Disclosed is a stretching device for artistic media, which includes a pair of horizontal and vertical frame members. The horizontal frame members and the vertical frame members can be removably connected by means of L-shaped joints to form a rectangular frame. Each of the horizontal frame members and the vertical frame members include an upper flat bar and a lower flat bar slideably attached thereto by means of slide screws. The upper flat bar and the lower flat bar can be brought closer together so as to hold an edge of a piece of paper therebetween by adjusting clamping screws affixed thereto. The upper flat bar and the lower flat bar can be moved away from the horizontal frame member or the vertical frame member by means of stretch knob screws. In one embodiment, the device may be utilized to stretch watercolor paper and prevent the paper from wrinkling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an artistic media stretching device. More specifically, the present invention pertains to an improved artistic media stretching device for stretching watercolor paper and preventing the paper from wrinkling or otherwise buckling. The device may be utilized with the paper prior to painting on the paper or during the painting process.
Stretching watercolor paper or other artistic media such as canvas has many aesthetic advantages because stretching provides a flat surface on which to work, and the surface remains relatively flat during and after the painting process. Many stretching techniques include the steps of submerging the paper in water and soaking the paper so that the paper is sufficiently damp before it is placed on a stretching device. Thereafter, the paper may be installed on a stretching device so that the edges of the paper are secured to the perimeter of the device and the surface of the paper is taut.
However, it is difficult to stretch paper so that the paper is stretched uniformly and does not warp. Conventional stretching devices comprise a clamping mechanism for securing the edges of the paper. When damp paper is installed on a stretching device with a clamping mechanism, however, the paper does not stay flat. This can be problematic as it is impracticable to continually attempt to flatten the paper while it is secured on the stretching device. Additionally, it is not ideal to remoisten paper because constantly remoistening paper causes the wrinkles to worsen. Accordingly, existing stretching devices do not allow users to eliminate wrinkling on the paper while it is wet.
The present invention relates to a stretching device for artistic media, and in particular, watercolor paper. While the present invention is particularly useful for stretching watercolor paper, the present invention may also be used for stretching other types of artistic media, such as canvas, fabrics, awnings, and the like. Generally, the present invention comprises a pair of horizontal frame members and a pair of vertical frame members that form a frame, and a pair of flat bars that are on the outer surface of the frame, wherein the flat bars slide towards and away from the horizontal and vertical frame members. The present invention further includes a set of slide screws that help guide the flat bars when sliding towards and away from the horizontal and vertical frame members. The flat bars may be brought closer together or further apart by means of clamping screws, so as to secure a watercolor paper therebetween. Once the paper is secured to the device, the flat bars can be moved away from the frame by means of stretch knob screws to stretch the surface of the paper and eliminate any wrinkles thereon. Thereafter, the stretch knob screws may be further adjusted so that the user can increase or decrease the tension on the surface of the paper during the painting process. This enables the user to maintain a flat painting surface without removing the paper from the device. Additionally, the present invention allows the user to prevent the paper from wrinkling even when the paper is remoistened.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that claim watercolor paper stretchers. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. Some of these devices disclose a stretcher that includes a frame, anchors, and a screw that tightens the paper. Other devices disclose a frame with brackets that attach to each corner of the frame. These devices, however, do not utilize a sliding bar that can be adjusted to stretch the paper. The foregoing is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,562 to Jacob discloses a sheet stretching device comprising a flat board and a frame assembly. The board comprises a plurality of apertures along the perimeter thereof, and a plurality of slots that is spaced at regular intervals. The frame assembly includes a mechanism that bends the board into a disk shape. When the board is shaped into a disk, a sheet of material is affixed to the board with anchors. When the frame is released from the board, the board resumes its original shape and the sheet is stretched. While the device of Jacob is capable of stretching a sheet of material such as a sheet of watercolor paper, the device of Jacob differs from the present invention in that Jacob fails to disclose a frame having a pair of slideably attached flat bars at each of its sides. The flat bars of the present invention helps secure the paper in place, thereby eliminating the need to use a board.
Similarly, U.S. Published Patent Application Number 2012/0186114 to Boggs discloses a watercolor paper stretcher and holder device comprising a board, and a channel edging at each of its sides. The channel edging is constructed so that it fits snugly onto the sides of the board. Thus, Boggs does not disclose a plurality of fasteners for securing the channel edging in place. In contrast, the present invention comprises a frame and a pair of flat bars at each of its sides. The flat bars are slideably attached to the sides of the frame via slide screws, clamping screws, and stretch knob screws. In this way, the user can adjust the tension of the paper secured onto the frame when stretching the paper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,610 to Lawless discloses a watercolor paper constrainer comprising a rectangular base defined by constraining straps and tightening screws capable of constraining a watercolor paper at the edge-line to obtain a fully flat sheet for painting. Although the tightening screws serve to draw the constraining strap into intimate contact with the watercolor paper and the base, the device of Lawless is limited in the fact that it does not disclose slide screws, clamping screws, and stretch knob screws. Each of the screws of the present invention are used for different purposes. For instance, the slide screws of the present invention assist the user in guiding the flat bars that are disposed at each of the sides of the frame. Additionally, the clamping screws assist the user in securing the edges of the paper. Lastly, the stretch knob screws assist in stretching the paper so as to reduce the paper from wrinkling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,901 to Williams discloses a watercolor paper stretcher comprising a box-like frame with a cover having sides that extend downwardly therefrom. The box-like frame comprises a plurality of anchor means at the lower perimeter thereof. A watercolor paper is disposed between the frame and the cover so that the edges of the watercolor paper are secured to each of the anchor means. In this way, the device of Williams stretches the watercolor paper. Unlike the present invention, however, the device of Williams does not secure the watercolor paper by means of screws. The present invention comprises various types of screws to secure the watercolor paper to the device while stretching the paper.
Finally, U.S. Published Patent Application Number 2009/0217557 to Serrano discloses an artistic media stretcher comprising a frame on which the medium is stretched and a hinged clamping mechanism that is adapted to both stretch the medium and to secure the medium to the frame. The hinged clamping mechanism may comprise a double-hinged, single-hinged, tongue-and-catch, a barbell-hinged, half-barbell hinged, and a hybrid-hinged clamping mechanism. Thus, the device of Serrano does not disclose a frame having a pair of flat bars slideably attached thereto by means of a plurality of screws. The present invention discloses clamping screws that secure the watercolor paper to the frame, and stretch knob screws that stretch the watercolor paper. As such, the present invention comprises different types of screws that function separately. In contrast, the device of Serrano uses a single type of hinged clamping mechanism to secure and stretch the medium to the frame.
The devices disclosed in the prior art have several known drawbacks. These devices are limited in that these devices fail to provide a separate means to secure the watercolor paper and to stretch the watercolor paper. The present invention overcomes these limitations by disclosing clamping screws and stretch knob screws, wherein the clamping screws secure the watercolor paper to the frame and the stretch knob screws stretch the watercolor paper to prevent wrinkling. Additionally, the present invention discloses a frame with slideably attached flat bars that are guided into position by means of slide screws. In this way, the flat bars are aligned properly to the frame, which further assist in preventing the watercolor paper from wrinkling or folding. It is therefore submitted that the present invention is substantially divergent in design elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to paper stretchers. In this regard, the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.


