-A-3 133 638 was an improvement upon existing methods, (because it required no nut or washer on one side of the work piece or building materials), the screw device disclosed made no attempt to further secure both ends of the bolt. The result was that despite a washer and nut being placed on a 'blind side', the bolt could still work loose. Furthermore, in many jurisdictions, building regulations require the bolt to fully pass through the surface it penetrated and to be secured by a nut. As such, in many situations, the screw device does not always meet building regulation standards.
Another example of a screw device is disclosed in UK Patent GB-B-2 372 304 (Rendell). A bolt with a hexagonal head is disclosed. The bolt has spikes formed in the head of the bolt. The spikes engage a surface and impede rotation of the bolt, for example when being tightened from a blind side of a work piece.
French Patent Application FR-A-997085 (Dehousse) discloses a bolt which has a notch formed at its end. This would not have been appropriate for joining two timber work pieces.
The present invention arose in order to provide an improved bolt which is quick and simple to install, cheap to manufacture and does not suffer from the aforementioned disadvantages of turning whilst being tightened, falling out of timber due fabrication, pulling through timber, working loose over time, as well as providing a safer way of joining timber pieces together or a timber to another structure, without the risk of bolts and nuts working loose.

Abstract: In use a user drills a hole through pieces of timber to be secured together, and hammers the bolt through the hole. The spiked teeth on the bolt head lock into the timber, securing the bolt at one end. At the free, split end of the bolt rod, a washer and nut are tightened onto the bolt.

Abstract: A cold chisel is hammered into the slot between the split ends of the rod, bending the ends outwards and thus preventing the nut from loosening.


The present invention relates to a method of creating DNA libraries that include an artificial promoter library and/or a modified ribosome binding site library and transforming bacterial host cells with the library to obtain a population of bacterial clones having a range of expression levels for a chromosomal gene of interest.

For many years microorganisms have been exploited in industrial applications for the production of valuable commercial products, such as industrial enzymes, hormones and antibodies. Despite the fact that recombinant DNA technology has been used in an attempt to increase the productivity of these microorganisms, the use of metabolic genetic engineering to improve strain performance, particularly in industrial fermentations has been disappointing.
A common strategy used to increase microbial strain performance is to alter gene expression, and a number of means have been used to achieve this end. One approach includes the cloning of a heterologous or a homologous gene in a multi-copy plasmid in a selected host strain. Another approach concerns altering chromosomal gene expression. This has been accomplished by various methods some of which include: (1) site-specific mutations, deletions or insertions at a predetermined region of a chromosome; (2) reliance on transposons to insert DNA randomly into chromosomes and (3) altering of native regulatory regions of a gene at its chromosomal location. The alteration of regulatory regions can be accomplished for example, by changing promoter strength or by using regulatable promoters which are influenced by inducer concentration. Reference is made to Jensen and Hammer, (1998) Biotechnology and Bioengineering 58:193-195; Jensen and Hammer (1998) Appl. Environ. Microbio. 64:82-85; and Khlebnikov et al. (2001) Microbiol. 147:3241. Other techniques used to replace regulatory regions of chromosomal gene have been disclosed in Abdel-Hamid et al. (2001) Microbiol. 147:1483-1498 and Repoila and Gottesman (2001) J. Bacteriol. 183:4012-4023.
With respect to optimizing metabolic pathway engineering in a selected host, the above-mentioned approaches have had limited success and each approach has certain disadvantages. Research has shown the expression level of a genetically modified gene on a plasmid is not necessarily correlated with the level of expression of the same modified gene located in the chromosome (See Khlebnikov et al. (2001) Microbiol. 147:3241 and McCraken and Timms (1999) J. Bacteriol. 18:6569).
Moreover, the effect of increasing expression of one gene in a metabolic pathway may only have a marginal effect on the flux through that metabolic pathway. This may be true even if the gene being manipulated codes for an enzyme in a rate-limiting step because control of a metabolic pathway may be distributed over a number of enzymes. Therefore, while a gene has been engineered to achieve a high level of expression, for example a 10 to 100 fold increase in expression, the overall performance of the engineered microorganism in a bioreactor may decrease. The decrease could be due to the balance of other factors involved in the metabolic pathway or the depletion of other substances necessary for optimum cell growth.
The above problem is addressed in part by Jensen and Hammer (WO 98/07846). The disclosure of WO98/07846 describes the construction of a set of constitutive promoters that provide different levels of gene expression. Specifically, artificial promoter libraries are constructed comprising variants of a regulatory region that includes a −35 consensus box, a −10 consensus box and a spacer (linker) region that lies between these consensus regions. However, one of the drawbacks of the method described in WO 98/07846 is the extensive screening (in terms of time and numbers of steps), which would be required to create a library of clones with different levels of gene expression. It is also disclosed in the reference that the modulation of promoter strength, by a few base-pair changes in the consensus sequences or by changes in the linker sequence, would result in a large impact in promoter strength, and therefore, it would not be feasible to achieve small steps on promoter strength modulation.
Therefore, a need still exists in the area of metabolic pathway engineering to develop a quick and efficient means of determining the optimum expression of a gene of interest in a metabolic pathway which in turn results in an optimization of strain performance for a desired product. The present method satisfies this need by providing a method to characterize small changes in gene expression level and hence allowing for the selection of a cell providing an optimum level of expression.