In a virtual network construction method, a virtual network construction system, and a relaying apparatus within a public data communication network, control packets each having set a multicast address are multicast, and upon reception of the control packets by the relaying apparatuses belonging to the multicast address group, virtual links to the transmitting sources of the control packets are established and reply packets are returned through the virtual links, whereby the virtual links are established between all of the relaying apparatuses belonging to the multicast address group to establish the virtual network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a virtual network construction method, a virtual network construction system, and a relaying apparatus, and in particular to a virtual network construction method, a virtual network construction system, and a relaying apparatus within a public data communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Companies, enterprises, or the like having their sites which are referred to as user sites dispersed over a plurality of locations, have adopted various methods as inter-LAN connecting technology for connecting local area networks (LAN's) of the sites to construct intra-company networks or the like.
One of such methods is a leased line service connecting the user sites with leased lines, for example. However, since the leased line service is very expensive and its billing is proportional to the distance, the user company constructs the inter-LAN connection by connecting each site in line in order to economize the distance of the lines utilized as much as possible.
In this case, there has been a problem that when the communication is disabled at an intermediating user site due to a fault, the end to end communication is also disabled.
Thereafter, a virtual leased line service such as an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) service and an FR (Frame Relay) service which is less expensive compared to the leased line service appeared, so that the billing is performed in accordance with the number of virtual connections instead of the billing proportional to the distance.
As a result, network configuration connecting the LAN's of branch offices to a headquarter in the form of a star has increased and it has decreased that a fault at an intermediating site gives influences on the other sites.
Moreover, the spread of the Internet has enabled user companies to connect the dispersed user sites by using the Internet, which is a public data communication network, without using the virtual leased line service such as the ATM service and the FR service. Such a service is called an Internet VPN service, and the billing is performed by the number of physical sites connected. It is to be noted that VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
Since the LAN of each user site (hereinafter, referred to as user network) generally uses private addresses in an Internet VPN service, packets cannot be flown unchanged into the Internet using global addresses.
Therefore, for the communications through the Internet (hereinafter, referred to as global Internet) between a plurality of user network sites, a so-called tunneling technique is required.
Namely, when transmitting a packet from the user network to the global Internet, a router connecting to the global Internet in the user network of the transmitting source encapsulates the packet to be transmitted from the user network with an IP packet having a global address and transmits it to a destination user network through the global Internet.
A router connecting to the global network in the destination user network decapsulates the packet after receiving it and then forwards it to a destination host computer within the destination user network.
In this case, each user network is required to be provided with a router connecting to the global network that is an apparatus capable of initiating and terminating a tunnel, i.e. encapsulating and decapsulating the packet. However, when processes become complicated the performance of that router declines, so that purchase of an expensive apparatus or upgrade is required in order to improve the performance.
Moreover, if there are numerous sites, various settings, such as routing information setting and logical interfaces setting, necessary for the connection to the global Internet become more complicated. In this case, the user company is required to educate managers for maintaining and managing the VPN, so that additional staffs and costs are required.
Consequently, a new VPN service has been devised in which the maintenance and management of the VPN are outsourced to a provider (Internet Service Provider; hereinafter abbreviated as ISP) or a carrier of the public data communication network so that the existing routers can be used in the user network without changes. Hereinafter, such a VPN service will be referred to as an IP-VPN (Internet Protocol-Virtual Private Network) service.
In the IP-VPN service, the tunnel initiating/terminating function is provided by a relaying apparatus within the public data communication network. Hereinafter, the relaying apparatus within the public data communication network having the tunnel initiating/terminating function will be occasionally referred to as an edge router. Moreover, in case there are a plurality of user sites and the user networks of the sites are connected to different routers, a routing control between the user networks is required wherein the edge router determines, for a packet transmitted from a user network, to which tunnel an encapsulated packet should be transmitted according to the destination user network. Such a routing control function is also provided by the edge router.
Namely, the edge router transfers the packet based on routing information of a private address of the user network, aside from the routing information of the global Internet.
In order to describe a general IP-VPN service, FIG. 21 shows that virtual networks (hereinafter, referred to as private networks) constructed by tunnels connecting the user networks are overlaid to the global Internet operated by using global addresses, when the user networks are operated by using private addresses.
In FIG. 21, an ISP network NW1 providing a global address space has its backbone composed of edge routers PR1, PR4, and PR5, and core routers PR2 and PR3 which do not accommodate the user networks nor provide the tunnel initiating/terminating function within the public data communication network.
Now, a case will be considered where a user company desires to mutually connect user networks UN1-UN6 by using the IP-VPN service.
In this case, the user networks UN1-UN6 have existing routers (user routers) UR1-UR6 respectively, wherein the user routers UR1 and UR2 are connected to the edge router PR1, the user routers UR3-UR5 are connected to the edge router PR4, and the UR6 is connected to the edge router PR5, respectively.
In the edge routers PR1, PR4, and PR5, there are virtual routers VPN1-VR1-VPN1-VR3. Therefore, the user networks UN1-UN6 are connected to a virtual private network VPN1 which is a private address space through the virtual routers VPN1-VR1-VPN1-VR3 as shown extracted above the network NW1 in FIG. 21.
Conventionally proposed methods of such an IP-VPN service will be specifically described below.
(1) IETF RFC2547
Firstly, a method proposed as an IETF RFC2547 will be described referring to FIG. 22.
FIG. 22 shows the same physical connection form as that of FIG. 21. However, in FIG. 22, different from FIG. 21, it is assumed that a user company (company A) having sites of the user networks UN1, UN3, and UN4 is different from a user company (company B) having sites of the user networks UN2, UN5, and UN6.
Therefore, in FIG. 22, a virtual private network VPN2 for the company A and a virtual private network VPN1 for the company B are separately constructed.
Also in FIG. 22, ports are shown as physical interfaces of the edge routers PR1, PR4, and PR5, e.g. ports PR1-PP1, PR1-PP2, and PR1-PP6 are shown in the edge router PR1.
Also, ports as virtual interfaces of virtual routers VPN1-VR1, VPN1-VR2, VPN1-VR3, VPN2-VR1, and VPN2-VR2 are shown, e.g. ports V2-VR1-VP1 and V2-VR1-VP6 are shown in the virtual router VPN2-VR1.
Hereinafter, the process of the IETF RFC2547 method will be described.
When the companies A and B respectively perform communications between their user networks, it is required that the packets are transferred through the ISP network NW1 in the virtual private networks VPN2 and VPN1 respectively.
The RFC2547 method realizes the VPN using a technique called a Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) and a routing protocol called a Border Gateway Protocol.
The MPLS is a technique which enables a router on an IP route to replace an IP packet relaying process performed on a network layer with a label switching process performed on a datalink layer by using a label added to the packet, thereby reducing a process of route retrieval and relaying a packet at a high speed.
The label of MPLS assumes a value predetermined for an inter-router link between the routers sharing the links, so that upon receiving a packet with label, the router checks the label to determine where it should be relayed to, and adds a new label corresponding to the output link to the packet to be retransmitted.
A path in which the packet is transferred by the label is called a Label Switching Path (LSP). The LSP can be regarded as a tunnel in which the IP packet is encapsulated to be transferred by the label. Hereinafter, the LSP will be occasionally referred to as an MPLS tunnel.
Also, in the RFC2547 method, the routing protocol called the Border Gateway Protocol (hereinafter abbreviated as BGP) is used. In the edge routers, a routing control process realizing this protocol is activated, so that the routing control processes on the edge routers are connected in a full mesh. Alternatively, the edge routers can be connected starlike, so that they are connected through a route reflector providing an exchange function of a routing control packet similar to that provided in case of the full mesh connection.
In order to exchange the routing control packets by the MPLS tunnels between the edge routers connected in the full mesh, the LSP's are required to be pre-established so that the edge routers are connected in the full mesh. The LSP's established herein are realized by setting, in the routers, labels corresponding to inter-router links on routes for global IP prefixes of destination network. Such LSP's will be hereinafter referred to as level-1 tunnels. In the arrangement of FIG. 22, the level-1 tunnels are established between physical routers PR1-PR4, PR1-PR5, and PR4-PR5.
An administrator of ISP makes a port (I/F) number of the edge router correspond to a Route Distinguisher (hereinafter abbreviated as RD) as a user site identifier. In this case, the RD can be an arbitrary number which is unique for each user network managed by the provider network.
Also, there is another mapping between the VPN's and groups of RD's, that sets which user networks, distinguished by the RD's belong to the same VPN. By this mapping, e.g. the VPN2 and VPN1 are respectively made to correspond to the ports PR1-PP1 and PR1-PP2 of the edge router PR1. In the edge router, the VPN's are distinguished by VPN numbers, and the VPN numbers are used for managing the routing table independently per VPN, and for making user network accommodating ports correspond to the VPN.
Also, the administrator of ISP makes one-to-one correspondences between the port numbers and the virtual interfaces of the virtual routers for each port of the edge routers connected to the user networks.
By making such correspondences, e.g. the virtual interfaces V2-VR1-VP1 and V1-VR1-VP2 are respectively made to correspond to the ports PR1-PP1 and PR1-PP2 of the edge router PR1.
It is to be noted that the edge routers PR1, PR4, and PR5 have independent routing tables per VPN. These routing tables are generated by the routing control process (BGP) common to the VPN's and independently generated per virtual private network based on the routing information within all of the virtual private networks (VPN1 and VPN2 in case of FIG. 22) received from the local sites or remote sites.
At this time, the routing control process on the edge router assigns an RD to an address prefix of the received routing information from the user networks, so that the routing information can be distinguished per virtual private network.
Also, the edge routers have a function of searching through the routing table corresponding to the VPN by the port number of the port having received the data packet and of forwarding the packet received. This forwarding function has a virtual interface for transmitting the packet to the tunnel established between the edge routers.
The edge routers have different MPLS tunnels (level-2 tunnels) per destination prefix within the same VPN, so that different tunnels per destination can be identified.
The edge routers multiplex the tunnels for each prefix (level-2 tunnels), nested within the level-1 tunnel, between the edge routers. Actually, the edge routers doubly add the MPLS labels corresponding to the level-1 tunnel and the level-2 tunnel to the IP packet.
This can be seen in FIG. 22, where three level-2 tunnels are established in the level-1 tunnel between the edge routers PR1 and PR4. Namely, the three level-2 tunnels are the two tunnels between the virtual port V2-VR1-VP6 of the virtual router VPN2-VR1 and the virtual port V2-VR2-VP1 of the virtual router VPN2-VR2 established per address prefix, a single tunnel established between the virtual port V1-VR1-VP6 of the virtual router VPN1-VR1 and the virtual port V1-VR2-VP1 of the virtual router VPN1-VR2.
In the routing tables per VPN on the edge routers, a representing address of a next hop edge router and a virtual interface for transmission thereto for each destination prefix are written. The virtual interface is an entrance to the level-2 tunnel connected to the destination edge router.
In FIG. 22, the virtual interface V2-VR1-VP6 of the virtual router VPN2-VR1 within the edge router PR1 is the entrance to the level-2 tunnel connected to the destination edge router PR4.
The edge router assigns a different label for a level-2 tunnel per prefix, and adds a label for a level-1 tunnel determined by the representing address of the next hop edge router to transmit the packet to the physical port (PP) connected to the global Internet.
As to routing control process, the routing control process on each edge router generates independent routing tables per VPN by exchanging routing information both of the global Internet and of the VPN's through the level-1 tunnel established between the routers.
In the forwarding process, when the packet arrives at the physical port of the edge router from the user site, the edge router refers to the routing table corresponding to the VPN by the VPN number corresponding to the physical port which has received the packet and transmits the packet to the virtual interface connected to the next hop edge router.
When the virtual router transmits the packet to the virtual interface, practically, after the edge router adds a label (hereinafter, referred to as level-2 label) corresponding to the level-2 tunnel per prefix, the edge router adds a label (hereinafter, referred to as level-1 label) corresponding to the level-1 tunnel to the edge router on which the destination virtual router exists, and transmits the packet to the physical interface.
Also, when the edge router receives a packet with a label from the ISP network NW1, the next hop router and the output physical port are determined by the label, using a label table where a relaying operation is described. For example, in an MPLS implemented system by the Cisco Systems, Inc., in the United States, the level-1 label is removed at an LSR (label switching router) which is prior to the edge router by one hop, so that the edge router receives the packet with the level-2 label. The edge router checks the level-2 label, searches through the label table, and forwards the packet to the physical port connected to the user site. At this time, the level-2 label is removed from the packet to be forwarded.
(2) IETF draft draft-muthukrishnan-corevpn-arch-00.txt
Next, a method proposed as an IETF draft draft-muthukrishnan-corevpn-arch-00.txt will be described referring to FIG. 23.
The arrangement of FIG. 23 is almost the same as that of FIG. 22. However, it is different in that there are two tunnels in the virtual private network VPN2 shown in FIG. 22, between the virtual interface V2-VR1-VP6 of the virtual router VPN2-VR1 and the virtual interface V2-VR2-VP1 of the virtual router VPN2-VR2, whereas only one tunnel is shown in FIG. 23.
This is because in this method, management per destination prefix is not performed.
Also, since the routing protocol between the virtual routers is not limited to the BGP in this method, tunnels are not always required to be established in the full mesh between the edge routers. However, establishing the tunnels in the full mesh is preferable considering that the end-to-end communication will be disturbed if a fault occurs in an edge router, and that the number of router hops of the relayed packet will be increased by relaying a number of edge routers.
In this case, the MPLS is used as the tunneling technique, and the administrator of ISP establishes the MPLS tunnel (level-1 tunnel) between every pair of edge routers in the same way as in the case of FIG. 22.
Also, different from FIG. 22, the edge router activates an independent virtual router per VPN, so that the same VPN-ID is set in the virtual routers belonging to the same VPN. The virtual routing function has the routing function for receiving the routing information within the user network and generating the routing table based on the received information, and the forwarding function for forwarding the received packet by searching through the routing table corresponding to the VPN-ID by the received port number. This forwarding function has the virtual interface for transmitting the packet to the tunnel established between the edge routers.
Also, the virtual routers on the edge routers having the same VPN-ID are connected with the virtual link on the global network. However, in order to make distinction from the traffics from the user sites having other VPN-ID's, the virtual routers having other VPN-ID's use different virtual links (tunnels) per VPN (level-2 tunnel).
The edge router multiplexes the inter-virtual router links (level-2 tunnels) of the VPN's being nested within the level-1 tunnel between the edge routers. Practically, the edge router doubly adds the MPLS labels corresponding to the level-1 tunnel and the level-2 tunnel to the IP packet to be transmitted.
In order to determine which virtual router of the edge router is connected to the end of which level-2 tunnel, the virtual router on the edge router makes the label value of the level-2 tunnel correspond to a virtual I/F address of the destination virtual router which is the connecting destination of the tunnel in case an IP address is allocated to the virtual I/F or to the representative address of the destination virtual router in case of a point-to-point link wherein the IP address is not allocated to the virtual I/F.
Also, the administrator of ISP makes one-to-one correspondences between the virtual interfaces of the virtual routers and the port numbers of the ports connected to the user site.
The virtual routers having the same VPN-ID exchange the routing information of each other through the level-2 tunnel established between the edge routers, and then generate routing tables for that VPN-ID.
When the packet arrives at the physical port of the edge router from the user site, the edge router refers to the routing table corresponding to the VPN-ID by the VPN-ID corresponding to the physical port having received the packet and transmits the packet to the virtual interface connected to the next hop virtual router.
When the virtual router transmits the packet to the virtual interface, practically, after the edge router adds a label corresponding to the level-2 tunnel, the edge router adds the label corresponding to the level-1 tunnel to another edge router on which the destination virtual router exists, and transmits the packet to the physical interface.
When the edge router receives the packet with the label from the level-1 tunnel, the edge router checks the level-1 label of the encapsulated packet, determines whether the packet is addressed to itself to remove the label, or the packet should be forwarded by changing the label. If it is addressed to itself, the edge router checks the label corresponding to the level-2 tunnel and determines which virtual interface of the virtual router within the edge router should receive the packet. At this time, the edge router removes the level-2 label to pass the packet to the virtual interface.
The virtual router having received the packet at the virtual interface checks the destination address in an IP header of the IP packet, that is the destination address within the user network, forwards the packet to one of the virtual interfaces corresponding to the virtual ports connected to the user site by searching through the VPN routing table held by the virtual router.
It is to be noted that in the above-mentioned methods (1) and (2), the MPLS tunneling is used as the tunneling technique. In this case, the packet relayed by the MPLS tunnel has a format as shown in FIG. 24 wherein SHIM headers are doubly added.
However, an L2TP (layer two tunneling protocol) tunnel and an IPsec (IP security protocol) tunnel are generally used as the IP tunnel which is a tunneling technique other than the MPLS tunnel.
A packet of the general L2TP tunnel has a format shown in FIG. 25. When the packet consisting of the IP header, a TCP/UDP header, and application data is transmitted through an L2TP tunnel, an L2TP header and a PPP header are added thereto associated with an encapsulation. Moreover, when the edge router transmits the encapsulated packet to the provider network, a lower layer media PPP/Ether header, and the like as well as the IP header and the UDP header are also added.
Also, in the general IPsec tunnel, there are cases where an AH (authentication header) having the authenticating function and where an ESP (encapsulating security payload) header having both functions of authentication and encryption. The formats of the respective packets relayed in the IPsec tunnel are shown in FIGS. 26 and 27.
As shown in FIG. 26, in the packet using the AH header, an outer IPv4 header, the AH header, an inner IPv4 header, and IP upper layer data are objects of the authentication.
Also, as shown in FIG. 27, the packet using the ESP header is composed of the outer IPv4 header, the ESP header, the inner IPv4 header, the IP upper layer data, an ESP trailer, and an ESP authentication header. The range excluding the outer IPv4 header and the ESP authentication header therefrom is the object of the authentication. Moreover, the range further excluding the ESP header therefrom is the object of the encryption.
In order to provide the IP-VPN service, the administrator of ISP allocates the VPN numbers or the VPN-ID's to the ports of the edge routers connected to the user networks. In order to enable the communication between the sites belonging to the same VPN, it is required that the sites are mutually connected by the tunnels through the global network and that the communication should be distinguished from the communication between the sites having other VPN numbers or VPN-ID's.
In the IETF RFC2547 method, the edge routers are required to hold the relationship between the ports and the virtual private networks to which the ports belong, and to mutually connect the ports within the same virtual private network with the virtual links (level-2 tunnels).
In the RFC2547 method, the BGP session for connecting the BGP routing control process on the edge router is established by using the level-1 tunnel connecting the edge routers. The edge router multiplexes the routing information of all of the VPN's by using the BGP session to be exchanged. The edge router determines, based on the routing information, which ports accommodating the user sites should be connected with the layer 2 tunnel.
The edge router distributing the routing information by using the BGP protocol sets which routing information of which site belonging to which VPN should be distributed to which virtual router. Also, for the edge router having received the routing information by the BGP protocol, the administrator of ISP manually sets in the edge router that, in which virtual router the route received by the BGP should be stored. Therefore, if the configuration of the VPN becomes complicated and the number of the VPN's increases, the setting becomes extremely complicated.
Generally, the BGP is the routing protocol mainly used by providers which is transit networks. There are not a few providers who realize the routing control by an OSPF (open shortest path first). Therefore, operating the BGP on all of the edge routers of the providers in order to realize the VPN has been a big hurdle.
On the other hand, in the method of draft-mushukrishnan-corevpn-arch-00.txt, the virtual routers belonging to the same VPN (having the same VPN-ID) are connected with the level-2 tunnels, so that the routing information received from a site belonging to a certain VPN is exchanged between the virtual routers using the level-2 tunnels which connect the virtual routers belonging to the VPN.
This method has been proposed based on the MPLS, and uses the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) for establishing a Label Switching Path (LSP) which is the MPLS tunnel within the MPLS network, so that it cannot be applied to methods using the IP tunnel (L2TP,IPsec).