Method of creating a library of bacterial clones with varying levels of gene expression


A distinct cultivar of Anthurium plant named xe2x80x98Red Coralxe2x80x99, characterized by its upright and somewhat outwardly spreading plant habit; freely clumping growth habit; durable dark green leaves; red-colored spathes with lighter red-colored spadices that are positioned above and beyond the foliage on strong and erect scapes; spadices initially columnar becoming spatulate with subsequent development; freely flowering habit; and good inflorescence longevity.

Anthurium andreanum.
xe2x80x98Red Coralxe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Anthurium plant, botanically known as Anthurium andreanum, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Red Coralxe2x80x99.
The new Anthurium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Schipluiden, The Netherlands. The objective of the program is to create and develop new freely clumping and freely flowering Anthurium cultivars with strong roots, dark green leaves, attractive spathe color, and good inflorescence longevity.
The New Anthurium originated from a cross by the Inventor on or about Nov. 25, 1997 of the Inventor""s proprietary Anthurium andreanum selection code number 95-018 as the female, or seed, parent with the Inventor""s proprietary Anthurium andreanum selection code number 97-015 as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Red Coral was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Schipluiden, The Netherlands in 2000.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by meristem culture in a laboratory in Belgium has shown that the unique features of this new Anthurium plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.
The new Anthurium has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of the cultivar Red Coral. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Red Coralxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and somewhat outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Freely clumping growth habit.
3. Durable dark green leaves.
4. Red-colored spathes with lighter red-colored spadices that are positioned above and beyond the foliage on strong and erect scapes.
5. Spadices initially columnar becoming spatulate with subsequent development.
6. Freely flowering habit.
7. Good inflorescence longevity.
Plants of the new Anthurium can be compared to plants of the female parent, the selection 95-018. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Schipluiden, The Netherlands, plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the selection 95-018 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Anthurium were not as bushy as plants of the selection 95-018.
2. Spadices of plants of the new Anthurium became spatulate with development whereas spadices of plants of the selection 95-018 did not become spatulate with development.
Plants of the new Anthurium can be compared to plants of the male parent, the selection 97-015. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Schipluiden, The Netherlands, plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the selection 97-015 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Anthurium were more compact than plants of the selection 97-015.
2. Leaves of plants of the new Anthurium were smaller than leaves of plants of the selection 97-015.
3. Spathe color of plants of the new Anthuriums was red whereas spathe color of plants of the selection 97-015 was white and pink.
Plants of the new Anthurium can also be compared to plants of the cultivar Baby Red, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,468. In side-by-side comparisons comducted in Schipluiden, The Netherlands, plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the cultivar Baby Red in the following characteristics:
1. Spathes of plants of the new Anthurium were not as flat as spathes of plants of the culivar Baby Red.
2. Plants of the new Anthurium had light red-colored spadices whereas plants of the cultivar Baby Red had white-colored spadices.
3. Spadices of plants of the new Anthurium became spatulate with development whereas spadices of plants of the cultivar Baby Red did not become spathulate with development.