Virtual network construction method, system, and relaying apparatus


An automatic taping lathe-microtome that produces a continuous ribbon of tissue by lathing an extremely thin strip off the surface of a cylindrical block containing a multitude of embedded tissue samples. Mechanisms are included for sandwiching this fragile ribbon of tissue between a pair of support tapes. Viewing holes are cut in the support tapes above and below each tissue slice such that the tapes act as slot grids allowing for direct viewing of each tissue slice in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The resulting tissue-tape is placed on a spooling mechanism and fed into the beam of a TEM much like the film in a movie projector. This allows for random-access imaging of any section on the tape without requiring the TEM's vacuum be broken. This system is intended to give neuroscientists a tool to ultrastructure image large volumes of neural tissue and to trace multi-scale synaptic circuits.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to automating the process of producing thousands of serial tissue sections from an embedded tissue block in such a fashion as to allow said tissue sections to be reliably collected, handled, stored, and digitally imaged (via automated retrieval) using both light and transmission electron microscopes in order to produce 3D reconstructions of the original tissue's structure.
2. Background of the Invention
Today neuroscientists are routinely carrying out evermore-advanced physiological experiments and cognitive scientists are proposing and testing evermore-comprehensive models of brain function. Unfortunately, these experiments and models involve brain systems where incomplete information regarding the system's underlying neural circuitry presents one of the largest barriers to research success. It is widely accepted within the neuroscience community that what is needed is a comprehensive and reliable wiring diagram of the brain that will provide a neuroanatomical scaffolding (and a set of foundational constraints) for the rest of experimental and theoretical work in the neuro- and cognitive sciences. Unfortunately, the current approach of attempting to integrate the deluge of thousands of individual in vivo tracing experiments into a coherent whole is proving to be a virtually impossible task.
There is an alternative approach that avoids the problem of stitching together the results of thousands of in vivo tracer injection experiments. The imaging of a single post-mortem brain at a sufficiently high resolution to resolve individual neuronal processes and synapses, while maintaining registration across size-scales, would allow direct tracing of a brain's connectivity. Researchers using the raw data in such a synapse-resolution brain connectivity atlas would be able to map all the regions, axonal pathways, and synaptic circuits of the brain; and unlike separate specialized experiments, the results would immediately and easily be integrated because they are all performed on the same physical brain.
Today, the creation of such a synapse-resolution atlas has only been achieved for tiny invertebrate animals such as C. Elegans (a round worm measuring 1 mm in length and less than 100 μm in diameter). This is because the fundamental technology used, that of serial section electron reconstruction, currently requires the painstaking manual production of thousands of extremely thin (<1 μm) tissue slices using a standard ultramicrotome in which newly sliced tissue sections are floated away from the cutting knife on water and manually placed on slotted TEM specimen grids a few sections at a time.
Because of the manual nature of this current process, this technique is totally impractical to apply to larger brain structures and so it is currently unable to address the needs of the larger community of neuroscientists who require a map of the brain connectivity of rodent and primate brains. The key challenge in extending these imaging technologies to map structures that are 1×105 (mouse brain) and 1×108 (human brain) times as large as C. Elegans is the invention of a reliable automated process for producing these thin serial tissue sections. The invention described herein is targeted at this automation challenge.
3. Prior Art
We are unaware of any current microtome design (either in production or disclosed in the open literature) that adequately addresses this need for automating the production, collection, handling, and imaging of large numbers of thin tissue sections suitable for use in light and transmission electron microscopic 3D reconstruction work. Although there is a vast number of patents pertaining to microtomes and their automation, these designs are targeted toward automating the slicing process only, and do not address the tissue collection and handling processes. Today the term "automated microtome" has become synonymous with a manual microtome merely having motorized knife advance. Thus, current "automated microtome" designs still require manual slice retrieval and manual slide or grid mounting for imaging. Such manual slice retrieval necessitates skilled, delicate, and incredibly time-consuming work be expended on each tissue slice (or small series of slices) as it involves "fishing" each tissue slice out of a water boat attached to the knife of the ultramicrotome instrument and onto a TEM grid.
One published microtome design that does somewhat address the automation of tissue collection is U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,855 by Bolles. In that design, the standard manual method of blockface taping (whose advantages for slice collection and handling are described more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,831 by Ornstein) is proposed to be automated by a pressure roller pressing a reel of transparent adhesive tape against the blockface just before the microtome blade cuts the next slice of tissue off the block. Thus the slice is adhered to the tape and can be carried away automatically by simply advancing the tape reel. (The advantages of tape as a collection, storage, and imaging medium for tissue sections is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,019 by Pickett.)
The automatic taping lathe-microtome invention described herein is most similar to this taping designed proposed by Bolles; however, our design improves and extends the application of that design significantly. For example, a key disadvantage of Bolles' design is that it makes no modification to the current standard microtome design which involves a discontinuous ratcheting motion of the flat block across the knife. Thus the Bolles design requires the tape to be freshly applied to the block after each slice also in a discontinuous fashion. This seems difficult to automate reliably especially for very thin tissue slices as would be required for most neural reconstruction work.
Another proposed method for automating the collection of tissues from a microtome disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,653 by Voneiff and Gibson, proposed the use of a series of rollers to collect the tissue from the blade of a microtome and move it directly to a glass slide. That design also makes no modification to the current standard microtome design, and thus also suffers from the discontinuous ratcheting action. The Voneiff and Gibson design, however, uses neither blockface taping nor tape as a collection medium.
It should be noted that neither the Bolles' design nor the Voneiff and Gibson design target the collection of tissue slices for electron microscopic (ultrastructure) imaging. Imaging by an electron beam requires that the tissue slice is unobstructed by any holding substrate thicker than a few nanometers. The tape in Bolles' design and the glass slide in the Voneiff and Gibson design are much too thick for this. The design disclosed herein directly targets collection of slices for light and transmission electron microscopic imaging, and makes modifications to the tape collection medium in order to accommodate this.
The automatic taping lathe-microtome invention described herein completely redesigns the basic cutting motion of the microtome, replacing the standard discontinuous ratcheting motion with the continuous rotary motion of a lathe. As will be described below, this continuous lathe cutting design makes possible continuous taping and slice collection. The result is a mechanically more stable, more reliable, faster, and more easily constructed design which should finally make possible the fully automated production, collection, handling, imaging, and storage of thousands of semithin and ultrathin tissue sections for use in light and transmission electron microscopic serial 3D reconstruction of neural (and other) tissue.

Methods and apparatuses for the automated production, collection, handling, and imaging of large numbers of serial tissue sections

President and Fellows of Harvard College


This invention provides a compound having the structure

For decades, soon after the first of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), known as collagenase-1 or MP-1, was discovered in the early 1960s (1), academics and industry have been trying to develop safe and effective pharmaceuticals to inhibit these calcium- and zinc-dependent neutral proteinases which are expressed and activated in excessive levels during a variety of diseases (see (2) and (3) for reviews). The rationale for this drug development strategy lies in the fact that collagen and the other connective tissue constituents: (a) are collaboratively degraded by these MMPs (now numbering more than 25 genetically distinct types, "22 found in the human genome" (2)); and (b) are found virtually everywhere in the body (e.g., skin, bone, tendons and ligaments, cornea of the eye, cartilage of the joints), and the excessive destruction of these constituents is a key event in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases ranging from inflammatory conditions (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, periodontitis), to metabolic bone diseases (e.g., postmenopausal osteoporosis, diabetes-induced osteopenia), to cancer invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis (2, 4).
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a collective of over thirty zinc-containing endopeptidases that include the gelatinases, stromelysins, and collagenases, released as inactive zymogens and becoming active only when the propeptide is cleaved (5). The gelatinases include MMP-2 and MMP-9, and the stromelysins include MMP-3, -7, 10, and -11. The collagenases include MMP-1, -8, and -13 (5). The MMPs, when constitutively expressed or induced by pro-inflammatory agents, such as cytokines, hormones, bacterial products, endotoxins, among others, can degrade all components of the extracellular matrix (5). Under physiological conditions, MMPs are regulated by endogenous inhibitors, particularly the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) (5, 6a).
Aberrant MMP activity and expression has been implicated in a number of pathological conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), metastases, periodontal disease, angiogenesis, emphysema, multiple sclerosis (5), and cardiovascular disease, such as atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, arterial restenosis after angioplasty and aneurysm development (6a). Recent research has also implicated MMPs in asthma attacks, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and premature skin aging (6a) and inflammatory skin disease (6b, 6c). Their involvement in the epidermal growth factor-receptor activation pathway leading to cardiac hypertrophy has also been reported (6a). It is believed that an imbalance between the active enzymes and their natural inhibitors leads to the accelerated destruction of connective tissue and the potential for using specific enzyme inhibitors as therapeutic agents to redress this balance has led to intensive research focused on the design, synthesis and molecular deciphering of low-molecular-mass inhibitors of this family of proteins (7).
At least 56 MMP inhibitors have been pursued as clinical candidates since the late 1970's, and as of 2006, only 1 inhibitor, a sub-antimicrobial (low-dose) doxycycline formulation (Periostate for periodontal disease), has been approved (8). Early clinical studies with other known MMP inhibitors, in particular a series of hydroxamic acids, have revealed a severe adverse side-effect frequently referred to as the musculoskeletal syndrome (MSS), which is a tendonitis-like fibromyalgia (8). In subsequent MMP inhibitor clinical trials, efforts to avoid MSS coupled with an inability to assess the therapeutic index (i.e., the ratio between the dose required for efficacy vs. toxicology), may have resulted in dose selection beneath the minimal effective dose, hampering MMP inhibitor development (8).
Therefore, there is a need for the development of now MMP inhibitors.
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane, FIG. 1), the major component in curcuma/turmeric, is an antioxidant polyphenol from the plant Curcuma longa and is commonly used as a spice component. Curcumin has been used to treat inflammation and exerts antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects against various tumors in vitro and in vivo, and it has been found to suppress carcinogenesis of the breast and other organs (9, 10). Bachmeier and coworkers have reported downregulation of the inflammatory cytokines CXCL1 and CXCL2 in breast cancer cells via NFκB (9). Oral curcumin efficacy in vivo has been shown in models for many conditions with oxidative damage and inflammation, including many types of cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, arthritis, stroke, peripheral neuropathy, inflammatory bowel disease, and brain trauma (11). Curcumin, along with its tetrahydro derivative, tetrahydrocurcumin (THC, FIG. 1), has been shown to inhibit IL-1β in an acute brain inflammation model while curcumin was more effective than THC in attenuating plaque pathogenesis in studies of curcumin efficacy in models of neuroinflammation, which is implicated in the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) (11).
Curcumin has also been shown to inhibit MMPs. Curcumin (at 15 μM concentration) has been observed to exert a significant inhibitory effect on MMP-2 activity which was not reversible even after cells were grown for 28 days without curcumin (12). It is known that highly metastatic cells become less aggressive when MMP-2 expression or activity is reduced and previous studies have also shown that curcumin reduces MMP-2 expression in breast carcinoma cell lines (12). This reduction of MMP-2 activity could be an important reason for anti-metastatic property of curcumin (12). In addition, curcumin has also been shown to inhibit MMP-9 expression in human astroglioma cells (13). Analogues and derivatives of curcumin have previously been described for use against various cancers (14, 15, 16, 17) as well as pancreatitis (18).
While curcumin has been shown to have multiple beneficial effects, poor oral absorption of curcumin in both humans and animals has raised several concerns that this may limit its clinical impact (11).
Herein, novel chemically-modified curcumins as inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases and pro-inflammatory cytokine production are disclosed.

Curcumin analogues as zinc chelators and their uses

Abstract: wherein α, β, X, Y, and R1-R11 are defined herein. This invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising the above compounds, a method of inhibiting the activity and/or levels of a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), a method of inhibiting the production of a cytokine in a population of cells, a method of inhibiting the production of a growth factor in a population of cells, and a method of inhibiting NFκ-B activation in a population of cells.

THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK


In one embodiment, a modular sensor assembly configured for mounting on a vehicle includes a first set of sensors and a second set of sensors. The modular sensor assembly includes a coordinate frame baseplate including a continuous surface, and sensor mounting elements coupled to the continuous surface for mounting the first set of sensors at a first height. The coordinate frame baseplate includes a sensor platform configured for mounting the second set of sensors at a second height. The first set of sensors and the second set of sensors are coupled to the coordinate frame baseplate so as to impart a common coordinate frame for the first set of sensors mounted at the first height and the second set of sensors mounted at the second height. The modular sensor assembly includes a bridging support structure coupled to the coordinate frame baseplate and capable of being mounted on a vehicle.

Autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles may allow for the function of a human driver to be supplemented or completely replaced by one or more computer-based driving systems. Thus, as it may be appreciated, autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles may typically rely upon on a number of sensors for determining an operational design domain (ODD), or an environment in which the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle may be optimally and safely deployed. For example, the particular sensors determined to be suitable for the ODD may be selected and included as part of a dedicated sensor setup installed on the vehicle. Indeed, the sensor setup may act as the "eye" of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, incessantly monitoring the environment surrounding the vehicle. As such, many sensor setups may often include bulky and cumbersome structures that may be distributed across the entire rooftop of the vehicle. Additionally, the manner in which the sensor setup is positioned and distributed across the rooftop may be a function of sensor setup height and sensor sight distance. Generally, the higher the sensor setup is positioned on the rooftop of the vehicle, the greater the sensor sight distance that may be achieved.
However, while increasing sensor setup height may increase sensor sight distance, a sensor setup disposed too highly above the vehicle may lead to the vehicle encountering a number of clearance hindrances, which may limit the testing capabilities and overall utility and aesthetics of the vehicle. Furthermore, such bulky, distributed sensor setups may adversely impact the overall weight of the vehicle, further limiting driving performance and passenger capacity. Still further, these bulky, distributed sensor setups may be suited only for isolated calibrations, in which a calibration is performed for each and every autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle individually. Finally, due to the immense size and complexity associated with such bulky, distributed sensor setups, these sensor setups may not rather easily be removed from the vehicle once installed, limiting opportunities for efficient upgrading and retrofitting. It may be thus useful to improve sensor setups for autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles.


A beam determination method, a downlink transmission decoding method performed in a communication system, and corresponding user equipments and base stations are disclosed. The base station has a plurality of transmission beams, and may dynamically select a beam for transmitting downlink control information and downlink data information from a plurality of beams. The downlink transmission decoding method performed by the user equipment includes: determining M preferred beams in the plurality of transmission beams of the base station; and receiving, through one or more reception beams corresponding to any one or more of N preferred beams in the M preferred beams, downlink control information transmitted by the base station, wherein N≤M, the base station transmitting signaling including same downlink control information through the N preferred beams during the transmission time period of the downlink control information. The downlink transmission decoding method performed by the base station comprises: determining M preferred beams in the plurality of transmission beams of the base station; and transmitting signaling including same downlink control information through N preferred beams in the M preferred beams, where N≤M.

In a high-frequency scenario of 5G, or in a scenario where a user equipment (UE) is connected to a 5G transmission and reception point (base station) or a long-term evolution (LTE) base station through dual connectivity, it is proposed to use a beam forming technique in the UE and the base station, that is, both the base station and the UE may use a plurality of beams for signal transmission and reception. Each transmission beam of the base station and each reception beam of the UE may form one downlink beam pair, and each reception beam of the base station and each transmission beam of the UE may form one uplink beam pair. However, neither the signal transmitted through each downlink beam pair can obtain good reception quality at the UE, nor the signal transmitted through each uplink beam pair can obtain good reception quality at the base station.
Therefore, in order to improve the performance of a wireless communication system, in a transmission process of downlink control information and downlink data information, it is required to determine a preferred transmission beam of the base station and a preferred reception beam of the UE, so that the UE may use the preferred beam in the process of receiving downlink information transmitted by the base station. However, neither how to determine the preferred transmission beam of the base station and the preferred reception beam of the UE has not been proposed yet, nor how to demodulate the downlink control information and the downlink data information in downlink transmission to improve transmission quality.

Beam determination method, downlink transmission demodulation method, user equipment and base station


A laser level with temperature control device (2) and the temperature control method thereof are disclosed. The temperature control device includes a thermal insulation chamber (22), a thermoelectric cooler (25), a control unit (21), and first and second temperature sensors (23, 24). The second temperature sensor is received in the thermal insulation chamber together with a tilt sensor (12). The control unit controls operation of the thermoelectric cooler according to the external and internal temperature signals respectively output by the first and second temperature sensors, so as to adjust the internal temperature inside the thermal insulation chamber to be a calibration temperature point close to the external temperature. Accordingly, the temperature drift problem can be addressed, and the working temperature of the tilt sensor can be maintained in a stable range. Further, the acceptable ambient temperature range within which the tilt sensor works can be expanded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser level, and in particular to a laser level with temperature control device for compensating adverse effects brought to the absolute measurement accuracy of a tilt sensor of the laser level by temperature drift, and a temperature control method thereof.
2. Description of Prior Art
A laser level utilizes the characteristic of excellent linearity of laser beams to measure or verify a horizontal line/surface or a vertical line/surface by a laser beam emitted by a laser emitter. Because of convenience in use and increasingly affordable cost, the laser levels are accepted by users and have been widely used in the constructing or assembling process of construction projects and large machines. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,914,778, 6,762,830 and 7,013,571 each disclose a conventional laser level.
However, it has been found that tilt sensors incorporated in most laser levels encounter with the problem of temperature drift with ambient temperature changes, which adversely affects measurement accuracy of the laser level. Currently, two solutions have been proposed to address this problem. One is to indicate to the user in the laser level specification or relevant product documents that the specified measurement accuracy of the laser level is a relative accuracy at approximately the same ambient temperature conditions, not the absolute accuracy within the operating temperature range of 0° C.-40° C. In addition, the temperature drift coefficient will be provided in the specifications. For example, the measurement accuracy is 0.01° C., and the temperature drift coefficient is 0.01°/° C. This solution helps the user roughly evaluate the measurement accuracy of the laser level according to the ambient temperature at measurement time, but provides no substantial aid in increasing the measurement accuracy of the laser level. Another solution is to provide compensation for temperature drift so as to increase the measurement accuracy. Reading values of the tilt sensor at different temperature points are first recorded in the form of a lookup table, and then temperature drift compensation is performed by software functions. By this method, the measurement accuracy of the laser level can be increased. However, the number of temperature points measured in factory for calibration is limited. Thus, it cannot be promised that a corresponding calibrated value can be found in the lookup table for every temperature variation in practical use. Accordingly, a certain accuracy tolerance still exists.

Laser level with temperature control device and temperature control method thereof


An arc-hydrolysis steam generator apparatus and method of use thereof, the steam generator comprising of an arc-plasma hydrolysis using a high pressure vessel and electrodes exposed to high frequency, high amperage pulses and an inductor placed around an arc-hydrolysis unit, wherein the inductor recovers magnetic energy generated by the electric arc discharge to supplement the steam energy recoverable from water by the arc-hydrolysis unit.

As concerns about our nation's dependence on foreign oil increase, and as Americans become more aware of the resulting direct effect on the economy of the country and of environmental impacts of foreign petroleum use, interest has increased for domestically-produced alternative methods for fueling transportation engines, as well as methods for generation of electrical energy.
Electrolysis has long been a method of choice to break compounds into their component molecules. Hydrolyzing water to produce steam and heat through the use of electrical energy at electrodes is called electrolysis, in this instance, water electrolysis. By subjecting water to a pair of electrodes to a electrical energy, a cold or low voltage anode and a hot or high voltage anode within a pressurized vessel, there will result the formation of pressurized steam.
In order to provide for more rapid electrolysis of water, it is desirable to inject more electrical energy into the water surrounding the electrodes to thereby break apart more water molecules rapidly and creating heat which becomes steam once is pressurized. One method of injecting large amounts of energy into the water to make steam is through electrodes is via an electric arc, this process is called arc-hydrolysis.
Electric arcs have been utilized for ionization and/or hydrolysis of water, wherein the energy released in the formation of the spark breaks apart the water molecule into its component hydrogen and oxygen elements. In hydrolyzing water, the arc must take place under water and is thus known as arc-hydrolysis.
Arc-hydrolysis of water will result in the production of a great deal of heat, wherein the temperature of the hot anode reaches approximately 6000 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
In order to stabilize the pattern of dependency on foreign oil, in addition to creating employment in a new industry, it is desirable to both generate high pressure steam and to recover electrical energy utilized in producing the steam.
Accordingly, it is advantageous to make the arc-hydrolysis process more efficient and/or to recover the heat energy through other means, steam production is one form of energy recovery. Efficiency improvement has been accomplished by adding salts to the water to facilitate ionic transfer between the electrodes. A large quantity of energy is generated in the form of heat in the electric arc discharge by the use of arc-hydrolysis.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a need for an apparatus and method for generation of high-pressure steam via arc-hydrolysis, with supplemental electrical recovery of energy residing in the arc plasma.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Arc-hydrolysis steam generator apparatus and method


A multi-purpose combined ladder/cart assembly capable of being converted into a plurality of ladder and cart configurations, including an extension ladder, a step ladder, a load-carrying cart, a pull cart, and a hand truck. The multi-purpose combined ladder/cart assembly includes a plurality of frame members that are pivotal with respect to each other and capable of being retained in variety of desired positions in order to easily configure the assembly in any of its various configurations. The travel characteristics and center of gravity of the cart configurations of the assembly are variably selectable, depending upon the load to be carried, by simply selecting various combinations of differently sized wheels to attach to the assembly.

1. Technical Field
The subject invention relates generally to the field of hand carts, dollies, and ladders and, more particularly, to a novel multi-purpose, compact, lightweight and combination ladder/cart assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Ladders are commonly used for a variety of applications and are generally configured as one of two types: a folding step ladder, which is self supporting, or a straight extension ladder, which is typically leaned against a wall or some other structure for support. Ladders which are constructed so that they may be used as both step ladders and as straight extension ladders have long been known in the art. It has also been known to form such multi-purpose ladders with wheels so that the ladders could be converted into a type of a wheeled, load-carrying device, such as a hand truck or dolly.
There are certain deficiencies associated with many of such prior combination ladder/cart devices that are presented in attempting to provide so many different functionalities. For instance, the existence of wheels on these devices, necessary for cart usage or hand truck usage, present an added difficulty in providing stability for the device in its usage as a ladder. When using the device as a ladder, the wheels need to be removed or moved out of the way to prevent the ladder from rolling. If the wheels are simply made very small so as not to interfere with the use of the device as a ladder, then the functionality of the device as a cart can be drastically diminished.

Multi-purpose combined ladder/cart assembly


Techniques for granting access to an application or service based on a detected human stimulus at a computing device include detecting a stimulus that is generated by an external entity and independent of a CAPTCHA or CAPTCHA-like challenge. If the stimulus is included in a set of human stimuli, access to the application or service may be granted. Otherwise, access may be denied. The detected stimulus may be ad-hoc, or may be a response to an explicit challenge other than a CAPTCHA or CAPTCHA-like challenge. A background application may continuously test over time for ad-hoc stimuli that are consistent with a human presence, and may maintain or deny access accordingly. The detected stimulus may include changes in states of components of the computing device that are related to spatial orientation and/or location. Access to the application or service may be granted/denied based on the detected stimulus and an additional criteria.

1. Technical Field
The instant disclosure generally relates to computing devices. More particularly, the instant disclosure generally relates determining whether or not a stimulus detected at a computing device is consistent with stimuli that are generated by humans.
2. Background
Currently known techniques to determine whether or not a person or a computer is interacting with a computing device typically use a visual challenge-response test. These visual challenge-response tests are generally easy for a computer to generate and easy for a human to solve, but are difficult for computers to solve. One such commonly used test is a CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart), which typically is a series of alphanumeric symbols or other symbols that are commonly found on a keyboard, key pad or equivalent user interface of a computing device. The symbols are distorted, warped, or otherwise disfigured when presented, but remain generally legible to humans. In a typical visual challenge-response test, a computing device generates a CAPTCHA phrase and presents the CAPTCHA phrase on a display. A person or human views the distorted image and enters the displayed symbols via the keyboard, key pad, or equivalent. If a mostly correct series of symbols is received by the computing device, the computing device presumes that the symbols were entered by a human. CAPTCHAs are typically used in situations where automated software access may be detrimental to a system or otherwise undesired, such as e-mail spam, automated postings, financial or other secured transactions, authorized access, and the like. Examples of prior art CAPTCHA displays are illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1A shows two series of warped alphabetic characters that are each overlaid with an angled line, and FIG. 1B shows three series of warped alphanumeric characters in which the symbols are crowded together.

Determining human stimuli at computing devices


A method of recording record signals sequentially transmitted from a host on an optical recording medium. The method includes receiving record data sequentially transmitted from the host and storing the received record data in a buffer if a predetermined environment for a data recording apparatus which records data on an optical recording medium to record the received data is set, building information on the optical recording medium using record data to be recorded in a lead-in region of the optical recording medium among the record data stored in the buffer, and signal-processing the record data stored in the buffer and sequentially recording the signal-processed data on the lead-in region, a program region, and a lead-out region of the optical recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for writing data on an optical recording medium, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for reducing recording time by building TOC information on data transmitted from a host and then recording data on an optical recording medium in a raw mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Amid fierce competition among manufacturers of high-speed recording apparatuses, recording speed has been one of the most important factors in determining the performance of an entire recording apparatus. There are various methods for recording data on an optical recording medium using a recording drive including, for example, a track-at-once mode recording method in which data is recorded on an optical recording medium on a track-by-track basis, a session-at-once mode recording method in which data is recorded on an optical recording medium on a session-by-session basis, a disk-at-once mode recording method in which data is recorded on an optical recording medium on a disk-by-disk basis, and a raw mode recording method in which data is sequentially recorded on an optical recording medium ranging from a lead-in region to a lead-out region.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a conventional raw mode recording method. More specifically, FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating the structure of an optical recording medium. In general, an optical recording medium is comprised of three different signal regions, i.e., a lead-in region, a program region, and a lead-out region. In the lead-in region, location information of data written on an optical disk, the type of the optical disk, and running time of the data are recorded. The lead-in region is called table of contents (TOC). The program region is a region where a reproduction signal is recorded. The lead-out region is a signal region indicating the end of a program.
FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a conventional raw mode recording method. According to the conventional raw mode recording method, data transmitted from a host (not shown) is sequentially recorded on a lead-in region (1), a program region (3) including a pre-gap (2), and a lead-out region (4) of an optical recording medium. After completing the recording of the data on the lead-out region (4), the lead-in region (1), on which the data has already been recorded, is sought using an optical pickup (not shown), through a process which is represented by (5) in FIG. 1B. In order to seek the lead-in region (1), the rotation speed of the optical recording medium must be lowered. After locating the lead-in region (1) using the optical pickup (not shown), the data recorded on the lead-in region (1) is read using the optical pickup, and information on the optical recording medium is built, thus completing the whole recording process (6).
When the host (not shown) issues a record command and a predetermined amount of data is stored in a buffer memory (not shown) of the recording apparatus, a data recording process begins. While recording data on the optical recording medium, the recording apparatus receives data from the host and keeps checking if the data received from the host is recorded on the optical recording medium in a normal way. When the host issues a synchronize cache command to make the recording apparatus stop the recording, data that still remains in the buffer memory, i.e., data that has not yet been transferred from the buffer memory on to the optical recording medium, is all recorded on the optical recording medium. Thereafter, in order to figure out the data recorded on the optical recording medium, it is necessary to seek the lead-in region of the optical recording medium and then read TOC information from the lead-in region. By reading the TOC information from the lead-in region, it is possible to obtain information on the optical recording medium, such as a start track and an end track of the optical recording medium, the type of the optical recording medium, the way the data received from the host has been recorded on the optical recording medium, the number of tracks of the optical recording medium, and the type of the data recorded on the optical recording medium. The process of obtaining the information on the optical recording medium is included in data recording time, and it takes about 10 seconds. Therefore, the entire data recording time may be greatly and/or undesirably affected by such overhead time.

Recording method and recording apparatus using same


A past frame at a past time has a motion vector in a block, and a reference frame at a reference time has a different block which is a motion-compensated block identical in position to a terminal point of a motion vector in the block. When a gradient method is used to detect a motion vector in the different block in the reference frame, a motion vector which is identical in magnitude and orientation to a motion vector and whose initial point is the different block in the reference frame is used as a candidate vector for initial vectors. The present invention is applicable to a signal processing apparatus for performing frame frequency conversion from a 24P signal to a 60P signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing apparatuses and methods, and recording media and programs used therewith. In particular, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method that have increased accuracy of motion vector detection, and to a recording medium and program used therewith.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image processing apparatus for converting the frame frequency of an image, the gradient method is used as a method for detecting a motion vector of a block of interest. Although the gradient method can produce a highly accurate result of detection for a minute movement, it is not practical because, when a movement in an actual moving image is detected, such a movement is too large. Accordingly, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 60-158786, detection is achieved by recursively performing gradient operation.
However, simply recursively performing the gradient operation takes a long time in the case of performing real-time processing. Accordingly, when performing the gradient operation, from among peripheral block motion vectors detected in past frames, etc., an initial vector having a similar movement is found. By using the initial vector as an initial value for the gradient method, the number of times the gradient operation is performed is reduced. The initial vector can be found, based on spatial or temporal correlation of moving objects, from motion vectors such as a motion vector in a peripheral block around a block of interest, and a motion vector in a block having a phase identical to that of a block of interest in a previous frame.
However, in an object having a large amount of movement, or in a block in the vicinity of a boundary between different moving objects, the optimal motion vector (i.e., a motion vector similar to calculated movement) does not exist which is used as the initial vector in the gradient method. Accordingly, a problem occurs in that a false initial vector (initial vector having different movement) is selected. In addition, this results in a decrease in the accuracy of motion vector detection in the subsequent stage by the gradient method, thus causing image deterioration.

Apparatus and method for estimating motion vector with gradient method


The present disclosure relates to systems operable to catalytically convert a hydrocarbon feed stream predominantly comprising both isopentane and n-pentane to yield upgraded hydrocarbon products that are suitable for use either as a blend component of liquid transportation fuels or as an intermediate in the production of other value-added chemicals. The hydrocarbon feed stream is isomerized in a first reaction zone to convert at least a portion of the n-pentane to isopentane, followed by catalytic-activation of the isomerization effluent in a second reaction zone with an activation catalyst to produce an activation effluent. The process increases the conversion of the hydrocarbon feed stream to olefins and aromatics, while minimizing the production of C1-C4 light paraffins. Certain embodiments provide for further upgrading of at least a portion of the activation effluent by either oligomerization or alkylation.

A large surplus of pentanes are available in the petroleum refining industry, arising predominantly from the increased production of light hydrocarbons from U.S. shale formations, and also from limits on the quantity of volatile components that can be blended into finished transportation fuels, which must adhere to regulations on minimum vapor pressure. Unfortunately, conventional processes for upgrading light alkanes to value-added products are not well-suited for hydrocarbon feed streams that primarily comprise pentanes (i.e., isopentane and n-pentane). Therefore, it would be beneficial to find improved processes and systems for efficiently converting pentanes to more valuable products, including transportation fuels and chemicals, while minimizing the production of C1-C4 light paraffins.
The inventive processes disclosed herein provide an improved upgrading route for pentane-rich fuel blend-stocks and other pentane-rich streams that do not meet government specifications for a transportation fuel. The inventive processes and systems provide enhanced yields of upgraded products that may be suitable for use as transportation fuels or other value-added chemical products.

Systems for the catalytic activation of pentane-enriched hydrocarbon mixtures


An energy efficiency data collection system architecture may be configured to enable efficient and accurate collection of energy efficiency data associated with users and/or sites associated with users and generation of profiles associated with the users based on the energy efficiency data. An energy efficiency data collection service may receive location information, image data, and user-input data from an application operating on a mobile device associated with a user. The energy efficiency data collection service may generate profiles based on the information received from the application and may provide incentives to the users in response to participating in an energy efficiency data collection survey.

Utility companies and other entities participating in a utility communication network strive to increase the energy efficiency associated with providing and consuming utility services at a local level. Spatially and temporally granular energy efficiency data that is associated with individual residences or buildings is required to generate analytics used to improve energy efficiency. Unfortunately, existing solutions have not enabled accurate or efficient collection of this data.

Energy efficiency data collection service


A new and distinct Haworthia cultivar named ‘L1’ is disclosed, characterized by a single rosette of foliage, and distinctive horizontal white bands on green foliage. The new variety is a Haworthia, typically produced as a garden or container plant.

The new cultivar was discovered as a chance, naturally occurring, whole plant mutation of the parent variety, an unnamed variety of Haworthia limifolia. 'L1' was discovered by Peter Lock, a citizen of the Netherlands in a commercial planting of Haworthia limifolia in November of 2003, at a commercial greenhouse in s'Gravenzande, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar 'L1' was first performed in the Netherlands, at a commercial laboratory by tissue culture in May 2006. 'L1' has since produced several generations and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.


A delay mismatched feed forward amplifier system employing a control system and method using floors and penalties is disclosed. The disclosed control system and method allows the second loop phase adjuster setting to be offset in a repeatable and controlled manner. Applying floors and penalties to offset the steady-state phase adjuster setting modifies the conventional pilot cancellation approach. In the conventional case, pilot cancellation has a distinct minimum that corresponds to the desired adjustment setting. In the disclosed approach, the measured pilot cancellation is clipped to a lower bound or floor to produce a set of equal valued minimum control results. The floor is selected to place a desired phase offset to the phase adjuster at the edge of minimum floor. To ensure that the correct phase adjuster offset is selected from the set of equal valued minimum control results, a control direction based penalty is added. By including both the floor and penalty, the phase adjuster steady state offset will be controlled to the edge of the minimum floor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to RF power amplifiers and amplification methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to feed forward amplifiers and methods for controlling feed forward amplifiers.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Related Background Information
RF amplifiers are devices that attempt to replicate a RF signal present at its input, producing an output signal with a much higher power level. The increase in power from the input to output is referred to as the 'gain' of the amplifier. When the gain is constant across the dynamic range of the input signal, the amplifier is said to be 'linear'. Amplifiers have limited capacity in terms of power delivered because of gain and phase variances, particularly saturation at high power, which makes all practical amplifiers nonlinear when the input power level varies. The ratio of the distortion power generated relative to the signal power delivered is a measure of the non-linearity of the amplifier.
In RF communication systems, the maximum allowable non-linearity of the amplifier is specified by government agencies such as the FCC or the ITU. Because amplifiers are inherently nonlinear when operating near saturation, the linearity requirements often become the limitation on rated power delivering capability. In general, when operating near saturation, the linearity of the amplifier degrades rapidly because the incremental signal power delivered by an amplifier is proportionally less than the incremental distortion power generated.
Various compensation approaches are conventionally applied to reduce the distortion at the output of the system, which in turn increases the rated power delivering capability. The preferred approach is feed forward compensation. In feed forward RF power amplifiers an error amplifier is employed to amplify main amplifier distortion components which are then combined out of phase with the main amplifier output to cancel the main amplifier distortion component. In general, feed forward compensation provides the power capability of the main amplifier and the linearity of the error amplifier.
The performance of a feed forward amplifier may typically be analyzed based on two cancellation loops. Loop1, called the carrier cancellation loop, includes the RF input and the main amplifier. In addition to the main amplifier signal output the first loop provides a distortion signal obtained by sampling the main amplifier output and combining it with an out of phase sample of the RF input signal. Conventionally, the gain and phase of the signal in loop1 are controlled to ideally provide a distortion signal with the input RF carrier component completely cancelled and only the distortion component remaining. Loop 2 is typically referred to as the error cancellation loop or auxiliary path loop. In loop 2 the distortion component provided from loop 1 is amplified by the error amplifier and injected back into the main path at an error coupler to cancel the distortion component in the main path and ideally provide a distortion free signal at the output.
In many cases, a pilot signal is injected at an offset frequency from the signal bandwidth inside the main amplifier signal path. This pilot acts as a known level of distortion at a known frequency. Isolation, detection, and cancellation of this pilot signal makes loop 2 gain adjuster and phase adjuster control easier. Traditional feed forward controllers minimize injected pilot power measured at a loop 2 test coupler configured after the error coupler. Pilot minimization is also referred to as pilot cancellation.
A problem with the traditional feed forward approach is the component cost and signal loss in the second loop delay. This delay may take the form of a delay cable or a delay filter. The longer the delay, the higher the delay cost and signal loss. The delay loss reduces the output power capability of the feed forward amplifier system by attenuating the main amplifier output. To compensate for this loss, a larger more costly main amplifier must be used. To reduce signal losses and component cost, the delay can be reduced or removed. Reducing or removing second loop delay introduces delay mismatch with the error path, which includes the error amplifier. This delay mismatch narrows the bandwidth of second loop cancellation, producing full cancellation at only one frequency. This cancellation bandwidth narrowing is caused by the phase shift with frequency error introduced by the delay mismatch. When controlling the second loop by reducing pilot power, as is done in traditional feed forward systems, the center frequency of second loop cancellation will be placed on top of the pilot frequency. Since the pilot is offset in frequency from the signal bandwidth, second loop cancellation will be lower in value and asymmetric to the signal bandwidth. Generally speaking, the distortion characteristics of the main amplifier will produce symmetrical spectral distortion characteristics about the input signal bandwidth, with the largest distortion nearest the signal in frequency. To meet output signal spectrum requirements, the bandwidth of second loop cancellation center frequency should be placed at the center frequency of the input signal.
Therefore, a need presently exists for an improved delay mismatched feed forward amplifier system which can address this problem of frequency dependent second loop cancellation and optimize system performance.

Delay mismatched feed forward amplifier system using penalties and floors for control


The present invention relates to a process for preparing a comestible product comprising xylitol said method comprising: (a) subjecting a composition comprising xylitol in an amount ranging from about 60% to about 100% by weight to extrusion treatment inside an extrusion apparatus under conditions sufficient to form and maintain the xylitol in a slurry and (b) then shaping the extruded slurry and cooling the product to form a solid. The present invention additionally is directed to a product produced therefrom.

Xylitol is a naturally occurring five carbon sugar alcohol. It occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables and is produced by the human body during normal metabolism. It is a sweet crystalline product, white in color, odorless and soluble in water. In crystalline form, it quickly dissolves in the mouth. It has a negative heat of dissolution, and thereby produces an agreeable refreshing or cooling effect in the mouth.
In addition to its cooling effect, xylitol has interesting sweetening qualities. If one takes sucrose as a reference point, and attributes to it a sweetening value of 1, xylitol is found to have a sweetness of the same order. Thus, xylitol is a sugar substitute. In fact, it has the same sweetness and bulk as sucrose with one third fewer calories (2.4 calories per gram) and no unpleasant after taste. It is currently approved around the world for use in foods, pharmaceuticals and oral hygiene products. For example, xylitol has been widely used in confectionery, baking products, cereals, desserts, jams, beverages, chocolate, chewing gum, gumdrops, and ice cream to name just a few products. It has also been used in the production of oral hygiene products, such as toothpaste and in pharmaceutical products. In addition, it is used as a sucrose substitute placed in foods for consumption by people with diabetes.
Further, xylitol has an interesting property for dental health, in which it differs from other known polyols. It is, in fact, anti-cariogenic, i.e., it cannot serve as a substrate for bacteria present in the mouth cavity. Moreover, it also plays a role in preventing dental caries. It inhibits the growth of Streptococcus Mutans, the primary bacteria associated with dental caries. Recent interest has increased in xylitol-containing candies because xylitol has been shown to promote remineralization of teeth and damaged tooth enamel. It has also been found that regular use of xylitol can inhibit the transfer of cariogenic Streptococcus Mutans bacteria from mothers to their newborn children. Studies have shown that mothers are the primary source of infection of Streptococcus in the mouths of newborns and that prevention or delaying colonization by these bacteria leads to significant reduction in tooth decay later in life. In addition, xylitol reduces plaque accumulation and inhibits plaque regrowth.
Further, it also increases salivary flow. Saliva helps clean and protect teeth from decay and this plays a role in repairing the damage caused in the early state of the decay process.
Thus, it is important to have a method of producing products comprising xylitol for use in these various applications.
One such product is a hard candy comprised of xylitol. However, producing a hard candy of xylitol is challenging. It is difficult for xylitol to be made into a hard candy free of crystals because its glass transition is below 32 F (0 C) and at normal household conditions, it would exist as a liquid, although because of its instability, would slowly transform to a few large crystals grown loosely together. Furthermore, as a crystal, it does not compact well.
In addition, in preparing hard candies comprising xylitol, the xylitol is traditionally melted completely to form a molten mass. The molten mass is mechanically agitated or seeded with xylitol crystals to cause crystallization. The resultant seeded mass is then combined in a layered format, wherein an isomalt base is first deposited, then followed by a xylitol layer or the xylitol is codeposited with isomalt in a mold to produce hard candy.
The problem often encountered in this process is that the final product is usually hygroscopic and sticky. Further, the molten mass often manages to crystallize in the machinery and/or equipment, thereby clogging the machinery and/or equipment. Further, once the seed crystals have been added, the viscosity of the seeded molten mass is very difficult to control. Moreover, the product is very temperature sensitive. The seeded mass thickens and crystallizes rapidly if the temperature falls below the melting point of xylitol, and on the other hand, thins, due to melting of the seed crystals if the temperature is raised above the melting point. As a consequence, the viscosity and density of the seeded mass tends to vary upon prolonged exposure to a molten state which is particularly undesirable in deposited hard candy manufacturing lines where any inconsistency of the seeded mass leads to inconsistent piece weight and potential equipment failure. Further, the resultant candy is quite hard, and difficult to bite through.
The present inventors were investigating a new method for producing a hard candy comprising xylitol by modifying the methodology of the prior art. They began preparing the hard candy in a scraped surface heat exchanger, maintaining the temperature at or above the melting point of xylitol. Even though they initially worked with a complete melt, when they lowered the temperature in the scraped surface heat exchanger below the melting point of xylitol, crystals of xylitol began to form in the scraped surface heat exchanger and begin to clog the machine. Once the xylitol recrystallized, it became extremely difficult to work with. The inventors also noted that the product was hard and was not easily bitten into. Moreover, the inventors have confirmed that if the temperature of the emitted scraped surface heat exchanger was too hot, such material was difficult to handle and the product obtained was undesirable.
However, the inventors found that if the xylitol was not completely melted in an extruder, the resulting product was different and was much softer than the product comprising xylitol obtained from completely melting the solid and recrystallizing the melted solid in a scraped surface heat exchanger. Further, in the method found by the present inventors, since the xylitol solid was not being recrystallized, the extruder was no longer getting clogged.
The present invention thus describes this process which overcomes the problems enumerated above and provides a product which has a high flavor impact and a strong cooling sensation. Yet, at the same time, the product that is produced is a soft product that can be easily bitten through.